In this short video, we introduce the concept of a video frame. Video is simply made up of a series of pictures, which we call frames, and they are then displayed at a rapid rate. The concept of a “frame of video” will be very important as we get into the heart of producing videos using a computer.
Thanks to Papa John (no not the pizza guys) for the video “100 Numbered Frames”.
Tags: editing, production, video
This post finds me answering the question of what have I been up to lately. Well, I’m trying to find easy ways to edit and produce video for as close to zero expense as possible. So I find myself on the Mac and on the PC side of this MacBook Pro working with Windows Movie Maker for Vista and iMovie’08 for Mac. Now I’m going to jump straight to the ending and say that I don’t recommend you use either one of them, at least not for start to finish video editing projects.
What I will recommend that you do is go download the previous version of the editors and use them instead. So However, if you use a Mac, go download iMovie HD iMovie HD is no longer available. The latest version of iMovie is at least slightly improved over the awful iMovie '08. If you are using Windows XP, you’re OK, but make sure you have at least version 2.1. If you have Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate, go download Movie Maker 2.6 for Vista. If you have Vista Home Basic, or Vista Enterprise/Business, it looks like you’re out of luck because version 2.6 seems to require that you have the original Vista Movie Maker program. Home Basic and Enterprise versions don’t come with Movie Maker so it looks like a non-starter.
Another caveat, the download page for Movie Maker 2.6 for Vista says to test if you can run the original version of Movie Maker. They say “If Movie Maker launches, you should not download version 2.6”. I have not discovered any incompatibilities with having both versions on my computer. As a matter of fact, I’m seeing that the original version of Movie Maker runs better once you install the old version. By better I mean that the original version has big problems with frame accuracy, in other words finding the exact point where one scene ends and the other begins. Still, Movie Maker 2.6 is more frame accurate.
Also, when you import video into the original Vista Movie maker, it does not detect scenes correctly. However, here is a truly weird situation. If I open a movie in 2.6 it does the scene detection correctly, and then if I open up the original Movie Maker with the same video all the scenes are now there as if it detected those scenes all along. Here’s a screencast of the phenomenon:
Expect more from me soon, regarding Windows Movie Maker and iMovie. Here’s a teaser for a large project I’m working on.
Tags: editing, macintosh, production, Screencast, video, windows
Step #1 – Shooting your video: We’ll assume that you have already shot the video for your project. However, YouTube has some good resources for shooting video, using lighting, and getting good sound at their “toolbox” site. Also a good starting point is their Making Videos page, which is part of their help pages. The UMW New Media center also has some helpful tips on shooting video.
Step #2 – Getting your video on the computer: Depending on what you used to shoot your video, you will need to get it onto your computer. If you have a camera that uses mini-DV tapes, you’ll need a firewire cable to transfer the video. If you are using a PC, Windows Movie Maker can be used to transfer the video from your camera. iMovie will be the software you will use if you’re on a Mac. If you are using a camera with a flash memory card, a hard drive, or using a digital still camera that has a movie setting, you’ll need to use a USB cable. If you have a camcorder that uses mini-DVD, follow the directions that came with your camera to get video onto your computer.
Step #3 – Editing Your Video: Assuming you will take the raw footage from your camera and add titles and transitions, you will need a video editor. Again, if you use a PC, then Windows Movie Maker is the program that is included with the Windows operating system to edit your video. If you use a Mac, iMovie will be what you use. When you have a final edited version, complete with titles, transitions, and any additional audio, you will need to save the movie for uploading to YouTube. YouTube can accept many different formats of video as long as the length of the video is 10 minutes or less, and as long as the file is less than 1GB (gigabyte). If you are using Movie Maker you can save the file as a .wmv file. This will be a compressed file that will be decent quality and be much smaller than the 1GB restriction. If you use iMovie, you can save the file as an MPEG-4 file and again it will be compressed to a much smaller file. If you are using iMovie ‘08, the program has a built in uploader to YouTube. If you want a similar capability on the PC, then download a free video editor called VideoSpin from Pinnacle Systems.
Step #4 – Uploading Video to YouTube: If you are using VideoSpin or iMovie ‘08, then you will upload the movie directly from the program. Look in the help file for specific instructions on how to do this. It’s fairly intuitive for both programs. If you are using Movie Maker or a previous version of iMovie, you will upload the compressed video file that you saved onto your computer from the editor. A .wmv file from Movie Maker and a MPEG-4 file from iMovie. If you haven’t already, you need to sign up for a YouTube account. You then sign in to YouTube and look for the “Upload” button in the upper right corner of the page.
You will then need to provide a Title, Description, a Category, and include at least one “tag” (a keyword) so that people can search for your video. There are other options that you can choose, such as making a video private or public (they’re public by default), as well as date, mapping, and sharing options. It will take a while for the video to upload, depending on the size of the file, your connection speed to the Internet, and how busy the YouTube site is. Once your video is done uploading, additional time is needed to convert the video to the format that will play on the YouTube site (flash, also known as FLV). Again, depending on how busy the site is, your video will be available generally within an hour. You can now tell people about your video by linking to it, or by embedding it in your own web page. Congratulations, you are a YouTube video producer!
