learning video

3 views
Skip to first unread message

PJ White

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 6:54:58 AM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
Hi all

How did you learn video? What are the best resources, online or whatever, to get into file formats, editing, added audio, subtitles and captions and all that stuff?

There's a reasonable amount easily available on shooting tips. But I'd appreciate advice on beginners' guides to the basics of production (or whatever it's called).

I want to be able to shoot, edit and create videos for a new website. Some will be interviews, with experts and the public. Some will be created on screen, presenting graphics/stats etc. With voice over.

I'm learning on a budget. I'm using Windows. So no FCPX. I do have a copy of Total Recorder VideoPro. And VLC, which seems to do all right converting things. Do I need more software?

All advice gratefully received.

PJ

Russ Swan

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 9:04:47 AM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
There are plenty of training courses, but why not just have a go and improvise? Start simple with Movie Maker on your PC, and just work out how to trim and reassemble clips, do simple transitions, maybe add some captions.

Keep your projects short - a minute or so is plenty. Don't bother with fancy titles, just get straight to the point. When filming, audio quality is just as important as the pictures. Perhaps more.

For voiceovers and watermarks you'll want something more powerful than the bundled freebies.

All the NLE packages offer free trials, worth checking out. I personally found Avid rather hard to get to grips with, quite liked Premiere Elements (cut-down version of Premiere Pro but absolutely powerful enough for anybody that isn't in an actual studio) and currently use Vegas Pro which is similarly plenty good enough.

They all have a steep learning curve and can be baffling without training, but there are lots of how-tos on YouTube etc.

If you look around it's quite possible to get slightly older versions as official free downloads. Haven't looked lately but there may also be fully-functioning versions as magazine covermounts.

If you're stuck, I offer competitive rates for simple video editing projects...

R.

--
--
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to FleetStreet...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/FleetStreet
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "FleetStreet" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to fleetstreet...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Kris Sangani

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 10:02:48 AM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
Adobe premiere pro is about £20 a month with a 30 day trial. Worth it if this is going to be an ongoing assignment.

Sent from my iPhone

PJ White

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 10:25:01 AM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
Excellent, many thanks Russ. That's just the job for me to make a start on.

I'm very convinced of the need to have a go and improvise. Only way to learn. But when I've tried to do things in a rush in the past I've quickly got out of my depth. So starting with a simple, non-urgent project sounds right.

Good to know you're doing video editing. Hope business is good.

PJ

Russ Swan

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 10:35:39 AM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
I do a little, for my own projects rather than for clients, and I'm not really setting out to compete with commercial production companies (although I'd be happy to take money for it if anybody was offering). Was briefly employed to bring the Engineer group into the video age, a half dozen years ago, but now back to selling words and editorial services, web stuff, the usual freelance pot pourri.

R.


Simone Castello

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 10:54:54 AM3/30/15
to FleetStreetforum FleetStreetforum
Hello,
My experience so far has been through my daughter and my work at opda.cam.ac.uk. I have a decent videocamera but somehow I cannot find the time/will to learn to use it. But my the Google Nexus tablet can do a wonderful job with zero learning curve. My daughter who is 7 did an amazingly good quality 'how to video',  she is scarily good as craft demonstrator (she didn't take from me). 

To practise I recorded her school play and I will have a go at editing it if I find some free software. Ideally I would like to try to make videos for my blogs and new website. On www.opda.cam.ac.uk we have a few videos that were done on a tiny budget. They were filmed with a digital camera (albeit an expensive, professional one) and were edited with dedicated software. I saw the person in action editing and I am not sure how hard it is, nor what the software was (I need to ask). She salvaged some parts and managed to create really good vox pops.

Eager to hear other learners' experiences....


Simone Castello

From: pjwhi...@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 15:24:34 +0100
To: fleet...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [FleetStreet] learning video

PJ White

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 11:19:14 AM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
On 30/03/2015 15:35, Russ Swan wrote:
> I do a little, for my own projects rather than for clients, and I'm
> not really setting out to compete with commercial production companies
> (although I'd be happy to take money for it if anybody was offering).
> Was briefly employed to bring the Engineer group into the video age, a
> half dozen years ago, but now back to selling words and editorial
> services, web stuff, the usual freelance pot pourri.
>
>

Pot pourri is me too. I just realised that video is so everywhere now I
really ought to be including it in the mix. Along with data scraping, a
little bit of coding, analytics, seo and all that stuff that's part of a
modern hack's repertoire.

