Need to insert symbols into your text captions and don't see them listed among the available symbols? Check this out… you can insert the symbol in Microsoft Word, copy the symbol to the clipboard and then paste it back into the Captivate caption. Alternatively, export the captions from Captivate to Word, insert the symbol in Word and then import the captions back into the Captivate project.
Green Screen on a Shoestring: Part IV, Captivate Implementation
by John Gillmore and Bucky Dodd
In the previous three parts of this series, we explained the general green screen production process, provided a purchasing checklist for obtaining the equipment and software needed to produce green screen videos, and discussed the process for recording, editing, processing, and encoding videos with a transparent background.
In this fourth and final section we outline the process and best practices for using a produced green screen video in an Adobe Captivate 4 project.
STEP 1: Open your Captivate 4 project, navigate to the slide where you would like to insert the green screen video and choose Insert > Flash Video.
STEP 2: On the Flash Video tab, choose the type of video you would like to add. There are three types of FLV files you can import: Progressive Download Video, Streaming Video and Flash Video Streaming Service.
Progressive Download Video. These are external FLV files that load and play back when users view the video. (The video will begin playing as soon as the first part has been downloaded and cached to the user's computer. Since the video is external and not actually inserted into the project, it's relatively easy for you to update the video content.
Streaming Video. These videos play from either your own server running the Flash Media Server or from a host Flash Video Streaming Service. When viewing your video, students use a connection to the Flash Communication Server. Using Streaming Video, you could include a live video feed in your Captivate project.
Flash Video Streaming Service. This is the most effective way to deliver FLV files to the largest possible audience without having to worry about setting up and maintaining your own streaming server hardware and network. (Caution: The FLV files will not play if your finished project is hosted on a Windows 2003 Web server.)
Note: If you have hired a company to develop Flash animations for you, make sure that you let them know that FLV files intended to be imported into Captivate must contain metadata for the video player to function correctly and play the videos. If you create FLV files with Flash Communication Server 1.5.2, FLV Exporter version 1.2, and Sorenson Squeeze 4.0 (included with the Flash Video Kit), the metadata is automatically added.
In this case, we used the Progressive Download Video option since we were not using a streaming server.
STEP 3: Use the Browse button in the File Link area and open the Flash Video you want to use.
STEP 4: Select the type of play bar skin you would like to place over the video. You can also choose None to remove the playbar.
STEP 5: Set the size of the video to something smaller than the size of the slide. When resizing, be sure Constrain (which allows the video to be re-sized while keeping the correct aspect ratio) is selected.
STEP 6: Select the Auto Play and/or Auto Rewind options by selecting the checkbox for the options you would like to enable.
STEP 7: On the Options tab, ensure Visible is selected (you would only deselect this option if you want the video to be hidden when the slide opens).
STEP 8: Modify the Timing options for your lesson. Ensure Pause slide until end of video is selected.
STEP 9: Change the Transition effect option to No transition (transition effects can cause myriad fade-in and fade-out problems on your slides) and then click OK.
Conclusion
This series has discussed the process and best practices associated with producing and using green screen video content in Adobe Captivate projects. While the production process for green screen video can be detailed, the instructional rewards are significant.
Here are some links to additional information and examples of green screen videos:
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Looking to create killer eLearning lessons with Adobe Captivate? Join one of IconLogic's Captivate classes, or contact IconLogic for custom group or onsite training rates. Click here for more information about IconLogic's 2-day Captivate Essentials class. Looking for more Advanced Captivate 4 training? Click here for more information.
Worried about your class canceling? You'll be happy to hear that IconLogic never, ever cancels classes (even if there's just one student registered).
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About the authors: John Gillmore is an Instructional Technologist with the University of Oklahoma's Center for Professional and Distance Education (CPDE). In this role, John researches, analyzes and evaluates new technologies for potential applications in instruction; promotes the implementation of technological innovations; creates demonstrations of instructional applications of technologies; and provides assistance to faculty, staff and administrators who have instructional technology needs. In addition, John teaches freshman information systems courses at UCO. John has a B.S. in Business Information Systems from the University of Phoenix and an MBA from UCO.
