I have finally gotten my video editing to work! Hallelujah! Ha ha ha!
History
Alright, here’s the story: I’ve been trying to get my video editing workflow down for a long time now, nearly a year since I got more serious about it.
For some years now I have played with video editing very little, but have enjoyed making short films with family.
December 2007 I purchased the Adobe Video Collection (2003) from a friend to use for my personal video projects and to edit something to DVD (Miracle In Gansu play to DVD.) But after nearly a year I still have not gotten the project done due to a lack of knowledge and to my royal procrastination skills. 🙂
During this time I tried to get Adobe Premiere Pro 1.0 to work for my video editing tasks, but for the majority of it I was unsuccessful. The only successful project that I produced from it was DuelMind, a short film for the 24 Hour Christian Film Contest (however, I was unable to enter my film into the contest because I had never used YouTube before and did not realize that the file size of my video was way too big. The next day a friend of mine gave me some advice which solved my problem – but the deadline had passed and it was too late.) And even with that project I think the audio and video were getting out of sync. 😦
I will let you know: a/v out of sync has been my greatest technical video editing “curse.” 😀
I have tried to get Cinelerra to work, (actually the link goes to the CV version, whereas I may have been trying to get the official release to work,) but I was not successful with that. I have seen Kino, touched Avidemux, tasted VirtualDub, and used Windows Movie Maker. The latter program was the one I used the most, especially before I got the Adobe Video Collection. Simply put: It worked. But to use who are artistically inclined or professionally minded, it just isn’t enough.
I saved up for a camcorder and purchased the JVC Everio GZ-HD7. The .tod file type (video container) posed a big problem, though, and for long time I was stumped (and frustrated.) Multiple times I have considered selling the camera and getting a MiniDV SD camcorder. But in a way I am glad I didn’t, because the Everio can get some sweet footage, and the fact that I couldn’t edit my video like I wanted to drove to new measures to discover the answer to my problems.
Eventually I decided to give the CyberLink BD Solution software a try (it came packaged with my camcorder.) Surprisingly enough it worked, and it has been quite useful to get some DVD projects done. I am planning on using it very soon to get another DVD project done. I edited the Dr. Narendra Singh – 2008 Interview with PowerProducer Express. Simple editing features are available, like splitting (cutting) video. You can also use a range of video transitions inbetween video clips – but I only ended up using a few of them, like Fade and Burn.
Now this is where the history gets a little blurry… at some time I tried Blender’s VSE (Video Sequence Editor) to try to do my video editing, but I still had trouble with the audio/video being out of sync – and I couldn’t figure out how to export my video with the audio!
So the days passed, and my years waned… no, that bad. 😉 But one day someone heard my call, a man by the name of Rob Scott. He had been working on something called BlenderAVC and kindly let me know about it by commenting to one of my posts here on the Minosa Films blog. That’s where it really started. From there I tried to get BlenderAVC to work. I filmed with a few different settings and gave Rob some of my .tod files to work with. Rob Scott’s BunnyHopHop workflow is very useful as well. But BlenderAVC still wasn’t working for me.
I finally got a project to work in Blender’s VSE, the audio and video being in sync! However, I won’t likely need to edit that project.
So, time passed…
Conclusion
But just today I downloaded the most recent version of BlenderAVC – BlenderAVC 0.7! I can import my .tod files and it works fine! But I still had trouble with my audio and video being out of sync. I wrote some e-mails to Rob Scott asking for advice, but I didn’t need to… read on. 🙂 I noticed that Zelgadis (leader of the Morevna Project) was online, so I started IMing him. He suggested I change the FPS on my file and so, after some tweaking, I reported back to him with a “OK, it’s official. You the man!” victory cry that it had worked.
BlenderAVC 0.7 - screenshot of some successfully synced audio and video (see the last two strips)
So, praise the Lord! One of my biggest video editing hurdles has been removed. With further testing I hope that I wll be able to consistently repeat this successful outcome and get the rest of the workflow down pat.
I have not yet realized how great this is… if it really is true. Maybe I will be glad tomorrow? 😀 Ahead of me lies the journey of actually learning what “video editing” really is! Whew… this is very good.
So, I guess that’s about all. I hope your journey is as exciting as mine – no, WAY more exciting!
One big sigh: Whew, video editing success.
God bless, friends, and may your journey be bright,
Best wishes,
This excellent-quality film voices the heart of a nation seeking the redemption of the priceless values that the United States of America is built upon.*
Stand with me this November as we spread the truth of Jesus Christ and the good values upon which our nation was built. Your country is waiting for you, for we the people are the flesh of America, and our values the backbone.
This election, vote your conscience. Cast your vote for what you believe, not what you want. Your personal decision counts. and each and every vote makes a difference.
Please, stand.
-b
*We are not only built upon the high principles that define our constitution, but upon God, (that is Jesus Christ,) who graciously guided our forefathers in laying the foundations of our once-great America.
