| You've probably heard about digital video (non-linear) editing -- the new technology making it possible for anyone (Blessing or Curse?) to be a filmmaker or multi-media producer. Not long ago, you would've spent over $100,000 for the cameras and computers. Now you can have your own "movie studio" for under $6,000 (digital camcorder, computer, and software). I spent the last two years learning all about it as I produced, directed, shot, and edited a full-length feature for under $1,000 (not counting the equipment mentioned above). I had to learn most of it the hard way. You won't have to do that. I'll guide you through the entire process, and explain it all in a language that even the "digitally-challenged" can understand. "A Beginners Guide To Digital Video Production" is a 5-hour presentation available on two VHS tapes. This Windows-based tutorial features "Adobe Premiere" software for non-linear editing, and Digital Origin's capture-card and software which transfers your digital footage from Mini-DV camcorder to computer, and back again. The video, comprised of four chapters -- Introduction, Camera, Computer & Software, and DV Editing -- covers every step of the journey, from production to final print, explaining the technical intricacies of this new format in decidedly non-technical terms. -Part One- "Introduction" 1. How'd I Get Here? (4 min.) A brief description of how this project began, and continued, and continued. Why? Shooting a movie with no budget means the actors work for free (or a percentage of any profits). In my case, the actors didn't have much time. Which meant I had to shoot the entire movie in a week or two. No crew, no lights. Which meant... A lot of fixin' in the mixin'. Secondly, my limited experience with computers made it slow-goin' at first. And, dag-nabbit, all these new fangled gizmos ain't always workin' like they's sposed to, pard! Bugs and Ghosts in the Machine. Well, it's come a long way in just the short time I've been in the game. Gettin' better all the time. Two years ago, when transferring footage from DV tape to computer, you might drop a few frames here and there. Dropped-frames are quickly becoming a thing of the past as the equipment becomes more and more reliable. Get on-deck. It's a good time to learn the rules and join the roster. 2. How Does It Work? (5 min.) An overview of the technology: Non-Linear Editing and the Digital Format. Two decades ago, the word-processor transformed the world of the Writer. No more White-Out. No more cutting and pasting your pages. You could get everything "just right" on the computer screen before you printed it. And you could shuffle those words around, grab a paragraph from down there, move it up here. Today, the Videographer gets the Big Break. But instead of shuffling words, we're juggling video clips. Push everything in your program down, stick a scene in here, pull everything back and take out the gap. Also, when your footage from the camera is recorded onto the Hard Drive in this digital format, the computer can manipulate those images in a thousand different ways. You've got a first-class, post-production facility sitting right there on your desktop. Go nuts. One more thing. When you make copies of your work in the digital language, you don't lose picture-quality like we used to with "analog". And that's nice.  3. A Demo (10 min.) The Whirlwind Tour: We transfer clips from camera to computer, slice 'em, dice 'em, add music, then compile everything into our final edit before moving it back to tape. Move along frame by frame, click on the razor tool, make a cut here, maybe another over there. Oops. Don't wanna cut it there. No problem. We can undo that. Or undo them all. Just takes a second. Cutting film was never like this. Say bye-bye to the bad-old-days.  4. The Story (11 min.) Excerpts of scenes from the movie illustrate just what this little camera and computer can accomplish: Professional Editing Capabilities -- Effects, Graphics, Transitions, Sound. At the same time, I sketch in the synopsis. (We'll be using these scenes for examples, might as well know what's going on) Also, a few comments on story, and some technical tidbits. - Part Two - "The Camera" 1. The Basics (9 min.) The latest on what and where to buy. Check out the camcorders in this Mini-DV format (Sony, Canon, JVC, Panasonic, Sharp). Prices range from $1000 to $5000. Look at the specs for CCD's, resolution, features.   2. Camera Movement (5 min.) Zoom. Pan. Dolly. Close-in. Are there any limitations with this format? A few. I'll illustrate with examples from the movie. We get the camera moving. In a car. On a motorcycle. Watch a scene with hand-held. Check out a steadi-cam. 3. Manual Settings (20 min.) A detailed account of the manual adjustments for Focus, White Balance, Shutter Speed, Exposure, Aperature. How they work. How they affect your picture. Lots of examples. 4. Camera Menus (6 min.) A quick run-down of the menus on the Sony TRV900 and Canon Optura. Digital zoom, progressive scan, audio mix, 16 bit - 12 bit, and the rest. 5. Compression (7 min.) Information is recorded onto those Mini-DV tapes at the rate of 30 Megabytes every second. Too much, even for the computer. They had to figure out a way to squeeze this down to one-tenth the size. The compression actually takes place in the camera, which then feeds that compressed info into the computer, and decompresses it on the way out. COmpress - DECompress = CODEC. How much of our movie can we fit onto a 9 Gig hard drive? And how much can we "print out" in one continuous clip? Let's talk about that. 6. Accessories (7 min.) You'll need to accessorize that camera: Tripod, microphone, cords, adapters, filters, lenses. 