Editing sometimes seems like so much alchemy. Managing all the cables and software can feel overwhelming. But the learning curve for editing does not have to have to be steeper than the face of an isosceles triangle.
Episode 4 – You Can Edit. Really
You can, and should, edit your footage. There are a multitude of resources available to you for managing your footage. Whether you are on a PC or Mac, there are solutions that will do a great job and are already built right into your computer. While videotape is far from dead, we are seeing more and more cameras that record the image to a file, making moving and managing your video as easy as moving and editing a Word document. Finally, with the expansion of video on the internet, we will begin to see more and more web-based editing applications where you can edit and distribute your work with a minimum of muss and fuss.
But it does take practice to become familiar with the process. It is not all that difficult to do and you can have success within the first few minutes. This is especially true with the Beta build of Movie Maker. This package appears to be a few months away from release, but shows tremendous promise. I expect to spend a fair amount of time exploring it with you as they get closer to release. In the interim we have iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, Premier, and many other apps.
You have to start somewhere, so dive right in. It won’t be perfect at first, but you need to start somewhere. Simply, just start editing your videos. You will see that the story you have to tell is important, and that more folks will listen as you eliminate the bumpy spots in your footage. Eventually you will learn how to add sound, organize the footage, and use basic editing techniques. But you can’t learn until you start. Find the courage to poke around the editor that is waiting for you.
