Video Editing - Getting Started Guide
This is a copy and paste from my website. The information is a little dated but still provides useful information. Hope this is helpful.
Video Editing getting started
System Requirements:
It’s important to know that video capturing requires a lot of hard drive space. I personally wouldn’t even consider trying it without at the very least 20g of free hard drive space. Depending on how much content you want to collect, plus putting it together you’ll need space for that too, add room later to convert the finished project to the desired compression format of your choice. There’s really no limit to how much space you can use depending on the size of the project/video you want to make.
Memory is generally cheap, the more you have the better life is, if you only have 512m your going to hate life. You should have 1g, I recommend 2g. You can make videos with less, but it’s going to take a lot of time.
CPU speed. I’m not going to draw a line here, memory is more important, but of coarse the processor speed is going to determine your render (compile) speed. Core Duo processors are wonderful for video editing. I had a 3.2g HD Intel and built a new machine a 2.8g Core 2 Duo and its night a day. Something that would take 40mins on my old computer takes 8mins on the Core duo system.
Video Editing Software:
There’s a large variety of software to choose from. I will only be listing three.
1. Windows Movie Maker
2. Adobe Premier
3. Sony Vegas
Windows Movie Maker:
Comes with Windows XP. If you can’t find it in your program list from the start menu you can always download it from Microsoft. This program is very basic and limited with functionality. However it is free and if you’re just starting out it’s a great program to learn with. I started making my first movies with the software and later upgraded to a better software package. Quality of Movie maker is pretty limited but doable, your able to trim clips, put them together in a time line and add music making for a basic video. There are some effects that come with Movie Maker, most aren’t worth using. Some of the transitions between the clip effects are decent and it does a good job.
Pros: Easy to learn and use. FREE, perfect for beginners.
Cons: Limited functionality, Limited quality.
Windows Movie Maker
Adobe Premier:
Premier is one of the first professional video editing software packages that hit the market. They have been around a very long time and know what they are doing. There are two versions you could purchase. There’s the PRO version which includes all the bells and whistles, and there’s the ELELMENTS version which is about a quarter of the cost, but a lot of effects and tools offered in the PRO version is not included.
I went directly to Premier elements 1.0 after Movie maker and I created this movie.
http://www.bradster.net/movies/toxicmoon2.wmv
Premier elements 1.0 Nice!
It’s a bit of a learning curve. But like with all the video packages it’s a matter of trying each effect and option and see what it does. I was using version 5 or 6 at the time, whatever was the newest version. There’s a ton of things that you can do with this program as long as you go for the PRO version. Like Vegas you can do frame by frame editing and the quality of your work comes out perfect. You can fine tune anything. Liven up backgrounds in your video. You can pretty much do it all. If you have a lot of time to learn. Recently Version 2.0 Pro came out; I must say I really don’t like it. I’ve tried going back to Premier for exporting and importing to After Effects. The whole program just feels and acts different. I can’t find anything and strange things happen that I didn’t add.
Adobe Premier 2.0 PRO, WTF!
Pros: One of the best software packages on the market. Custom downloadable plug-ins for effects. No limit to what you can accomplish.
Cons: Learning curve. Damn expensive. You could buy a used car instead of the purchase price of this program. Elements version you can find deals on under a hundred but the limited functionality prevented me from doing a lot of things I wanted.
My personal favorite: Sony Vegas
Went from Premier to Vegas and created this.
http://www.bradster.net/movies/supervid2.wmv
Then later with more exprience I made this
http://www.bradster.net/movies/Graveyardshift.divx
I started using Vegas for two reasons. One I noticed a lot of others using this program to create there videos, which had some decent effects I could not get with Premier Elements. Second reason Price! I’ll admit I was pro Premier just because of the name and how long they have been around. That all changed after I got comfortable with Vegas.
Vegas has tons of effects to work with. It also has pretty much every tool that I can find in Premier. Between the two there isn’t much difference that I can see. The only things that stand out is, the layout. I really like the sony layout much better. I find Sony to be easy to navigate, understand and use. Like premier you’re going to have to do some reading. But I was able to pick this up and start using it right away.
Pros: One of the best software packages on the market. Custom downloadable plug-ins for effects. No limit to what you can accomplish. MUCH cheaper then Premier.
Cons: Learning curve. Little pricey but worth every penny. If you want to get the least bit serous about video editing this is the cheapest package your going to have that packs this much functionality for this kind of price.
Find what is most comfortable
Both Adobe Preimeir and Sony Vegas provide free trail demos. Try them both its free for 30days I beleave.
Video Capturing Software:
The software choices are very limited; there are only two software packages to choose from that are designed to capture video from video games. There’s other methods and software that might work, but with these software packages the simplicity outweighs the trouble to try to use anything else. Those packages are…
1. Fraps
2. Game cam
Everyone’s next question is which one do I get? Well its all on personal preference. I’ll admit Game cam first starting out was pretty bad with quality compared. But they have come a long way and I wouldn’t exclude it just yet.
Let’s compare the two.
Fraps
Fraps:
Fraps can go up to 60 fps, Game cam can only go upto 30 fps.
Fraps is one button record, fast easy simple. You can change the default key to whatever you want. I choose the ~ key. I like it to keep it within reach in the event say I’m jumped, missing half the battle looking for the start key doesn’t make for good content.
Game cam you have to surf thru menus to select the option to record. It also puts a transparent menu over top your game interface which is annoying and can get in the way. Depending where you have your hotbars. I believe you can setup hotkeys to avoid this.
Fraps records sound, Gamecam does not.
Gamecam:
Game cam is a little cheaper then Fraps.
Game cam demo allows you to record a lot more then the Fraps demo. Fraps demo only allows you to record up to thirty seconds.
My money is on Fraps.
How to achieve higher ratings for your videos.
Since wow came out shortly after a few popular wow movies sites popped up. It was always my dream to achieve the Featured movie (top movie) of the week. After three years of trying it happened. Boy did I try. I learned a great deal of things; I’m going to pass this down to you.
#1 Music makes the video.
I love 80’s, but how many of you like it? That’s right if I put the song “Hammer time” on my video it would be great (to me!) because well that song just rocks. However that’s a sure fine way for rock bottom ratings. So don’t do it no matter how cool you think 80’s are!
If you want to be serious about achieving a high rating it requires some home work. Take a look around; see what everyone is using in their videos as far as audio. Don’t use the same songs but use the high rated videos as references on the type of sound the community seems to enjoy. A little hint here, hard stuff always seems to appeal to the most users. Something hard and new that hasn’t been played before always get’s attention. Metal, Rock, Techno is normally your primary focus.
#2 the presentation
Not only do you have to ensure the quality and compression of your video is user friendly to view, but you also have to ensure its fun to watch. A few pointers, having videos staring at your characters a long time isn’t fun to watch. Another example, after you kill player(s) try to fade in to the next clip right away. The before and after footage of the clips of no action add up over time. Action is key, the before and after is not.
#3 Be Creative
Possibly the hardest, at least for me. You could toss a ton of clips together in a nice fast paced PVP video and be like everyone else. Or you could invest the time to time your clips to the music or effects. Little slow mo video action or some comedy can really go the distance. Give them something they haven’t seen before and it makes your video unique.
You will never find a video that didn’t have a decent time investment to make it a featured section. It’s up to you to make it happen.
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