There are a few tools that I keep on my computer for video editing outside of my actual video editing software programs.
One of the main ones I keep handy is Handbrake and I highly recommend anyone who is editing videos to get it and have it handy.
First of all you can’t beat the price because it is free!
However truth be told I would most likely pay for it even if it wasn’t.
So for the uninitiated here’s what Handbrake is.
It is a free open source video transcoder or converter.
From a superficial point of view its value is that you can use it to take just about any video file you have and convert that file at the best possible quality to another format.
Sounds simple enough but there is so much more to what is behind the scenes with this software.
One of the most common ways that I use the program is to repair or correct files that have somehow become corrupted or faulty in some way.
I load the offending file into Handbrake then convert that file to EXACTLY the same parameters and codec settings as the original and 99 times out of 100 whatever the problem was it is now gone.
You can check out Handbrake and its features here.
One of the few problems with the software is that it has been produced by geeks for geeks!
So from that point of view the interface can be a little overwhelming with all the technical settings available.
If you check the video below which is a simple conversion you can not only see the software in action but also see that you actually don’t have to use all of those controls!
Interesting news this week on a couple of fronts when it comes to accessing royalty free music, audio and images.
First up some pretty awesome news from PremiumBeat.
They have introduced a new Free category of music tracks you can download and use in your projects.
At the moment there are only about 30 or 40 tracks in that collection but they will most likely be adding to it over time.
There are two (possible?) downsides.
First is that you have to sign up for an account to access their library but that’s not really such a big deal.
The seconds is that the tracks are only available as MP3s so they are pretty compressed.
I have downloaded a few to test them and they sound pretty good and because they are encoded using the LAME3 codec there are no syncing issues.
Number two on the list is that Getty Images have announced that they have moved away from their previous business model and are now offering royalty free images at far more competitive prices.
The reason for this is that other image sites have been collectively kicking their butts on price point especially when it comes to royalties.
You can go over to their website here Getty Images to check out the prices.
Of course they are still wildly expensive but bear in mind they are operating at the totally pro end of the market.
This is a great little video from the guys at Filmora Pro that has pretty much nothing to do with Filmora Pro!
What it does cover are some simple through to complex ways you can set up a studio space for yourself.
It is mainly aimed at people looking to regularly make YouTube videos from home or a home studio and it is full of great ideas.
Just about every quarter or so CyberLink hosts a webinar covering all the latest and greatest in their product line up.
This usually coincides with some kind of major feature release or a complete version up date.
The video below covers all the most recent changes in PhotoDirector, PowerDirector and ColorDirector.
It begins with the PhotoDirector portion of the presentation then moves on to PowerDirector.
If you are not that interested in that PhotoDirector content then just fast forward to about the 12 minute mark where the PowerDirector presentation begins.
The final section covers ColorDirector.
Over the years I have bugged most of my friends who are pro video editors or directors of photography about the things they do to make their job easier.
The absolute number one answer I get from them could be covered by one word, organisation.
At an amateur level bad organisation for shooting video could be forgiven because let’s face it, we are often not in control of that!
When it comes to the editing stage there are no excuses .
There is nothing that will take the pain, repetition and tedium out of video editing more than getting yourself organised before you start.
This is the fourth and final video in the series from Sharper Turtle which although titled as troubleshooting videos, are more like tweaking videos as far as I can see.
In this one the assumption is that your video project is pretty much completed and you are going into the titling part of the process.
He shows some good tips and demonstrations of getting titles looking professional (and by that I mean not cheesy!) as well as a run through of Titler Pro for those that have it.
The video below is the fortnightly (or so) Q and A session from the guys at Filmora9.
It is always worth taking a look at because although they of course deal with Filmora9 issues, they very often deal with more general shooting and editing tips.
This is another predominantly physical effect demonstrated in Filmora9.
By physical effects we are basically referring to effects that are achieved mainly at the shooting stage with only minimal work done inside the editor to finish it off.
This on is simply an effect you have probably seen before where someone is talking in front of a mirror.
At some point their reflection in the mirror begins to speak or interact with the main character
So if you are looking to get into a DIY project anytime soon to produce one of the most useless gimbals known to mankind… boy do I have a video for you!
In this week’s challenge video from the guys at Cinecom the brief was to create a DIY gimbal in two hours from scratch.
I think the results they achieved speak very clearly for themselves and both of these things are utterly useless!
In trying to identify at least some kind of upside to the video I guess you could watch it as a lesson in what not to do.
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