Need a program for video editing and effects

[C20chris]

I am new to editing but am pretty good with figuring out computer programs and such. I played around with Windows Movie Maker and was able to get the basic idea of what I am looking for but it isn't good enough so I am looking for a program or the best way to do the following.

The video will be of a comparision of a product my company makes and a competitive product being installed. Our product istalls in about 1/10 the time and we want to show this. So... I need to be able to put to 2 videos side by side and play them simultaneously without any distortion/stretch (Black space is fine) I would also like to be able to speed one of the videos up while leaving the other paused... Basically, once the video installing our product is complete I want it to hold on the last frame and to speed the other video up say 10x. I would also need to be able to add subtitles to describe what is going on in the video.

thanks in advance for any help/insight you may have

Thanks,
Chris

[aedipuss]

maybe something like vegas studio or pro depending on your budget. a more convincing way to make it would be to have the video of both being installed at once with a single clock running in front of them. time speed up after yours installs is still possible.

[zoobie]

you'll probably want to go up a step with other entry level editors like vegas movie studio or corel videostudio
most have free demos

[Bonie81]

I am new to editing ...what I am looking for but it isn't good enough so I am looking for a program or the best way to do the following.

... I need to be able to put to 2 videos side by side and play them simultaneously without any distortion/stretch (Black space is fine) I would also like to be able to speed one of the videos up while leaving the other paused... I would also need to be able to add subtitles to describe what is going on in the video.

Thanks,
Chris

hi chris,

you do not look like a newbie.
Your requirements will end-up in very high end commercial software more powerful than Premier or Vegas.

[manono]

Your requirements will end-up in very high end commercial software more powerful than Premier or Vegas.

Not true at all. AviSynth can do this with one hand tied behind its back. And it's free. You just have to know some AviSynth.

Two videos side-by-side: Stack Horizontal:
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/StackHorizontal
Pause one: Loop:
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Loop
Speed up the other: AssumeFPS:
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/AssumeFPS
AddSubtitles: Easier done by creating the subs first using some subtitle program, and then adding them in using TextSub which is part of the VSFilter and comes included in the VobSub package. If there's not too much text to be subbed, AviSynth's Subtitle filter can work (but I still prefer creating the subs separately and then hardcoding them into the video):
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Subtitle

[johns0]

C20chris-Next time you post please use a thread title that explains what you need,for this time i changed it.

[zzyzx2]

Your requirements will end-up in very high end commercial software more powerful than Premier or Vegas.

Not true at all. AviSynth can do this with one hand tied behind its back. And it's free. You just have to know some AviSynth.

Two videos side-by-side: Stack Horizontal:
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/StackHorizontal
Pause one: Loop:
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Loop
Speed up the other: AssumeFPS:
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/AssumeFPS
AddSubtitles: Easier done by creating the subs first using some subtitle program, and then adding them in using TextSub which is part of the VSFilter and comes included in the VobSub package. If there's not too much text to be subbed, AviSynth's Subtitle filter can work (but I still prefer creating the subs separately and then hardcoding them into the video):
http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Subtitle

I was thinking the same, avisynth and virtualdub. best of all, its free.

[lordsmurf]

I'd go for the Premiere method here. Easier.

[C20chris]

C20chris-Next time you post please use a thread title that explains what you need,for this time i changed it.

Sorry about that...

I don't mind spending money on a program. I just know that there are many different programs and I have a rather specific needs and thought there might be one program that does this better than others... I was able to get two movies side by side with subtitles in windows movie maker but the windows which the video plays in are stretched and it looks unprofessional.

Was definately going to have a clock... I am going to buy the bigest digital stopwatch I can find and have that be next to the products being installed while recording. this way it doesn't matter if you speed the whole thing up the timer is in the video not the editing/effects.

Thank you for the insight you have offered.

[Alex_ander]

AviSynth makes any NLE useless for me.

[C20chris]

Ok... so far these are the recommendations...

Vegas Studio or Pro
Corel Video Studio
AviSynth an Virtualub
Premier

any reasons to use one over the other? I don't mind spending $100-200 on software if it will get the job done

Also, would there be a significant benefit to using a HD camcorder over a regular Digital camcorder? We have digital camcorders but have kicked around the idea of purchasing an HD camcorder for this project and possibly others.

[guns1inger]

While avisynth and virtualdub are powerful tools, and great at what they do, they are not substitutes for a real NLE. Virtualdub is a simple a/b insert editor with powerful filtering capabilities. Avisynth is something altogether different again. However neither are as intuitive or visual as Vegas or Premiere, and if you are going to be doing a lot of editing (not just trimming a bit here and there, I mean real editing) then you need to be looking at these types of tools. You should still have at least virtualdub, and eventually probably avisynth, in your kit, as they do things NLEs simply cannot, but they do not replace an NLE.

Anyone who says they do all their editing with avisynth ranks right up there with webcoders who say they only use notepad. Needlessly masochistic, and limited in their outlook.

[poisondeathray]

I agree with guns1inger.

I love avisynth, very powerful and it does things than many other programs cannot do . But for certain tasks a NLE is much better suited to. It would take a beginnner much less time doing a simple project like this in a NLE than learning avisynth. But if you were already familiar with programming HTML that sort of thing, learning avisynth is much easier

[C20chris]

definately not familiar with programming HTML... and what does NLE stand for... sorry for my lack of knowledge

[guns1inger]

Non-Linear Editor - any editor that lets you simply and easily (relatively speaking) shift the order of any piece of video footage on a timeline (or multiple timelines). Vegas/Premiere/Video Studio/FCP/iMovie/Windows movie Maker are all Non-Linear Editors. Virtualdub is an example of a Linear Editor - you can trim parts off the start or the end of a clip, you can even delete parts from the middle of a clip, and you can append parts to the end of a clip, but you cannot arbitrarily drag clips around the timeline into a new order.

Editing with virtualdub is more akin to the old style A/B Roll editors, where you dubbed from one tape to another (hence the name). Vegas (et al) is more like working with pieces of film on a table top, and being able to put the pieceing to any order you like, and if you don't like it, being aboe to quickly move them around into a new order without having to start again.

[manono]

But for certain tasks a NLE is much better suited to.

Yes, but perhaps not for the task here, as outlined. He freely admits he knows nothing, not any NLEs and not any AviSynth. Only Windows Movie Maker which is next to useless. I don't see how learning the ins and outs of something like Vegas is any more difficult than learning enough AviSynth to do what he says he wants to do.

[C20chris]

I appreciate all of the replies and opinions. From what I have heard AviSynth and virtualdub are free and it sounds like they are important tools for video editing. Also, it looks like Vegas is a preferred tool if I purchase something (as it is mentioned the most).

I know this belongs in a different thread but... would a HD camcorder make a huge difference over a good Digital camcorder?

[lordsmurf]

. Also, it looks like Vegas is a preferred tool if I purchase something (as it is mentioned the most).

Oh, good grief.

Good? Yes.
Preferred? I don't know about that.
Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere are used more professionally.
But I wouldn't snub my nose at Vegas.

[C20chris]

got it!