Post by Elvira on Apr 19, 2008 23:15:28 GMT -5
Vidding 101 and Vidding FAQs
And also some pointers and pet peeves . . .
This post is probably destined to be a bit disjointed and ranty at times, but I'll try to make it concise.
VIDDING 101: HOW TO GET STARTED IN VIDDING:
I've written some bare-bones FAQs on Foolishpassion.org which will answer some of your most basic questions.
This tutorial is for Windows newbies. Quite a few self-identified "technophobes" have successfully made fan videos by following this tutorial (and consulting other tutorial links given there). It focuses on the Windows-based software, Ulead VideoStudio.
This Mac vidding tutorial shows Mac vidders how to get started with iMovie (comes bundled with every Mac). Many Mac technophobes have reported success after following the tutorials. (It doesn't hurt that iMovie is very easy to learn.)
DON'T BE AFRAID TO GET STARTED:
If you know how to run your computer, you can learn how to make a fan video. No, you're not too "old," too "young," too "stupid," too "untalented"—I don't want to hear any whining. Just give yourself time and be patient with yourself. It'll all fall into place. Maybe your first few videos will be rather funky (aren't everyone's?) but that's part of the fun ot if.
Vidding is fun because it's a way to express your creativity and be part of a community of like-mindedlunatics errrr . . . enthusiasts. 
VIDDING FAQs, GLOSSARY, and POINTS OF INTEREST:
(I'm just throwing any old thing in here that I think needs to be covered. )
What software should I use to make fan videos?
Windows users:
Well, I'm going to buck the trend and advise against spending a whole lot of time with Windows Movie Maker (comes free with Windows XP and above) unless you can't justify the expense of buying one of the commercial grade video programs, or aren't sure you'll even like vidding. Sure, a lot of people can make videos with Windows Movie Maker, but most of them will tell you of frustrations, crashing, incompatible file types, and other technical problems that are common with WMM. Why not spare yourself most of those woes as soon as possible?
If you feel a keen interest in vidding, then it can't hurt to download the demo for Ulead VideoStudio, Sony Vegas Movie Studio (regular or Platinum Edition), or Premiere Elements and see how you like them. Take some significant time to play with the programs—try to make the most of your month trial period. You might find that one of the programs really "clicks" with you. Several vidding newbies of my acquaintance have plunged straight into a regular video editor and have never even made one video with Windows Movie Maker. (Tip: Ulead VideoStudio is generally considered the easiest to learn.)
Mac users:
iMovie 6 is your best option for starting out, and it's a good one. Make sure to download a copy of iMovie 6 if you currently have iMovie 08/iLife 08. When you get more advanced, you can graduate to Final Cut Express, which is the consumer version of Final Cut Pro, an industry standard in the film business. Express is not too difficult to learn, and has an amazing amount of features (especially considering it costs a fraction of the "Pro" version).
Read more about the features, special effects capabilities, and functions of the different software programs in this "Software Buyer's Guide".
Is it okay to edit my video using XviD, DivX, or 3ivX AVI files? What about WMV, MP4, or MPEG-4 files? I see a lot of vidders do this.
Please, no. Do not do this. As will be mentioned elsewhere in this post (and in other tutorials), XviD, 3ivX, and DivX (as well as WMV, MP4, MPEG-4) are highly compressed video files, meant for distribution (sharing online), not for editing. This detailed article cautions against using XviD or DivX and gives many good reasons reasons why. (Your video program may crash, you could get smearing or blockiness of the picture, your cannot edit with "frame accuracy" because of the nature of DivX/XviD/3ivX, and so may get "flicker frames"—you'll have problems keeping your editing precise.)
There is absolutely no reason to choose to convert your DVD to XviD or DivX. Why would you want to lose a lot of the original DVD's picture detail by converting to a compressed format like DivX/XviD/3ivX? (This tutorial will show you one way convert your DVD's video files to a higher quality (and more stable) file format.)
If you only have XviD/DivX/3ivX files (like you found some downloadable clips from a show that is not available on DVD yet), you may decide to take your chances with editing XviD/DivX anyway (good luck with that—some people can do okay, but others have horrible problems). But for the most trouble-free editing experience, convert the XviD/DivX/3ivX files to a more editable format.
The rule of thumb is, if it takes up anywhere from 350 MB to a few GB per program (episode or movie) it's too compressed and not recommended for editing. Most editing codecs (like DV AVI, DV MOV, Lagarith AVI) take up A LOT more disk space (but they have more picture detail and are more stable for editing).
Is it okay to edit raw MPEG-2 files (VOB files from the DVD)? I see a lot of vidders do this.
MPEG-2 is not really meant to be an editing codec, even though some editors will recognize it and edit it. This article explains some of the reasons why you should reconsider editing in MPEG-2. Also, Adobe cautions about the limitations of MPEG2 editing in this article. In addition, a-m-v.org's article explains some vidding-specific reasons why MPEG-2 editing may be a bad idea.
