What About Editing?..............Editing? By Leonard Aaron Caplan

POTENTIAL CUSTOMER-"Hey, will you tape my (fill in the blank....................{

wedding, birthday party, anniversary, quincenearo,etc."

ME-"Sure, when is it?"

POTENTIAL CUSTOMER- (gives date) "How much?"

ME-Oh,,,about (I give the price)

POTENTIAL CUSTOMER-"What? I can get my nephew for free! Why is shooting a ______________so expensive? It's only a few hours!"

ME- "What about editing"?

POTENTIAL (confused) CUSTOMER-"Editing??"

This little fictional dramatic exchange is an example of something very common in the world of videography. The potential customer forgets or doesn't realize that a video needs editing to look and sound good!

In 2009, we've all grown up and are used to video images telling a story, having a main character or characters to identify with, camera angle changes, music as a theme or in the background, etc. But some people don't realize how a video gets that way!

The customer sees the videographer videotaping an event, but doesn't see what happens afterward!

The point is, what goes by on the screen in the blink of an eye and possibly not even noticed on a conscious level, takes hours and hours of decision making and concentration! A minute of an edited video, say a little musical montage of how a couple met for example, can take many hours! Getting the images to change at just the right second to go with the music, even PICKING the music itself is challenging! Did you know that putting together a 30 second commercial or Public Service Announcement can take between 15 to 40 hours, depending on required effects?

Ok, now that you know that, how long would you estimate producing a polished wedding or quincenearo would take?

Now that you get the idea, please don't forget that producing a high quality, watchable video of any type requires a lot more that what is visible to the person doing the hiring.

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Learn from the 'Net! It's Free and Easy!

By Leonard Aaron Caplan

There’s a new learning phenomenon on the internet. Well, maybe not new to you or most people but definitely new to me. And that’s YouTube Tutorials! It’s amazing how anytime you might have a question about Photoshop, a non-linear video editing program, or basically any program, it’s a safe bet you can find the answer from some generous, knowledgable amateur. Results vary, of course from the 13 year old computer geek with the squeaky voice who knows everything about everything you could want to know about how to chroma key a weather map, to the mature, professorial grey haired type who SHOULD be able to give you the answer you want to know, but really only says a lot of nothing!

These tutorials are mostly unsanctioned by the companies of the software they teach. This is both a good and a bad thing. It’s good because nobody has an agenda other than sincerely teaching you what you may want or need to know. It’s bad because being unregulated and unsanctioned, you don’t know what you’re getting! If you’re discerning enough to be able to tell the difference between valuable information and MISinformation, YouTube, Google or other online video tutorials can be a fantastic way to save money and learn. If you want a more consistently reliable source of learning, bite the bullet and pay for it. When it comes to learning, the best thing is to always have an opened mind and believe that you are capable not only of learning a new skill, but excelling at it. Try one and you decide!

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