A video editing tutorial for Dr Carolyn Guertin's MAIS 620: Digital Storytelling at Athabasca University, Canada. © 2012.

1. Digital Storytelling with Digital Video
Carolyn Guertin, PhD • eLab • Athabasca University • 13 Oct 12

2. Digital storytelling is a short form of digital media
production that allows everyday people to share aspects
of their life story. The media used may include the
digital equivalent of film techniques (full-motion video
with sound), animation, stills, audio only, or any of the
other forms of non-physical media (material that exists
only as electronic files as opposed to actual paintings or
photographs on paper, sounds stored on tape or disc,
movies stored on film) which individuals can use to tell a
story or present an idea.
~ Wikipedia

3. Digital storytelling is a form of autobiographical documentary
told from a personal perspective usually lasting about 3 to 5
minutes. This is known as a reflexive documentary.
Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell (2012) is a feature-length reflexive documentary.

4. For background, remember that there are
four types of documentary:
observational, expository, reflexive, and poetic.
NFB on the different types: http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2014/08/04/types-of-documentary-films/
Still from Waiting for Fidel (1974)

5. Digital storytelling foregrounds
the narrator’s story
as the most important part of the narrative.
• The form has a three-part structure:
•An Introduction to the character
(you or your situation)
•A Conflict/Complication
•A Resolution
Watch A Short Video on Documentary Storytelling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISK0h0__WaU

6. You will find many examples
of Digital Storytelling at:
• The Center for Digital Storytelling:
– http://www.storycenter.org/
• Digital Storytelling at the Queensland
University of Technology:
– http://digitalstorytelling.ci.qut.edu.au/

7. You can use whatever video
editing software you have, but the
two most popular are Windows
Moviemaker and iMovie for Mac.

8. Video editing with Windows
Live Movie Maker
• 10 Windows Live Movie Maker Tutorials
on YouTube:
• http://bit.ly/1QKbCCg

9. Getting Started Tutorial:
Windows Live Movie Maker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3ZZij3NNyVg

10. KEEPVID.COM
To download Creative Commons licensed clips
or clips in the public domain, you can use:

11. Sources for film clips
• Archive.org’s Internet Archive (moving images):
http://www.archive.org/details/movies
• Classic Film (especially foreign)
http://home.comcast.net/~rtcee2/scatt/film_music_links/index_filmclips.html
• Though Equipy Motion (royalty free clips):
http://www.thoughtequity.com/
• Creatas Footage (royalty free stock):
• http://www.royalty-free-stock-clips.com/

12. Digital Video Editing with iMovie ‘11
Carolyn Guertin, PhD • eLab • Athabasca University • 13 Oct 12

13. Stage or Timeline
(this is your primary workspace)
Click Project Library Arrow to reveal other Projects
Filmstrip (Clips Preview)
Events Library
Playback Screen

14. Find your iMovie ‘11 icon in
the dock

15. To import movies from a source other than your
camera (like your desktop), select
File > Import Movies… > and the source file

16. Uploading your movie clips from the camera
1. Connect the USB cable and plug it into the
computer.
2. Open iMovie ‘11.
3. Make sure that the mode dial is set to the
green solid arrow, video upload, or PC
connect menu (depending on which menu
your camera has). Turn on the camera.

17. iMovie will automatically open the import window
and reveal thumbnails of your clips. If you want
to upload everything, click ‘Import All’.

18. If only want to upload some of the clips, move the ‘Automatic’
toggle to ‘Manual’. Each clip will now have a selection box
beneath it that can be checked or unchecked. Make your
selection and click ‘Import Checked’.
Set to ‘Manual’
Selection box

19. When your import is complete, you will get a
dialogue box telling you what was imported.
Click ‘OK’.

20. Naming a movie
Click on the Project Library to open it, name your project
and press return. Click on Edit Project arrow to close the
Project Library again.

21. Creating a movie: Select each clip with
your mouse from the filmstrip and drag to
select the excerpt you want. Then drop it
onto your timeline above.

22. Adding a clip: To drag a clip
between two existing clips,
drag it to the gap between
them. A green line will
appear and a plus sign on
the clip itself.
The ‘add selection to project’ button
automatically adds a clip at the end of
your movie.

23. To rearrange clips, click once to select
them, and then drop them into place. To
delete a clip you have chosen, click to
select and press delete.
The ‘add selection to project’ button
automatically adds them at the end of
your movie.

24. Skim through the assembled clips on the stage
to review it or press the spacebar to play it all
back in the right hand window.
To play your film back from the beginning, select
playback (on the right) or playback full screen
(on the left).

25. When you are ready to create a
new project, click the new project
button , name it, select the
format and your project is
automatically added to the
library. All projects are
automatically saved in iMovie
whenever you make a change.

26. iMovie ‘11 uses something called ‘skimming’. You can watch
and hear a clip by running your cursor over it. Press the
spacebar to play back from that point. Press the spacebar
again to continue skimming.
You can also turn off the audio while skimming
The red line is the point of playback

27. Trimming a clip: If a clip is too long, drag a selection
box to mark the portion of a clip you want to keep.

28. Trimming: Select Edit > Trim to Selection and it will
preserve only the part within the selection box.

29. Trimming: Selecting the clip edit button will
open the trimmer window so you can adjust the
start and end points.
Clip edit
button
Opens an editing window for that clip

30. To add background music or sound effects, grab your
selection from the iLife library and hold it over the stage until
the background turns green. Release et voilà.

31. If you drag an audio clip onto a single
filmstrip, it will play for that segment only.
Drag the audio ends to control when it
starts and stops. It automatically snaps to
the beginning and end of a clip. Adjust it
manually to your liking.

32. Each clip has its own volume control. Select the
clip, click to open and make your adjustments.

33. To separate audio from a clip, use the
command+shift keys to make your selection and
drag over another clip in your timeline. The sound
will be added to that other clip.

34. To add a voiceover:
Click the voiceover button , and choose the
microphone you want to use (internal or external).
Watch that the volume stays out of the red. Select
voice enhancement for best quality. There will be a
countdown from 3 to 1. Press the spacebar when
finished. Drag the purple indicator until it is in the
right position and click on it to adjust its volume.

35. Add titles in three steps: select template from
library, and position over stage.
1. Select Title
from library
2. Insert in
desired position

36. 3. Choose fonts and add your text--
and your credits are done.

37. To add transitions between scenes, select one from
the library and drop into position on the stage.
Open window
to transitions
library

38. You can crop and rotate images
Hover until crop
icon appears,
select area in
window

39. Control Bar Overview
Switch Between Event
and Project Frames
Import from camera
Open/Close Project Window
Playback Full Screen
Playback in Viewer
Create new project
Increase/Decrease
Thumbnail Size

40. Control Bar Overview
Add Voiceover
Add selected clip to project
Add selection to favorites
Unfavorite selection
Delete selection
Adjust Video Levels
Crop and Rotate
Adjust Audio Levels

41. Control Bar Overview
Add Music or Sound Effects
Mute
Audio Playback
Add Transitions
Add Photos from iPhoto Library
Add Titles

42. Saving your movie
To export your media as a freestanding movie, select
Share > Export Movie OR Share > Export using QuickTime
To save your movie for use in other iLife programs, select
Share > Media Browser

43. iMovie 10.1 Tutorial (2015 edition)
http://bit.ly/1X523xs