Converting film reels to digital video

The lab has many free resources for the Penn community for converting media. We can convert from : dvd, vhs, c-vhs, mini dv, cassette tape, 35mm film, 35mm slides, and vinyl record. From time to time we do get questions about converting different formats of film reels. We have no equipment to do this in the lab and don't know of any resources available on campus that can convert film reels. In the past we have referred people to Video City Inc. in Center City. Until recently I have never personally used them, but I am happy to say I am very please with the business. I had three reels of 8mm film from an old box at my parent's house and had no idea what was on them. I got them converted to .avi files at Video City Inc. and although a lot of the film was water damaged I was able to rescue some great moments of my older brothers' youth. The footage was a little dark, which was just the way the film was shot. I was able to clean it up quite a bit in Final Cut Pro. You would also be able to do this to some degree in iMovie. Here is a before and after shot of a small section of footage.

There is a long list on Video City's website about what formats they can convert. I would highly recommend dropping off a hard drive for them to put the footage on instead of paying for it to go directly to a dvd. If you convert to a dvd it doubles the cost. Each reel ended up being about $10 to put onto the hard drive which is a real bargain in my book.

iMovie 2011 Training

We seldom switch versions of software in the middle of an academic year--and this year is no exception. However, those of you with newer Macs most likely have iLife 2011 installed on your machines, while we've stuck with the 2009 version for the time being. Until we start offering workshops on the new version (most likely starting in September), you can watch some excellent training videos free of charge here in the lab.

iMovie 2011: http://www.lynda.com/tutorial/77957
iPhoto 2011: http://www.lynda.com/tutorial/75922

Book Spotlight: iMovie 09 and iDVD The Missing Manual

We've got David Pogue & Aaron Miller's popular iMovie and iDVD book here in the lab for you to use--just ask the lab consultant on duty if you don't see it on the shelf.

From Amazon.com's review of the book:

The first three chapters show how to prepare your video before using iMovie and include lots of professional filmmaking advice. The chapters on editing are the heart of the book. They systematically take you through each feature and menu--working with clips; adding transitions, titles, and sound; and saving and exporting your work. Since this isn't an official manual, Pogue is free to point out iMovie's shortcomings. In sidebars, he shows how to exploit features iMovie does have to mimic features you get only with more expensive software--for example, how to create multiple simultaneously superimposed titles (great for wild typographic experiments) or how to "pot down" the soundtrack music to allow a voiceover.

To make better choices while saving your movie, the book discusses each of the save options, as well as how QuickTime works--in detail. Also, the book doesn't just suggest what software to use to burn a QuickTime movie onto a CD-ROM, it also shows how to make a Video CD. It even includes the HTML necessary to embed your movie into a Web page. In fact, this book contains an impressive amount of info. It's easy to jump in at any point in the text and discover some idea so exciting that you just have to boot up iMovie right away and get creative.

We have iMovie 09 (the latest version) installed our workstations, but just in case you're using the previous version (iMovie 08), we've got an older edition of the book, too. So make sure you're reading the right one.

As always, we ask that you use our books here in the lab rather than taking them to other parts of the library.

iMovie and Photoshop Workshops, Spring 2008

We're offering more workshops on how to use iMovie and how to use Photoshop. The workshops are very introductory and assume no prior knowledge of the software. Be sure to sign up for a spot online, or see our other workshops HERE!

Creating and editing movies with iMovie

• Wednesday, January 23, 2008 , 2 PM to 4 PM
• Thursday, February 21, 2008 , 10 AM to 12 PM
• Tuesday, March 04, 2008 , 10 AM to 12 PM
  
• Thursday, April 24, 2008 , 10 AM to 12 PM

This class will provide an hands-on introduction to using Apple's iMovie software, which is available for Penn students, faculty, and staff in the Vitale Digital Media Lab. You will learn how to capture video from a DVD, VHS tape, or from your own video camera. You will learn to organize or delete video clips, add a new soundtrack, add subtitles, and create special effects. All sessions are identical and will be held in the Digital Media Lab.

PhotoShop I

• Wednesday, January 30, 2008 , 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
• Wednesday, February 20, 2008 , 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
• Wednesday, March 19, 2008 , 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
  
• Wednesday, April 23, 2008 , 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM

A basic introduction to this powerful image editing software. Learn how to open image files, use the toolbox and palettes, convert formats and manage multiple layers. All sessions are identical. (note: Photoshop classes are now held in the Seminar room, just down the hall from the Digital Media Lab)

Adding YouTube videos to your iMovie project

[UPDATE, FEB 2010: THESE INSTRUCTIONS APPLY TO iMOVIE HD/06. FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON USING YOUTUBE CLIPS IN iMOVIE 09, see http://wic.library.upenn.edu/multimedia/tutorials/youtube_imovie09.pdf]


We've received many many questions about adding clips from YouTube to iMovie projects. And until now, we haven't been able to do that in the lab. But today we've started to add that functionality to the lab workstations thanks to a free, open-source plugin for QuickTime Pro called Perian. Basically, the steps are:

1. Download the YouTube FLV file to your workstation using a service like keepvid.com
2. Export the FLV file to a QuickTime file with QuickTime Pro and Perian
3. Import the resulting QuickTime file into iMovie.

Keep in mind that YouTube video is notoriously low quality, but when you don't have a source of high-quality video, this method will do in a pinch.

Right now, Perian is installed only on the lab consultant's machine, so if you need to use a YouTube clip in your iMovie project, just ask the lab consultant on duty for help. We'll be installing Perian on the remaining lab workstation in the coming days. We'll also post a step-by-step tutorial so you'll be able to do it all without the help of a lab consultant.