Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with editing

Video edit to include only action parts

ben5757 — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:41:12 -0800

What is the easiest way to edit a video file to only include the footage when there is movement in a defined area?

Need to edit

barrakuda — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:24:33 -0800

What are the best online and print/book resources for English language editors? Also, any current or past editors, do you have any knowledge, wisdom, tricks, hacks, for an editing newbie, which you would like to share? Thanks.

How can I work as a writing and editing contractor?

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:37:10 -0800

How can I get writing and editing contracts in Australia? I have held writing and editing jobs for the past couple years, for the government and large corporations. I'm unemployed at the moment, and was thinking of pitching myself to companies for contract or freelance work.

Does anyone have any experience with this or any tips for me?

I am a 'sole trader' in Australia, I have an ABN as well as personal liability and professional indemnity insurance.

My experience is in business writing and web content.

I would appreciate any suggestions on how to find work or approach companies - thanks!

What do you think of "Words Like Notes"?

jlhopes — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:08:32 -0800

I have tentatively given my freelance editing and design business the name Words Like Notes. What do you think of it? I am creating a name and website for my freelance editing and print layout/design business. I would like to have a name that is not just my name, but which covers the different types of work I do (editing, writing, layout, and some translation) and gives a sense of the style I aim for - light and refined, yet professional.

The name I have been going with is Words Like Notes. I like the sound of it, but I realize that it is not a straightforward name, and I'm concerned that it will just confuse people.

What is your reaction to the name? Does it convey anything? Does it turn you off? Do you have any suggestions regarding how to use the name, or modify it, or replace it altogether? Thanks!

Video-Editing for Dummies!

newfers — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:39:04 -0800

I'd like to make a presumably simple video in the style of a series of opening credits for a tv show. What's my cheapest way to do it, and how? I am attempting to make a short video for friends, and my idea is to have a 1-minute video playing and at 4 points during the video, a photo appears in the center of the video, with the friend's name underneath.
Each pic appears briefly, disappears (or twirls or shrinks, whatever - doesn't need to be anything special)... and then the next pic appears, until all 4 are done. It's kind of like a series of badly done opening credits.

Before I go ahead and purchase Premiere Elements, is there another easier or cheaper method to do this very thing, and if so, can you give very basic instructions? The only media I will be using will be the video clip and 4 image files to be placed within the video as it plays.

I use a PC primarily, but also have a MacBook Pro, so if iMovie can do this, I'd be happy, but I don't see the option as I played with the program. I'd prefer a PC solution, or a platform agnostic solution.

Possessive?

niccolo — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:55:07 -0800

Where should the apostrophe go in the sentence "In Memory of Great Loves Lost"? Loves is plural (referring to all the loving in the world), but does it possess "lost"? Should it be loves'? The closest example is Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost", but people apostrophe it many different ways. I've also tried to find where this example should go on the amazing apostrophe chart that was posted here a while back, but I am still uncertain.

Volunteer editing

Caduceus — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:41:58 -0800

Where can I get volunteer editing experience in the Portland, OR area, or via the internet? I have been looking for an editorial publishing job since I graduated with a Master's in June, and have had no luck. I'm living in the Portland, OR, area, where there are virtually no positions, so have mostly been applying for positions in other cites. My working theory is that there are so many qualified applicants around right now that no one has had any need to dip into the non-local applicant pool. I've also applied, at a lower rate, to local non-editorial but vaguely related positions, and similarly had no luck.

At this point it doesn't seem likely that I'm going to find a position in the near future, so to keep my skills from atrophying and to possibly make some new contacts, I want to start looking for opportunities to do volunteer editing or proofing work, but I don't have the first clue as to where to start. I'm looking for suggestions or ideas as to what organizations I could volunteer at and actually get to do editing work, rather than general office busywork or anything else that's not related to what I want to do. It doesn't necessarily have to be for an organization that does publishing, though that would be preferable.

Can I recreate Pixar (tm) in my basement?

tropikal — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:31:43 -0800

When it comes to editing and producing video, is it the CPU or the GPU the makes all the difference? I've read many different things and I work with video all the time and it seems that CPU power is what makes the difference when doing final processing and transcoding. Only GPU stuff is the GUI during editing. Rest after... The main reason I ask is, right now I use a 2.O Ghz Core 2 Duo Think pad, works fine but not great, and if CPU is the best way to process then would I be able to use something like an old IBM xSeries say this or maybe this Both of which are a lot cheaper than a "real" desktop PC or Mac and have more processing power to boot. I can deal with the size, and make mods for fan noise. Just not sure if it would actually work. Anyone actually do this? Know of someone IRL who has, maybe a link?

