Our immediate task (mainly at an in-person event Sept. 25 to 27) is to produce about seven screencasts on "how to produce a screencast about Wikipedia." We should also assemble them on a wiki page that ties them all together; ideally, time permitting, we should produce several examples of the sort of screencasts people could produce, as well.
Here's one way we could approach it:
Explain and visualize the different steps required to make a screencast:
Create a framework of resources for creating public outreach materials on the English language Wikipedia for volunteers and to serve as a model for other language versions.
Online tutorial and resources webpages
Step-by-step screencasting “how-to” series
Explain and visualize the different steps required to make a screencast.
7 Videos, 2–3 min./each
2-3 example videos
Explain some features of Wikipedia: how to create user account, etc.
allow people without PC's to learn from each other
rely more on creativity and can be more fun
use very simple tools people know well: cellphone and mobile camera
can be done anywhere, anytime, and promote social interaction
will make you feel like you're stanley kubrick
can also be valuable for pc users if mobile device has a full featured web browser
are important because mobile clients often have particular interfaces, thus mobile users do not benefit from regular screencasts
during the WMF Strategic Planning, mobile was identified both as a priority in itself and as an important element for growth in priority regions
Notes on 1st day execution
Four videos, two of which were "demonstrated"
Videos uploaded to YouTube as that is one of the easiests ways to share on the mobile platform.
Very informal, "guerilla" format.
Hard to do formal and polished given the limits of the technology being employed.
Given who would make these videos and where they would be made, this sort of format feels appropiate as mobile devices are more informal and on the go. You wouldn't do serious wiki editing on a mobile unless you were limited to a mobile anyway. Even then, it would be difficult.
Less formal probably works better for an audience that is worried more about access and understanding of WMF projects.
There are limits to some mobile phone recording devices.
You need to do things on one take as you cannot pause and restart.
You need to literally shoot the screen so there are glare issues.
You need to literally shoot the screen so there are issues with focus: Need to get close enough to make things big enough. Need to stay far enough away to make things stay in focus. This doesn't always work.
You don't get a pointer. Rather you need to use your finger or a stylus to show on screen action.
Script issues.
Script needs to be more polished.
Hard to read a script as no place to show it without fear it will show on camera if you are using the mobile.
Desire to deviate from script to better explain what you're doing.
Accidental swearing, vulgarity, odd pauses and strange word selections with no way to fix with out refilming.
Script needs to be written down on paper. It isn't really possible to read from an on mobile device while screencasting as the screen is needed to display other things.
General script framework needed for beginning.
If copy of text is needed, it may be better to get a transcript after the fact.
Two mobile devices are needed for transcription: One to watch and one to put the transcription.
Audio is an issue.
It looks better if you show a person and then get in closer to them to show on screen action. This is a problem as you need to rely on mobile phone microphone from a distance. This is inferior to using a headset as it can be harder to hear.
Videos are quick to make as you can do on one take. Makes it feel like they are less serious when you are making.
Planning is actually needed so that appropiate windows are open or can be switched to.
Different mobile devices will display differently so hard to make universal usage suggestions for how to handle the technical editing aspects.
Editing on a mobile device is difficult as mobile versions generally do not have an editing option.
Because the actual editing issues are the same in terms of content and format, the issue becomes more how to access editing in mobile mode, how to display WikiMedia Foundation wikis in mobile mode, various apps that are available, etc. These access issues are unique to the mobile platform given that application issue.
These videos need to be edited to say that they have a creative commons license. They also need to be copied from YouTube to ogg format and uploaded on Commons.
Used Kaltura/WMF "Sequencer" tool which is in beta
Learned that it is very much in beta
It's supposed to work by uploading graphics and video to Commons, and then recording a voice-over.
Once it gets out of beta, it is designed from the ground up to function in a way that matches the collaborative paradigm of Wikimedia projects, with a modular design that enables additional editors to do remixes and mash-ups modifying the original screencast.
Put ideas in here that aren't necessarily relevant in the short term but that would be helpful for the long-term success of the WikiProject. Yes, dump it here and we can sort it out later after getting the main project out of the way. :)
This documentation could benefit from a screencast to explain the topic in an easily accessible way. See WikiProject Screencast for additional information.
Screencasts, of course, can be oriented at any number of target audiences. For this initial event, we will aim to produce a cohesive series.
The series we're producing in the Kickoff event is targeted at experienced Wikipedians who want to use screencasts to make instructional materials for new content contributors.
Other screencasts will have different audiences, but of particular interest are Wikipedians during their first 100 edits.
iMapHaiti - beginner screencasts on how to edit OpenStreetMap, the videos and this site were enormously helpful in teaching newbies who came to CrisisCamps (following the Haiti earthquake) and get them up to speed quicker on editing OSM. Also, we had people work on OSM mapping at CrisisCamps in other cities and working virtually, where there was no in-person "OSM instructor" but people were able to get going with help of the screencasts.
OpenStreetMap video tutorials - various video tutorials... those by Russ Nelson on using the JOSM editor are recommended
http://weait.com/ - these aren't video tutorials, but Richard Weait has written numerous short tutorials on various aspects of contributing to OSM. (e.g. add a restaurant to the map) Simplified, well-organized, and nicely presented tutorials like these for doing specific tasks on Wikipedia would be very useful.
General suggestions for how to approach your screencast:
Consider your audience. Know who you are trying to reach, and how you will customize your approach to reach them. A screencast designed to teach an intermediate Wikipedian an advanced trick and one that introduces a basic software feature to a Wikipedia reader will take very different approaches.
Design for collaboration.
Language. Use clear language, with minimal slang or jargon, so that non-native speakers can understand. Pause between concepts, so that a future screencaster can record a different language audio track without running out of time. Leave some space at the bottom of the video to allow room for subtitles. Upload the text of your script, maybe with time stamps.
Updating. Will an update to the MediaWiki software or skin, or a change in policy, affect the relevance of your screencast? Leave enough component files behind for others to keep your work up to date if you become busy, or if they discover omissions.
Project adaptation: Consider whether a Wikisource or WikiNews editor want to adapt your work to their project.
Have fun! Enjoy yourself! Your passion for sharing free knowledge is your greatest asset in reaching your audience. If the viewer can tell you are having fun, they will be that much more likely to try out what you're demonstrating to them.
These are important for ease of later translation, ease of video annotating, ease of initial proofreading, and provide the option of closed-captioning or giving the transcript beside the video (e.g. See this Howcast video).
Thinking about to make videos that have the ability to be edited (in keeping with the Wikipedia concept), it might make sense to have the steps elucidated as First, Next, Next, Then and Last, rather than the use of primary, secondary, or some counting mechanism that could look awkward should a step be edited out.
Another thing the template should include are (very) brief moments of black or space. This will be helpful if the video needs to have a step added in or edited out in the future.
We will encounter several areas relating to intellectual property law (copyright, trademark). I (Pete) will try to get some guidance on this before the event, and maybe write up some guidelines. Here are some questions:
How can we approach taking screen captures that minimizes commercial software and copyright-protected text or images?
In cases where this cannot be avoided, how does fair use apply?
In cases where we're relying on the fair use principle, are there any Wikimedia sites where policies permit its use? (e.g., Outreach wiki)
How to approach mixing licenses - for instance, screencasts that involve GPL-licensed software, CC-BY-SA text, etc.?