How To Buy A Digital Equipment

How to Buy Digital Video Equipment

Do you have trouble selecting and buying digital video equipment? Can't decide which digital camcorder to buy? Or what factors to consider when selecting a video editing program?
Take buying camcorders as an example.

You certainly don't want to end up spending thousands of dollars on a digital camcorder if you only intend to shoot simple home videos. On the other hand, if you'll need a high-end model to shoot broadcast quality video.

This article will provide you tips on selecting the best desktop video equipment. We'll break down the article into the various categories, namely, digital camcorders, computers, video capture devices, video editing software and VCD/DVD authoring programs.
Buying a Digital Camcorder

To shoot a desktop video, you'll definitely need a camcorder. There are both analogue and digital camcorders out there, but digital camcorders are all the rage now. To select a quality camcorders, you'll need to focus mainly on your budget and the camera's intended usage. A low to mid-range digital camcorder is more than sufficient if you want to shoot only home videos.

Don't waste money on higher-end models which are more suitable for professional videographers. You should also consider other factors like Firewire support, lens quality and still image capability.

Buying a Computer for Video Editing
A computer will be needed if you intend to capture, edit or produce your own movie creations on VCD or DVD. Desktop and laptop computers pack a lot of power these days and you should have no problems selecting a decent model for your video editing needs. Again, consider your budget and intended usage. Other factors like future expandibility, size, and even customer support are also important.

Want More Tips On Selecting Digital Video Equipment?
I can understand how frustrating it is starting out in digital video. How do you select the correct camcorder, video editing software and DVD authoring programs?

That's why I created my newsletter called Desktop Video News. This weekly publication will provide you with useful tips on digital video equipment and how you can make the most out of this hobby.

Buying a Video Capture Device
When I speak of a video capture device, I refer to two things - Firewire video capture cards and analog-to-digital converters.

Firewire cards are needed to transfer video from your digital camcorder to the computer (you cannot use the USB port). It is an absolute must-buy if you have a digital camcorder. If you own an analog camcorder, or if you want to convert analog video footage into digital format, then analog-to-digital convertors come into play.

These devices take the analog video and convert them into digital format so that you can preserve those precious videos forever.

Buying Video Editing Software
There are so many video editing software packages out there. Traditionally, Adobe Premiere Pro has been recognized as the industry standard in editing video. It is an excellent package which has all the possible video editing features and special effects you'll want. However, if you intend to edit home videos, you will want to consider the more budget Pinnacle Studio Plus and Roxio products. I've got a great guide on selecting which video editing package to use you will be interested in. You can also check out my very own scoop of the top 7 video editing programs which are suitable for beginners.

Buying VCD or DVD Authoring Software
VCD and DVD authoring packages are very popular these days. Typically, these simplify the process of burning a VCD or DVD with with point-and-click user interfaces.

They are also quite cheap and affordable.

Traditionally, Ulead Systems has been the industry leader for these products and I would recommend buying such packages from them.

Conclusion
Whew! Considering the huge array of digital video equipment out there, it is most confusing to the beginner digital video enthusiast.

I hope this article sums up the types of video equipment you need to buy and gives you some idea of what you will and will not need. The most important thing, as I always emphasize, is to consider your budget and intended usage of a particular digital video product. If you follow that simple rule, you will, in general, make a good selection and purchase.

Stages in Digital Video Creation

The Various Stages of Creating a Digital Video

If you're just starting out in digital videography, you may be confused about the entire process of creating a digital video.

Say you've an excellent video of your son's birthday and can't wait to share it with your friends. How do you proceed to capture that video into the computer and cut it into a VCD or DVD?
Most camcorder manuals will not tell you much - there are not many resources out there which help answer these questions.

The end-to-end process of creating a digital video is really simple if you break it down into five distinct steps: Buying your equipment, shooting, capturing, editing and sharing video. Once you understand these steps, you'll have no problems coming up with your very own video production.

Stage 1: Buy Your Video Equipment
First, you need to select and buy the necessary desktop video equipment. Given the plethora of digital video equipment out there, this can often be the hardest step.

Stage 2: Shoot Your Video
Second, you obviously need to shoot your video. While you do not need to have the directorial skills of Steven Spielberg, there are some basic video shooting skills that one needs to master. I've seen many good videos marred by bad lighting or shaky hand movements.

Stage 3: Capture Your Video
OK, on to the third step. Once you've shot your video, here's where you need to capture the video into a computer.

For many people, this tends to be really confusing. But this step simply really boils down to what format your video is shot in. If it is in an analogue format, you will need a analog-to-digital conversion device to capture the video into a computer. If the video is shot in digital format, then you simply need a use a Firewire card to stream video into the computer.

Stage 4: Edit Your Video
Fourth step - once you've got that video into the computer, you need to edit the video file to add special effects, titles and screen transitions.

Perhaps add in a soundtrack as well. There are many excellent video editing software packages, ranging from the higher-end Adobe Premiere and MediaStudio Pro to the more budget Pinnacle and Roxio products.

Looking For A Good Video Editing Program?
Starting out in video editing is tough. I know ... I've been there. Importing a video clip takes forever, you're confused by the video editing timeline, menus, buttons and all that jazz.
Well, having a good video editing program is certainly a great help. For me, Pinnacle Studio Plus happens to be one of my favorite video editing programs.

