50 Fast Digital Video Techniques (50 Fast Techniques Series) [Paperback]

Bonnie Blake (Author), Doug Sahlin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764541803 | ISBN-13: 978-0764541803 | Publication Date: October 3, 2003

* Step-by-step recipes for 50 digital video editing tricks show readers how to create professional videos with stunning special effects; readers can begin shooting and editing high quality video after reading only the first few pages
* Covers both Apple iMovie and Microsoft Movie Maker, the most popular consumer digital video editing applications; shows how to do the same techniques using both formats
* Demystifies the process of delivering video to the reader's audience in the most popular formats available today: VHS, DVD, Video-CD, and the Web
* Addresses the essentials of planning and shooting digital video in real life situations to produce professional results
* Interactive CD-ROM includes ready-made HTML templates to quickly get movies up on the Web, before-and-after source video files for the technique steps in the book, and video training software

Editorial Reviews

Review

shows you how to edit and achieve some cool special effects& -- PC Home, Issue 139, 2003

"...an accessible and informative read...many good creative ideas on how to get around common shooting and editing problems..." -- Digital Creative Arts, December 03

"...shows you how to edit and achieve some cool special effects..." -- PC Home, Issue 139, 2003

“…the content and layout are of the highest quality…” (M2 Best Books, May 2004)

"...shows you how to edit and achieve some cool special effects..." (PC Home, Issue 139, 2003)

"...an accessible and informative read...many good creative ideas on how to get around common shooting and editing problems..." (Digital Creative Arts, December 2003)

From the Back Cover

"Clever, useful, insightful, indispensible. A must in the digital filmmaker’s toolbox."
– Frederick M. Strype, screenwriter, producer, and Assistant Professor
Media Art/Film & Video School of Contemporary Arts–Ramapo College of New Jersey

What do you want to achieve with your digital video camera? The possibilities are endless, and these easy-to-learn techniques will unleash your creativity. Learn to manage lighting conditions, shoot sporting events like a pro, create effective transitions and scene changes, even turn your movies into pseudo-classics or vintage slapstick. Whether you’re using iMovie or a PC with Windows Movie Maker, these 50 lessons will get you started on the road to becoming an accomplished videographer.

Your guide to amazing results in digital video

• Capture the best clips, edit out unnecessary footage, and assemble a timeline
• Create cross-fades and page curls, manage dissolves, disintegrate scenes, and develop slow motion scene changes
• Explore panning and zooming with still-picture sequences
• Achieve classic film noir or slapstick comedy effects
• Add and edit sound effects or narration
• Export your movies for DVD, CD-ROM, or Internet viewing

CD-ROM includes demo versions of SoundForge, ACID Music, Video Factory, some of the 1,001 Free Sound Effects collection, and more!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (October 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764541803
• ISBN-13: 978-0764541803
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,923,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just What I Needed, October 8, 2003

By 

Sam Blanca (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 50 Fast Digital Video Techniques (50 Fast Techniques Series) (Paperback)

I've got to admit that although I'm intrigued with digital video, I'm just a novice and find the whole video editing process a little intimidating. This book helped me over the hump: I found it to be a great resource for helping me create some cool effects by simply following the step-by-step instructions -- and there are certainly plenty of effects to choose from here. An added bonus is the included CD-ROM, which allowed me to preview each effect before I tried it with my own footage. I would definitely recommend this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and useful, February 12, 2004

By 

Joyce (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 50 Fast Digital Video Techniques (50 Fast Techniques Series) (Paperback)

This book starts with the basics. If you've never loaded a movie into your computer (like me) then the authors walk you through those steps. I found it to be a great help. I had never used Movie Maker before and was able to get into it pretty easily. You may need to get a book for iMovie or Movie Maker if you are new to these types of apps (doesn't teach these programs). But I was able to pick it up pretty easily.

This book is a cookbook of digital video recipes; you can skip around the book and choose the effect you want to achieve. The steps are thoroughly explained and easily performed. There are a bunch of creative suggestions sprinkled throughout the book. There are movies samples provided for your use for both iMovie and Movie Maker!

So you are probably wondering what types of effects you can achieve. A few of my favorites include:

Dealing with adverse lighting

Glamour shots

Sporting events

Vintage slapstick

Sound narrating

Rolling credits

The projects are fun and very well written. If you want to learn some new techniques to spice up your home movies then this book is for you. There are directions for exporting for use on DVD, CD-ROM or for the internet.

The CD has a ton of useful tools such as sound files, sample clips for all 50 projects, demo software.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Really absolutely useless unless you are a total beginner, January 13, 2005

By 

Riaz Nasir Virani - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 50 Fast Digital Video Techniques (50 Fast Techniques Series) (Paperback)

This book doesn't tell you when to use different effects, transitions, etc, but just how to physically do them in Windows Movie Maker or iMovie. Like literally how to do a wipe or a fade. The cd that comes with it is also really bad and you'll find yourself either laughing at it or bored out of your mind. This book isn't worth the money unless you're someone who's barely ever used computers and needs to know that you much drag and drop an effect to get it to work.