Once you shoot footage, you will want to edit it. This is the major part of post-production. With current digital technology we have the ability to use non-linear¹ editing systems. This will show you the basics of how to capture, edit and archive your project.
Editing is basically a five step process. Here are the five steps in order.
Organization: You need to get all your assets in place. This means your capfile:/E:/LostBackpack_tured video, sound effects, music, voice overs, visual effects, still images and anything else you will include in the final footage. It's a lot easier to have it all in place instead of continually have to stop and sort it out as your trying to edit. It will also show up in your video because you will be able to focus on editing and not searching.
Assembling: Once you are organized you will begin the process of piecing together all the shots, audio and other materials that make up your finished product. There are two approaches to this:additive editingandsubtractive editing//. With subtractive editing you add in all your footage and cut out the parts you don't want in. With additive editing you start with a blank slate and carefully piece together the video you have envisioned. Additive often results in more professional looking video. By contrast subtractive editing just looks like cleaned up home video.
Enhancing: This is where you correct small mistakes or make small enhancements. Maybe you need to correct the color of a shot or balance some audio. Or perhaps you would like to add a sepia filter to color the video or some reverb to the audio. You are basically making minor changes to existing footage to improve quality.
Synthesizing: You tie it all together at this stage. Transitions between clips can be added, you can layer video and audio or add in special graphics like titles. Your goal is to polish your project. This is the frosting on the cake.
Archiving: Ok, you're finished. Well, not quite. So far only you and whoever hangs out in the editing bay will see your video. You need to put it out to some kind of media. You can create a DVD, save it as a file format for the internet, or even put it back on to tape. As a matter of habit I always make more than one copy, just in case².
You're the Editor
Now that you are familiar with the five steps I will take you through them with a sample project. We will recreate the video you saw in the "three phases of production" section. Since you have already seen the storyboard, you can refer to it again. LostBackpack-Storyboard.pdf This gives you a good sense as to how a storyboard can help all the way through a project. Of course, feel free to stray from the storyboard and create something a little different. Here is an instruction sheet to follow and another look at the finished product.
The Lost Backpack
As mentioned before the first step is organization. You need the raw materials. I have stored them here. Feel free to use different titles, additional footage, music and sound effects. You will need to use the original footage as well. It's essential to telling the story. Here is how to begin.
_Insert video here_
Now that you have all your clips and and other assets together, you need to start assembling them. This will show you how to view them and get them onto the timeline.
_Insert video here_
Now that you have them where you want them, see if you can clean them up a little by adjusting color, brightness and contrast. You can also help the audio with filters as well.
_Insert video here_
It's looking pretty good, but some things are still missing. You need a title, maybe some credits and what about a transition or two?
_Insert video here_
Alright, one last thing. You need to archive it. Why not save it for online video?
_Insert video here_
Success!
I hope your first run at editing wasn't too bad. It can be daunting sometimes when you look at all the features of the software. Just remember that five step process and you will be able to get where you want to go. All editing software is designed with that kind of workflow in mind. Once you learn how to edit in one system, it's not so tough to learn in others. Also, there is usually some kind of help menu or even tutorials to rely on. One of the biggest things to remember is that you need to be prepared and have a plan in place when you edit. That will make the difference between a frustrating process and an enjoyable one.
¹ As opposed to linear editing. Here is more info on the difference.
² In fact, I also back up all my raw materials and the whole project. Of course, I need a lot of disk space for this.
Intro to Editing
Once you shoot footage, you will want to edit it. This is the major part of post-production. With current digital technology we have the ability to use non-linear¹ editing systems. This will show you the basics of how to capture, edit and archive your project.
Editing is basically a five step process. Here are the five steps in order.
Organization: You need to get all your assets in place. This means your capfile:/E:/LostBackpack_tured video, sound effects, music, voice overs, visual effects, still images and anything else you will include in the final footage. It's a lot easier to have it all in place instead of continually have to stop and sort it out as your trying to edit. It will also show up in your video because you will be able to focus on editing and not searching.
Assembling: Once you are organized you will begin the process of piecing together all the shots, audio and other materials that make up your finished product. There are two approaches to this: additive editing and subtractive editing//. With subtractive editing you add in all your footage and cut out the parts you don't want in. With additive editing you start with a blank slate and carefully piece together the video you have envisioned. Additive often results in more professional looking video. By contrast subtractive editing just looks like cleaned up home video.
Enhancing: This is where you correct small mistakes or make small enhancements. Maybe you need to correct the color of a shot or balance some audio. Or perhaps you would like to add a sepia filter to color the video or some reverb to the audio. You are basically making minor changes to existing footage to improve quality.
Synthesizing: You tie it all together at this stage. Transitions between clips can be added, you can layer video and audio or add in special graphics like titles. Your goal is to polish your project. This is the frosting on the cake.
Archiving: Ok, you're finished. Well, not quite. So far only you and whoever hangs out in the editing bay will see your video. You need to put it out to some kind of media. You can create a DVD, save it as a file format for the internet, or even put it back on to tape. As a matter of habit I always make more than one copy, just in case².
You're the Editor
Now that you are familiar with the five steps I will take you through them with a sample project. We will recreate the video you saw in the "three phases of production" section. Since you have already seen the storyboard, you can refer to it again. LostBackpack-Storyboard.pdf This gives you a good sense as to how a storyboard can help all the way through a project. Of course, feel free to stray from the storyboard and create something a little different. Here is an instruction sheet to follow and another look at the finished product.
As mentioned before the first step is organization. You need the raw materials. I have stored them here. Feel free to use different titles, additional footage, music and sound effects. You will need to use the original footage as well. It's essential to telling the story. Here is how to begin.
_Insert video here_
Now that you have all your clips and and other assets together, you need to start assembling them. This will show you how to view them and get them onto the timeline.
_Insert video here_
Now that you have them where you want them, see if you can clean them up a little by adjusting color, brightness and contrast. You can also help the audio with filters as well.
_Insert video here_
It's looking pretty good, but some things are still missing. You need a title, maybe some credits and what about a transition or two?
_Insert video here_
Alright, one last thing. You need to archive it. Why not save it for online video?
_Insert video here_
Success!
I hope your first run at editing wasn't too bad. It can be daunting sometimes when you look at all the features of the software. Just remember that five step process and you will be able to get where you want to go. All editing software is designed with that kind of workflow in mind. Once you learn how to edit in one system, it's not so tough to learn in others. Also, there is usually some kind of help menu or even tutorials to rely on. One of the biggest things to remember is that you need to be prepared and have a plan in place when you edit. That will make the difference between a frustrating process and an enjoyable one.
¹ As opposed to linear editing. Here is more info on the difference.
² In fact, I also back up all my raw materials and the whole project. Of course, I need a lot of disk space for this.