Top Tips
- Use bins. Bins, otherwise known as folders, can really speed up your editing by creating an organised work space. Do this both inside of your editing and wherever you save the clips to on your computer.
- BACKUP! This is probably one of the most important tips. Always always backup your files and projects. Once they are gone, they are gone and if you’ve filmed something particularly special then you won’t want to use it. We use these hard-drives. Bare in mind that if you buy a big hard-drive (such as a 3TB one) then if that breaks you have lost 3TB worth of work whereas if you buy 3x 1TB drives then if one breaks you still have 2TB of your work.
- HIT SAVE! Equally important as the step above, frequently click on the save button, especially if you are able to just to export it or add an effect. It’s better to save it rather than have it crash and start again.
- Don’t use all of your footage. Typically, you should only use about 1/3 of your footage, unless you are filming specifically scripted scenes. You will overshoot when you are out so that you have more options when it comes to the edit and always only use the best shots. If you have a shaky shot that isn’t essential and it’s not that good then don’t use it.
- Focus on sound. Videos aren’t something that we just watch, we listen too and the sound is arguably more important than the visuals. Film with decent audio equipment and if you have to edit the sound then do so.
- Film & Edit everything. A family party can be a great thing to film and edit. It’s easy to do it basic but build up your skills and be creative and that’s exactly how we got to the stage that we’re at; just film, edit, learn and repeat.
Film, edit, learn and repeat
At BTP HQ we have use a variety of software for editing, exporting and burning our videos. In the early days we used Windows Movie Maker, of course, followed by Sony Vegas Movie Studio which we used until December 2015 and we currently edit using Adobe Premiere Pro, as part of the Creative Suite bundle.
In terms of hardware we use a custom built PC with dual screens – now this may sound very technical and expensive but it’s not. I wouldn’t have a clue how to build a computer so we went to PC Specialist who specialise in custom making computers for a specific use such as gaming or video editing. We got a computer with better specs that Apple’s cheapest product for a cheaper price. Apple is definitely a solid brand and lots of companies use apple, although they are expensive and you can get a better computer or laptop by looking around. In the long run it makes a big difference.
