Table of Contents Introduction for Workshop Facilitators
...………………………….………………………2
Steps for Making Your Immigrant Story
...………………………….………………………3
Schedule for Two- and Three-Day Workshops
..…………….……………………………….…4-5
What Do I Write About?
..……………….…………………………….……6
How to Record a Voiceover Using Audacity
….…….….…………………………………….…7
Tips on Sound and Images
..……..……………………………………………8
End Credits Worksheet
..…………………………………………………..9
Making a Digital Story with Windows Movie Maker
..……...…………………………………………10
Add My Story to the Immigrant Stories Collection
….....…....…………………………………11-12
Immigrant Stories is a project of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota. This work has been made possible through generous funding from the Digital Public Library of America Digital Hubs Pilot, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Introduction for Workshop Facilitators This guide contains resources for leading Immigrant Stories workshops. Immigrant Stories is a digital storytelling and archiving project run by the University of Minnesota’s Immigration History Research Center (IHRC). Workshop participants will make digital stories about their personal or family migration stories. The videos are preserved and made publicly available through the IHRC Archives, the Minnesota Digital Library, and the Digital Public Library of America. Digital Stories: This guide helps participants create simple digital stories: 3-5 minute videos that combine a voiceover with images, text, and music. The Workshop: The workshop may be two or three days long. Each day includes six hours of work time broken up by a lunch break. The three-day format is recommended for participants who want a slower pace and more time to master the technology. See pages 4 and 5 for both schedules. Technical Training: We do not assume that workshop participants have any prior experience with digital storytelling or using digital audio- and video-editing tools. Participants will learn a few simple techniques that produce high-quality videos. Immigrant Stories uses free software whenever possible. To record voiceovers, we recommend using Audacity, a free, cross-platform audio recorder and editing program. Simple instructions are on page 7. This guide contains directions for editing video with Windows Movie Maker (page 9), a free download for Windows. Workshop facilitators may choose other video editing software for equally good results. This toolkit does not address making digital stories with the Immigrant Stories web application, which has its own guide. Facilities and Equipment: Participants work in a computer lab for the entire workshop. Each participant should have a computer with Internet access as well as audio and video editing software. Participants will also need access to a separate, quiet room where they can record their voiceovers. The room should have a microphone and, if lab computers cannot be taken into this room, a separate computer with audio recording software. Sharing Digital Stories with the Immigrant Stories Project: The IHRC has documented and preserved immigrant experiences since 1965, and Immigrant Stories is the IHRC’s most recent project. Workshop participants are invited to share their story with Immigrant Stories. The IHRC Archives, North America’s largest archive of immigrant and refugee life, will professionally preserve the project’s digital stories and make them publicly available to researchers, teachers, and students online. To share their story, participants must complete both pages of the Add My Story to the Immigrant Stories Collection form at the end of this guide. They must also submit copies of their video and written story to
[email protected]. 2
Immigrant Stories Workshop Guide | Immigration History Research Center
Steps for Making Your Immigrant Story Step One: Write a Story and Collect Materials (Before the Workshop) The first and most important part of creating your Immigrant Story is writing a brief story. A 300-500 word story becomes a 3-5 minute voiceover when read slowly. Collect any photos, documents, videos, music, etc. that you wish to use in your video. Bring digital files on a flash drive. There will also be time to scan original photos and documents during the workshop. If you don’t know where to start, see our handout What Do I Write About?
Step Two: Record Your Voiceover During the workshop, you will record your voiceover by reading your story it in a quiet room and recording it with a microphone and computer. The workshop facilitator will teach you how to edit your voiceover, so if you make mistakes, you can erase them later.
