Editors' Guide: Video

Editing with iMovie 8.0

(Note: There are also Final Cut Pro instructions)

Workspace


Prepare:

  1. Shoot video on a standard digital camera, remove the flash card and plug it into a card reader, copy the MOV file to your desktop
    OR
    Shoot video on a Flip camera, plug it into the USB port on your Mac, copy the AVI file to your desktop and, using Visual Hub, convert the files to MP4 format with H.264 compression (because iMovie doesn't understand AVIs)
  2. Launch iMovie
  3. Create a New Project (under the File menu) & give it a name. In that dialog box, make sure to choose the aspect ratio (eg. 4:3 or 16:9) that matches your clips. Choose Theme: None and choose no Cross-Dissolve. Save the project on your computer, not a network or flash drive (too slow).

Edit Clips:

  1. Trimmer

    Import your video file(s) by going under the File menu to Import -> Movies...
    In resulting dialog box, create a new event, give it a name and specify "Large" as the "Optimize Video" setting
  2. View your imported clips in the Event Browser
  3. Use the playhead ("Skimmer") to isolate an approximation of the clip you want to edit. Drag this clip selection to the Project Window.
  4. Hover over this clip in the Project Window and click on the small white "gears" icon that pops up. Click on Clip Trimmer. Now, precisely isolate (trim) the clip you want. Click on the Project Window to get back.
  5. Do the same to other clips, adding them to the Project Window in sequence.

Edit Audio

  1. Boost audio, if necessary, by clicking the Info button button on this toolbar Info button and changing the Volume under the Audio tab.

Transitions

  1. Normally we use straight cuts in journalism, but you might want to use a cross-dissolve in some situations. Click the Title tool tool on this toolbar Info button. Drag the Cross-Dissolve transition to a spot between clips. 

Titles

  1. To attach names to people or to make an introductory message. Click the Title tool tool on this toolbar Info button.  Drag the "Lower Thirds" transition to a spot above your clip in the Project Window. Adjust the handles on the title strip to show the titles at the proper time in the clip. Click on the title text itself in the Viewer. Choose Verdana as the typeface. Leave it as bold, but turn off the outline (located beside italic and underline). Edit the text.

 

Export & Upload

Decide which hosting service you want to use. More people are likely to view/comment on your video on YouTube. But Blip.tv or Vimeo generally offer larger files and better quality.

  1. Get a screenshot of one frame of your video to use as a still image preview JPG. Use the full-frame preview button Play button. Advance your edited video to a frame you want. On your keyboard hit Apple key+Shift+3. Draw a box and release the mouse button. A file called "Screenshot xx" will appear on your Desktop. Open this file in your image editor (eg. Fireworks), resize to about 400 pixels wide & export it as a JPG.
  2. Get the password from the Manual passwords page.
  3. Upload:
    1. If YouTube:

      • YouTube

        In iMovie go under the Share menu and choose "YouTube ..."
      • Add the "unewseditor" account
      • Change the category to "News & Politics" & fill in the Title and Tags.
      • Write a Desciption. Be exact about date and location. Many YouTube viewers won't know what "SMU" is, for example. If there is more to the story on UNews, be sure to provide the headline and URL.
      • Size to Publish is "Large".
      • It will take a few minutes. Even when it uploads, YouTube needs time to convert it to a different format.
      • Go to YouTube and login with the UNews account. Go to the upper right-hand and choose our account "unews08" and select "My Videos." Find your video. Click "View Comments, Related Videos and more" and get the embed code.
    2. If Blip.tv:
      • In iMovie go under the Share menu and choose "Movie ..."
      • Choose "Large" as the size and Export it to get a "m4v" file.
      • Go to the Blip.tv login .
      • Click "Upload" -> "Web Upload"
      • Browse and upload your video. Browse and upload a JPG still image.
      • Fill in the Title & Description fields. Skip any "licence" fields. In the Description field, be exact about date and location. Many viewers won't know what "SMU" is, for example. If there is more to the story on UNews, be sure to provide the headline and URL.
      • Blip will upload your video, then, after five minutes or so convert it to a .flv flash file (like YouTube). Wait for both steps
      • After it's done (or if you're unsure) click "Dashboard" and find your video. It should say it's a .flv.
      • Click the Share Share button button. Click the Embed button at the bottom of the pop-up box. Copy the Embed code.
  4. Enter the info into the UNews CMS:
    1. Head back into the UNews CMS
      • Paste this embed code into the "Video" field
      • Browse and upload the JPG still into the "Video Preview" field.
      • Type some text in "Video Description" field