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Video Editing BasicsThis is where the real fun starts. Many books can be and are written about this topic, but let us present you some basics in this article. 1. DevelopmentsA very simple way to edit video is to make use of two video recorder and/or camera's. Put a source tape in one of the machines and connect it to the one with an empty tape and start copying scenes on the blank tape. Because you will have to work your way through the scenes in exactly the sequence in which you want them on your final movie, this is called linear editing. Special video equipment did exist but was somewhat outside the budget of the average consumer. This all changed when PC's became strong enough to handle video and standards were developed for digital video compression. This made it possible to put video digitally on hard drives and manipulate it with the PC. It enables you to move the scenes around in any order during the entire process and this is therefore referred to as Non Linear Editing (NLE). 2. The timelineThe most basic form of video editing is putting together a number of scenes after one another. The way modern video editing programs are organized is to put scenes on a timeline. After importing the original video files into the program, pieces of video and audio are arranged in the desired sequence on such a timeline. The timeline will at least contain one track for video and one track for sound. More advanced video-edtiting programs have multiple video and audio tracks. Multiple tracks greatly enhance the possibilities for advanced editing techniques.
3. Basic techniquesThis section will show a number of techniques, which at least should be found in any modern video-editing program. TransitionsThe most common transition from one scene to the next is the hard cut: a sudden jump from one scene to another. Another common transition is the fade-in/fade-out: the first scene fades out and then the next scene fades in. Modern video-editing programs contain a library of standard transitions, which require an overlap between two successive scenes. The most well known example is the cross-fade in which the next scenes appears while the first scene fades away. There are basically two ways in which this is implemented: single track editing in which the scenes are placed on one track in the timeline and so-called A/B-track editing in which the two scenes are placed with a certain overlap on two tracks. The way transitions are usually applied is to open the library and drag the desired transition to the required position on the timeline.
Image correction R FiltersAnother way of changing the appearance of the video is by application of filters. Typical examples are black and white, blur, sharpen etc. but also all kinds of artistic filters can be found in video-editing programs .Implementation is usually similar as for transitions. Open a library of filters and drag one to the scene on the timeline.
Titles A video-editing program is not complete SoundBeginning cinematographers often widely underestimate the importance of sound in a video production. However, sound can greatly enhance the quality of your final movie. The ability to handle sound in a video-editing program is therefore very important. Basic needs are the ability to change volume of sound and to add extra sound tracks, e.g. for music or comment. 4. More advanced techniquesThe previous section explained some of the basic techniques found in video-editing programs. Modern video-editing programs however tend to become more and more professional and more advanced techniques become standard in even the most basic programs. It is impossible to list all of the advanced options, but here’s a short overview of some interesting ones. Picture in picture
KeyingThis is the technique in which certain colors or brightness levels in a picture are replaced or changed. There are many possibilities with this technique, but the best known is the so-called Blue Screen. An object is filmed in front of a blue background and in the edited video, the blue background is replaced by another footage.
Special effects
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| Author: Ton, | March 17-2005, version 2 |
© Digital Video Club,
2005 |
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espected
video editing programs at least contain offer image correction possibilities
for brightness, contrast and color. This comes in handy when
you are not satisfied with the parameters of the original footage or when
different scenes are shot in different lighting conditions. The way this
is usually implemented is by selecting the scene on the timeline and change
the settings using sliders.
without the possibility to ad titles. Titlers usually allow the use of
a variety of fonts with colors and styles. Many titlers can also
be used to insert images. The way this is implemented in video-editing
programs, is by creating the title in a separate window. When the design
is ready, it can then be saved in a separate file for use in
other projects. By placing the title on the timeline, it is incorporated
in the final result. In order to be able to overlay titles over the video
the background of titles is by default transparent and it is
put on a separate track.
Programs
that contain more than just one video track offer the possibility of putting
a picture over the other. By resizing the video which is on top smaller,
you can create a picture in picture effects. This picture can then also
move across the screen. Another option that multiple track video
editing is the possibility to apply transparency so that one scene is
used as an overlay to another scene.
effects,
with all kind of transitions, movements, flashes etc. Since the number
and possibilities grow every day, the tendency is that they are created
by specialized companies as plug-ins to existing video-editing
programs.