Kaltura

(1) Kaltura.com is an open source video editor where users can upload video clips for a collaborative editing experience. and use an editor in the event that they do not have one. The cool thing about the site is the p2p aspect where editing can become a collaborative process. If two people are editing from different hard drives (as happened to be the case all week with my roommate and I) and they find that it is difficult to show each other changes throughout the day, and it is horribly overdue and one person looses their cell phone and locks their keys in the car halfway across the city, the internet can hold all of the footage and it can get it all done in time.What drew me to this site in the first place is the wiki style editing that the program encourages. Kaltura: Creating Together it says. Film is the collaborative medium, perhaps only second to the theater, using actors, directors, technicians, writers, costumers etc. to make any film possible.

To edit a film is to create both meaning and rhythm and at times these can be at odds with each other.

Take for example a man riding in a horse drawn cart.

If the editor chooses to show the horse running, panting and looking exhausted and then cuts to the man riding in the back, whistling a jaunty tune, this could be a way to illustrate the character facet that this man is oblivious to the discomfort he puts those around him in for his pleasure.
If however the shot is of the man whistling, taking in an afternoon ride through the woods, and then cuts to the horse panting, it simply says that he has been taking a long ride, and how he chooses to react from there will color his character.

Both options could fit inside of the same narrative, but each has meaning embedded within.

With the open source video format it is more difficult for one person to express these types of specific truths as readily, but then, this person should not be using the program entirely open source. They should use the option of inviting only selected editors to the project. Anyone who has ever dealt with the difficult realities of coherent collaboration would understand that for a traditional narrative film, allowing unlimited editors to play with your footage isn’t entirely conducive to the timely whole of the vision.

On the other hand the website offers the opportunity for interesting experimentation with these non traditional methods. For example if the specified group Film Kidz United decides to play on a theme, the resulting exploration could be a neat experience. With members all around the globe riffing on the theme of Deerborn Michigan, a revealing and multifaceted film could be produced.

Kaltura is free to those who use it in a minimal fashion, as there is not an unlimited amount of web space to import raw footage. For a monthly fee, the space increases. The films created are available to be embedded into any blog or personal website, inviting visitors to click on your video and update or add to it. To any web filmmaker without editing software, Kaltura is the ideal tool to use.

(2) The piece of the Kaltura network that I chose to focus on for my powerpoint presentation is one designed more for social purposes.

My slideshow centers on the creation of a video birthday card for my friend Charles using one of Kaltura’s offshoot applications designed for Facebook. The app is called Friend’s Video Card and it allows users to send a customizable birthday greeting to any one of their facebook comrades and just like working in a cubicle, the card is able to be passed from friend to friend, each adding their own signature before it reaches the birthday boy’s desk (top). The options for customization are surprisingly thorough and allow creators to get far more detailed and creative than a typical Halmark.com create-a-card.

• Video: personalized or pulled from the internet
• Photos: ditto
• Drawing pad: which can be used alone or to put funny additions to the photographs
• Text: of many colors and styles

The biggest downside of this app is that it is relatively difficult to use. In order to add multiple pieces to a card you are creating, the site tosses you around from homepage, to the “invite your friends” page, and back and forth to the actual creation station. In my experience the ideal way to build a card is to treat it like ABC blocks, and regard yourself as having only one block. You can insert what you want but then pass it on, if you try to put your mark all over, the whole tower will crumble.

Stylistically I chose to focus on the character of Charles through photos of him in action. Despite it being a birthday card, grey was the chosen color as the presentation included two videos and a dark background is recommended for video viewing. The powerpoint was supplemented with the oral presentation which gave the context of the card, standing alone, the powerpoint would provide very little information. Here is a copy of the powerpoint, though I believe that slideshare does not host screen shot videos, which made up the majority of the interesting material in this slideshow.

Charles’ 21st Birthday Card

Thanks be to Nico and Heidi whose talents and company keep me going.

And also to Charles who unknowingly allowed me to do a presentation about him.

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