P.S. God bless all the Catholic and Protestant Christians who helped lead America to victory and finally becoming an independent nation. For all their sweat, blood, prayers, and love, that went into the founding of our America. God bless, always, -b
Ever sit down and wonder about life? Wonder what’s next, what the duties are that you must complete, and how you are to achieve those goals? I do.
I wonder about the future, my life, who I am and who I will be. I contemplate how I can better accomplish my goals, I consider what I am required to do, what I have volunteered for and what must be completed first. And in all this, I wish and dream and wonder.
So here I am, a soul in the wind of time, seeking what I want to find and secretly knowing what I must end up resolving upon.
But, in a way I am encouraged. Encouraged at who I am right now, and what the future might hold; what I can be now and tomorrow… the potential of a dreams fulfilled in full blossom.
And, then once again, I am here. I am responsible for my actions, my ways, my thoughts and beliefs. I must choose what I will do, I must choose what I will become, I must choose what to do with what is ahead. Not that I must decide whether or not I want to be a soloist singer and songwriter, a 3D animator and CG designer, or a popular novel author, but that I must choose whether I will seek these dreams or God first. Yes, God.
Just encouraged, hoping, wishing for the future, and hoping that it will all turn out as well as my dreams fortell… that my dreams will not turn into nightmares, and that in everything I do, I will first find God as my true friend.
Anyhow, that’s a taste from the waterspout.
God bless, friends!
-b
P.S. Found out about a screenwriting template (someone told me about it,) for Open Office Writer. I already use Celtx for my scriptwriting, but then again, what’s the harm of trying another possible software solution? Here goes nothing… oh, btw, NaNoWriMo is slowly, but surely, approaching. IT IS COMING! AHHHHHH! … >wanting to complete first novel, or at least get more progress on it before NaNoWriMo 08 starts< … a thought: what if I took all of my life as a NaNoWriMo? Concentrating my efforts on one project at a time and completing it with the mindset that I will not leave it till my goal is reached… what then? I might get really stressed out always living like that, but on the other hand, it’s possible I would complete my tasks much quicker… anyhow, but I believe it may call for a whole life-style change-over. God bless! -b
P.P.S. Not exactly set on what we are going to do with “ITL” (“Is This Love?”) right now. However, I hope to make some of my own, personal films sometime soon. Nature clips set to music, thoughtful vid with voice over, crazy ideas and a mix of ketchup thrown in… anyhow, don’t know exactly, but hopefully I will make time for creating some personal films… complete with custom music! God bless, -b
Was going to write a poem – started, but haven’t finished. Oh well, maybe later on that.
Did a job for free on designing a small black and white ad for someone and now it turns out I had the deminsions wrong. Maybe if I correct them and send them back in soon I will be able to repremind the situation more smoothly.
Prepared and completed the downsampled (720×480, mpeg2) video files from Charles Morey’s violin recital for someone to use with other footage and compile a 4 minute promo video for the string program. That’s good to have that done.
Now need to prepare (cut, edit, burn…) the recital in HD SP for one DVD, with source footage starting at about 2hrs and 40mins. This computer is not built to handle HD smoothly, so I long for a faster machine. I am not sure exactly what approach we are going to take with this project, whether to use the entire recital or just cut and compile the best parts, making a 5, 10, or 20 minute video when finished. We will probably use the entire recital, but I’m not sure yet.
Hoping to design a website and logo for someone, which will greatly help in my finances for film.
FLY
Who knows, what path will I take?
Who will I be, what am I now?
Where will I go – why, when, for what?
And who will I meet, for God, or for naught?
Who will I be in twenty years,
Or even twenty minutes.
Who am I now,
And what am I aiming for?
What am I living for,
And why?
Find out,
Endeavor,
Don’t just try,
Don’t fall and cry,
Get up, spread those wings,
And upon the high winds
Fly.
May your skies be as bright
As the hope we were born
To fulfill.
I’m now part of the Morevna Project team. I don’t know all that I’ll be contributing at this point, but I definitely want to get better at my manga (anime) drawing!
The Morevna Project wiki on Synfig.org
Still haven’t resolved all my software (editing) issues. I have been sidetracked on that. Also have a hardware need.
I hope to edit a film some friends and I worked on together. It’s not a Minosa Films production per se, but it will really help me to learn my editing and test out whether or not I really can or cannot edit (at least with this workflow…) And besides that, I will get part one of a film done, gain skills, and make my friends really happy! ;D
Production Plan:
Title
Status
Scheduled Shoot
About
Is This Love?
WIP
N/A
A (very) short film depicting the true sacrifice of love
Family First
>Some work has been done
N/A
A lovely drama short film about a father/daughter turmoil and resolution
Promo
WIP
Optional moon shot done
Minosa Films’ very own promotion video!
Hope to get this all worked out… glad for possibilities, wishing for resolutions…
Also, we now have a production forum of sorts. Check it out here.
