Posted by Derek · April 22nd, 2008
As a beginning video editor just learning the ropes, it may seem impractical to build up your own editing suite in your home or apartment. I agree, if you are comfortable doing your limited-scale editing on your home PC or Mac. However, if you decide to get more advanced and find yourself limited by the hardware you have, it might be time to upgrade to a home editing system that can cater to your more professional needs.
I would like to share with the reader some tips for creating a home editing suite, as I have done in my apartment, and hopefully show that, for not a lot of money and time, you can increase efficiency of your editing system.
First off, the obvious question: Mac or PC? The obvious answer: If you have a solid chunk of change you are going to put into your system and are comfortable with Final Cut Studio and other Mac software, by all means go for Mac. The new Mac desktops have super fast Intel processors in dual-core and quad-core arrangements. Splurge on the system, buy two 17’’ or 19’’ monitors, and you are set. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: dual-monitors, DV deck, Editing suite, MAC, Mini DV, PC, RAM | Posted in Life and Learning, Video Production and Publishing | No Comments »
Posted by Derek · March 31st, 2008
While anyone with a PC and Windows XP or Vista can edit video using the built-in Windows Movie Maker software (Keith’s WMM analysis), it simply cannot compare with the features and options offered by the stand-alone editing programs on the market. WMM is free for a reason. It is designed to give beginners the easiest and most straightforward tools for cutting together media without confusing the user with more advanced tools. Luckily, PC users have a wide range of really great editing programs to choose from, many of which are less that $100. I would like to analyze five pieces of software that can be bought for under $100 and hopefully demonstrate that it is possible to achieve very professional looking editing jobs without the pricey and complicated professional editing packages.
The five programs are Ulead VideoStudio 11 by Corel ($89.99), Adobe Premiere Elements 4 ($99.99), Pinnacle Studio 11 ($99.99), Sony Vegas Movie Studio 8 ($99.99), and Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 ($79.99). So what can you do with these programs that you can’t do with WMM? More than one video and audio track, more efficient interfaces, advanced video and audio effects, and more powerful import/export capabilities.
Perhaps the most important feature of these products is the ability to add multiple audio and video tracks. What this means is if you were designing a MindBites training video on underwater basket weaving and you wanted to split the screen in half and on the top half show your hands twisting wicker and on the bottom show your friend’s hands twisting different wicker you could easily overlay the two videos on separate tracks. The same goes for audio. If you want the sound of the wicker twisting underneath “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel, you can do so by placing the audio clips in different tracks. The usefulness of multiple tracks should not be overlooked even for beginners, and WMM does not offer more than one audio and one video track. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: DV, editing, music, PC, Pinnacle Studio, Roxio Easy Media Creator, Sony Vegas Movie Studio, Ulead VideoStudio, video effects, Windows Movie Maker | Posted in Video Production and Publishing | No Comments »
Posted by Keith · February 19th, 2008
This week in the MindBite Insight, we offer a counterpart to last episode’s lesson on Editing Basics for Macs. We would be remiss if we did not provide a similar instructional for our PC patrons, so we now present to you EDITING BASICS (for Windows). Loaded with all the glorious goodies of last week’s Insight, this lesson explores the elements of Window’s Movie Maker, the free editing program that comes installed with all recent versions of Microsoft Windows.
Keith, in a bumbling yet mildly coherent manner, walks you through the steps of getting your footage into the computer, organizing it, editing it, and finally exporting the finished sequence into a format that is ready for its debut on the MindBites website. Geared toward novices, this tutorial is a quick introduction designed to put you into the throes of editing with all the essentials, but little of the fluff. We strongly encourage all beginners to spend an hour or two, after watching this lesson, perusing the program’s many intricacies and features. It doesn’t take much to get the hang of these highly intuitive programs, just the mindset and some determination, and you’ll be MindBiting your heart out in no time. Enjoy!
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Tags: editing, MindBites Insight, PC, Webisode, Windows Movie Maker | Posted in MindBites News and Notes, Video Production and Publishing | No Comments »
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