Those "flicker frames" or "Flash frames" that plague many vidders may be due to nothing more than editing in DivX/XviD or MPEG2! A excellent reason to stay away. If you have the raw MPEG-2 files, your solution is easy—use MPEG Streamclip (or some other software, like Avidemux or VirtualDub) to convert it to an editable format like DV, MJPEG, HuffYUV or Lagarith. (Mac users should use MPEG Streamclip and convert to some form of DV MOV or DV.)
I bought a piece of music from iTunes, and now it won't import into my video editor! What do I do?
Method One: Burn a CD of the purchased song. Then rip that CD back into iTunes. Use the re-ripped music in your music video.
Method Two: Purchase an audio capture program and do a high quality recording of the music as it plays in iTunes. (This is the method I use, using the Mac-only application Audio Hijack.)
iMovie users don't need to do anything. Apple deems iMovie to be a consumer or home application, and allows purchased iTunes music to import just fine. (Final Cut Express and Pro users must use one of the other workarounds, however.)
The music from my iTunes playlist is in some format (M4a, even MP3) that my video editing program doesn't read. What do I do?
Did you purchase it from the iTunes store? If so, read the FAQ above. Otherwise . . .
Convert it to WAV or AIFF. WAV or AIFF are less compressed and your video editor will work with them better.
Go to "iTunes >> Preferences >> Advanced."
Click on the "Importing" tab.
Next to the "Import using:" drop-down menu, make sure it's set to WAV (Windows), AIFF (Mac).
Click OK.
Then, right-click on the piece of music you want to use, and select "Convert Selection to . . . (WAV, AIFF, whatever)." iTunes will take a few moments to convert the file over. Then right-click on the new file that has been created, select "Show in Finder" or "Show in Explorer" and locate the new file. That's the one you'll be using in your video.
GO BACK TO iTUNES' PREFERENCES AND CHANGE THEM BACK to whatever they were before. (You don't want the next CD you import into iTunes to be all WAV or AIFF files, do you?
)
There are of course other workarounds; these are just two.
What is aspect ratio?
When it's done wrong, it's my pet peeve. Please read this thread to understand more. (It's about the picture proportions of your video—incorrect aspect ratio can make everyone look squashed down or stretched out and distorted. Not flattering.) And remember: Don't assume that you're getting it right. Many fantastic, accomplished, phenomenally talented vidders get it wrong. It's not difficult to get correct—just be sure of your settings when you import and export video.
What's this I hear about "non-square pixels"?
The whole square/non-square pixel thing is the main reason why vidders have aspect ratio problems. It's like this: Some video files (like the .vob or mpeg-2 files that are used on your typical DVD) do not use "square pixels," but non-square ones (long and skinny). This works fine with your DVD player and with some media players like Quicktime, which can detect the non-square pixels and stretch them out and display the video picture the way it's supposed to look.
But some of our video converting software won't stretch out or "unsquish" the non-square pixels automatically, so if we are unaware of the whole non-square pixel issue, we may end up trying to edit elongated-looking (squished) clips, and they'll stay looking squished unless we take measures to fix them.
Fortunately, it is problem that is easily fixed, and our tutorials here show you how!
"Squished" DV AVI or MOV files:
One of our favorite video codecs for editing (DV, used on both Mac and PC) also likes to display squished (when you open the DV file in media players like Quicktime or VLC Player). However, when a DV file is prepared properly (our tutorials show you how), most video editing software knows how to "unsquish" DV files just fine. Don't be alarmed at the sight of a "squished" DV file. It's normal.
Read more about unsquare/square pixels in this tutorial.
"I can't get sound from this clip I opened in Sony Vegas! (or Final Cut, Premiere, etc)" "My video editor won't recognize these clips!"
Are your clips XviD, 3ivX, or DivX AVI? H.264 MOV? (To find out what codec your clips have, open them in MPEG Streamclip, then go to File >> Show Stream Info" and see what it says.) It seems like Vegas sometimes has trouble with compressed file types. (Or if it doesn't yet, it will eventually.)
Remember, you're really not supposed to edit in DivX/XviD/3ivX, anyway. This detailed article explains why. There are a lot of problems with XviD/DivX/3ivX. If your only source for footage is DivX/XviD/3ivX, consider converting it to a better format first. If you have the DVDs, then consider following this tutorial (or the AMV.org "Guide"). Your videos will look much sharper, and you'll avoid many possible problems.
"I can't play MOV (AVI, MP4) files."
Yes you can, yes you can, yes you can. (Well, usually.) If you have a newer computer running Windows, Mac OS or Linux, then YES, you can play most of these file types. It usually requires that you install software that will recognize the type of file it is (the "codec"). At times it may be easier to use software other than the default Windows Media Player (or Quicktime if you're on a Mac). It's not unreasonable to have more than one media player on your computer. VLC Player is a cross-platform player that can play many file types, and is highly recommended. This AMV.org page gives you more information on how to open different video file types.
