During the summer of 2010, I embarked on a great journey. I began Ed Dale’s Challenge, which is a month long program with the goal of creating a blog.

At the time, I was totally wrapped up in all things video editing related. I had my MacBook with iMovie, and I had access to a computer with Final Cut, Motion, and Shake. I was in Heaven.

I spent countless hours watching video editing tutorials on YouTube. I watched guys like AppleShakeGuru, and learned to use the tools that were available in Final Cut especially. I learned to make composites and to use green screens. I learned to add effects like muzzle flash. I learned to use trackers and all sorts of other things. If there was a tutorial on YouTube, nothing could stop me from learning how to do it.

For a while, I really wanted to pursue some sort of career in video editing or video production. I was dreaming big, and the sky was my limit. I would watch movies like Harry Potter and try to work out in my mind how they achieved certain effects, and I tried to replicate them on my own.

When I was looking for a topic on which to create a blog, video editing seemed like the natural choice. It’s something that I’m genuinely passionate about and love to do. However, I decided that if I was ever going to be seen I would need to drill down into the video editing field and carve out a niche for myself. That’s how I settled on tutorials specifically.

Originally, when I named this the Video Editing Tutorial Blog I had planned to create my own tutorials like the ones I had been watching on YouTube for so long. Unfortunately, I became discouraged by a lack of time, a lack of resources, and a lack of commitment.

Until recently, I really hadn’t though about the blog much. It sort of chilled out on the periphery of my mind. For whatever reason, I’m suddenly feeling motivated to come back and give things another try. Why not take another shot at glory?

Anyway, the moral of the story is to keep checking in over the next couple of weeks looking for new content. Leave me a comment and tell me what your interested in or what you’d like me to write about. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure where I want to take this or where it’s going, so I’m open to suggestions.

Thanks for reading!

As I’m sure many of you know, I am not a video editing expert by any means. I have no formal training in the field, and I will probably never make a career out of it. However, I am an enthusiast, and I like to produce videos that go slightly beyond the realm of amateur home movies. To learn the skills required, I often look to YouTube for video editing tutorials. After several months of watching these tutorials on YouTube, I have developed a list of users that I have really come to respect for their ability, and I want to share them with you so that you might benefit from them as well. This week, I will introduce you to three of my favorite.

AppleShakeGuru: Eric is a master of Final Cut Studio and Shake. I tend to look to his channel first whenever I have any more advanced video editing needs.

MysteryGuitarMan: Although MysteryGuitarMan doesn’t produce video tutorials like AppleShakeGuru, he is also a master at his craft. He often releases his videos, adding a link to a PowerPoint-like presentation that documents the making of each video. If you ever need some inspiration, look to MysteryGuitarMan.

Videomaker: This is the official YouTube channel of Videomaker Magazine. This channel covers all aspects of the video making process from filming to postproduction, which is why I like it. Their videos are full of invaluable tips that I would often overlook if not for watching their videos.

Anyway, these are just a few YouTubers that I subscribe follow. Watch for future posts to find out more.

In this Video Editing Tutorial, I am going to walk you through organizing your project from the moment when you have your first idea for your video until you finally plan to publish

Picture this:  It’s 7:00 AM, and your alarm clock has just gone off, waking you up from a promising dream.  You immediately target the dream as a possible movie idea, grabbing your Flip as you leave the house to begin filming.

As I’m sure you can figure out, this is a terrible idea.  A good video requires a whole lot of planning.  Even though it may not be difficult, it still takes time, which is why people neglect it.  No matter what, you should you should always start by writing a basic script, or even a narrative with a couple paragraphs.  My doing this, you ensure that none of your ideas will be lost when filming.  It is very easy to take your mind off of the stroyline when you are focusing all of your attention on creating the perfect shot.  

Once you have your idea written down, you’ll want to create a sort of storyboard in order to further organize your vision of your movie.  This stroyboard should be made up of something like 3×5 notecards with short titles that tell something about thepart of the story that each one represents.