7. Checklist (7 min.) We'll go step by step through your "checklist" (20 items) of getting everything set up, and being ready to shoot... in a hurry! 8. Lighting (9 min.) Just the basics of lighting. More examples illustrate where I went right and... where I went wrong. Learn from my mistakes.  - Part Three - "Computer & Software" 1. BASIC COMPONENTS (4 min.) A look inside the computer. I point out all the components of your system, where they sit under the hood, what they're doing in there, why you should learn to love them, and come running when they call. Minimum requirements: 300 Processor, 128 Ram, Two Hard Drives -- one to run your system (at least 2 Gigs), and another (or maybe more) to work exclusively with your footage (anywhere from 9 Gigs to 90). A 19" monitor will do the job. A little bigger? A little better. The "Timeline Playback" feature bypasses one time-consuming and space-consuming step. You don't have to compile all those individual clips that make up your scene into one, big, "finished" clip. You can play that scene from your Timeline straight out to your camera or deck. Your Editing Software and Capture Card must be compatible to support this feature. Your big Hard Drive must be capable of playing video: SCSI, Ultra DMA or ATA. Your wallet insists that a 21" Monitor is not necessary. Your eyes and your Optometrist beg to differ.   2. INSTALL HARDWARE (5 min.) What's a capture card? Video card? Graphics card? VGA? AGP? Don't ya just hate it? As I remark on the tape, "...you wish there was just one standard, one format, one term for everything. But then we'd be living in a Communist world and we'd be standing in line for five hours for a loaf of bread. At least this way, we're Free! But we're Confused!" And so, here in the You Knighted Gates Of America, standards and formats cross-breed, terminology overlaps. It can be a bumpy ride down that Digital Highway. A steep upgrade to Memory Lane. Why do you think they call it a hard drive? If only they could bundle this stuff with a Sherpa Guide and an Interpreter. Anyway, that metal plate with the attached transistors (below, left) is a card. Deal two. First, a Video Capture Card. Sometimes you'll hear this referred to as a VIDEO CARD! Second, a Graphics (Display) Card (VGA). Sometimes you'll hear this referred to as a VIDEO CARD! (see what I mean?) Best to leave the word "video" out of it. The Capture Card fits into a slot in the back of your Computer, then you plug a tiny cable into it ("firewire") and run it to your Camera. This card transfers your footage from one to the other. The Graphics/Display Card plugs into those same PCI slots (Peripheral Component Interconnect), and a cable connects it to your Computer Monitor. If you're upgrading your existing system, you may need to install a more powerful Graphics Card. And AGP? That's an "accelerated graphics" card. Format's a little different. Has to plug into a slot that's a little different, too. But it does the same damn thing! That's right! Same thing! Aw, what the heck, we can sacrifice a little sanity for the sake of Capitalism. As long as we can get our food really fast! I also install a RAM chip (below, right). 128 Megs. We can take care of the Graphics card and the RAM right now, but it's recommended that we install our software next, then come back to the Capture Card for the final step. Wait! Did I mention that you can buy a "turnkey" system? All ready to go? Then you don't have to do any of this!   3. INSTALL SOFTWARE (10 min.) We go through the process of installing Adobe Premiere with its latest upgrade (5.1a), followed by the Moto DV software. We also install QuickTime for our video player, then run the Windows NT Service Pack which updates all the changes in the system. And finally, that Capture Card. Has this been fun for you? Okay, it's not my idea of a night-on-the-town, either. But... gotta get through the broccoli to get to the brownies. Dessert tray, this way >   - Part Four - "DV Editing" 1. Project One (50 min.) We familiarize ourselves with the Moto DV Capture Program, then transfer footage from the Mini-DV tape in the Camera to the hard drive of the Computer. Take a few minutes to get comfortable with these new surroundings in our Editing Suite. Peek inside the Premiere windows. Throw those clips around on the Timeline. Watch your footage in the Monitor Window. What happens when you click on all these buttons, blow these whistles, and ring dem bells? We'll get out that razor tool, go to work on this first project: a minute from the opening montage of the movie -- a travel sequence. We'll use some of the transitions (dissolves), filters (brightness, color balance), add a little music to our soundtrack, then compile all those bits and pieces into the final edit. It won't take long to get the hang of stringing your clips together, but there's more...   2. Project Two (30 Min.) Superimposing Graphics, Titles, Effects. Premiere can do all this, too, as you'll learn in this second project: A 30-second "opening" for a fictional cable show, "Del's Spice Of Life". A little corny, but amusing. You can make text or images spin around in circles, do somersaults, or glide across the screen with the greatest of ease. Any direction. Any shape or color. Resize clips, then move them around inside other clips or backgrounds. You can do the "blue-screen stuff", composite as many graphics and titles and video-tracks as your little heart desires, or your throbbing head can handle.    