Vidding FAQs
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Does it cost much to make fan videos?
It doesn't have to. Most of the software you'll use is free. You will be expected to own the DVDs from the show or movie that your fan video(s) are going to be about. Windows users will be better off buying some video editing software, but if you're willing to suffer with it, you can use the Windows freebie editor (Windows Movie Maker) at least at first.
Does my computer have to be really fast and new?
The faster computer you have, of course the quicker and nicer your vidding experience will be, but a fast machine is not mandatory. I've made one video (which looks indistinguishable from videos made on more powerful hardware) on an old 533 MHz PowerMac. Another video was edited with an old Dell with 1 GHz processor, and 256 MB of RAM. Things take longer to get done, but you can still make great-looking videos on old pokey hardware.
How exactly do you make fan videos?
There's a pretty simple workflow. First, you extract digital video files from your DVD (hopefully you'll be working from a DVD of the movie or TV show that is going to be the subject of your video). Then you convert these digital files to a MOV or AVI file, ready to be imported into your video editing software. Then you create your video. Lastly you export your finished video into a web-ready format.
I'm too old/too young to learn all this vidding stuff!
Oh, shut up. SHUT UP. A lot of the vidders I know are of a "certain age" and they learned how to do it. Kids that are barely in their teens learn. The key here is to be inquisitive, want to learn, be willing to put in the time and effort to learn, and accept the fact that your first attempts may not be masterpieces. But please. Whatever you do, NO whining about how you're too young or too old or too whatever.
Mac or PC? Does it matter?
Not for vidding, it doesn't. Use whatever you have already. If you are a Mac user, or are tempted to switch to a Mac, rest assured that Macs are more than well-equipped to do fan vidding, and in some cases have more affordable solutions available to them. If you are a satisfied Windows user, then you also have some fantastic software and other resources available to you as well. Vidders using either platform will have access to all the tools required to go as far as they want with vidding.
When it comes to professional work, what platform you use to edit video can become a factor. But for hobby vidding? Use whatever you like.
Why do you hate Windows Movie Maker so much?
Because it's unstable and insufficient for vidding. Because most of the aspect ratio abuse (videos which have an elongated and distorted picture, or are squashed) I see is due to vidders using Windows Movie Maker. Because it plain sucks!
I don't want to hear anyone try to say that it's not that bad. It doesn't have chapter markers, which as far as I'm concerned is essential for vidding. (Chapter markers make keeping to the time of your music in a video far less painful.) Not having any sort of marker feature is a major strike against it. It exports inferior quality video (compared to all the other video editing software recommended for vidders). It crashes too darn much. It gives very limited control over filters, audio levels, and transitions. Bah!
I've witnessed too many vidders say (after they've finally broken loose from WMM), "Why did I wait so long to dump that piece of garbage?" It's fine to make a few starter videos with it, but if you've got the vidding bug, do yourself a favor and upgrade to something else. There's really no reason not to, when entry-level apps like Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD is less than $50 list price and can be found on Amazon for under $30. (And previous versions of Vegas can be found for cheap, cheap, cheap on eBay and elsewhere.) Yes, I know there are some plug-ins that work with WMM, but any money spent towards a WMM plug-in could go towards a copy of Vegas Movie Studio (or Corel VideoStudio).
I see you're a Mac vidder. How can I trust that you'll be fair when talking about Windows vidding and writing Windows tutorials?
I love my Mac, but I love vidding more. (And besides, I started out on Windows and have never completely "given up" Windows.) But sure, if someone slags off Macs or says something really unfair about Macs or Mac software, I'll jump in and give my opinion. But that isn't a constant occurrence. I find that most of the time, we vidders are joined by a common love for vidding, and that transcends petty platform wars.
I also host a fanvid site and because of that I deal with many vidders, and these vidders use a variety of software (yes, even the dreaded Windows Movie Maker!). What matters most to all of us are the videos. It is my goal to help encourage the vidders to be happy with the software they use and, if I can, help them get the best quality they can get. Whatever I need to do or say to encourage them to, for example, upgrade to HD, is what I'm going to do! And if that means making some test vids in Corel VideoStudio or Sony Vegas (I do admire both these apps, you know) and write tutorials about what I learn, then that's what I'll do! LOL. And to be honest, I find all of it very fun.
It's all about quality, and creativity, and encouraging fellow vidders to make more vids and be happy with what they create. And that's far more important than Mac vs. PC.
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