If you've been around video long, you're probably familiar with the term "montage" (mn-'tzh). It's a French term that comes from the world of cinema. Webster defines a montage as: 1: the production of a rapid succession of images in a motion picture to illustrate an ass

There are many ways to make your video dull. We speak derisively of “talking heads” on television because they’re not exciting. It’s one thing to be in a room with someone who is talking for an hour, but it’s something entirely different to watch that as a single, unbro

ViviClip ViviClip's Pre-Wash DV Pro editing software for Windows XP includes selective color processing and clip batching for applying the same effect to several clips at the same time. The Basic version handles a single layer, but not keyframes, bins or patterns; while the Pro version handles

$5,115 Alienware 12400 SW 134th Ct., Bay 8 Miami, FL 33186 (800) ALIENWARE www.alienware.com It's big, black, incredibly powerful and it ain’t playing games. Alienware, best known for its screaming-edge turnkey gaming computers, is trying to capture the attention o

The first thing you’ll notice about the new Casablanca Solitaire is that it doesn’t look like any other non-linear editing solution out there. The Solitaire is an elegant cube with a translucent white glass-sheathed face and top and front aluminu

The home DVD production dam started breaking down when computer manufacturers started equipping their products with DVD burners. But almost as quickly consumers realized that making a DVD isn’t as simple as popping a tape in a VCR and hitting the Record button. That's because in order t

Out there in the great home video marketplace, clearly VHS is fading, and DVD video is on the rise. The big hold-up has been a way to record DVDs in the same way that we use our analog VCRs to record videotapes today. Until very recently, the only way to make your own DVD videos was to use a comput

We get lots of questions from readers wondering how to create a good chromakey. Most of these questions come from folks who just want to play around and don’t actually have a use for keying in mind. ULTRA solves this creative problem by providing a set of 15 virtual sets that you can insert yo

$2,999 Apple 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 996-1010 www.apple.com The most exciting development in desktop computing in a very long time is 64-bit processors. Notice we didn’t say "processing." As of this writing, 64-bit applications are still few and far between. Still,

Video editing software can really challenge a home computer. A typical home computer a few years back might have done some word processing, e-mail and play a game or two. Video editing software was for dedicated hobbyists and was too expensive, difficult and too demanding for the average computer (a

$299 Ulead Systems 20000 Mariner Ave., Suite 200 Torrance, CA 90503 (800) 85-ULEAD www.ulead.com The HDV format is gaining wide industry support, with more camera manufacturers signing on and many software companies offering editing solutions. Of course Ulead is at the front of the pack with its

One of our favorite applications for video editing on a Windows computer is Pinnacle Studio. Each new version has added new features and has become easier to use. Unless something went tragically wrong during the last development cycle, Studio 9 should be the best one yet. We ran the newest version

When editing applications upgrade a version, the improvements and additions are often at the professional edge. Casual editors might not even notice the differences. Such is the case with Vegas 5.0. It is a better app overall, but if you are happily using 4.0, you might not even notice that you̵

Wondertouch particleIllusion is an amazingly cool and almost effortless special effects tool. particleIllusion is for anyone who needs explosions, muzzle flashes, fireworks, waterfalls, realistic effects or psychedelic trips without the drugs. Perhaps best of all, you might not even have to hire a d

$495 Ulead Systems 20000 Mariner Ave., Suite 200 Torrance, CA 90503 (800) 85-ULEAD www.ulead.com DVD authoring is not nearly as complex as video editing, or at least it shouldn’t be. While it used to be informative to look at individual features supported in early DVD products, professional-l

What do you think when you hear the words “shot logging.” Do your palms sweat? Do your eyes get all glassy and unfocused? Do you start to shake like a wet poodle? For some reason, a lot of beginning videographers see the task of shot logging as the video production equivalent of taking

Many of us have used buyout music libraries in the past. You find the music you like, buy it and it’s yours to use as many times as you like, with no additional fees. Those with more time or creative energy on hand enjoy using music creation software like ACID or other loop-based products to g

One of the nicest things about having a DVD drive in your computer is the flexibility it gives you. You can read CD-ROMs, play audio CDs, rip music files, and, with the right software, play DVD-Video discs. CyberLink’s PowerDVD 5 affordably gives you the tools for playing DVD-Video titles on y

Applied Magic has long supplied videographers with standalone video editing boxes designed to be easier to use and more stable than general-purpose computers. While modern computers are unquestionably more complex than an Applied Magic ScreenPlay or Sequel appliance, the argument for greater stabili

Long ago, in a studio far, far away, audio engineers labored with fragile plastic ribbons covered with a mysterious rust-colored substance. Their task: to coax audio recordings onto and off of reels filled with these ribbons. While there was a great deal of science involved, a generous dose of