Once you have a basic draft and a storyboard, you should put together a list of things that you will need.  This includes actors that you plan to use, props, locations, and anything else that you will need to make your video.  Think of this a shopping list of sorts.  From here, you will want to start gathering everything that you need.  This is a good opportunity for you to fill everyone in on your idea.  You will be able to provide them with a basic storyline and a copy of a rough script.  This will ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Once you finally start filming, it is important to label your takes and footage so that it is easy to find when you start editing.  If you are using physical media like tapes or DVDs, you can label them as you replace them.  If not, you will need to organize the files on your computer after the fact.  I find that it is helpful to create a file on my computer for the project with all of the takes.  Then I rename them to reflect what happens in them.  You might also think of appending the file names to reflect their position on the storyboard.  That way you will be able to make the conenction between your footage and its place in the story.

Once you finally begin editing, it is best to sif through the clips that you will use in your movie, and put them in the timeline of your editor so that you have a version of your final film without color correction and other effect.  This is called a rough cut.  It is effectively the raw footage of your movie in the order of which it will appear.  From here, you should create another cut, that improves on the rough cut.  Perhaps your second cut is the rough cut without a scene that didn’t quite advance the plot.  You should continue doing this until you have a final cut with all of the effects including color correction and any special effects.  This way, your project is very organized, and you can always go back just as far as you need to.

Hopefully this quick Video Editing Tutorial has provided you with a few ideas to make you and your projects more organized.  If you think that I left something out, or you have a tip that you would like to share, be sure to leave a comment below.  

A quick still that I edited in Final Cut Express using this Video Editing Tutorial

Intro

Today’s video editing tutorial will be a short one. You will learn how to achieve the “Sin City effect” (maintaining one color while making the rest black and white) in Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro.

First off, I will assume that you have the required knowledge to perform basic tasks in Final Cut without any detailed guidance from me. If this is a problem for you, it’s no big deal. I would recommend checking for other tutorials within this site, and checking further on YouTube and in Google.

The Tutorial

Note: It is important that you choose to keep a color in your clip that only occurs in the object that you want to keep it in. For example, don’t try to keep the green color of a caterpillar when it is surrounded by green grass. Although you can still do this by adding more layers of video or using masks, that is tedious and unnecessary if you choose you footage wisely.

First off, you need to drag your clip into your timeline, and drag another copy of it into the layer above it. You should have two copies of you clip in your timeline, one on top of the other.

Next, you should desaturate the base clip in the V1 bar of the timeline. You can do this by going to Effects > Video Filters > Image Control > Desaturate. Now, your base clip should be black and white.

After that is

complete, you will add a color key to the 2^nd layer. This is achieved by going to Effects > Video Filters > Key > Color Key. Apply this filter so that all of the color that you plan to keep is keyed out. To do this, you should just experiment util you find the settings that are the most accurate.

Once you have added your color key to your color, you simply need to check the invert check box in the filters pane of the viewer.

Finally, you are finished. Simply render your video, and you are ready to go.

This video editing tutorial will address the issue of purchasing a camera.  Today, there are hundreds of choices from a variety of stores, each with their own assets and downfalls.  After reading this tutorial, you will have greater knowledge of video cameras, and hopefully will have enough background to make your own choice, and buy the camera that is right for you.

What Kind of Customer Are You?

Each family of cameras is marketed toward a different kind of user.  To decide which user you are, you have to ask yourself what you will be using the camera for.  CNET is exceptionally helpful here with their Camcorder Buying Guide.  CNET sorts people into the following categories:

The Home and Vacation Movie Maker aka the Power User: I want to shoot birthday parties, baby steps, holiday gatherings, and school plays. I plan to take my camcorder on vacations, so portability is important. I don’t need to do anything fancy, but I’d like the option of doing a little editing and adding some basic effects. I’m looking for simple controls and easy output.

The Budget Buyer: I can’t afford to spend more than $500 on a camcorder, and I don’t want a model that uses pricey cassettes or discs. I don’t need an advanced feature set or compatibility with lots of accessories, and I don’t mind a relatively bulky design either. I just want a basic camcorder that’s easy to use, but that offers a design and features suited for more event-like shooting scenarios.

