video and audio editing software

[limazita]

Hi,

I am new to video editing and am currently looking for a software for Mac to put together a slide + sound show. I am looking for a software that will allow me to play and edit the slide show and music at the same time, i.e. I will have the show and the audio track available for editing on the screen at the same time. The slideshow is a series of jpegs, that will have 3 to 4 timelines running together at the same time, each timeline will be fading in or out or dissovling at the same time so that the transition will create a new image through layering the timelines (am I making sense?). For the sound, I need to be able to mix multiple tracks and while the show is playing and will be able to increase/decrease the volume of individual tracks at any point of the show. Final cut will suit the video need of my show, but not the audio need (if it does, please let me know), while sound booth will satisfy my audio needs (but I cannot put them on the same screen).

I am looking for software that will do the show + sound editing job on the same screen and will not cost as much as FinalCut or Soundbooth. It would be great if there is a good free software.

Thanks a lot! I appreciate it.

 

[spinnerlys]

"increase/decrease the volume of individual tracks"

From the FCP manual, page 111:

Adjusting Audio Levels in the Timeline
Changing audio levels directly in the Timeline is fast and is especially useful when you need to mix the levels of clips relative to other clips playing at the same time. For example, if you want to raise and lower the volume of a music clip to correspond with a voiceover recording, you can see how the narrator’s dialogue lines up with the music clips if you turn on audio waveforms in the Timeline. That way, you can easily see exactly where you need to set your keyframes to achieve the desired levels.
To use all the commands and tools described in this section, you need to turn on clip overlays in the Timeline to display the audio level and pan overlays. Displaying audio waveforms is also useful for audio mixing in the Timeline.

To display clip overlays in the Timeline:
1 Open a sequence in the Timeline, then choose Sequence > Settings.
2 Click the Timeline Options tab, then select the Show Keyframe Overlays checkbox.
You can also select the Clip Overlays control in the Timeline.
To display audio waveforms in the Timeline:
1 Open a sequence in the Timeline, then choose Sequence > Settings.
2 Click the Timeline Options tab, then select the Show Audio Waveforms checkbox.
∏Tip: To avoid opening the Sequence Settings window, you can also press
Command-Option-W while the Timeline is active.




And you can do the same by double clicking the audio track in the timeline which will then be editable in the left monitor, keyframes can be added to adjust the levels.

 

[kolax]

Final Cut Express will do the job perfectly for you.

Your Mac comes with iMovie which will do the job too, but the interface is a bit gimmicky. I'm a Final Cutter..

 

[bmcgonag]

For the number of "timelines" you state needing you would want to learn and use Final Cut Express or Pro, though if you don't need 4 layered photos at a time, but only 2 fading in and out simultaneously then iMovie and / or iPhoto will do the job perfectly well.

 

[limazita]

Hey guys, thanks very much, I will take a look at all ur suggesitons. Will come back with more questions

Thanks

 

[limazita]

Thanks guys for your replies.

I went to Tekserve on 23rd street in Manhattan and talked to the audio/video person there (he is extremely nice and helpful) and he told me that final cut will output only 640*480, which, is far too low res (I made a simple movie in final cut and did some testing as well) as I will be playing the show in a 1400*1050 projector. Final cut is also no very efficient as I m dealing with still images. He suggests me to use Keynote (isn't it for making powerpoint presentation?).

I think that Final Cut express as you have suggested should do the job, but the output quality is my concern.

What do you think?

 

[Parsec]

I'm not exactly sure, but it's highly unlikely that Final Cut can't produce HD content. Even when there was no HD editing software yet and iMovie didn't have the 'HD' added to the name, it was already able to edit HD (according to my local Photo/Video store at the time, which surspised him just as much). I've made an impressive photo(with some motion)/video show with FCP. Once you set aside the initial flabbergasm when you first see FCP and start to work with it, it is actually quite user-friendly.

 

[kolax]

...and he told me that final cut will output only 640*480, which, is far too low res (I made a simple movie in final cut and did some testing as well) as I will be playing the show in a 1400*1050 projector. Final cut is also no very efficient as I m dealing with still images. He suggests me to use Keynote (isn't it for making powerpoint presentation?).

