Editing your video – Programs

Once you are finished shooting your video, whether you want to show it during a service, record it to DVD, or put it on your website, you are going to need to edit it. The editing process can fix a number of issues depending on the editing software you have at your disposal. You will be able to cut out your mistakes, fix the audio, and fix the color. Again some of these features may not come with your editing program.

I can hear some of you now… ”But I don’t have an editing program.” Well, no worries because there are a number of editing programs out there that you can get easily. Like the cameras they can range from free to $2,000. The more expensive ones come with more features that you can use to edit your video. If you’re thinking about going for the more expensive editing program ($500 and up) I would recommend these programs:

Final Cut Pro – One of the best editing programs out there, as well as one of the most versatile. Final Cut is very easy to learn, and there is a lot of material out there to help you learn. FC usually comes in a package deal that has a DVD authoring program (DVD Studio Pro) and 3 other very cool programs. The only downfall is the FC is strictly Macintosh/Apple based. So, unless you have a MAC computer this editing program won’t work for you.  More on Final Cut

Adobe Premier Pro – Adobe Premier is a very easy program to learn and there is a lot of material out there to help you learn. Adobe Premier is PC based so unlike Final Cut you will need a PC for this program. Adobe Premier is usually the cheapest of the 3 but Final Cut is giving them a run for their money. You can get Premier in a bundle like Final Cut or by itself. More on Adobe Premier

Avid Express– Avid can do just about anything you want but it is harder to learn and usually the most expensive. Avid is both PC and MAC based.  More on Avid

Now for some editing programs that are in a more affordable price range. (Free to $400)

Pinnacle Studio – In my opinion this is one of the better cheaper editing programs out there. What is cool about Pinnacle is it has built in DVD Authoring and burning and Instant Transfer to DVD. So you can put your sermons and video right to DVD, and it’s very easy. The 3 programs above require another program to put your content onto DVD but Pinnacle doesn’t. Pinnacle has templates for a DVD menu that you just drag your video into. The downfall of Pinnacle is that you can’t really create custom menus. Also, Pinnacle just happened to be owned by Avid.  More on Pinnacle Studio

Windows Media Encoder – WME is a nice free program that is limited in its editing capabilities but has preset for exporting to the web built in. This is a PC only program and it requires a “Genuine Microsoft Windows Validation”, which means they want to check to see if you have a real version of Windows running and not a hack/stolen version.  More on Windows Media Encoder

Free Editing Software – There are a number of free editing programs out there so the best way for me to cover them and get on with this blog is to provide you with a link to the top 7 editing software.

Editing your video – Editing Techniques

Once you have the editing software of your choice you are ready to start editing. You are going to have to hook your camera up to your computer so that you can “Capture” your video. To do this your will need to plug in your camera using either a USB plug or an IEEE 1394 FireWire cable. One of those two cables should have come with your camera. First, plug in your camera and then turn it on. You might get a prompt to open a program, if you see your editing program choose it. If nothing happens, open you’re editing program. Because every editing program is different I can’t go over how to capture your video, you are going you have to read the directions for that.

Once you have your video captured you’re going to need to isolate the good clips and place them in your timeline for editing. Place the clips in the order that you want and put them flush against each other. Then place what is called a “Cross Dissolve” transition between the two clips. This will dissolve/blend the two clips together so it doesn’t just cut between clips. This will make your video flow smoothly and not make your audience wonder what is going on. I recommend using the cross dissolve as your main transition. There are a number of other transition and effect that you can use but try and stay consistent. Using 6 different types to transitions screams amateur and will pull the focus to the crazy effects and away from the intended purpose of the video. Now, having said that, if you have a funny, goofy, or a wacky video that needs that little bit of over the top effects to make it that much more funny you can use the coolest transitions your editing program has to offer. One Last note on for when your editing your video…Save, Save, SAVE! Always save your project when you have the chance. I don’t know how many time I have been working on a video and thought I was alright because I save the project not to long ago. Well, you can do a lot of editing in “not to long” so when your program crashes or freezes and you loose have your project…don’t say I didn’t warn you. Save every chance you get! There’s no such thing as “over saving.”