Tags: editing, newmedia, production, shooting, video, YouTube
Learning how to shoot video is, for the most part, on-the-job training. We assume you have taken at least one still photograph in your life. You get the person or other subject in the frame and press the button. Well that’s basically how shooting video works. You frame your subject and press record. How you frame your subject, what your background is, how the audio is recorded, the quality of the lighting, and a myriad of other things, will make your video either spectacular or lousy. Here are a few tips:
Use the Rule of Thirds – when framing your subject. Mentally divide the image you see in the viewfinder into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. Put your subject under one of the lines of intersection. Give the subject some room to move in the viewfinder. Be especially aware of your background too.
Properly light the scene – This doesn’t mean you need to go out and purchase a professional light kit. Understand that your camcorder adjusts for light, or lack of it, automatically. If you are shooting a subject that is standing in front of the sun, chances are that the subject will be a black shadow. Avoid bright backgrounds and also, at the other extreme, avoid poorly lit areas.
Avoid using the zoom buttons – at least while recording. This doesn’t mean don’t use the zoom feature, but try zooming before you hit record. Now shoot some video, pause, zoom in or out, and then record some more. Excessive zooming can make people feel a bit ill. Also, using the extreme zoom settings magnifies the unsteadiness of a handheld camcorder. Use a tripod if at all possible.
Use a tripod! – Holding the camera steady is important to good video. Also, with a good video tripod, one with a so called "fluid" head, you can follow your subject with a smooth panning motion. "Hand-held vs. Tripod"
Vary the shots that you take – Have a good game plan in mind of what should be in a shot and try to shoot the subject from different perspectives. Don’t use the camcorder like a firefighter using a fire hose.
Don’t forget about audio – Remember you are not just recording video. Be aware of noises in the background. Our brains do a good job of blocking out background noise, camcorders sometimes don’t. If you are shooting the history of George Washington with some actors, sounds of cars whizzing by in the background doesn’t sound realistic. Also, use headphones to make sure that the audio is audible. Note in the picture at the top of the page that the videographers are using headphones or earphones. You may need to use an external microphone, either a lapel mic or a boom mic, that picks up the subject’s voice better. If you’re shooting from a distance, a "shotgun" mic is often used.
More good information is available at the Media College website.
Tags: camcorder, production, shooting, video
The word firewire is actually a term that Apple coined for the technical standard known as the IEEE1394 interface. Firewire, IEEE1394, and Sony’s iLink all refer to the same high-speed interface that connects data devices together. It is similar to USB 2.0, but it is more appropriate for the transfer of video "data" from a digital camcorder because firewire is able to maintain a consistent high rate of transfer. Transferring video to a computer in this manner is commonly referred to as digital video capture. Another advantage of firewire is that the transfer of digital data from DV tape can be controlled by the computer. The capture software can communicate with the camcorder, so you can press record in the software and the camcorder receives a signal to start playing automatically.
While firewire connections generally only come on cameras that use the mini-DV tape format, there is another advantage of having a camera with firewire. You can record live video directly to the hard drive of a computer, or use the camera as a high quality web cam by using the firewire connection.
Firewire ports are standard on all Macintosh computers, but they may not come as standard on a PC. Inexpensive cards (less than $30) can be purchased if your PC does not have firewire ports. Below is a photo of a typical PC firewire card.
You will also need a firewire cable (as illustrated in the top photo) to connect your camcorder to the computer. Typically a camcorder has what is known as a 4-pin firewire port. The end of the cable that goes in that port will look like a small square with a dent in it. The other end of the cable has a 6-pin connector. It has one rounded end and can only be inserted in the firewire port of a computer one way.
Tags: digital, firewire, production, video
Image via Wikipedia
Shopping for a camcorder has never been an easy experience, but there has been constant improvement in the quality of video that can be obtained. Before you buy a camera, know what your final destination for your video is. Is it YouTube? Then you won’t need the highest quality camera because this is low resolution video. UPDATE: YouTube recently started offering HD quality video on their site, so high resolution video is now an option. Will you be making a DVD? Then you’ll want to get a high quality camera. Will you just re-watch it on your TV? Make sure you’ve got the right cables to make the connection. If you’ve got an HDTV, you might want to consider and HD camera. If you’re ready to shop you can start with Cnet’s camcorder finder. Otherwise, here’s what to look for in a video camera (also known as camcorders):
Photo by ivan castro guatemala
We live in interesting times (both a blessing and a curse) when it comes to digital video. The first step of any video project is to gather footage of your subject matter. For the past several decades video cameras have been using tape cassettes to save the video onto. In the mid-1990’s, a digital version of tape came into existence to facilitate the transfer to a computer for editing. As I write this in the summer of 2008, there are new storage forms that are gaining traction that do not use tape at all. We also are going through a transition of video resolutions from what is known as standard definition (SD) to high definition (HD). This article will attempt to sort out the storage and resolution issues you should be aware of. When you’re ready to shop for a camcorder, check out the article on what to look for in a camcorder.
