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Prune your backyard doodlings into shapeComputers can be used to edit home videos and create special effects, titles and soundtracks. RICK MAYBURY explains the ins and outs of PC editing systemsHOME videos don't have to be disasters. Video editing is easy - the best bits are simply copied from the original or "master" recording (made on the camcorder) to a video cassette recorder.However, to do it properly and produce a watchable video movie that others will enjoy requires patience, planning and lots of button prodding.
LINEAR EDITING: This involves using a PC to control the tape transport functions of the camcorder (source deck) and VCR (destination deck). You determine which scenes you want to copy by watching the video on TV and clicking the mouse on your PC to compile an edit decision list (EDL) of the edit-in (start) and edit-out (end) points of each scene. To do this the PC has to be connected to the camcorder's editing terminal socket. When the EDL is complete, the sequence of scenes can be previewed and fine-tuned. When you're happy with it, the PC instructs the camcorder to replay the chosen scenes in the selected order. At the same time the computer controls the record-pause function on the VCR and the scenes are joined seamlessly together. The camcorder and the VCR are connected by an ordinary copying lead. Almost any PC can be used. One of the best packages for beginners is Data Video PE100, a Windows 95 program costing around R700. It i can store up to 256 "cuts". NON-LINEAR EDITING: In non-linear editing the original recording, or parts of it, are converted into digital data and loaded onto the PC's hard drive. Once there, it is possible to access any part of the recording instantly, giving the user much greater flexibility and creative scope. For example, the PC can create "transitions" by mixing or wiping pictures from different scenes. Non-linear systems can also add flashy special effects, superimpose titles and graphics and do all kinds of interesting things to the soundtrack. If all you want to do is create simple movies that can be played back on the PC screen or incorporated into Internet web pages, then that's not a problem. Almost any recent multimedia PC can do the job using a cheap and simple video-to-PC adapter module or card. However, the quality of so-called "AVI-type" videos is usually not good enough to copy back to tape and show on a television set. If that's what you want to do, then the Pinnacle Studio 400 is worth investigating. It is designed to run on a Pentium PC, uses the Microsoft DirectShow coding system, and up to an hour's worth of video can be compressed into 150Mb of hard disk space. Studio 400 sells for about R1 800. If you want to edit on a PC and copy back onto VHS tape, with little or no quality loss, then be prepared to spend a lot of money. You will need a fast and powerful PC (at least 233MHz with 64MB of RAM), a sophisticated video card and an enormous hard disk drive.
Getting good quality video in and out of a PC also depends on a specialised graphics card with input, output and advanced compression facilities. Prices start at around R3 500. But rather than upgrade your PC, it is usually far easier to assemble a system from scratch or get one that has been designed to do the job. DIGITAL vs ANALOGUE: A new generation of digital camcorders has taken over the top end of the market. They are smaller and capable of much better picture quality than analogue machines. Because picture and sound information is recorded digitally, it is easier to load recordings onto a PC.
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