Graphic design is basically the creation of pictures using a computer.  There are a number of computer programs that you can use to create graphic designs on the computer. Microsoft has a program called Picture It!® consumer photo-editing software that can do amazing things with digital paint brushes, photos and text.

You can combine pictures, shapes, lines, images, words and some amazing effects to create powerful visual images. You can also learn how to scan images onto your computer and manipulate them.

Here are just a few ideas of the kinds of printed materials you can create using your computer and a graphic design program like Picture It!:

• A sign, poster or postcard (advertising your favourite rock band or a special event such as your school fun fair)
• A collage
• A logo, letterhead, and business cards for an imaginary company
• A decorative face mask
• A greeting card

Find out more by asking the program staff at your Club if you can check out the Design Tech CD-ROM, which is part of the CANTECH DIGITAL ARTS SUITE: a set of 5 CDs where you can learn all about creating digital Music, Photography, Graphic Design, Web Design and Movie Making.

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Learn about all aspects of the musical arts.  Learn how to create sound using computers, about music theory and about a whole range of musical instruments. Once you’ve learned the basics and about the software needed to create digital music, you can let your creative expression go wild! Compose your own electronic music using digital technology, create a jingle or write and record a song you sing yourself! 

Software needed to create digital music includes:

• Rythmania
• Mixman Studio
• Creative Wave Studio
• Keytar
• ACID Pro
• Finale Notepad

Ask your Club program staff to help you install these features before you begin.

Learn about what music is. For instance, do you know the five basic parts to a song?:

• Pitch 
• Melody 
• Rhythm 
• Harmony
• Tone color

Find out more by asking the program staff at your Club if you can check out the Music Tech CD-ROM, which is part of the CANTECH DIGITAL ARTS SUITE: a set of 5 CDs where you can learn all about creating digital Music, Photography, Graphic Design, Web Design and Movie Making.

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Movie making is about making a story come to life on screen. There are different types of movie making: Documentary, which is story telling about real life; Drama, which is fictional story telling or a story based on reality, but changed or exaggerated; and experimental, which is usually based on a concept, theme or idea. Often there is no story line or narrative in these films and they can be very abstract visually. For the purposes of this project, documentary or experimental movie making formats may be easier to use, since you won’t have to consider actors, costumes, sets, rehearsals etc. It’s also a good idea to limit the length of your first video movie to one or two minutes at the most. This may seem short, but think about what TV commercials can communicate in 30 seconds!

You’ll need some special equipment to do this project:

• Digital /8mm or high-8 video camera
• Blank Video tape (minimum 30 minutes max. 60 minutes in length)
• Tripod (optional)
• Computer video editing program such as Microsoft’s Movie Maker
• External microphone (For dialogue or interviews. Remember in documentaries, voiceover and background music can be added in the editing stage)

To help you compose good shots, you can use many of the tips in the Digital Photography section.

There are three phases of movie making:

1. pre-production
2. production
3. post-production

Pre-production:

• Decide on a script, story line or theme for your one-minute video. Write out your idea on paper and then plan out what scenes or shots you will need to tell your story effectively. You can create storyboards to help you with this. Think about all the different types of camera shots you’ll need to make your movie interesting visually i.e. close-ups, wide angles, shooting the same subject from different angles etc. When developing a story idea, it’s best to stick with something very simple for your first attempt such as: a child learning how to ride a bike or a day in the life of your dog or cat or produce a TV commercial for a product etc.
• If you are interviewing people for your documentary style video, prepare your questions in advance.
• Organize: props, actors costumes (if needed), shooting location or locations
• Get permission or “on-camera” release forms from people appearing on camera. Arrange times for interviewing people or shooting a particular scene
• Rehearse any scenes involving actors
• Develop a shooting schedule, if needed.
• Assign roles to each person on your team i.e.

There are many people on a movie crew. Here are a few of the key roles:

Writer: creates the story for the screen; Director: responsible for telling the story in a way that is visually clear and interesting and is in charge of camera crew, actors etc.

Camera/lighting person: responsible for operating the camera (lighting if necessary) and making sure, along with the director, that he/she gets the shots needed to tell the story well

Producer: responsible for the overall communication, organization and supervision of all the video preparations;

Editor: responsible for putting together the individual shots to tell the story, so that it makes sense and is interesting to watch.

Production:

• Make sure your equipment is working and camera batteries are fully charged before you go out on your shoot.
• Go on location, set up equipment and “block the scene” (i.e. pretend to shoot each scene without rolling the camera). Then, if necessary, rehearse with actors etc. before shooting and then shoot your video. 
• Make sure the location is safe and close to resources such as bathrooms, phones and food. Limit your locations to three or four for this length of film
• Once you have all the shots you need to make your movie, prepare for editing

Post-Production:

• Edit the video together using computer and a film/video editing program such as Microsoft’s Movie Maker
• Choose and add sound such as voice-over and/or music
• Burn a CD ROM of completed video and Submit it to I CAN Digital Arts Contest
• Hold screening of the movie for friends
• Have a wrap party

Find out more by asking the program staff at your Club if you can check out the Movie Tech CD-ROM, which is part of the CANTECH DIGITAL ARTS SUITE: a set of 5 CDs where you can learn all about creating digital Music, Photography, Graphic Design, Web Design and Movie Making.

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