The subsequent editing of self-recorded video films is not that difficult. The process is similar in the different programs, only the structure of the tools differs. We reveal tips and tricks to make a film out of the raw material.
The film has been shot, all scenes are in the box. But that’s not all: the raw material, i.e. the individual scenes, must now be put together to form a film, that is, post-processed. Many amateur filmmakers have respect for this, especially since this requires many individual steps and a little patience. However, the postprocessing process is no secret and with a little practice, it is no longer a problem. We explain 15 important points.
The Software
There are several programs on the market that can be used to edit films. invideo ( www. invideo.com ), and Media Studio from invideo (invideo.io) are among the best known). Using these three tools for video editing, we will show you an example of the postprocessing process from setting up the work surface to inserting a title and various transition effects to exporting the finished film. If you work with a program other than those mentioned here, this is not a problem either, since the actual processing sequence is generally the same, only the operation of the tools and the order of the steps may differ. However, accessibility helps in most cases.
1 Structure of the Work Areas
Working areas of InVideo editing programs are structured differently than you know from image editing programs. That’s only natural. Therefore, little training is required before you can find your way around the work area. The so-called album contains all the elements needed to put together a film. These include, for example, the recorded film scenes and transitions that you need to blend the individual scenes. Many video editing programs also include different video effects to optimize or distort the film. Depending on the program used, sound effects or film titles can also be found in the album. In a large part of the work area, all elements are put together into a film. In technical jargon, this area is called a window. Most of the time, all elements can be easily placed in the timeline using drag & drop. The result of this can be assessed in the preview area. This modular structure can be seen very well in the invideo program. There is also an area here where you can read tips and instructions on how to proceed.
2 The Project Settings
Every film has certain basic settings that are defined in the project settings. Here you can set, for example, how many images should be displayed in the second. The image quality is also specified here. These settings should be specified each time a project is set up since the film must be recalculated when changing these settings. To record the digital film in the best possible picture quality, the film size should be adjusted to the settings of the camcorder. By default, films in PAL format are 720 x 576 pixels. This corresponds to an aspect ratio of 4: 3. The frame rate should be set to 25 frames per second – this is the default value for video films. For the audio settings, the values 48,000 Hz with 16-bit stereo are often used. In the editing mode, it is recommended to set the option “DV playback”.
Explanation: Unlike the computer, the television does not transmit complete images. Instead, “half” images are displayed. Instead of 25 full images per second, the television images consist of 50 fields. The display is in horizontal lines. This process is called interlace or interlaced. All odd lines are displayed in the first fiftieth of a second, followed by the even lines in the second fiftieth of a second. Since the human eye is very sluggish, these fields cannot be perceived.
3 Record Footage
In the first step of video editing, the recorded film scenes must be transferred to the video editing program. To do this, the camcorder must be connected to the PC – this is usually done via the so-called FireWire connection, which ensures fast transmission. Only one cable is required for picture and sound – unlike analog camcorders, in which picture and sound are separated. A double cable is required for the stereo sound.
A powerful and well-prepared computer is required for error-free film transmission. For example, you should defragment the hard drive to avoid so-called dropped frames. The film can only be saved in one piece on the hard disk when it is defragmented. These “omitted film images” arise when the data cannot be written to the hard disk quickly enough during the transfer. If there are many dropped frames, the film may jerk. Such recordings should, therefore, be repeated. Almost all video editing programs show how many film images have been “lost”. Incidentally, the camcorder should be connected to a power supply during dubbing. Otherwise, the battery might be empty during the recording.
4 Automatic Scene Detection
Most video editing programs offer useful help: automatic scene detection. This option can save a lot of working time. Pinnacle Studio or Ulead MediaStudio, for example, provides this function. With automatic scene detection, the video editing program automatically detects when you started or stopped recording while filming. Each time the film is restarted, a new scene is created. Some video editing programs even create individual films when they are being broadcast – one for each scene. This automatic separation saves the time-consuming splitting of the film during processing. When recording television films, a new scene is always created when the film image content changes completely. Therefore, no new scene can be recognized with soft transitions. With automatic scene detection, for example, advertisements for film recordings can be removed very quickly and easily. The relevant scenes are simply deleted from the compilation. Therefore, when choosing a video editing program, it is advisable to ensure that scene recognition is supported.
5 View Material
After importing the film, the first task is to sift through the material. Check the film for defects and determine where parts of the film need to be removed. You should also consider whether parts of the film need to be corrected. This could be necessary, for example, if parts of the film are to be adjusted in terms of brightness or contrast. The assessment of the footage can be done in the preview area. Controls for navigating the film are provided under the preview window. You can also use the time code to see where you are within the film. The timecode is called hours: minutes: seconds: frame. After the 25th film frame, the system switches to the next second. Many video editing programs also offer a full-screen mode. This is useful to be able to judge details in the film well. With Pinnacle Studio you can reach full-screen mode by simply double-clicking on the preview image.
