Just purchased a sony video camera and want to make some music videos

[edbulmer]

I am new and have just purchased a sony video camera and want to make some music videos.
I have three problems.
One-I need the re-size or crop the edges of a video to get rid of unwanted edges and space.
Two-I need to cut audio out of one and add new audio and be able to sync the new audio.
Three-I need to be able to put together 10 one minute video clips together on one dvd.

Can anyone suggest a program that is inexpensive and easy to use that will allow me to to these things.
I have looked at several but have not yet found one that will let me do even the first thing.
That so much for any help.

[gadgetguy]

Tell us more about your "sony video camera". Sony makes a lot of different video cameras. What media and format does it record to? DV8? MiniDV? DVD? HDD? Standard or HD? Or at the very least, the model number?

Nearly any editing software should allow crop and resize however, depending on the source material, this must be done properly or the results will look awful.
Syncing audio to video when the audio originates from a different source can be very tedious and time consuming, even on the most expensive equipment. More planning and practice before the video is shot will go a long ways toward making this process easier.
Almost any authoring software should be able to handle putting clips onto a dvd, with a variety of options for accessing each number either individually or as a single 10 minute "movie".

[redwudz]

edbulmer, in the future please use a more descriptive subject title in your posts to allow others to search for similar topics. I will change yours this time. From our rules:

Try to choose a subject that describes your topic.
Please do not use topic subjects like Help me!!! or Problems.

Thanks,
Moderator redwudz


And welcome to our forums.

[edbulmer]

Sony hanycam dcrsx40 Does that make sense. Makes videos in mpeg2 format.

Like I said I have looked at a few programs and have not seen any that will allow you even to edit the size.
Anyone have any suggestions on a program that does?

Thanks for youhelp Red.

[zoobie]

it would be best to read "what is dvd" on the top left menu
just sounds like you need a little mpeg editor

[edbulmer]

Read it still does not answer my questions. Can you recommend a program that will do what I need done?

[minidv2dvd]

womble mpeg video wizard dvd is a decent editor. it's your best bet to keep the quality high with that cam. it won't re-encode accept at edit points.

other editors will re-encode everything when you work with mpeg-2.

[edbulmer]

Thanks that was the first straight answer I've received. I downloaded the womble program it looks great. But I don't understand a thing. Remember I'm new I'm used to music programs that let you cut and paste. The first thing I need to do is to resize a video I did by means of cutting out the right and left sides to get rid of curtain edges showing. I can't find anything that says resize or crop or cut lines. Can you explain exactly how to do this and where I will find it in the program. Ie go the file edit cut lines etc. Please be kind I'm a newbie at this and know nothing about video. Will it stay in mgpg 2 format etc.
If it is real coplicated should I just find someone I can pay to do it.

[zoobie]

it's not that different from music editing...maybe try the links below
http://www.womble.com/dvd/dvd_guide.zip
http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/Womble_MPEG_Video_Wizard_Basic_MPEG_Editing_Guide_page1.html
womble is not the be-all end-all in editors
sorry you don't like our answers...it gets a lot worse

[minidv2dvd]

what you need to do is called cropping. it resizes the entire image eliminating the parts you don't want and expands the clip back to it's original size therefore maintaining it's aspect ratio.

womble - f1 for help. most tasks can be accessed by right clicking on the clip you want to adjust and selecting video/filters.

[JimmyS]

Thanks that was the first straight answer I've received. I downloaded the womble program it looks great. But I don't understand a thing. Remember I'm new I'm used to music programs that let you cut and paste. The first thing I need to do is to resize a video I did by means of cutting out the right and left sides to get rid of curtain edges showing. I can't find anything that says resize or crop or cut lines. Can you explain exactly how to do this and where I will find it in the program. Ie go the file edit cut lines etc. Please be kind I'm a newbie at this and know nothing about video. Will it stay in mgpg 2 format etc.
If it is real coplicated should I just find someone I can pay to do it.

In the effect tab of the project window, click the Filter button. There, you will find the Cropper tool (also a clipper tool). Double click on the tool to open it, then set the parameters you need. Click OK to save them. Drag and drop the filter onto each video segment in the timeline as required.

