Good video editing is seamless.
Keep the audio even and focal point smooth-flowing.
A video timeline is a way of
visualizing your family history video layout. It has video and audio tracks
measured horizontally in frames. Video is a series of still images, played at a
speed fast enough to give the illusion of motion. Each still image is called a
frame. A clip is a selected group of contiguous frames that relate to each
other.
Types of media for video editing
Video editors include other types of
media besides video in their programs—photographs, illustrations, text
graphics, special effects, voiceover narratives, music, and sound effects.
Import any of these types of media into your video
editing software and put them all on the timeline in much the
same way as the video. For example, a photo has duration, in seconds, on the
timeline.
Edit cuts
Where clips come together on the
timeline are called cuts. Your job as an editor is to keep the focal point
flowing smoothly from cut to cut so that the cuts become invisible. Find the
focal point on the last frame of a shot. Hold a pencil up to the monitor,
pointing to the focal point. Without moving the pencil, go to the first frame
of the next shot. The focal point of the new frame should be where the pencil
is pointing.
Match cut is when 2 shots of
the same scene, taken from different angles and composition, are joined so that
the action flows from one shot to the next. Adds interest and detail to your
movie.
Cut on motion will cover up
imperfect shot matchups, so try to cut when the subject is in motion.
Jump cut occurs when the shots
you’re putting together are from different angles, but the angles are too
similar. It almost looks like the camera got bumped. Avoid these by making your
angle changes by 45%.
Split edits (L-cut/J-cut) are when the audio of the next video clip begins under the video of the
preceding clip. Can also be the reverse—audio continues under the video of the
next clip. It gives your movie continuity. An effective way to transition from
one scene to another.
Trimming clips
Video editing programs allow you to
trim frames off the beginning or end of a video clip, either before or after
you put it on the timeline. This allows you to fit clips together so they match
and flow.
You will have to occasionally
calculate the duration of a video clip down to the frame. Let’s say, you want to
fill a 10-second musical phrase with 3 clips of equal length. Just divide 10
seconds by 3 so you know how long each clip should be, but, to calculate that,
you need to know your video frame-rate (frames per second—fps).
NTSC:
30 fps (actually 29.97)
PAL & SECAM: 25 fps
Each clip would be NTSC 3:10 (that’s
3 seconds and 10 frames) or Pal/SECAM 2 clips of 3:08 and 1 of 3:09.
Editing rhythm
Whether or not you add music to your
video, it should have rhythm. You do that with the length, type of shots,
color, and story pace. Shots should be 2 – 10 seconds long, with a variety of
medium, medium close-up, and close-up shots.
Match the rhythm and tempo to the
story—for example, a series of short clips with an exciting fast-paced story or
long clips with a sad story. Establish a pattern and repeat it throughout the
sequence. The next story in your family history video may have a different
rhythm.
When inserting photos, choose clip
timeline duration according to the amount of information in each photo. For
example, a large group shot will require more time to view than an individual. Incorporate
those differences into your rhythm.
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Copyright September 2009 Family History Coach All rights reserved Last update April 27, 2010
