This video will get you started with Adobe Spark.
Adobe Spark is a great option for getting started with video in your online courses.
One of the reasons a lot of faculty like Adobe Spark as a first step with video is because
it doesn't actually require you to show your face.
Um, it basically creates a visually-oriented video.
You can pull in icons and images from the repositories provided inside of Spark.
There's also a music library where you can pull in music tracks that play behind your
voice narration.
So your students look at the visual aspect of what you put together and they hear your
voice.
Now you are encouraged to include pictures of yourself and, um, that can be a great way
to humanize your course.
You can also, if you want, record a quick video clip on your phone or on your webcam
and pull that clip into Spark.
That's kind of more of an advanced step.
The last thing I want to point out about Spark is that it can be used on a computer or an
iPhone or an Android phone or tablet.
So there's an app for Android and an app for iOS.
My first Adobe Spark video I made on my iPad in about 30 minutes and I was so proud of
it.
So, let's get started with Adobe Spark.
This video will show you how to get from a computer.
Your first step is to go to spark dot adobe dot com.
When you get to this page, you can ignore this part if you see something about signing
up for a free trial.
There is an upgraded version of Spark, but we recommend using the free version because
it's super good.
All you need to do to get started is click on the Start now button in the upper right
corner.
If you are new to Spark, which I assume you are, you have some options with how you can
sign in.
You can choose one of these options here.
You can sign up with an email address.
If you use Adobe products, you can log in with your Adobe ID and, by the way, once you
do this step you create your Adobe ID.
So in the future, that's what you're going to click on to log in.
Now if your institution has a site license to Adobe, which many colleges and universities
do, you can click on log in with a school account and use your institutional credentials.
So you might want to check out that option.
Now I already have my account so I'm going to choose log in with Adobe ID.
So I completed the sign in process and now I'm in.
My next step is to click on the blue plus icon on the left side.
And from the dropdown menu choose video.
There are some built in support options to get you going here, which you can follow if
you'd like.
I prefer to just click Skip.
And I also prefer to choose Start from scratch but if you prefer, if you feel more comfortable
starting with an existing template, there are lots to choose from here.
So I'm going to select Start from scratch.
I recommend viewing the tutorials to get you started.
They will really help you.
When you're done viewing the tutorials, select OK, I'm ready.
Now let me show you around this page.
At the bottom you see your timeline, which is comprised of clips.
This is how you add a new clip, by clicking that plus icon.
This is the clip that is actually displayed up here in the canvas.
And this is your credits page, this is another beautiful thing about Spark, as you pull in
icons and images from the Spark collections, it will add the attribution here at the end.
And if there are any additional attributions that you want to add, you just click in that
top box and you can type them in.
For example, if there are images that you've taken that you want to credit or someone else
has taken.
And then this last page is simply a page that says Made with Adobe Spark.
So, that's what you see down below and that is what you see up above.
I'm going to show you how this right side plays into the interface as we proceed.
You'll notice that there are many tabs above that right column.
One is the layout and that layout is referring to the clip that you've selected.
So if I go back to this one, which is my first blank clip, you'll see that there are different
layouts to choose for this clip.
So, I'm going to choose, uh, let's see this one.
And on this screen, I can choose up at the top to pull in a video to fill this slide
or a photo to fill this slide.
Or I can use these plus icons to add text.
[typing] That's my first clip.
Now if I want to add my next clip, I simply click the Plus icon and I can proceed from
there.
Remember, I've got my clip selected and over here, I choose what kind of layout I want
for my slide.
I'm going to choose the layout, Split Screen.
And on the left side here I'll choose photo.
And you'll see over on the right now, the Add photos panel opens.
I can choose from images down below.
The easiest one is Find free photos and you can search for a word like, for example, landscape
and it will retrieve options from Unsplash, which is an external image repository that's
wonderful.
And it allows you to use images freely, very flexible attribution options.
I'm going to click that left arrow and, instead, choose Upload photo and upload a photo that
I took of myself.
Over here on the right side, I'll select that Plus icon and choose Text.
