If you're reading this article, it most probably means that you have finished filming your video, and now you're at the editing stage, but you're not quite sure what you'd like to do to your video and which effects you would like to use. Am I right? If I am, don't worry because in this article, you will find plenty of ideas to help you to get stuck in with your video editing.
One of the main annoyances I find when I've filmed a video is colour that needs correcting. This can easily be fixed by adjusting the colour levels, or for a darker or lighter look the brightness and contrast can be changed. If you do not want to play about with the colour levels, you can put a black and white effect on the video which eliminates the need to adjust the colours, which will also save you time when editing.
If you are shooting a film, as opposed to another type of video, you might want it to have the 'Hollywood Widescreen Effect.' You can achieve this, simply by putting a black bar across the top of your video, and another across the bottom of your video. This will give the illusion that your video is 'wide screen'.
Fast motion is popular with the makers of music videos to show the progression of time, when a lot of time isn't available. To do this, simply film your video, then speed it up, or just speed up the clips of video that you want to make faster.
How about trying the opposite of fast motion in your video; slow motion! It is the same concept as fast motion: just film your video and slow it down when editing. Slow motion is especially effective if you are filming a wedding or a similar video.
A nice effect to add to a home movie is a title scene at the beginning (similar to ones you see on films) but containing information like a title of the video, the date and maybe a bit of an introduction, so it is clear which video it is when you come to watch it in the future.
A great way to make your video a bit more fun is to add music and/or sound effects. There could be a song that is particularly relevant to your video, or a funny sound effect could make that clip of your friend falling over extra funny!
Make sure when working on your video, you have frequent breaks so that your eyes can have a bit or a rest. This is essential if you want to make your video great as we are on our best working form after having a break. Although it isn't a video effect, I still think it's pretty important!
Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 is older than a lot of the versions currently available, but still uses a host of features enabling you to create fantastic videos. In this particular article, I am explaining how to apply a basic video effect to one or more of your videos. You should be able to follow this guide if you have an older or newer version of this software.
If you already know how to transfer your video from your camera onto your PC, then you can go right ahead with this mini tutorial, but if you are unsure, consult your camera instruction manual for guidance.
You can begin by opening up Adobe Premiere Elements and selecting New Project from the options. Name your project and select a folder in which to save your work to. Once you are done, click OK and the program will load. You should now be presented with the work area.
Located on the left of the work area is a box named Media, displaying all video clips, effects and transitions. It should already be on the Get Media tab, but if not, click the Camera button to open this tab. Click the Files and Folders button to search your PC for your video files. Once located, click open to import them into the program. They should now be listed in the Media panel. Repeat this process to import further video clips.
At the bottom of your work area is the My Project box, with a grey box asking you to drag your video here. So hover the mouse over the video file you want to place first, then click and hold the button down as you drag the file from the Media box to the My Project box at the bottom. Release the mouse button and your video should now be in the My Project box. Next, drag your second video clip onto the new available space after the first clip in the My Project box. You should now see both clips next to one another on the time line.
Click on the Effects and Transitions icon on the Media box, displaying a list of all available effects. The Video Effects list should already be opened, but if not, double click on Video Effects, or click the small white arrow next to it, this should now open the list for you. In this example we are going to apply two separate effects, one on the first video clip and one on the second.
Firstly, double click on Distort, or click the small white arrow next to Distort to open up the list of options. Hover over Mirror, click and hold, then drag the effect onto the first video clip in the My Project window. The effect should be active, but you need to tweak it a bit first to be able to see it. So on the right side of the screen, on the Properties box, click on the small white arrow next to Mirror. This will open the properties for that effect. After the word 'Reflection', there is a number, in the colour blue. Hover over this and notice the mouse cursor changes. Click and hold, then drag the mouse left or right, watching the Monitor window in the centre for a live update of the effect on the video clip. Also play around with the other numbers on the Mirror Properties, dragging the mouse left and right to see how it affects the clip. Once you are satisfied, leave it alone.
Next, in the Media box, in the Video Effects list, drag the effect Wave Warp over and onto the second video clip. Open the Wave Warp properties box on the right as before, and play around with the settings until the desired effect is achieved. Click Play in the Monitor window in the centre of your work area and watch as your clip appears to mimic the movement of water. Then click your first video clip in the My Project window and watch your whole creation from start to finish.
If you are happy, burn the creation to disk, or to your hard drive and watch it back. With a little practice you can really impress your friends with this.
The green screen video effect is amazing. You stand in front of a green backdrop and hit record on the video camera. Then, you drop the footage into your video editing software, select a new background, apply the chromakey filter and you are instantly transported to a new location. You can be in a shiny new office, standing in a high-tech virtual set, on the beach, or even on the moon. At least, that is how you imagine things will work.
All to often, the first attempt you make at the green screen effect produces disappointing results. When you try to remove the green background in your editing software, you do not get all of the color to disappear. You play around with the settings to get more of the green to go away and suddenly the middle of your shirt disappears. You make more and more adjustments until things look better. You have lost all of the fine details around the edges, but the green is gone. But, when you hit play, the edges of your footage dance around like lighting bolts. You go back and blur the edges until they turn to mush.
After hours of tweaking free vfx download and fine-tuning, you have created bad green screen video.
Creating Bad Green Screen Video is Easy
The secret that most people selling the tools and software for the green screen video effect do not tell you is that it is really easy to create bad results. YouTube is littered with examples of horrible chromakey video. But, there is another secret. It is not much harder to produce fantastic chromakey video.
You do not have to spend thousands of dollars or hundreds of hours of effort to create videos you are proud to share with the world. One major key to success is how you light your screen.
The Big Screen Lighting Myth
There is a big misconception about shooting green screen video that comes from the companies selling screen and lighting kits. Search online and you will see an endless list of options for purchasing a kit that includes everything you need to shoot green screen video. The list of included items is always the same. You get a green muslin screen, a support stand to hold up the screen, and three lights. You always get three lights, and that is the problem.
To get the best results from the process, you need to light the screen separately from the subject. An ideal green screen lighting kit includes five lights. Two lights are dedicated exclusively to lighting the screen itself. The other three lights are used to light your subject.
The Best Lights for Your Green Screen
Flat even lighting is the goal when lighting a green screen. Any variation in brightness will make it harder for your editing software to remove the background while preserving edge details. In a home office video studio, space is usually at a premium, so you can afford to use big soft boxes or place lights far away from the screen. The easiest way to get good results is to use fluorescent or LED bank lights.
A bank light is nothing more than a large flat (usually rectangular) light fixture. Professional versions just look like fancy fluorescent shop lights turned sideways. In fact, you can make your own from inexpensive parts purchased at your local home center. There are a few things to watch out for when making your own. But once you know what to buy, it is easy to do.
LED bank lights are more expensive to purchase, but they last forever, have no glass tube to break, and can usually be dimmed to dial-in the perfect amount of light.
Placing The Lights
Lighting your screen with bank lights is easy. You place one light on each side of the screen. The lights should be oriented vertically so that the light shines out evenly from top to bottom. Adjust the angle and distance from the screen until the entire surface of your green screen is lit at an even level of brightness.
Once your screen is properly lit, you can use the other three lights that came with your kit to light your subject. Make a few critical tweaks to your camera settings and you will quickly be shooting amazing green screen video to share with the world.
Read this online greenscreen guide and become a Home Office Green Screen Instant Expert. The guide covers setup, lighting, and shooting for professional results. It includes a detailed tutorial for making your own inexpensive bank lights and a list of essential camera setting tweaks.