Assemble a video slideshow continued…
Step 2—Lay down the music track
Create and save a new project in
your video editing program. Import music into your project. Choose music that
is appropriate to the images, historically and emotionally. Consult my music timeline to help you pick music that
fits your time period.
EDIT TO THE BEAT: All music has a
beat. Listen to a song and tap your foot. It will naturally tap to the beat of
the music. You can also see the beat in the waveform on the timeline. Zoom in
on the timeline so you can see the waveform more easily. The pattern usually
peaks (is widest) on the beat. These will be your insertion points for laying
photos on the timeline.
You can also choose edit points at
the beginning of a music phrase. A music phrase is a small chunk of a song
that has a distinct and often repeated pattern. It’s usually 3-4 measures long. (See image: Music phrase bracketed on timeline)
Analyze about 10 seconds of the
music to determine how much time passes from one beat to the next. An image
should be displayed on the screen for at least 2 seconds, most often 4-6
seconds.
If your program allows you to put
markers, insert a marker at the beat point on the timeline. This will give a
visual guideline for where to insert your images.
(See image: Green marker circled above timeline, Music phrase bracketed on timeline
Two track audio waveform
AUDIO TRANSITIONS: You will
probably use more than one song. Where 2 songs join, apply an audio cross
dissolve. To do this manually, overlap the two songs (requires 4 audio tracks) and ramp song 1 down to 0 dB while ramping song 2 up from 0 dB.
AVOID OVERSATURATION: Monitor the audio with a waveform monitor,
if you have it, to ensure the music isn’t oversaturated. Oversaturated music
(too loud) has a warped sound. Turn the decibels down with the editing program.
Turning your speakers down will have no effect on the recorded audio.
Step 3—Add images to timeline
Follow your storyboard plan to lay
the images and text inserts onto the video track. Be flexible, however, and let
the music guide you as you edit.
Insert an image at an edit point and
trim it so that it ends at the next designated edit point. Because music is
performed with expression, the length of time between beats or phrases varies a
little. It may be that your insertion point will be every other beat or so.
Video edit timeline Note: video transition in red oval and edit markers in red rectangle
VIDEO TRANSITIONS: Choose one
transition use it throughout the sequence. Cross dissolve is the most
universal transition, especially for slow music. Most programs default at a 1
second dissolve. Extend the dissolve time to 2 seconds for a smoother
transition. You may not want to add a transition effect to images lain over
fast-paced music. The abrupt image changes is very effective in this case.
Add titles and
subtitles, fade the music and final image down at the end, normalize, and print
to DVD, CD, or the web.
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