The video editor sits downstream of any video production, and as a result, ends up being responsible for the most valuable part of any video production: the assets. The hard work of pre-production and production is seen in the footage that gets collected and placed into the trusted hands of the vide

Tools for 3D animation are complex. The credits of a film featuring 3D animation are often longer than those of a regular production. There are multiple programs on the market for 3D animation, and different tasks are served better by different sets of tools. It's hard to argue that when it com

Small, wearable action cameras put things into perspective. Yet perspective tricks the brain unlike anything else. An object positioned with the correct perspective will appear firmly locked into reality. That same object can be a simple illusion, one that's created through perspective. The vid

Video transcoding and video encoding are often synonymous, one for the other. The difference lies in the function, or better yet, the reason why video files are converted during video editing. The large file formats of today's cameras and the multiple options for video delivery necessitate that

Chroma keying might appear as a daunting task to the uninitiated video editor, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Proper planning and preparation go a long way in setting up a clean chroma key.  Any video editor, from the novice to the experienced veteran, when equipped with some basic knowled

Narrative filmmaking is one of the greatest and most powerful forms of art ever invented, and it's still relatively new. And while it grew up quickly, many of the elements that make up a successful narrative film were existent in the very beginning. One need look no further than Fritz Lang's

The suspense and tension that is built during a dramatic and horrifying scene keeps the audience on their toes and coming back for more. Horror films work because of the editors’ efforts and decisions. The horror genre is one place where the editor needs to meticulously work their craft in order to

In the world of video production, there are some horrifying things we face regularly. Ok, ok, it’s not quite that dramatic, but rotoscoping has been long respected as a time-consuming and difficult art form, but hated, considered at best a necessary evil.  So What is Rotoscoping? By defin

You can dress up in the most extravagant costume, and paint the most intense makeup over your entire body, but nothing screams different louder than physically altering your bodily structure. You’re not a beast until you have an extended forehead. You’re not a demon until you have horns.

It’s important to understand what a lens flare is before it can be used as a tool in the video editor’s arsenal. A skilled video editor knows how to use these optical anomalies to advance their story. It’s become such a popular technique that lens flares are intentionally crafted in post and are not

Wedding videos are a staple of event videography. For an event videographer there are two commonalities in wedding videos, opportunities to earn business and tears. Well crafted wedding videos will bring tears of joy to a bride, while a poorly planned post-production process will create tears of ang

There are a lot of great royalty-free animated digital backgrounds available to editors. Some are simple textures. Others are elaborate 3D graphics loops. Some are available free, others are worth paying a few bucks to own. In many situations, these off-the-shelf digital background animations may be

A lot of video editors struggle when it comes to creating top-notch titles and graphics for the video clips they produce, but formatting fonts isn’t difficult if you follow a few simple rules. Whether you design graphics for television stations, professional video productions, or home video, t

Motion graphics are found in every sort of video production. Whether it's web video, television commercials, or event videos, motion graphics have become part of our visual vernacular. Audiences are accustomed to seeing motion graphics and a video editor needs to be on top of the design trends

There's wisdom in the old adage "never bite off more than you can chew." It's good advice because too much of a good thing can cause one to choke. The same rings true with video editing. Technology continues to grow and push the boundaries of what's possible in the world of

Halloween is filled with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches and zombies. For the video enthusiast, these creatures jump from the neighborhood trick-or-treat parade to fill the screen. Ghost? Is it double exposure, or not actually there? The transparency fools us all. Vampires? Let’s face it

You never know where the undead might show up. A zombie could slither out from that old barn you're shooting in, or one might pop out from behind a tree in the woods. October 13th marks the return of The Walking Dead to television with Season 4 on AMC. The zombie outbreak is back just in time f

Adjustment layers are a simple way to make something out of nothing. They have the power to tie together an overstuffed timeline of disparate shots, and in the process save an editor a great amount of time. Adjustment layers are found in many of today’s video editing applications. They first e

Today’s video editing applications like Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer and Sony Vegas are affordable, accessible and incredibly powerful tools for video postproduction. Video editing programs like these let you do way more than just edit video clips together. They all

Road trips for the annual family vacation might give some people thoughts of the horrors of a Griswold Family Vacation, but if you plan how you record it, you can come back with a great fun video to share.   Summer Vacation: time for barbecues, pool parties and family vacation road trips. Wheth