"I like to use AVI (or MOV) because . . . "
Saying that you use AVI or you prefer AVI doesn't really mean a whole lot. AVI is a "container," it could be one of many types of file. (Same goes for MOV or MP4 files.)
This is a gross oversimplification, but think of it like this: "I like ZIP files because . . . "
What does that tell you about the kind of file it really is? It's a ZIP file! It could have anything in it! It could be huge, small, it could have a picture or a piece of music. That's a little bit like how it is with video containers. An AVI could be a huge 2 GB with an uncompressed codec. It could be a teeny file with the DivX codec, saved at a data rate of 100 (that's very low quality). They're both AVI, but they're very different. Who can tell what the file really is, by merely being told that it's an AVI?
Read more about it in this AMV.org article. (Make sure to follow the link at the bottom to go to part two, "Distribution Codecs.")
What's a codec?
As the above-linked AMV.org article says, it stands for COmpress / DECompress.
Think of a video codec as a little bit like the different kinds of compression used in the various graphic files. There are many ways to create and compress an image file. You have JPGs. You have GIFs. PNG. BMP. PSD (Photoshop file). And so forth and so on. Each of these types of picture files have a different use, may be of a bigger or smaller size, more compressed, less compressed, may be more suitable for one sort of use, but not another. (A JPG is better for showing on a web page than a PSD or BMP, for example.)
Some common codecs are:
DV (Digital Video) for editing. Some camcorders create DV files which you import into your video editor. A very lightly compressed format; yields a high quality picture. Averages 1 GB file size for every five minutes of footage. One of the most popular formats for both Mac and PC editing (MOV and AVI containers).
Uncompressed: For saving the highest quality possible. Some of them will be HUGE file sizes. "Uncompressed" and "non-lossy" (or close enough to non-lossy) codecs also include PNG (works with MOV, not sure about AVI), HuffYUV (AVI only), Lagarith (AVI only, smaller file size), Apple Animation (MOV only) and BMP.
DivX, 3ivX, or XviD (they're not identical, but related). For AVI. For distribution on the web—for sharing fan videos, for instance.
H.264. A newer codec, frequently used in MP4 files or MOV files, often for online distribution. A variation of H.264 is now being adopted in camcorders and elsewhere. (H.264 cannot be used with AVI.)
WMV: AMV.org says: "This proprietary container is designed exclusively for holding Windows Media Audio and Video." It's easy to distribute, but is far from the only option for sharing files online.
Sorenson 3. Used in MOV files, for web distribution. An older codec, but pretty nice. Runs well on old software and hardware and is a good choice for "backwards compatible" file. (Meaning, it'll run on slow or outdated computers.)
This page (meant to help fan video viewers understand the many different types of downloadable video files available) gives a brief summary of many popular codecs.
(If you're not sure what codec a particular file has, open it in MPEG Streamclip, then go to File >> Show Stream Info" and see what it says.)
What's a keyframe?
It's a complete frame. Compressed video codecs (like MPEG, DivX, WMV, etc) has a keyframe (complete frame) once every XX frames. The other frames are incomplete, only showing the parts that change (movement, etc). It's hard to explain, but this a-m-v.org tutorial illustrates it really well.
When editing video, you want to stick with codecs that treat every frame in the video like a keyframe. Some codecs which do this are Lagarith, DV, HuffYUV, BMP, Animation, and simply "uncompressed" video.
Keyframing or using a keyframe (or using the word "keyframe" in a similar context) refers to adding effects to your video while editing. You might select a keyframe (a spot in your editing timeline) where an effect would start and then select a second keyframe in the timeline for where the effect will end.
NTSC and PAL—what does that mean?
They're the two main standards for editing video. NTSC refers to DVDs and videos produced in North America and a few other places (like Japan), and PAL refers to DVDs and video produced in the UK, Australia and most of the rest of the world.
NTSC video has 29.97 frames per second, and a DV file saved as NTSC will have the frame dimensions of 720x480. Likewise, your NTSC DVD will have the dimensions of 720x480, so the VOB files you use from it will be (again) 720x480.
PAL video has 25 frames per second, a DV PAL file (or a VOB file from a PAL DVD) will be 720x576. Big difference!
Your video editing software will require that you "set up" your project, at which time you will select your editing timebase as either PAL or NTSC. Make a point of getting these settings correct (to match the type of footage you're editing) because otherwise your editor will be needlessly converting your footage over to another standard, and in some cases this can degrade quality. (If working with both PAL and NTSC footage in the same timeline, set up your project as NTSC.)
"Progressive," "Interlaced"—what is that?