Help me get a handle on this mass of writing!

sister nunchaku of love and mercy — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:07:31 -0800

WriterFilter: I need help organizing this large, sprawling, and motley set of Word files into the first draft of a novel. I've written about 450 pages of what I hope will be a novel. I'm one of those people who has little trouble getting words onto the page, but organization and revision can be really difficult for me, especially with a longer piece of writing.

Right now the novel-to-be consists of dozens and dozens of separate files, each containing multiple scenes, single scenes, or even fragments of scenes. I also want to weave newspaper reports, interviews, and letters (all of which I've written) into the narrative.

In my mind I have a pretty good grasp of the content and flow of the whole. It's the process of organizing the mass of writing that has me cowed. I feel like I'm looking at a huge skein of yarn that I have to untangle before I can make use of it. I can see the beginning and the end of it, but the middle is a mass of knots.

Can you recommend ideas/techniques/strategies/software/how-to books to help me stitch this thing together into a draft? If I can do that, I think I can then revise it from beginning to end (as many times as necessary).

Bonus: fear of failure and the knowledge that this is going to be somewhat of a slog is paralyzing me to an extent, so I could use some suggestions to help with those issues, too.

FWIW I'm a Mac user and own the text editor Scrivener, which I think is awesome, though I haven't yet used it that much.

Thanks in advance, hive mind.

r/e/m/i/x/t/h/i/s/v/i/d/e/o

nitsuj — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:41:27 -0800

Okay, so how are people making those video remixes that are ever so popular right now? I can see it happening a few different ways:

1) They rip the original video from YouTube and pull it into Final Cut or whatever, and edit the sound bites and video with the music (made in some other program, presumably).
2) They rip the video from YouTube and bring the audio only into an audio/music program, and then re-edit the video to match the audio.
3) Some other way I'm not thinking?

What software are people using?

clip my clips

sandra_s — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:40:42 -0800

Possibly NSFW links. I need to make preview clips of a LOT of video files. What can I do to take existing WMV and/or MPG files and chop out say 10 seconds for a preview...Automatically. I have about 500 video files ranging in time length from one minute to 30 minutes.

Ideally, I'd like to take the 2 seconds of each file from the 20% mark, 40% mark, 50% mark, 60% mark and 80% mark so I have a 10 second "preview" clip of the entire clip.

Anyone know a program that can do this or something similar automatically? I'd even go for something that would let me pick any 10 second linear chunk in the video.

One other thing, all of these clips are adult in nature and total several dozen GB, so uploading them to an online service is not feasible.

TIA

What exactly is "fair use"?

Eumachia L F — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:16:05 -0800

What are the legalities of mentioning copyrighted characters in a work of fiction? I'm editing a novel for someone who has used well-known characters from several classic books as descriptors. They take the form of "they looked like [classic characters]" and "I had to wear my [character] t-shirt." This second one gets tricky, because it also carries over into trademark issues with character-related products that do exist. Does something like this require official permission from the copyright/trademark holders? (I'm guessing it does, but I want my ducks in a row when I tell her to change it)

Added wrinkle: what if the references are *slightly* incorrect (as in, a possibly intentional misspelling), but still close enough to be a clear reference to a specific character? Is this a loophole she could exploit if she really wanted to? Note, this is not my suggestion to her, but how it's presented in the text I've been given to edit.

How can I add annotation/text overlay to a video clip, in order to draw attention to items within the clip? Something a little more advanced than YouTube's annotation system, though.

newfers — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:45:42 -0800

I would like to add text annotations and other information to a video clip, as it plays. Other than the very basic YouTube method, is there any other way? I have a short video clip taken this past weekend, at a large camping event. In the video, I was flying in a helicopter over our camping area. I'd like to annotate the video, maybe freeze it briefly as it plays, circle our campsite with an onscreen marker of some sort, perhaps even add small ground-based pics of our site, superimposed over the video briefly.

Can anyone please give me any suggestions on which software might best help me accomplish this task? The cheapest software options are best, but I'm more interested in the best, PC-based software for the job, at any cost.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions on how to accomplish these tasks (in general terms, of course - not expecting a full tutorial!), I'd appreciate your efforts...

Edit Technical drawings thoroughly

edbles — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:19:10 -0800

I’m looking for help with how to edit my technical drawings more thoroughly. I am currently working as a drafter for a company that installs and sort of manufactures specialized equipment for theater. My college majors were theater and computer science, which means that I understand how our equipment functions and know how to use AutoCAD. But that my training in drafting conventions was a little fast and loose. We use a 2D cad software so one of the problems I’m having is adjusting things in one view and then forgetting to make the same change in a another view (i.e. changing the height of something in elevation and then forgetting to look at in section.) Does anyone have any recommendations on how to look at your drawings as if for the first time and edit things better? My brain tends to tell me that things look fine if I’ve seen something , multiple times even though it is no longer the correct solution. Or know of any resources for learning construction standards for drafting conventions (revision cloud notations and the like?).

