Do-it-yourself Video Editing: VideOccasions, Bellevue WA

The Basic Suite provides facilities which include VHS, SVHS, 8mm and Hi-8 decks. With advanced notice it can be set up to include a DV/MiniDV source deck as well.

As the name suggests, it's pretty basic, although all the equipment is of high quality. The Basic Suite is essentially a "cuts only" analog (non-digital) facility, suitable for clients who wish to assemble a new sequence of events from original tape sources. It is possible to fade to black or a color, but not do dissolve between sources.

The Basic Suite is also suitable for use by clients wishing to record still photographs and slides to tape -- creating a photo montage -- or to insert these into a tape which they are editing.
Music from CD and tapes can be added in the Basic Suite, as can voice over, and titling is also available.

Full technical details of the equipment in the Basic Suite may be viewed at About the Studios. Here are some guidelines which can help in deciding about Do-it-Yourself editing as you talk over your project with VideOccasions:

We teach folks every year how to edit in our "Basic" Do-It-Yourself editing suite. We'll show you how to edit from your source tape(s) to create a new tape with just the parts you have chosen to use, with titles and music added, or how to create a photo montage, transferring your photos to tape and adding music and titles.
It's difficult to make changes when tape-to-tape editing, however, so being organized is very important. If you need the flexibility to rearrange pictures in a photo montage, for example, or to move sections of tape from point to point, then do-it-yourself editing probably isn't the best choice.
Also, if you want a dissolve or other type of transition between every picture in a photo montage, tape-to-tape isn't the way to go either.
If you're not sure about all of this, ask Judy to demonstrate before you begin working, or make an appointment to stop by and see "what's what" before scheduling time for your project. She can also show you the wide range of font styles and border colors that are available.

How long will it take?

A VideOccasions staff member will be on hand to teach you and to help if you need it. Learning to use the equipment in the Basic Suite takes about 10 minutes and there is no charge while you learn. Once you understand the process you'll begin working on your project.

Editing video tape.
If you're editing video tape, you're working in real time. As an example of what this means, lets say you have a ten minute tape and you want to remove three one minute segments from it. You're going to play the original and record it to a new tape. So you play minute one and two and record them. Then you fast forward, skipping minute three, and you record minute four. You record minute four and minute five. You fast forward over minute six and record minutes seven and eight. Finally, you skip minute nine and record minute ten. You have actually recorded seven minutes of tape. With the fast forwarding and the careful cueing up of each segment you're recording, the process has probably taken you twice that long -- 15 to 20 minutes.
Recording your music will require real time -- another seven minutes -- plus time to set everything up for doing this, another seven minutes. Adding a title will require another few minutes.
So, you've taken about an hour to produce your seven minute edited piece. The key word here is "about": it always takes longer to edit than you think it will.
Creating a Photo Montage
A photo montage is created by capturing photographs to video tape, using a video camera mounted on an easel and recording each image to tape.
Experience has shown that 5 seconds is about the right amount of time to leave each picture on screen. This translates to 12 pictures for each minute of video -- 120 photographs for a ten minute video.
Roughly 35 pictures can be transferred to video in an hour. So, for a ten minute piece you can expect to spend at least three and a half and four hours capturing photos, more if you decide to do anything fancy. To this add perhaps a half hour for titles and at least another half hour for adding music and you're looking at four and a half to five hours to complete your straight forward ten minute photo montage.

How much will it cost?

The cost for working in the Basic Suite is $25 per hour.

So, editing your seven minute tape, with music and titles, cost about $25.
Assembling your 10 minute photo montage, which took four to five hours, costs between $100 and $125.

Remember, though: once you start working on your project you've involved yourself in creating an artistic work. Your sense of excellence and the pride you take in your work will take over and you'll work meticulously to achieve the perfect results. This takes time and time in the Basic Suite costs $25 an hour. So don't be surprised if your project costs somewhat more than the examples given here!

* VideOccasions makes use of professional linear editing equipment -- i.e., tape to tape or tape to camera -- in the Basic Suite. Because of the learning curve involved, digital (computer) editing is not available to the do-it-yourself editor.

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Last modified 08/17/05