BSU EDTECH Student Blog

I am new to the virtual world in Second Life.  After watching some YouTube videos on SL, I realized that I, too, could capture screen shots of my Second Life adventure.  In addition, I could capture virtual presentation tools, SL equivalents of PowerPoints, in action.  Perhaps video vignettes of slide shows in action inside Second Life could be a powerful tool for educators new to Second Life.  My inspiration got the best of me and I went to Fraps.com to downloaded Fraps, the real-time video capture utility used to make movies from gaming environments.

The Fraps installation went well.   I felt empowered with the ability to make movies, machinima, with this new (to me) screen-capture technology. I had wondered how video screen shots were recorded for use on YouTube and for use in computer based tutorials.  I was surprised to learn that the mystery behind the animated screen-shot movies was simply a matter of activating the Fraps program and toggling a hotkey on an off to start and stop the screen shot capture.  The application sets F9 as the default hot key, but allows the user to select a different key if desired.

I eagerly logged into Second Life, intent on ‘filming’ a slide show presentation, or some other presentation tool in action.  I teleported to ICT Library and found  no avatars present.  I pointed to a few display signs and read a little about the presentation tools available.  The information displayed was limited, convincing me that my project idea to create machinima (machine + cinema) was a good one.  I walked around the library looking for action.  I came across a path that lead outdoors, to a garden, where I saw an avatar who appeared to be reading.

I approached, cautiously, wanting to make a good impression.  I had come to realize that newbies like me were usually not a welcome sight.  Our clothes and clunky animations make us stand out like sore thumbs.  Those In World for any length of time grow tired of answering the inevitable deluge of questions that stream from the keyboards of newcomers they encounter.  As I ungracefully strolled forward, I saw from the sign hovering over her head that her name was Sonja and she was a librarian.  She greeted me and I felt relieved that I had finally met an avatar with a professional demeanor.

Before jumping into a conversation about my plight, I sincerely complimented her on her appearance.  She was wearing a pink pant suit with shimmering high heels and a pretty blonde up-do hairstyle.  It was something that I would wear in real life, unlike the tiny black miniskirts that seem to dominate the fashion scene of the dance clubs I had (literally) dropped into.

I asked if she knew how to use any presentation tools  and she answered yes.  After a question and answer period of where she purchased her clothes and prim hair, we came back to the topic of presentations.  She offered to demonstrate how to use a slide projector for a slide show.  She walked toward a media box and pointed.  Then, the first image appeared in the box.  Wow, I thought, this is a great opportunity to capture a video!  I pressed my F9 key to turn on the screen capture utility.  To my embarrassment, my avatar starting dancing around the garden!  I was humiliated.  I finally found a patient soul to show me the ropes and I was acting like a crazed lunatic!  Fortunately, the dance animation that was programmed into my F9 key was fairly short.  I was hoping that Sonja was occupied with running her slide show and did not see my odd behavior.

When she finished her presentation, I told her that I was a graduate student at Boise State.  She asked me to join her group, which I did.  Upon accepting the invitation, I gained a subtitle in the label that hovers above my head.  I’m now Debbarry Lane, Book Lover!  I also asked if she had noticed that I was dancing  around joyfully during part of her slide show.  She laughed and replied yes.  I told her about Fraps and my mission to create machinima.  She recommended that I meet a few people she knows that are skilled in the new medium.  She had never used video capture technologies, but did know that you must own the land in order to have video capture permissions.  She then informed me that she had a prior engagement and wished me luck before disappearing from my screen.

Despite my continued low level of progress in manipulating my virtual environment, I felt better about this Second Life session.  The social contact was interesting and imitated real life with genuine emotion (embarrassment).  As I reflect on my introduction to Sonja, I wondered how my face appeared.  I had been so excited about using Fraps that I forgot about my earlier issue with my demo skin.  I turned my avatar around and zoomed in.   Sure enough, there was ‘demo’, written all over my face!  Oh well, embarrassment was a welcome change from feeling like a social outcast.  I’m sure if Sonja read the small print across my face, she understood.  I had told her of my adventures and admitted I was feeling vain.  My project was to gather information, not become a beauty/fashion queen.  She assured me I was doing the right thing because appearances count in Second Life as much, or more, than in real life.