Power Learning 21

Basic video editing can be a breeze, unless of course you are trying to use super sophisticated programs such as Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere. Trying to learn these complex programs can leave you pulling out your hair trying to wrap your head around concepts such as containers, scratch disks, and multiple timelines. If basic editing skills are what you are looking for, I would suggest trying out QuickTime.

Getting Started:

If you have a Mac, this application is probably already installed.  If not, here is the link to download your free version.  http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/.  Once downloaded, you are only a few easy steps away from posting your instructional video.

First make sure your file type can be opened in QuickTime and supported by the Power Learning 21 site. File types that are supported are avi., flv., wmv., and mpeg.  If QuicktTime is not your default player for video files, you will want to right click on your file and choose to open it with QuickTime.

Next you will want to verify is the time code or current frame number of your video.  You can find this on the bottom left corner of your QuickTime window, next to our timeline.  You click on the number to switch between the two outputs.  You are able to manually insert a time code or frame number to control where your scrubber will jump to.

Now it is time to start editing!

Again, this program is for basic editing only and is best used to remove, combine, or rearrange existing video segments.  Drag your scrubber to where you want to start cutting. Editing your video is just like editing a document: you are basically editing by cutting and pasting from to create a condensed document from original content.

Let me give an example.  Suppose you want to cut out some introductory music from the beginning of your video. Follow these easy steps:

1.  Play video until the point where you want to start and pause video
2.  Hit the letter “i” as this will be where you will set your in point.  Be as precise as you can so you don’t miss any audio or video frames.
3.  Next you need to determine an out point.  Drag your scrubber to where you want your video to end and press “o”, for out point.
4.  You should see a dark gray bar between your in point and out point markers. Going back to editing a document example, think of this as a selected paragraph that you are going to edit.  Click on edit and then copy to copy your selection. Next open up a new video player by clicking on file and then new, and copy the video over.  Now just save your video (remember to save as a self contained video) and you are ready to upload to the Power Learning 21 website!

If you need more help with editing your videos, check out these QuickTime tutorials.

http://developer.apple.com/quicktime/qttutorial/

Or Contact Us here at powerlearning21.com

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