"Progressive," sometimes referred to as "film" (as opposed to PAL or NTSC), will have a frame rate of 24 frames per second, or sometimes 23.976 frames per second. "Progressive" footage will be either PAL or NTSC (meaning the DVD's VOB files will have the dimensions of 720x480 for NTSC, or 720x576 for PAL) but the frame rate will be 23.976 or 24. Most frequently, feature films will be progressive.
"Progressive" can also mean that the video will have no interlacing, so you won't need to "deinterlace" your footage. When you've done "deinterlacing" on formerly interlaced video, you can now consider your footage "progressive."
"Interlaced" is when your footage has those weird shimmery horizontal lines, which become more noticeable during scenes with more movement. A home-burned DVD or an NTSC DVD of a TV show (but not a feature film) are more apt to have interlacing, while PAL DVDs or DVDs of feature films (like "Phantom of the Opera," "Harry Potter," etc) probably will not. However, there are no absolutes, so it's always best to visually confirm that your video does or not have interlacing.
DO NOT deinterlace footage unless it really needs it (has interlacing that you can actually see). If you deinterlace progressive footage, you are lowering the video's quality for no reason.
"Encoding" "Converting" "Rendering"—what do these mean?
They sometimes can mean the same thing. You have a DVD, you learn how to extract the DVD's video files (by following this tutorial or one of the many other similar tutorials on the web), and then you must convert (or encode) the DVD's video files into a format (often a DV MOV or DV AVI file) which your video editor can recognize.
Or, you may convert your finished video out of your video program into a web-ready format (DivX AVI, H.264 MP4, WMV). This can also be called "rendering" or "Encoding."
"Rendering" is also used to describe a process (often seen in Final Cut and Adobe Premiere) to process imported footage into a compatible format for the editor. For example, if you import an XviD file into Final Cut Express, it's very likely going to render it—make temporary "render files" (stored on your hard drive) which adhere to DV MOV or DV, since that is a codec that Final Cut Express commonly uses.
"Bitrate? Data Rate? HUH?"
The video bitrate or data rate determines the picture detail, sharpness, and overall quality of your video. A data rate or bitrate of 100 will look pretty fuzzy and sad, a bit rate of 300 will start to be more detailed, a bitrate of 3000 is going to be very sharp and gorgeous (depending on the codec).
Codecs or file types that are meant to be edited instead of shared online have higher bitrates. DV can have a data rate of 28 MB (28000 K). Because of the very high quality of DV, it can average 1 GB for every five minutes of footage! (This is expected.)
For web-ready (aka online distribution) files, usually a data rate of 3000 is considered very high quality (though going to 4000 is not unheard of), and anything under 200-250 is starting to get iffy for a decent-looking downloadable file. Average sizes for web-ready files can be as high as 20+ MB per minute for broadband, to 3-7 MB per minute for dial-up. (This will vary, depending on your preferences.)
There are two important parts to audio settings (bit rate, aka data rate, and Hz). Aim for 44000 or 48000 in kHz, and a bitrate of 128 Kbps or higher with audio. Anything lower, and your video might start sounding "tinny" and cheap.
"Lossy?" "Uncompressed?" What does this mean in vidding? Why should it matter?
Again, I'll use the graphic file comparison. Think of a HUUUGE PSD or BMP file, compared to a small, fuzzy JPG. They're both images, but they have a different file size and look very different.
JPG is "lossy." When you save a file to JPG, you can set the level of compression. A setting of 100% will have almost no noticeable fuzziness or "artifacts" (artifacts are little goobers or "blockiness" in the picture), while a setting of 10% will show all sorts of signs of compression. Then if you were to open up the JPG which was saved at 10% quality and save it yet again (with 10% quality) it's going to look fuzzier and fuzzier each time.
A PSD file is not lossy. You can keep opening it up, editing and saving it in Photoshop (or another image editor which recognizes PSD files) and it won't lose any detail. But it'll also be a much larger file size than a JPG saved at 10%.
This is how it is with video editing. If you edit your video in a "lossy" format (like XviD/DivX/3ivX) then you're losing picture detail. Then as you export it out of you editor into a web-ready format (which is by definition, "lossy") you lose even more detail.
So, obviously, you want to edit in "uncompressed" or something close to it. You want to wait until the very last minute before converting your video to a "lossy" format (DivX/XviD/3ivX, WMV, Real Video, H.264, MPEG-4, etc.).
Alas, most vidders cannot afford the disk space to edit in true uncompressed (the AMV.org has some recommendations for "lossless compression"), so they must use a "lightly compressed" codec like DV. DV and other editable codecs like it do have a little bit of compression, but as long as you don't keep re-re-re-compressing your video, the end result should look pretty sharp.
More to be added to this list! (And feel free to suggest other things, or ask questions!
)
7.21.08 - More updates, as always!
