Second camcorder meeting

From Acorn

A. Overview: equipment familiarization, videotaping, playback, editing, distribution

B. Main purpose of videotaping, at this time, is to see yourselves and each other teaching.

C. MICROPHONE TECHNIQUE: Good audio is harder to capture than good video.

1. On-camera microphone good for up to 10 feet away, then it will start to sound weaker. It will sound very faint when speaking 20 feet away. Easiest to use.

2. Wireless microphone

a. 6 frequencies, make sure the same frequency is not used nearby

b. Excellent quality for speaker, but anyone further away than 5 feet will be extemely faint.

c. Receiver (gray)

1. Turn on: red light flashes, means battery is ok. Red light on all the time if you have less than 2 hours of battery life left. If in doubt, use voltmeter.
2. When receiver is receiving a signal, the light will stay on green.
3. Leave Line/Mic switch on Mic
4. Connect output jack (smaller one) to camera Mic jack.

d. Transmitter (black)

1. Turn on: red light flashes once, means battery is ok. If in doubt, use voltmeter. Red light stays on all the time if you have less than 2 hours of battery life left.
2. Gain is set at 50% with small screwdriver. Good for most situations.
3. Mute switch disables microphone. If you mute the mic, make sure you turn it on when you need it!
4. Transmitter has a built-in mic, this is bypassed by clip-on lavalier. Windscreen is loose, you can glue it on with a small dab of glue, or don't use it.
5. Lavalier clip is reversible.
6. Be careful of lavalier mic. It is small and easily dropped.
7. Locate mic 6" to 12" from your mouth.
8. When using lavalier, you can clip receiver to your belt (side or back), or put it in a loose pocket.
9. Turn receiver and transmitter off when done.

3. Shotgun mic

1. No voltage indicator, check battery before the shoot. It should be good for a week or so.
2. On/Off Switch, Short/Long Switch.
3. "Short" setting provides same sensitivity (loudness) as built-in mic, but better quality.
4. "Long" setting provides higher sensitivity, can hear up to 20-25 feet away. Beyond 10 feet the quality starts to suffer. Best system to pick up the whole class.
5. Using both microphones. If you want the best quality for both your own voice, and the classroom students, you can use both microphones. This is usually not necessary. Use the Y-Adapter to connect both mics to the camera.

4. Headphones

1. Try to monitor audio before recording when using external microphones, if possible.
2. Do not plug the headphones directly into the camera, use the short headphone adapter cable.
3. Unfortunately, the headphone audio will sound a bit weaker and more distorted than the audio being recorded. Nothing can be done about this.

D. PLAYBACK

1. Playback on TV using camcorder output
2. Connect camera to monitor
3. Timecode and display options, with camera in Play mode:

To make a fast DVD of your tape, without editing.

1. In the ATL, Put your cassette in miniDV deck, and use iDVD, File>OneStep DVD
2. You can play, pause and fast-forward the DVD, but when you stop the signal completely, the DVD is made. You cannot add to it later.

Other ways of creating DVDs from tape are described here:

http://nutmeg.conncoll.edu/wiki/index.php/DVD-R_Recording

E. Notices

1. Nametags-put your name and contact information inside bag