Timeline Editing Style / Results

[EvaFan]

So, I've tried two different ways of finishing a timeline. Back in the old days I used to streamline edit (Just work my way from left to right on the timeline till the end) selecting clips as I go. I import all my video through 1 avs file. I have no idea how other people do it and i was hoping through this thread i could learn some other ways. I heard my way is really ram intensive but i haven’t had any serious problems yet.

The only REAL problem I've had with that editing style is that I found myself using things early in the song that could of been used better elsewhere. When your trying to tell a story or keep stuff in order in an AMV then that is a problem.

Recently I've been editing by jumping around on the timeline after looking at clips then listening to parts of the song that they would fit best to. The end result was little to no sense of order, time correlation, or story flow. However there was a slight better change in sync and intensity of the amv. Felt kind of randomized though and i don't really like that feeling while watching amvs.

I don't know which is better, maybe it depends on what your trying to accomplish. Like for action amvs maybe option 2 is better? Drama / romance option 1?

Thoughts? What’s your editing style? It doesn't have to be the 2 I listed obviously... I'm interested in learning other possibilities and their good/bad points.

[Rapture**]

I heard my way is really ram intensive but i haven’t had any serious problems yet.

That's true. Using .avs scripts is slow as hell,since then AviSynth and your editing software uses all the filters. With pile of filters,you probably need a SUPER PC level computer to edit without lags.

For example me : I'm using AviSynth to Clean Up my footage,and few other things,sometimes to create fakeAVIs. Then,I put my script into VDubMod,remove audio steam(that normalises size of segmented footage),choose compression (lossless),and just put the clips I'm using into my Vegas.

For now, I have all of Love Hina series segemnted in Lagarith on my HDD (of course I removed obviuosly needless clips),and adding clips I'm going to use.

[godix]

I heard my way is really ram intensive but i haven’t had any serious problems yet.

It can be. There is a way to limit how much ram an avs script can use if you were having a problem. If you have the ram it's a better method than the clip method because you can easily change your mind on what scene you want to use without having to go back to grabbing source.

As for how to fill up the timeline, different people work different ways and what works for one won't always work for another. Me personally, I listen to the song several times and get a mental picture of how I want the video overall to turn out like. Then I mentally focus on a few more notable musical spots and work my way from there. I find that keeps me in mind of how overall I want everything while I focus on musical highlights and shove 'filler' type stuff to points that aren't musical highlights.

[lynit]

Yeah, I use the clip method. I usually plan out my videos before I start editing them so I can figure out what clips to make and all that. Editing, I used to do linear-style (Work from beginning of song to end), though I've started spending more time on certain parts of songs and stuff.

=P

[jubjub2]

Before I edit, I usually listen to the song repeatedly to get a sense of what I want as far as scene selection for the different sections of the music.

When I set up my timeline, I put the parts together I have clear idea for first, then work in the rest. My betas usually have huge gaps between edited segments, and even those first edits are usually changed in the process, because the scenes work better in different areas for the final project.

I use the 'clip method', which is time consuming, but for organizationally challenged me, it works. At the end, I also have gigs of clips I never use in a project, but have on hand just in case I need 'em.

[CodeZTM]

Well, actually I have two different styles of editing videos.

The first is my most recent aquiring of editing. First, I will plan out my AMV and decide what type of AMV it is going to be. Then, based on that, I use AVS and VDUBMOD to get clips. I normally get around 50 or so clips before I start actually editing. Then, once I have my clips, I will start putting together the timeline. If, at any time, the clips I have don't match, I will delete and replace them with other clips. This method is time consuming, but worth it if you're not on a deadline.

However, I also just simply do regular editing as well. This means, that I will sit down, throw the song on the track, listen for cut breaks, make clips appropriate to the area, and finish the video that way.

Of the two, I like the second on better, because it makes it easier on my Hard Drive. Thought the first one has made me two really good AMV's...

[Inaaca]

I always rewatch the series first and listen to the song a bunch of times.

I try to plan out as much of my video as I can on paper before I dive into the editing program, or at minimum have a general idea from verse to verse. The last thing I want to have happen is discover that I've run out of good scenes halfway through my vid.

I edit in order from beginning to end, so I can preview the video as I go and I can continuously get a feel for how it flows as it grows. With the video planned out beforehand, it prevents me from running dry on footage, or using footage in a less desireable spot while I'm editing. Also it makes editing go a tad faster if you know what you're going to do ahead of time (even though extra time is spent in the planning stages).

If I'm doing some complex editing, like masking, etc, I might put the simple cuts and fades on the timeline first and then return later to add the details in.

[JaddziaDax]

i do the more emotional parts first, then fill in the rest...
rina gets mad at me for all the blank spots

[CrackTheSky]

I make clips - I have a general concept in mind for my video, and I go through and make clips based on what would look good for that concept. I end up making waaay more than I need to, usually - by the end I typically have around 200 clips, and each clips is anywhere from 2-20 seconds long. Then I open the folder that contains all the episode subfolders (I organize clips by episode), and when I need a clip I look at the thumbnails I have and decide which to use. Hasn't failed me yet - I've never tried editing with .avs files because I don't like the thought of scrubbing through 24 minutes of footage to find a three-second clip :/

[dj_ultima_the_great]

For the technical side, I make lossless clips. I don't entirely trust editing with scripts, and while it's tedious to render all of those clips, I find it to be very organized.

I edit in a very linear way, left to right. I also tend to use the clips in chronological order. Maybe this is just because of the types of videos I make, but I've always done this. However, this only applies to single-source videos. If I multi-source, then chronology gets thrown out the window.

The only major exception to that rule was How Happy You Made Me, the last WMM2 video I made, which used all sorts of clips out of order to tell a silly (but cute) story. However, I think that a lack of chronology was important here, because I only had fifteen minutes or less of footage to work with. It would have been nearly impossible to keep the clips in order and still make a coherent video. (This is a single-source 'Fun' video.)

Let the World Crash was a strange one. I was telling a story, yes, but I wanted the clips in exact time order. The only exception was the bridge of the song. The clips came from a fairly early episode but had such significant dramatic imagery that I didn't think it was appropriate to put it any earlier in the video, when I was still showing the main couple's happy scenes. (This is a single-source 'Romance' and 'Drama' video.)

I'm pretty addicted to chronology in single-source videos. I'd like to get to a multi-source again, so I can really mix it up.


- Jen