Bucky Dodd is an instructional designer at the Center for Professional and Distance Education at the University of Central Oklahoma. His professional interests include innovation in eLearning, workplace learning and performance trends, and instructional design. Mr. Dodd has instructional design and consulting experience in both public and private organizations. He holds a B.A. in Corporate Communication and a M.Ed. in Adult Education from the University of Central Oklahoma.
Acrobat 9: Changing Properties of Multiple Objects
by David R. Mankin
I recently had a student in an Acrobat class pose an excellent question. She was a teacher. She had a PDF file of a student's work. Other students had posted comments on the file as critiques. The file's author was unknown to the critical participants, but each comment left on the file was easily identifiable by an author's name.
Once the comments were completely applied, she wanted to remove any unique author's name from the comments. She knew that she could change the author's name for each comment individually by right-clicking a comment, selecting Properties and changing the author's name on the General tab. Not hard, but her file had dozens of pages and more than 100 comments. She was stumped, and knew she didn't want to apply the changes one at a time.
My solution was to have her open the Comments panel. I had her select any of the comments in the Comments Panel. Next she pressed [Ctrl] [A] to select all of the comments.
By right-clicking the now selected comments and choosing Properties, the Properties dialog box represented (and controlled) the properties of the selected comments.
Finally, I had her type Anonymous into the author field of the General Tab. This step quickly changed the Author for all of the comments.
It's worth noting that with the comments all selected, one could universally change the icon, color and opacity of the selected comments.
Quick and easy. Without this trick, she would have spent hours adjusting comment properties individually. With this trick… done in a flash!
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Looking for Acrobat training? Join David for a live, 2-day online class. Click here for more information.
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About the author: David R. Mankin is a Certified Technical Trainer, desktop publisher, computer graphic artist, and Web page developer. And if that wasn't enough, of course David is an Adobe-certified expert in Adobe Acrobat.
Mobile at a Glance
I'm a visual learner. To truly grasp a concept I need to have it displayed right in front of me. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a mobile industry ticker showing me, in real time, just how fast mobile technology was expanding? Indeed, it probably would. And I suppose Gary Hayes of Personalize Media agrees, as he created a Mobile Industry Counter that tracks up to the minute statistics on such things as the number of new mobile phones shipped, number of iPhones sold, and the number of hours of video watched using mobile devices.
~ AJ George
Battle of the Titans
In this corner we have Steve Jobs of Apple, the Poseidon of Silicon Valley, shaking the earth with groundbreaking technology. Opposing him we have Adobe, as Zeus, clutching the mighty thunder bolt of Flash. And then there's Google, the Hermes with winged sandals stealing business right from under Apple. The latest news on this Epic Battle: Poseidon lays the smack down on Zeus and Hermes.
~ by AJ George
Product Launch: Apple’s iPad
by AJ George
So it doesn’t multi-task. There’s no camera. It doesn’t support Flash. And it’s still only on AT&T’s network.
But, Apple’s new iPad is pretty remarkable. It weighs in at only 1.5 lbs and is .5 inches thick. The 9.7 inch screen is an LED backlit, IPS (in-plane switching) Display and is large enough to see full web pages at a time. It can be rotated and viewed nearly any direction. The keyboard is right there on the screen. There will be nearly 140,000 apps available from day one, including the iWork productivity apps that have been redesigned for the iPad and are available for $9.99 each. Meanwhile, the iBooks bookstore with its huge library of books, beautiful bookstore with shelves, changeable fonts and sizes and its virtually flippable book pages, basically makes the Kindle look like a dinosaur. Additionally, the iPad is touted as making gaming, email, viewing video and photos, and surfing the web better than ever before now that its literally right in your hands.
Perhaps the most remarkable part: the price. The base price for a 16 GB device is $499. The most expensive device comes in at $829 for a 64 GB Wi-Fi enabled device with 3G. Wi-Fi enabled iPads will begin shipping in late March (3G models begin shipping in April).
But what I’m really looking forward to seeing is how this new device can take mobile learning to the next level. One of the most common complaints about mLearning is that viewing eLearning on such a small screen will be unacceptable to some learners. Could the nearly 10 inch screen be the missing piece to making mLearning a universal reality? Or will the lack of Flash cripple any such chance?
