The power to modify certain movie files is not to the movie editors alone. With the advent of technology and the wide availability of devices to use, you can now make some movie files more personalized. You can add images, texts, audios, or even music to some of your favorite movie files easily on your personal computer. But before you start editing movie files on your PC, better know the options you have.



Getting Ready to Video Edit

Having a computer is not the sole requirement to edit movie files. If you start right away without getting ready for the process, you might just be wasting your time and some money. You might discover that you have a slow computer or you don't have enough know-how on video editing. So before you start editing movie files, you better check your computer first.

Is you computer capable of editing movie files? Editing movies require advanced or faster memory. If you have 512MB of access memory, then you're good to start movie editing. Also, make sure that there is no other program that might run automatically while you edit. Other running programs may also eat some of your computer's memory, making your editing slower, or worse, make your computer to hang.

Your computer should also have the right kind of video card. Without this, you won't be able to see the movie file to be edited. Also check the space of your computer. An hour of .avi format video can take about 13 GB of your hard disk. You should have more than that required space since adding texts, videos, sounds, and music will require more space from the hard disk. If you think you don't have enough space, better start erasing some of your unneeded files or transfer them to some saving devices like CDs, DVDs, or flash disks.

Aside from your computer, check also the connecting cables of your camera to the computer. Usually, you would need a USB cable to get the movie file from your DV video camera. It might also take more than an hour to transfer the video from your DV tape to the computer. So make sure that your camera's battery is ready to do that tedious job. It's better if you can provide an A/C adaptor for your camera so you can make sure that it won't turn off while transferring the movie files.

The format of your transferred video should also be compatible with the software you will use. Most video editing software applications accept .avi or .mpeg video formats. You can check out your software and see which format is best for it.

Lastly, before you begin editing, better prepare your script or at least your plan for the final outcome. It will be very time-consuming if you will start right away without having a plan. Think about the theme, the music you'll add, the images you'll incorporate, etc.

Tips for Fast and Easy Editing of Movie Files on Your PC

Check your Microsoft Windows version and see if you already have a Movie Maker there. If you still don't have the software, you can download some free video editing software. If not, you can download the trial version of some good names in the video editing software industry like Final Cut Pro, Pinnacle, Adobe Premiere, and Avid Express.

When you're already set, it's now time for the real job—editing. If it's your first time to edit movie files, better follow these tips so you won't get lost:

1. Choose the best video footages. You can do this easily by removing the unwanted footages first. Cut those that are not needed or those that were taken by mistake. After that, you can compile different scenes depending on their segments. You can also make separate clips and choose the best among them. But be careful in doing this since streaming videos repeatedly might lessen the video quality.

2. Create the movie flow. Place the video footages depending on their chronological order or your script's order.

3. Add transitions. After placing the videos to their proper order, it's now time to pick the best transitions. You can use only one type of transition so it may not be tiring to the eyes. You can also choose different transitions to make it more interesting. But many professional editors suggest using only a maximum of three transition types for movies.

4. Add other elements like images, sounds, and texts. After the transition, you can now add other elements you like. You might need to adjust the transition as you do this. Make sure about the timing or your movie will be obviously erroneous.

Creativity is the only key for you to make the most of what you have. Also, don't expect to finish one-hour of movie in two hours. It takes a lot of time editing videos. But you'll surely get the best results by giving it enough time and effort.