| What Is Editing......and why should I bother? |
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Hours of footage streams from the camera - blurry shots, fast pans which leave you feeling seasick, several minutes of the camera filming the pavement because the record button was pressed accidentally. The narration from the traveller sitting next to you consists of "This is a good bit!", or "I might skip past this bit..."
Basic EditingIn a nutshell, editing can be seen as the process of cutting out all the parts which don't need to be shown to the public (even if public is only the family). Even if this is the only thing which is done, the video will be infinitely more watchable than the original tapes.The Next StepIn addition to the 'topping and taling' of the video, the editor should consider adding some additional information to the production. This is normally done by way of titles and captions at relevant places, to let the audience know locations and dates. Further information can also include narration, which can be recorded spearately and added during the editing stage. Advanced TechniquesAdding further polish to home videos can bring them closer to professional productions. By practising with quick edits, fine tuning footage with effects filters to compensate for dim or unnatural lighting and paying particular attention to the sound can all help achieve brilliant results.  |
The most fundamental question, and the basis for this site, really.
Comments
I have spent day`s/and many long hours with so called professional software
trying to edit my film/footage, but mostly i have found, no matter how
careful i am the most up to date software out there will always let me down.
I have com to the point where i just will not use this so called state of the art software anymore. i just plug and play its less stressful.
It certainly can be frustrating, I've found the biggest problems are if the software cannot handle specific video formats, and if the computer and the software don't play nicely.
It can take hours sometimes getting a problem solved. I've found the forums which are hosted by most of the software companies have been invaluable to me when looking for solutions. There are many helpful people on these forums, and most of the problems have been experienced and solved by others.
Playing back clips from your camcorder may well be easier, but in my opinion, there's nothing quite like playing back a well edited movie from a DVD and seeing people entertained by it.
Before you give up, try posting the problems you are having on one of the forums, and see if you can get some help from the other users of your software.
You can find a list of forums here:
http://www.homemovieeditin g.co.uk/index.php/resources/forums
and a list of software vendor websites here:
http://www.homemovieeditin g.co.uk/index.php/resources/softwarelinks
Good luck,
Paul