Post Production Processing

Long time before all editing software's were invented, filmmakers would film their footage in exactly the sequence that it followed and the exact lengths needed. But now with the significant technological development, it is now possible to alter speed, sequence and many other things.

For my video, I used an editing software called Pinnacle. I found quite easy to use and it also provided me a lot of post-editing effects that helped my project look way better. Below I will show you a step by step account of the process I took in editing my video.








So the first thing I did was open the software. It does take quite some time to open so one needs to be patient with it.

After opening the software, you get a blank page but you have to go to file then select new movie where you will be able to work on your new project. Before we go any further, I would like to mention that Pinnacle works on links meaning that any media that you use is connected on a link. Therefore, this means that for the footage you use, you should save it on your laptop and not your external source because in the event that you eject your external source and try and open the software, your work won't be accessible.





The next step one is required to take is to import your media which means you go and collect what footage you would like to use. One thing I like about Pinnacle is that everything you need is simply displayed.
 

The next step one needs to do is select the footage they want to import. Now because Pinnacle opens all media on your laptop, it is easier to organize the specific footage you will use in a special folder where it will be easy to access.

After selecting your footage, the software automatically organizes everything whether its audio, pictures or videos. Here you get a better view of everything you have and you can also start selecting the specific footages you want to use. Remember during filming, it always recommended to take more than one take because you never know what footages would look better.
 



Finally, after importing, we get to start the editing process. The first thing you is click on the footage you want to use and then drag it to the timeline. The timeline is where you organize your footage in sequence and also edit them and apply effects. You can always change the order of your footage.
 





To actually edit on a specific footage, you double click on the footage from the timeline and then it opens a page where you get all effects you can apply from transitions to corrections. For my video, I firstly played with the color. I wanted one color tone throughout the video and so I selected black and white which I found under corrections. I also altered the length and speed of each footage; some I made slower and longer, others were faster and shorter. Through Pinnacle you can also reverse the footage and have it play opposite, though I must you warn, the footage usually looks pretty ridiculous half of the time. I also added transitions between my footages.

 

One thing I forgot to mention is because I am creating a music video, I will be playing an overlapping soundtrack. Therefore, I needed to mute my video's as they had background sounds that would interfere with the selected music. Pinnacle gives you the opportunity to play with the volume of the sound but because I would be inserting another soundtrack it is just better to mute the video altogether.

 

So next I added my soundtrack. I also played with the length of the song as I didn't want to use specific parts. One more thing I would like to warn you is that during the editing of the video, when you change the speed, it also changes the speed of the soundtrack. So what I do to prevent this is Pinnacle offers you the option to lock a track meaning no changes will be applied to it. This protects your music from getting mixed up.

 

Finally after editing my video, the last thing I needed to do was export it. This would produce it into a video format that can be viewed and shared.

 

When you get to the export page, there are a few settings you need to change before you produce your video. The first thing you change is the type or format of video you will make depending on the players you have. You also pick the size of video and finally where you want to save it.

 

And the final finally, is exporting your video into your finished product. After that you can watch it and share and be proud of your work!!!!!
 

I'll post my video in the next post. Watch out for it!!!