Hey dads, how do you edit?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.

So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
editing all of this.

I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
running around.

What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
clips?

Thanks,
Mitch

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

1. Put them in chronological order.
2. Select best clips, and cut them to 3 seconds wherever possible. Lose the
birthday clips!
This will take at least 25 hours!!
3. Make video (or videos) of less than 20 minutes, with titles, background
music to cover wind/street noise, and add your voice clips
4. Only show them to realy close relatives!
Keep them around. Once your kids have children, they want to see them to
compare themselves with their own!!!
Fred

<Mitch@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gro6e0tv3cagol5p4o4dk86anhold7j2o9@4ax.com...
> Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
>
> So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> editing all of this.
>
> I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> running around.
>
> What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> clips?
>
> Thanks,
> Mitch

 

[Hal]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

<Mitch@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gro6e0tv3cagol5p4o4dk86anhold7j2o9@4ax.com...
> Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
>
> So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> editing all of this.
>
> I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> running around.
>
> What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> clips?
>
> Thanks,
> Mitch

Hi Mitch,

You can pretty much do whatever you want. I went through a similar process
a couple of years ago. I'll share a few of the things I did.

First, I used just about everything. I placed them in chronological order
and used appropriate transitions.

For example:

If a degree of time elapsed, and I otherwise had no way to indicate that, I
used a clock-type transition. In some instances I added text, which helped
better define some scenes that I thought might get lost over time. I found
that birthdays made great transitions as well, although I didn't necessarily
include all of the video for each birthday. The family loved them! We now
have a great collection of family DVDs that provide a historical perspective
for each of my kids. I even labeled them "Heather Birth thru Age 5," etc..
etc.

Also, make sure to consult with your family. They may have some great
suggestions and will give you their opinions regarding what to keep or what
to discard.

Mostly, have fun with it!

Hal Lowe
http://hals.vstoremarket.com (HaloweGraphics SuperStore)
http://www.halowe-graphics.com/tinc?key=0TmhZVQ5&formname=web_email
http://www.halowe-graphics.com/music.html (free original MP3 background
audios)
http://1and1.com/?k_id=7391019 (Best website host/great prices)

 

[Brian]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Mitch@hotmail.com wrote:

>Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
>
>So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
>editing all of this.
>
>I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
>little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
>running around.
>
>What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
>something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
>clips?
>
>Thanks,
>Mitch

Have a cheerful tune playing in the background and if the clips are
not too short then fade in the new clip as you fade out the old clip.
Brief subtitles can be useful

I've seen someone do this when video taping his daughter at various
stages in her life and it worked well.

Regards Brian

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Brian wrote:
>
> Mitch@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> >Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
> >
> >So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> >editing all of this.
> >
> >I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> >little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> >running around.
> >
> >What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> >something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> >clips?
> >
> >Thanks,
> >Mitch
>
> Have a cheerful tune playing in the background and if the clips are
> not too short then fade in the new clip as you fade out the old clip.
> Brief subtitles can be useful
>
> I've seen someone do this when video taping his daughter at various
> stages in her life and it worked well.

I would try making an ogm with chapters (one chapter for each
clip). But, I never tried this myself, so I don't know how easy
it is.

wilbert

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Wilbert Dijkhof wrote:
>
> Brian wrote:
> >
> > Mitch@hotmail.com wrote:
> >
> > >Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
> > >
> > >So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> > >editing all of this.
> > >
> > >I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> > >little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> > >running around.
> > >
> > >What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> > >something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> > >clips?
> > >
> > >Thanks,
> > >Mitch
> >
> > Have a cheerful tune playing in the background and if the clips are
> > not too short then fade in the new clip as you fade out the old clip.
> > Brief subtitles can be useful
> >
> > I've seen someone do this when video taping his daughter at various
> > stages in her life and it worked well.
>
> I would try making an ogm with chapters (one chapter for each
> clip). But, I never tried this myself, so I don't know how easy
> it is.

I forgot to ask. Is it intended for playback on the pc or a dvd player?

Wilbert

 

[steve]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

...."I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming."

How do you eat an elephant? One small bite at a time...

Quit looking at the top of the mountain...look at taking small steps and
putting one foot in front of the other.

Like most ...this task can seem overwhealming. You need to work on one small
part at a time.That way you won't get lost or discouraged.

If you just finish the parts you work on...it won't seem so overwhelming.and
you'll have something to show for it and feel good too. Thats important when
working on long projects

Too many try to take BIG bites and get overloaded too soon and then they
never get finished. I know this sounds simplistic but it is the rule most
editors go by and it works by finishing the small parts then, after a while,
they all add up.

