Assignment 6: Instructional Materials

by
Cybele Wu
IDT 8001, CRN 23851

Nova Southeastern University

November 20, 2016

Need to Compress High-Definition Videos for Uploading

While Keeping the Same Quality?

Photos from deposit photos

This paper-based lesson takes 30 minutes time. This guide is designed for ESL
(English as a Second Language) instructors of Higher-Ed adult learners. Video is
often used to illustrate and explain different concepts of the English language. This
guide will show step by step how to compress videos, while keeping the quality,
including uploading to a video sharing website, such as Facebook, Vimeo, or
YouTube.

What is needed to complete this lesson?
Prior to beginning this lesson, you will need:
This print-based lesson handout
A computer (PC or Mac) with Internet
A recorded video (can be recorded after beginning lesson)
Ability to save and locate files
Ability to post to social media sites

Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, learners should be able to:
Install video transcoding software
Record 1-minute video
Use the transcoding software to compress video to Web-M, VP-9 format
Upload Compressed video to video-sharing website

Compressing a High-Definition Video for Sharing

As ESL instructors, you may want to share self-created videos on social
media sites, or on personal sites with your students to enhance your
instruction. Sometimes the size of high-definition videos is too large to share
or takes too long to upload. By compressing your video to Web-M, VP-9
format, you will keep the quality of your video in a smaller file size. The skills
that you will learn in this instruction can be used in both a professional
setting for instruction whereby videos are shared or in a more casual setting
where videos are shared on social media websites.

The following instruction will explain how to install the transcoding
software, compress the pre-recorded video (if you do not have a prerecorded video, you will need to record one that is 1-minute or less), and
upload the video to a video sharing website.

Step 1 Installing the Transcoding Software
This step includes 7 sub-steps, not including the entry skills required to
complete the step.
1.1 Open up a Web Browser
Any Internet browser can be used (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari,
etc.) In this case, I will be using Safari as my Internet browser.

Click on web
browser
Icon


Are you able to navigate around a website? Go to 1.2

1.2 Go to the selected web address:

1.3 Go to the Get Packages Section of the website:

Insert this address

into the address bar
and click enter
The Get Packages
Section of the
website should look
like this

Are you able to hover on a link? Go to 1.4

1.4 Hover over the Icon for your Operating System:

Which Icon
relates to your
operating
system?

1.5 Select the appropriate link to download the FFMPEG to your
computer.

Choose the
package for the
version you
have on your
computer.

*Note that this example shows the Mac options. If your operating system is a
Linux or PC, the packages will be different. Depending on the operating
systems version, you may want or need to test the different builds.

1.6 Install the downloaded software on your computer

Click on this to
install

1.7 Reboot the computer

Click here to reboot

your computer

Step 2 Video Recording
Do you have a pre-recorded video readily available? If yes, go to Step 3
If No, go to 2.1

2.1 Record a 1-minute video (learner must have knowledge of how to
record a video)
Video can be recorded with either a camcorder or a cellphone. Video can be
shorter than l-minute, but no longer than 1-minute.

2.2. Use a USB Cable to connect the cellphone to the computer
Use a cable such as this one to
connect your cellphone (or
camcorder) to the computer

2.3 Copy the video you recorded to your computer

*Note that the video should be in the same folder that the FFMPEG software
is in.

Step 3 Compressing Video
*Learner should have basic knowledge of how to use command prompts
3.1 Bring up terminal window (Mac) or command prompt window
Double-click on this
icon to bring up the
command prompt

3.2 Navigate to the location where the file was saved
*Remember that the file should be in the same folder as the FFMPEG
software was installed

3.3 Use the command to save in Web-M, VP-9 format
*It is suggested to first type the command in either text or Word document,
as the command is fairly lengthy. Replace VideoFile.mp4 with the correct
name of the file. Replace VideoFile.webm with the correct name of the file
plus .webm.

*You may need to change directories to get to the correct folder
Command Prompt to use
./ffmpeg -i VideoFile.MP4 -c:v libvpx-vp9 -b:v 0 -crf 44 -threads 8 -cpu-used
5 -speed 1 -tile-columns 6 -frame-parallel 1 -auto-alt-ref 1 -lag-in-frames 25 c:a libopus -b:a 64k -f webm VideoFile.webm

Example command
prompt







Step 4 Video Sharing
This is how your videos can be shared

4.1 Navigate to a video sharing Website
Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube can all be used. Unfortunately, Wordpress
(platform for some websites) does not currently accept Web.m files.

4.2 Locate saved web.m video file

Use the web address for

the video sharing website
here

Do not worry about opening

the file on the computer. Just
locate the file





4.3 Upload the Web-M Video

Click here to select the

web-m file to upload
Choose where to save, public or private.



Fill in the information about the video. Note that you can share with selected people
with email address. Also, different video sharing websites may be different when it
comes to steps for uploading to websites.


Resources

Deposit Photos: www.depositphotos

Dick , W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2015). The systematic design of instruction (8th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.


FFMPEG Software Download: http://www.ffmpeg.org/download.html