Adobe FrameMaker: Setting Tabs, Part III
by Barbara Binder
If you've been paying attention to my FrameMaker articles over the past few weeks, you've learned how to set tab stops and how to modify them. Let's finish up this series by learning how to work with dot leaders.
Dot Leaders in a Table of Contents
The typical table of contents will display leader dots between the entry and the page number. Should you press the period key repeatedly to add these dots? Nooooo! Try this, instead.
- Open a new, portrait document.
- Select the Right-align tab from the Paragraph Formatting toolbar (the Right-align tab is the red item shown below).
- Click under the ruler to set a right-align tab stop under the 2 inch mark.
- Type the following:
- Select all of the lines and create a Paragraph format called "TOC leaders."
- Double-click the tab arrow to open the Edit Tab Stop dialog box. Confirm that you have alignment set to right in the left column, and pick one of the leader options from the right column. (I prefer the ones that are a little more spread apart.)
- Click Edit and then Update All (in the Paragraph Designer). Remove Overrides.
Nice, and if you need to adjust the position of the page numbers, just drag the tab arrow left or right. The leader will adjust accordingly.
- Finish up with Update All, remove Overrides.
Dot Leaders in a Form
This same exercise can be used for forms that require lines. The only difference is that we use a line leader instead of a dot leader:
- Open a new, portrait document.
- Select the Right-align tab from the Paragraph Formatting toolbar.
- Click under the ruler to set a right-align tab stop under the 3 inch mark.
- Type in the following:
- Select all of the lines and create a Paragraph format called "Form."
- Double-click the tab arrow to open the Edit Tab Stop dialog box.
Confirm that you have alignment set to right in the left column, and type an underline (Shift+hyphen) into the Custom leader text box.
- Click Edit and then Update All. Remove overrides.
That was extremely simple, and best of all, you can drag the tab arrow left or right to adjust the length of the lines.
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If you are new to FrameMaker and want to get up to speed quickly, join IconLogic's instructor-led, online Introduction to Adobe FrameMaker 9 class. Too elementary for your skill level? How about the Advanced FrameMaker 9 class? Hope to "see" you there.
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About the author: Barbara Binder is the president and founder of Rocky Mountain Training. Barbara has been a trainer for nearly two decades and has been recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers world-wide.
Writing & Grammar Workshop: How to End a Sentence
by Jennie Ruby
Yes, yes, I know: you end a sentence with a period or exclamation point or question mark. But what I am interested in is the last word. The last word or phrase in a sentence often receives a little more emphasis or attention than words in the middle of the sentence. The word or phrase you place there rings in the reader's mind and sticks with the reader a little longer. Here are two good choices for those final words.
Yes, yes, I know: you end a sentence with a period or exclamation point or question mark. But what I am interested in is the last word. The last word or phrase in a sentence often receives a little more emphasis or attention than words in the middle of the sentence. The word or phrase you place there rings in the reader's mind and sticks with the reader a little longer. Here are two good choices for those final words.
End the sentence with an adverb. Adverbs can occupy several locations in a sentence. The most common placement is in front of the verb or between an auxiliary verb and the main verb like this:
I have carefully edited this manuscript.
But listen to the boost this adverb receives when it is placed at the end of the sentence:
I have edited this manuscript carefully.
End the sentence with a new topic. You can build from known concepts to the introduction of new concepts:
All of the styles we have worked with so far have been paragraph styles. In the next section, we will use styles to format one word or character at a time. These new styles are called character styles.
Not every sentence has to end with a bang. But when you want to single out a word or concept for a little special attention, try placing it as the last word.
The skier quickly changed directions to avoid the avalanche.
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Join Jennie online February 5, 2010 where she'll be teaching Writing Training Documents and eLearning Scripts.
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About the Author: Jennie Ruby is a veteran IconLogic trainer and author with titles such as "Editing with Word 2003 and Acrobat 7" and "Editing with MS Word 2007" to her credit. Jennie specializes in electronic editing. At the American Psychological Association, she was manager of electronic publishing and manager of technical editing and journal production. Jennie has an M.A. from George Washington University and is a Certified Technical Trainer (Chauncey Group). She is a publishing professional with 20 years of experience in writing, editing and desktop publishing.