The Trendsetter: Who can put a price on coolness? Not me–I’m a technophile and want the coolest, most cutting-edge features available. I want a slick device that will make passersby look twice, and I’m willing to pay for it.

The Independent Film Maker: I’m planning a documentary or a creative video, and I want a camcorder that will give me the advanced controls I need for shooting. I want excellent image quality, and I need output in a format that is optimal for editing and applying effects. I can do without consumer-oriented bells and whistles, but I need compatibility with sound and lighting accessories–I want to shoot like a pro.

The Business Videographer: Since dinner depends on the quality of my video, I need a camcorder that won’t let me (and my boss) down. I want to shoot at the office for important meetings and presentations, as well as at other locations such as real estate properties and onsite events. I want plenty of useful features at my fingertips, but since I’m not a professional videographer, I need intuitive operation too.

The Social Videographer: I like to carry a video recorder with me so that I’m prepared to catch my friends’ hangovers, crazy travelers throwing fits at airports, Ninja cats, and so on. I plan to post it on YouTube, Facebook, MySpace or other social networking site, or e-mail it to friends, and at most will trim the clips; I don’t want to do any editing. While great quality would be nice, I’d like to pay as little as possible. Frankly, I’m happy if people can just tell what’s going on and hear what’s being said. And I’d like it to be easy to use.

The Professional: Video making is my profession, which means that I need the very best on the market in order to stay ahead of the game.  I am not worried about an intuitive design or an all -in-one features.  IT has to shoot excellent footage that can later be edited precisely.  My work will likely appear on screens larger that a computer monitor, which means quality is an absolute must.

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First off, there are a million different programs to edit video from Windows Movie Maker to Final Cut Studio.  I think that I will begin by outlining some different programs, their users, and their uses. 

For Novices:

PC Options

Windows Movie Maker

Perhaps the easiest and most convenient way to edit video is to use Windows Movie Maker.  It is bundled with every Windows operating system.  Many people use Movie Maker to piece together simple YouTube videos.  The program requires no special skills or knowledge, which makes it the perfect solution for the video editing needs of beginners.  It performs all of the basic video editing tasks from cutting and joining video to adding transitions and music.

Sony Vegas Movie Studio

This is a small step up form Windows Movie Maker.  It is slightly more complicated, but with that complication comes added features.  For example, Sony Vegas allows content to be edited and exported in HD.  Its added capability makes it perfect for wedding type videos and other keepsake type projects.  The downside to Sony Vegas is that it is not bundled with new computers like Movie Maker and iMovie. 

Mac Option

iMovie

iMovie is the Mac equivalent of Sony Vegas Movie Studio.  It offers all of the same features, plus some more advanced ones.  For example, clips in iMovie can be speeded up, played backwards, make use of green screens, and other moderately sophisticated features.  Since it is part of the iLife suite, it comes with all new Macs.  For this reason, it is easily accessible.  People use iMovie to edit videos for YouTube and for simple projects.

For Professionals:

PC Options

The two most widely used professional editors for PCs, and the two that I would recommend are Adobe After Effects and Sony Vegas Pro.  They are both exceptionally good at their jobs, each with their own dedicated following.  However, it seems as though After Effects is used more widely of the two.

Mac Options

Final Cut Express

Final Cut Express offers all of the same features as After Effects and Sony Vegas Pro, but with the intuitiveness that Apple products are known for.  After watching a few short videos from the Video Editing Master  series, I was up and running with the program in no time.  This video editing tutorial ensures that absolutely ANYBODY can make professional quality videos.

Final Cut Studio

Another, more expensive option is Final Cut Studio, which consists of Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Motion, Color, Compressor, and DVD Studio Pro.  This is the software that the big name companies like Disney use for their movies.  Also, most of the shows on television are edited in Final Cut Studio.  It offers a all of the tools needed for big time video production.  It includes everything from animation (Motion) to sound editing (Soundtrack Pro).