Video Editing Software for Travel Videos

mary8nne — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:42:13 -0800

Can anyone suggest a simple Non-Linear Video Editing Software for Windows XP? One that can accept and output variety of Formats. For editing together Videos (MJPG) taken on a Canon Digital photo Camera. I've been messing around recording a few travel videos on my Canon Isus Camera which seems to take 640x480 MJPG Video (30fps). I thought it might be fun to Edit some together and add music tracks to them (and remove the current sound track where is it just wind noise).

Its not really a serious endeavour so looking for cheap / freeware editing apps for Win XP.

I've tried Windows Movie Maker but it will only allow export as DV (huge files) or this .wmv (WMV9 proprietrary format?) and is a bit chunky - but I did like the graphic time-line you get with WMM compared to the editing in the dark of AVIdemux.

Batch image edit needed!

libraryman — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:16:53 -0800

I am looking for a site/service/person who can batch edit the background out of 125 images and swap in a blue screen background. Any ideas? -The pictures are of ppl (from the waist up) holding a piece of 81/2X11 sheet of paper. -The background is a neutral textured wall, that blends pretty well with some of the clothes ppl are wearing. :( -Here is a link to three samples sample 1 sample 2 sample 3 -This is for a library centric music video project I am working on.
-Paying for this out of pocket, but I'm willing to pay for help!
-May have one or two other similar projects if this one works out well.

How do you write for your blog?

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:17:28 -0800

How do you write for your blog? I'm just starting out and would like to know how others approach writing and editing ...and maybe if there is a secret Bloggers Bible no one's told me about? After hanging around the sidelines for a while I've plunged in and started publishing posts on my very own wordpress blog. It's a personal/individual blog, but will likely be related enough in topic to get linked in to my career identity/professional life (ie: it's not about trolls). I listened to an inspiring little podcast by merlin mann and john gruber which talks about being-your-bestest at your one true thing. I can't say exactly what that thing is yet, but I'm okay with the probability that my blog is going to suck for awhile. So I'm keeping it off the market and not telling anyone (nope, not even my SO) until I'm convinced I can keep it up. I feel like my biggest challenge is getting my once-weekly post done and posted. I'm hoping if I just keeping writing I will hear my "voice" more clearly, and figure out wtf my blog is actually about. Does that sound right?

I'd like hear from some long-term bloggers (I know you lurk around here. I've read your blogs). Extraneous advice is also very welcome, and you can email me at whachameanwhatsablog@gmail.com, but here are my concrete questions:

1. Do you write on the fly, or have an editing process? While there are no doubt people in both camps, did you maybe start out your blog one way and change process? Any thoughts on one way or another? I can't decide if writing on Monday, editing Wednesday and re-editing for the post Friday is going to yield better results or just strangle me into dullsville.

2. What keeps you going? I'm sure there are more reasons for starting than you can swing a cat at, but (assuming you don't make cash-money with your blog) what keeps you at it? Any advice on getting through the slumps that will no doubt assault me? Any big no-nos here (like, maybe: Don't write about writer's block)?

3. Can you recommend a book/blog post/podcast/something that really helped you with blogging? I like reading. If you don't have the answers, please, give me something to read. (And yes, I read blogs ;). And if the aforementioned Secret Blogger's Bible does exist, then an Amazon link would be kindly appreciated.

Thanks.

"I am interested in your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter"

exlotuseater — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:03:02 -0800

Suggestions for English department newsletter? I am an Associate Editor for the English department newsletter at my uni, and am looking for hive mind input and suggestions. The newsletter has not changed a great deal over the past couple of years; it is 4-6 pages, usually one issue each month, and content has included noteworthy accomplishments of faculty and graduate students, faculty profiles (and their own tips on writing) awards, new faculty, new course offerings, news about publications, readings or other events, informal polls of students about favorite authors / books, etc. There is usually a clever “literary” quote and a list of author birthdays on the cover, and a themed crossword on the back (completed crosswords are entered for a prize, usually a book relating to the crossword theme).

I’m thinking I want to include an inset with upcoming conferences of note, but I’m unsure of what else to add—I want to hear what clever suggestions you all might have for me. I’ll have fairly wide latitude with content, and the content will dictate layout. It’s simple, follows formal conventions, and is conversational and friendly in tone.

What cool or clever ideas might you have for me?

