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5 Easy Steps to Simplify Editing and Publishing Your Home Video

So youve got a camcorder, maybe you even know how to record with it...but you have not a clue how to edit out 15 minutes of Uncle Tom Sleeping at little Timmys party. Maybe youd like to remove the 5 minutes of recording with the lense cap on?

Maybe you know the basics but youre just not happy with the turnout. You spend alot of time but in the end the video looks lousy and you dont want anyone to know you did it.

This article will lay out 5 easy to follow steps that will streamline your video editing project, not only making the process easier on you but also making the quality of the finished video much better. Not only will you be happier with the final outcome, but friends and family will be impressed when you tell them you did it yourself.

Lets take a look at what these five steps are. The five steps are listed here;

-Plan
-Prepare
-Edit
-Review
-Produce

These may seem pretty obvious, but many people skip, ignore, or forget to do these steps. Lets take a look at the steps.

STEP 1 - *PLAN*
Planning your video is an integral step to producing a clean, polished, final version. In this step you decide what you want and what you dont want to remain in your video. The best thing to do is devote enough time to watch the entire video if possible. Sit down with a pen, paper, and the remote. When you find a segment you dont want in the video, pause it and write down the start and end time of the clip. Most DVD players and camcorders give you an elapsed time displayed on screen or on an lcd display on the unit.

So, for instance, lets assume that you want to remove a segment of a birthday party where you forgot to turn the camcorder off. You would write down where in the video it takes place. Lets say it starts at 5 minutes and 3 seconds (5:03), and ends at 6 minutes (6:00).

After you have decided all of the things to edit out, what do you want to add?

Maybe you would like to add background music, or a title. Make notes while your watching of when you would like to add something and what it is you want to add.

If the video is long or you are pressed for time you can do this in segments. The time spent doing this will save you alot of time in the future when your working with the video.

One key point to consider, is where will your video be published to when your done? Will it go on DVD, Blu-Ray, the Web? This is important because it will determine how you handle the video and what formats you use. You should always work with video keeping the final format in mind.

STEP 2 - *PREPARE*
Once you know what you want from your finalized video, you need to collect the tools you need to make it happen. Any mechanic will tell you there is nothing worse then getting set to work on a car, getting underneath the hood...then realizing you need to go buy the right tool or get it from your tool box. The same holds true when doing anything, especially working on intangible things like video editng.

Make sure that all of your videos, clips, pictures, music are all located in one easy to reach place. if it helps put them (or a copy of them) all in the same folder, in your MyDocuments or on your desktop.

Start importing or inputting them into your editing software. Dependant on the size of the files and your software among other things, this may take a while.

Most of the time spent on video editing is waiting for the computer to process the video, convert the format, or transcode it. If you think you are gonna have to wait a while, go shopping, make a sandwich, or take a nap...let the computer do the work for you.

Make sure your files are in the best formats. Remember that its always better to shrink the video size (resolution) lower then to stretch it out later on. So if your planning on putting it on the web, in say 480x360 resolution....it may be best to start and edit it at 600x480. This way if you ever want it to be bigger, the quality will remain the same up to 600x480.

Once all of your files are in place, ready to be manipulated and edited, then your ready for step 3...

STEP 3 - *EDIT*
This is where step 1 So youve got a camcorder, maybe you even know how to disk with it...but you have not a clue how to edit out 15 minutes of Uncle Tom dormant(ip) at little Timmys party. Maybe youd like to take the 5 transactions of recording with the lense cap on?

Maybe you know the rudiments but youre just not happy with the turnout. You spend alot of time but in the end the video looks lousy and you dont want anyone to know you did it.

This article will lay out 5 easy to follow steps that will streamline your video editing project, not only devising the process easier on you but also making the quality of the ruined video much better. Not only will you be happier with the final outcome, but friends and family will be impressed when you tell them you did it yourself.

Lets take a look at what these five steps are. The five steps are listed here;

-Plan
-Prepare
-Edit
-Review
-Produce

These may seem jolly obvious, but many people skip, ignore, or forget to do these steps. Lets take a look at the steps.

STEP 1 - *PLAN*
Planning your video is an inbuilt step to producing a clean, polished, final version. In this step you decide what you want and what you dont want to rest in your video. The best thing to do is devote enough time to watch the entire video if possible. Sit down with a pen, paper, and the remote. When you find a segment you dont want in the video, pause it and write down the start and end time of the clip. Most DVD players and camcorders give you an elapsed time displayed on sort or on an lcd display on the unit.

So, for instance, lets take on that you want to get rid of a segment of a natal day party where you forgot to turn the camcorder off. You would write down where in the video it takes place. Lets say it starts at 5 minutes and 3 seconds (5:03), and ends at 6 proceedings (6:00).

After you have decided all of the things to edit out, what do you want to add?

Maybe you would like to add play down music, or a title. Make notes while your observance of when you would like to add something and what it is you want to add.

If the video is long or you are pressed for time you can do this in segments. The time spent doing this will save you alot of time in the futurity when your working with the video.

One key point to consider, is where will your video be published to when your done? Will it go on DVD, Blu-Ray, the Web? This is important because it will ascertain how you handle the video and what formats you use. You should always work with video keeping the final format in mind.

STEP 2 - *PREPARE*
Once you know what you want from your finalized video, you need to collect the tools you need to make it happen. Any mechanic will tell you there is nothing worse then acquiring set to work on a car, acquiring underneath the hood...then realizing you need to go buy the right tool or get it from your tool box. The same holds true when doing anything, especially working on intangible things like video editng.

Make sure that all of your videos, clips, pictures, music are all set in one easy to reach place. if it helps put them (or a copy of them) all in the same folder, in your MyDocuments or on your desktop.

Start importing or inputting them into your editing software. Dependant on the size of the files and your software among other things, this may take a while.

Most of the time spent on video editing is waiting for the calculator to process the video, exchange the format, or transcode it. If you think you are gonna have to wait a while, go shopping, make a sandwich, or take a nap...let the electronic computer do the work for you.

Make sure your files are in the best formats. Remember that its always amend to shrink the video size (resolution) lower then to adulterate it out later on. So if your planning on putting it on the web, in say 480x360 resolution....it may be best to start and edit it at 600x480. This way if you ever want it to be bigger, the quality will stay the same up to 600x480.

Once all of your files are in place, ready to be manipulated and edited, then your ready for step 3...

STEP 3 - *EDIT*
This is where step 1 .

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By: Ben Needles


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