Hello

I am quite new at video editing and I kindly request for advice. I am hoping to keep the cost of software at $200 if possible but will be willing to invest consider more if my needs require.

I shot with a DV camera, usually in very poor lighting conditions. ( I shot students social dancing in dancing clubs, so they can later see themselves and find areas that need improvement. )

So generally I will need to manipulate the video to increase the brightness so people can see themselves better. ( or maybe there is another way) but basically make the best of the video viewing possibilities.

Also because it is a way for students to track the progress it becomes very important for them, so having the video at a good/high quality is important as they all like to compare and see their progress and is almost like a momentum of how they once danced.

at the same time since i shot every weekend, I can't keep everything in AVI as it will overwhelm my storage capabilities, so as good as dvd is probably my standard

with this requirements could you please tell me what will be best for me.


forgive my ignorance but a video done using windows move maker with the brighten filter, will it look significantly worst than one done in say Adobe premier ?

since my primarily concern is to make the best of the brighten capabilities of the software would it be a marked improvement between, windows movie maker, adobe elements, adobe premier, pinnacle ..etc ?

-- I only have a PC, so mac is not an economical option for now

thank you so much for any info

I would suggest doing a search for editing software on this forum, this is the number 1 question 1st time posters ask! Plus you'll find answers to your question faster.

__________________
Wil Chapman Jr.
Oly, Washington
DP, Producer, Editor

Feel free to visit ( UPDATED!!! )
http://www.myspace.com/chapmanphotography
http://www.myspace.com/sport_specific (personal and training site)

Hi Pielcanela, probably a high cost editing software program will do no more than windows movie maker will do. Just a suggestion, but it is perhaps wiser to buy a video camera that performs better in lowlight conditions.

thank you both for the pointers,

As advised i spend some time searching the forum and looking at the wike pedia chart ( some of it unfortunately are foreign terms for me)

I have learned a lot however still it is hard to make an decision as there seem to be several recommendations. I thinking after all that i read that my budget will be $200.00

from the post that i got seems that this two softwares got high marks

Ulead VideoStudio 8. ( someone said that it was too basic )
Adobe Encore

with Pinnacle Studio consider not as good as Ulead VidioStudio 8.



about last vegas I could not quite understand the scope of the software, at times it seem that it is used for very complicated projects.

I guess I am still confused, it would be nice if someone who has the knowledge makes a post suggesting different software in terms that beginners can understand and explaining what is that most that each of them can do

Maybe this will help me

what is the key differences between windows movie maker , adobe premier , Unlead Video and Adobe Premier pro

the quality of the output video ? or the features that each offer to make a better movie?

keep in mind the more "professional" versions will give more render options. Encore is just dvd authoring software not editing software. Personaly I would stick with sony vegas or Adobe premiere both have a lite version and if you feel you'll need more down the road you will be ablie to upgrade for a discounted price. Both Vegas and adobe have trials ( try before you buy ) options, the lite versions for both are around $100 well with in your budget.

__________________
Wil Chapman Jr.
Oly, Washington
DP, Producer, Editor

Feel free to visit ( UPDATED!!! )
http://www.myspace.com/chapmanphotography
http://www.myspace.com/sport_specific (personal and training site)

Relating to how filters in different software will affect quality once you lighten it.

I'm afraid it doesn't matter what you use you are going to lose the quality. WMM will lighten it for you with very little, or no scope for adjustment. Once you get into better editing software the scope for adjustment becomes wider.

It all comes down to the quality of the original video though. If the adjustments were made in a ore advanced editor to match the preset lighten filter in WMM then it would look pretty much the same in both.

That's where the adjustments come in handy, perhaps (probably) the preset in WMM isn't ideal for your particular clip. A more advanced colour correction tool will let you fine tune the shadows, the mid tones and the highlights. It will let you tune the colour, brightness, gamma etc. for each of these too.

This way a more accurate adjustment for what is need will let you optimize the quality reduction.

Even then it's going to lose a lot of quality. Colour correction is a highly regarded skill and isn't that easy. I'm not the best to tell you what software as I don't have a lot of experience with different softwares. But on your quest you will want to find a balance between the simplicty of the WMM preset and a fully adjustable complex tool.

Perhaps trial versions of software will help you find this.

David.

Folks,

We have created lots of high quality video tutorials on Digital Video basics and Compression
Lots of easy to use, how-to's, tips and techniques. If you are interested in Ulead products, you will find lots of good learning material here - all in video format.

Free How-to Video Tutorials by TakeOneFlix

Enjoy.

Neel