Sources for short prose for public editing practice?

colinmarshall — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:02:32 -0800

Where might I find real-life examples of 300-700-word pieces of prose that are neither perfect nor unsalvageable — "problematic," let's say — on which I can practice the craft of editing? I'm starting a project on my blog: a series of posts wherein I dissect and try my damndest to improve a variety of shortish texts in order to publicly shed an additional shaft of light on the craft we call writing. It doesn't matter where they came from, how old they are, or what their subject matter might happen do be. In fact, the more diverse, the better: reviews, stories, blog posts, observations, dialogues, tracts, anything. The trick is to find material that hasn't already attained the status of "good" but isn't so broken that I'll be forced into an exercise of turd-polishing; I want a sound core of ideas, but a noticeably less-than-perfect execution. Any ideas?

What's the best (free) text-to-speech option available?

jluce50 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:38:46 -0800

What is the absolute best text-to-speech (TTS) option? Oh yeah, must be free... I'm in the process of proofing some documents I've written and I think having good TTS software (or a web app) would be invaluable. However money's tight, so I'm looking for free options at this point.

So far the best free option I've found is YAKiToMe, but it leaves something to be desired. The samples at the NaturalSoft website, particularly those from NeoSpeech and acapela sound incredible, but, alas, they are $30 a pop.

So are there any free options that come close to the quality of the paid options or is YAKiToMe the best I can do?

How can I stop iMovie from stretching out my iPhone videos?

chinese_fashion — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:59:23 -0800

How can I stop iMovie from stretching out my iPhone videos? I just got the new iPhone 3gs, specifically for the video function. And the vids look great, with this one exception: when I import into iMovie for a little editing, iMovie automatically rescales the video to fit the window, making everyone look all squat and wide and effing up the playback speed.

How can stop this from happening? I'd be fine with the requisite black bars on either side of the thing, just to keep the aspect ratio right.

I'm a pretty low-knowledge noob to video editing in general, iMovie's as far as my skills go. If anyone can suggest another (hopefully) free program or workaround, please please do.

Thanks!

"Rotate image 90 degrees" for VIDEO?

rexruff — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:42:40 -0800

Is there software that will "rotate image 90 degrees" for VIDEO ? Y'know how basic digital still cameras do video now? (Canon Powershot A590) Well, I was doing video and turned the camera on its side to grab a tall shot, like a dummy, as if it was a still. So now my video is on its side. Do you know of any video transfer software that will rotate my (one particularly beloved) video ninety degrees counter-clockwise?

I know, I know, laugh all you want....

Movie Scenes, As Seen on TV

joshrholloway — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:37:52 -0800

Have any movies ever filmed scenes during regular production that were meant specifically for the purpose of being used in a TV airing? Pretty simple question, I think. I couldn't find an answer on Google. I'm thinking of pivotal scenes in films that just could not be shown on television with any reasonable amount of editing, so the director shot a "self-censored" version of the scene meant to be included in TV airings of the film. What about additional dialogue or ADR specifically made for TV airings? I highly doubt either of these exist, but I'm just curious if the hivemind knows something I don't. Thanks!

Final Cut Nightmare

drjimmy11 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:24:38 -0800

Final Cut Nightmare I have a movie of my own on DVD and in the form of an ISO file. Yes, really, my movie, I made it a few years ago, then lost the original footage and Final Cut project.

I'm trying to cut it up into clips in Final Cut and upload it to the web. This is JUST A FUCKING NIGHTMARE.

Things I tried:
1) installing handbrake on the Mac. Just doesnt work at all. Software doesn't work.
2) installing Mac the Ripper on the Mac. This utterly worthless piece of software seems to only want a disc, not an ISO. it does not acknowledge my burnt DVD in the drive.
3) installing Handbrake on the PC, ripping with various codecs, transferring to the Mac. After a bunch of tries I found one that sort of works. However, the file, which is only 300mb or so, when imported into Final Cut is unusable. Won't play back, can barely do anything at all without a beach ball. This is on a Quad core Intel Mac pro with 8gb of RAM.

is there anything I can do to make this awful experience better? Is there some format i can rip the ISO to that will actually work? Is there another program, for PC or Mac, that can simply snip bits out of a long video clip, and that's it? Anything, please please please.

Help me load out my new travel machine.

damiano99 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:20:14 -0800

I just got a HP Mini 2140 HD. Other than the standard productivity software, can anyone who has this or something similar recommend decent software that will run well on it? Games, entertainment, editing (video/audio) and whatnot accepted. It's going to be a strictly "travel-only" machine so I don't have to haul my 17" laptop all over when I'm overseas for weeks at a time. I've already got Skype, VLC and the typical Office stuff on, but any other suggestions or anecdotes from current owners would be great. Thanks!

Btw, it's the XP version with 2gigs of Ram and the 160gig drive and the 1366x768 screen.