Step Three: Find Creative Commons-Licensed Images and Sound If you need additional images, music, or video clips for your video, your workshop facilitator will show you how to search for media with a Creative Commons (“CC”) license, a special copyright license. Keep track of all Creative Commons-licensed items that you use with the End Credits Worksheet. You will need this information to add credits at the end of your video. Learn more about Creative Commons at http://creativecommons.org/
Step Four: Put It All Together Before putting your video together, edit audio clips and photos. You can use free software such as GIMP for images and Audacity for audio. Your workshop facilitator will teach you how to use a video editing software to put your digital story together. Import all your media into the program and arrange them in order. Save your final digital story as a high-quality video file (.mov, .mp4, etc.)- not as a project file in your editing program.
Step Five: Share Your Story and Materials To share your story with the Immigration History Research Center, you’ll need to email us your written story and final video file. You’ll also need to complete and sign a hard copy of the Add My Story to the Immigrant Stories Collection form. You can contact the IHRC staff at
[email protected] with questions.
3
Immigrant Stories Workshop Guide | Immigration History Research Center
Two-Day Workshop Schedule Day 1 .5 hour
Workshop facilitator provides an overview of Immigrant Stories and digital storytelling
1 hour
Discuss and finalize written stories
.5 hour
Facilitator explains how to record and edit a voiceover with Audacity
1 hour
Production time: finalize written stories, practice reading them aloud, record voiceover, scan photos and documents that participants have brought to the workshop
1 hour
Lunch Break (Participants are encouraged to discuss their story ideas.)
.5 hour
Facilitator explains how to search for Creative Commons-licensed works
2.5 hours Production time: record and edit voiceover, scan materials, find Creative Commons-licensed works
Day 2 .5 hour
Basic video editing tutorial: create a new project file, add images and sound, match images with voiceover
2.5 hours Production time: Finish editing voiceovers, begin editing videos 1 hour
Lunch Break
.5 hour
Advanced video editing tutorial: add titles/text slides, transitions, credits
2 hours
Production time: participants should all be working on their videos now.
.5 hour
Export movies. Sign forms and show videos if there is sufficient time.
4
Immigrant Stories Workshop Guide | Immigration History Research Center
Three-Day Workshop Schedule Day 1 1 hour
Workshop facilitator provides an overview of Immigrant Stories and screens some digital stories to explain the story-making process
1 hour
Group discussion of participants’ story ideas and/or story drafts
1 hour
Participants may edit their written stories, practice reading them aloud, or scan photos and documents they have brought to the workshop
1 hour
Lunch Break (Participants are encouraged to discuss their story ideas.)
.5 hour
Facilitator explains how to record and edit a voiceover with Audacity
2.5 hours
Production time: record and edit voiceover, scan materials
Day 2 .5 hour
Facilitator explains how to search for Creative Commons-licensed works
2.5 hours
Production time: Edit voiceovers and look for additional Creative Commonslicensed works if necessary
1 hour
Lunch Break
.5 hour
Basic video editing tutorial: create a new project file, add images and sound, match images with your voiceover
2.5 hours
Production time: participants should all be working on their videos now.
Day 3 .5 hour
Advanced video editing tutorial: add titles/text slides, transitions, credits, other effects
2.5 hours
Production time. Participants should all be working on their videos now.
1 hour
Lunch Break
2.5 hours
Production Time
.5 hour
Export movies. Sign forms and show videos if there is sufficient time.
