Overview
So you've purchased a digital camcorder, hooked it up to your PC and now you're in business. You can download Jr.'s birthday party to your hard drive and show it to every unsuspecting friend that drops by. But what you really want to do is learn how to edit and manipulate your footage to create attractive videos. How to Use Digital Video teaches you the basic techniques, such as setting up a good shot, configuring your PC, re-arranging scenes, trimming out unnecessary footage, adding transitions, creating special effects, and even adding a soundtrack. Author Dave Johnson uses several real-world projects to show you how to implement the lessons he teaches. By the end of the book, you'll be able to create a polished home video, film for a Web page, a streaming video that could be used in a PowerPoint presentation, and a montage of still photos within a video.Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewIf you're just getting into Windows-based digital video, there's so much to learn: from hooking up the equipment to telling your story with pictures, to getting comfortable with software like VideoWave or Adobe Premiere. How to Use Digital Video covers all that, and more — and never once does the author assume your last name is Spielberg.
How to Use Digital Video is superbly visual, with four images on nearly every page. And not just the usual screen shots, valuable as they are. Also photos that go "beyond the box": examples of controlling depth of field, installing more memory in your RAM-starved computer, working with videotape masters, and many more.
Dave Johnson is a friendly, empowering companion throughout the entire process, showing you how to get video into your PC, edit your movie, work with titles, use music and still images effectively, then publish your production to videotape, CD-ROM, PowerPoint slide presentations, or even the Web. Many people don't realize they can deliver low-volume streaming media without an expensive server dedicated to the purpose: Johnson shows you how. You'll also find a helpful glossary (in case you didn't know what Foley effects or mark-in points were), plus a CD-ROM containing trial/demo versions of VideoWave III and Premiere.
How to Use Digital Video is thoroughly practical, loads of fun, and by the time you're done with this short book, you'll be successfully creating digital movies — really.
—Bill Camarda, bn.com editor