It is hardly possible to cover all facets of video editing with a few short paragraphs on a web page. Video editing is highly technical and some of the "higher end" editing software can be expensive. What this information will try to accomplish is to give a short introduction to both traditional video editing concepts (linear editing) and the newer computer-based technologies being utilized by nearly all videographers today (non-linear editing).
A good video is usually produced through the creative use of editing. Editing is basically putting together a picture story. Much in the way that a writer creates an outline, and then a final draft, the videographer uses a script, a storyboard, camcorder, and finally the editing process to produce a high quality production. The information below pertains more to the processes of editing rather than to the actual editing itself. Use it to help you complete the review sheet. It will help you to gain a little insight into how video editing works, and also how it has developed and changed through the use of computers.
LINEAR EDITING
Many of us are familiar with the operation of a camcorder and have used one to create videos. Some of us have also used a camcorder's built-in titling feature to apply titles and ending credits to our video. These features have allowed us to create what would be called "home videos". However, in order to create professional quality videos, there is a bit more equipment that would be involved.
The simplest form of linear (traditional) editing is called "assemble editing", "deck-to-deck editing" or "cuts-only editing". It is exactly what the name implies. The original tape is placed in one deck, and a blank tape in another. The decks are connected with cables so that the video and audio signals from the tape can be recorded on to the blank tape. The video editor makes decisions as to what is to be recorded, and what is unnecessary. The selected portions of the tape are "assembled" onto another video tape that has cut out the bad shots and unnecessary parts. This is done by playing the tape on one deck, and recording the good parts of the video onto another deck. That, in a nutshell, is how the old, traditional "linear editing" process worked.
The description above definitely oversimplifies the theory of "assemble editing". There were a few different methods that were employed. The most popular was called an "A/B roll system". "A/B roll" editing was when the editor would edit from two or more video decks or camcorders (called "source decks"). So, two video decks or camcorders would be attached to an "editing console" that mixed the two signals together, and recorded them onto another deck.
These newer A/B roll systems not only controlled the editing process, but allowed for special transitional effects called transitions (like dissolving one scene into another). This type of system really raised the look to a more impressive level of production, as it created smooth changes from scene to scene. These editing consoles also had titling effects ("character generators") built-in. This allows not only the creation of titling and credits, but the superimposing of titles over already recorded video scenes.Although we now get a lot of our video terminology from the older method of editing, there is hardly a video producer today who is not using the latest computer-based editing technique called "non-linear editing".
Unfortunately, many video producers who have been around for a while may have spent substantial amounts on analog cameras, analog recording decks, analog editing consoles, and analog character generators over many years of video production. However, in order to remain competitive, they have had to abandon that old equipment, possibly selling it to other less experienced videographers or hobbyists and they moved on.
NON-LINEAR EDITING
The development of digital technology has had a major impact on camcorders and video editing. The rapid drop in the cost of personal computers and most related technologies have led to a dramatic increase in the sales of computers and digital camcorders in the area of video editing.
Digital camcorders now come in both standard and high definition formats. As we have studied earlier, there are many types of camcorders and recording media that may be used today for video editing.
These new camcorders, combined with either a DV IEEE 1394 (Firewire) interface or Solid State Memory, are the key force behind the conversion of most broadcast and industrial video editing to a digital process of editing called "non-linear editing".
Through "Firewire" technology, a digital camcorder can be plugged directly into the computer. It allows the editor to control the camera's operating controls, and the capability to record the edited output back to the tape on the camcorder. This reduces the amount of equipment required; makes editing and special effects much easier; and also allows for "broadcast quality" output on the final video.Once the camcorder has been connected through the Firewire connection, the special "non-linear editing" software allows for the transfer of the video into the editing software. This is called "video capture".
A big drawback to capturing Digital Video (DV) is that video capture is a time consuming process. It is called "realtime capture". What that means, is if you have recorded one hour of video, it will take a full one hour to capture it as well.
DIGITAL VIDEO FILE SIZE
Another drawback to digital video technology is the incredibly large file sizes that are created by the camcorder when the video recording takes place. Standard definition video at full screen resolutions take up a lot of space, actually measured in gigabytes per minute. That becomes even greater when dealing with "high definition" video files. Even using new compression schemes like AVCHD (H.264), the files can be as much as a few gigabytes per minute!
Personal computers for digital video editing with non linear editing software need extremely large capacity hard drives to store the DV files, and sometimes they require an entire dedicated hard drive (or an "array" of multiple hard drives called a RAID) to store the files. The computer must have a large amount of random access memory (RAM) in order to be able to work with the video files as well. The new CS5 versions of Premiere and After Effects require 8-32 GB of RAM memory! However, with the development of better computers with higher RAM and large, fast hard drives, these problems are slowly being overcome.
NON-LINEAR EDITING SOFTWARE
Digital editing software is called Non-Linear Editing (NLE) software and usually works on a "timeline" interface. This means that the files can simply be "dragged and dropped" just as if they were words in a word processor. This greatly simplifies the editing process. Instead of cueing up decks and controlling editing consoles, a person can use the mouse to place video segments and even trim and clip segments. NLE software allows for the creation of special effects filters, sophisticated transitions between scenes, editing of multiple video tracks, layering of multiple audio tracks, and character generation for titles and credits. Even with all these great features, good non linear editing software can be purchased for less than $100. That's a lot of features for a small investment!
The major attraction of this digital video technology is that it dramatically reduces the amount of equipment required to create and produce high quality video productions. All that is required now for "broadcast quality" video is a digital camcorder, a computer, DVD burner and NLE software.
Many job descriptions for graphic artists today include experience in handling digital video files. These files are being used in web design and multimedia. It is important to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible in working with video, since it will afford many employment opportunities in the future.
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