Using VLC Media Player and Moviemaker–both free–and my tutorial, you
can convert a proprietary Photostory WMV file to MP4. However, the
process is a bit painstaking, involves jumping into several programs
(PhotoStory, MovieMaker, VLC Media Player) and there’s a lot of room for
error. It would be great if there were a free program that would do it
in one step.

Now, it appears that there may be–Format
Factory. For fun, I started with a MovieMaker WMV created by storyteller,
Dr. JoAnne Ollerenshaw. It’s the story of Tall
Man and Mountain Lion (WMV). I dropped it into FormatFactory and
asked it to convert from WMV to MP4. It
worked. This could easily make preparing PhotoStory WMVs–one of
the great tools for Digital Storytelling–an easy process for
newbies…once converted, you can upload it to Edublogs.tv
for easy sharing!

Now, the real test is whether this will work with an 18 meg PhotoStory
generated WMV created by students…it worked! This is now a must
have tool for digital storytelling workshops that involve PhotoStory!

FormatFactory also has a host of other neat features, such as converting
media to 3gp (what works great in mobile phones), and tons of other
conversion formats for video/audio, and changing the quality of the
video/audio while being converted. You might read
this MakeUseOf.com article that discusses its applications in
details (such as ripping DVDs/CDs).

This is a feature-rich, no-cost tool that every educator should know how
to use, especially when involved in dealing with multimedia available on
the Web! Share!

 

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure