Digital Video For Dummies
by Keith Underdahl
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Book Summary Information
Author: Keith UnderdahlEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-02-06
ISBN: 0471782785
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: For Dummies
Book Reviews of Digital Video For Dummies
Book Review: Reviewed by a rank amateur
Summary: 3 Stars
I have my first digital video camera and, for the first time, the option to edit my long and boring captures. While I am very experienced at editing digital photos, this is an entirely new field for me. It seems to me that this "for dummies" version is still too advanced for me. I need one "for complete morons", apparently. This is a reflection on me, not on the book, which seems to be very thorough.
It goes into more detail than I need. I don't capture video with my phone; I don't have capture problems; the odds of my ever needing nightvision videos are nil; I'm not sure I need to know what the NTSC standards are, and on and on.
All I really wanted was a step-by-step way to:
*use the software that came with my camera to cut out unnecessary areas and restitch the remainter;
*suggestions on how to make a video capture flow, more or less seamlessly, despite the editing;
*ditto with the soundtrack;
*an overview of easy video editing programs that I can upgrade to if I should ever outgrow my camera's software (which doesn't look likely right now.)
*workflow suggestions as to how to backup and preserve video (I don't have that much faith that DVD's are still going to be in use a decade from now), so I wanted a general overview of options and suggestions.
I got the first four. It was a bit more technical than I wanted, but that may be because I didn't realize the full software/hardware implications, let alone the standards, frame rates, aspect ratios, interlacing, capture cards, or video converters issues--and I've still purposefully avoided the "advanced video editing" chapter. It seems to me that people, not too much brighter than I and with similarly-equipped home computers, have managed to edit their videos w/o knowing all this. Actually, ignorance is bliss sometimes and I'm not sure I want to know. (But if YOU want to know it, it's all here).
The issue of archiving and preserving video is not addressed. The author does suggest external hard drives as a way to save space on the internal ones. Maybe we have to endlessly keep updating our captures (super 8 to vhs; vhs to dvd; dvd to ??). I was hoping that some specific strategy to make the process easier and foolproof. It probably isn't fair for me to expect to have this issue addressed in a "for dummies" book, but preserving these memories going forward is the primary reason I shoot movies, and I'd like to think that there is someway that I can ensure that today's babies will be able to see their movies 30 or 40 years from now.
Summary of Digital Video For Dummies
So you have a camcorder and visions of being the next Spielberg. But how do you progress from shooting so-so footage to showing your own finished movie? Digital Video For Dummies, 4th Edition gives you the know-how and the show-how! Find out how to shoot and edit great movies, using iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, or Adobe Premiere Elements to add the finishing touches like special effects and your own soundtrack. With the latest information and lots of illustrations and screen shots, this friendly guide walks you through:- Getting your computer ready to work with digital video (complete with information about FireWire)
- Choosing a camcorder, including features to look for and features that are useless
- Digitizing old VHS videotapes to preserve memories
- Purchasing other movie making gear, including audio and lighting equipment
- Shooting better video, with tips on lighting, panning, using the zoom, and recording better audio
- Creating your own sound effects such as footsteps, bones breaking, fire, thunder, insects buzzing, and more
- Capturing digital video using iMovie, Windows Movie Marker, or Premiere Elements
- Editing, including understanding timecode, organizing and previewing clips, and assembling clips in Storyboard and Timeline
- Adding transitions, titles, and special effects
- Importing and integrating video from phones and digital cameras
- Using audio rubberbands in iMovie, Premiere Elements, and other editing programs
- Adding narration, importing and working with CD audio, and adding a music soundtrack
Keith Underdahl has extensive professional video production experience developing kiosk and marketing videos for Ages Software. Realizing that you?ll want to polish and premiere your movie, he includes information on:
- More advanced video editing, including animating video clips, improving light and color, compositing video (bluescreen or greenscreen), and more
- 13 categories of video effects, ranging from blur and sharpen to transform
- Working with still photos and graphics
- Sharing your video online using QuickTime (/QT), RealMedia (.RM), or Windows Media Video (.WMV)
- Making tapes or burning DVDs in 9 steps
With a handy cheat sheet of keyboard shortcuts, a chart comparing 10 video editing programs, a glossary, and more, with this guide you?ll soon be saying ?Lights, camera, action? and producing your own movie attraction.
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