Using
a PC to turn your cherished home video movies into DVDs is really
very simple. All you need is a reasonably up-to-date multimedia
desktop or laptop with a DVD writer, a video input or FireWire
port - see last week's Bootcamp plus some inexpensive and simple
to use software.
The camcorder to DVD process involves four basic steps: capture,
edit, render and burn:
Capture is where recordings on tape in your camcorder or VCR are
copied, in digital form, on to the PC's hard disc drive.
Editing involves splitting the video into a sequence of short
scenes, which can be trimmed and assembled into the required order.
Effects, such as transitions (fades, wipes, dissolves, etc) can
then be inserted between the scenes, titles may be added and the
finished movie split into chapters that will be accessible via
a "menu" to give your production that extra polish.
Rendering is where the effects are incorporated into the footage
and the movie is converted into a form readable by a DVD player.
Burning creates the finished disc.
In the past you would have needed two or possibly three applications
to accomplish these tasks. Editing and rendering software has
tended to be expensive, temperamental and difficult to use and
the results were often disappointing. But within the past few
months a number of programs have appeared that simplify the process
and make it possible for just about anyone, without any editing
or production skills, to create professional-looking movies on
DVD.
Two such programs are Pinnacle Studio 9 (www.pinnaclesys.com)
and Ulead VideoStudio 8, (www.ulead.co.uk), both selling for less
than £50. (The numbers are important as earlier versions
of both programs were flawed.)
I won't delve too deeply into the inner workings. Suffice it to
say both programs are designed with novices in mind and reasonably
intuitive so you can create simple movies almost straight away.
If you want to add some eye-catching flourishes or turn your backyard
epic into a blockbuster, these programs also have plenty of creative
features to play with.
It's best to start with the default settings for both programs,
which are set to create a DVD with the highest picture and sound
quality lasting for between an hour and 90 minutes.
However, even an hour can seem like an eternity where home movies
are concerned so I would begin by making a few "themed"
DVDs - drawing together material from a particular year or an
event - lasting no longer than 30 minutes or so. (Your audiences
will thank you!)
Once footage from your tapes has been copied to the PC you end
up with one or more very large video files that need to be broken
down into scenes. I suggest that you use the programs' Auto Scene
Detection systems. In the main they work very well, creating natural
breaks where you pressed the camcorder's stop/start button; the
newly created scenes are then stored in a "library",
the contents of which are displayed on the screen.
The next stage is to preview the scenes and drag and drop the
ones you want to use from the library onto the "storyboard".
Once there, each scene can be "trimmed" or "split"
into several clips. Aim to reduce each clipped scene to 10 seconds
or less unless something really interesting is happening. At this
stage you can afford to be brutal; don't worry, you can go back
and change your mind - the scenes in the library remain intact
no matter how much they are chopped on the storyboard.
Scene transitions are dragged and dropped from an effects library
into the spaces between scenes on the storyboard. Both programs
give you the choice of dozens of fancy swirls and twirls, but
if you over-use them your movie will take forever to render and
end up looking like a dog's dinner. Stick to basic cuts between
linked scenes and only use simple wipes and fades to signify a
change of location or the passage of time.
Both programs come with templates for titles and end credits -
just drag and drop the ones you want from a library into the storyboard
- but you'll find it much more satisfying to create your own using
the built-in title editors. Editing sound is easy but for your
first few attempts I would stick with the original recording's
soundtrack that accompanies each scene or clip, or just add a
simple spoken commentary or background music.
Finally, view a full-screen preview and, when you are happy with
your movie, set the chapter thumbnails and add a DVD menu from
the template library.
Rendering
can be a slow business and may take several hours, depending on
the length of the movie, how many effects and transitions you've
used and your PC's specification. Once that has finished both
programs will then automatically proceed to the disc burning stage,
which on most recent PCs should only take a few minutes. If you
are pleased with your effort don't forget to run off an extra
copy or two before you delete the master movie files from your
PC to make room for your next production.
Jargon filter
Thumbnail
Small still image, 'grabbed' from the start of each scene, used
to illustrate DVD chapter menus.
Trim and split
Basic editing techniques for removing the dull bits at the beginning
and end of scenes and chopping out mistakes by creating two or
more clips from a single scene.
Storyboard
Representation of a movie as a series of thumbnail images showing
the start of each scene.
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