| No matter how much you learn, there's always more to discover in digital movies. Camcorders and video editing software are constantly getting easier and more powerful. The following section helps you learn how to improve your shooting skills, a topic that is often overlooked, as well as how to find more robust editing tools. Learning How to Shoot Better In researching this book, I thought I would find lots of other information in print and online to help you become a better cameraperson. While I found lots of information for professionals, the educational resources for learning how to shoot lag behind the information on consumer video editing. Hopefully, more information targeted to your needs will be coming soon. This book is part of the next wave. So, besides using the resources mentioned throughout this book, one good way to learn to shoot better is to review your footage. Take out a tape you shot and study it. See how you could have shot it better. Are you panning and zooming too often? How's the lighting? Would it have been better if you had used a tripod? Where might you have shot sequencesincluding long, medium, and close-up shots? While this can be a humbling experience, it helps you see what to do next time you shoot. You can also take classes on cinematography to learn more about the subject. But the simple act of looking at what you shot and evaluating it yourself is a great step to take if you want to improve your skills. You can also study TV shows, DVDs, and movies online to see how great videos are shot. Learning More About Documentary Filmmaking Want to learn more about documentary filmmaking? The book The Art of the Documentary: Ten Conversations with Leading Directors, Cinematographers, Editors, and Producers by Megan Cunningham (see Figure 10.1) features interviews with many of the greats. Reading about their experiences can help you develop your own video-making skills. Figure 10.1. The Art of the Documentary features interviews with Ken Burns, Errol Morris, and other leading documentary filmmakers Featured are Ken Burns, the director of many of PBS's most popular documentaries, including The Civil War, Jazz, and Baseball, as well as Errol Morris. Interviews with documentary pioneers D. A. Pennebaker and Albert Maysles add a historical context to learning about the field of documentaries. If you want to go inside the world of professionals working in this increasingly popular genre, this is the best guide to the territory. Each filmmaker reveals in-depth details of the documentary filmmaking experience, with firsthand stories about the making of many widely seen movies you may have seen in theaters, including Gimme Shelter and The Fog of War. Reading the book and watching the filmmakers' movies can teach you about making your own digital movies. |
Improving Your Movie Maker Skills As mentioned earlier in this book, this book is a guide to helping you master just enough of Movie Maker's editing features to be able to make your first videos. As I promised, in Chapter 3, "Editing Basics: Movie Maker and More," you only had to learn just what you needed to know to make basic videos. But there's much more you can do with Movie Maker. You can find out about other Movie Maker features in these resources: Books Many books cover every feature in Movie Maker. One of the best is Digital Video with Windows XP in a Snap by Greg Perry. Websites Because so many people use Movie Maker, you'll find lots of websites devoted to editing with Movie Maker. In addition to the information available on Microsoft's Movie Maker website (www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx), here are some of the most popular and helpful sites created by others: Email Newsletters You can subscribe to Papa John's Movie Maker newsletter. For $20, it's well worth it. You can see sample newsletters online at www.windowsmoviemakers.net/PapaJohn/Index.aspx. Microsoft's Windows Movie Maker newsgroup discussions Visiting discussion boards is a wonderful way to learn more about Movie Maker from other users. Microsoft's Windows Movie Maker discussion board lets you post questions and search listings for important tips and help. See www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windowsxp.moviemaker&lang=en&cr=US. Online video tutorials Online video tutorials are another great resource for learning how to use software. These two sites currently offer video-based Movie Maker (and other software) training:
Upgrading Your Editing Software Movie Maker's biggest advantage is that it's free and already comes on most PCs. But you'll find many other video editing software programs available, for both the PC and the Mac, that will enable you to take things many steps further. What do you get for purchasing more in-depth editing tools? Power, control, and flexibility in editingas well as DVD creation featuresin one streamlined package. Tip To find the latest news and reviews on video editing software, check www.cnet.com and www.pcmag.com. Many of these programs give you 10 or more audio channels, more titles and title animation choices, the ability to edit picture in picture, the ability to insert pans and zooms, superimpose digital backgrounds (with chroma key), and the ability to burn DVDs with attractive, interactive menus. Some of these programs provide video email postcard art and other visual enhancements. They also support more video formats so you can output your video to a broader array of file types. And most come with automatic movie editing features similar to AutoMovie. These software editing tools are sophisticated but also easy enough to use at home or with a classroom, and they generally cost under $100a small price to pay for all this functionality. Some offer 30-day free download trials so you can see how they work. Many of them are available as paid downloads, so if you decide to purchase such a product, you can get it right away. If you're planning to burn DVDs, buying a program that enables you to do it is a mustand if you buy one of the following programs, you'll get full-featured editing software included in the deal. Even if you're not planning to make DVDs, you can upgrade to one of these programs to make editing faster, easier, and more fun. Note Everything you've learned in Movie Maker will help you learn how to use other video editing programs more quickly than if you were just starting out. (Knowing how to use Movie Maker is not, however, required, to get started with any of these editing software packages.) When you know how to use one video editing program, it's easier to learn another program. So don't be afraid to upgrade to try a better tool; it won't be like starting from scratch. Most of the following editing programs have helpful online demos, and several offer free trial downloads, so check them out, and you'll get a better sense for how they work and what they offer: ROXIO's Easy Media Creator The most popular PC program for creating videos and DVDs, Easy Media Creator lets you use as many as 14 audio tracks in a movie. It also has a more sophisticated AutoMovielike feature called CineMagic, which offers a variety of templates. Every year, Easy Media Creator cleans up on the awards circuit, rating at the top of the heap in digital video circles with editors at PC Magazine and CNET. For more information, visit www.roxio.com or www.sonic.com. Sony's Vegas Movie Studio+DVD Vegas Video has been a leading editing program for years. Recently acquired by Sony, the consumer version Vegas Movie Studio+DVD is now available. You can get a 30-day free trial download at www.sonymediasoftware.com/Products/ShowProduct.asp?PID=932. Ulead VideoStudio There's a reason Ulead VideoStudio earned Learning Magazine's Teacher's Choice Award for the best video editing software: It's really easy to use and has a lot of great features. You can see an online demo and download a 30-day free trial at www.ulead.com/vs/runme.htm. Adobe Premiere Elements For years, Adobe Premiere has been one of the leading professional editing software makers. Now Adobe's new consumer video editing software program, Adobe Premiere Elements, is available. You can see an online demo at www.adobe.com/products/premiereel/main.html. Pinnacle Studio Plus v9 The best-selling consumer video editing software, this fullfeatured package provides everything you need to make great videos. Plus, this website offers tips on shooting and editing in online demos. You can see the online demo and a get a free 30-day trial copy at www.pinnaclesys.com/howto/default_US.asp?langue_id=7. iMovie HD Editing on a Mac? Apple's iMovie HD is a full-featured, easy-to-use consumer video editing software program. iMovie HD comes bundled in iLife, a suite of digital media products from Apple that ships free on new Macintoshes. It's also the first consumer video editing software program for editing high-definition movies. For more information, see www.apple.com/ilife/imovie.
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