Video Editing Tips

The software you choose as your platform may have a lot of hidden features that may escape your attention the first time round. Learning to do the basics such as cutting and pasting scenes is good but for effects, each and every editing software product has their own strengths and weaknesses. Try to learn something new about the software as you get confident with it. Some have transition effects that allow the insertion of other scenes to gaps and some allow you to totally change the type of footage (removing elements from the frames say an ugly flower in the middle of a perfect shot replacing it with something from another shoot or photo libraries). These types of operations can be maximized better for video camera’s already come with nifty effects (black and white, panoramic, time lapsed, fast action settings and more). Your software too has a ton of these features that allows shifting from shot to shot better and softer, not giving you that jarring motion that shocks you every time you shift from shot to shot.

After finishing the editing process, you then have to translate so-to-speak, the raw video into the format you wish to become your final product. In the case of DVD’s which can hold up to 4 Gigabytes of footage data along with all the support files (audio and others) they have to be converted to the DVD format which takes from as little to 4 hours to 10 hours depending on the length of film. In doing this, disable all background tasks such as anti-virus and disconnect you internet connection so you disable all the distractions that can cause spikes in the processor use. The conversion/encoding process takes a lot of computing power so any disturbances to the processor during this critical step results in hick-ups or gaps in the final product.

After you have downloaded your video from your video camera, you need to first convert it into a format that would allow you to edit it such as the MPEG format which is most common in video circles. There are also a myriad of choices of codecs that allows conversion of one format to the next(CODEC coder-decoder) allowing the copied software to be converted to the editing format then to the desired output format such as for use on DVD’s. They are readily available form wither the software developers (the guys who made your editing software) the hardware manufacturers (the guys who made your video card) and many more. Some are paid for, some are free so do an extensive search. TIP, do get your stuff from the reliable sources as we have mentioned above for most of the free stuff you find on the internet are loaded with attached malware that can trash your computer and your work.

Just as DVD recording equipment has rock bottomed, out comes Blu-ray. Blu-ray is a newer disk technology that uses blue lasers to read and write disks. It has more than double the capacity of DVD’s (which stands at about 4 gigabytes). Double-layered disks can store 8 times that capacity. The commercial versions of the burners are also out on the market and are hailed as the successor of the DVD disk. Another standard that competes for the same market is HD-DVD which was ousted or rather thrown out when retail stores selling video re-stocked their shelves with Blu-ray disks ending the competition silently. The high data density feature of the technology is its biggest strength and they are slowly getting into homes slowly (they are still quite expensive).

New generations of computers will make editing of audio and video very much easier with more processing power and at much faster speeds. The release of multi-core microprocessors will increase editing considerably along with a proposed release of a new type of memory module which has already been announced by Intel. These along with better video capture technology that already has built-in video capability is making it easier for all of us to edit, copy and convert our precious memories for future generations to enjoy. The advent of High Definition Video and Television sets make for one very visual rich video. Digital video camcorders are also becoming standard as the Hi8 system (digital 8mm) enters its last breaths.

Non-linear or digital editing as it is more frequently called is the process of editing video from any point. This means you can be working in a scene in the middle of the film and then jump to the ending as ideas come to you. The process can be done with a simple PC and software setup to which a video capture card is installed. The video capture card allows you to convert tape stored video onto your computer. For newer generation of video camera’s this is not needed due to the presence of the USB port. Some even have support for Firewire, a video transmission protocol especially designed for video and imaging purposes. The system can also use S-video which is another video format and the list goes on. Most devices have either a USB or a Firewire port which is best. If you are using an older camera, there are devices you plug into the USB port which allows analog audio and video to be copied into your computer. Once editing is completed, the edited video along with the sound can be returned to tape format or converted to DVD standards.

There are also effects on your camera which you might not have used before but would want to use as a tool making easier editing. Fade in and out, black and white plus time lapse shots make for some nifty effects and allows seamless editing when you do get down to creating your masterpiece. Gone are the days of boring video of events that seem to go on for time on end causing some of those watching to become sleepy and end up with no audience. Digital sound effects and the ability to include songs as part of the audio tracks makes for one enjoyable and entertaining family time all would enjoy. Don’t be afraid to play around with your camera to maximize your investment. Get down to searching for free stuff on the web which people like you share. In the next posts we would get hold of some free software you can use to edit your videos and some tips on using and adding effects.

The temporary/swap file is deleted as the software finishes the integration process creating the finished product. If one chooses to do professional editing and make it into a business of sorts, then one can go purchase purpose-built machines (computers actually) that are designed to do just that. But be warned for they cost thousands of dollars and might be too much for the video hobbyist. A powerful PC (which is now cheap with the advent of the Multi-threading and multi Processor Intel Duo/Quad Core Chips) with ample memory (say a couple of Gigabytes), a hard disk with lots of space ( 160 Gig SATA) and a fast video card thrown in for good measure ( what is all the power if you cannot see the finished product as it should be). Once you get the hang of the said requirements then you are all set to get underway in our quest to making professional quality video along with effects and audio.

If you intend to do a lot of transferring old VHS tapes into your computer, then that would be an analog input. There are devices that come in between your analog device and computer that can convert analog signals and combine them into a digital form that is easy to process. If you intend to capture the video directly onto the personal computer then do some editing before burning it onto a DVD then you have to convert the whole movie into the DVD format which is required for DVD works with the use of proprietary CoDecs (more on this on next posts). Then you need to burn the converted video into a format that you can play on regular DVD players.