5
Immigrant Stories Workshop Guide | Immigration History Research Center
What Do I Write About? The first and most important part of making your Immigrant Story is writing a brief story. You will make an audio recording of yourself reading this story to create your voiceover. Writing is important because an improvised voiceover is unfocused and much more difficult to edit. A 300500 word story becomes a 3-5 minute voiceover when read slowly. You choose the story you want to tell. It can be a personal or a family migration story. Here are some ideas and videos from the Immigrant Stories collection to inspire you: Journey Story Saengmany Ratsabout describes his family’s refugee journey. http://immigrants.mndigital.org/exhibits/show/i mmigrantstories-exhibit/item/508
Family Story Natasha Gomez talks about her family's many migrations. http://immigrants.mndigital.org/exhibits/show/i mmigrantstories-exhibit/item/572
An Important Object Renita Sebastin talks about her mother's wedding saree. http://immigrants.mndigital.org/exhibits/show/i mmigrantstories-exhibit/item/506
Identity and Place in Society Thiago Heilman’s experiences as a DREAMer from Brazil. http://immigrants.mndigital.org/exhibits/show/i mmigrantstories-exhibit/item/573
6
Immigrant Stories Workshop Guide | Immigration History Research Center
How to Record a Voiceover Using Audacity Audacity is a free, cross-platform audio recorder and editor. It is powerful, but working with the program is simple. You can download it from http://audacityteam.org/ Your recording environment is crucial to recording high-quality audio. For best results, use an external microphone. A USB microphone is both inexpensive and easy to use. Just plug it into your computer. To Record Press the red record button to start recording your audio. Speak clearly into your microphone. As you talk, Audacity will create wave forms, up and down lines that represent the sounds you record. Pause Use the pause button to take a break from recording. If you press pause, you can come back to the recording and continue recording on the same track. Stop Use the stop button when you have finished recording and are ready to edit or save the file. Saving Your File Click on Save Project under the File menu at the top of your screen. Audacity will create both an Audacity project file (.aup) and a folder that contains your sound files. If you move the Audacity file, you must save the folder in the same location because they are connected. Making Mistakes It is easiest to read your entire story and then delete any mistakes after you have finished. If you make a mistake while recording: stop reading, take a breath, and repeat the entire sentence from the beginning. You will erase the mistake later, when you have finished recording. Erasing Mistakes Press the play button to listen to the entire recording. If you hear a mistake, stop the recording and use your mouse to highlight the section of the audio that you want to remove. Begin and end the highlighted section at pauses between sentences (the flat part of the wave form) so that the cut will be seamless. Click Delete from the Edit menu. The area you highlighted has been removed from the recording. Finishing Your File When you are finished, you must export your Audacity project file to create a sound file that you can play outside Audacity and use in your video editing program. To save, click Export under the File menu. Name and save your file. For more advanced features, read Audacity’s tutorials: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorials.html
7
Immigrant Stories Workshop Guide | Immigration History Research Center
Tips on Sound and Images Recording Audio
Start with a story. Practicing reading the story out loud to find awkward phrases and to make sure you stay within your time limits. Record in a quiet space. Try to avoid interruptions and background noise from fans, buzzing lights, and keeping your microphone too close to your computer or camera. Avoid pops and hisses. The letters P and S can make distracting sounds, so point your microphone slightly away from your mouth. Speak slowly and pause between sentences. The pauses will make it easier to cut out flubbed lines and edit good lines together. Record at the proper level. If you record at a level that is too low, you will hear background noises when you turn up the volume to hear your narration. If your level is too high (in the red zone), it will sound bad when played back. Do your best to speak well, but edit your final audio file. We recommend using the program Audacity to record and edit your voiceover.
Gathering Images and Music You may use still images, video clips, and music to tell your story. Images: Use your own photographs and documents when possible. Scan them at a high resolution so that your digital story will not look blurry when played on larger screens: at least 400 DPI (dots per inch) is best. You can adjust this setting in your scanning software. Music: Music files should support the mood of your story. The volume should be soft enough to hear your voiceover. When you need additional media to tell your story, get permission to use someone else’s photos, or look for media in the public domain or shared via a Creative Commons license. You cannot use just anything you find on the Internet because of copyright laws.
Finding Images, Sound, and Video via Creative Commons
The Creative Commons website helps you find media with Creative Commons licenses on a number of popular websites, including Google Images, Flickr, and YouTube. To search, visit: http://search.creativecommons.org Select "modify, adapt, or build upon" Do NOT select "use for commercial purposes" Type keywords into the search bar When you find something you want to use, record the following information for your credits: (1) creator’s name (2) name of the work (3) type of Creative Commons license Ex. Paul Welmer, "Minneapolis Skyline," CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
8
Immigrant Stories Workshop Guide | Immigration History Research Center
End Credits Worksheet Your digital story must include end credits that list any images, video clips, or sound files you do not own or make yourself. Use this worksheet to keep track of each file’s author, title, and license. Author
Title
Example: Steve Lyon
"Minneapolis Skyline"
Type of License
CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
1.
