Customer Reviews

Video Editing, Fourth Edition: A Postproduction Primer

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I like to find in the book the material which I expect from its title. I would've rated this book much higher if it were called "History of video editing", which is pretty much what it is about. The fourth edition of this book, published in 2002, is heavily based on its earlier editions, which date back to the early 1990s or late 1980s. The majority of illustrations depict equipment which was used back in the 1970s-1980s. The technical editing tools presented by the author look like museum items compared to the modern computer-based editing tools, and the manuals of these programs would tell much more about digital editing than this book. The old material is occasionally updated by references to high definition TV standards and modern video tape formats, which are not clearly separated from the old ones, and it is not even clear which of 10+ standards used in consumer-level camcorders and in professional equipment. Some ideas on how to shoot videos to avoid common mistakes are useful, but again it is just a short chapter. To make things worse, the book contains a lot of practically useless, for most people, information such as structure of tracks on 2-inch-wide video tape used in the first videorecorder introduced in 1956, or (more modern example) position of audio and video tracks on VHS tapes. A consumer like I am can edit home videos without any of this knowledge.

It was interesting to learn when the first videotape recorder was invented and see a picture of that device and its designers, including Ray Dolby who later founded Dolby Labs. But you know, I expected to find in this book much more up-to-date and much more practical things, judging by its title and its 2002 (for the 4th edition) publication date. It took me 20 minutes to read the book (or whaever I thought was useful) from the beginning to the end.

I suppose, the 1996 year edition depicted at the top of this page is even more outdated.

My opinion and advice: Don't waste you money on it.

This book offers only general information. It's a good start to get information about concepts used in video editing but is far from offering you in depth information. Although I found some good info, I was relatively disappointed (3 stars), but maybe I had wrong expectations.

Yes, it is old technology, it is history but everyone still uses video tape. It is amazing how many adobe, final cut and avid editors know nothing about control track, ins and outs and don't even know how to read an EDL. They're all good until tape is involved.
I agree the technology is old but much of the information is still being used. I know more than one filmmaker who could have used the production advice, including recording room tone.

Now in a revised and completely updated fourth edition, Video Editing: A Postproduction Primer by Steen E. Browne (Senior Online Editor, New Wave Entertainment) is a very direct and straightforward "how-to" manual of the basics and the nuances of properly editing videotape. Individual chapters address creating video effects, random-access editing, audio postproduction, and much more, in this comprehensive, strongly recommended guide filled from cover to cover with tips, tricks, and techniques appropriate for video editors of all experience and skill levels.