Pinnacle Studio’s Preview capture mode is an excellent tool because it lets you store more source material on your hard disk for editing purposes without using up quite so much disk space. Like MPEG capture, if you choose the Preview preset in the...

If you’re using the MPEG preset (your current preset is shown in the drop-down list in the upper left corner of the Capture Format tab), you can choose a standard group of settings or customize your settings.MPEG capture settings that you can adjust...

Pinnacle Studio has some really cool options for capturing video. Unlike most affordable video-editing software, Studio supports online and offline editing. Studio facilitates offline editing using the Preview-quality capture mode. When capturing...

Pinnacle Studio for Windows offers an amazing level of moviemaking power for its price. The software is available by itself for a suggested retail price of $99, or you can buy it bundled with digital (FireWire) or analog video-capture cards for...

Before you can edit video on your computer, you need to get the video into the computer somehow. Sorry, a shoehorn won’t work — usually you connect a cable between your camcorder and the FireWire or USB port on your computer. Of the two, FireWire...

Video files need a lot of space. Digital video typically uses 3.6 MB (megabytes) of space per second, which (if you do the math) means that 1GB (gigabyte) will hold about five minutes of video. You’ll also need working space on the hard disk — so...

The process of transferring video into your computer is often called capturing. Capturing digital video is pretty easy, but you should take some specific steps to ensure everything goes smoothly:Install your hardware. Your computer needs the right...

If you’re planning a slightly more format video shoot, you’ll probably want to bring the items on the basic checklist as well as these more advanced items:• Lights• Clothes/wardrobe for the cast• Make-up and hair-care items• Fans (to simulate...

This basic checklist includes important items that you’ll need on virtually any shoot, no matter how informal: Camcorder Your camcorder owner’s manual Extra charged batteries Spare blank tapes Lens cleaner Lens filters Tripod Duct tape Camcorder...

As you watch a TV show or movie, it is easy to forget that many of the subtle little sounds you hear are actually sound effects that were added in during editing, rather than “real” sounds that were recorded with the video image. This is often...

Ambient noise is the general noise that we don’t usually think much about because it surrounds us constantly. Ambient noise might come from chirping birds, an airplane flying overhead, chattering bystanders, passing cars, a blowing furnace, the...