Video editing - want to learn

[Coach]

It's always fun to read all the great hunting stories out there, and follow along like you are rigtht there with the hunter. There's been a lot of great stories out here lately that are documented with some amazing video to go along.

 

Clearly, part of this has to do with just being very aware of the little things - the dew drop here, the sun setting, the tired hunters, the worm munching on a leaf, the way water flows through rocks. It's all the stuff I love about a hunt - all the types of things I notice, but have no clue where to start to incorporate into documenting a hunt on film with all the subtle camera work and music.

 

It's something I would really like to learn how to do, but I don't even know where to start.

 

There is no shortage of these vids - I recall one from Utah last year (backpack trip), another on a youth deer and javi hunt recently posted, of course, Addict's Ibex hunt.

 

Any steps in the right direction are greatly appreciated.

 

[CouesPursuit]

I've debated commenting due to my lack of knowledge about advanced video editing, but, I would like to share this.

 

I believe the first thing to do is start capturing a lot of footage, and I only try to hit record during the good stuff because sorting through, organizing, storing, and generally dealing with the video can become cumbersome. Currently, I am just trying to record as much stuff as I can and organize it into clips for now, placed in separate folders by species and then date with plans to make the videos after hunting season and live through them then..

 

I bought a GoPro last year and I have a DVD camcorder that is several years old, and this is good for fun, but I'm lacking the HD quality that can actually zoom in and get close to the critters. The GoPro has good "HD" quality standalone, but can't zoom. The old DVD camcorder zooms but the quality is nothing like the GoPro.. Etc. It definitely takes some investment to make these top notch video's.

 

Once you have the video:

Something as simple as the free "Windows Movie Maker" can be used (and should already be downloaded on most any computer) to play a clip, cut out the useless portions, and keep only the good stuff. One important thing to mention is - Always keep the video clips in the highest quality you can afford - You can always bring it down in size and down in quality, but never back up!

There are many, many other software out there to get crazy with video editing but in the beginning stages, something like WMM is all you need to get started!

[GJMauro12]

I am pretty much in the same boat. I bought a fairly nice camera a few years ago and I have tried to film as much as possible but I still haven't tried to cut and edit any of it to where it is actually interesting to watch. Basically I have about 3 years worth of clips. Hopefully one day I'll figure out the editing part of it and just cram it all into one long multi species video.

[DesertBull]

Tip #1 - use "effects" sparingly. Just my opinion but there is nothing more annoying than bunch of slow motion, fast motion, fading in and out, etc.

[trphyhntr]

Tip #1 - use "effects" sparingly. Just my opinion but there is nothing more annoying than bunch of slow motion, fast motion, fading in and out, etc.

i hate when people play something like van halen over the sounds of nature if you all know what i mean

[bigorange]

Tip #1 - use "effects" sparingly. Just my opinion but there is nothing more annoying than bunch of slow motion, fast motion, fading in and out, etc.

i hate when people play something like van halen over the sounds of nature if you all know what i mean

I like a blend of music during scenery shots and natural sounds in action shots...I've seen video before with music over the bugling bulls which almost defeats the purpose to me. I think there's an important balance.

 

Coach mentioned the Utah video and the youth hunt. I think those are both by Pursuit365 and posted by Andygrand. Very good stuff.

There was also a video about family hunting a while back that I really enjoyed.

Rick, Eric, and Cole at AZ Extreme have some great video style and I've always liked Jay Scott's video too.

 

Maybe some of those folks can weigh in here with some simple tips and tricks or how they got started.

[Curtis Reed]

I use Cyberlink Power Director 8. Its easy to use

[Pixman]

It's always fun to read all the great hunting stories out there, and follow along like you are rigtht there with the hunter. There's been a lot of great stories out here lately that are documented with some amazing video to go along.

 

Clearly, part of this has to do with just being very aware of the little things - the dew drop here, the sun setting, the tired hunters, the worm munching on a leaf, the way water flows through rocks. It's all the stuff I love about a hunt - all the types of things I notice, but have no clue where to start to incorporate into documenting a hunt on film with all the subtle camera work and music.

 

It's something I would really like to learn how to do, but I don't even know where to start.

 

There is no shortage of these vids - I recall one from Utah last year (backpack trip), another on a youth deer and javi hunt recently posted, of course, Addict's Ibex hunt.

 

Any steps in the right direction are greatly appreciated.

 

Well now we will be waiting to see your great video! No pressure, lol

[CouesWhitetail]

Windows Movie Maker is likely already on your computer and is very easy to use and a surprisingly good program.

 

Some of the paid programs that I have used and liked are Pinnacle Studio, Cyberlink Powerdirector and Adobe Premier Elements. The first two in that list are fairly easy to use and very powerful. Adobe Premier is a little harder to use. You can buy more expensive and more complex programs, but you might want to try using windows movie maker and editing some video and getting a feel for it before buying a higher end program.

 

Just an fyi, video editing is very time consuming. And generally the more time you put in, the better the product.