Compress your video for the Web

Now you’re ready to put your video on the web. Here is where things get tuff. There are a number of file formats that you can choose to export your video as. The 3 most popular are AVI, WMV (Windows Media Video) and QuickTime. You can ask 5 different people what their opinion is about the 3 most popular formats for the web and you will get 5 different answers. The truth is all 3 formats are great for the web. They all compress the video to a file small enough but still clear enough for the web. With each of these formats you can compress them in many different ways, which will essentially change the quality and file size. So, to say that on is better that the other is hard to do.

Now, having worked with web video a lot I have to say that I have had fewer problems with WMV and AVI than with Quicktime, so I tend to stick with those 2. But I do have problems playing the WMV and AVI on Mac/Apple computers sometimes. For some reason Mac’s don’t like those 2 files, though Quicktime was created by and for Mac’s so that says something. My suggestion is to play around and see what size and quality you like. You can export your video as an AVI and bring it into Windows Media Encoder and play around with the preset web settings until you find a size and quality you like. Video compression is like buying a car, there are so many colors and types out there you won’t know which you like until you try it. A video size of 320px by 240px is a nice size to compress your video at. If you want a smaller or larger video feel free to change the sizes but make sure you keep the aspect ratio proportionate or your video will look squished or stretched.

Putting it on the Web

Regardless of the video format you chose at this point you are now ready to upload your video to your site.  For those of you who have your website hosted at OurChurch.Com, here’s a link for help concerning uploading/FTPing.

Whether you’re building your own site using OurChurch.Com’s Beacon web builder or using a program such as Dreamweaver or Frontpage you can embed your video right into the page you want it. The CIT or Center for Instructional Technology has a nice site that will give you the HTML code you will need to put into your page. Simply follow this link and click on the icon of file type you have decided to use at the top of the page (If you choose AVI click on the Windows Media Icon). If you choose Quicktime select “A Web server”.

First choose your Sever path, which should be http://your_domain.com

Next enter the path to your file.  If you built your site with OCC’s Beacon web builder, that will be /view/uploads/

Then pick your width and height, which is preset at 320×240, but can be changed to anything you want.

Finally, decide if you want your video to Start automatically, have the controls showing (The play, pause, stop, fast-forward, rewind, etc…), Loop playback so once it’s finished it will start again (I don’t recommend this because if drives the views insane and they will just leave your site if they cant stop your video.), and if you want it Left, Right, or Center aligned on your page.

Then click the “Submit” and your html code will pull up for you to copy and past into your page.

If you created your website using the Beacon web builder, login to your webmaster page and select the page you want your video to play on and past the html code into that page. If you’re using a program just paste the code where you want it.

You’re now ready to share your video with the world!

Got any thoughts, questions opinions on the software, formats, or techniques mentioned in this article?  Post them in a comment.

Jon Harrison

ourchurch.com

The post Video Editing and Publishing Tips appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

Every church is different in size and budget.  Because video cameras range from $300 to $4,000 I am not going to cover which is the right camera for your church in this blog.

Video for Sermons:

Many churches use video for their sermons and/or to film small video segments or movies for their services. First I will discuss setting up for your sermons then I will give you some tips on shooting those fun movies. Whether you have one, two or three cameras does not matter. You can accomplish the same thing with one camera as you can with two or three,

1. Single Camera Setup:

Let’s start with a single camera layout. This layout is very simple and is the center of every church video layout. Place the camera in the very center of the room so that it is directly in front of where the sermons are given. Many churches have a center aisle that makes a perfect line for you. Start at the back of the room with your camera on. (pic 1) Have someone in position where the sermons are given. If you have the ability to use manual focus, use it! Auto focus is great, but it only focuses on the object right in the center of the picture. So, if the pastor likes to use their hands a lot, the camera will try and focus in on their hands every time they pass the center of the picture causing the picture to wave in and out of focus – Not so good on the stomach!

Next, zoom the camera in all the way on the person so you can see the person’s eye and focus on it. If you can’t get all the way to the eye just focus as best you can. Then zoom out so the person is framed in from their waist to about and two inches above their head. (Pic 2) Most cameras now come with what is called a digital zoom. When the lens can’t zoom in any further the digital zoom kicks in. This feature is nice, but can cause problems with the focus and the steadiness of the camera. If you see that you are using the digital zoom, try moving the camera closer until you no longer have to use the digital zoom.   Then refocus. If the pastor tends to move around a lot, zoom out a little to give yourself a little more room.

