[PLEASE!] Video Editing Help

[HoolyBop]

JUSt EDITED THE LINK, MEANT TO GIVE YOU THE VIDEO NOT HIS PROFILE, EVEN THOUGH THE VIDEO IS THE FEATURED ONE... =P

hey, i need some help from you guys for video editing. please help =D

I mainly am editing little clips that are 18 seconds - 2min each and putting around 25 of them together into a video with a BUNCH of special effects in them. i get these clips from (i no i will get alot of flame for this) a game called "runescape". here is a video of something that im trying to do, keep in mind i want it much better though. please look at the first part of the video with the red lines coming out of the name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8djJ4qVGDg

1. video editing applications:
Adobe after effects vs Final cut pro 7 (i have adobe after effects right now, i dont have final cut yet)

2. movie converting:
my screen capture software is IShowU, it saves the files as a .mov, iv herd that you need .avi or .mp4 to edit videos. i have a program called "Xilisoft Video Converter". if any of you know about that program, tell me if what im doing is right...

1. add videos to the list
2. i select "AVI - Audio-Video Interleaved as the profile (output)
3. i select a custom quality of 9999

every movie converter i use lowers the quality of my video which is really, the method i use in the program i said above this is as close as i can get to the original video.

Thank you,
HoolyBop

 

[wrldwzrd89]

First of all, you shouldn't have even mentioned torrents in that context... downloading commercial software illegally, by whatever means, is grounds for getting banned from these forums.

Now, to your actual question: Your assumption is wrong regarding video editing. Any format can be edited, if you have the right software. Also, if all you're doing is stitching smaller videos together, the programs you're using are total overkill. I think QuickTime Pro can handle this need, and it's a LOT cheaper than those two.

 

[HoolyBop]

i dont know if you were serious or just messing around with me, but how the hell would quick time pro do anything close to whats in the video that i gave a link to.

i have been watching adobe after effects tutorials all day and i cant stand that you cant just keep adding clips to the composition and extending the time by adding the clips (if you know what i mean)

 

[spinnerlys]

QuickTime Pro is able to add and remove clips to an already existing clip.

Final Cut Pro and After Effects are two different animals, FCP is for video editing and light effects work, AE is for heavier effects work and light video editing (if even necessary).

To achieve the (in my eyes dreadful and cheap looking) effect with the letters, you simply add a red glow to the text layer. The red rays are created via a warped or distorted lightning effect, that is also slowed down I think and put beneath the text layer.

I haven't worked in AE for several years, but I think you can achieve this even with the fully working demo of AE.

And please use proper grammar and spelling, half of your last post can't be quite understood, it can even be misunderstood. Maybe it's just me and I still don't understand this LOL speak.

 

[HoolyBop]

i dont understand what the difference of video editing and video effects is? to me they both mean that you put text, glow effects, and crazy special things into the clip/movie to make it look cool. from what you guys are saying, it seem that after effects is for making the clip look cool, and after i have made 5 clips look cool with after effects i just put them into the video editor so they all can be made into one movie. now i know this isnt true because final cut cost $1000 and i doubt that it would just be a program to make 5 clips into 1 movie =D

 

[Matthew Yohe]

from what you guys are saying, it seem that after effects is for making the clip look cool, and after i have made 5 clips look cool with after effects i just put them into the video editor so they all can be made into one movie. now i know this isnt true because final cut cost $1000 and i doubt that it would just be a program to make 5 clips into 1 movie =D

Nope, that's true.

