The prospects for home video enthusiasts to achieve very impressive final results have seen gradual progress over the last decade or so. Although it was unlikely for an average citizen to buy a machine strong enough to do video editing in the early 90s, every reasonably new PC today will deliver video editing capability of almost professional grade right in your own house. We would take a brief peek at the fundamentals of technical tools for video editing here.
Advantages in non-linear editing
Contemporary applications for video processing are all focused on what is regarded as non-linear editing. This ensures that you can jump to every section of the content without needing to stay there and perform a repetitive fast forward and rewinding method as you might have to endure for a tape-based approach, stopping, starting or anywhere in the centre (linear editing).
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The non-linear software driven editing method still retains the integrity of the initial footage, in addition to being far more accessible and much simpler than the old tape-based editing systems (think ordinary VCR). Before being copied to the master reel, the content also had to be moved to another tape during linear editing. The audio and image quality in such a device gets worse with every copy, a phenomenon known as generation loss.
The original consistency of the recording is retained by a non-linear method, since what the system actually does is build a list that determines in what order the source material is to be played again.
Requirements for Machines
It is obviously better when it comes to editing video faster, especially if you have plans to edit material shot in high definition. Even, if you have purchased your machine within the last couple of years or so, and not skimped on computing power and mass memory, your device will possibly manage video editing just fine. Or at least you can upgrade your computer to the necessary horsepower by investing in more RAM and a bigger hard drive.
While there used to be a big gap, nowadays it really doesn’t matter so much whether your PC is Windows dependent (XP, Vista) or running Mac OS – it is more a matter of personal choice, and fine, reliable video editing solutions are accessible on all platforms.
Building Your Own studio
The choice of hardware (camera, computer etc.) and software is largely determined by how much you are willing to spend and what your level of ambition is. If what you want is to be able to show family and friends your completed movies, you can very well be pleased with less sophisticated solutions. A semi-professional method, on the other side, allows you to be prepared to pay a bit extra in order to gain economically competitive consistency in your career.
Even, because a consumer-friendly price is now accessible for tiny handheld cameras capable of filming in high quality, and inexpensive video editing software provides more and more features, there is really no excuse that even movies designed just for family use should appear more professional than ever before.
