Anyone Using Yahoo JumpCut?

[VT NMC Ben Capozzi]

Our manager asked us to look into Yahoo's online video editor Jumpcut. Since I'm sick in bed at home, tonight seemed like as good a night as any. So far, it's pretty cool. I don't do a lot of video editing myself, but it's the number one service we assist our patrons (faculty and students) with at the Media Center, so it's best I keep up to speed. After spending a few hours on it, I'd recommend it for novices to play around with (like me) since it might inspire them to try more ambitious stuff they have in mind but wouldn't otherwise due to the costs/availability of iMovie or Final Cut (again, like me). There's a lot of spam and questionable accounts as I peruse the rank and file, but you've got to start somewhere and this service is relatively new. I'd like to know if anyone else out there is using JumpCut in academia.

Best,
ben capozzi
virginia tech new media center
vtnmcbencapozzi on jumpcut, twitter, and aim

[Katherine Watson]

Hi Ben,

I always like looking at a new tool!

I looked at the TOS for Jumpcut and I wouldn't recommend it for that reason alone. But for experimentation, as you said, it might be useful -- if no-cost is a must. I find it interesting how JumpCut pushes the idea of the "remix" with no obvious mention of copyright issues that I noticed except in the TOS.

I know from experience that the free editors quickly become limiting in terms of creativity. Adobe Premier Elements is low-cost and much more flexible and powerful.

-Katherine

[Lachlan Forsyth]

Whilst I haven't used Jumpcut yet (thanks for the tip Ben) I just wanted to vouch for the educational power of collaborative video editing, and collaborative video production in general.

I was recently involved in an online professional development project in which primary (elementary) teachers created and uploaded videos of their practice- with the online support of university and Department of Education project members. Whilst the final videos became fantastic learning resources for the entire online community, it was the actual process of collaboratively 'designing' and editing the videos that generated many of the powerful insights that emerged in the group.

In part this was because the teachers had to design videos from which others might learn. This meant everybody had to think very deeply about the content they were trying to convey. When that video design process was collaborative (in local school contexts and online) the insights that emerged seemed really powerful.

We didn't have the benefit of online collaborative video editing tools- but I think this represents the next stage of the sort of e-learning strategy we were trialling. I'd love to hear if anyone else has used jumpcut or some other collaborative video editing program for adult education. Ben, have you continued with jumpcut since March??

Cheers all
Lachlan.

[Deb]

Hi- You may want to check into Kaltura (http://www.kaltura.com ), which is online collaboartive video editing partnered with Wikimedia. I think the easiest to use offline editor is iMovie, but the best professional editing tool is Final Cut Pro. I have recently strated using Final Cut Express and find that can be very useful too, especially if you want to output to a compressed video format. Deb