Haha, he told you that? Deary me..

Final Cut can export at 1080p if you wanted, and there's custom resolutions too. Who said Final Cut isn't very efficient with still images? I can't believe some of the crap so called shop specialists come out with.

I suggest you visit this:

http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/tutorials/

The tutorials are very helpful, and you'll understand all about Final Cut a lot more. The tasks they do in Final Cut Pro (which I linked you to) can be be done in Final Cut Express too (majority).

 

[bmcgonag]

Haha, he told you that? Deary me..

Final Cut can export at 1080p if you wanted, and there's custom resolutions too. Who said Final Cut isn't very efficient with still images? I can't believe some of the crap so called shop specialists come out with.

I suggest you visit this:

http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/tutorials/

The tutorials are very helpful, and you'll understand all about Final Cut a lot more. The tasks they do in Final Cut Pro (which I linked you to) can be be done in Final Cut Express too (majority).

I agree.

And it's not just shop owners. I've heard "Apple Store Geniuses"..."Genii"...? anyway, i've heard them give out bad advice and information more than once. I wait til the leave the customer alone for a moment then go over and give the correct information.

Don't worry, FCP and FCE are more than capable of HD resolutions.

 

[limazita]

Thanks for all your replies.

I am totally an explorer on new soil regarding this projector/video business

I have a 800x600 Epson projector, but it is not doing the work right. When I project the images on the wall, I can see little squares that I guess are the pixels of the projector on the wall. Is this the way it is suppose to be or am I not doing the settings right?

When I connect the projector to my macbook, it is projecting whatever that is on my computer screen. However, what if the slideshow is higher res that the monitor (or the slide show is larger than what the computer screen can display)? This is what happen when I create the test clip in Final Cut with 1080p output. I would like to know how I can get the best res (since the images I use can be very high res) when I want to project on a 15ft by 11ft screen with a Hitachi CPX 1250 level projector?

I did a test clip in Final Cut Express using 4 jpegs 1400 x 1050 at 300 dpi (each image is 4 MB) with a music clip of 30 mins that is around 300 MB. The ouput looks very high res but the movie file is 10GB. Should I use lower res file or file which is smaller in dimension? Is there anyway to compress the file to fit on a DVD (I have over 100 jpegs that I will need to fit on the DVD)? How can I estimate the file size (How does 4 4MG jpegs blow up to 10GB)?

The screen I am projecting on is 15 ft by 11 ft, I do not have anyway to do testing at the venue. The projector I am trying to rent sth close to Hitachi CPX 1250 or higher. I am looking at the specification of the Hitachi projector :

Recommended Projection Size – From 30" up to 300" diagonal, at a throw distance of 2.5' to 25'

Lens – 1.7-2.4, 1.5x Zoom – how does a zoom lens work in a projector?

Native Resolution – XGA (1024 x 768) Resolution – does it mean that if my monitor is 1024 x 786, it will be able to map pixel by pixel to my monitor? What if I have a bigger monitor?

Focus/Zoom Adjusting – Electronic 1.5 zoom – does this means automatic focus (as in a lens on a camera)?

Lumens Brightness – 4500 ANSI Lumens – is a higher lumen means that the projector is better?

Projector Display System – LCD, 0.99" TFT Poly x3 with Micro Lens Array – is this the "CMOS" of the projector?

Lens Shift – Vertical – 10:0 to 1:1 – what is this?

Number of Pixels – 786,432 x3 = 2,359,296 – what is the relationship of this to the resolution?

Contrast Ratio – 800:1 – is this the amount of shades/contrast level (800) that the projector can display? Will banding occurs if the colour gradient cannot be displayed properly?

Aspect Ratio
4:3 Mode
Supports 16:9

Thanks

 

[kolax]

If your projector is 800x600 resolution, then providing any content that is higher than that resolution is pointless, as it'll just be downscaled and look the same.

Since you said the projector you are trying to hire does 1024x768, use that as the canvas size. Again, having high resolution images appearing will be pointless and might even look worse quality if the downscaling is poorly done by whatever software you are using for the presentation.