FAQ on creating videos, choosing a video editor

We have a large assortment of mods on our site, users write both poems and articles, and there's nowhere to put their screenshots. But there is another section on the site, another sphere of activity - video. On many sites (including NFS-themed ones) whole battles in video editing are held, and people send in dozens of them. I'm sure half of our site has "never touched" a video editor and has no interest in this sphere. And for no good reason. Today I'll present you with an article about which programs are used to make videos, why one video editor is preferable to another, and if many users start making and sending in videos, then we can hold video-themed contests.

First you need to understand that any video editor is a fairly complex class of programs. Even to use the simplest ones you need basic training and to understand what you need and what you can do.

So, let's start looking at individual programs.

1. Windows Movie Maker


Everyone has this program, since it is free and is installed together with Windows.
Windows Movie Maker is the simplest video editor, figuring it out won't be hard. And with our help - even more so.
Let's start studying its interfaces. Here everything is laid out on the shelves.
On the left is the Tasks panel, in which all the editing stages are divided into groups, namely editing and saving the movie; in the center is the Collections area, where all the files you import will subsequently be displayed (music, video clips, photos, etc.), as well as video effects and transitions. On the right we have the monitor (Preview), which is used to view individual clips or the whole project. Below the monitor is the scroll bar and the player control buttons. At the very bottom is the Working Area, where the mystery of video editing will take place. The working area has two types - storyboard and timeline. My advice - it's better to use the second one, since it's the most convenient to work with and applying most functions and effects on it is much easier than on the storyboard.

And now I'll describe the stages of creating a video in Movie Maker, everything is simple here:
1. On the left, on the tasks panel in the collection, import everything we'll need to create the video - clips, images, music.
2. After they've been imported, we start creating, making, building our video, on that very working area at the bottom.
Then everything depends on your imagination, I'll only tell you about the functions capable of bringing it to life in video.
In the process we'll need such tools as text, transitions, etc.

In Movie Maker you won't have to look for them for long, since here, as I wrote earlier, everything is laid out on the shelves. Both texts, and transitions, and effects - everything is on the right, on this cherished tasks panel.
You can apply various colors, fonts, effects, transitions to the text. Transitions - an animation standing between two clips/images/text, with the help of which they smoothly and colorfully transition from one to another. Effects - I think the very meaning of this word speaks for itself - effects that can be applied to clips (sepia, slowdown, speedup, zoom, contrast, etc.).

Okay, we've created the video, and now how do we save it?
It's all very simple: go to file>save movie file, or just press ctrl+P, then select "Save file on the computer", name our video and choose where to save it. And at the end we have to choose in what quality to save, I think you understand that it's better to save in the best quality rather than compress (as a result of compression not only the quality but also the resolution of our video will decrease).

And now I'll answer frequently asked questions about Movie Maker (FAQ)

Question: How do I remove the sound in the video, I want only the music I added to play.
Answer: It's all very simple. Go to Tools>Audio Level and drag the slider all the way to the right.

Question: How do I cut a certain part in the video?
Answer: Below the Preview window there's a "split" button, click that.

Question: How do I write text on the video itself, and not on a black background?
Answer: In the "titles and credits" tab, select not "add title at the beginning", but "add title on the selected clip".

Question: How do I cut the music at the end of the video, it turns out longer.
Answer: Hover the mouse over the end of the music, a red arrow will appear there, that's the trimming, to cut the music, just drag it to the right.
P.S. In the same way you can trim a video clip and an image.

Conclusion: Windows Movie Maker is a simple and convenient program for editing, so to speak, "on the fly". For beginners this program will undoubtedly be just right.

2. Sony Vegas Pro


So we've reached a professional program. I think everyone understands that it doesn't come with Windows, and therefore you need to download it. It weighs about 120 mb, you can use the 60-day trial version, or download a crack (the optimal option).
We launch the program, and what do we see - a sea of incomprehensible icons, windows and interfaces. We won't poke at everything in a row, but figure out what's what. The trick here is that everything can be customized to your liking, so on different versions everything is arranged differently. I have version 7.0.
So, at the top we have the timeline, at the bottom right the Preview window, and on the left the tasks panel. In the tasks panel there are many sections: Explorer, Trimmer, Media Manager, Transitions, Video FX, Media Generators. Let's try to figure out what they are. Explorer is made for importing files for the project, Trimmer serves for mixing sound (I think hardly anyone will need it), Media Manager - just an empty window, I don't know what it's needed for, Transitions - transitions, Video FX - various video effects - contrast, noise, sepia, etc., Media Generators - various textures that can be overlaid on video and text.
Let's start creating the video. The essence here is the same as in other video editors, you drag files from the Explorer tab onto the timeline, connecting them with text and supplementing with effects (thankfully there are plenty of them here).
So, you've made your video clip, what's next? Next we press File>Render As, set these settings and wait for the video to be published. Done!

FAQ about Vegas:
Question: How do I slow down a video in Sony Vegas?
Answer: Right-click on the clip you need to slow down, select Insert/Remove Envelope>Velocity, after that a green slider appears on that clip; the further you drag it down, the more it slows down, and the further up, the more it speeds up accordingly.

Question: How do I apply an effect to a video?
Answer: Drag the effect you need onto the timeline and choose the desired settings.

Question: How do I apply a transition?
Answer: Drag the transition onto the timeline and place it between the two videos where you need the transition.

Question: How do I mute the music/sound in a video?
Answer: Right-click on the video and select Switches>Mute.

Question: Can I save a video as .avi?
Answer: No, Vegas does not support this format. If necessary, you can use a converter.

Conclusion: Sony Vegas is fairly easy to learn. If you learn to work in it and get used to it, switching to another program will be very difficult.

So I have told you about the two most popular video editing programs.

I hope this article will be useful to you, thanks for your attention.

DaRkSiDe special for nfs.place