You have probably heard it said that editing makes all the difference. Well, it's true. And that's not only true for Hollywood movies. See how digital video editing can benefit your home movies after you have them converted to digital files. Find out the top editing software packages from former visual effects coordinator Marty Holthaus.
For me, editing is it. It’s the best way to improve any of my home movies. With digital editing I can easily delete unwanted scenes, add some music, add voice over, and create all sorts of visual and audio transitions between my scenes. It’s what makes my home video presentations more distinctive.
Now, you can easily transfer videos taken with newer digital cameras directly into your computer because they were designed with that in mind. However, if you have older footage such as VHS or Super 8 film, you will need to look at other ways to get those images into your computer - but you will have to do it. Someone will need to “capture” the analog signal. You can do it or you can hire a company to do it. There are a lot of choices and levels of quality when it comes to digital transfer houses. I discuss these choices in other articles here and elsewhere (see below).
The next step is to find some editing software to edit all of these home movies on your PC or Mac. Movie Maker is free on all PC machines and iMovie is free with Apple computers. I recommend purchasing one of the more powerful editing software to avoid trivial problems that tend to pop up more often with the free software. Take a look at this list of the best digital editing software.
For the Mac users out there you need to have Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express. It’s a no-brainer. Directors like Francis Ford Coppola and David Fincher as well as most of the movie industry use it? Prices range from $199 for Final Cut Express up to $999 for Final Cut Pro.
For Windows users Corel VideoStudio gets good grades from PC World and CNET.com. You can get a 30-day free trial and if you choose to buy the software the cost is right around $99.99.
Finally, Adobe Premiere Pro works well with both Macs and PCs. Overall it is very good although not as recommended for Macs as is Final Cut Pro. Mac World rated an earlier version of this software as four out of five stars. The price for the newest version, CS5, is around $699.
If you have more questions, you can always go to your local computer shop. You will probably need some of their help sooner or later. You can also go to my website at DVD VHS Transfer to learn more about video editing software. Good luck!
Transfer VHS To DVD - The First 3 Steps
You probably already know that your boxes of Super 8 and VHS videos are quickly deteriorating. Time, extremes of temperature, and moisture in the air are not helping the situation any. So how do you go about preserving those old videos and films for future family generations? In my article I will guide you through the first three simple steps to prepare your tapes for digital transfer.
Transfer VHS To DVD - Digitize Your Vacation Memories
Do you have vacation home movies sitting in a pile at home? You could transfer them to a digital format for easy viewing and editing but where do you start? I recommend a professional digital transfer service. In the long run it should save you time, money, and energy – and it should give you a higher quality digital video. Read on.
Transfer VHS to DVD - The Best Transfer Services
Want to digitize all of those old videotapes and Super 8 films? Want to find out how you can save all of those family memories? Read this article to learn about the two most popular plans of attack and two national U.S. companies that can make it happen.