And also some pointers and pet peeves . . .
This post is probably destined to be a bit disjointed and ranty at times, but I'll try to make it concise.
VIDDING 101: HOW TO GET STARTED IN VIDDING:
I've written some bare-bones FAQs on Foolishpassion.org which will answer some of your most basic questions.
This tutorial is for Windows newbies. Quite a few self-identified "technophobes" have successfully made fan videos by following this tutorial (and consulting other tutorial links given there). It focuses on the Windows-based software, Ulead VideoStudio.
This Mac vidding tutorial shows Mac vidders how to get started with iMovie (comes bundled with every Mac). Many Mac technophobes have reported success after following the tutorials. (It doesn't hurt that iMovie is very easy to learn.)
DON'T BE AFRAID TO GET STARTED:
If you know how to run your computer, you can learn how to make a fan video. No, you're not too "old," too "young," too "stupid," too "untalented"—I don't want to hear any whining. Just give yourself time and be patient with yourself. It'll all fall into place. Maybe your first few videos will be rather funky (aren't everyone's?) but that's part of the fun ot if.
Vidding is fun because it's a way to express your creativity and be part of a community of like-minded
VIDDING FAQs, GLOSSARY, and POINTS OF INTEREST:
(I'm just throwing any old thing in here that I think needs to be covered.
)What software should I use to make fan videos?
Windows users:
Well, I'm going to buck the trend and advise against spending a whole lot of time with Windows Movie Maker (comes free with Windows XP and above) unless you can't justify the expense of buying one of the commercial grade video programs, or aren't sure you'll even like vidding. Sure, a lot of people can make videos with Windows Movie Maker, but most of them will tell you of frustrations, crashing, incompatible file types, and other technical problems that are common with WMM. Why not spare yourself most of those woes as soon as possible?
If you feel a keen interest in vidding, then it can't hurt to download the demo for Ulead VideoStudio, Sony Vegas Movie Studio (regular or Platinum Edition), or Premiere Elements and see how you like them. Take some significant time to play with the programs—try to make the most of your month trial period. You might find that one of the programs really "clicks" with you. Several vidding newbies of my acquaintance have plunged straight into a regular video editor and have never even made one video with Windows Movie Maker. (Tip: Ulead VideoStudio is generally considered the easiest to learn.)
Mac users:
iMovie 6 is your best option for starting out, and it's a good one. Make sure to download a copy of iMovie 6 if you currently have iMovie 08/iLife 08. When you get more advanced, you can graduate to Final Cut Express, which is the consumer version of Final Cut Pro, an industry standard in the film business. Express is not too difficult to learn, and has an amazing amount of features (especially considering it costs a fraction of the "Pro" version).
Read more about the features, special effects capabilities, and functions of the different software programs in this "Software Buyer's Guide".
Is it okay to edit my video using XviD, DivX, or 3ivX AVI files? What about WMV, MP4, or MPEG-4 files? I see a lot of vidders do this.
Please, no. Do not do this. As will be mentioned elsewhere in this post (and in other tutorials), XviD, 3ivX, and DivX (as well as WMV, MP4, MPEG-4) are highly compressed video files, meant for distribution (sharing online), not for editing. This detailed article cautions against using XviD or DivX and gives many good reasons reasons why. (Your video program may crash, you could get smearing or blockiness of the picture, your cannot edit with "frame accuracy" because of the nature of DivX/XviD/3ivX, and so may get "flicker frames"—you'll have problems keeping your editing precise.)
There is absolutely no reason to choose to convert your DVD to XviD or DivX. Why would you want to lose a lot of the original DVD's picture detail by converting to a compressed format like DivX/XviD/3ivX? (This tutorial will show you one way convert your DVD's video files to a higher quality (and more stable) file format.)
If you only have XviD/DivX/3ivX files (like you found some downloadable clips from a show that is not available on DVD yet), you may decide to take your chances with editing XviD/DivX anyway (good luck with that—some people can do okay, but others have horrible problems). But for the most trouble-free editing experience, convert the XviD/DivX/3ivX files to a more editable format.
The rule of thumb is, if it takes up anywhere from 350 MB to a few GB per program (episode or movie) it's too compressed and not recommended for editing. Most editing codecs (like DV AVI, DV MOV, Lagarith AVI) take up A LOT more disk space (but they have more picture detail and are more stable for editing).
Is it okay to edit raw MPEG-2 files (VOB files from the DVD)? I see a lot of vidders do this.
MPEG-2 is not really meant to be an editing codec, even though some editors will recognize it and edit it. This article explains some of the reasons why you should reconsider editing in MPEG-2. Also, Adobe cautions about the limitations of MPEG2 editing in this article. In addition, a-m-v.org's article explains some vidding-specific reasons why MPEG-2 editing may be a bad idea.
