Video editing

Supercow · 28 Dec 2006 at 12:46

Of late, I have become very interested in Video editing (promo vids for my GF's business etc)
Before I buy a software suite, and training vids (most likely from Lynda.com) I would like to know a few things.

It seems like the only really good programs out there is Adobe Premier + After effects and Sony Vegas.

I have watched a few online tutorials, but there is one thing I don't quite understand.
When editing a video,with the Adobe suite, such as putting all the clips together adding music, syncing music to the clips etc. Do you use Premier to compile and edit the whole thing, and then put finishing touches on it/title clips/ video/credits/special effects with After effects?

Does anyone know of a good resource/how to guide I can use as a starting point?

thanks

DavidQ · 28 Dec 2006 at 21:33

Hi there,

You hit the nail on the head as far as applications are concerned. Vegas video is a good starting point, it's pretty much where I began. Tutorials wise pixel2life.com is a handy site, if you feel confident in using vegas then you can move onto premiere. It's similar to vegas only you can import project files into after effects and most of the after effects plugins will work in premiere, thus making it easier to sync audio as after effects doesn't play audio. If pixel2life.com doesn't help you out post back and I'll help you out as best as I can.

David

Supercow · 29 Dec 2006 at 09:46

Cheers mate, I'll give it a whirl !

this_is_gav · 29 Dec 2006 at 10:55

If you're struggling with the raw depth of those programs, you might want to give one of the more user-friendly programs such as VideoStudio a shot. It has no-where near the capabilities of Premier, and is pretty much pants really, but if you're just after a quick and simple time-line based editor, it's usually got enough in it.

Virtualdub's pretty good for all sorts of tweaks, but has no time-line. Lots of community support though.

Sirrel Squirrel · 29 Dec 2006 at 11:41

Go with Adobe Premiere + After Effects (tutorials will be handy for After Effects as it is quite hard to pick up at first, Premiere is a doddle to use though), I think Vegas is pretty rubbish to be honest so the sooner you can get away from it the better! I mainly use Avid Xpress but it's a bit more complex than Premiere

Supercow · 29 Dec 2006 at 12:33

I have used Vegas before, so I think I got the basic principals down with timelines and everything ... it's the Keyframes n stuff that starts confusing me.
Another thing that I struggle with, is seeing a project through, from start to finish.
I dont quite know what the chronological order is of what to do.
i.e.: Edit clips together then sync music, then after effects, then title, then credits.

Or Clips and music/sound at the same time... etc etc
Edit: always wanted to know what Vdub actually does? As far as my comprehension goes, it's a better compression device for the raw files i.e: export your video to DVD/High quality, then compress to DivX using VDub?

Sirrel Squirrel · 29 Dec 2006 at 12:59

Vdub is just another program for compressing avi files but it does let you edit bits and pieces but thats all it basically is. Adobe can convert files to any format that vdub can and so can most other editing programs.

As for actual editing, I usually find a piece of music that I think will sound good, stick it on the timeline and then cut whenever the beat or mood of the track changes, I find doing it this way is very effective and pretty easy really. I then add titles and credits once I've finished, I don't do anything fancy, I normally use the built in title programs in the editing program as they do the job just fine. (have a look at my site in my sig to see the videos I've done (best examples are florida 06, rally, gta san andreas and max payne))

Once the project is finished always export a full quality file as an avi and then from that you can make all different quality versions, for dvd or the web etc plus you have a nice high quality file as a backup.

Supercow · 29 Dec 2006 at 13:34

Thanks for the tips.
I had an inspiration for an intro sequence from a UT04 video I recently watched, but cannot for the life of me find a template or a tutorial on how to do what the guy did.
Have a look at Finnish it (need DivX web player). I love the way that you "follow the writing" in the very first seconds of the video (the "t" of temporal). I want to do something very similar for the intro to my GF's promo video ... how did he do that?
Do you have to create the EPS file and import into After Effects... then what?

I know that one is probably a long explanation, but if you can tell me what the technique is called (or whatever) I would be able to google a tutorial of some sorts

Sirrel Squirrel · 29 Dec 2006 at 14:02

I'll have a look when I get home tonight, sounds like it's just using keyframes though from what you've told me.

Keyframes are easy one you get your head round it, basically say you have a t in the bottom corner of the picture and you want to move it to the top right corner all you'd have to do it insert a keyframe with the t in the bottom corner, then move the video forward by about 2 seconds and then move the t to the top corner and insert another keyframe. This will make the t move from the bottom to the top in 2 seconds just by using 2 key frames. Once you've done it a few times it'll make a lot of sense.