Create an account and start posting! Some sections in this category (of the forum) may eventually be locked for Minosa Films users only – that is, those who I give the password to.
Aaanyhow, thanks for all, and your prayers especially,
I am unsure what path my future will take… where will I go, what will I do? My camcorder/editing situation is not at it’s brightest, and I am heavily considering returning the camcorder, the JVC Everio GZ-HD7, because it shoots to HD and saves to .tod. Premiere Pro 1.0, my current NLE, is less than desirable as well, because I have had a/v out of sync troubles with it. Who knows what will be the solution? God does.
A friend recommended this camera (the friend was joking btw,)
I have looked into Final Cut Pro as well, (or Final Cut Studio,) and it looks promising. But I have not done all my research. I am pretty sure I can convert my files through Cyberlink BD solution, with PowerDirector, to FullHD, HD SP, or SD (720×480.) So, converting with HD is possible, but editing is still a problem. So, the different problems stack on eachother and the tower of cards falls again and again as I pull out a card from the below.
So, with all these options, ideas, hopes, possibilities – my future – and other’s desires, I am swirling in an ocean of choices, hoping to find my way out. Oh God, send an albatross.
Who knows what will happen next? I ask for your prayer, and I look foward to the days when I will be holding the camcorder in hand, acting and filming with others, editing, premiering, posting…
God bless and thanks for listening.
-b
P.S. I do not ask for sympathy. I do not ask for donations. I do not require your help. I humbly request prayer and understanding, and greatly appreciate any suggestions or ideas you have to give. Thanks.
As the days pass by and progress is made in various areas, one may wonder what happened to Minosa Films – like, where are the films?!
Well, I suppose everything has a journey. And each journey has it’s pilgrims, and once in a while, you run across a hero. Well, I am a pilgrim. And I need to do my part, and my part is not only the technical side of making sure we have a camcorder that will work, but scripts to make movies from. So, I need to write scripts. We have one script for a film titled “Is This Love?”, and I plan to make revisions upon it (basically add to/and or rewrite it.) I think it would be wise to have more than one script on hand, so, I need to write! 😉
Recently I found out about a neat project called Morevna Project. Check it out here: morevnaproject.org. I am considering contributing to it. From the website:
The main goal of Morevna Project is creation of full-lengthened anime movie, utilizing Open Source software only.
Other goals:
Promotion of Open Source software and its ideology.
Testing and improving existing Open Source products by giving appropriated feedback to developers and community.
Validate Open Source tools as suitable for creation of professional good-looking animation.
Provide content for other artists to learn from or to re-use, including documentation and tutorials
I have stumbled across some intriguing or otherwise inspring artwork.
For one, I wish to make note to an artist I had previously discovered: Mathias Pedersen, a young, Dutch digital artist. You can find his website here: http://www.mathiaspedersen.com/home/. But this time I came across some of his tutorials. The most facinating of these tutorials is this one:
What I’ll try to, is to give you some general tips you’ll be able to use to work your way up the ladder and become a better Blender artist. Some of these tips are composed primarily of common sense, so you might already have figured out much for yourself.
– [http://www.mathiaspedersen.com/resources/]
These rules can be applied to more areas of life than beginning to learn Blender: they can be applied to much of life. Besides, now I have a good beginning spot to send eager Blender users ready to learn. “Read this 10 step outline and get back to me when you are done!” This is a good resource!
Besides that I came across Chaperon Rouge, an animated short by four collaborating students from the French school Supinfocom Arles (made as their graduating movie.) The style touches upon Final Fantasy and a tad little bit of Miyazaki. I want to create some 3D films similiar to their style (though my characters may have a different look.) They used (digital?) paintings and composited the character into them (for at least some of it.) Bravo!
On a side note, (however, an important one,) this following video has great importance to me.
May all our dreams come true… see you on the other side!
-b
P.S. There are other films, etc., I could mention, but I will leave it at that for now. Thank you, each and every artist out there: you, who have persevered to create what you believe is beautiful…
So, with working, events, and living, I find myself in moments of solitude, set apart for God and thinking. Thinking “do I even want to get that camera? I’m no sure I care…”, wondering, and praying some.
I will probably get this camera, (praise the Lord!,) I will likely endeavor doing interviews, making films with the members of Minosa Films, my friends and family, and even some commercial work.
But in every new step up in the tower of life, I must recall my duties and check my burdens – have I accomplished all that people have required of me to this moment? Am I free to move on? And I must decide and make action upon that conclusion.
I do not want to abandon the talents that have dogged my life so divenely my whole life, but I am eager and curious to move forward in this direction of film making.
Thank you for listening and God bless!
Can’t wait till the future, wondering about it all,
Minosa Films is a small Christian film group stationed in the United States, dedicated to providing you clean, quality entertainment. We don’t just make you laugh, but think. That’s what we’re about: giving you a perfect film with a powerful message.
Minosa Films 