Video is like film--it projects single images at a fast rate producing the illusion of continuous motion. These single images are called frames. The rate at which the frames are projected is generally between 24 and 30 frames per second (fps.) There is also usually, but not always, audio synchronized to the video.

Not long ago, in order to do video editing, you had to do it on analog editing decks. That means that you would need at least two high-quality decks (very fancy VCR's,) and, since analog signal loses quality each time it is passed back and forth (this quality loss is often called "generation loss"), the more editing that you did, the more quality loss you would get as a result. Also, there was less control and opportunity for fine adjustment, as it was hard to preview edits and once you made them, you were often stuck with them.

Then along came digital video...

With the increasing speed of computers today, it is becoming easier and easier to work with digital video on your computer at home. Digital video has many advantages over analog:

• Digital video has no generation loss which means you can work on it as long as you like without losing any quality;
• With digital video, you have control of fine detail and can preview each effect or transition as much as you like until you get it right;
• If, after all of your work has been done, you decide you don't like the results--no problem!--you can go back and make individual changes and adjustments to even the finest detail without having to do the entire job over again. There are lots of other advantages to digital video, but rather than list every single one, let's talk more specifically about the process of creating and producing digital video.

Use the source...

All video, digital or analog, starts with one thing--the original source material. It doesn't matter how good your edits are, if your source is bad it is more than likely that the final project will also be bad. You will capture most of your source material with a video camera. There are many different kinds of video cameras, but no matter what kind you use here are some things to keep in mind:

• Keep the camera steady when shooting. Nothing is worse than feeling seasick while watching a bouncy camera shot of someone dancing.
• Stay focused on a subject. If you are filming your friend riding a bike, make sure she or he is well framed and highlighted in the shot.
• Make sure the lighting is good. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether or not you have enough light to shoot a certain shot--experiment a little bit and find what works well. Keep in mind that it is hard to fix lighting problems later, so try to get it right when you are filming.
• Try to make it look professional. There are lots of little tricks you can pick up to make an amateur video look more professional, but try to concentrate on the details as much as possible. For instance, if you are shooting a scene from inside a car, make sure the windshield wipers don't go on in the middle of it!

Digitizing video and audio...

Once you have all of your source video and audio, you need to digitize it. Digitizing, besides just sounding like a really cool thing to do, is the process by which you record the video onto the computer. To do this you will need some kind of video capture board. This piece of hardware allows you to plug your video camera or VCR in to the computer. Some computers, like certain PowerMacs and Performas have video boards built into the computer already. Other computers, like Windows PC's require you to buy this board separately. All of these boards vary widely in price and performance. Apple's built-in boards work very well, but are not true professional quality. Certain professional boards, like the Media100, are beginning to be offered at an increasingly reasonable price. Keep in mind that "reasonable price" when it comes to video is still discussed in thousands of dollars. But, don't loose hope, prices are always coming down and there are some very good boards available, built-in and not, for a couple of hundred dollars. There are also some software/hardware packages that let you use your computer in conjunction with your VCR and camera for editing. Those are newer and less easy to find.

You will also need software that allows you to digitize video. The most popular video software is made by Adobe (the people who make Photoshop), http://www.adobe.com/. It's called Premiere, http://www.adobe.com/special/premiere. Other video software includes everything from Apple Video Player, to Avid VideoShop, to Media100, and many more.

Let's say you have a video capture board and the software and are ready to digitize your video. Here are some things to keep in mind:

 
• Use all of the computer's resources. Quit all applications other than the one you are using to digitize and give that program as much of the computer's RAM as possible.
• Record short segments. Video files are HUGE (1 second of 30 fps, 24-bit, full-screen video requires 27 megabytes!) and fill up even the biggest hard drives very quickly; recording short segments also helps to limit the jerkiness that is often inherent in digitized video.
• Only record the audio if you want to use it. Turning off the audio when recording helps in reducing file size and raises the quality of the capture process; if you want the audio, however, by all means record it.
• Keep only what you need. If you only want one frame from a 5 second video clip, most programs will allow you to cut out that one frame and throw the rest away; getting rid of unused material is a big help in conserving disk space.

Editing...

Once you have you video digitized, you are ready to edit. This is the part, besides the initial taping itself, when you can be most creative and really have fun. You can add all sorts of effects and transitions, as well as changing speed and duration, and layering clips on top of each other. Programs like Adobe Premiere give you all kinds of things to choose from and let you make your own too.

Again, keep in mind that disk space gets used up very quickly. Also, make sure you save your work as you go. It's very frustrating to loose hours of work if your computer crashes and you haven't saved your work. Remember, also, to leave some black at the beginning and end of your movie. This will be of great importance when you show your video in a concert and need to start and stop it without it looking all snowy.

Compiling...

So you've finally completed your project. Now it's time to compile. This is the process that takes everything you have done to your movie and puts in into final form. Some things to keep in mind when compiling:

 
• Again, use the computer's resources wisely. Quit all other applications and devote as much RAM as possible.
• Find something else to do for a while. Compiling can keep your computer busy for anywhere from an hour to two or three days, so make sure you don't need your computer and have something fun to do to keep you distracted. Sleeping works well if you let the video compile overnight.
• Choose your favorite CODEC. CODEC stands for compression/decompression; chances are you ran into this term while you were figuring out the fine points of digitizing, but if not, you'll hear plenty about it now. A CODEC allows you to compress your video and audio to reduce file size and allow the computer to play it back better. Some CODEC's you may use include Cinepack, MPEG, and motion JPEG.
• Make sure you have enough disk space. Your final compilation will require lots of disk space, depending on which CODEC you choose and how long the video is; make sure you have plenty of room on your hard drive.

Outputting...

You wake up in the morning and find that your video is done compiling. First of all, you're lucky it didn't take longer :). Secondly, it's time to output it to tape so you can show your friends. Sure, they can watch it on your computer, but it's not exactly convenient to take your whole computer setup to a party.

Most likely, the video capture board you have also has a video and audio output. This allows you to record to a video camera or VCR. It's just like recording from one VCR to another. Here again, use your computer's resources wisely. Sometimes it may take two or three times to get the computer to play the video to your liking. Be patient, remember how much information the computer is dealing with here! Once you recording on the VCR is to your liking, you are all set--it's off to show and impress your friends!

A few other thoughts...

 
• Since disk space is such a huge problem, if you are going to do a lot of work with video, you will need some kind of a backup device. Jaz drives are perfect for normal projects, and the cost per gigabyte of space is very low. The only thing cheaper is a DATa backup drive, but you can't work off of one of those like you can directly off of a Jaz drive.
• If you don't have the resources to capture video yourself, you can find tons of it on the web. Sites like CNN and MTV often have video clips that are lots of fun to play with once you download them.
• Still pictures work well too. You can be very creative manipulating still pictures over time in video. You can either scan these pictures, or when you have them developed at the store, get them put on a disk that you can use in your computer. It's a very cheap way to get your own pictures onto a computer without any hardware. Also, drawing pictures in programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, or any other drawing program is a great way to start a video project.
• Have fun and enjoy!

Back to the Hardware/Software Page.

Return to WOW/EM homepage

Go to Navigator menu.

Copyright September 1996,
updated February 2004.
Kristine H. Burns,
Florida International University
Questions? Contact me.