3. Finalize Your Audio Track

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Editing styles differ, and there's no right or wrong way to start. However, when I'm editing, my first goal is to finalize my audio track. This means identifying all clips containing audio I want to include in the final video usually interview footage, noddies, and some B-Roll and inserting them into the project. This will create a complete and final audio track that will run throughout the project, regardless of the video that may accompany it at any given time. After the audio track is set, I'll insert noddies without audio, cutaways, and establishing shots, then work on logos and titles.

How I categorize and isolate clips from the captured video depends on the program I'm using. Many programs allow you to split clips up in the library (or wherever the captured video is stored), which simplifies the process of identifying keeper clips and discarding the rest. Figure 5.1, a screen shot from Microsoft's Movie Maker 2, illustrates this.

Figure 5.1. Microsoft's Movie Maker in Storyboard view. Note the video assets in the "Collection" on the upper left, which I've already cut into discrete usable chunks, and the storyboard on the bottom, where I sequence my clips.


The upper left window displays the library (called Collection in Movie Maker and Album in other programs) containing my project video. After capture, I split all captured video into the smallest usable chunks, for example cutting each response from the physician into a separate segment. You probably can't read the descriptive names in Figure 5.1, but I created separate clips for the doctor's explanation of the challenges of his practice, describing his diverse client base, and the like. I also split the cutaways, questions, and noddies into separate clips the same way.

Most programs have a "split" or "razor" tool for scene-splitting; with Movie Maker, it's the "razor" icon on the left beneath the monitor window in the upper right. To split a video in the album, you touch the video with your cursor, which makes it appear in the monitor window, use the playback controls to move to the frame where you'd like to split the video, and then click the icon. The program will then create a new clip containing the second portion of the original clip, and display it in the album.

After splitting the clips, I drag them down to the storyboard the sequential presentation of clips on the bottom half of Figure 5.1. Not all programs have a storyboard, but when they do, it's a great place to sequence your videos into the proper order. Generally, you move the videos into the storyboard window, where you can move them around like checkers on a checkerboard.

Once I've imported all the clips into the project, I'll switch to Timeline view, shown in Figure 5.2, for further editing. Where the storyboard shows each clip as the same size, irrespective of duration, the timeline is a time-based graphical representation of the project, with the length of the clip shown on the screen proportional to its actual duration in the project. The squiggly lines beneath the video clips are audio waveforms, a graphical representation of the audio shot with the video, while other "tracks" or layers in the timeline are available to add background audio, transitions, and titles.

Figure 5.2. Movie Maker in Timeline view.


In Timeline view I'll trim the video, removing unwanted frames from the front and back of a clip. When I split clips in the album, I'm not trying to be precise; I'm just isolating all the videos I'll include in the project. Once in the timeline, I'll trim the videos, front and back once again, until only the desired footage is included.

Virtually all programs trim the same way: you touch the clip, hover your cursor over the edge you want to adjust, then grab and drag the edge to the desired location. Typically, as you drag the edge of the video, the monitor will display the then-current frame to assist your positioning.

Note that many prosumer tools don't allow you to split clips in the clip library, or create a storyboard, so you have to do all this work on the timeline. When editing with these tools, I drag the primary video (in this case the interview footage) down to the timeline, and split and trim the video into the final chunks there.

Generally, splitting on the timeline is similar to splitting in the album. You use playback controls to locate the edit line (see Figure 5.3) to the desired split position, and then click on the razor icon or similar tool. The video will split into two clips, each of which you can trim separately, or delete for that matter. As virtually all editors are "non-destructive," you can delete clips in the album or timeline without actually deleting the captured video.

Figure 5.3. To trim a clip in most programs, simply grab and drag the edge, as shown here in Movie Maker.


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    DV 101. A Hands-On Guide for Business, Government & Educators
    DV 101: A Hands-On Guide for Business, Government and Educators
    ISBN: 0321348974
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2005
    Pages: 110
    Authors: Jan Ozer

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