I might even find out what facebook is. I couldn't find the fleet street
group on there. Is it still happening?

PJ

PJ White

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 11:31:30 AM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
On 30/03/2015 15:54, Simone Castello wrote:

Eager to hear other learners' experiences....


Hey Simone, you sound like a mooc.

Seriously, here's my experience. Following Russ's advice.

Recorded a trial bit of video using smartphone. Just a few seconds. It saves as .gp3 file.

That's great. But total recorder can't open it. Neither can Windows Movie Maker.

Not to worry. I open it with VLC and convert it to a windows media file. But instead of saving it as .wmv, it saves as an .asf. Whatever. It opens fine in total recorder.

But when I come to import it into WMV it says the file is not indexed and cannot be imported.

Stuck.

So presumably I try again with VLC and find some other format that WMV can open.

The whole thing is so timeconsuming and unpredictable. I haven't done anything yet, other than discover there's a whole world of formats and codecs that I know nothing about.

Can I put that in my learning diary?

PJ


PJ White

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 11:38:48 AM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
Sorry, that's .3gp format not .gp3

Memory's leaking now. Mine, not the computer's.

PJ


Simone Castello

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 11:42:17 AM3/30/15
to FleetStreetforum FleetStreetforum
Stick to tablet and digital camera. No conversion needed! That's why I stopped using my phone (it was baby videos, not business), because I had to convert them to something else and I was short in time and patience.
From: pjwhi...@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 16:31:25 +0100

To: fleet...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [FleetStreet] learning video

Russ Swan

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 12:56:09 PM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
Regarding Facebook, the Fleet St group evaporated some time ago. I seem to recall it got swept away in a fit of Zuckerberg euphemismism, being 'archived' or 'upgraded' or some such nonsense. Would there be any enthusiasm from the ensemble to resurrect it?

Simone Castello

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 12:59:58 PM3/30/15
to FleetStreetforum FleetStreetforum
No crying over evaporated milk.... For me Facebook is a 'private' channel, although I allow some colleagues...

Not sure about the others, but why not?
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 17:56:08 +0100

Subject: Re: [FleetStreet] learning video

PJ White

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 2:39:44 PM3/30/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
On 30/03/2015 17:56, Russ Swan wrote:
> Regarding Facebook, the Fleet St group evaporated some time ago. I
> seem to recall it got swept away in a fit of Zuckerberg euphemismism,
> being 'archived' or 'upgraded' or some such nonsense. Would there be
> any enthusiasm from the ensemble to resurrect it?

Or as a LinkedIn group? Maybe it belongs in the workplace, rather than
social. I'm slowly getting into LinkedIn. It has a neat blogging
platform that I'm using a bit. We could all connect with each other.
Like old times.

I've just been trying out video editing with Linux. Software called
Openshot. So far, fingers crossed, working like a dream. Seems to do
most of what I'd want, if I can learn it. The Windows options were just
giving me grief.

PJ






Simone Castello

unread,
Mar 30, 2015, 11:22:43 PM3/30/15
to FleetStreetforum FleetStreetforum
I second LinkedIn.

Subsuk has an outpost there and many other writing communities.


> From: pjwhi...@gmail.com
> Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 19:39:29 +0100
> To: fleet...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: [FleetStreet] learning video
>

Nick Ryan

unread,
Mar 31, 2015, 2:51:19 AM3/31/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
I’m on Linkedin and people like Guy post up useful blogs from time to time. So yes, I’d support that one.

Nick

PJ White

unread,
Mar 31, 2015, 5:02:22 AM3/31/15
to fleet...@googlegroups.com
If we go for that option we have to decide between an open and a closed group.

https://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6/~/creating-a-group

Whoever sets it up owns it.

Any thoughts? Any takers?

PJ



On 31/03/2015 07:51, Nick Ryan wrote:
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages