Video Editing

You may want to do more with video than simply record it "as is" with a camera -

  • add titles and transitions
  • string together multiple "scenes" or pieces of video
  • mash up several different formats of media - video, still images, audio, etc.
  • record narrated presentations
  • create photo slide show videos
  • add closed captioning for the hearing impaired

A wide range of video editing software exist, including several free tools.

Camtasia Studio from TechSmith is great for editing as well as producing video in many different formats. While the software is designed to capture video from your computer screen, it is also great at recording narrated PowerPoint presentations and allows you to import all types of media - video in various formats, Powerpoint slides, images, audio - into your video production workspace. The software includes an easy to operate story board area that allows you to visually layout your media resources. It also allows you to output your video in a variety of formats and styles. TechSmith has great video tutroials and documentation on the software. They offer a 30-day fully-functioning free trial of the software. The non-profit price of the software is $249 (regular price is $299).

WeVideo is an online video editor, suitable for use on Chromebooks and other cloud devices.

Adobe Premier is a higher end video editing solution that will probably provide much more than the average church/school videographer may need. However, Adobe's pricing for non profits and educational customers is fairly attractive and could provide a viable and reasonable solution. Be prepared however for a learning curve. There are some great courses on Lynda.com for Adobe Premier.

You can use online services to convert video from one format to another. One example is www.youconvertit.com. Upload your existing video, select the desired format for conversion, and in a few minutes you will be e-mailed a link for downloading the converted video in your desired format.

2/23/09 - From Pastor Chris Koschnitzke, Christus, Delavan, WI -

In order to edit video we purchased on our own Pinnacle Video Editing Software. It allows us to cut and splice our video as we need to. It also helps us to upgrade our DVD that we send to Whitewater cable access. Instead of just taking the video as is, I incorporate an opening slide that has our church name, logo, and date for the Sunday morning worship. Then, I add a second slide that has the Sunday of the church year/theme for the Sunday, with the readings, speaker, and Sermon theme. Then it goes right into the video, until our closing slide that has our church name, address, website address, my email address, phone number, and logo. I set that slide to last at least 10 seconds. And the words are in the colors of our logo. After all of these slides I'm able to put in transitions which give it a more "professional" touch.

Using this program has gotten easier now that I'm somewhat used to it, but making the slides and video does take some time. First, the program has to "make" the movie, going frame by frame. Then it writes it to the disc. It can take up to 2 hours, but I think it's worth it to put out a quality video. When I put the video on our website it does go a bit faster since there is less video to work with.