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Also from the shelves of the open source community it offers good quality video editing almost good as commercial software. It was designed for use with Unix-like OS platforms and it supports a variety of video, audio and image formats.
The codecs supported by this software is simply amazing and the screen layout offers similar functions and abilities as commercially available product.
The many open source communities are coming up with some of the most innovative editing software around using one of the most stable platforms Unix which can be considered as a predecessor of most operating systems/platforms in today’s internet age.

This DVD Authoring software is and open source DVD authoring system for the Windows platform that is released under a GNU GPL license meaning its free for anyone who may want to use it for their personal editing needs. It may not be a full fledged editing software but it does read and interpret AviSynth scripts and allows the addition of simple menus.

The software encodes dvd video using the FFmpeg standard with features such as direct streaming copy for MPEG-2 video streams making them DVD compliant. The last stable release was around a year or two ago but it does work and it allows easy dvd creation with minimal fuss.

In the hopes of bringing video editing to the masses and ordinary folks like you and me, there are a lot of video editing tools that can be downloaded for free created under the open source category. Kino is one of them, but you’d have to be running Linux or other Unix based OS’s to use it. It offers decent video editing that can be derived from DV-AVI and DV files you can import using the said software.

It also has the ability to import video from older camcorders using the IEEE1394 or other video in the same format. There is however a nasty side to open source software as we know it for being free and developed by folks form the open source community, it may have bugs that will need time to address through patches that the developers release.

One of the trickiest elements in video editing, and one that can easily make or break your video is audio. There is a need to find the right balance between the audio and the actions seen in the video.

Audio refers to all the sound utilized in your video. It is important to check the synchronization of the audio to the video to create a coherent and well-produced film. Because digital audio consumes a lot of space, it would be helpful to look into audio data compressors.

There are two types of audio compression processes. There is the audio data compression which reduces the size of audio files for transmission. The other is audio level compression which reduces the dynamic range of the audio file to level the difference between loud and quiet sounds.

Know which type of audio compression you need in order to maximize the potential of your video.

photo credit: Duke University mclibrary

Anyone with a digital camera or a camera phone can now capture life on video. We see the world through the camera lens. But simply capturing moments on camera doesn’t make a film.

A proper film has a certain shape, making it easier for viewing. This is where video editing comes in. A video of a 3-hour long lecture on astrophysics need not be shown in its entirety if the point you want to drive across is when the lecturer falls from his seat at the very end of the video. Video editing allows the filmmaker to make do with unnecessary scenes or to adjust the sound so the essential audio is not drowned by outside noise.

Video editing also allows the filmmaker to create narrative. By artistically cutting and splicing images together, one can create a coherent story medium. Add to this the ability to insert filters and creative transitions, any film footage can have a smooth quality.

photo credit: thedirectory.org.uk

Gone are the days when only Hollywood directors can make good movies. With the advent of cheap and reliable technology, anyone can make their own films. Whether you want to capture precious moments for the whole family to watch, or fancy yourself a budding filmmaker, there are software you can use to make give your movies that clean, professional look.

Video editing software need not be expensive either. Depending on the purpose of your film, there is sure to be a good editing software for you. Casual film makers might want to use VirtualDub or Free Video Dub, both are free for download. Being freeware, these software cater to the most basic of video editing needs such as cutting the footage, or noise reduction.

Commercial video editing software would be of better use to the more discerning filmmaker.

Photo credit: Daniel Bonjour

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 “in and out” 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.