Using Visual Communicator to produce a School News Broadcast and other School Projects

Visual Communicator automates the production process so you can self-produce video presentations that have the look and feel of a television news broadcast. Visual Communicator has some great features.

Visual Communicator gives you a huge library of newscast- style graphics, effects, titles, music, and templates to create professional video presentations.

Visual Communicator comes with an On- screen teleprompter. This allows the presenter to speak clearly and confidently without missing key points or memorizing lines. With the camera mounted above the computer monitor, It looks like students are making eye contact with the viewer. It's invaluable for clearly communicating any message on-camera, as well as for narrating photo slide shows and video montages off- camera.

Television stations use green- screen effects to put newscasters in front of weather maps and compelling backgrounds. Visual Communicator allows you to place a colored backdrop behind you so you can digitally replace that background with any image, graphic, or video clip.

Flexible sharing options allows you to export to most standard file formats, including Windows Media, and Real, and then upload files to a web server or publish directly to a webpage. Output your video directly to a projector, TV, or Channel One closed-circuit system.

How much is Visual Communicator? Visual Communicator retails for $399 Edu retail $ or less Upgrade (if you already have a version of Visual Communicator) is $ or less To learn more about Visual Communicator or to download a free trial go to: ommunicator/

Necessary steps to produce a student news show: Prepare a template on VC with segments (beginning) Write script in word- copy and paste in VC Insert videos/jpegs onto trays Choose a V-screen background Anchors practice (review) and record Publish

A few hints: Organization! Make one folder (Save Here) and then each week make a new folder within that folder to hold all pictures, videos, script, and VC before publishing and WMV after publishing. Have no more than 5 on your crew Make news shows short- under 10 min. if possible Tape on a Wed. if showing on a Monday just in cast anything goes wrong. Start off with a basic show and add more as the year progresses Get an easy to use digital movie camera- like a flip camera. Learn to use Windows Movie Maker, Audacity, Paint.Net

Talk about possible things to have in a news show: Weather Current Events Sports Caring Message This Week in History Math Problem of the Week Class or Student Projects Day in the Life of: (Highlight a teacher or student) Ask Mr. Earl (students ask a question and he answers)- Reader mail reply. Comedy Segment School Rules (4 bees)

Other applications for VC We used Visual Communicator this year primarily for: fundraisers a weekly news show Campus Event Showcasing Book Reviews Class projects.

There are many ideas for using Visual Communicator at your school. Here are a few: Video Yearbook Campus Events Showcase School Website Enrichment Book Review Tourism A day in the life create documentaries Digital Storytelling

G e t C r e a t i v e W i t h V i s u a l C o m m u n i c a t o r