 

[spinnerlys]

i dont understand what the difference of video editing and video effects is? to me they both mean that you put text, glow effects, and crazy special things into the clip/movie to make it look cool. from what you guys are saying, it seem that after effects is for making the clip look cool, and after i have made 5 clips look cool with after effects i just put them into the video editor so they all can be made into one movie. now i know this isnt true because final cut cost $1000 and i doubt that it would just be a program to make 5 clips into 1 movie =D

The difference is explained in the two words: editing and effects.

edit |ˈedit|
verb ( edited , editing ) [ trans. ] (often be edited)
prepare (written material) for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it : Volume I was edited by J. Johnson.
• choose material for (a movie or a radio or television program) and arrange it to form a coherent whole : the footage wasn't good enough to be edited into broadcast form | [as adj. ] ( edited) an edited version drawn from several prerecorded performances.
• be editor of (a newspaper or magazine).
• ( edit something out) remove unnecessary or inappropriate words, sounds, or scenes from a text, movie, or radio or television program.
noun
a change or correction made as a result of editing.
ORIGIN late 18th cent. (as a verb): partly a back-formation from editor , reinforced by French éditer ‘to edit’ (from édition ‘edition’ ).

effect |iˈfekt|
noun
1 a change that is a result or consequence of an action or other cause : the lethal effects of hard drugs | politicians really do have some effect on the lives of ordinary people.
• used to refer to the state of being or becoming operative : they succeeded in putting their strategies into effect | the ban is to take effect in six months.
• the extent to which something succeeds or is operative : wind power can be used to great effect.
• [with adj. ] Physics a physical phenomenon, typically named after its discoverer : the Doppler effect.
• an impression produced in the mind of a person : gentle music can have a soothing effect.
2 ( effects) the lighting, sound, or scenery used in a play, movie, or broadcast : the production relied too much on spectacular effects.
3 ( effects) personal belongings : the insurance covers personal effects.
verb [ trans. ] (often be effected)
cause (something) to happen; bring about : nature always effected a cure | budget cuts that were quietly effected over four years.
PHRASES
for effect in order to impress people : I suspect he's controversial for effect.
in effect in operation; in force : a moratorium in effect since 1985 has been lifted. • used to convey that something is the case in practice even if it is not formally acknowledged to be so : additional payments which are in effect an entrance tax.
to the effect that used to refer to the general sense of something written or spoken : some comments to the effect that my essay was a little light on analysis.
to that effect having that result, purpose, or meaning : she thought it a foolish rule and put a notice to that effect in a newspaper.
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French, or from Latin effectus, from efficere ‘accomplish,’ from ex- ‘out, thoroughly’ + facere ‘do, make.’ Sense 3, [personal belongings,] arose from the obsolete sense [something acquired on completion of an action.]
USAGE For the differences in use between effect and affect, see usage at affect 1 .


Editing (be it film, video or any other source) is meant to put takes into scenes and scenes into one coherent and dramaturgic story.
Effects work is meant to support the scenery or look of the film (be it a short or a lengthy one, be it fictional or non-fictional).
There are special effects, made live on set, and there are visual effects, which are now generated via a computer and put into the film.

After Effects is not meant to make the clip cooler, but to enhance what already is there and maybe even put some visual effects into the film.
Final Cut Pro is for editing all the available footage together (in simple terms), but you can also use iMovie for this.

Under normal circumstances the footage is edited first, and then the effects are applied, but often effects and editing are done side by side (to save time) and later put together in either the editing application or the effect application or a third application (due to rendering and other issues).

What it does mean for you: You can either add all the clips together first via iMovie, then export it to AE, apply those cool effects and be done with it.
Or you can apply an effect to a clip in AE, export it, do the next clip, export it, do the next clip, export it, ........ until you're done. Then you add all the clips to iMovie and add them together.

In short: iMovie for editing, After Effects (Trial) for effect work.


PS: Five (5) clips don't make a movie. A 90 minutes film has an average shot count of approx. 2000 takes (give or take a few hundred) when the average shot length is 2.7 seconds.
FCP was not meant for the YouTube generation, but for people who make a living with editing.

 

[HoolyBop]

What it does mean for you: You can either add all the clips together first via iMovie, then export it to AE, apply those cool effects and be done with it.
Or you can apply an effect to a clip in AE, export it, do the next clip, export it, do the next clip, export it, ........ until you're done. Then you add al the clips to iMovie and add them together.

im ganna try putting all of them together in imovie and exporting them to AE and then adding effects.

thank you very much for your time Mr.spinnerlys

-HoolyBop