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All shots must adhere to the chronology of your story. This “selection, arrangement and modification” of the needed shots is called “editing”. There are basically several editing methods available:

 Online and offline editing

1. Online “tape to tape” editing which requires a tape player, tape (master) recorder and editing control unit. Unless you work with low-end systems, this process is very costly. It has also the disadvantage of making it complicated to change the “linear” editing process.
2. Offline editing with cheaper low-end machines. This requires copying (dubbing) the original footage with the time-code to a lower quality tape for editing purposes. Offline editing suites are inexpensive to buy or to rent. When the editing process is finished, you have a perfect time-code editing list called “edit decision list”. You now enter this information into the expensive online system, which is now able to  “re-edit” the footage according to the original time-code. Here you can make the final quality corrections and apply any desired effects. Again, this is done only with slowly disappearing tape-formats.

Linear and non-linear editing

There is another important technical video editing distinction:

1. Linear editing indicates that the selection, arrangement and potential modification of the pictures from a camera, tape or other sources is done in a “linear” form chronologically from the beginning to the end. For decades, this was the only editing method and was called just “editing”. Because of several disadvantages, this method becomes more and more obsolete.
2. Non-linear editing, abbreviated NLE, was introduced when computer software programs became available to “edit” and “manipulate” the pictures and accompanied sound. Non-linear editing nowadays is “standard” editing method. For all of us who started editing 35-mm and 16-mm film and tape-to-tape linear online editing, the technical and creative potential of NLE is mind bugling. Two of the popular NLE editing systems are Avid and Apple’s Final Cut Pro.

 “Uploading” digital video

Before you can edit your footage, it must be “available” on your editing system. Depending on your camcorder format, this footage can be on tapes, flash drives, hard drives or optical disc systems. You can “transfer” the footage though the following three actions:

1. Capturing is called transfer of a digital video tape from your camcorder player mode or separate tape deck to your editing system.

1. Ingesting is the process called if your camcorder recorded to a hard drive, optical disc or flash memory – and you “upload” your footage from these sources to your editing system.

1. Digitizing is the process called if you must use analog (non-digital) footage, which must be converted into digital video format first – before it is available for post-production.

Non-Linear-Editing unit

Editing is the vital part of any post-production process. Therefore, the NLE editing system is essential also. It has basically following components:

1. Editing software such as Final Cut Pro or Avid

1. Editing computer such as Mac or Windows based operating system (desktop or laptop)

1. Editing peripherals such as monitors, cards, external drives

Important Considerations

You can buy or rent the equipment. Both options have major advantages and disadvantages:

1. Buying causes gives you the opportunity to an unlimited access to the system, and you can configure it at your need and pocket book. The disadvantage is that even the “latest” system is going to be outdated in less than a few years. Upgrading is often not possible or financially feasible option.

1. Renting equipment is widely available in larger cities, and it usually offers the very latest and well-maintained equipment with all gadgets you wish to use. Most post-production rental places also offer excellent editing and technical experts you can hire for your job. Considering the complexity of some systems, this sometimes is not avoidable. The downside of renting is that is not always cheap, and you have just a very limited access (per hour or per day) to the editing system. The price, however, is often negotiable – especially if you are a repeating customer or rent the system for more than just a short time.

Additional considerations are whether you want a custom-assembled system (depending on your need and budget) – or a “turnkey” system. They are usually more costly, but if you summarize everything you are going to need, it might be a better solution. Do not forget that turnkey systems always include your favorite editing software and are always thoroughly checked – which often avoids frustrating bugs. As the mane says it, it is “turnkey”, ready to go. No time to waste.

Editing software

Before the invention of video editing software programs, no non-linear editing of any kind was possible. Remember, for decades, editing was done online (machine to machine) and linear (continuously from the beginning to the end). By today’s standards, this is considered “ancient”.

There are several video editing software programs on the market – from consumer editing (such as Macintosh’s iMovie) to high end. In the professional and broadcast sector, several manufacturers have emerged as leading providers:

1. Avid by Avid
2. Final Cut Pro by Macintosh
3. Premiere Pro by Adobe
4. Vegas Pro by Sony

Even though Avid was considered the leading contender for years, Final Cut Pro by Macintosh has won more and more popularity. It offers several versions of the software such as:

1. Final Cut Express
2. Final Cut
3. Final Cut HD
4. Final Cut Studio

It is very important to decide in a very early planning stage whether you want to go with the Windows or Mac OSX operating system. At the same time, you must definitely verify which editing software (and other components) are compatible with which operating system.

The Windows system sometimes has the advantage of being cheaper and has more hard- and software compatibilities with external gadgets. However, many professional like me consider Macintosh’s OSX a superior technology.

Please consult manufacturer’s information very carefully. Go also to dealerships as well as rental places and let them advise you. Additional literature (see last chapter) is very helpful also. Please avoid costly and time-consuming mistakes under all circumstances!

There is a wide variety of special effect and other “after effects” software programs on the market. They are all very specialized and offer different tools.

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   1. Adobe After Effects is a very popular program offering cross-network rendering, DVD authoring and more.

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   1. Boris FX provides a series of interesting video filters and pre-built animations.

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   1. Pinnacle Commotion goes beyond composing effects and enables you to use video painting tools.

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   1. Discrete cleaner converts nearly any video format to the format of your choice.

It is urgently recommended to carefully review manufacturer’s information on these and other software programs.