ONLINE VIDEO ON A BUDGET
Part Three: Video editing software
The next piece of the online video puzzle requires taking all the great footage your reporters shoot and turning it into Web-ready gold. To do that, you need to find the video editing software that best meets your needs.
In addition to exploring the options for Macs and PCs listed below, take a moment to learn about the unique software called Visual Communicator that will allow you to produce professional-looking in-house newscasts.
You should also scan Part Four on posting your video to the Web before making your final choice of video editing software. The server that will host your clips can dictate which editing program will make the best sense for you.
VIDEO EDITING OPTIONS: If you own Macs . . .
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 Apple's iMovie |
Perhaps the cheapest and best option for newsrooms that already have one or more Macs is to use iMovie, the video editing software that comes bundled for FREE.
Is iMovie perfect? No.
Is it as good as the latest vesrions of programs such as Final Cut Pro ($1299), Adobe Premiere Pro ($799), Avid Liquid Pro ($999) or Sony Vegas ($699) ? Of course not.
But will iMovie will provide everything you need in nine out of 10 situations? Yes. And did I mention that it's FREE?
iMovie also benefits from being intuitive, while the high-end video editing software programs have a fairly steep learning curve.
There are numerous online resources available that provide tutorials and assistance in learing iMovie. I started on iMovie years ago and found it a tremendous program that only gets better with each new version. I would also urge you to join the iMovie-List discussion group on Yahoo (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/iMovie-List/). Erica Sadun, author of numerous books on iMovie, and Robert Rouveroy are contributing experts who both exhibit great patience with newbies.
Another Mac option is Final Cut Express ($299), the bargain-basement alternative to Final Cut Pro. It offers far more control than iMovie, and it might be a logical second step in a progression from iMovie to Final Cut Pro as your skills and your demands grow.
VIDEO EDITING OPTIONS: If you own PCs . . .
Unfortunately, PC owners will find that Microsoft's free video editing software called MovieMaker is nowhere near as good as iMovie. PC owners looking for options that cost less than the quartet of top-flight programs listed above should explore the programs listed below.
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Adobe Premiere Elements ($89) |
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Ulead VideoStudio ($73) or Studio Plus ($105) |
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Pinnacle Studio Plus ($84) or Studio Ultimate ($114) |
Like iMovie, these products are clip-based programs that allow you to (1) capture video from your camera, (2) edit the clips, (3) assemble them in a timeline and then (4) export them as finished movies in various formats. (Some also allow you to burn straight to a DVD, though there are few reasons to do so in a newsroom.)
Adobe Premiere Elements allows you to export your files in the MPEG-4 and Flash formats, which are often the best options for the Web. (Various versions of the other programs listed will export files in the MPEG-4 format which is the format that YouTube prefers.)
NOTE: Clicking on the prices for each item will take you to Amazon.com where you can see the full list of specifications for each product. Make sure to compare and contrast features. Also check out the consumer reviews on Amazon and other places on the Web. There are also discussion forums such as Creative Cow, DMN Forums and DV magazine forums that can help you decide which program will work best for you. (Creative Cow and DV also offer free montly magazines to qualified subscribers.)
Avid also has an entry in the mid-range DV editing software battle between Final Cut Express for the Mac and Adobe's Premiere Elements for PCs. Avid Express DV ($299) can be installed on either a Mac or a PC. (Click here for a thorough comparison between Final Cut Express and Avid's Express DV.)
PRODUCING YOUR OWN NEWSCASTS: Visual Communicator
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| Click on the image above to view today's newscasts |
Some newspaper are producing their own daily news broadcasts. Delaware Online, produced by The News Journal, offers twice-daily newscasts in their Video on Demand section. The segments are hosted by an in-house news anchor.
Producing daily broadcasts can seem daunting, but Adobe's Visual Communicator 3.0 ($399) makes the challenge manageable. Adobe bought this nifty program from Serious Magic, and one major improvement already is that it now outputs Web-friendly FLV (Flash) files.
The program features a built in teleprompter, as well as numerous preset graphics and sounds that are enormous timesavers. The program is fairly easy to learn, and it can quickly give your productions a professional gloss.
The Serious Magic package gave you a green screen and a handy lavalier microphone, but it is not clear whether the new Adobe version will do so. (You can download 3.0 from the Web today, but the full package has yet to ship.)
The opportunities for additional ad revenues from newscasts seem obvious.
Online video on a budget
Bonnie Bucqueroux teaches digital jouralism at Michigan State University's School of Journalism and is a self-described Web geek.