Vidding Workshop!

[chaila]

Welcome to the wiscon_vidparty vidding workshop! We hope this will be a chance for new or potential vidders to find out more about what’s involved in making a vid and to see the wide variety of ways vidders make vids, and for vidders of all skill levels to discuss vidding and share tips and ideas. Everyone is welcome to participate!

This workshop will be discussion- and question-based, so please, start or jump into any discussions you want to have and ask any questions about any aspect of vidding! Finding ideas, getting source, clipping (or not), editing programs, codecs, rendering, effects, specific technical issues you’re having, discussion about specific vids, discussing your own ideas, links to useful resources, tutorials, cheerleading--any and all vidding related topics are welcome.

We’ve created a few categories to keep some of the major topic threads organized. If you have a comment or question or want to start a discussion on a certain topic, just comment below the relevant subject. (We’re flexible though, so don’t fret too much about getting things in the right place. If in doubt, just give your thread a descriptive subject line so people can find it).

Feel free to add new threads if what you want to talk about isn't covered by the categories, but please give your comment a descriptive subject line so readers can tell what’s being discussed.

We have several awesome vidders who have volunteered to participate and introduce themselves at their convenience. We will be linking to their introductions as they appear. Keep an eye out and feel free to ask them specific questions!

Topics (to get you started--add your own threads and subthreads!)

• Vid Idea Development -- Finding and developing ideas for new vids

• Tech Questions -- Hardware and software (PC, Mac or Linux), codecs, aspect ratios, exporting and rendering, effects, etc.
          Questions asked/discussed:
          -- Software to use on a PC? (including discussion of Windows Movie Maker & Lightworks)
          -- Vidding with iMovie09?
          -- Codec rec: Avid DNxHD
          -- Converter recs for Macs?
          -- Linux clipping?

• Getting Started (and Finished) -- From beginning to end, how do you make a vid? Getting source, clipping, editing workflows, tips for getting started, etc.
          • Subthread: Editing workflows/processes
                --chaila (VirtualDub, Vegas, Zarx264gui)
                --heresluck (DVD Decrypter, DGIndex, Premiere, Zarx264gui)
                --thingswithwings (Handbrake, Mac the Ripper, MPEG Streamclip, Final Cut Pro, Sound Studio)
                --ghost_lingering (Adobe Premiere & AfterEffects, Mac the Ripper, and mpeg streamclip)
                --eruthros (DVD Decrypter, VirtualDub, AvsPmod, Premiere, Zarx264gui)
                --such_heights (Switch, audio editing/conversion, Final Cut)
                --beccatoria (avidemux, Cinelerra)

          • Other questions/discussion
           -- How to time clips to the beat?
           -- Using markers
           -- Approaching editing/revising? & how to deal with ambition outstripping effects/transition knowledge?
           -- Free/cheap editing software for Macs?
           -- Ripping DVDs vs. downloaded source?
           -- Note re: codecs & compression

• Links and References -- Link helpful resources from elsewhere on the internet.
          -- Various lists of resources, including subtitling
          -- Mac vidders: how to get the shiniest source
          -- Lots of links, especially about vidding creativity
          -- Panel notes on song choice
          -- A&E's Technical Guide to All Things Audio and Video
          -- Audio editing
          -- Multiple aspect ratio tutorials
          -- Understanding codecs & containers, & Autodesk software for students

• VIDDING SQUEE - All things happy, fun, and inspiring.
          • The first vid you made you're still proud of?
          • Vids/vidders that inspired us!

Meet the Vidder Threads

• Meet the Vidder: Rhi
• Meet the Vidder: metatxt
• Meet the Vidder: such heights
• Meet the Vidder: kiki_miserychic
• Meet the Vidder: Garrideb
• Meet the Vidder: ghost lingering
• Meet the Vidder: here's luck
• Meet the Vidder: chaila

ETA 3/3/14: The main part of the workshop has concluded, but please feel free to add answers or info if you've got them! We've organized a list of the threads, questions and answers for ease of browsing. And don't forget that you can sign up to be a vidding mentor to a newer vidder, or sign up to get a mentor!

Comments

Re: Tech Questions

[sasha_feather]

Hi! I am very fortunate to have a new PC and I am ready to load it up with software. I have VLC and iTunes so far but nothing else. What should I load it up with? :D

Re: Tech Questions

[sophinisba]

I am also interested in this question because I think next time I need a new computer I might switch from Mac to PC, but I don't know what I'd do about vidding, which I've only done a little bit with iMovie so far.

Re: Tech Questions

[eruthros]

It depends! I like the amv.org application pack, which conveniently includes a lot of codecs and programs and etc. It'll let you make clips and rip DVDs and stuff like that, but it doesn't include a video editing program. It's at the top of the amv.org technical guide, under "download AMVapp." I use a bunch of that software to make my clips and to convert files and deal with DVDs and stuff like that, and they have a good technical guide for those steps. (Or you can ask me, but they know way more than I do.)

