Mini Documentary - Using iPad and iMovie to Document a Place

The iPad and iMovie are perfect tools to make a mini documentary about a local park or place interest.  Before you start there are some things to think about:

• Purpose and Audience - Decide if the video is for promotion, education, or community awareness and tailor the content towards your audience.
• Permissions - Check to see if you need permission to film at your desired location.
• Key Features - What are the key features of your location. Are there significant events that occurred at the site, is there a unique natural feature at the site. Are there special features?
• Storytelling - Create a clear narrative to keep viewers engaged
• Visual Quality - Use good lighting, steady shots, and various angles to showcase the locations highlights.
• Sound - Capture ambient sounds that you can use with your video.
• Safety and Respect - Film respectfully without disturbing wildlife or other parks visitors.
• Accessibility - Show case facilities for people with disabilities if possible.
• Length - Keep the video a length that keeps audience's interest.
• Call to Action - Encourage viewers to visit or support the park

Somethings to think about before you film:

• You should set a goal of making your first mini documentary 1-2 minutes in length (Make the goal attainable)
• Try to make each clip 5-15 seconds in length unless you are interviewing something
• If you are recording a map or building, think about taking a picture that you can use in your video. A moving video of a map is hard to look at.
• Always record more than you need. More footage is always better than not enough.
• Don't worry about narrating your video on site, you can always do a voice over later.
• Think about using camera movement before and after each shot to get a in camera transition (Whip Pan, Tilt, Zoom)
• Lighting is important. Think about where the sun or source of light is. Try not to film if the source of light is behind the subject. Don't film with your subject in front of bright window or transparent door.
• Try to film on a cloudy day or in the morning or afternoon. Mid-day sun creates harsh shadows.

I will provide sample footage at the end of the post so you can practice editing if you did not have the ability (or time) to get out and film

Once you get back from you location the first thing you should do is go into Photos App and favorite the shots that you like.   This will make it easier to add photos and video that you want to use.

 

Open iMovie and Select New Project

 

You have three choices when you choose Start New Project. You can do Magic Movie, Storyboard, or Movie. I normally choose Movie to start a new movie from scratch.

 

Now you need to select your media. I normally start with one clip and build my own movie, however, if you select multiple videos or pictures, iMovie will create the video for you.

 

If you favorited your videos or photos, after you select videos, select Favorites on the left menu bar to get to the clips that you want to use.

 

Click on a video clip that you want to start with. You with get an option of a play button to preview your video or a check box to select your clip to use.

 

Once you have a clip or multiple clips selected with a blue check mark, select Create Movie below to start adding videos to your timeline

 

You now have a clip on your timeline. To choose another clip (video or photo) position your play head after your clip. Go to the upper right and select the media (Photo or Video) that you want to add. If you favorited clips earlier, go to the favorites to find those videos.

 

Once you click on a video, a black bar pops up with three options, + (plus symbol), play icon, or three dots.

 

 If you choose the three dots, you get a new menu that you can add the clip in a variety of ways.

Sometimes when filming the environmental noise is too loud or maybe sounds that you are recording are too soft. You can see the waveforms below the clip. The bigger the waveform, the louder the volume of the clip. You can adjust the volume of a clip by selecting the volume icon on the Botton of the iMovie screen and sliding the volume slider up or down.

 

If you plan to do a voice over, you want to make sure the volume the clip is low enough so that you can talk over the clip. Select the microphone icon on the left side of the screen and select Record

 

Once you recorded your voice over, you can choose to Cancel, Re-take, Review or Accept  the voice over.

Once you are done editing your video, you need to up to the top left corner of the iMovie screen and press done.

 

Now it is time to name your movie, click the My Movie ## to name your movie. Give a name using the keyboard.

 

Once you have named your video it is time to Share your video. There are several things you can do with your named video - Play it, Share it/Export it, or Trash it if you want to delete your project.

 

There are several things you can do when you hit the Share/Export button. You can Save or Share to download or share to social media or Export Project. Personally, I like the video going to my Photos app so I chose the Export Project option (middle).

  

Once you get to the Export and Share menu several more options. I like to send my movie into my Photos app, so I choose Save Video. It will put in your Photo Library where you can decide what you want to do with it.

 

 

Here is edited version of the video:

Here is a screen recording of how I edited the video:

 

I have attached 5 files that you can start playing with. You can also download all of the files on the google drive link:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GjKkdalcPicC-R-caSmdWU3E2f-M4m_A?usp=sharing

Have fun editing! Please reach out with any questions: Michael.clear@icloud.com