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Digital Media

Building a Video Podcast on the Mac

In this tutorial, we will show you how to create a video podcast using a Mac computer and iLife ‘06. To learn more about the various podcasting software available, check out our Resources page.

Most of the hardware and software are available for sale at UC Computer Store and possibly on loan from ITC. Call 974-9670 to find out more.

Technology Requirements

• A Mac with OS 10.4 (Tiger) or 10.5 (Leopard) and iTunes
  
• A digital video camera and a firewire cable (the proprietary name of the Apple cable also known as 1394 type connector; Sony calls it i.Link)
  
• iLife ’06 (GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, iWeb) - bundled with OS X
  NOTE: Though iLife '08 is now available, this tutorial focuses on iLife '06, which is still very popular and in some cases, a little easier.

Building a Video Podcast in iMovie

Capture footage with your digital video camera. Connect the camera "Play" mode. Open iMovie if it doesn't automatically open. iMovie should acknowledge the connected camera and show an "Import" button. If you haven't already, use the camera to rewind the tape. Click "Import". Clips will appear in the panel on the right. iMovie creates a clip every time the camera was started or stopped during recording.

Watch a Video Demonstration:

• Setting up the Tripod
• Operating the Canon ZR70 Digital Video Camera
  (standard hand-held camera)
• Operating the Panasonic AG-DVC7 Digital Video Camera
  (Sports Journalism; shoulder-held camera)

After you have captured your video and all the movie clips are stored in the shelf, you can now edit the clips and compile them in the timeline to created a full movie. To start, you can preview each of your movie clips by clicking on them individually in the shelf. After selecting the clip, it will turn blue and the footage will appear in the preview window.



If you want to delete extra footage from the clip you are viewing, start by moving the "scrub bar" to the point where you want to start deleting the footage.



Hold down the shift key and click below the scrub bar to make the editing crop markers appear. Move the left or right markers to the desired ending. To shorten clips, drag the dual arrows under the Playhead to to the beginning and end of the portion you would like to delete (shown in yellow). Press Delete to remove this portion.



Simply hit the delete key and the footage will be placed in the iMovie trash can. This is a completely different trash can than the one on your desktop.



To split one clip into two, drag the Playhead to the chosen place and go to Edit > Split Video Clip at Playhead.

After you have deleted unwanted footage from the movie clips, you can now add the edited clips to the time line. To do so, simply drag a clip from the movie shelf that stores the footage to the time line below the viewing window. Note that there is a small "switch" below the preview window with a camera icon on the left and a scissor icon on the right. The camera icon is the import mode, and the scissor icon is the edit mode. You want edit mode now, as seen in the image below.



Within the timeline, there are two different viewing panels. Select the panel with the clock for easier editing. The panel labeled with the eye works better when only working with one or two clips and limited transitions or titles.



The other method for changing how you view your footage is the slider underneath the timeline. Dragging the slider will expand or compress your view of the timeline, zooming in on a particular area or zooming out to show the entire movie at once.

Exporting still images from video clips

At some point, you may want to create a still from one of your video clips. You can take the exported clips and edit them with any type of graphics editor and reimport them back into the movie. Exporting is very easy. Select your video clip in the shelf or in the movie Timeline. Move the scrub bar until you have the exact image that you want to export. Go to File > Save Frame As.

In the pop up dialog box select JPEG as the format and save your file. Now you can edit the file with any image editor.

Importing existing image files

You can also import an existing image file into your iMovie project. To do so, go to File > Import File. Select your image file and it will be added to the shelf. By default it will appear as a 5 second still movie clip. If you need your imported still image to be shorter or longer than 5 seconds, you can either double-click it and change its length in the pop-up box, or you can drag the end of the clip forward or backward in the timeline. You can also click on the Media tab, and select Audio or Photos to import directly from the stored music and image collections.

Importing Sound files

iMovie will let you import any music—as long as your audio files are in MP3 format or have been converted to true AIFF format. The file's icon must say ".aif" or ".mp3" for iMovie to import it. First, drag the Playhead to the point at which you'd like the audio to appear. Choose Import File from the File menu. Select the AIFF or MP3 file that you would like to import. Click Import and it will be added to an audio track in the Timeline Viewer at the point you selected.

Adding Chapters and URLs

Breaking a podcast into chapters is a popular new practice. To add chapters to your video podcast, click Chapters (bottom right menu). Drag the Playhead to the place you would like to create a new chapter. In the Chapters panel, click Add Marker. A yellow diamond appears in the timeline. An image captured from that exact moment in the timeline appears in that chapter’s layer. Edit the title and add a URL if you would like. The URL will appear in the video podcast for the duration of the chapter.

Exporting the File

To optimize for web view, use the following settings. Go to File > Export and choose Expert Settings in the drop down box. When the "Save exported file as..." dialog box appears, choose a location for your exported file and select Movie to MPEG-4 and Broadband - Low.



Click Save. iMovie will compress the file.

You’re almost done.

Posting to the Web

Now you’re ready to place your files online for public or student viewing. You have two main options:

• UTK on iTunes U
  iTunes© U is a dedicated area within the iTunes Store. It features a free, hosted service for colleges and universities that provides access to their educational content: course lectures, interviews, lab demonstrations, etc. Visit the UTK on iTunes U site to learn more about the University of Tennessee's partnership with iTunes.
  
  Note: UTK on iTunes U files can be made available to all visitors or protected behind a login.
  


• Blackboard (Online@UT)
  Post your file to the web. You can upload it to UT's Digital Media Services, or your own site or blog. When done, make a note of the URL.
  
  Log in to Online@UT, choose your course, and navigate to a Content Area. In Edit View, click Add External Link. Give your file a short but descriptive name and add the URL. Under Text, add any necessary details.
  

Your podcast is online!