Digital Lifestyles Reference Guide

Aug 27, 2004

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Consumer video editing solutions range in price from free to about $100. For most users, it gets hard to justify the jump to $500 for any of the low-level pro editing tools. Paying more does not necessarily mean getting better features; it often means getting more of the features you probably won't ever use. Here's a break down of some of the options available for making movies on a PC, starting with free and working through the range of prices.

Windows Movie Maker is bundled with every shipping version of Windows XP. A free update with some minor feature enhancements is bundled in XP SP2. Features include: capture from any DV camera, Webcam, or analog input card; timeline and storyboard editing with non-destructive clip trimming; automatic scene detection splits video into multiple clips based on changes in action on the tape during import; a few dozen effects and transitions; a built-in title generator; 1 video and 2 audio tracks, although the audio track associated with the raw video track is tied to the video; an AutoMovie feature creates an auto-edited movie based on pre-selected movie clips and parameters; output is limited to WMV format video, WMA audio, or DV-AVI.

Video Edit Magic (http://www.deskshare.com) is the most affordably priced of the consumer products at $49. It offers both analog and DV capture, although it lacks scene detection capabilities at the time of this writing. Video editing is timeline only, which generally results in more carefully constructed output, but isn't for everyone. Titles are limited to static images. The timeline supports 2 audio and 2 video tracks, which allows for more creative output options than editing tools with only 1 video track. The audio volume controls make dynamic adjustment of volume at specific points in a movie easy, which is sometimes referred to as rubberband audio control. 16 effects and 150 transitions are available for creative customization. Output options include DV-AVI, WMV, VCD, SVCD, DVD, DivX, and QuickTime.

Ulead Video Studio 8 (http://www.ulead.com) offers a $100 video editing solution. The interface encourages the use of storyboard formatting to layout the movie, and automates many of the editing tasks through a wizard-driven interface. Importing an album of still images offers pan and zoom effects for creating simulated motion. Movie Wizard creates a movie using video clips and template-based selection of transitions and effects. Previewing movies in 16:9 makes creating widescreen output realistic. An Auto Music Maker feature generates soundtrack music to fit the mood of the video track. Titles are available with effects and layering for complex title creation. DVD authoring includes support for menu creation, including dual-layer DVD support. Output support includes DVD, VCD, SVCD, MPEG-4, DV, RealVideo, and WMV.

Pinnacle Studio 9 (http://www.pinnaclesys.com/) is another $100 video editing solution. DV and analog input are supported, but analog input generally requires Pinnacle hardware to work correctly, making this potentially a more expensive solution than other options. The software includes SmartMovie for making auto-movies from footage, saving time in the editing process, while also taking away creative control from you, the editor. Like Ulead VideoStudio, this app also includes an auto music generation tool for soundtrack creation. A SmartCapture feature promises to minimize drive space used in the capture process, which sounds more like a solution for producing lower quality video, because the only way to get smaller file sizes is to compress the picture or use lower quality settings. The interface offers 1 video track and 3 audio tracks, which is great for adding tons of audio effects. A surround sound mixer promises spatial presentation of audio, but seems more gimmicky than practical, however, a number of audio presets, like reverb and noise reduction, are quite useful for improving audio quality and are generally only found in pro-level editing tools. Titling includes an assortment of options. Over 100 transitions and a handful of effects offer options for creative movie creation. Output options include DVD, VCD, SVCD, WMV, DV-AVI, and RealVideo.

Easy Media Creator (http://www.roxio.com) is included here despite Roxio's everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink approach to bundling. VideoWave is the video tool included here, but as a standalone app, it's only $20 cheaper than the $100 bundle, so it doesn't really make sense to not get the extra features. VideoWave supports input of both DV and analog content. The input tool scans the video tape for scenes and displays thumbnails allowing you to pick and choose what to import, if the whole tape isn't needed. CineMagic is the VideoWave version of the automated movie generation feature popular in all the other packages. The software supposedly supports up to 14 tracks of audio, video, transitions, titles, and anything else you want to throw at the editor; I will admit to not having tested the 14-track limit. Transitions and effects are included for tweaking the video. A 2-click process will import video from DV and output a DVD if no editing is required. One advantage of getting the Easy Media Creator bundle (over VideoWave standalone) is the inclusion of the DVD Builder tool for creating menus and authoring DVDs.

Surprisingly, the difference in features between consumer and pro editing software doesn't mean you need to spend pro dollars to produce professional-looking movies. Some of the most famous Hollywood movies are very light on splashy add-ins. Alfred Hitchcock is famous for only using very simple cuts between scenes and even then, only when the action couldn't easily move from scene to scene on camera.

When people ask which video editing tool they should buy, I often suggest they try Windows Movie Maker first and see if it does what they want. Video Edit Magic offers the convenience of a fully featured trial that never expires and simply watermarks output, which is also a useful option for learning the video editing ropes. The other tools are equally good, and trying them out is a necessity to see which interface is most comfortable to your editing style.

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