Those "flicker frames" or "Flash frames" that plague many vidders may be due to nothing more than editing in DivX/XviD or MPEG2! A excellent reason to stay away. If you have the raw MPEG-2 files, your solution is easy—use MPEG Streamclip (or some other software, like Avidemux or VirtualDub) to convert it to an editable format like DV, MJPEG, HuffYUV or Lagarith. (Mac users should use MPEG Streamclip and convert to some form of DV MOV or DV.)
I bought a piece of music from iTunes, and now it won't import into my video editor! What do I do?
Method One: Burn a CD of the purchased song. Then rip that CD back into iTunes. Use the re-ripped music in your music video.
Method Two: Purchase an audio capture program and do a high quality recording of the music as it plays in iTunes. (This is the method I use, using the Mac-only application Audio Hijack.)
iMovie users don't need to do anything. Apple deems iMovie to be a consumer or home application, and allows purchased iTunes music to import just fine. (Final Cut Express and Pro users must use one of the other workarounds, however.)
The music from my iTunes playlist is in some format (M4a, even MP3) that my video editing program doesn't read. What do I do?
Did you purchase it from the iTunes store? If so, read the FAQ above. Otherwise . . .
Convert it to WAV or AIFF. WAV or AIFF are less compressed and your video editor will work with them better.
Go to "iTunes >> Preferences >> Advanced."
Click on the "Importing" tab.
Next to the "Import using:" drop-down menu, make sure it's set to WAV (Windows), AIFF (Mac).
Click OK.
Then, right-click on the piece of music you want to use, and select "Convert Selection to . . . (WAV, AIFF, whatever)." iTunes will take a few moments to convert the file over. Then right-click on the new file that has been created, select "Show in Finder" or "Show in Explorer" and locate the new file. That's the one you'll be using in your video.
GO BACK TO iTUNES' PREFERENCES AND CHANGE THEM BACK to whatever they were before. (You don't want the next CD you import into iTunes to be all WAV or AIFF files, do you?
)There are of course other workarounds; these are just two.
What is aspect ratio?
When it's done wrong, it's my pet peeve. Please read this thread to understand more. (It's about the picture proportions of your video—incorrect aspect ratio can make everyone look squashed down or stretched out and distorted. Not flattering.) And remember: Don't assume that you're getting it right. Many fantastic, accomplished, phenomenally talented vidders get it wrong. It's not difficult to get correct—just be sure of your settings when you import and export video.
What's this I hear about "non-square pixels"?
The whole square/non-square pixel thing is the main reason why vidders have aspect ratio problems. It's like this: Some video files (like the .vob or mpeg-2 files that are used on your typical DVD) do not use "square pixels," but non-square ones (long and skinny). This works fine with your DVD player and with some media players like Quicktime, which can detect the non-square pixels and stretch them out and display the video picture the way it's supposed to look.
But some of our video converting software won't stretch out or "unsquish" the non-square pixels automatically, so if we are unaware of the whole non-square pixel issue, we may end up trying to edit elongated-looking (squished) clips, and they'll stay looking squished unless we take measures to fix them.
Fortunately, it is problem that is easily fixed, and our tutorials here show you how!
"Squished" DV AVI or MOV files:
One of our favorite video codecs for editing (DV, used on both Mac and PC) also likes to display squished (when you open the DV file in media players like Quicktime or VLC Player). However, when a DV file is prepared properly (our tutorials show you how), most video editing software knows how to "unsquish" DV files just fine. Don't be alarmed at the sight of a "squished" DV file. It's normal.
Read more about unsquare/square pixels in this tutorial.
"I can't get sound from this clip I opened in Sony Vegas! (or Final Cut, Premiere, etc)" "My video editor won't recognize these clips!"
Are your clips XviD, 3ivX, or DivX AVI? H.264 MOV? (To find out what codec your clips have, open them in MPEG Streamclip, then go to File >> Show Stream Info" and see what it says.) It seems like Vegas sometimes has trouble with compressed file types. (Or if it doesn't yet, it will eventually.)
Remember, you're really not supposed to edit in DivX/XviD/3ivX, anyway. This detailed article explains why. There are a lot of problems with XviD/DivX/3ivX. If your only source for footage is DivX/XviD/3ivX, consider converting it to a better format first. If you have the DVDs, then consider following this tutorial (or the AMV.org "Guide"). Your videos will look much sharper, and you'll avoid many possible problems.
"I can't play MOV (AVI, MP4) files."
Yes you can, yes you can, yes you can. (Well, usually.) If you have a newer computer running Windows, Mac OS or Linux, then YES, you can play most of these file types. It usually requires that you install software that will recognize the type of file it is (the "codec"). At times it may be easier to use software other than the default Windows Media Player (or Quicktime if you're on a Mac). It's not unreasonable to have more than one media player on your computer. VLC Player is a cross-platform player that can play many file types, and is highly recommended. This AMV.org page gives you more information on how to open different video file types.