6 Put Scenes Together
The recorded film scenes are compiled into a new film in the timeline after the import. You can use individual film scenes or add the entire film to the timeline, for example, to just title it. The required scenes are marked in the album and then transferred to the timeline using drag & drop. In the timeline, you will find several entries – so-called tracks. There the film, the sound or effects can be processed separately. The scenes are displayed in the form of a time axis; the beginning of the film can be seen on the left. This structure is based on an expanded film roll. The respective length of a scene can be recognized by the representation of the miniature pictures in the time axis. You can do the re-sorting simply by drag & drop. A vertical marking line indicates where you are within the entire film. In addition to this timeline display, many video editing programs also offer a storyboard view. The length of the scenes cannot be seen here – but this form of presentation is very clear and particularly recommended for beginners. Scenes can be quickly sorted using drag & drop.
7 Trim Movie Scenes
After inserting the desired film scenes into the timeline, one of the essential tasks of video editing has to be done. Cutting films is also known as trimming. You should pay particular attention to the beginning and the end of a scene. In practice, it often happens that the camcorder is easily torn when the recording is switched on or off. These unsightly film pictures should be cut off. Also, film parts that are not required or have failed must be cut off. Depending on the video editing program you are using, the scenes can be trimmed before or after inserting them into the lay plan window. If the film is trimmed after insertion, you have the advantage that you can keep an eye on the total length of the film. The programs work differently when trimming. Pinnacle Studio does not “cut” the film. The unwanted parts of the film are simply “hidden”. If a scene is placed again in the timeline, other In and Out points can be used – this is the name of the start and endpoint of the scene. Pinnacle’s In and Out points are defined in a separate work area: the so-called Toolbox.
8 Share Films
You may want to delete part of the recorded movie because it failed. In such cases, trimming does not help. The video editing programs offer differently named tools for such tasks. At Pinnacle the tool is called a razor blade, at Ulead MediaStudio, for example, scissors. Go to the position in the film where you want the division to begin, then cut it up using the appropriate tool. Then you have to switch to the second position and also separate the film there. The middle film piece can then be deleted with the “Del” key. Then the scenes can be pushed together again using drag & drop. Depending on the program used, there is no “real” sharing of the film. Pinnacle Studio only sets the necessary in and out points independently. You can easily check this if the newly created scenes are checked. So only one out point is placed in the first scene. The second scene is a duplicate of the scene in which a corresponding point has been set. So the razor blade variant saves a lot of working time.
9 Optimize Film Images
Practically all common video editing programs offer numerous functions to optimize film images. Depending on the video editing program used, more or fewer optimization functions are offered. Standard optimizations include options to automatically optimize the brightness and contrast of the film. Increasing color saturation is also an important standard function. Ulead MediaStudio, for example, offers an extensive toolbox with all imaginable effects – just as you know it from image processing programs. To apply, the effects are simply dragged and dropped onto the relevant film scene. Extensive effects are also provided at Premiere Elements. Here, however, the options are somewhat more complex. The effects can be adjusted in different ways. For example, an effect could vary in strength for a scene.
10 Alienate Film Images
In addition to optimizing the film images, there is also the possibility of using effects for alienation. In this way, a video film can quickly be made to look as if it had been drawn. The amount of effects provided differs significantly depending on the video editing program used. For example, Premiere Elements offers almost 100 different effect filters. However, effect filters should always be used sparingly. They distract very quickly from the actual film happening. But they can be used for film titles or graphic overlays as well as for subtitling. The effect filters can be used, for example, to distort the film image or to change the number of colors to achieve a striking appearance. Relief effects of curling pages are also popular with many users. If you are a little experienced in image processing programs, you will already be familiar with many of the effects offered. In contrast to editing a single photo, the calculation of the video effects naturally takes quite a while – after all, 25 frames per second of the film have to be converted.
11. Picture-in-Picture Effects
A popular category of effects is the so-called picture-in-picture effects. For example, they can be used to place a second, clearly scaled film on top of the main film – as is done for news programs. It can also be used to combine scenes effectively. For example, the next photo in a slide show could “fly” into the picture. Premiere Elements offers a very large number of such effects in a wide variety of variations. But here, too, it applies that economical use makes sense. For this reason, for example, only “similar” effects should be used for a slide show. So one picture could fly into the picture from the left – the next picture then from the right. If this is always used alternately, interesting slide shows are created.
12. Films Set to Music
In the last step of the film post-processing, the finished cut result can be set to music. You can either remove the original sound or add additional sound effects. This could be, for example, noises that are poorly reproduced in the film, such as squeaky tires from a moving car. Also, the original sound could be overlaid with music if the film seems “too quiet” to you. For such tasks, Pinnacle Studio offers an interesting solution with SmartSound effects. Here, automatic pieces of music are created, which have the advantage that they can be used without GEMA fees. The automatic generation of the music has the additional advantage that the duration of the piece of music can be adapted exactly to the length of the scene.
13. Export the Finished Film
Once the film is finished and edited, it still has to be exported. Various output formats are supported. In this way, small films can be created that can be sent by email. Many programs also offer “replay” to a DV tape. You will also find the various CD / DVD formats in the export options, for example, to generate a video CD. When exporting the film, all applied effects are calculated into the film – rendering is said to be the case. This rendering takes some time. For long films, you should, therefore, do this work overnight, otherwise, the computer will be blocked for many hours.
