Filming with the ipad and imovie

[usingmac]

If I have students make films (what do you call that nowadays with this technology anyway?) with their ipads, what are the options for getting the footage into imovie?

Thanks!

 

[lclev]

It's actually called making videos.

They do have iMovie for iOS 8 and OS X it is free. I have no idea how difficult it would be to edit. I also had a teacher friend who showed me some cool stuff her students were doing with Intro Designer Lite which is also free.

If you want to edit on a separate computer I would suggest uploading from the iPad to a Cloud drive and move it that way or move it by connecting to a usb port and using iTunes.

I am a professional videographer and I get all kinds of submissions for projects we have here. I have had video submissions from dropbox accounts, facebook, iPhone submissions and a transfer from an iPad all with good results.

Lisa

 

[usingmac]

Thanks. Does anyone else know how easy it would be to change from videotaping with camcorders and editing in imovie on laptops to videotaping and editing all within the ipad?

 

[lclev]

The iPad comes with iMovie on it. I have a friend who is a middle school teacher and she has her students use iPads to video and edit in iMovie all kinds of things. She has used the trailer mode a lot. I know if you turn kids loose with an iPad and show them the iMovie app they will take off with it. The app actually walks you through how to use it. Play with it and I am sure you will find it is easy.

Lisa

 

[usingmac]

Thanks!

 

[vansmith]

Thanks. Does anyone else know how easy it would be to change from videotaping with camcorders and editing in imovie on laptops to videotaping and editing all within the ipad?

Unless you absolutely have to go this route, this is a bad idea. The cameras on an iPad leave much to the imagination relative to a dedicated recording device. Are you doing everything on an iPad for a reason?

 

[lclev]

It really depends on what the OP is doing. If you have a class full of kids and they are all creating their own short videos, ipads can be great. Kids will video EVERYTHING and then delete it, start over etc.

I use to create a lot of videos when I was teaching. I had two cameras to work with. It required pulling the video into a computer and editing it then encoding. This meant grouping kids and being creative to keep them all occupied but it did limit who got the most experience on the videoing and editing end.

I would have loved a bunch of ipads with editing ability. For short fun projects they are perfect. Low learning curve with maximum creativity for all kids.

Now if the OP is creating larger or more elaborate projects then by all means get some of the consumer level cameras for under $200 each with internal storage drives, add some imacs and use imovie to create. This will cost more but definetely better video.

It really depends - are we going for teachable moments or creating videos to be used later for a larger project.

Lisa

 

[usingmac]

I want all my students to use their ipads on the next film project, but don't know how this will work logistically. They can't share files like they do when they film with a camcorder and download onto a laptop, exchanging usb drives. I suppose they could upload to the cloud but I'm not sure how reliable that process will be. On the other hand, it seems tedious to have each of them shoot their own version of each scene. Does anyone have recommendations?

 

[lclev]

My resident student aid tells me they did the same thing at his school, created a finished movie using ipads. They used Google drive. They each had their own accounts and uploaded their files then shared it out to whoever needed it. He says it worked but his school has Comcast with fiber optic lines.

Lisa

 

[vansmith]

I suppose they could upload to the cloud but I'm not sure how reliable that process will be.

You could always get a cheap(ish) consumer NAS like a WD MyCloud which has apps for iOS, are reasonably large (the one I have is 2TB) and, given that the NAS could be in your school, file upload speeds could be really quick. A side benefit of this as well is that it keeps student assignments on school grounds (I don't know what privacy issues you might run into with storing student content offsite but this would obviate this possible problem entirely).

 

[lclev]

I agree with what vansmith has to say and he is right. A local storage solution would be faster.

But as a former teacher I am well aware how hard it is to get the school to spring for stuff and I am not sure how receptive they would be to not only purchasing it but having it as another item on their network system. Schools and school IT's can be a bit tricky.

As for privacy issues - I don't think that would be an issue as most schools have started using google docs and google drive as a cheap and easy way for students to store data and allow for teachers to access assignments. Even my former school system in rural America is doing it.

Lisa

 

[usingmac]

Yes, it's a non-issue.

Tell me this: if kids get Dropbox or Google Drive accounts, how will they save their footage? Getting their finished product to me that way they've done. I believe they just do a "share" thing and I get an email to download it. But if they have to get footage from one another to edit?

 

[vansmith]

Schools and school IT's can be a bit tricky.

Oh yes, yes they are (as someone working with prospective teachers trying to encourage them to be technologically savvy in a context that moves slower than a turtle sometimes with regards to incorporation of technology, I hear you loud and clear).

Yes, it's a non-issue.

Tell me this: if kids get Dropbox or Google Drive accounts, how will they save their footage? Getting their finished product to me that way they've done. I believe they just do a "share" thing and I get an email to download it. But if they have to get footage from one another to edit?

Sharing it with you is easy - they can just send you a link to the file. Getting it to a cloud storage service shouldn't be all that hard either (you just need one that can be shared to from iOS or allows uploads from iOS devices which I imagine is supported by all of them).

 

[usingmac]

But are the "events" saved in a folder in ipad imovie that can be uploaded and downloaded? The students will need the footage one another shot to edit.

 

[lclev]

I hate to say this but my resident student helper isn't here today. I do know that if a bunch of elementary/middle school teachers can get it to work it can't be too hard. When I was teaching (retired now) I was light years ahead of my peers. I love technology and would integrate it where ever I could in my classroom. But I taught Agriculture Education and nothing is more receptive to technology that works than a farmer.

The way he described it they could upload and download and manipulate the footage on their iPads so they must have had what they needed to do it.

You will probably have to set up a test situation and try it out.

Lisa

 

[vansmith]

But are the "events" saved in a folder in ipad imovie that can be uploaded and downloaded? The students will need the footage one another shot to edit.

They might be (this is one area where having Android would be much easier since you can actually save content on the device and work with a filesystem but I digress). As lclev suggested, you'll want to test this out beforehand. Shooting their own stuff and getting it to you is fairly easy but sharing content with each other to be manipulated might prove to be doable but a bit of a nuisance.

 

[usingmac]

Thanks guys. I'll have a couple of kids try it out today! Will get back to you.

 

[usingmac]

Okay, so we tried it out and it works! There are a lot of steps. You have to have the Dropbox app on your ipad and you have to know where everything is to be found, but you can share clips/events just like you can share completed projects/films. They are editable. Yay!

 

[lclev]

Excellent! So you went with dropbox? I have used dropbox at work to sent videos to our district office where I work now. Never used it with students.

Google drive was what the school chose for us to use but I will admit occasionally it would go down which meant get out the emergency lesson plan!

Lisa

 

[usingmac]

Yikes! Knowing that I'll avoid Google Drive.