STAR Watch Statewide Technology Assistance Resources Project A publication of the Western New York Law Center,Inc. Volume 7 Issue 5 NovemberNovember---DecemberDecember DOUBLE ISSUE Make Your Own VideVideosos AAnn Overview of the Process which to share the final product. You could choose to output the final product as a video- Before we can discuss the creation of a tape, DVD, or streaming video from your web- video, we need to present a quick overview site. The choice of format will depend on the of the total process in order to understand audience that you are trying to reach and the how things relate to one another. hardware that you have to create that format. What do you want to do: And finally: While it is What kind of videos will you be important to produce a product making? Are you creating a that is pleasurable to watch, the training video, interviewing a three most important criteria for person of interest, or making a judging its quality are content, permanent record of a speech content, and content. The by a public figure? Each has reason for the creation of the its own set of logistical issues video should be the information that will influence the decisions it conveys. People will ignore about what equipment is the minor technical problems in needed. your video if it has substantial informational value. Be sure Where will you be shooting the that you have something to say. videos? If the end-result is to be an interview or training Get the equipment: Once video, you have the ability to the decisions have been made regarding what choose the location where the “shoot” is to is to be done, it is time to decide on the take place and control the lighting, the equipment to be purchased. Make sure that background noise, and when people start/ everything is compatible. This is a big issue stop talking. Portability of equipment is not between cameras and editing software. Since a big issue. If something goes wrong, it can money does not grow on trees, stick to your be redone. On the other hand, taping a budget. speech in a public venue gives you almost no control over anything—and the only equipment available to you is the equipment that you were able lug in. If you need it, and you did not bring it, you have a big problem. In this issue… • Make Your Own Videos After you create the video, how will you • Who We Are distribute it? There are many formats with STAR Watch - 2 - NovemberNovember---DecemberDecember 2003 Keep the quality level of the video produce acceptable results with little training equipment consistent. It makes no sense to or experience. If you have no experience, buy a high-end professional grade video products in this price range will help you to camera and have no money left in the learn the basics of video editing. After budget to purchase an equally good tripod, working with them for a short time, their lights and microphone. You will have a limitations will become apparent but you will great camera that is recording jittery, poor understand the basics. Consider purchasing quality video that has poor sound. a video editor in this price range for “basic training”. Shoot the video: At a minimum, you must have a video camera. But depending A quality video editing package is going to on the quality of final product that you are cost at least $500, probably more like creating, there are a lot of decisions to be $1,000+. After you have mastered the basics, made regarding what kind of camera to these editors will allow you to put together a purchase, such as where you will be higher quality product. In this price range, shooting your video, lighting and sound there are two different types of editors. The issues. first type uses the computer’s CPU to do all of the processing work. Normally, this type of editor has the lowest incidence of compatibil- Capture the video: Most video editing ity problems with the computer hardware that packages have a built-in capture feature, it runs on. But in order to create the final but, for reasons that will be discussed later, edited product, it must plod through all of the you might choose to use a stand-alone raw video frame by frame, pixel by pixel. capture program. In order to turn the raw Depending on the speed of the processor and video footage into the final product that you the demands of the editing software, it can desire, you will need to capture it and store take up to five minutes to “render” one minute it on your computer’s hard drive in order to of the final video product. manipulate it. Depending on whether the video camera is analog or digital, you will Other video editing software packages are need to make choices about the video “hardware accelerated”. The editor uses the capture card that is used. Raw video CPU for some operations, but also tries to use footage takes up a lot of space— the display adapter (video card) or a special approximately 4 megabytes for every second adapter card that can be plugged into the of footage. You will need a lot of disk space computer to offload the work. Most hardware on your computer. accelerated video editing packages will render the final video in real-time, but with the Edit the video: Once the raw video increase in promised performance comes footage has been captured to disk, you will some issues. The computer still must have a need video editing software to take the raw tremendous amount of processing power. Not chunks of sight and sound and form them all display adapters (video cards) can be used into a watchable, understandable final by the software. The hardware accelerator product. Your choice of video editing cards that plug in to the computer itself do not software must take into consideration necessarily work with every computer. Read whether your editing computer is Macintosh all that you can about the product on the or PC based, which operating system is vendor’s web site. Follow all of the vendor’s running on the computer, and most recommendations for computer hardware or importantly, the skill level/experience of the the video editor may be totally unusable. person doing the editing. While capturing video uses up a lot of disk There are video editing packages in every space, the edit process can chew up an price range. Starting in the $50-$100 range, equally large amount of space—and, it needs there are some easy to use products that will a lot of processing horsepower to create the STAR Watch - 3 - NovemberNovember---DecemberDecember 2003 final product. Consider purchasing a separate computer for video work. In general, you want lots of light directed on your subject, placing the light source Producing a quality video can be quite behind the camera and in front of the rewarding and it is not as scary as it might subject. seem. Like all new ventures, you need some • Be careful around windows. DO NOT information up front in order to understand photograph people or objects in front of what you will be getting into. You need to windows! During the day the exterior light look out for the pitfalls. Hopefully, this article coming through the window will make will help you to get started. your subject appear as a silhouette. During the evening, the window may Tips for Shooting your Video inadvertently reflect your camera operator's image. In either case, it is best • Practice Makes Perfect: Practice working to keep windows behind the camera! with the camcorder and rehearse all of the •In order to save time in post-production things you will need to do to make a great editing, try to edit your video "in- video. Do not try to learn how to use the camera." Believe it or not, it is possible equipment and making a to shoot a production so that video at the same time. Then what ends up on the original when editing your video you tape is close to your finished are stuck with lousy lighting, production. This is called "in- lousy sound, etc. and no time camera" editing. While this to do anything about it. sounds like a straightforward • Shoot a few hours of practice way to achieve quality results, video. Figure out what works in practice it is extremely and does not work. Practice difficult because you must using the microphone. shoot in the production order Practice with various lighting and each time something goes techniques. Practice holding wrong, you need to carefully the camera steady. In short-- position the tape at the end of practice! the previous scene. In-camera • editing sometimes interferes Use good sound sources. The with the spontaneity of the action you are VCR's built-in microphone is very conven- taping. However, if you do some in- ient but has many inherent liabilities. camera editing, you can eliminate some Because it is far from the subject, it post-production editing. records background noise and the • camcorder's motor, in addition to the The normal way to shoot a video involves sound you want. Whenever possible, use filming as events unfold. When you an extension microphone or a wireless "shoot to edit," you never back the tape mike, positioned near the subject. DO up--you simply re-shoot the scene until NOT rely solely on the microphone you are happy with it.