In This Issue:

Tarpon Movie...Read

Tarpon Terror...Read

Will Fish For Gas...Read

Boat Sinks...Read

Fish n' Clips™ Video Editing Tips

We encourage anyone to add any suggestions they have for editing videos. The Fish n Clips Forum has a section devoted to videography. Check it out to get more information on this topic or to post new information.

Here are some editing tips we've discovered:

Capture
Use any video editor's capture mode to get your raw video from your digital video camera onto your computer. By watching the video as it's captured, you can take only the good footage from your raw video. This is the first step in reducing the time and size of your video saving a ton during the rest of the edit. Each capture section will be an individual video file that you'll piece together next.

Storyboard and timeline
The storyboard or timeline will have the 4 tracks to place your video. One each for the clip, music, narration, and effects. Some have more some less. You simply select each video clip that you captured and place it on the timeline in the sequence you want it to play - I find the timeline the best mode to work with. Using the other tracks you can add transition effects in between clips, add text overlays, add background music and even narrate the video.

How much Editing?
The more bells and whistles you add to the video the slower it will run, longer to render, and in general be a much larger file. When is enough and what is too little? Adding text to the scene can add if used sparingly. Background music is almost a must! Just watch some of the best YouTube videos and see what they put in, how fast they run and so on. Ever see a boring TV or movie that you thought could have been made more entertaining with just a little music? Exactly. Most all video needs some help in setting the mood for the scene.

Narration
Narrating a video can add to the over all effect of the video but first decide what you want the viewer to get from the video. Mere entertainment or details such as learning how to tie a fly or build a lure or rod. As you notice how movies and TV provide narration, notice the format. Educational videos need narration. Action fishing, well it's questionable as we can see what's going on and interpret the film ourselves. My tip, use it sparingly.

Background changes
Having the video change shots rapidly with the background constantly changing makes for a much larger and slower video. The format of the video looks for changes in the next frame and only rewrites the changes making it much more efficient. So the interview where the guest sits and nothing but the face movements change, will run much faster than the action packed shot of the bear snatching the anglers salmon off the end of the line as the camera pans wildly. With that said, you need to fine the happy medium between the two and only use the action when needed. Most fishing videos suffer from a lack of action. Watching the water trickle by with sounds of birds in the background while the angler waits for a bit, well this can end up on the cutting room floor - a real snoozer. So make a shorter length video filled with more action and the outcome with regards to the bite used will be the same. Instructional videos such as casting, lure building, and fly tying will be longer but the bite will be very conservative as the camera is generally mounted on a tripod and the background is not moving.

Effects
Using too many transitions (effects between clips) will slow down the video. Most movies you watch don't use them and for good reason, they don't add to the story telling. Simply cutting to a new clip works well for most but there are times when a swipe or slow motion change will set the mood or motion of the up coming scene. Use these sparingly. The most used transition is the fade to black at the end of the video where you want to add the credits.

Text
Limit the use of text to your advertising videos and the opening and closing credits. A good video showing a great fishing experience can be told with the video and possibly some narration. The outdoor type channels on TV all have a format going back to the first produced Wild Kingdom show. This format works for them but your video can be much more as you are not producing a show a week. You can work in shots when filming that can put these shows to shame. Watching an Alaska fishing program the other day was so boring I almost shut it off! And it was with a top outdoorsman that does this every week. The shots were of a kid catching salmon over and over and over. Basically no action and no music. Hollywood would have slammed the door on this guy. Would text have helped this show? No! It needed music and action.

Music
Use it? Most definitely! How much? To suit your taste but here are few tips. Loud rock and roll and rap music in a fishing video used when the scene is supposed to be a serene view of the fish just before it strikes, well I'm sure you know the result. Use the music to set the tone of the clip. Slower softer music as we watch the fish coming toward the fly or lure increasing as he gets nearer and pounding as he engulfs it... and then the hard hitting rock as the fish jumps and fights his way back in the water and makes the fast run. Now that will keep the viewer's attention! Many of the scenes need no music especially if the persons in the scene are going to be talking. Use your best judgment from your years of watching interesting shows and movies that held your attention.