Editing an audio or video file is easier than you might think...

Trim audio

Not a lot of people know this but if you need to trim a video or an audio file, like an MP4 (video) or an MP3 (audio), it's easier than you think. Just open the file in Quicktime Player, and use the editing features to trim the track.

Audio trimming in Quicktime

Edited audio can be saved it to iTunes as AAC (Apple's version of an MP3) using the Export option, if you really need it to be an MP3, iTunes can convert audio files to MP3 if you need it to.

Now you can do more complex editing, but not as an audio file, so one way round this is to record the audio as a video, then edit as described below, then at the end discard the video and export as audio only. The same works in iMovie.

Edit video

If you're not bothered about transitions, and picture in picture, then the editing option in Quicktime are all you need. You can trim the video just as you a would audio, (which incidentally is exactly the same on any iOS device, same conventions). But where it really rocketh is in it's accuracy with splitting and deleting bits of video, or moving them around.

Just choose View > Show Clips to reveal a simple editing timeline at the bottom, click to select it (it will have a yellow outline) then move to the section of the video you want to split, you can even nudge the split point frame by frame using the arrow keys.

Once you've found the split point just choose Edit > Split Clip (or command Y) and you will see the video split into two (or more, if you split more than once) lozenges. Those bits can be deleted, or even moved about, simple.

You can even view the audio waveform to make editing easier, see where the quiet parts are...

Combine multiple clips

Just drag a video onto a video you have open and see the magic unfold before your very eyes! Now you can trim, move, split and of the clips. 

When you're finished Export and choose the kind of video you want.

Convert video/audio file formats

For a final phenomenal feature, got video that is to big? No problem just right/secondary click, choose Encode Selected Video Files. The in the dialog window that pops up choose a size, 480p will create a smaller, web friendly version of your video.*

* You can make video files smaller, but you cannot make them bigger! 

iPads, Video & Frustration

Not all video codecs are equal, and many of the most common formats that play fine on a desktop operating system like that on a Mac or a PC, often will not play on an iPad which is, shall we say, very fussy about what it will, or will not play.

So this means that just because that video you've inserted from Google Drive into a Google Site, may play beautifully on your Mac/PC, but that does not mean your iPad will play it.

Simple solution? Anything on YouTube is iPad friendly, so uploading your videos to YouTube (or Vimeo) and then inserting them into your Google Site will work, on any device; and as we're an educational domain, no dodgy mosaic or ads, unless you are using Blogger, in which case, you will see a 'video mosaic' at the end.

Like this one:

So you could have two videos, one inserted into a Google Site, and one from YouTube, and the first one will not play, even though it is the exact same video, before it was uploaded (and converted) it to YouTube.

To see this phenomenon demonstrated on a Google Site, click here.

The good news is that sharing a video straight to your YouTube account straight from QuickTime is very easy, and will do all the converting for you:

Guidance on Sharing Student Videos

At UWCSEA there will be opportunities where you want to share videos that students in your class have created. As a school we need to think carefully about the intended audience of any video creations and also the content of the video that is shared. These requirements will determine how we share student’s digital work with other students, parents, the wider UWCSEA community and also the general public.

We are in the process of reviewing all the options for sharing video and looking at a long term approach to using public video sharing sites like YouTube, but generally speaking at the moment (Dec 2011) YouTube should not be used by staff for sharing video. The exception to this is for official videos put out by the Communications Department. Alternative methods for sharing video are provided below. Some of the reasons for not using YouTube are provided at the end of this document.

Scenarios	Sharing ideas
A student’s personal video reflection.	Students can upload a video to their personal school Picasa Account and embed this into Mahara. Uploaded as a video file and shared through Google Docs.
A student’s video for a formal assessment	A personal video could be submitted through Studywiz as an assignment to the teacher.
Student’s personal video for peer assessments	Uploaded to a Studywiz Gallery so that other students could comment. Uploaded to a class Picasa Online Album so that others can comment. Linked from Picasa Album into a private class blog. Uploaded and sharing a video file through Google Docs. A Google Doc video inserted into a Google Site page.
Student’s video is shared with parents.	Could upload video to a Picasa Album, and then share a private link via email to parents.
Sharing student work with the UWCSEA community or publicising College events	Some video that are intended for the general public should be embedded within our school website - you can email the Communications Department to discuss how to share the video. Need to check with students and maybe parents informing them on how a video is being shared.
Sharing student work to the general public	Generally student work should not be shared on public forums such as YouTube. We can look at sharing videos for a public guidance through our school Vimeo video account.

Basics of Sharing Video.

Generally you will want to share student work with members of the class and treat the group as a private audience. The easiest way to achieve this is to use a staff Google Account and your online Picasa Album. You can upload any video straight from your iPhoto album on your laptop to your Picasa album. This album is linked to your GApps account. Once you have published the video you can then set the privacy settings and share with students in your class. Here is a short tutorial on sharing video.


Some Issues with YouTube

• Lack of control on comments on videos - many, many comments are inappropriate.
• Links to to inappropriate videos - one or two clicks will get you to inappropriate videos regardless of where you start.
• Lack of general control - we cannot control access or effectively remove videos if necessary
• We have reasonable alternatives available.