This is the flaw of the one camera set up. You are limited to one area, unless you have someone working the camera that can zoom out when you move about. That’s not the prettiest solution, but it will work until you can get to a two camera setup.

By putting the camera in the center you’re giving your audience a bigger picture of what’s going on. They will be able to see your emotion and feel your words all the way to the back of the room. Communication is not only in word, but in body language! Now that your audience will be able to both hear and see your language better they will be less likely to drift off or wonder during the sermon.

2. Multi-Camera setup:

The two and three camera setups are the same, only the two camera setup has one less camera. You will want to place your second and third cameras off to the side. If you have wings or a balcony these would be the perfect area for them. These additional cameras are considered the motion cameras. When the speaker moves from your center camera frame the shot would dissolve from the one camera center to one of the two on the sides. You can either have the shot wide and stationary or you can have a tighter shot and have someone move the camera as you walk. Three cameras are really only necessary if you have a big stage and tend to stand on one side for a little while and then move to the other. You would then dissolve to the other camera on the closer wing.

Movies:

Now for the segments, movies, shorts or whatever you like to call them. These are the most fun to do and yet they quickly show your audience if you know what you’re doing. If they think you know what you’re doing, they will take your video more seriously and will focus on the message and not the quality of the video.

1. Use a Tripod

I can not stress this enough. No matter how steady you think your hand is, it’s not steady enough. If your movie looks like you were bouncing on a trampoline, your audience will not be able to concentrate on the meaning of the video and they will be less likely to look forward to another video. Tripods are cheap and well worth it. Most moving shots can be done by panning (moving left to right) the camera with the action. If you have to do a moving shot, find a wheelchair or something with soft tires that you can put the tripod on and move it with the action.

2. Set the White Balance

This is when you match the light where you’re at with the white of the camera. This is very important because all light is different. Outdoor light is blue, indoor light is red/orange depending on the bulb, and florescence’s are green (yuck) and very hard to work in…unless your going for that Shrek or Hulk look. White balancing (WB) is easy and most cameras have an auto white balance. If you have the option to turn the auto white balance off, I would recommend it. The auto WB is like the auto focus, it often gets confused on what to judge the white on. For example: if you’re inside filming, the light will be a red/orange, but, if there is a window, some blue light is coming in and your auto WB is now confused. To manually set the white balance, hold up an all white piece of paper right in the center where the main source of light is. Zoom in all the way so that all you see is white and then press your white balance button. If you are indoors try to cover as many of the windows as you can or film at night.

3. Setup Lighting

If your outdoors you won’t use any lights because the space is so open your light just kind of fades before it hits anything. Yes, in Hollywood they do use lights outside but their lights are very expensive.  Lighting outside is possible, but not practical for most churches. If you film indoors and you have some lights, don’t just fire all the lights up and point them at the person. Turn on one light at a time until you get the right amount of light.  Also, start with the background and then move to the person.

Try not to just flood the place with lights. Highlight using slashes, small pops of light, or shine the light through something to create a cool shadow. Shadows are normal and will always be there. Look around you now…shadows are everywhere! If a shadow seems really strong try pulling your light back a little or turning the light off the object a little.
If you don’t have any lights just use the lights in the building. Most buildings have enough lighting to light your shot evenly. There won’t be as much contrast to the background but your shot will still look good.

General Guidelines to go by when filming:

If you have a camera where you can manually control the settings here are some quick tips. (Your camera may not have some of these manual features or may be strictly auto which is still okay.)

1. Leave the gain on 0. Changing the gain will brighten the picture some but it will also make the picture grainy and harder to see.
2. Changing your iris is okay. The smaller the number the brighter it will get. Just remember that if you the lower the number, background lights might get blown out (turn all white/bright) making it harder to see.
3. Set your F-stop at 1/60. This is a good speed that will capture everything without looking glitchy.
4. Always white balance! (matching the white of the room to the white of the camera)

In the next blog we will discuss editing techniques and putting your videos/sermons up on the web.

Do you use video in your church?  If so, how do you use video?  Do you have any additional tips about shooting video or ideas for what to put on the videos?  Leave your comments below:

Jon Harrison

ourchurch.com

The post Tips For Shooting Videos appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.