AFM audio frequency modulation The analog soundtrack of the 8mm and Hi8 video formats. [See PCM] AGC automatic gain control A circuit on most camcorders that automatically adjusts a microphone’s gain (volume) to match environmental sound levels. CCD charge coupled device Light-sensitive compu

Eureka! You just had a great idea for your video, but how are you going to place your talent inside a lavish landscape when your available surroundings are dull and dreary? That’s where special effects come in. Thanks to chromakey, you can have your talent trudge across the frozen tundra, dri

DVD players are the fastest-growing consumer electronics products of all time. The DVD tidal wave is swamping the market, and videotape will soon be washed away. By the end of this year, more movies will be sold in DVD format than in VHS. If you’re not mastering your own DVDs now, you will be

$4,995 Edirol Corp. 425 Sequoia Drive, Suite 114 Bellingham, WA 98226 (800) 380-2580 www.edirol.com Just as a dishwashing appliance washes dishes and a bread-baking machine bakes bread, so a video appliance makes video. A long time in the making, the Edirol DV-7 is a well thought-out video applianc

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s time we all faced the facts. Consider this article an intervention from the video fashion police. We’re living in a new millennium and it’s about time you got with the times. Truth is, some of the stuff you’re still putting in yo

Here are some helpful hints for editing multi-camera footage into a finished production.Imagine for a moment that you plan to tape an event with three camcorders and edit the three shots together into a single seamless production. With the help of some friends, you position three cameras in the audi

While proficiency at gathering footage is paramount to a successful video project, don’t underestimate the importance of your sound track. As most experienced videographers know, audio reproduction of dialogue and ambient sounds are just not enough. A video with lasting appeal calls for somet

When we make video, our goal most of the time is to get lifelike images up on the screen. We chase natural skin tones, good exposure and proper white balance like racing dogs after mechanical bunnies. But if you watch what’s happening in the movies or on TV, you’re probably already awa

What a year! Now that we have indisputably moved into the 21st century, the products we see look more and more like science fiction. DVD authoring; cameras that record directly to disc; high-quality, hybrid, all-in-one megapixel still/video cameras and a plethora of editing options make this an exc

$3,599 Sony Electronics 1 Sony Drive Park Ridge, NJ 07656 (201) 930-6972 www.sel.sony.com Editing video on your laptop on a transatlantic flight to London may make for an interesting marketing campaign, but is it feasible in the real-world? The idea that we might capture, edit and output a movie wh

$7,599 Canopus Corp. 711 Charcot Avenue San Jose, CA 95131 (888) 899-EDIT www.canopuscorp.com Based on the formidable DVStorm capture card, the Canopus StormRack turnkey system is a rugged machine with impressive specs. With its heavy price tag and rack-mountable case, this unit is aimed squarely

Looking for that extra something to make your videos really sizzle? Why not try a little animation? I know, it seems impossible. You’ve probably heard that it took a billion artists 50 years to make The Emperor’s New Groove, or that it required the combined computing power of the entire

Half a video director’s job is picking the right camera angles. But what, exactly is a "right" angle? (No, not 90 degrees, thank you.) Briefly, the right angle at any point in a program delivers an image containing the information that’s important at that moment with the appro

Real-Time Turnkey View real-time results with Edirol’s VideoCanvas DV-7 Digital Video Workstation. It promises no waiting for rendering, no unnecessary compression and no loss in source image quality. The DV-7 turnkey appliance, with its 60GB internal hard drive, features tools for loading vi

Connect the Dots Many of the new video cameras out there (like Sony’s DCR-TRV17) furnish the user with the ability to do stop-motion animation, thus allowing full-grown adults to pull out their childhood toys and bring them to life as an "artistic" endeavor. Likely, many readers ha

The DV500 from Pinnacle Systems has been the solution of choice for thousands of desktop video editors around the world. Pinnacle has always been at the forefront of affordable, real-time digital video in this new age of PC editing. It’s no surprise that its flagship prosumer product, the DV50

Adobe Systems 345 Park Avenue San Jose, CA 95110-2704 (888) 724-4508 www.adobe.com Adobe Premiere has been the software of choice for many committed video editors, from the hobbyist to the budget-minded professional. The fact is, for modest investors, it had been the only choice. At present, there

As computer-based video editing has gained popularity, so too have simple and inexpensive editing programs designed for entry-level users. The fact that video editing is quickly becoming mainstream is great news. Major computer manufacturers are now bundling beginner-friendly editing software along

Sonic Foundry, a pioneer in audio editing software with products like ACID, SoundForge and Vegas Audio, has won our hearts again with its first foray into video editing with Vegas Video. Based on its popular professional-level audio editing software, Vegas Audio, it has enough intuitive simplicity f

Digital compositing may very well be the single most useful special effect of all-time. With the magic of the blue-screen, you can put your actors into any scene imaginable, from ancient Rome to exotic alien planets. A movie like Gladiator would not have been possible without blue-screen techniques