basic movie editing

I would like to get information on simple movie editing. I know there are some threads on this but I have not found an answer to what I'm looking for. I purchased the 7D for still photography but also want to use the HD movie capabilities. I'm using a PC running XP.

At this time all I want to do is simply cut out some inner sections of movies and stitch clips together then write to a DVD for TV viewing capability. Can this be done without transcoding? If not is there an easy way to transcode and still keep high quality. I'm willing to purchase software such as Sony Vegas but from what I have seen all editing programs need transcoding and I can't find a simple explanation how to do this or what software is best to use. (Why don't the programs like Vegas accept the MOV files or alternatively why didn't Canon provide software to transcode if it is needed for anything useful to be done with movies?)

I'm sure there must be lots of DSLR users with a similar needs and wonder if anybody knows of a web site that has basic, simple non geeky descriptions of how to get started with basic editing. Cinema 5D seems to be more oriented to expert movie makers.

Thanks for your help.

Hmmmmmm....

Guess this is more complicated then it should be.

Here’s my take...

The format Canon shoots in is bulky, lots of information, so I treat them just like raw files... my digital negative. I use Vegas, make my movie how I want then use a codec that’s appropriate for where that video is gonna go (youtube, dvd... etc.). I have found in most cases that my end results look almost EXACTLY like the original MOV files with no noticeable loss of sound or video quality.

I know this doesn’t answer your question directly but I honestly don’t know exactly where to find a program that wont transcode from Canon’s original format. Maybe the full version of quicktime? Lord knows IMO that’s not a good idea… lol

No one is as dumb as I am when it comes to video. The easiest program I found is Pinnacle Studio 14. They have a bunch of video tutorials that really helped me understand it.

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/Home+Video/Studio+Family/Pinnacle+Studio+Ultimate+version+14+Trial?intcmpid=studio14trial

You don't really need the Ultimate version but most basic things are included in the basic program which I found on Amazon for $50.

You might want to spend some time watching the videos and then download the program and try stuff on your own.
--
Olga

If common editing is what you're looking for, just get the $45 version of Sony HD Movie Studio. You'll find it easy to use and it has plenty of features for you to utilize if you decide to go beyond the basic editing.

If you had Windows 7, I'd just recommend the free HD Movie Maker software from Microsoft. It's very basic but does what you're describing in a super, super easy format. I kid you not, anybody could whip together a movie with multiple clips and smooth transitions, a music track, titles and credits in five minutes. Almost with their eyes closed. It's that easy.

But, since you're on XP, I'd just get the Sony HD Studio. You won't need to spend more than that. It will have more features than you need.

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiohd

The pinnacle software that Olga mentioned looks even easier and more intuitive than the Sony HD Studio I have. If that interface looks good to you, maybe just go with that one. I may download a trial of that myself!

I use Sony Vegas Platinum. But I assume you could do what you´re describing with Windows Movie Maker. It´s already on your XP machine!

It doesn't work for Canon videos in XP or Vista. It works in Win7.

--
Olga

Studio 14 will also do slideshows very easily. I've had fun doing those. Here's an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-u4zGCgvaQ

--
Olga

Thanks everybody so far for your time and input.

I guess I'm pretty dumb but I still dont understand the transcoding issue. Your replies seem to indicate you don't transcode your MOV files, rather you import them direct into your editor.

Is that the case? If so then I'm fine with your suggestions for software. It is just that I have heard that transcoding is a necessity and requires yet more software. Am I wrong on that?

Thanks again for your time.

I've never transcoded anything. I put straight into Studio 14.

mrgrimsdale said:

Thanks everybody so far for your time and input.

I guess I'm pretty dumb but I still dont understand the transcoding issue. Your replies seem to indicate you don't transcode your MOV files, rather you import them direct into your editor.

Is that the case? If so then I'm fine with your suggestions for software. It is just that I have heard that transcoding is a necessity and requires yet more software. Am I wrong on that?

Thanks again for your time.

Click to expand...

--
Olga

To get these videos to retain their HD resolution, do they not have to be authored as Blue-Ray?