Check it out - you'll find that its a powerful video editor that's suitable for both beginners and advanced users alike.

Video Making

Video Making

Somehow I got it into my head that I wanted to make videos on a home computer, so off I went to the PC store and plopped down all my funds on a slick new system.

In hindsight, I should have thought it through more carefully, because the slick new system didn't come with a slick new monitor, or any operating system of any kind, slick or otherwise.

Fortunately I was able to scrounge up a decent monitor at Value Village, and a copy of Windows was graciously donated.

However, I was still left with a maxed-out credit card and no video camera to shoot my projects. Lacking the MacGyver-esque skills to build one from scratch, I opted to make videos using alternative means.


Compositing still imagesI always loved those goofy slide strips they used to show us in elementary school. There would be a periodic beep on the soundtrack, and the projector would have to be manually advanced one frame. Cool format.

Filmmaker Chris Marker did something similar in "La Jetée," proving that successive still images can be used for more than just toboggan safety films.

You don't need to look far for source material. TIFFs and JPEGs can be pulled off web pages with a right-click of the mouse, you can use scanned bitmaps, screen captures, even have your 35mm camera photos put onto a CD-ROM at little cost.


Once you have all your images, they can be assembled using a video-editing program. Some that I've seen: Videowave is cheap and simple.


Adobe's After Effects is like a time-based Photoshop; great for effects and titles, maybe a bit excessive for stringing together stills. Not too intuitive, either, I suggest reading a manual. The one I picked up was clear and slightly amusing…like Hemingway but without all the epicures and bullfighting.

The software's price tag is pretty steep, unless you download a cracked version. Serious note: it would be hypocritical to tell you not to pirate software, especially after suggesting you steal copyrighted images from people's web sites. Keep in mind there can be stiff fines for using unlicensed applications.

If you don't want to risk it, but have no cash to shell out, there are decent freeware video editors out there. (Slide Show Movie Maker 3.0 looks pretty promising.) Google it and cross your fingers.


Animate somethingA program like Flash will allow you to animate shapes, photos, text, whatever, and export it in almost any format you'll need. Although a lot of this stuff ends up looking like a bad version of South Park, it doesn't have to.

Flash can animate scenes with photorealist precision, and conversely, I've seen brilliant work using only basic black text on a white background.

If you feel like tackling a steep learning curve, you can make use of a 3-d animation program like 3-D Studio Max, Strata Studio Pro (Mac), Poser or Maya to take your video to the next level. To get started, you can likely download pre-fab 3-D models so you need not build your scene from scratch. Once your scenes are assembled and animated, they can be rendered and output as a Windows .avi, a Quicktime video, even a series of stills.


Steal footageSuppose you rented a VHS tape from Blockbuster, and saw some footage you HAD to steal. In order to get it into your video-editing program, you first need to convert the analogue footage into digital. With an analog video capture card plugged into your computer, the video world is ripe to be plundered.

Any analog source (from a VCR, television cable, camcorder) can be jacked into the back of your computer tower and translated into a digital file. (DV cameras by comparison, require no such translation process. Footage is already stored in a form your computer can deal with, and is easily transferred to your computer via a firewire cable. Plug 'n Play.)

Keep in mind, regardless of origin, computer video files can take up big chunks of hard drive space. You might wanna keep your clips short, or compress them to a manageable size.Once you've saved all your video to your hard-drive, you can begin to assemble clips on the editing time-line. (Zwei-Stein is a freeware editor that will do the job.)

Tip: Try splicing together footage of George W. Bush playing golf, McDonald's commercials, and nuclear test explosions in strobelight jump cuts. People can't get enough of those mind-blowing composites.


Video Screen Capture applicationWouldn't it be cool to make a video about a little cursor arrow that buzzes around the screen and occasionally turns into a tiny pointing finger or an hourglass? A video screen capture program will allow you to record a video file of anything that happens on your monitor. Record yourself surfing the net, swirling the cursor around, or getting a .dll error message. Dreamworks eat your heart out. Good software contenders would be "SnagIt," and the higher-end version "Camtasia", both by TechSmith.

Webcam footageWell, technically these are video cameras, so they shouldn't really be mentioned in a discussion of cameraless video making. Pros: they're dirt cheap, easy to use, and the footage has a lo-fi, almost sleazy look to it.

Your camera will likely come with a proprietary program that will allow you to record and store video clips, but this can also be done through most video editing suites. (Once the camera is installed, it should appear as an option in the capture utility drop-down list.) Cons: they usually don't record full-screen video, and you can't zoom.

Also, they have to be plugged into your computer's USB port, so unless you have a portable, you'll have to shoot a pretty limited set of locations. Still, you could re-make Rear Window if you felt inclined.


All this sounds like the consolation prize for not owning a video camera, but I see something rather relevant about a film that has its genesis, production and consumption entirely on the computer. The fact is, your creation never needs to leave the screen, which is not a bad way of preserving an artistic vision.

To put it another way, this is the era of fileshared feature movies. Films that were shot in glorious widescreen for the theatre are being downloaded and viewed on 14" monitors, losing volumes in the translation process. The same movies are also pan-and-scanned for the video rental shelf, again, distorting the filmmaker's vision.

The completely computer-generated video, however has a congruency of inception and end-use that is beautiful in itself.