Video Resources
By Mindy McAdams Updated 7 Sept 2011
Editing: Software Tutorials
- Windows Live Movie Maker tutorial (at Slideshare): Shows you how to add clips, trim clips, edit and export. View at full size for best results.
- See also: Windows Live Movie Maker Tips (PDF, 128 KB).
- Windows Movie Maker tutorial: This is for the older version of WMM — for Windows OS before Windows 7 and Windows Vista. If you have one of those old operating systems, you have to use this version of WMM.
- Basic iMovie 09 Tutorial (PDF, 9 pages, 1 MB): Getting started. Shows you how to add clips, trim clips, edit and export.
- More iMovie 09 Tips (Part 2) (PDF, 6 pages, 552 KB): Next steps. Show you how to use cutaways, detach audio, add titles and credits.
It is perfectly fine to start learning how to edit video using one of these simple programs. They do not have all the functionality of a full-fledged video editing program, such as Final Cut Pro, of course. The trade-off is that they are much, much easier to learn.
If you do not enjoy editing video using one of the simple programs, I really don’t think you’re going to enjoy it any more if you use a more complex program.
Editing: AVCHD and Final Cut Pro 7 (FCP)
If, like me, you have a Canon Vixia video camera, and you’re using FCP7 to edit, you will really appreciate this fine tutorial:
- Canon Vixia HF10: Logging And Transferring Video, by Jeremy Rue
If you have any other AVCHD video camera, or you just want the comfort of hearing what Apple says, these are very helpful:
- Final Cut Pro 7: Professional Formats and Workflows (PDF: 1.1 MB)
- Final Cut Pro 7: Working with AVCHD (at Apple.com)
General Video Tutorial Sites
Find lots of specific how-to videos about shooting and editing video at these sites.
- Make Internet TV: A guide to how to do almost anything with video. Well organized for beginners.
- Vimeo Video School: Not well organized, but full of great tips and demonstrations!
- Metacafe Production School: A large collection of nice, SHORT video tutorials.
Tips and Guides
Video Tips for Still Photographers (one-page PDF), by Regina McCombs. Regina shot video for 10 years at KARE-TV in Minneapolis. Then she shot and edited online video for 10 years at the Star Tribune newspaper. Now she’s on the faculty at Poynter. She’s one of the best trainers anywhere.
Top 10 Mistakes of Rookie Filmmakers, by videographer Bill Pryor. This is a short, no-nonsense list of things you must learn to avoid doing.
Five Shots, 10 Seconds: Use the five-shot method and the 10-second rule to shoot video that is easy to edit! This is a teaching technique that helps brand-new video shooters shoot usable clips from the very start. Illustrated.
Video Examples: Download these seven video clips to use in editing a sequence (useful for classes and workshops). The clips use the five-shot method and are well suited for teaching how to match action from clip to clip.
Sequencing: The foundation of video storytelling, by Colin Mulvany, photojournalist at the Spokesman Review, in Spokane, Washington. This is required reading for new shooters.
Shooting on the Go: Avoid shaking, jumpy video by learning how to steady your camera — without a tripod. NOTE: Requires a subscription. There is a two-week free trial.
Filmmaker’s Tool Kit: Creating a Movie with Web 2.0 (2007; at ReadWriteWeb): Advice about many free online tools for production and post-production.
Have a great guide or tipsheet to add? Let me know!
Blogs and Discussion Forums
I have learned a lot from these folks.
- Unlocking iMovie: Lots of help here for versions of iMovie, going back to the iMovie 08 version.
- News Videographer: Angela Grant’s blog.
- VideoJournalism: Cyndy Green’s blog.
- Mastering Multimedia: Colin Mulvany’s blog.
- Newspaper Video: A discussion forum on Yahoo! Groups.
iMovie Help
See the links at the TOP of this page for easy-to-use handouts (PDF format) about using iMovie 09. Note that iMovie 09 is significantly better than iMovie 08. The version of iMovie after 09 is iMovie 11. I have not used it yet!
- New in iMovie 11 (at Apple.com)
- Really good overview of iMovie 09: Randy Ubillo’s demonstration of iMovie 09; note in particular the demonstration of the “Precision Editor” about one-third of the way through.
- iMovie 09: Trimming Edits Between Video Clips (at Apple.com): Demonstrates how to use the Precision Editor in iMovie 09.
- iMovie 09: Stabilize Shaky Video (at Apple.com)
- iMovie 09: Getting Started (at Apple.com)
- Printable iMovie 09 tutorial (PDF file,1.7 MB)
- iMovie 08 tutorials (at Apple.com)
- Export HD Video from iMovie 09
- Tips for exporting HD from iMovie 09
Massive Resource Site
Ken Stone’s Final Cut Pro: More than just FCP tutorials; also audio, DVD burning, hardware reviews, compression tips — and more!