Biking Bad: My First iMovie Trailer
The threat of helmet-lacking bikers and undeterred speedsters continues to grow larger as the semester drags on. As our sidewalk signs fade with age, will people remember to follow campus bike policy? Or will accidents increase, resulting in the need for stronger bike policy? Only time will tell.
In case you hadn't watched the trailer already, that's essentially the gist of this project. When my longtime friend David Nelson and I were assigned this project, we had roughly 20 minutes to come up with a concept and capture images and film. We finally decided on bike safety, mainly because David had parked his bike near our classroom and we knew that we could have a lot of fun with filming scenes.
As the title of this post states, we used the iMovie app (found in the Apple App store here: itunes.apple.com/us/app/imovie/id377298193?mt=8) to create this trailer. I have never directly used iMovie, as I have never owned any Apple Products other than an old iPod Nano. Granted, we only used the trailer function of the app, so I am not entirely familiar with the actual iMovie creation process.
We began actually using the app after we gathered our media we planned to use. When you choose to make an iMovie trailer, you must pick one of fourteen different templates to use. These templates are a set length and cannot be modified other than what images you choose to stick in the appropriate slots. There is little to no wiggle room when creating iMovie trailers - you can't change the backgrounds, text, nor the music. However, as the saying goes there's a method to this madness. The trailers function of the iMovie app is designed to give people a quick and dirty way to create a simple video. Heck, David and I created this video in less than two hours. These trailers aren't meant to have much customization and design freedom - it's simply a quick way to introduce some topic or make a short video.
That being said, the trailers themselves are designed exceptionally well. As the description of the trailers mode describes, these trailers are meant to mimic real-life blockbuster trailers - and boy, are they accurate. When deciding on which template David and I wanted to use, we both commented on how these were like every movie trailer we had seen for that particular genre. The accuracy of the templates is exceptional, but perhaps what is even more astounding is their potential for humor and sarcasm. I am a man who enjoys satirical comedy, so naturally for the theme of "bike safety" I pushed hard for the "Scary" template. And I must say, I think it turned out well - I am still laughing at our handiwork.
Overall, I have been thoroughly impressed with the iMovie app thus far. There is great potential in just the trailers portion of the app for the classroom - and I have hardly touched the movie function. Not only can you introduce topics to your class, but you can also create humorous videos with it too. And you can even combine the two - making a martyr of yourself and being silly in front of your students while introducing them to a new subject can be a potent hook. I am so eager to continue exploring the possibilities of iMovie in the classroom!
In case you hadn't watched the trailer already, that's essentially the gist of this project. When my longtime friend David Nelson and I were assigned this project, we had roughly 20 minutes to come up with a concept and capture images and film. We finally decided on bike safety, mainly because David had parked his bike near our classroom and we knew that we could have a lot of fun with filming scenes.
As the title of this post states, we used the iMovie app (found in the Apple App store here: itunes.apple.com/us/app/imovie/id377298193?mt=8) to create this trailer. I have never directly used iMovie, as I have never owned any Apple Products other than an old iPod Nano. Granted, we only used the trailer function of the app, so I am not entirely familiar with the actual iMovie creation process.
We began actually using the app after we gathered our media we planned to use. When you choose to make an iMovie trailer, you must pick one of fourteen different templates to use. These templates are a set length and cannot be modified other than what images you choose to stick in the appropriate slots. There is little to no wiggle room when creating iMovie trailers - you can't change the backgrounds, text, nor the music. However, as the saying goes there's a method to this madness. The trailers function of the iMovie app is designed to give people a quick and dirty way to create a simple video. Heck, David and I created this video in less than two hours. These trailers aren't meant to have much customization and design freedom - it's simply a quick way to introduce some topic or make a short video.
That being said, the trailers themselves are designed exceptionally well. As the description of the trailers mode describes, these trailers are meant to mimic real-life blockbuster trailers - and boy, are they accurate. When deciding on which template David and I wanted to use, we both commented on how these were like every movie trailer we had seen for that particular genre. The accuracy of the templates is exceptional, but perhaps what is even more astounding is their potential for humor and sarcasm. I am a man who enjoys satirical comedy, so naturally for the theme of "bike safety" I pushed hard for the "Scary" template. And I must say, I think it turned out well - I am still laughing at our handiwork.
Overall, I have been thoroughly impressed with the iMovie app thus far. There is great potential in just the trailers portion of the app for the classroom - and I have hardly touched the movie function. Not only can you introduce topics to your class, but you can also create humorous videos with it too. And you can even combine the two - making a martyr of yourself and being silly in front of your students while introducing them to a new subject can be a potent hook. I am so eager to continue exploring the possibilities of iMovie in the classroom!