Green Screen on a Shoestring: Part III, Production
by John Gillmore and Bucky Dodd
In the previous installment of this series, we provided a purchasing "checklist" for setting up a green screen video production studio. Part III of this tutorial series explains the production steps for recording, editing, processing and encoding video for use in Adobe Captivate eLearning lessons.
Step 1: Develop a detailed script that not only describes what the talent will say, but also what they will do while on screen. Be sure to include how the talent will enter and exit the screen and what non-verbal gestures should be performed.
Step 2: Set up the studio in a room that allows all equipment to be operated properly and still allows production staff to be comfortable. In this step, the critical production factor is the lighting. The lights should be positioned so the talent is evenly lit and the solid green background is free from any shadows and also lit evenly.
The talent should be positioned as far away from the background as possible, while still providing the desired frame for the video. This reduces shadows and greatly improves the quality of the end product.
Step 3: Establish and test the video recorder's settings for optimal performance. For audio, make the appropriate connections with the wireless microphone system and ensure the audio levels are within an acceptable range. Next, set the camcorder's recording sessions to record the video at 720p at 60fps (frames per second). Record the talent performing the script several times.
Step 4: Import the video into Adobe Premiere CS4 for editing and processing. To begin, trim the video so it starts and stops at the desired locations. Apply the Boris FX chroma key filter to the video by activating the plug-in and choosing the background color you would like to remove with the plug-in's color picker. Adjust the chroma key filter so all the background color is removed and the transparent background is free of any processing artifacts. You may find that having a still image of the Captivate lesson's interface placed behind the video will help with adjusting the video's settings and placement.
Step 5: Encode the processed video by selecting File > Export > Media. This will open a dialog box for setting the encoding parameters. Encode the video content as Flash Video (.FLV) and select the option to encode the alpha layer. This allows the background color that is removed by the chroma key plug-in to remain transparent. After choosing the encoding settings and clicking the OK button the Adobe Media Encoder (packaged with Adobe Premiere CS4) will launch automatically. Select Start Que to begin the encoding process.
Once this process is complete, you have a video in .FLV format where the background has been removed, leaving just the talent. This video can be used in a variety of ways to support and enhance the instructional value of eLearning lessons.
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About the authors: John Gillmore is an Instructional Technologist with the University of Oklahoma's Center for Professional and Distance Education (CPDE). In this role, John researches, analyzes and evaluates new technologies for potential applications in instruction; promotes the implementation of technological innovations; creates demonstrations of instructional applications of technologies; and provides assistance to faculty, staff and administrators who have instructional technology needs. In addition, John teaches freshman information systems courses at UCO. John has a B.S. in Business Information Systems from the University of Phoenix and an MBA from UCO.
Bucky Dodd is an instructional designer at the Center for Professional and Distance Education at the University of Central Oklahoma. His professional interests include innovation in eLearning, workplace learning and performance trends, and instructional design. Mr. Dodd has instructional design and consulting experience in both public and private organizations. He holds a B.A. in Corporate Communication and a M.Ed. in Adult Education from the University of Central Oklahoma.
Google Goggles: The Next Cool App?
by AJ George
Say you're at an interview for an eLearning developer position. And it's a big one. You're waiting to be seen, but you aren't the only one. There's going to be some competition for this job.
You scan the room and your gaze lands on the capable looking young woman seated near you. Poking out of her bag appears to be some sort of software with a green, circular logo on it. You don't recognize the software and you start to panic. Is it an eLearning tool? Should you know what it is prior to your interview? Your mind fills with thoughts of your competition's more well-rounded software prowess. You consider whipping out your smart phone to Google it, but you don't know the name of the software–all you have it its logo.
But then you remember you've got a Google Android. You take a picture of the logo and the Google Goggles app quickly runs a Google search based on the image.
It turns out the logo belongs to Camtasia Studio 6. Blast! You only knew Adobe Captivate 4 for creating eLearning. It might be a good idea to at least know what Camtasia can do. And a few minutes later, thanks to the search results, you can at least say you know about Camtasia. Click here to learn more about Google Goggles.