Topic: Making and editing video

[Kingbee]

Hey folks,
I would like to tap into the knowledge base here on a subject I am having a bit of hassle with: making videos of my shows.  I have tired my ipad which is great but has no zoom so unless it sits by stage, its not much use. I have an older video camera but it does not do well (at least not as well as the ipad) in low light, club environments.  I want to find something small and simple, any thoughts?
Next editing: after looking at software it seems I feel as though its either too basic or needs a class to make it work.  Really what I want is just to be able to cut the video and crop the edges if I am using a longer shot. Problem of longer shots of course is crowd noise.  I know some folks here put up show vids and wonder what do you use?
Last, does anyone have experience trying to record on one device and use video from another?  I have used a zoom recorder for years and they can get great recordings in the right set up. 
I have lurked here for years but never really felt like posting.  Sorry for that.
Any thoughts would be much valued and appreciated.
Patrick

[StoogeKebab]

Hi Patrick,

I'm a filmmaker myself, but often work to make conditions suit me instead of working around obstacles so I don't know how much help I'll be, but I will try.

If you're referring to being in the market for a new camera, there are a number of low end cameras from good brands that will do you well. Brands like Sony have some nice cameras in the low end where all you'll need is an SD card to get started with them, or higher priced if you want built in storage.

As for editing, on Mac, there's no question, the built in iMovie (literally every version after 2006) will do everything you could possibly want with it at this level, and it's bigger (and rather expensive brother) Final Cut Pro can everything in general, and if you don't want more complicated options, it can be kept simple by simply not using them.

For Windows, I'm not an expert because usually I just push Mac. But the current Windows movie maker seems a little lacking so I'll do my best. In terms of low cost, there's the Pinnacle software. I used Pinnacle when I had to run a business from a Windows based custom built machine. Pinnacle has the benefit of simplicity and power and should do well for your needs.

With sound, when I do a song or two at school, I often have a friend record audio on my phone close to me as I'll have my friend with the camera further back. Aside from this, all the videos I post to Facebook from my record label are videos synchronised with the properly recorded, mixed and mastered audio (we record live only) so here's somewhere I have a lot of experience in.

With all the video editing programs I listed, all that has to be done is importing the audio from the external recording device into the project like it's a song being added to a video normally. Position it roughly, so that when you play the video it will sound like a very bad double dub sort of issue. Then, zoom in to the timeline using whatever method in the corresponding software, making sure you can see the audio for the video and the external audio together. Then position it visually so they line up, occasionally playing it back, initially it should sound like a bit of an echo, keep moving it until there's no longer any echo, or it's barely noticeable then reduce the volume on the video to zero and take a look. It should line up near perfectly with great sounding audio.

Good luck!

[Rivers]

I would avoid Sony consumer level cameras. While the quality tends to be good, the output format tends to be proprietary, locking you into the Sony ecosystem. Personally I would not want to limit myself to using Sony's software to get content off the camera or, even worse, to edit it. That is so 1990's.

And I agree with SK, the Mac platform is the way to go, as a matter of fact for anything, not just for A/V

[StoogeKebab]

Thanks for mentioning that Rivers, as a Final Cut Pro user, it didn't even occur to me about file formats! With the Sony Cameras, they tend to record to .mts files, and I know for a fact that while it can't accept them dragged and dropped, if the SD card is recognised as a camera's SD card, it will show up importable in iMovie. Though I am not sure about Pinnacle. However, it is worth noting that Canon, Panasonic and Sony all shoot in this format. Another camera brand is possibly JVC, but they record in a very exclusive .MOD format that is a downright pain to work with at all.

And oh yes, Mac all the way, every day. I've sold over 100 macs to just under 100 people in the past 3 years. I don't work in retail.

[Rivers]

I hope that one day there will be a common format that does it all, works for consumer- & pro users, and is adopted by all the OEMs as well. In the meantime, Kingbee is still wanting to press the button on... something.

I would recommend forgetting about camera brands initially, and to focus on software. Hard to do, I know when the $$ are burning a hole in your pocket. If you find a software package that you like it makes your choice of camera easier. You can Google the numerous forums and other review sites to see how well a given camera and/or brand would work with that s/w

You also should ask about sharing videos you've shot, both raw and edited. How easy is it to get a copy to youtube, or to a friend? Should be basic but in the past some camera manufacturers (Sony) have stupidly gone out of their way to make that as hard as possible. Things are probably better these days, but I'm just saying do check that all the possible workflows that you might want are available with the camera and editing software combination.

[hms]

What about the GoPro range of cameras?
The upper end of the range of these cameras will also accept a microphone input. Not checked out the limitations on type of mic that can be used though.
If you already have an audio recorder then use a lower end GoPro and sync audio later.
h

[frankie]

The quality of the GoPro looks nice...  I would kinda miss a rotating screen that would allow me to adjust the composition without having to guess at it. It looks like you can use your phone as a remote, so maybe that would be good enough. The output format looks to be mp4, which is fine with me..  got me thinking, anyway - thanks for the tip.

For the last year or so, I've captured audio and video separately and synced them after the fact. Can't imagine doing it any other way, now.

I've also been using the free version of Pinnacle - seems ok, but I'm a pretty remedial user in any case. I have no experience with iMovie or any Apple apps, and liked Windows Movie Maker while it was still working on my laptop.