2.
3. 4.
5.
6.
9
Immigrant Stories Workshop Guide | Immigration History Research Center
Making a Digital Story with Windows Movie Maker Video editing programs have different interfaces and terminology, but the process of editing a video is essentially the same. Import all your media into the program, arrange each piece’s position and duration, and export the final project to create a video file.
1. Make your title screen first. Click the Title button on the Home tab and type the text you want in the preview window. You can change the font style, color, and size. 2. Import all your audio and picture files into Movie Maker by clicking the Add videos and photos button and the Add music button on the Home tab. (You'll use Add Music to add any sound file, including your voiceover). Your voiceover will be a green bar and your pictures will sit on top of it. 3. Arrange your images in order. Click on a picture and drag it to the correct spot. Save as you go! Choose Save project from the main, drop-down menu in the top left corner. 4. Set the length of time that each picture is onscreen. Change the duration on the Edit tab, which only pops up below the green Video Tools tab once you have added images to Movie Maker. If you do not change the duration, each image will play for 7 seconds. Images should match your voiceover, so images will be on screen for varying lengths of time. Watch your video in the preview window and make adjustments. If your images’ total display time is less than the length of your voiceover, the sound will cut off early. Display your images longer to fix this. Tip: When you adjust an image’s duration, it will affect the position (but not duration) of subsequent images. Begin by adjusting the video’s first image and work from left to right, until you reach the video’s end. Optional: Make your photos move by using tools on the Animations menu. You can add transitions and other effects with the Visual Effects menu. Optional: To add captions or subtitles, click the Caption button on the Home tab and type the text you want in the preview window 5. Add a credit slide at the end of the video by clicking the Credits button on the Home tab. List all images, video, and audio that are not your own. Include each file’s creator, title, and license type. 6. Export your final video file. Your project file cannot be played outside Movie Maker yet. Click the Save movie button from the main, drop-down menu in the top left corner. Choose the Recommended for this project setting. Name and save your file. 10
Immigrant Stories Workshop Guide | Immigration History Research Center
ADD MY STORY TO THE IMMIGRANT STORIES COLLECTION By submitting this form, I agree that:
I created this digital story. If I used anything (including words, video, pictures, music) that I did not create, I promise that I either got permission, or I think my use was legal as a "fair use" or because of a Creative Commons license. Anything in the digital story that I did not create myself is explained in the video’s credits. My video, script, and information submitted will become part of the Immigrant Stories collection at the University of Minnesota and will be preserved and made available to the public in the Immigration History Research Center Archives, University Libraries, according to their practice and policy. My materials will also be shared publicly online under the terms of a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial license. This license lets others view, share, remix, and build upon my work non-commercially, as long as they credit me and share what they create under the same terms. [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/] I keep full ownership of all copyrights I own in my script and video, but I give the University of Minnesota a nonexclusive right to allow all uses of these materials for non-commercial promotional, research, preservation, or other educational purposes
Digital Story Creator (me): Full Name: Permanent Email Address: Signature: Date:
I am at least 15 years old. If I am under 18, my parent or guardian is also signing below: Parent/Guardian’s Full Name: Signature: Date:
Approved 4/5/2016
Background Information (Additional information about the person the digital story is about)
First Name: Last Name: Ethnicity/Ethnicities: Birthplace: Year of Birth: Places lived in the U.S.: Biography (2-3 sentences. May include information about family, other places lived, education, work, etc.):
Story Information (Staff use only)
Primary Language of Digital Story: Digital Story Creation Date: Digital Story Creation Notes:
Digital Story Length: Digital Story File Format: Editor of Digital Story (if applicable): Translator (if applicable):
