Friday, April 27, 2007

Friday Freebie - Live Your Dream Of Editing Video Like The Pros


Some kids watch TV and movies when they're young and think to themselves, "someday I'll be in that show". Those kids are stupid - they're way to ugly and homely to ever make it in Hollywood. But you were the realistic one. You thought to yourself, "someday I'll be making that show". Well, it turns out you were stupid too - just not quite as stupid as the other kids. It's okay, though, because your time to shine has finally come, courtesy of VirtualDub:



With this program and the hardware you probably already have, you can capture, edit, and create your own movies. Or, you can make existing movies better. Think the director's cut of Blade Runner was too out there? Make your own director's cut, and show Ridley Scott what you really think of his so-called talent.

Now I know there are probably some people out there claiming they don't need this program because they already have Windows Movie Maker. And we all know if Bill Gates approved it, it must be gold. Now technically, WMM is an excellent piece of software, and can do a lot of great things with it. But, it also has a lot of limitations. You won't find those in VirtualDub. Here, you're going to get many of the same tools that the pros get when they edit in Vegas or Premiere Pro. It's just not as pretty, is all.

The interface is clean, with most of the options accessible through the file menus instead of toolbars. This keeps things uncluttered, but can make it difficult for a noob to find exactly what they're looking for. Thankfully, there is some basic documentation to help you get started on the website, but if you can't figure out the more advanced tools on your own, you'll need to enlist help from a site like Doom9.

There may be a steep learning curve, but the results are worth it. You really can create professional looking videos if you take your time and do things right. So grab a copy of VirtualDub for Windows right here, and start channeling your inner Steven Spielberg.

No comments: