Welcome to FreeDV, the free version of Digital Origin IntroDV. FreeDV is digital video (DV) editing software that lets first-time digital video users experience the thrill of turning their videos into first-class movies right on their personal computers. FreeDV gives you a simple way to get started with DV.
This chapter gives you an overview of FreeDV's capabilities, shows you how to start a new project, and introduces you to the tools you'll use to edit video stories with FreeDV. You can add capabilities to FreeDV by upgrading to the complete version, as summarized below. (Select "Upgrade" from the FreeDV Help menu, or contact Digital Origin for further information.)
FreeDV's easy-to-use design is tailored for PC users unfamiliar with DV editing techniques and terminology.
With FreeDV, you can connect your DV camcorder to your PC with a single cable and easily transfer footage to the PC. You can then perform editing tasks such as rearranging clips using a storyboard, adding music or narration through the camcorder's microphone, creating transitions between clips, adding titles and credits, and previewing your story on the camcorder or a TV monitor. When finished, you can make a QuickTime movie to e-mail to friends, family, and colleagues or post on the web.
Because FreeDV is designed for the DV format, the quality of the video is determined by the quality of the camcorder. When you capture video to the PC for editing, the quality is maintained.
Once you've installed FreeDV, you're ready to start FreeDV and get to work creating a video story.
If this is the first time you're creating a new Story in FreeDV, it will display a Project Format dialog box. If you have already launched FreeDV before, choose File>New, then proceed to step 3.
- Choose a project format to use: NTSC or PAL, then click OK.
NOTE: NTSC is the most common standard composite video signal used in the United States. PAL is the most common standard composite video signal used in Europe. Choose the project format that's most appropriate for your equipment and output. FreeDV will use this format automatically when you create future projects.
- Specify a name and location for your project and click OK.
TIP! FreeDV will store video clips on the same disk drive as your project file. Since video captured to your hard drive requires considerable space (216MB per minute), choose a drive with adequate free space.
TIP! Click the New folder iconto create a new folder for the project file and all of the other files associated with this video story. Keeping all the files in a separate folder makes it easier to store them when the project is complete.
Three windows appear in FreeDV: the Library window, the Cutting Room window, and the Story window.
When you capture or import your clips into FreeDV, they appear in the Library window. FreeDV displays the first frame of each video clip in the Library window as a visual reference to the content of the clip. For more information on capturing and importing, seeChapter 2.
The Cutting Room window contains two smaller windows, the Clip Player and the Story Player.
The Clip Player (on the left) is where you view your clips and set Start and End Cuts (begin and end points) for them. The Story Player (on the right) is where you view the sequence of clips you've edited into a story, along with any titles and transitions you've added. For information about editing clips to create a story, seeChapter 3.
You can play back your story or your clips in the Cutting room. Video can play back in the clip window, or it can be displayed on the LCD screen or monitor of a camera that is connected to the system via FireWire.
To display the video on the LCD screen or monitor, check the Display to the Camera options in the Camera tab of the Options dialog. If the Playback to Camera option is enabled, FreeDV will not playback video in the Cutting Room and instead send video playback out to the Camera's LCD. (note: the Playback to Camera option is only supported if using Digital Origin's FireWire interface card). If you choose to edit without an attached DV camera, you should deselect the Playback to Camera option.
TIP! If you choose to edit without an attached DV camera and instead rely on the Cutting Room to view your Story, you may find that older computers are too slow to provide smooth playback of video clips. Use the Playback Options tab of the Options dialog to adjust the playback quality. These Playback options only take effect when not displaying video on the camera.
The Story window is a graphic representation of all the clips you included in your story, displayed along a timeline.
The Story window lets you quickly see the order in which you've placed the clips, where the transitions and titles (text) occur, and how the video portion of your story relates to the audio portion.
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