| With the powerful, yet easy to use video | | | | scene only lasts 3 seconds. Some software |
| editing software on the market today, it's | | | | will allow the program itself to break up any |
| easy to just shoot, drop it in the editor, | | | | video file into several scenes, either by a |
| and burn it to a disk. What's even easier is | | | | detection algorithm, or by a set time span. |
| ending up with mediocre results. With just a | | | | Most can do this automatically. |
| little more attention you can turn average | | | | |
| into spectacular. Most standard video | | | | * Edit edit edit. Good film making results |
| editors, such as the one that comes bundled | | | | in a fairly cluttered cutting room floor. |
| into Windows, Microsoft's Movie Maker, have | | | | Don't be afraid to edit out uncle Henry's |
| many features that, if used with some | | | | silly dance. Consider editing out any really |
| restraint, can help polish the finished | | | | noticeable camera shakes. The idea is |
| product. With a little planning and some | | | | communicate the overall event or experience, |
| time spent in planning before compiling, you | | | | not to record every single detail. |
| can make some memorable videos, and enhance | | | | |
| your memories and your video records. | | | | * Visual presentations must sound right. If |
| | | | you underestimate the power of sound, try |
| Here are some general rules that I like to | | | | watching a movie without the sound. You |
| follow: | | | | probably won't last five minutes. Most of us |
| | | | live in a world filled with sound, and your |
| * Keep it simple; a well-thought out five | | | | videos should pay as much attention to the |
| minute video is far more effective than a | | | | sound as any other feature. You should |
| thirty-minute, no cuts, no-breaks-taken | | | | consider an audio editor program that will |
| video. It's OK to think in terms of chapters | | | | allow you to do several things; you should be |
| and to make each one a separate file. You | | | | able to strip out the original sound; you |
| can always combine them into longer works. | | | | should be able to overdub, or add your voice |
| | | | to the recorded video sound track; you should |
| * Keep everything simple; pick just a few | | | | be able to enhance your voiceovers or the |
| transitions and reuse them sparingly; avoid | | | | original sound. Video recorders are not the |
| the temptation to apply all those radical | | | | best sound recorders. |
| filters. If you choose to use a special | | | | |
| effect, use it once and make it count. If | | | | *Titles, not family genealogies. Titles are |
| you are using still images, a simple fade | | | | a very effective tool; they can set the mood, |
| transition works best. | | | | position the presentation, and focus |
| | | | attention. They should be brief and this is |
| * Choose a reasonable scene length. If you | | | | one place where it's OK to get a little crazy |
| shoot ten minutes of video without pause, | | | | creative. Slide in, fly out, different |
| experiment with breaking it up into much | | | | colors, interesting typefaces, go for it. |
| shorter clips. Avoid the 3-second rule | | | | Just don't overdo it. |
| currently in vogue in commercials, where each | | | | |