Digital Video for Dummies (For Dummies)

By Keith Underdahl and Martin Doucette

Book Overview

So you have a camcorder and visions of being the next Spielberg. But how do you progress from shooting so-so footage to showing your own finished movie? Digital Video For Dummies, 4th Edition gives you the know-how and the show-how Find out how to shoot and edit great movies, using iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, or Adobe Premiere Elements to add the finishing touches like special effects and your own soundtrack. With the latest information and lots of illustrations and screen shots, this friendly guide walks you through: Getting your computer ready to work with digital video (complete with information about FireWire) Choosing a camcorder, including features to look for and features that are useless Digitizing old VHS videotapes to preserve memories Purchasing other movie making gear, including audio and lighting equipment Shooting better video, with tips on lighting, panning, using the zoom, and recording better audio Creating your own sound effects such as footsteps, bones breaking, fire, thunder, insects buzzing, and more Capturing digital video using iMovie, Windows Movie Marker, or Premiere Elements Editing, including understanding timecode, organizing and previewing clips, and assembling clips in Storyboard and Timeline Adding transitions, titles, and special effects Importing and integrating video from phones and digital cameras Using audio rubberbands in iMovie, Premiere Elements, and other editing programs Adding narration, importing and working with CD audio, and adding a music soundtrack Keith Underdahl has extensive professional video production experience developing kiosk and marketing videos for Ages Software. Realizing that you'll want to polish and premiere your movie, he includes information on: More advanced video editing, including animating video clips, improving light and color, compositing video (bluescreen or greenscreen), and more 13 categories of video effects, ranging from blur and sharpen to transform Working with still photos and graphics Sharing your video online using QuickTime (/QT), RealMedia (.RM), or Windows Media Video (.WMV) Making tapes or burning DVDs in 9 steps With a handy cheat sheet of keyboard shortcuts, a chart comparing 10 video editing programs, a glossary, and more, with this guide you'll soon be saying "Lights, camera, action" and producing your own movie attraction.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471782785
• ISBN13: 9780471782780
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 362 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.1" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

A 'must have' for those new to digital video

If you're thinking about buying your first digital video camcorder or up-grading, or you're want to learn how to edit video using your computer then this is a great book. The author does a great job explaining technical things that go along with digital camcorders and making movies. You really need to understand how digital video works in order to be able to make terrific movies and how to work with your camcorder and computer software. Even though this is a 4th edition (2006) it has some information about Blue-Ray and lots about High Definition (HD) which is a big step up from analog video and standard difinition video. After you read this book, and apply many of the techniques, you'll be able to make much better videos than before.

Great reference guide for videography

Great reference guide for video production especially for beginners. Simple easy to read and apply!

Digital Video Guru Course in a Book

"3rd Edition" I would recommend this book to anyone interested in becoming a Video Editing Guru. Now there isn't much fame or glory in such a title, and I'm not implying that after reading the book you will be able to instantly break into the "Pro" video editing business either. But it does give you some useful information on how to digitize those video clips and turn them into a respectable home movie or corporate presentation.The book is very much based on Apple's "iMovie" and Pinnacle's "Studio 8". You'll skip around a bit because of the 2 different programs it explains, but you're really just getting 2 books in one if you ever decide to dabble in the 'other' program. If you're using a video editing program other than these, you may want to pick a different book.Well organized and "dumb-ed down" enough for the beginner. The projects and included clips on CD Rom keep it interesting. I learned about many tips that I plan to use all the time in my projects now. Good work Underdahl!Based on what I've seen in this book, I would definitely check out the Adobe Premiere Dummies book by the same author if I decide to move up to that program. I'm confident that I would not be disappointed.

Excellent beginner's book

Some people are turned off by the title "Digital Video for Dummies," but if you have ever used one of the "for Dummies" series, you will find that perhaps the title should be "Digital Video for People Who Don't Know Anything About It." That doesn't scan well on a book cover, though.The book covers everything from equipment to technique. It is quite thorough, considering its size, barely over 300 pages. There is some truncated software included to get you started on digital editing.Simple clear explanations of the differences between digital and analog video are included, as well as the different formats that exist and the relative merits of each.You could definitely save money on your first purchases of equipment by getting this book before you decide what to buy.

buy this book

This is the most down to earth and comprehensive book i've read on video production. I wish they had this when I was taking video production in college. this book is a necessity for both the professional and the parent that wants to edit their child's birthday party. I learned as much in these few pages as I had earning a bachelors degree. If this had been published back in the 90's I wouldn't have lost all that money to tuition.