I'm also a newbie when it comes to video editing. Just shot my first HD videos with the 7D and I must say video is a great addition to the camera. Unfortunately on one of the videos there is a very clear dust spot and I would like to know if any of the programs mentioned are capable of removing the spot in an easy way? It would take 10 seconds to remove it on a photo but how does it work with video?

Cheers,
Wolbo

That's nice, I like it. I'll give that software a try.

Gary

My previous computer struggled some to play the MOV files back smoothly, and I had purchased a program to convert the clips to AVI files before trying to edit and preview them. That helped a lot, and I'm sure there are free programs to do that.

But my new computer handles them much better so I just load them straight into the Sony software. Nothing else is required.

Try it first without any conversion, and if your computer really seems to struggle then find something to convert them to AVI files before editing.

There may be a better strategy to follow but those are the only things I've done so far.

I haven't looked into it much, but there is a forum discussion here:

http://www.cinema5d.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=9839

Thanks for the clarification, it seems as thought the main purpose of transcoding is to reduce the workload on the PC rather than an absolute technical necessity. So I feel more confident now in making a software purchase.

Regarding your comments about Quicktime being jerky, Quicktime Pro has features that allows you to adjust several aspects including the jerkiness. Although you solved your problems with buying a new computer, under the "View" menu option, selecting "Play all frames" smooths Quicktime Pro out on any computer. Also, Quicktime Pro is a fairly robust editor with the ability to trim clips about any way you choose as well as joining multiple clips, also allowing you to adjust color, brightness, contrast, and tint, among other things. I primarily use Pinnacle due to the richness of features but Quicktime Pro does almost anything that Studio 14 does and does some other things better. Quicktime Pro is a scaled-down version of Apple's heavy duty editor and works well with .mov files which is an Apple product in the first place and provides such high resolution due to the fact that there is less compression than in most other video types such as mpeg, avi, wmv, etc. That's the main reason that more video and graphics are done on Apple than PCs - they've got the video thing worked out and while the PC arena is making up ground, Apple is still the leader in graphics and videos. I'm not an Apple user, by the way.

As for another person's question earlier about having to burn to blu ray to maintain the HD quality of an original .mov file, that's correct. Pinnacle Studio 14 ultimately converts the .mov file to a special, "less compressed" mpeg2 file that maintains a great deal of the hi def qualities but quality is still lost. The original file out of a 5DMKII and 7D is 1080p, the highest definition available at present. Below that is 1080i and the 720p which is the highest resolution for the older 4x3 format. Then there is 480p, 320p, and 240p. Blu ray uses 1080p and others use the lower resolutions. DVDs are burned ar 480p, three levels below the max of 1080p and, while very good for earlier times, 480p is a long way down the quality list compared to a blu ray at 1080p. Transcoding, perhaps more commonly referred to as format converting, if done with a converter such as AVS, etc., will convert your 1080p video to something considerable less thereby causing you to lose the hi def quality. Don't do it. Using Quicktime Pro and Pinnacle Studio in tandem is about as good as it gets in the PC arena at this time and yields some very nice results - results that Hollywood would have envied a short time ago. The hi def files created in the 5DMkII and 7D are the equivalent of video produced by video cameras that range in price from $60k to $500k. With that advantage, it would seem less than intelligent to give away such an edge in the appearance of our video footage.

I am getting good results using Cyberlink PowerDirector, I can cut and paste and output in a various ways. Not too expensive either.

Sample at http://www.johneasterly.com - click on Tiger fun

--
WSSA # 165

And I removed link because of the amount of time to load, but that is the web for you, I still get great rendering using what i have and viewing with Cyberlink PowerDVD, almost as good as the original .MOV viewed with Canon's ZoomBrowser
--
WSSA # 165

Quicktime is horrible - I would never use it.

Back to the OP's question, as you have discovered already - the main requirement is not so much software but hardware when dealing with HD video.

There are dozens of editors out there ranging from almost free to megabucks but none of them are going to be any good to you without enough grunt from your PC