Video Editing Journal

.themusic plays on*

France — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:38:45 +0000

Music plays a vital role in our lives. For most people, different songs mean different things. We tend to associate certain songs with specific events or people. And even if you’re not the sentimental type, music has been known to stimulate creativity and set the mood for various situations.

In videos, music is just as essential. Watch any TV show or movie and you’ll know that. The songs, sound effects, and background music all contribute to the overall experience of any video. This is something you need to keep in mind when you’re editing your material. Do the songs you use help bring your message across?

Get some hint from famous shows and movies over at SoundtrackNet.

Photo credits: Sxc.hu

.transitions*

France — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:03:56 +0000

One of the most basic things you can do using a video editing program is to add transitions in between clips. True to its name, transitions create a gradual change from one scene to the next, avoiding abrupt cuts in the video unless of course, the editor does that on purpose.

There are a number of video transitions that are very useful when creating videos for different reasons. The most common – and possibly the most popular – is the fade in/out transition. This is when a scene fades out to a color (usually black) or to another scene as though it’s slowly disappearing right before your eyes.

It’s just one of many though. If you want to learn more about the different types of video transitions and the ways you can use them, you can visit Media College.com

Photo credits: Sxc.hu

.awayWith Junk Videos!*

editor — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:55:50 +0000

By Aileen Banting

1. Keep what you need, rid of what you don’t need

Movie Maker provides you the chance to “manually capture” your video. This means you are given the decision of what parts of your tape you want to transfer digital video from your camcorder to your computer. This is helpful because it saves a lot of valuable hard drive space.

2. Split up!

Movie Makers gives you the option to “cut” your video clips in parts of halves. This process can clear away your chunks of junk films. Division of the two clips is done in two separate places within the program. Both in the preview monitor while working on the timeline. All you need to do is find the area you want to cut and click the “cut button” found under the preview monitor.

3. Get a trim

Ends of your clips can be trimmed in Movie Maker. This can set the precise â€œin and outâ€ points of the video clip. By working the timeline, dragging the ends of each clip to exact points that you would like your video to start and stop is just that simple. And if you zoom in on each clip by using the magnifying glass, you can gain control of each clip and accomplish fine start and stop points to trim.

photo taken from: http://www.hardwareoc.hu/

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.defragfor speedy video editing*

editor — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:46:40 +0000

Anyone who has owned or used a computer for a year or more know that computer processes gradually slow down over time. This may be caused by an unfortunate virus or spyware attack bogging down your PC, or simply having more programs and files than you used to. If the latter is more probable, then itâ€™s about time you defrag your hard drive.

Defragmentation or simply â€˜defragâ€™ is when the computer reduces the amount of fragmentation in file systems. Because data files have a tendency of eating up more space than necessary, this causes your computer to slow down. This is terrible news for your average video editor who needs both speed and quick response from his video editing software. It is recommended then to defrag your video editing computer regularly to keep disk access speed up to scratch.

photo credit: inhabitat

.montage*

editor — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:32:20 +0000

Montage is an editing technique terminology commonly associated with film editing. It is French for â€˜putting togetherâ€™ or â€˜assemblyâ€™. In the classical sense, this simply refers to stringing the film shots together to create a unified object.

The term montage has since changed into the method of putting two seemingly unconnected shots together to create an entirely new meaning. Imagine three different and separate shots: a dark night, a disembodied scream, and a smoking gun. Taken separately, these shots mean nothing. But a montage of the three shots strung together creates a nearly complete narrative.

This editing technique allows the filmmaker to put the power of deriving meaning from the film or video primarily in the audienceâ€™s hands.

photo credit: perry bible fellowship

.freesound effects*

editor — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:31:30 +0000

To completely immerse your viewer into the your video experience, it is not enough to have stunning visuals. Sound and sound effects play a vital role in creating mood and suspending reality.

Fortunately, the internet has made it so that quality sound effects are no longer just the province of professional and commercial video editing companies. With the abundance of sound effects available on the internet for free, even amateur video productions have a sure shot of creating that desired atmosphere to maximize viewing pleasure.

Soundsnap.com provides original sound effects recorded by their users.

Sonnyboo productions has royalty free music and mp3 downloads. Perfect for independent filmmakers.

Music for video has a zip file for nearly 300 different sound effects.

photo credit: comix connection

.avi*

editor — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:19:48 +0000

AVI or Audio Video Interleave remains one of the most common formats for digital video today. Introduced by Microsoft in 1992, this format came packaged with Windows computers. Since Windows is still the most widely-used computer system, it is easy to see why many digital videos are in this format. AVI allows both audio and video data to steam at the same time.

The AVI format can be a challenge to some video editors. Compared to the MPEG format, AVI takes up a bigger file size than necessary. It also does not contain information on pixel aspect ratio. This is a reason why most AVI files suffer in quality because the AVI format makes all pixels square by default. Other video formats like MPEG allow irregular shaped pixels, providing a sharper, cleaner picture.

The AVI format remains popular amongst amateur video editors because of its compatibility with many video players on the market, however advanced video editors may want to look into more sophisticated video formats.

photo credit: verbatim

.dvdor VCD Format?*

Brian Yalung — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:44:12 +0000

When it comes to final output, you will be given the option of either producing a VCD or DVD disc once you have applied the finishing touches to your project. Normally, people would want the VCD production as it is easier and faster. But if you want something better, considering the DVD option may be a great way to go as well.

It will inquire additional work as well though. Some DVD authoring may be needed. Titles, video play and some music are normally present for you to manage and if you have the patience to handle it, by all means go for it.

.timingMusic with your Video*

Brian Yalung — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:44:48 +0000

Some videos can be muted so that you can use music instead of their default sounds. This is a great way to create an MTV like of a production and with the right tune for the theme of the video, you are sure to draw a round of applause after everything has been compiled and presented.

That is why it would be best to be up to date with latest musical tunes. Old and new have their way of spicing up the video project and once you do, you are bound to blow life into the video rather than relying on the raw video with nothing to show.

.gap2.6*

France — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:05:51 +0000

Ever wanted an image manipulation software that you can use to tweak your images for insertion to your videos for cool effects and more. Then GAP is for your, it’s not only free it’s open-source, and all you can do to help keep the ball rolling is to donate a couple of dollars for the developers so they can continue the wonderful work they have been doing so far. The Gimp community has been working hard in coming up with a very powerful yet free software and they have been at it for so long they have recently released GAP version 2.6.0 which addresses issues with the 2.6.X series of their software. There is also an extensive list of plug-in’s you can download from their site that gives you more capabilities when doing edits as well as in the design process.
Open source is the next big thing in the development world and why settle for hundred dollar programs when you can get the same effects and abilities with something free. Download the latest versions of the GAP software so you can get down and easy to editing and producing your favorite videos in no time.