And I'll proceed to the next slide.
Now I'm going to go back down into the bottom again and choose the plus icon to add another
new clip and keep repeating these steps to add more clips.
Now I'll show you how to include a video that you have saved to your computer.
This is more of an advanced step but it's a great way to pull in a really quick clip
of yourself of something important to you.
I have a clip with the split screen layout and I've selected the plus icon and my next
step is to choose Video.
And I have a video on my computer that I recorded on my phone and I used Airdrop on my iPhone
to drop it over to my computer.
Select the video and choose Open.
Now if you pull a video in from your computer, it will give you the option to trim it.
So I can basically choose how much of this video I want to keep in there.
I'm going to start with, I'll say 11 seconds and click Save.
Ok, so I've added text next to the video that I just imported.
Down at the bottom, I'm going to click that Plus icon again to keep going.
I think I'm done with my clips now.
Now what I'm going to do is at the bottom, go back to the beginning and start to record
my audio.
To do that, I'll go to the first clip.
I've now selected it so we see it up at the top and I'm going to click and hold on the
red microphone button to record.
If you see and image that looks like this that means you need to select Allow to give
Spark permission to use your microphone.
I'm gonna try that one more time.
Welcome to the History of Still Photography.
And let go.
Now you can play that back to see how it sounds.
[music] [Michelle's recorded voice] Welcome to the History of Still Photography.
[Michelle] Now, we're gonna have to adjust some things because I think that music is
way too loud in the background.
So, top right, I'm going to choose music.
And I just want you to see that you can adjust that music volume if you think it is too loud.
OK?
I like the music to be pretty soft in the background so it doesn't kind of compete with
my voice.
And we can change the song also so that's easy to do just by checking a different song
and you can pick the one that you like the most.
I'm gonna click to the second clip and record my voice again.
I'm your instructor, Michelle Pacansky-Brock and I'm so happy to be here with you.
Now I will continue to record my voice on each clip.
Now let's say that you don't like what you recorded -- because that happens, right?
All you need to do is take note of this little icon in the lower right corner.
It says that that clip I just recorded is 4 seconds.
And if I click on it, it allows me to remove narration.
So I can delete it and then simply record again.
So you're always in control and mistakes are just fine.
It's part of the process.
One more thing to know about Adobe Spark is you can easily click and drag into any other
location.
You can also Duplicate a clip if that's easier than starting fresh.
And you can choose to play from here if you want to play a portion of your video back.
Finally, we didn't cover the theme.
If you select Theme, you can change the look and feel of your video.
Or you can keep the same theme and just change the color of it.
So if you just simply click around you'll see how much these themes do change the look
and feel of your video.
I'm gonna choose this theme here, which is called Grace and go with that sepia toned
color.
And the next step is super fun.
We're gonna click on Preview at the top and watch the whole video back.
[Michelle's recorded voice] Welcome to the History of Still Photography.
I'm your instructor, Michelle Pacansky-Brock, and I'm so happy to be here with you.
I'd like to get started by three things about me.
The first thing I want you to know is I live near Sacramento.
I know that's really far away from most of you.
But I promise, it won't feel like I'm far away.
I will be present.
Another thing I want to be sure you know about me is that I love to teach.
I'm here because teaching and having students in my life makes me happy.
And the last thing I want you to know is that I have two weiner dogs, Zeus and Dwight, and
they make me super happy too.
You'll probably hear about them and maybe even see them in some of my videos.
I know this is a difficult time for everyone.
We will get through this together and I will be here to support your success in this course.
I hope you're looking forward to learning about the history of photography and and also
considering the role that photographic images play in your own lives.
I'll see you online!
[Michelle] Yay!
Alright.
Now if you like your video, your next step is to select Download and it will download
to your computer after it finishes processing.
The file type is gonna be dot mp4 file, that's a type of video file.
If you don't like your video, simply select the X icon and it's going to take you back
into the same editing environment and you can make any changes.
OK?
So once your video is downloaded to your computer, you have completed this step.
Great job, folks!