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Requesting your experience and expertisehat should I be aware of to help minimize issues when creating a video project?

I will be putting together a video over the next few months that will include video clips from a Canon HV10 camcorder, music, photographs, and possibly video clips from Hi8, 8mm, or other sources.

This will be done with VS X2 and Paint Shop Pro X2.

Being new to VS & PP, I'm looking for a list of recommendations for configuration settings and other things to keep in mind so that the various video and audio sources sync properly, the project renders, and the final result (DVD) plays like a Hollywood production.

(I'm making the assumption it is far easier to have the correct settings when building and working on the project versus adjusting or correcting them after the fact!)

Thanks,
greg

For the particular variety of source video you describe, the main thing to look out for is Field Order. It will depend how you capture the Hi8 and 8 mm analogue video, but the best way -- and format -- for that is to use either a firewire capture device if you have the money; or else a mini DV or Digital 8 camera used as a passthrough device connected to your analogue camera and via Firewire to your computer. (Or Digital 8 actually playing the analogue Hi8 or 8 mm tape). This allows capture in high quality, and easy to edit, DV/AVI format.

But you can't use VS12 to capture using any of these as there is a bug which has not been addressed by Corel since VS11 that prevents capture via firewire in the above circumstances. However, you can still capture using Windows Movie Maker (again in DV format) or a small freeware program called WinDV (windv.mourek.cz).

I also don't know if you can use your HV10 as a passthrough device, though I suspect you can. But you would need to set it internally to output in standard definition DV rather than high def HDV format.

This leads me back to Field Order. Your HV10 outputs HDV which is high definition mpeg-2. But it uses Upper Field First. If you use the above methods to capturing Hi8 and 8 mm analogue as DV, that will be Lower Field First. A fundamental rule of video editing is that you should not mix Upper and Lower Field First video in one single project. So when filming with your HV10, then when you capture, I would capture from it with the camera set to output standard definition DV (lower field first) rather than its default Upper Field First mpeg-2. That way everything will be using the same Field Order throughout the project.

Here is my check list:

I'm currently working on a Family Xmas DVD....I got some old family film transferred professionally last year and did the same for this year...I will be mixing video and stills from other sources this year)

1) Think about who the audience is and how will they be watching it (for me this is mostly DVD)

2) Start thinking about how you are going to present it...what style (comedy, serious, documentary etc). Consider the narrative, what is the story? How do I show it?

3) start gathering your assets like music, stills, video. graphics and even fonts!

4) With your video assests , majority rules in the format (for me this is usually DV AVI) but the main issue is Field Order. I tend to go with the majority of my assets so I have to do the least re-encoding. I use SUPER to do any re-encoding...I have never updated it and it still works

5) Start doing some rough laying out, putting the stills in order and working out what music will go with what video/stills. I'll take my time doing this and sleeping on any ideas...sometimes even a few days...just mixing ideas around and writing ideas on paper

6) time to get cracking and start editing...I lay all the assests in a Library folder, set up my special working folders and and telling VS to use that in File/preferences.

My first session is always a long one and I like to get it in rough shape. from the rough shape I usually get an inspiration with an intro sequence...I then start working on that.

7) Keep tweaking till It's all right....

I use this for my long projects

The quick ones I do rough LOL!

And I would basically follow the tabs at the top of VS: Capture, then Edit, Effects, Overlays, Titles, Audio, then output (Share). Following this order keeps things simple. And, you can always go back and tweak things later.