Let’s begin by talking about the ways in which cameras store the video that is recorded. We’ll start by mentioning what is thankfully fading into the past, and that is analog video. That means VHS (including S-VHS) and 8mm (including Hi8) videotape. I say thankfully because of the difficult nature of working with these formats in the digital world that we live in. The difference between these older analog formats and the relatively new digital video (DV) format is that a more complicated digitizing step needed to occur to get the video in a form that can be readily edited with a computer. With digital camcorders, video is already in a format that the computer can understand. The DV format also has the advantage of being higher resolution than either VHS or S-VHS (or 8mm and Hi8).
The disadvantage of the DV format is that there is no high speed transfer of the video to the computer. The digital information is on a linear tape. The video is all transferred in real time, meaning if you took an hour of video on the camcorder, it will take an hour to transfer it to the computer before you can edit it. That’s where some of the new storage formats shine.
In addition to the DV format, there are camcorders that store the video on mini-DVD (a smaller version of the standard DVD), on a hard disk drive similar to a computer hard drive, and on what is known as SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) flash memory cards which are removable. The advantage of all three of these formats is that you are simply transferring a file to the computer that has already been written to the DVD, hard drive, or SD card. Therefore transfers take fractions of the time it takes DV footage on tape to be transferred.
The disadvantage of these new storage formats is that you can quickly run out of space to store these digital files. A typical mini-DVD will hold up to an hour’s worth of video which is equivalent to a DV tape, but it is at lower quality. A typical hard drive camcorder might hold 5 hours of high-quality video, or an SDHC memory card may hold an hour or two, but what do you do after that. You can’t buy a new hard drive and insert it into the camcorder, and each SD card costs much more (at this time) than a DV tape does. DV tape does have an “archival” advantage over these other digital storage forms.
Other disadvantages come into play when you go to edit the video. Not all editing programs (especially the free ones) recognize the MPEG2 format from the recordable DVD, or the h.264 (aka AVCHD) codec from the SD cards, so be sure that you think about investing in an editor that can handle these formats.
Finally, don’t forget that many digital still cameras and even cell phones can do video too. However, you can only hold as much video as the storage in the camera or phone allows. Also, the video quality will not be nearly as good as DV or h.264 and it will probably be a slower frame rate.
As we move forward in the digital media era, the question of using the high definition (HD) level of video is one that comes up a lot. It generally has a higher cost in terms of more expensive cameras, and it is more time consuming and expensive to work with in editing. Both of those issues are constantly being reduced and soon “hi-def” will be the norm.
So what is high definition video, what are the benefits, and what are the issues? Well, good if somewhat technical information is available on Wikipedia. Generally it means video, in digital form, that has at least 720 vertical pixels of information. In most cases it also means a wide aspect ratio, so 1280×720 pixels would be common dimensions. Before hi-def came along, TV screens had an aspect ratio of 4:3. The screen was slightly wider than it was tall, but it looked square. Now with HD, the video has an aspect ratio of 16:9 which is more rectangular. There are also two levels of HD video. The 720 vertical pixel video, known as 720p (the “p” stand for progressive scan), and 1080 vertical pixel video, known as 1080p. There is also an interlaced version of the 1080 pixel resolution (1080i), and good information about the differences between progressive scan and interlace is also available at Wikipedia.
The benefits are clearer detail in what you are watching. You essentially have more information packed into a given space. The negative aspect is that HD files are bigger, and therefore take up more storage space. Also, if you were to download an HD video from the Internet it would require more bandwidth, or it would take longer to receive the file. You also need the right display device to watch HD video. Only the relatively new wide-screen digital LCD or plasma screens show you the advantage of HD video. A normal TV won’t show you the added detail.
Again, in the very near future, HD video will be the norm. You will need to decide whether to go with HD video for projects based on your audience. In June 2009, major television stations completely switch their broadcast signals to a digital form. They aren’t required to broadcast in HD, but the older analog TV sets will not work without a cable or satellite box, or converter box. Consult Wikipedia once again on the digital television transition.
For more information, see our article on what to look for in a camcorder.
HD photo by pietel
Tags: hd, hdtv, Technology, video
Welcome to the University of Mary Washington New Media Center. The UMWNMC is a sub-division of the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies (DTLT), and as part of its mission, provides research, oversees development, and offers production assistance and consultation for new media approaches to supporting technology-enhanced and online learning at UMW.
The University of Mary Washington is a member of the New Media Consortium, which we joined in 2007. The NMC provides programs and services that foster the exploration of new media and new technologies. The NMC provides an annual Horizon Project that reports on the emerging technologies in education.
