Neil's Random Video Tips

[Neil Enns]

My wife and I recently returned from a vacation to Kauai where we put our new DV camcorder through its paces. Neither of us have ever really used a camcorder before so it was a great learning experience. We had a ton of fun and came back with what we thought was ample footage: over four hours of memories.

Now that I’m sitting down to edit all the stuff into a reasonably amusing and exciting home movie I’m realizing there are a whole bunch of things we could have done while shooting to improve the overall quality of both the raw footage and the edited result. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be sharing some of the tips and tricks I’ve come up with for your enjoyment. Stay tuned!

[mcsouth]

:) Bring it on!!! This is exactly one of the types of articles that I'd like to see on this site - the practical aspects of owning and using digital media devices.

I'll admit that I've thought about a vid cam over the years, and use the movie mode on my camera (Canon G1 right now) on occasion, although the resolution depresses me. However, it is the post-processing that concerns me - I don't necessarily want to spend hours cutting and pasting random clips into something meaningful. I will also admit that I enjoy the few occasions that I've used WinMovieMaker2 to slap together a slide show of photos against a sound track - and I enjoy playing it for relatives, who can watch as they feel necessary - I just let it loop while we visit.

With the prices of digital video cameras dropping, I'll admit to considering them, but always question the value of the content you may capture, and what you do with it later. I, for one, will be looking forward to your insight!

[Suhit Gupta]

That's awesome. BTW, where were you in Kauai? I was just there two weeks ago, on the south shore, on Poipu beach. :)

Suhit

[Neil Enns]

However, it is the post-processing that concerns me - I don't necessarily want to spend hours cutting and pasting random clips into something meaningful.

Jason probably knows more about them than I do, but there are several packages out there that will auto-generate movies for you based on footage. I think Jason's particularly fond of one called Muvee.

My wife and I used to take a bunch of little clips using our Canon S40 and then made mini-movies with Windows Movie Maker 2. They turned out great, but the geek in me always wanted to do more.

Our Hawaii video is being assembled using Adobe Premier Pro and After Effects. How sad is that? :oops:

Neil

[Neil Enns]

That's awesome. BTW, where were you in Kauai? I was just there two weeks ago, on the south shore, on Poipu beach. :)

Uh, dude, we were at the Kiahuna Plantation right on Poipu. We should have gone for lunch!

Neil

[Suhit Gupta]

That's awesome. BTW, where were you in Kauai? I was just there two weeks ago, on the south shore, on Poipu beach. :)

Uh, dude, we were at the Kiahuna Plantation right on Poipu. We should have gone for lunch!
No frikkin' way, because I lived in the Kiahuna Plantation as well (Rm. 410). In fact I was there from Aug. 14th through Aug. 22nd. I was kinda far from the beach - 5 minute walk - but the room was significantly cheaper than the ocean front apartments. In fact I should have been easy to spot, I was the only Indian there on the entire island as far as I could tell. :-P

Damn, we need to have a special section on DMT where people can announce where they are going on vacation.

Suhit

[Suhit Gupta]

Actually, interesting, there is this NYC guy that is has a photo-blog and is currently in Kauai. He posted pictures from today there - http://www.bluejake.com/archives/2004/09/07/kauai_1.php

Suhit

[xycury]

Was he going to post his tips in here in the forum?

I am going on vacation to DW in florida and then a cruise two weeks after and would love to use my camcorder properly.

[Suhit Gupta]

Was he going to post his tips in here in the forum?

I am going on vacation to DW in florida and then a cruise two weeks after and would love to use my camcorder properly.
No, they are being posted to the front page. They are also in the THOUGHTS forum - http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=1

Suhit