PDF of this tutorialEditing is the process of deciding what to leave in and what to take out. Like a short story, every element must advance the story or add value to the presentation. Some projects may take hours of raw (unedited) video to produce a few minutes of finished product. A nature documentary might have 60 minutes of source footage for every finished minute. A historical documentary (World War II or the fall of Vietnam) might have many hours of source footage per finished minute. A 30-second national car commercial might pull footage from 60 minutes of raw takes. Obviously, there are no hard-and-fast rules. Shooting efficiently helps the editing process immensely and can save time and money, but this may be impossible when trying to capture live, nonrepeatable action.
Editing the Video
It is a good idea to start with a rough edit of the video. This is often referred to as an off-line edit, which is simply a series of straight cuts from one scene to another without using any transitions or effects. Users simply connect one scene with another, checking to see that they are telling coherent stories with the video. This should provide an overall feel for the production and timing of scenes.
Upon completion of the off-line edit, the presentation may be enhanced by the addition of transitions and filters to enhance the video. This part of the process is often referred to as on-line editing.
Transitions are the effects used to move from one scene to another. The most common transition is a fade. However, depending on the video-editing software used, there are many others from which to choose. Filters are effects applied to an entire scene or production. An example of a filter might be blurring, which is often used to create a dream-like effect. Such effects, however, should not be overused, as they are meant to enhance but not distract. In the end, the viewer should not be consciously aware of these effects.
Editing the Audio
It is best to edit audio digitally, as audio captured with digital video will already be in this format. If additional audio exists in an analog format such as analog tape or cassette, it is best to transfer such audio to a digital format for editing. One must simply connect the output of the analog device to the inputs of the computer sound card and record the audio directly to the hard drive through an audio editor. This audio will be saved as a .wav file on the Windows platform or as an .aif file on a Macintosh. Once the material has been recorded, the files may be opened in the audio editor.
In the editor, the audio may be edited as if a word processor were being used. All of the normal cut, copy, paste, and delete commands are available. Just as in a word-processing program, the portion of the audio that must be edited is selected or highlighted, followed by the edit function (cut, copy, delete, etc.). Most editors offer undo capabilities so that one can try an edit and, if the results are not favorable, undo it.
Postproduction
The final stage is often called audio sweetening, as the video is spiced up by the addition of more audio such as sound effects, narration, or music. Such additions are best accomplished in a multitrack media editor. This type of editor will allow the video file to be opened and will make multiple tracks available for additional audio. After adding tracks of sound effects, music, and narration, these various audio tracks must be mixed together to achieve the best blend and, thus, enhance the video. Once this is accomplished, the project is saved as a single file that contains the video along with the stereo audio track. This is usually in the form of an .avi file on the Windows platform or a .mov file for Macintosh.
