Transferring and Editing Files

Once you have your footage, your next step is to get the video onto a computer for editing. If your capture device has a simple file-transfer method, like removable flash memory in the case of digital cameras, you can just move the files over to your PC and get straight to editing. The transfer process will be more involved if your footage is captured on tape or on another medium that must be played back while your editing software captures the video on the PC.

Almost all video cameras and professional recording decks released in the past few years have a Firewire port. There are two types of ports: 4-pin and 6-pin. An important thing to note is that both ports can connect to each other if you have the right cable. Camcorders will almost always have the 4-pin port. This port looks like a small rectangle with one of its long edges bent slightly inward. It can be identified by the words DV, Firewire, or IEEE-1394 near the port. A lot of modern motherboards have a Firewire connector, but if your computer doesn't have one, you'll need to buy a Firewire capture card. You can pick up basic cards for under $30 at your local computer hardware store or on the Internet. If you don't have any video-editing software, you may want to consider buying a card that includes a software bundle.

Firewire on the camcorder connects to...

Firewire on the PC. Yes, it's a workstation, but you get the idea.

Some camcorders have a USB video output. You'll want to make sure that your computer has USB 2.0 and not USB 1.0 or 1.1. The latter standards are too slow to handle video transfer, but fortunately anything released in the past few years will have USB 2.0. If your computer doesn't, you can pick up a USB 2.0 card from a computer hardware store (or online) for around $20. There are a variety of USB connector types, so make sure you have the proper cable to link up your device to the computer.

Once you have your devices connected, launch your capturing software. You'll most likely want to use the software that came with your camcorder or video adapter. The software should have a manual with instructions on how to capture and edit your video. Bundled editing software can be anywhere from really basic to fairly complex, so take your time with learning the tools.

If you want more-advanced editing software, you'll need to throw down some serious cash. Products like Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple's Final Cut Pro will cost you hundreds of dollars. Alternatively, you can purchase older versions of the software for a discount. Or, if you're a student, try to pick up a student copy through your school. If you don't have software with your device, you can use free software to capture and edit your video. Microsoft has Windows Movie Maker bundled with Windows XP, and we've used VirtualDub in the past with success. Once you have your completed video, you can shrink it down to a manageable file size using a variety of free applications.

And don't forget to upload your videos once you're done. Good luck and have fun!