Cheap & easy fan videos for Windows, using Ulead VideoStudio
Please note that this is an old tutorial! While I tried to update a few things, it may still contain a few errors. I'm keeping this tutorial up for those of you who are going to use this older piece of software. If you are using a new version of VideoStudio, read this tutorial instead.
If you still have Windows XP, then there's no reason why you can't experiment with vidding by picking up a used copy of Ulead VideoStudio 9. It'll make you wonderful fanvids with excellent quality. (Look for VideoStudio 9 on Amazon.com)
This tutorial isn't going to cover the artistic aspects of fan video editing. For more advice on fan video asthetics, AnimeMusicVideos.org is an excellent place to start. (Though try not to be overwhelmed! They really do make fan video editing into an exacting art.) I'm going to mostly cover the technical aspects in these pages.
Tutorials for VideoStudio:
No, I'm not going to show you all the nuts and bolts of this application. There are plenty of other far more comprehensive online tutorials (as well as VideoStudio's built-in tutorials) to help you get started.
- Ulead's Learning Center. Check out the tutorials for VideoStudio!
- Ulead VideoStudio 8: Some information about the workings of version 8. (I have not tried this incarnation of VideoStudio—I assume it would be sufficient for vidding, but cannot make any guarantees.)
- Ulead's Message Boards for VideoStudio: Get help from fellow users.
Preparing your files for VideoStudio:
That's the big question, isn't it? How to get suitable video clips to edit in VideoStudio. Well, there are usually two sources: ripped from your own DVD, or an actual video file you get from somewhere else. We'll discuss how to deal with both.
Ripping video (VOB files) from a DVD: There are many programs to rip DVDs, but let's go with the freeware DVD Decrypter. It will extract video files from your DVD (in the form of VOB files) and put them somewhere on your hard drive. The process should only take a few minutes. (Remember that an entire commercial DVD can take up to about 7 GB of hard drive space!) Consult the DVD Decrypter web page for more information and instructions.
Preparing the DVD (VOB) files for editing: Most editing programs can't edit straight VOB files. They need to be converted into another format, like DV AVI, which most Windows-based editing programs can recognize and edit.
An easy program which can be used to convert your DVD video files into an editable format is MPEG Streamclip. Consult the "Vidding 101: For Dummies" tutorial for Mac & PC, which will show you how to extract your clips with this versatile program. The video conversion process is not very complicated, but be warned—every 5 minutes of footage takes up about 1 GB of disk space! (A way to conserve disk space is to select just the scenes you need, and conver them, instead of converting over the whole show.)
Importing AVI (DivX or XviD) files: I used to talk about editing in XviD/DivX with some caveats, but now I'm saying flat-out, don't use them. Sure, a lot of vidders can get by with using them, but often they suddenly (and it's usually "suddenly") experience problems. We are in an era where HD is becoming more mainstream, and I'm pushing HD more and more. XviD and DivX are the worst kinds of files to use if you want to edit HD. Here's my rant about the unsuitability of XviD/DivX for editing. If you only have downloaded DivX/XviD files to work with, it is recommended that you convert them to a suitable codec for editing. This tutorial shows you how to do that.
An especially easy tutorial for converting your DVD rip to a good video format for editing (DV AVI) is "Rip that Clip!" in the Vidding 101: For Dummies section.
Editing Your First Video—Keep it Simple!
It is assumed that by that this point, you have looked at Ulead's online tutorials, and tinkered with the program a little bit, so you have some familiarity with how to get around.
As I advise in my iMovie tutorial, make your first project modest. Do not attempt to reinvent the wheel the first time out. Create a small test video (one minute is recommended). Work on playing and experimenting with all the settings and options. Get through the trial-and-error phase of learning with a project that is short and undemanding. Once you have grasped the technical basics and have successfully edited a small video, then you can start on your Great Fan Video project, with great confidence!
A Few VideoStudio Tips: (All screenshots are of Videostudio 9 DVD SE, a "lite" version of the program. Newer versions of VideoStudio might be a little different.)
Important to note, straight away: I did not use the 16:9 aspect ratio setting when starting up VideoStudio. (There is a button on the top right of the splash page which allows you to turn on 16:9.) Using the 16:9 setting just makes all the imported clips too squished.
As the above linked tutorial shows, there are three different views of VideoStudio's timeline. I tend to go with the "Timeline" view. (Circled in bright pink.) To switch views, click on one of the three icons on the left—Storyboard (top, circled in red), Timeline (middle, circled in pink), or audio (bottom, circled in blue).
Modifying Audio levels:
You can edit the audio levels of your video (if, for instance, you want a snippet of dialog to be in your fan video) by lowering the soundtrack audio and increasing the volume on the video clip. Adjusting the audio's levels can be a bit "fiddley," but in general it is pretty intuitive. (And rather similar to iMovie's audio levels!) [UPDATE: You'll see that I am editing with an MP3 file in the audio track. I don't recommend this; sometimes you'll get snapping and popping sounds. (I've learned a lot since creating this tutorial! LOL.) Convert your MP3 or M4A files to WAV first.]
Most of the time you will want to mute the audio on all your video clips, so that the music you have chosen for the fan video will be the only thing heard. On the top left corner (in VideoStudio 9) there is a place to lower or raise volume on an individual clip, or to mute it altogether. Consult VideoStudio's tutorials for more information on editing audio.
Next page: Adjusting frame size and/or aspect ratio of an individual clip >>