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Editor's Notes

• #2: Hello! Welcome to my presentation on using machinima as a means to preserve virtual world events. My name is Sarah Fihe.
• #3: Virtual worlds can bring together people from around the world. These worlds allow for real time events that can be attended by anyone, anywhere. This ability to bring such a diverse population together in one place is amazing, but what do you do if you want to share the event with someone who could not be there? Most virtual worlds do not have a built in function that allows for real time video capture of events. Most of these worlds have a way to capture images throughout a presentation but these images do not convey everything that is presented in a live event.   In a virtual classroom environment, such as Blackboard Collaborate, you can record an entire session and provide links to the event after it has happened. When one moves the events out of the static environment of an online classroom into the immersive setting of a virtual world, the ability to record directly from within the program is lost. There are a few virtual worlds, like Vacademia, that have worked to incorporate recording into their virtual world platform but for the majority this is not a reality. For the moment, if someone wants to capture an in world event for sharing or as an archival artifact they need to look outside the virtual world platform to make this happen.
• #4: There are many programs that can be used to capture in world events, ranging in price from free to quite expensive. Many of the free programs can be upgraded for minimal fees to unlock better features. Free programs such as Jing by TechSmith, only allow a limited duration of video capture. For Jing this limit is five minutes. When upgraded to TechSmith’s full service program Camtasia Studios, the capture duration is no longer limited. These are important details to consider when deciding on the right capture program for your events.
• #5: In addition to a video capture program you will also need some type of video editing software. Windows Movie Maker and iMovie are often included with a computer’s operating system and are great tools for putting together quality videos. Other choices include the Sony Vegas suite of software, Adobe Premiere Elements or Pro and Camtasia Studios. Once again it is important to match the software you choose to your video production needs. Especially when you consider the extreme price range for some of these programs.
• #6: During the spring semester, as a member of the VCARA team, I was in charge of recording and preserving our colloquia events. I choose to use Camtasia Studios as both my capture and editing software. I was responsible for attending all live events hosted by VCARA and then producing a comprehensive video that could be used as both an access recording and an archival record. I learned many things about the recording and editing process throughout the semester and tried to improve on any issues from one video to the next.
• #7: This process, from event to finished machinima can be an arduous one. There are so many things that need to be taken into consideration it can at times feel very overwhelming. Before you even begin to start recording live events you will need to configure your avatar to provide the least amount of clutter on screen and to inhibit other distractions that might arise mid event. Some of the things that should be turned off before you begin recording are message and IM alerts. Ambient noises and streaming music should be minimized unless they directly relate to the presentation. Turning off nametags will help reduce clutter, especially if you plan on including the audience in your recording. You will also need to close any unnecessary open windows on you user interface. I generally close everything except my camera controls. If I don’t need to move during the recording, I will close that window right before I start my recording to get the cleanest screen possible.   If you are hoping to capture the chat within the video, you will want to enlarge the font size. Also, if you are not planning on talking, it is beneficial to turn off your microphone. This is an option in most recording software. With your microphone connected to the recording it is possible for noises to be picked up and included in your audio. I would also suggest doing a test run to see how your computer handles running multiple programs at one time. Unfortunately I discovered mid event that moving and recording were almost impossible with my computer and Second Life crashed while I was trying to get up to do my presentation. Thankfully I was working with others who moved on while I combatted my technical issues. Recording programs tend to greatly reduce the performance of your computer and this will directly affect your virtual world environment.
• #8: Once your event is finished, then machinima creation begins. This process takes significantly longer then the recording of the video. This is a great time to add in additional material that might enhance the original event. For example, some parts of the events that I recorded this semester were done through text chat only. When editing the event I was able to go in and add some music to enhance the viewing experience. Another enhancement that I was able to make to one of our videos was to add in the text for questions highlighting them for viewers. Through this process you can also take out elements from your videos. This is a great time to take out lags in the conversation or possible footage that you captured that was not directly related to the event. For all of my videos this semester I was able to take out wait time, silences and other nonessential information. This allowed me to create videos that were often shorter than the actual event.   I always include credits with my videos. This can be as simple as information on a presenter to a more detailed list of credits. If you add any images or sound into the video that are not of your original creation remember to site their use in your credits. Also, if you are making a video for preservation purposes you should include some note at the end of the video that editing occurred; this way people know that the video is not an exact replication of the event itself.
• #9:   Videos are a great way to preserve live events but this method has several pros and cons associated with it. Pros include being able to share events asynchronously, possibility of long term preservation, and capturing all aspects of the event – text, video and audio. With use of video editing software you can manipulate the video to create the best presentation possible. Volume can be controlled and lags that occur in a live event can be eliminated in post processing. You can also add in material to enhance the original event.   Several of the cons are directly related to computer performance. Both image capture software and virtual world software require a lot of memory. When used together these programs can slow your computer to a crawl. This effects sound quality as well as video quality and can crash both the programs and your computer. Free video capture software requires you to refresh every five minutes or so. Capturing an entire event this way can be taxing, and you might end up with pieces missing. Both the original video capture and the final machinima product create large files. Storage needs to be considered before undertaking this form of event preservation.  
• #10: f you want to utilize this method for event preservation and are just getting started in the world of machinima creation there are tons of great tutorials online. A great place to get started looking for quality tutorials is through the world of online games. People have been using this technique for quite a while to showcase in game events and achievements. Once you have an understanding of the basics, my best advice is to just get in there and try it out. The more you experiment with different capture tools and editing software the more comfortable the whole process will become.