imovie TIP #1

Editing HDV content can be frustrating. Please remember .mp4 files are extremely compressed and need to be converted into something usable for the editing program. This is why iMovie and other editing programs take so long importing .mp4 files. .mp4 files use interframe compression. An intraframe compression format is needed to do real editing.

FFMPEG to the rescue

Today I got stuck with the task of transcoding Real Media files. I searched and searched to find a way to do this. There seemed to be many ways but none was really working out. Then I found this experimentalware called FFmpeg or FFmpegx (wiki) and that did the trick on my Mac (That would be my work machine.)

Which Video Editing Software should I use?

I manage a medialab for a large university and I often get asked this question. Which Video Editing Software should I buy? I don't own a Mac. Well, sometimes the answer is none, depending on what you're trying to do. If you own a Microsoft Windows OS like XP or Vista chances are you already have editing software installed. Windows MovieMaker comes with both of these systems and is a reasonable tool for most video needs. But, sometimes you need a better tool and there are many to choose from. This is where it gets a little confusing. A couple of entry level software packages that stand out are Adobe Premiere Elements 4 and Sony Vegas 8. Each of these packages is loaded with professional features including handling multiple video and audio tracks, numerous input and output formats as well as DVD and MPEG file authoring. You can't go wrong with either. They've both matured to be quite stable and robust applications that I would feel comfortable asking my editing guys to edit the most difficult video projects with either product. It hasn't always been so easy. Just a few years back Vegas and Premiere were both cluncky offerings at best. In my next post I'll feature some of the highlights and lowlights of each. Ciao.