Software for Video Making

Digital video is easy to master. Look at this screenshot. Like all movie editors, it seems quite complicated at first but it isn't. Look for the three main areas on the screen:

Top right: the 'player' where you can view your film as you create it.
Bottom half: 'tracks' where you assemble your pictures and sounds along a timeline.
Above the tracks: the 'assets' which you will use as you create your movie.

This screen shot is from a program called Revelation Sight and Sound by Logotron. There are many programs out there - there's even a free one with every Windows and Apple computer. This is a particular favourite of mine.

All video editing programs work in much the same way:

First you assemble the pictures, clips and sounds you're going to use. In the film world these are known as "assets" although they are often given other names in software.
Then you drag these assets onto the timeline to create your movie. Click here to see a demo.
Finally you render your finished creation as a movie file.

These three stages form the "Post Production" part of film making. You can read about the other two stages on the next page in the film-making process.

If you're a teacher in the UK you'll be tempted by the advertisements of the big commercial software houses like Adobe, Ulead, Pinnacle and Magix. They will tell you about all the "Hollywood Effects" their programs include but don't be dazzled by impressive sounding features. You are teaching children to communicate not to dazzle people with unnecessary and flashy transitions. Revelation Sight and Sound is a really good program for use in all schools. Read a review from the Times Educational Supplement.

Now let's look at the film making process.

All files are Windows WMV format. My apologies to Apple users.
They were created using Revelation Sight and Sound from Logotron
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