Sometimes the simple things are the best.

Steve
Jib Op/Editor
www.kyvideoservices.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

start with music.. the rest will fall into place.. it's your family.
<Mitch@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gro6e0tv3cagol5p4o4dk86anhold7j2o9@4ax.com...
> Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
>
> So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> editing all of this.
>
> I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> running around.
>
> What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> clips?
>
> Thanks,
> Mitch

 

[Rich]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

<Mitch@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gro6e0tv3cagol5p4o4dk86anhold7j2o9@4ax.com...
> Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
>
> So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> editing all of this.
>
> I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> running around.
>
> What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> clips?
>
> Thanks,
> Mitch

I have 14+ years of analog video as well as a bit of Super 8 and 16mm film.
I too am overwhelmed.

As I digitize the material I do a quick editing taking notes. Fortunately
most of my tapes always had a 10 second black beginning with the date and
time and possibly my voice describing the scene. I then save the initial
edited .AVI file back to another tape.

While initially reviewing the tapes I would save a bunch of still frame's.
I started emailing just a few to appropriate family members. The response I
got even with crummy old stills was so great that the boss has just about
approved the purchase of anything I need to further the project.

My notes have helped me a lot and I produced my first video for family
release with great applause. My in-laws don't hate me anymore and family
members look up to me. I walk straighter and taller.

I have a long way to go still....

Rich

 

[Joe]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

As we all know - nothing is more boring than being forced to watch someone
elses home video - so put yourself in that state of mind - distance yourself
from the moments, and imagine you are editing someone elses video - make it
as exciting as possible - don't linger too long on any one shot - try to
tell a story with it.
<Mitch@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gro6e0tv3cagol5p4o4dk86anhold7j2o9@4ax.com...
> Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
>
> So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> editing all of this.
>
> I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> running around.
>
> What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> clips?
>
> Thanks,
> Mitch

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

"Joe" <res04854@gte.net> wrote in message news:<2x1Fc.23435$x9.7323@nwrddc01.gnilink.net>...
> As we all know - nothing is more boring than being forced to watch someone
> elses home video - so put yourself in that state of mind - distance yourself
> from the moments, and imagine you are editing someone elses video - make it
> as exciting as possible - don't linger too long on any one shot - try to
> tell a story with it.
> <Mitch@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:gro6e0tv3cagol5p4o4dk86anhold7j2o9@4ax.com...
> > Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
> >
> > So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> > editing all of this.
> >
> > I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> > little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> > running around.
> >
> > What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> > something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> > clips?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Mitch

It all depends on the purpose. If it is expected that a wider
audience than the subjects of the movies will watch, then fast
transitions and background music are appropriate. If however, the aim
is to prune hours and hours of video to a more manageable volume, for
archive purposes and for the kids to have when they grow up, then just
simple editing is appropriate.

I've been going thru this process with 10 years worth of home-movies.
About 30 hours total length. I've generally been throwing about 2/3
of the source material (making a 20 min movie from an hour of video).

I agree with above posters who say take it a piece at a time. I've
been slowly doing this for many months now, little by little.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Mitch@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
>
> So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> editing all of this.
>
> I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> running around.
>
> What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> clips?
>
> Thanks,
> Mitch

virtualdub... amend all short clips... subtitle plugin
--

if I haven't given a url with my answer, try typing the keywords into
google.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I have my own basic philosophy about doing this. YMMV. Here's how I've
approached it:

Like when making any film, it's best to work with some kind of storyboard.
In this case, that's probably more work than you really want to go to. So I
would organize the clips thusly...

Newborn.
Early years (toddler stage).

Then, after that, I'd divide the clips into themes, rather than sticking
strickly to chronological. By dividing into themes, they'll likely fall
into some rough chronological order anyway, but maybe not. For instance...

Kid with granparents.
Kid with pets.
Kid at school.
Kid with mom.
Kid with dad.
Boy doing little boy things/girl doing little girl things.
Kid playing sports.

The main thing to keep in mind is to pick out themes that help define who
this kid is. Is he an aspiring football player? Then by all means, group
his football clips together. Is she a Martha Stewart (without the legal
troubles) in the making? Then by all means group the clips of her cooking,
making artsy/crafty things.

Then tell the story of his/her life, touching on a series of topics. More
or less create a series of monologues or scenes, each one delving into the
various major areas of their life.

And as others have mentioned, there's no need to show little Jimmy's entire
piano recital. A few seconds of him playing piano will give viewers the
idea that he plays piano, without making the dog howl.

