Whenever you want to do some video editing you will need to go through the three following steps:
1. Capturing
Capturing means that the video material is copied on to the computer hard disc. With tape based cameras you do this in real time with a firewire (also called IEEE 1394 or iLink) cable. Memory based cameras material can either be copied through a USB lead (especially hard disc and mini-DVD cameras) or by using a card reader (flash card cameras).
2. Editing the video material
Now you are ready to edit the material, the core activity. This is when you make the clips shorter, get rid of clips you don't want to use and/or change the order of the video clips. You can add visual effects such as colour or brightness, change and add video transitions such as wipes or blends. Titles and subtitles can be overlaid on any videos or added at the beginning or end of the video. Sound effects and music can be added to make the message of the clip stronger.
3. Exporting your video film
Once all editing is finished the edited video will be exported. A new video file will be created, which can then be played independently from the editing software. This file is needed if you want to upload (stream) your video. The streaming portals give you directions about the compression parameters. The exporting process can be quite time consuming if you want a very good quality and you might need to export and upload the videos a few times if you are not satisfied with the end result.
A final note. Most editing programmes offer lots of video and audio effects. Many of these can be very interesting but you need to ensure that most of the editing time is not spent playing with effects and choosing fonts but rather on the actual content and message of the video clip.
Further links:
Video editing with movie maker
Install movie maker on Windows 7
Editing with movie maker on Windows 7
Simple editing in iMovie 09
Advanced editing in iMovie 09
written by Armin Hottmann, © 2010 copyright by divisproject.eu, creative commons