For the actual "putting clips on a timeline" part of vidding, it depends on your budget and computing power and etc. Adobe Premiere Pro is expensive (but sometimes free/cheap via universities); there's a cheaper version called Premiere Elements that has fewer features but can do most editing. There's Sony Vegas (somewhat cheaper; I don't use it but I know a bunch of people who do), Windows Movie Maker (freeware; a lot of vidders really don't like it but it makes fine vids), and Lightworks (also Freeware, but not very well documented). I use Premiere, mostly because I also use Photoshop and other Creative Suite applications, but on my next computer I'm going to give Vegas and Lightworks a shot, because I'm sick of Adobe :) If you're not sure if you'll like vidding, there are trial versions of a lot of the more expensive software, or of course *ahem* versions.

Re: Tech Questions

[chaila]

What eruthros said!

A little more about the free options for PCs. WMM comes with Windows BUT if I recall correctly, they've stripped it down and made it almost unusable for vidding in recent versions. But I think you can install something like version 7 of WMM for free and still use it for vidding? (I swear I just discussed this exact issue with someone, but I can't find my convo or what made it work for them, argh. Anyone who uses WMM want to chime in here?!? You can probably also use Google to find out your options for WMM). Lightworks is free, will eventually be open source, but is still pretty new. I think it's a little less intuitive from what I've seen, so it may have more of a learning curve if you haven't used an editing program before. (There are tutorials though, so if you can learn from a tutorial it might be easy!).

Otherwise, it kind of just depends on how you make a vidding process work for you! You may only need an editing program, or you might decide you want/need to clip and want a separate program for that or that need a converter for making the final version.

This gets off from your technical question, but I'm generally of the opinion that the best way to start vidding is just to...start vidding. If you have an idea, get a version of WMM that works or try a free trial of Sony Vegas, Premiere, or whatever you decide to try, and just import some video and audio and mess around. Solve the technical issues as they arise (they will arise!), or if you decide you want to keep on with it, but don't get TOO bogged down with those questions before you even know if it's something you'll have fun with? /unsolicited advice :)

Re: Tech Questions

[quickbeam]

Thank you for pointing out about Lightworks! I really want to know if there any other free apps out there for vidding, since I'm not in any capacity to fork out money for retail software.

Regarding the recent version of WMM, I had the experience of using the Windows 7 version (I don't know about Windows 8) and was simply unable to find my way around it. So right now I'm staying with the previous WMM version from Windows Vista.

Off to download Lightworks now! It looks pretty nifty. :)

Re: Tech Questions

[chaila]

Ooh this is good to know about WMM! I knew there was some cutoff point, after which it was really different, but I couldn't remember where the change happened.

Keep me posted about Lightworks! I love the idea of it, but I'm *so* resistant to change and learning a new program.

Re: Tech Questions

[quickbeam]

I've just installed Lightworks, and it seems like... hate at first sight? lol. Although it's definitely due to my PC's limitation, it seems that Lightwork is a pretty hefty software and the warning balloon at my taskbar keeps saying the memory's not enough. It just keeps crashing on me at this point.

Re: Tech Questions

[valika]

You brave soul! I never dared to install Lightworks on my laptop, though I was curious. I wish you good luck for it! Keep us informed!

Re: Tech Questions

[beccatoria]

If you have hardware issues, then I have no advice, but I at least tried out Lightworks a bit and when I opened it I had a similar reaction. Then I watched the very basic tutorial series on their official youtube channel and it started making so much more sense to me. I'm not currently using it because I have a program that I'm comfortable with, and if you do too, then there's no need to change. But I thought it might be useful to share that I really did find that watching the tutorials made a huge amount of difference to how I felt about it. (Though of course you may already have done that and still hate it!)

Re: Tech Questions

[quickbeam]

Oh the hate is all about the hardware issues, hee! My PC's specs are just not strong enough to support it at the moment. Sorry for coming across as being against Lightworks itself, I thought the interface looks awesome from the get go and the tutorials are pretty intuitive enough for me to make the transition from WMM to Lightworks.

Re: Tech Questions

[quickbeam]

Hello there! :) What kind of operating system are you using at the moment? I'm assuming new PCs will have some kind of pre-installed video making software bundled with it. Maybe you can search your PC and try to see if it works for you, just to get a feel of making a vid?

I myself am using the free Windows Movie Maker (WMM) version that comes with Windows Vista. I almost tried installing Windows 7 once but thankfully I remembered to check the its WMM first and I find that I really cannot work with it at all, it's like a downgraded version of the Vista WMM. So for the moment now I'm sticking with the Vista version.

Re: Tech Questions

[sasha_feather]

Well, it's Windows 8, unfortunately. My computer is so new I haven't even looked around it a whole lot! Thanks for the advice-- I will check out the WMM!