3. Project Three (30 min.) Telephone conversations would seem to be an easy-edit. But they can get a little tricky. We'll dissect one in this project, work on that "phone-line" effect, and other elements that relate to Sound. How do you get music from that CD into a .wav file on your hard drive? Then, how do you import it into your project, onto an audio track, and mix it into your scene with the right volume and effects? Premiere can handle your needs in this department. However, if you want even more control and options with your soundtrack, a Digital-Audio-Editing program like "SOUND FORGE" can get you there. We'll spend a few minutes checking out the capabilities of that program, then run our soundtrack through the mill.   4. More Premiere Features (8 min.) Before we move on, I'll point out some more Goodies in the Grab Bag. Wish I could cover it all in two hours, but Premiere's like that damn rabbit that keeps going... and going... As long as you "make-nice" with your manual, and spend a little quality-time each day with the help-menus, you'll learn something new for days... and months... on end. 5. Film Look (13 min.) Film. Video. What's the difference? Video looks too "real", a mirror of reality. Film goes through a chemical process when it's developed, has more of a "surreal" effect. There's a grain to the image, the colors are enriched (or at least, "slightly skewed"), and the "pictures" pass before your eyes at 24 frames per second instead of 30. In some cases, these differences are very noticeable. In others, very subtle, hard to pinpoint, difficult to describe. Discussions of the topic tend to get a little... esoteric, with the adjectives leaning toward the vague and subjective. But most would agree that the "film-look" will add some "production values" to your program, "improve" the performance of your actors, and enhance the quality of your final product. Some of these film effects can be achieved, to a degree, with the "Adobe Premiere" software. Another company, "DigiEffects" has a program called "Cinelook" which can reproduce a wide array of film-looks -- 8, 16, and 35 mm., various film-stocks, old movies with "film-damage". Cinelook is what they call a "plug-in". Which means it has to run inside another program. Unfortunately, it's not Premiere, but Adobe's "After Effects". Oh boy, back to the shopping cart. We'll take a tour through Cinelook, and check out my "before-and-after's" from the movie.  6. Misc. (5 min.) A few more things to know and love about Windows NT and your computer. Assign different amounts of memory to different drives. Manage those files. Tidy up your space. Go De-Frag yourself. And I mean that in the best possible way. 7. Directing (12 min.) For those interested in taking a ride in this arena, a few thoughts on directing your epic. We'll categorize the shots, talk about the angles, continuity. Planning and logistics on no-budget. And, most importantly, how to cheat your way around all of these "little challenges". Read what they're saying... From "Adobe" "The Beginners Guide to Digital Video Production is an informative, in-depth look at DV editing with Adobe Premiere on the PC. Steve Saylor's unique approach entertains and educates without missing a detail. If you want to learn how to use DV with Premiere -- from start to finish -- this series is a must-have." Matt Douglas Adobe "Premiere" Product Manager 
From customers: "One of the biggest problems in learning from manuals is the dry and technical way in which they're written. For those of us who learn better and faster by SEEING, these tapes are more than worth their cost! Steve CLEARLY (I can't stress that enough!!!) shows and guides you through it, where most manuals leave you frustrated." George Perez West N.Y., NJ * * * * * * * * * "By being able to see the results of your techniques as you explain them, and "looking over your shoulder" as you edit, the video is a far better instructional tool than any book or help file." John Reardon Chicago, Illinois From "the industry" "Everything you need to know about making a "digital" movie. Over 4 hours of technical tips and tricks, explained as simply as you're gonna get it. I just went out and bought Premiere. Think I'll give it a try." Lorenzo Semple Jr. (screenwriter, "Three Days Of The Condor", "King Kong", "Never Say Never Again") * * * * * * * * *
"Want to learn Digital Video? Get onboard. I'm not part of the computer generation, but even I could understand how it works. When I think of all the hours I spent back at NBC, re-editing our segments in that "linear-analog" format, I shudder. Video has finally taken that big step." Mark Nykanen (former NBC investigative-journalist, 4 Emmy Awards, author of the critically-acclaimed thriller, "Hush") |
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