Randy
<Mitch@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:gro6e0tv3cagol5p4o4dk86anhold7j2o9@4ax.com...
> Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
>
> So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> editing all of this.
>
> I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> running around.
>
> What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> clips?
>
> Thanks,
> Mitch

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

>A few seconds of him playing piano will give viewers the
>idea that he plays piano, without making the dog howl.

LOL...good tips.

Sitting through the entire baptism ceremony while capturing to the
computer was painful.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

"RandB" <NotMyAddress@All.com> wrote in message news:<j8GFc.6739$yy1.1387@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net>...
> I have my own basic philosophy about doing this. YMMV. Here's how I've
> approached it:
>
> Like when making any film, it's best to work with some kind of storyboard.
> In this case, that's probably more work than you really want to go to. So I
> would organize the clips thusly...
>
> Newborn.
> Early years (toddler stage).
>
> Then, after that, I'd divide the clips into themes, rather than sticking
> strickly to chronological. By dividing into themes, they'll likely fall
> into some rough chronological order anyway, but maybe not. For instance...
>
> Kid with granparents.
> Kid with pets.
> Kid at school.
> Kid with mom.
> Kid with dad.
> Boy doing little boy things/girl doing little girl things.
> Kid playing sports.
>
> The main thing to keep in mind is to pick out themes that help define who
> this kid is. Is he an aspiring football player? Then by all means, group
> his football clips together. Is she a Martha Stewart (without the legal
> troubles) in the making? Then by all means group the clips of her cooking,
> making artsy/crafty things.
>
> Then tell the story of his/her life, touching on a series of topics. More
> or less create a series of monologues or scenes, each one delving into the
> various major areas of their life.
>
> And as others have mentioned, there's no need to show little Jimmy's entire
> piano recital. A few seconds of him playing piano will give viewers the
> idea that he plays piano, without making the dog howl.
>
> Randy
> <Mitch@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:gro6e0tv3cagol5p4o4dk86anhold7j2o9@4ax.com...
> > Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
> >
> > So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
> > editing all of this.
> >
> > I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
> > little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
> > running around.
> >
> > What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
> > something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
> > clips?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Mitch

This is all very well if you have sufficient disk space to hold all of
you source clips so that you can do selective editing across all
source tapes. If you have many hours of source material, this isn't
possible (at 13G/hour) and you're forced to edit source tape at a
time.

 

[jem]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

stankley wrote:
> "RandB" <NotMyAddress@All.com> wrote in message news:<j8GFc.6739$yy1.1387@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net>...
>
>>I have my own basic philosophy about doing this. YMMV. Here's how I've
>>approached it:
>>
>>Like when making any film, it's best to work with some kind of storyboard.
>>In this case, that's probably more work than you really want to go to. So I
>>would organize the clips thusly...
>>
>>Newborn.
>>Early years (toddler stage).
>>
>>Then, after that, I'd divide the clips into themes, rather than sticking
>>strickly to chronological. By dividing into themes, they'll likely fall
>>into some rough chronological order anyway, but maybe not. For instance...
>>
>>Kid with granparents.
>>Kid with pets.
>>Kid at school.
>>Kid with mom.
>>Kid with dad.
>>Boy doing little boy things/girl doing little girl things.
>>Kid playing sports.
>>
>>The main thing to keep in mind is to pick out themes that help define who
>>this kid is. Is he an aspiring football player? Then by all means, group
>>his football clips together. Is she a Martha Stewart (without the legal
>>troubles) in the making? Then by all means group the clips of her cooking,
>>making artsy/crafty things.
>>
>>Then tell the story of his/her life, touching on a series of topics. More
>>or less create a series of monologues or scenes, each one delving into the
>>various major areas of their life.
>>
>>And as others have mentioned, there's no need to show little Jimmy's entire
>>piano recital. A few seconds of him playing piano will give viewers the
>>idea that he plays piano, without making the dog howl.
>>
>>Randy
>><Mitch@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>news:gro6e0tv3cagol5p4o4dk86anhold7j2o9@4ax.com...
>>
>>>Ok, so I have ten years' of video digitized. Overwhelming.
>>>
>>>So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
>>>editing all of this.
>>>
>>>I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but I have lots and lots of short
>>>little clips of kids eating, crawling, playing in the sprinkler,
>>>running around.
>>>
>>>What is the mental process or philosophy for putting together
>>>something interesting and watchable from so many short, unrelated
>>>clips?
>>>
>>>Thanks,
>>>Mitch
>
>
> This is all very well if you have sufficient disk space to hold all of
> you source clips so that you can do selective editing across all
> source tapes. If you have many hours of source material, this isn't
> possible (at 13G/hour) and you're forced to edit source tape at a
> time.