"I like to use AVI (or MOV) because . . . "
Saying that you use AVI or you prefer AVI doesn't really mean a whole lot. AVI is a "container," it could be one of many types of file. (Same goes for MOV or MP4 files.)
This is a gross oversimplification, but think of it like this: "I like ZIP files because . . . "
What does that tell you about the kind of file it really is? It's a ZIP file! It could have anything in it! It could be huge, small, it could have a picture or a piece of music. That's a little bit like how it is with video containers. An AVI could be a huge 2 GB with an uncompressed codec. It could be a teeny file with the DivX codec, saved at a data rate of 100 (that's very low quality). They're both AVI, but they're very different. Who can tell what the file really is, by merely being told that it's an AVI?Read more about it in this AMV.org article. (Make sure to follow the link at the bottom to go to part two, "Distribution Codecs.")
What's a codec?
As the above-linked AMV.org article says, it stands for COmpress / DECompress.
Think of a video codec as a little bit like the different kinds of compression used in the various graphic files. There are many ways to create and compress an image file. You have JPGs. You have GIFs. PNG. BMP. PSD (Photoshop file). And so forth and so on. Each of these types of picture files have a different use, may be of a bigger or smaller size, more compressed, less compressed, may be more suitable for one sort of use, but not another. (A JPG is better for showing on a web page than a PSD or BMP, for example.)
Some common codecs are:
DV (Digital Video) for editing. Some camcorders create DV files which you import into your video editor. A very lightly compressed format; yields a high quality picture. Averages 1 GB file size for every five minutes of footage. One of the most popular formats for both Mac and PC editing (MOV and AVI containers).
Uncompressed: For saving the highest quality possible. Some of them will be HUGE file sizes. "Uncompressed" and "non-lossy" (or close enough to non-lossy) codecs also include PNG (works with MOV, not sure about AVI), HuffYUV (AVI only), Lagarith (AVI only, smaller file size), Apple Animation (MOV only) and BMP.
DivX, 3ivX, or XviD (they're not identical, but related). For AVI. For distribution on the web—for sharing fan videos, for instance.
H.264. A newer codec, frequently used in MP4 files or MOV files, often for online distribution. A variation of H.264 is now being adopted in camcorders and elsewhere. (H.264 cannot be used with AVI.)
WMV: AMV.org says: "This proprietary container is designed exclusively for holding Windows Media Audio and Video." It's easy to distribute, but is far from the only option for sharing files online.
Sorenson 3. Used in MOV files, for web distribution. An older codec, but pretty nice. Runs well on old software and hardware and is a good choice for "backwards compatible" file. (Meaning, it'll run on slow or outdated computers.)
This page (meant to help fan video viewers understand the many different types of downloadable video files available) gives a brief summary of many popular codecs.
(If you're not sure what codec a particular file has, open it in MPEG Streamclip, then go to File >> Show Stream Info" and see what it says.)
What's a keyframe?
It's a complete frame. Compressed video codecs (like MPEG, DivX, WMV, etc) has a keyframe (complete frame) once every XX frames. The other frames are incomplete, only showing the parts that change (movement, etc). It's hard to explain, but this a-m-v.org tutorial illustrates it really well.
When editing video, you want to stick with codecs that treat every frame in the video like a keyframe. Some codecs which do this are Lagarith, DV, HuffYUV, BMP, Animation, and simply "uncompressed" video.
Keyframing or using a keyframe (or using the word "keyframe" in a similar context) refers to adding effects to your video while editing. You might select a keyframe (a spot in your editing timeline) where an effect would start and then select a second keyframe in the timeline for where the effect will end.
NTSC and PAL—what does that mean?
They're the two main standards for editing video. NTSC refers to DVDs and videos produced in North America and a few other places (like Japan), and PAL refers to DVDs and video produced in the UK, Australia and most of the rest of the world.
NTSC video has 29.97 frames per second, and a DV file saved as NTSC will have the frame dimensions of 720x480. Likewise, your NTSC DVD will have the dimensions of 720x480, so the VOB files you use from it will be (again) 720x480.
PAL video has 25 frames per second, a DV PAL file (or a VOB file from a PAL DVD) will be 720x576. Big difference!
Your video editing software will require that you "set up" your project, at which time you will select your editing timebase as either PAL or NTSC. Make a point of getting these settings correct (to match the type of footage you're editing) because otherwise your editor will be needlessly converting your footage over to another standard, and in some cases this can degrade quality. (If working with both PAL and NTSC footage in the same timeline, set up your project as NTSC.)
"Progressive," "Interlaced"—what is that?
