Fueled by tumbling costs and technological progress, the rise of digital video has been rapid. Indeed, the average home office could even be regarded as virtual video studio. Although empowered by technology, such tools are rendered obsolete without knowledge. But With just a rudimentary knowledge of the technology, processes and techniques, the video enthusiast will quickly produce results far beyond their expectations. "The Complete Guide to Digital Video" aims to provide these basic skills to the beginner. Does it succeed?
The author splits his content into four broad categories: Theory, Kit, Shoot and Edit. With the first two sections acting as a gentile introduction to the subject, the reader is invited into a world of digital video and the basics behind the technology. The relevance of the book to today's technology is also highlighted by the inclusion of DVD camcorders and the authors now common mislike of microMV.
One notable exception in these chapters (and indeed in the book as a whole) is the term "de-interlace". Although briefly discussing source of the problem, nothing is written to address this most Frequently Asked (and answered) question on the Digital Director forums. That aside, these chapters provide an invaluable source of information about your camera and the technology behind it - as is so frequently the case, your camcorder manual will explain how to use a function, but not the why and where. To get the most out of these camcorder "selling points", Ed Gaskell highlights the importance of white balance amongst other features.
Armed with the knowledge garnered from these chapters, your camcorder, sound equipment and PC will become entirely different beasts! For the beginner every paragraph contains important information - and knowledge that will inevitably make for better video.
Naturally the complete guide to digital video can't cover every aspect of video editing software. Each piece of software mentioned would have had several dedicated manuals and guides. With this in mind, section 2 is neatly rounded with a brief insight into non-linear editing, codecs and popular software. If you don't know what these are, the book will more than adequately explain. Indeed, this final element is fully expanded in section 4: the edit.
Providing a more comprehensive introduction to non-linear editing, Ed Gaskell will again save the embarrassment of posing those frequently asked questions. Although not specific to any software, the author guides the reader through just about every piece of video editing jargon there is. This will undoubtedly save the reader time when moving on to software specific user guides.
But before you even think about editing, I would strongly advise reading the pre- and production chapter (Shoot). As the author explains, editing can't be compared to writing a book. There isn't a blank canvass as you'll already "be excited about what you've shot and the possibilities of what you're going to do with it". To a large extent, the editing process is made that much easier by the quality of the footage available. Following the advice in this particular chapter should make for excellent footage.
In summary, "The Complete Guide to Digital Video" does an admiral job of living up to it's name. Those with an existing understanding of digital video may gain more from a publication dedicated to particular software or to shooting techniques... but for the complete beginner it's an ideal starting point. It's by no means the only book you'll ever need (and much of the information is freely available on the internet) but it's doubtful the beginner could learn so much so quickly.