MPEG Video Wizard will only re-encode changes you have made to the video. The rest is streamed copied in its original format. If you are applying changes to the entire video, the entire video will be re-encoded. It will be re-encoded to the parameters of the original video unless you change them. However, the encoder of MVW is one of its weak spots. It is adequate, but does not have the quality or speed of some of its NLE competitors. Try it to see if it meet your desired results.

Video editing is not extremely complicated, but requires an understanding of the procedures you are trying to obtain. Don't try to do everything at once. Take a short segment of your video and experiment with the effects you are trying to create. That way it doesn't take a lot of time for each trial. Once you have a handle on what you a trying to achieve, then try to apply it to the whole video.

[edbulmer]

Beautiful. This will help me get off to a great start. It's intimidating at first. Like learning to drive.
Okay so I like the womble editor. I imported my file and I figured you have to drag it to the video track, is that right.
Then I went to the effect window that you mentioned and added the parameters I wanted (do I use clip or crop).
But when I tried to drag it to my file it would not do it. If I just save my settings nothing happens. Can you explain where and how to drag my effect edits. I'm seeing in the preview box is what I want should I see my video clip in there or is it just to show you what happens cause all I'm seeing in there is a sample with colored blocks.

[minidv2dvd]

i prefer the right click on the clip to open the filters, as you can adjust the filters and see the changes in the output window.

drag your clip to the timeline and also the input window. you should be able to see both input and output. drag the sliders of the input and output to the section of the video with the easiest part to edit out what you want. match the time in the window so you can see the same thing in both.

left click on the clip to edit to highlight it. right click on it/select video/filter. the filter selection box should pop up. scroll through the filter list and left click on the one you want. click the "add" arrow between the 2 boxes. the filter should move to the filter order box and at the bottom will be the available options. adjust the amount of pixels you want to crop and you can see what the output will look like in the video output window.

if you see black bars on the sides or the top/bottom you need to adjust the crop numbers to maintain the aspect ratio. another filter you might try is the pan filter. by adjusting the dotted line's size and position it will maintain the aspect ratio by itself.

[edbulmer]

Ah got it. The filter pallete covers over the time-line to where I dragged my clip. I couldn't get to it until I figured out how the expand the time-line bar so I could drag the effect to it. Just a slight design flaw but I got it now.

Thanks so much.

Now one more thing I need to do. After I drag all my clips into the timeline how do I burn it onto a dvd.

[minidv2dvd]

if you have video wizard dvd - then click the dvd button in the lower right. if not the red button in the lower right. the dvd version will allow you to use no menu or make a menu from templates and then create the dvd folders for burning the other version will encode your timeline to dvd spec mpeg-2 ready for you to use in an authoring program to create the dvd.

[edbulmer]

Now that I was able to crop the video I need to know how to covert it back to mpeg2 from the wmb format so I can post it on youtube. I looked in the index under mpeg converter but it doesn't recognize it's own programs code.
Do you know how I can do this.

[minidv2dvd]

can't say i've ever seen any .wmb files..... did you make a dvd or did you click encode which would have re-encoded it to mpeg-2?

the manual in pdf format is available here
http://www.womble.com/download/index.html

[guns1inger]

I would suggest that WMB is a womble project file, not a video. You need to load that in womble and output a video. if you have been cropping and resizing etc then you will be re-encoding everything. Womble is a great tool, but it's greatest strength is it's smart encoding. If you are making the type of changes that mean smart encoding is no applicable, then you are probably better off with a more fully featured tool.

[edbulmer]

Sorry I meant it is a wpb file. And yes it must be a womble project file. Why don't they set it up so you can save as an mpg file. Don't know why. Is there a way to do that? I don't see anything that says encode. There is a red button beside the dvd feature. Could that be something that encodes the project?

[minidv2dvd]

womble doesn't use save-as to render files. you have to bring up the encoder.

this guide explains a bit more about womble and might help.
http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/Womble_MPEG_Video_Wizard_Basic_MPEG_Editing_Guide_page1.html

[edbulmer]

Thanks to all for your help. I was able to figure it out. Very frustrating when you are just starting out. Thanks for your patience. I now am getting handle on it. It's a steep learning curve.