"Progressive," sometimes referred to as "film" (as opposed to PAL or NTSC), will have a frame rate of 24 frames per second, or sometimes 23.976 frames per second. "Progressive" footage will be either PAL or NTSC (meaning the DVD's VOB files will have the dimensions of 720x480 for NTSC, or 720x576 for PAL) but the frame rate will be 23.976 or 24. Most frequently, feature films will be progressive.
"Progressive" can also mean that the video will have no interlacing, so you won't need to "deinterlace" your footage. When you've done "deinterlacing" on formerly interlaced video, you can now consider your footage "progressive."
"Interlaced" is when your footage has those weird shimmery horizontal lines, which become more noticeable during scenes with more movement. A home-burned DVD or an NTSC DVD of a TV show (but not a feature film) are more apt to have interlacing, while PAL DVDs or DVDs of feature films (like "Phantom of the Opera," "Harry Potter," etc) probably will not. However, there are no absolutes, so it's always best to visually confirm that your video does or not have interlacing.
DO NOT deinterlace footage unless it really needs it (has interlacing that you can actually see). If you deinterlace progressive footage, you are lowering the video's quality for no reason.
"Encoding" "Converting" "Rendering"—what do these mean?
They sometimes can mean the same thing. You have a DVD, you learn how to extract the DVD's video files (by following this tutorial or one of the many other similar tutorials on the web), and then you must convert (or encode) the DVD's video files into a format (often a DV MOV or DV AVI file) which your video editor can recognize.
Or, you may convert your finished video out of your video program into a web-ready format (DivX AVI, H.264 MP4, WMV). This can also be called "rendering" or "Encoding."
"Rendering" is also used to describe a process (often seen in Final Cut and Adobe Premiere) to process imported footage into a compatible format for the editor. For example, if you import an XviD file into Final Cut Express, it's very likely going to render it—make temporary "render files" (stored on your hard drive) which adhere to DV MOV or DV, since that is a codec that Final Cut Express commonly uses.
"Bitrate? Data Rate? HUH?"
The video bitrate or data rate determines the picture detail, sharpness, and overall quality of your video. A data rate or bitrate of 100 will look pretty fuzzy and sad, a bit rate of 300 will start to be more detailed, a bitrate of 3000 is going to be very sharp and gorgeous (depending on the codec).
Codecs or file types that are meant to be edited instead of shared online have higher bitrates. DV can have a data rate of 28 MB (28000 K). Because of the very high quality of DV, it can average 1 GB for every five minutes of footage! (This is expected.)
For web-ready (aka online distribution) files, usually a data rate of 3000 is considered very high quality (though going to 4000 is not unheard of), and anything under 200-250 is starting to get iffy for a decent-looking downloadable file. Average sizes for web-ready files can be as high as 20+ MB per minute for broadband, to 3-7 MB per minute for dial-up. (This will vary, depending on your preferences.)
There are two important parts to audio settings (bit rate, aka data rate, and Hz). Aim for 44000 or 48000 in kHz, and a bitrate of 128 Kbps or higher with audio. Anything lower, and your video might start sounding "tinny" and cheap.
"Lossy?" "Uncompressed?" What does this mean in vidding? Why should it matter?
Again, I'll use the graphic file comparison. Think of a HUUUGE PSD or BMP file, compared to a small, fuzzy JPG. They're both images, but they have a different file size and look very different.
JPG is "lossy." When you save a file to JPG, you can set the level of compression. A setting of 100% will have almost no noticeable fuzziness or "artifacts" (artifacts are little goobers or "blockiness" in the picture), while a setting of 10% will show all sorts of signs of compression. Then if you were to open up the JPG which was saved at 10% quality and save it yet again (with 10% quality) it's going to look fuzzier and fuzzier each time.
A PSD file is not lossy. You can keep opening it up, editing and saving it in Photoshop (or another image editor which recognizes PSD files) and it won't lose any detail. But it'll also be a much larger file size than a JPG saved at 10%.
This is how it is with video editing. If you edit your video in a "lossy" format (like XviD/DivX/3ivX) then you're losing picture detail. Then as you export it out of you editor into a web-ready format (which is by definition, "lossy") you lose even more detail.
So, obviously, you want to edit in "uncompressed" or something close to it. You want to wait until the very last minute before converting your video to a "lossy" format (DivX/XviD/3ivX, WMV, Real Video, H.264, MPEG-4, etc.).
Alas, most vidders cannot afford the disk space to edit in true uncompressed (the AMV.org has some recommendations for "lossless compression"), so they must use a "lightly compressed" codec like DV. DV and other editable codecs like it do have a little bit of compression, but as long as you don't keep re-re-re-compressing your video, the end result should look pretty sharp.
More to be added to this list! (And feel free to suggest other things, or ask questions!
)7.21.08 - More updates, as always!
It's just that I felt it needed to be said—that XviD / DivX are not supposed to be used. I've seen too many places where it's recommended to encode or convert to that, and it's wrong information. It's a bad habit that shouldn't be encouraged.
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