Zoom lenses are great, but sometimes they just can’t get you as close as you’d like to go. The solution? A macro shot. Macro video is a great way to add production value to a whole range of videos, including how-to and training tapes, documentaries, stamp or coin collections and more. A

$999 Apple 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 (800) MY-APPLE www.apple.com Apple has always been firmly entrenched in the digital image revolution. Its platform is the workstation of choice for the majority of graphic designers and video editors. Most of the stalwart software applications for mul

$2,995 Media 100 Inc. 290 Donald Lynch Blvd. Marlboro, MA 01752-4748 (800) 773-1770 www.media100.com Media 100 was a forerunner to today’s affordable, Mac-based computer editing. Prior to its arrival on the scene in the early 90s, the mystique and power of nonlinear editing was for the multi-

The producers of The Simpsons, that irreverent, animated FOX TV family, regularly poke fun at people and things. In one episode they even took aim at video enthusiasts. Look for yourself in the following example. Are you more like Lisa or Homer? Lisa: OK, I finished editing the gardening sequence.

$129 Pinnacle Systems 280 N. Bernardo Avenue Mountain View, CA 94043 (650) 526-1600 www.pinnaclesys.com Over the past five years, manufacturers have marketed novice-level video editing software to an unprepared public. Even with the best intentions and the finest minds in the software industry, th

$1,600 Datavideo Corp. 12300-U East Washington Blvd. Whittier, CA 90606 (888) 809-DATA www.datavideo-tek.com CD-R and CD-RW burners have become standard, vital components of nearly all new computers. Recently, we’ve seen the advent of software that enables these drives to burn videos onto CD-

Compositing is the process of layering multiple on-screen elements video, still images, text or graphical elements into a single on-screen image. A classic example of compositing that many people would instantly recognize is the title sequence for the nationally syndicated series Baywatch. The s

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

If you’re like most video editors, you’ll have occasion to edit footage that someone else shot. For many editors, this can be a harrowing experience. After all, your reputation as an editor is on the line. You have no control over the quality of the footage you receive, but you’re

Sooner or later, even the most casual shooter gets an itch to create a story not a record of a birthday party or vacation, but a real movie. Often, that itch gets scratched by second thoughts: too hard to find an idea, too tough to get actors, too complex to shoot in short, just too much work. O

No matter what kind of video-editing system you own, one thing remains constant: you need a desk to put it on. If you recently moved into the world of computer video editing, or even if you’ve edited video on your PC for some time, chances are good that your production system is squeezed into

Have you ever shot an event in a church, theater or auditorium and recorded tinny, hollow audio? Ever wished you could tap into the house sound system? Chances are the sound engineer would be happy to help you out, but probably wouldn’t have the equipment you need to get the signal from the

$1,499 Upgrade from Production Bundle 3.x and 4.0 ($299) Adobe Systems Inc. 345 Park Avenue San Jose, CA 95110-2704 (888) 724-4508 www.adobe.com Plenty of major software revisions are coming out of the Adobe mill in this first year of the new millennium. With the introduction of Premiere 6.0, it&#

Many of us have employed external microphones to isolate a single subject’s voice and get better sound quality. This is as easy as plugging a mike into your camcorder’s microphone jack. But what if you need to mike a panel of four people for a TV-style talk show? If you want to know wha

Making moving titles is easy with today’s video editing software. You’ve used your editing software’s character generator to make simple titles for your videos, now how about adding a little motion to your graphics? Making titles that roll, crawl, slide, spin, shrink, grow, speed

Videomaker – Your Study Buddy I’ve been reading your magazine for a little over a year now and wanted to let you know what a valuable resource I’ve found it to be. I advise a student-run college television station and encourage my students to read your magazine. While there are e

$550, $625 for USB edition Avid Technology, Inc. One Park West Tewksbury, MA 01876 (800) 949-AVID (2843) www.avid.com Avid’s new ePublisher, its entry into the interactive content production tool market, is a fairly easy-to-use yet powerful tool. Although clearly designed to integrate vide

If I was writing a best-selling paperback, this might be titled Editing for Dummies (except that I don’t think newbies are dumb). If you’re a casual weekend shooter, you may not be editing your camera tapes. After all, even the simplest digital editing equipment will set you back some d

The Dell Dimension 8100 turnkey editing system incorporates MGI’s VideoWave III editing software and Altec Lansing speakers to create a veritable video-creation and entertainment center. Critics used to mock computer turnkey systems because they practically required users to have a degree in

Panasonic’s new Mini DV VCR has many of the features that pros want, packed into a small, attractive package. Judging by its price, they have presumably targeted the pro market for this deck, even though it is more “prosumer” in design. The Little Device on Top When you’re