Or, when you capter each video, you could go through the clips
eliminating the ones you didn't want to use. This is assuming that your
editing software automatically snips scenes apart when capturing.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

On Thv, 01 Jvl 2004 01:08:39 GMT, Mitch@hotmail.com wrote:

>So I'm wondering if I can get some tips on the method/process for
>editing all of this.

Well, obviovsly, yov can't jvst ask "how to be creative"; bvt that's
where I'd start. Basically, yovr nvmber one goal shovld be to make a
video that people will enjoy watching. Home movies, sadly, have the
repvtation of being vnwatchable. My Dad vsed to shoot on dovble-8mm,
and it's amazing how boring he covld make 6 minvtes of vnedited,
silent film.

Those represent the first two problems: "vnedited" and "silent". So
yov want to edit stvff. Clearly, if yov filmed every minvte of yovr
life, yov'd have to stop living abovt halfway throvgh, to watch the
first half. Ok, that's the crazy example, bvt yov are asking friends,
family, yovr kids, etc. to give vp some portion of their remaining
life to watch yovr prodvction. MAKE IT REWARDING. Edit, edit, edit. If
yov don't know if a piece belongs, it doesn't. Keep any video yov do
to an hovr or less, and that's a strict rvle.

Next, video needs sovnd. If there's lots of sovnd in a segment, by all
means make that THE sovnd. Bvt make svre it's good qvality. Most of
the bvilt-in camcorder mics are lovsy, and so yovr sovnd will svffer.
Normalize it, EQ it, compress it, filter ovt the camcorder noise if
necessary, etc. If there is no good sovnd, pvt mvsic behind it. If yov
have a bvnch of clips of the kids rvnning arovnd bvt no speech, why
not do some kind of montage. Get some "crazy rvnning arovnd" mvsic (if
it's jvst home movies, steal it from any CDs yov own) and work the
videos in arovnd that. If they're not interesting enovgh alone, add
photo stills. Speed vp a segment to make it "crazy" -- kids love that
kind of stvff.

>What is the mental process or philosophy for pvtting together
>something interesting and watchable from so many short, vnrelated
>clips?

Find a relation. Why do these go together? What story are yov telling?
What's the pvrpose of telling it? If it's a long video (like, more
than a few minvtes), it IS telling a story. Make svre it's not the
"Dad makes boring videos" story Or find small grovps of videos and
make little "mvsic video" style shorts.

I've done a bvnch of this style of montage within longer form videos,
even home videos. One example: we had a family revnion, of sorts,
arovnd my sister Kathy's PhD gradvation from Stanford some years back.
Obviovsly, the gradvation ceremony and several other parts were real
stories to inclvde -- with editing. Then I had lots of other footage:
kids rvnning arovnd at "The Exploratorivm", at the beach, walking in
the redwood forest, etc. In each of these, practically no sovnd, lots
of "same old, same old", and yet, I felt these were important parts to
inclvde in the overall story of the trip to California. So I made
mvsic videos. The Exploratorivm stvff is set to Thomas Dolby's
"Blinded Me With Science" (I had to remix it to extend the length a
bit), the walk in the Redwoods to an etherial song by Clanaad, etc.
The resvlt is a video that's largely watchable.

Yov can't always make that a 100% svccess. In this case, I did pretty
mvch have to film all of the PhD gradvates, it was the appropriate
thing. So they're all in there, thovgh I merged their actval
appearances together, and moved the annovncements of their names
accordingly -- so there's a fvll gradvation ceremony, bvt in abovt 1/3
the time. Some events yov have to leave whole. I've shot nvmerovs
weddings (professionally and semi-professionally), and they, too, tell
stories and mvst be rendered watchable, bvt there, yov really can't
edit the ceremony mvch at all.

Yov need to develop a sense of what makes a video flow along, and what
holds it vp. So watch yovr own rovgh cvts, and be critical. Is it
interesting to YOU? Wovld it be interesting to yovr spovse or kids? To
crazy Avnt Gertrvde? To a complete stranger?
Dave Haynie | Chief Toady, Frog Pond Media Consvlting
dhaynie@jersey.net| Take Back Freedom! Bvsh no more in 2004!
"Deathbed Vigil" now on DVD! See http://www.frogpondmedia.com