ALIEN MOVIE MAKING WORKSHOP
Explore Astrobiology - Design an Alien - Film a Movie
GET TO KNOW YOUR ALIEN
Exoplanets are planets outside our solar system. We learn more and more about them each day, but there is much that we don't know. Scientists must hypothesize about how life might adapt to these unknown worlds based on the science of their star and the adaptation of life on Earth. Choose an environment here design your alien mask, and begin engineering! Once you are done, create your alien movie with the instructions below!
WALK LIKE AN ALIEN - TALK LIKE AN ALIEN
Storyboard what you want to show in your clip. Is your alien hunting? Being hunted? What kind of sound does your alien make? Is it like an animal on Earth? Have a rough idea of what you wish to show before you begin to film in front of your green screen. Use this as template for your storyboard.
Laptop Set Up:
- Open iMovie by clicking on the magnifying glass in the upper right of the screen and typing in "iMovie" then push enter.
- Go to "File" click "New Movie"
- Choose "No Theme" and push "create" (or hit enter)
- Name Your Movie - click "OK" (or hit enter)
- Go to "File" click "Import Media"
- Click "Facetime HD Camera (your camera should turn on with the green light) See photo below!
- Once you have your camera turned on, place your camera so the green screen takes up the entire frame.
- When you are ready to record, press the red button. To stop, press the red button.
- Close the camera by hitting the red "x" in the top left corner and drag and drop what parts of your movie you want in your movie down to the timeline on the bottom of your workspace.
STEPS 1-3: Editing Your Movie in iMovie
1. You can find preselected images for your planet here, find which image works best for your Exoplanetary Environment. Drag your image to your timeline.
- FIRST drag your planet background to your timeline
- NEXT drag your filmed alien green screen movie about it on the timeline
- CLICK on your alien clip, make sure it is highlighted yellow
- GO TO Video Overlay Icon (see images below)
- SELECT Gree/Blue Screen (see images below)
Adding Audio and Visual Filters
3. You can then change the look and sound of your alien footage if you like! Find the image of three circles above your video window- (see photo below) edit the clip filter and the audio effects to get the right look and sound you want!
- select the audio or video clip you wish to alter and then click on "audio effect" or "clip filter" to change that sound!
STEP 4: Adding Sounds & Music
4. Every great movie has great sound!
- See the photo below! Click on Audio and choose some Sound Effects
- Drag them down to your movie clip and clip them into the proper place
- Use the Audio Effects to change the way they sound
- Once you have the sounds you want- Watch this quick clip to add the background music and sound for your film!
STEP 5: SPECIAL EFFECTS
5. If you have time and are feeling adventurous, try adding some special effects. Learn how right here! This will take some time to find pre keyed videos to download. But search free downloadable "pre keyed" videos that you can add to your video and have fun! Is there lightning in your world? Does the ground erupt in explosions? Does your alien glow? Have fun adding effects if time allows! IF YOUR ARE LOW ON TIME, SKIP TO STEP 5!
STEP 6 : SAVING AND SHARING
6. Once you are satisfied with your movie, head to "File" in the iMovie menu and scroll down to "Share"
- If you don't have internet access, go to the "Share" option "File..." Click it.
- Make sure it is the title you want (if not, change it)
- Click "Next" and save your file to the Desktop in the Where: drop down menu. Then click Save and we will share your films via Youtube once we have access to internet!
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