Time Will Tell: Using Time Lapse Photography and Digital Storytelling in Science Roger Pence, MA Ed. Benicia Middle School Touro University California CSTA/NSTA Area Conference, Long Beach, CA Wiki resources:

Session Agenda Time-lapse vs. Stop Action Photography What are the Learning Goals? What Skills Do Students Practice? How are time-lapse stories constructed? Samples of Student Work Equipment, Software, and Techniques What do students have to say about this (their words not mine) Practical considerations and classroom handouts

Time-lapse vs. Stop Action Photography Time-lapse aims to show slow-moving events quickly Examples: flowers blooming, clouds passing, decomposition, etc. Stop-action aims to “freeze” a moment in time for accurate and keen observation Examples: a bullet from a gun, an explosion, pollen bursting from a flower, etc. Slow-motion aims to “slow” the movement of something down for observation

What are the Learning Goals? Students will be able to: Accurately and keenly observe a slowly unfolding event and record those observations Use digital technology to photograph the event so as to compress the real-time unfolding into seconds of time Research the underlying reasons for why we see what we see Write an accompanying narrative script describing the changes observed and why they occur Use video editing program to record live voice narration that describes the time-lapse video Produce a final, sharable version

What Skills Do Students Practice? Observation Recording of observed changes PhotographyResearchingProblem-SolvingCollaborationWriting Voice Recording All related technology pieces

The “Old Way” before good digital technology

The “New” Digital Tools iPad/Tablet Phone Digital Camera Computer

How are time-lapse stories constructed? A suitable event is chosen (look for interest, photographic potential) Practice photographing the event Choice of suitable interval to end up with discreet shots (every 5 minutes to hour intervals depending on event pace) Weaving observations into a coherent story: LET’S SEE SOME “RAW” TIME-LAPSE FOOTAGE! TIME-LAPSEFOOTAGE!TIME-LAPSEFOOTAGE! What needs description? Why, why and why DO WE SEE WHAT WE SEE? Raw pictures are inserted into an editing program such as iMovie, Windows Live Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere Elements, etc. Individual shot duration decided upon to produce seconds running time Voice recorded into program to provide accurate, revealing voiceover

The Assignment Overarching, guiding question: How can we show and describe scientifically events that happen too slow for us to see in real time? Classroom Handout Classroom Handout (uploaded to NSTA scheduler) Classroom Handout

Samples of Student Work Sunset on Carquinez Strait Sunset on Carquinez Strait - good narration Sunset on Carquinez Strait Chia Pet Chia Pet Movement of Shadows Movement of Shadows Flower Blooming Flower Blooming - good tech narration Flower Blooming Night and Day Night and Day Day’s Light Day’s Light - overall good example Day’s Light Bean Seed Growth Bean Seed Growth – good photography Bean Seed Growth SunsetSunset – ELL student Sunset Molding Bread/Fruit Molding Bread/Fruit - great narration Molding Bread/Fruit Egg in Vinegar Egg in Vinegar – good collaborative work by three girls Egg in Vinegar

Equipment, Software, and Techniques Cameras and Photo Equipment Digital camera (manually time shutter or setting) Phone with good camera (can download app for iPhone, Android) iOS 8 for iPhone/iPad has a time-lapse feature (demonstrated later) Time-lapse camera (I have a Brinno see actual) Tripod mount for device (iPad sample) (iPad sample)(iPad sample) Computers and Tablets PC, Mac, iPad, other tablet, iPhone Lighting considerations Consistent and appropriate for subject/camera If photographing sun/moon, test for camera “washout”

Software/Apps Mac: iMovie or Adobe Premiere Elements (import photos PC: Windows Live Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere Elements (import photos), WeVideo Chromebooks: WeVideo (import photos) iPhone/iPad (use its camera) with iMovie: Osnap!, Lapse-it, or others Use iOS 8’s time-lapse setting 8-time-lapse-feature-work 8-time-lapse-feature-work Android (use its camera) Galaxy Tablet, Note, etc.: with WeVideo (collaborative, web-based): Osnap!, Lapse-it, or others samsung-galaxy-note4/ samsung-galaxy-note4/

Lighting and Technical Considerations Lighting considerations Consistent and appropriate for subject/camera If photographing sun/moon, test for camera “washout” Use without flash if possible Use side-lighting when possible to accentuate detail Other Technical Stuff: Take images (makes for a smoother movie) Disable “pan and zoom” (Ken Burns effect) on final movie Use manual focus for consistency if available Be sure batteries are well-charged

Let’s Make A Sample Quick One! Computer (importing pics) and iPad (iOS 8) Obtain time-lapse photo set (one obtained from Brinno) For importation into iMovie Observe and Write Script (draft) – we’ll do this quickly together! Time script narration to adjust video length (1 minute) Record narration Add titles, credits Finalize (Share) movie

What do students have to say about this (their words not mine) “The only factor was the wind” (problem solving) “I managed to work harder and it turned out just fine” (grit) “This may help me in the future for other projects or similar situations” (transferable skills) “Overall, I think I learned a lot and tried my best” “I learned things I didn’t expect to” “I had to do a lot or research on the internet to create this video…but it was fun”

Practical considerations and classroom handouts Time Will Tell Project Directions Time Will Tell Project Directions Time Will Tell Script Checklist Time Will Tell Script Checklist Offer groups of 2-3 so as to cover equipment needs.

Thanks for your time and attention.