There are two systems for editing: linear and non-linear. In linear system you edit raw footage by transferring it to another tape as you play it back. You can't skip around meaning you have to deal with your footage as it comes along. Fortunately, with digital technology, we can skip around to any video track and go back and forth as we please. This is called non-linear editing. A good analogy is a cafeteria line versus a buffet. In the cafeteria line you get your food as it comes to you and you can't skip around. At a buffet however you can skip around and choose what you want in any order. Given that, it would seem that there is no reason for linear editing. It's true that non-linear editing is pretty much replacing linear editing, but linear still has one advantage. It's low cost and easy to learn. Basically, you just need a camcorder and a vcr and you're in business. It's a simple matter of hooking the camcorder to the vcr input and playing back the footage and hitting the record button on the vcr whenever you want to insert a new cut. If you can't afford non-linear software and the hardware to run it, this will still allow you to produce well edited video.
Linear vs. Non-Linear
There are two systems for editing: linear and non-linear. In linear system you edit raw footage by transferring it to another tape as you play it back. You can't skip around meaning you have to deal with your footage as it comes along. Fortunately, with digital technology, we can skip around to any video track and go back and forth as we please. This is called non-linear editing. A good analogy is a cafeteria line versus a buffet. In the cafeteria line you get your food as it comes to you and you can't skip around. At a buffet however you can skip around and choose what you want in any order. Given that, it would seem that there is no reason for linear editing. It's true that non-linear editing is pretty much replacing linear editing, but linear still has one advantage. It's low cost and easy to learn. Basically, you just need a camcorder and a vcr and you're in business. It's a simple matter of hooking the camcorder to the vcr input and playing back the footage and hitting the record button on the vcr whenever you want to insert a new cut. If you can't afford non-linear software and the hardware to run it, this will still allow you to produce well edited video.