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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 15 2007, 4:31 PM EDT (current) | TomySky | 2 words added, 1 word deleted |
| Aug 16 2007, 5:24 PM EDT | TomySky |
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When I first included "Authoring" as a subject I was thinking only of DVDs.DVDs. However, now I realize that there are many, many delivery options when it comes to getting your video out to your audience, so this is going to cover "Delivery" as much as it will "Authoring".
Your editing method of choice (be it an NLE or just a camera to tape) will offer and often dictate a method of exporting your finished movie. Your editing software will let you save your project as a media file that others can watch, such as a .wmv, .avi or .mov.
Some NLEs are so "user friendly" that you can't adjust any of your export settings, and others have so many options it's impossible to know which to choose. Let me try to break it down for you:
Basically: Know your audience.
Are they watching this on-line? If so, how fast is their internet? Often you will have the option of setting the quality of your internet video based on the speed of your audience's internet (e.g. 300kbps).
How good are they expecting your video to look? Currently, video on the internet is not expected to look too great. There are a ton of websites out there that allow people to upload their movies (and movies that aren't theirs), and even the movies shot on a cellphone are getting into the top rankings.
Do they have a DVD player? If people are going to be watching your movie away from home they may not have a portable DVD player or a computer with the proper drive (and, no, a CD-ROM drive won't work). Personal story: While working at Toshiba I once gave a DVD to a rather high-up manager who didn't have a DVD-ROM drive in his computer. Moral of the story: Don't assume. Make sure they can play your media.
Do they have a way to play your tape? There are a lot of different tape formats and most people can play only one type, if that. VHS is dead. My friends would not be able to play a VHS if I sent them one.
Anyway, in the simplest workflow you should be able to go to File>Export or File>Save As... and the computer will then Compress your project file and media into a single media file that you can then post on the internet or e-mail.
Authoring a DVD takes another step (and more software) beyond just compressing out for web delivery. You will ideally want to have your NLE save your movie as an MPEG-2 file with an accompaning audio file, but check with your DVD authoring software for what kinds of files it will accept.
After you have your media files, you can open them in your DVD burning software. Most software will let you add and edit menu pages and buttons. You will create another Timeline, and/or something that resembles a database flow-chart, in your DVD software.
Then, the software will "mux" your DVD together. Just as compressing your DVD takes time, "muxing" will as well. After that, your computer will need to burn your DVD. Guess what: More time.
Things have come a long way since I was a Freshman in college and DVD burning was just becoming possible. My Junior year I pulled an all-nighter finishing a video that my sister wanted me to send her the next day. It only took me 4 hours to edit the thing, but getting a DVD that worked took all night.
So, while your computer is chugging away at creating your DVD, you may want to get a book, or start shooting your next project.
When you finally have a finished movie on DVD or the web, what's next? Marketing. And that is what we're going to cover next.
Your editing method of choice (be it an NLE or just a camera to tape) will offer and often dictate a method of exporting your finished movie. Your editing software will let you save your project as a media file that others can watch, such as a .wmv, .avi or .mov.
Some NLEs are so "user friendly" that you can't adjust any of your export settings, and others have so many options it's impossible to know which to choose. Let me try to break it down for you:
Basically: Know your audience.
Are they watching this on-line? If so, how fast is their internet? Often you will have the option of setting the quality of your internet video based on the speed of your audience's internet (e.g. 300kbps).
How good are they expecting your video to look? Currently, video on the internet is not expected to look too great. There are a ton of websites out there that allow people to upload their movies (and movies that aren't theirs), and even the movies shot on a cellphone are getting into the top rankings.
Do they have a DVD player? If people are going to be watching your movie away from home they may not have a portable DVD player or a computer with the proper drive (and, no, a CD-ROM drive won't work). Personal story: While working at Toshiba I once gave a DVD to a rather high-up manager who didn't have a DVD-ROM drive in his computer. Moral of the story: Don't assume. Make sure they can play your media.
Do they have a way to play your tape? There are a lot of different tape formats and most people can play only one type, if that. VHS is dead. My friends would not be able to play a VHS if I sent them one.
Anyway, in the simplest workflow you should be able to go to File>Export or File>Save As... and the computer will then Compress your project file and media into a single media file that you can then post on the internet or e-mail.
Authoring a DVD takes another step (and more software) beyond just compressing out for web delivery. You will ideally want to have your NLE save your movie as an MPEG-2 file with an accompaning audio file, but check with your DVD authoring software for what kinds of files it will accept.
After you have your media files, you can open them in your DVD burning software. Most software will let you add and edit menu pages and buttons. You will create another Timeline, and/or something that resembles a database flow-chart, in your DVD software.
Then, the software will "mux" your DVD together. Just as compressing your DVD takes time, "muxing" will as well. After that, your computer will need to burn your DVD. Guess what: More time.
Things have come a long way since I was a Freshman in college and DVD burning was just becoming possible. My Junior year I pulled an all-nighter finishing a video that my sister wanted me to send her the next day. It only took me 4 hours to edit the thing, but getting a DVD that worked took all night.
So, while your computer is chugging away at creating your DVD, you may want to get a book, or start shooting your next project.
When you finally have a finished movie on DVD or the web, what's next? Marketing. And that is what we're going to cover next.
