Video Editing and Movie Making

For some time I've wanted to be able to make instructional videos for the exercise devices in my business and post the videos in my website. A straight shoot would be less than professional, I choke when speaking under pressure and would not be able to get out 1/2 the things I wanted to say even with a script in front of me, no doubt some of the movements would need to be perfected and there's just no way to to do all this without editing.

It is very expensive to have a professional come and shoot film and edit to create a good clip and the shoots would still be a rush and limited to how much time and money I spent on the professional.

I came to the conclusion I needed to learn some editing and do it myself. How hard could it be? Anyway, I also have a bunch of VHS tape of the family that I shot which needs to be put in a digital format and organized at a minimum. I even have VHS my mom had transferred many years ago from out of 1960s reel to reel tape that my dad shot. In fact, I bought VHS to DVD transfer software about 2 years ago and dreading getting started on the project put it in a drawer were it has set ever since.

Everything added up to I needed to learn some editing so I looked into the top software reviews, how much instructional videos were available and the kind of tools I thought I would like to work with and decided on Hitfilm Express which is pretty nice and free under the pretense that if you start becoming skilled and involved in video editing you will want to upgrade to their Pro-version for $299.

First, I figured I need some film to practice on so what better place than to get all my VHS transferred. To begin with with I needed a working VHS player and they don't even make them anymore so I had a choice of buying a used one or gambling on the one in my closet that was sitting with the last tape it ate still in it. Then I needed a DVD burner and my new computer doesn't have one, I could get a plug in one but didn't want to work off DVD's anyway. Come to find out they don't even work with the editing software.

I ended up going to the VHS to DVD software site and downloaded the software using my pin # to my new computer and transferring the VHS tapes. After I partially took apart my old VHS player to get the old tape out and messed around with it worked okay and did the job of feeding. This was a pain because the software sucked! But, I managed to download my VHS videos to DVD files ready to burn but still needed to convert them to MP4 files.

I then bought Program4PC Video Converter software that was actually pretty cool and does all kinds of conversions and did a good job converting my files to MP4.

Finally, I got to start using my Hitfilm video editing software! I first watched several instructional videos, which started out being pretty overwhelming, but I am a learn by seeing and doing person so gave it a shot. Organizing files was important so I also started off by doing this through creating several file folders under a main Video folder.

One thing I've learned in there is a LOT to learn and a lot of time involved which tells me why it it is so expensive to hire someone to do this.

All in all, it is pretty fun and very intriguing what you can do. The many many tools available all take some learning of what they do and the skill to use them. I believe it will be a good skill to have. Little by little I figure I will learn the basics I need to manage what I need to do for my business and will likely get into adding in some pretty cool special effects having skills beyond most Youtubers and the ability to create some fairly professional looking videos.

If anyone is already into video editing, or wants to get into this, and would like to share or compare notes I'd be glad to discuss it.

 

No, I was just saying that rather than shoot more video in digital I could kill 2 birds with one stone and use the converted VHWS tapes to practice on.

These files were "ready to burn" which was the only file I could produce that was usable but now it was in a format that I could convert to MP4. No, I'm done with VHS and DVD for ever, I hope! I had a great VHS camera for many years but it died long ago.

I'm going to be looking for a new camera to shoot digital video and want to be sure that I can easily download to my computer.

I actually already bought a tripod for my phone with remote, but I really think I want to step up to a good camera.

I read several reviews about Adobe vs Hitfilm and others but seemed the conscientious was Hitfilm was usually at the top. Moreso, I liked the setup of the tools. I figure if it gives me problems I may switch since it was free and should be able takes some of the basics I've learned with me.

My new computer seems to be dealing with the software no problem.

It is fun, but I have to be aware and careful not to be too perfectionist and spend too much time on that because I my priorities are better placed elsewhere. Like most things I expect to get better and faster with practice...

 

Thanks bro, yeah I have some challenges and will need to use what I'm good at. For instance, I can not put on a fake natural looking smile in front of a camera, but OTOH I have some entertaining looks that I can give people while I'm harassing them to train harder or correct a movement. But I may use models and stay out of the picture a lot and record my instructions and descriptions later and add it in. I'll have to feel it out and see what seems to get the messages across.

 

On Hitfilm I can go to File > Options > Auto Save and it is set to automatically save the file every 10 minutes but can be changed to save as often as you like. So if it were to crash I could go to the file and double click and be right back to the last save. I set mine at 2 minutes so that is all the time I could lose.

I like the History tab also. It tracks every change I make and if I mess up I can go back to any starting point.

 

I can tell you this, on my new computer I can go to my Quick Access > Videos files > Hitfilm Projects > and click on the project file and it opens the program software with everything downloaded and ready to go in a average of 3 seconds! I'm so used to sitting and waiting for things to open that I'm having to relearn my habits and stop drifting in thought after I click something because there is no need to pause.

 

Yeah, I like the power,

 

I’ve been practicing to make an intro through using a composite shot while messing with the effects, anchor points, masking, scales, keyframes and animated texts, etc. on and on trying to figure out how these things work together. Pretty challenging and I see one has to develop a sense of using like building blocks and layers while understanding the tools. Learn what is possible, practice, envisioning comes with understanding and then I can be more creative – a lot of it is a blur but little by little something will click in. Currently I see something I want to try and fail more than succeed but I do end up with something and I usually come away with a little more knowledge than when I started the project…

Along the same lines of being a woodworker, you have different kinds of wood, hard and soft, machines to set up, hand tools, glues, fasteners, joints, hardware, bits and blades, all that require skills to assemble and use - rough and finish sanding, measurements and precision, and it all takes practice and knowledge of how things work together before you become an efficient builder of whatever you envision that you want to build.

I’m thinking of like about a 4-7 second eye catching professional looking intro for my videos. Logo and company name to stand out and be remembered. While I’m figuring that out, I can start on collecting some instructional videos. My priority is going to be building more inventory and the videos will be like a hobby.