First a quick definition re ‘professional’, I am using it to refer to anyone who creates video for digital signage as a significant part of their employment and has appropriate expertise.
Video may be created either by filming then editing or by working solely on a computer so we will consider both of these.
Filming: Professional video shoots are fascinating exercises in organization. Even seemingly simple shoots can involve scripts, storyboard, director, film crew, the equipment (camera, lights, audio, dollies, cranes, cabling), actors, models, extras. And that is before it gets to the editing suite. Very often, possibly most often some or all of the equipment will be rented.
Computer Creation: At a simple level this will involve authoring and editing and the usual software are any of:
- Adobe Creative Suite: Amongst these After Effects is very popular and seems to be an essential part of the toolkit.
- Apple Final Cut Studio.
- Avid Media Composer
These software packages not only cram in significant functionality but also support plug-ins from companies providing specialist tools. In addition to these there are software packages for 3D modeling and rendering.
I find that some lower cost software provides a subset of the functionality of these professional software systems but is not always easier to use. In this blog we will be looking for software and systems that are easy to use.
Update: Here is an example of an After Effects plug-in, also suitable for Final Cut Pro, this allows speeding up or slowing down of video using interpolation when slowing down: Twixtor.
Leave a Reply