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Free Video Creation and Editing Tools for Business and Personal Web Video

So you want to start making web videos for your business but you don't have a big budget? 

All you really need is access to a camcorder and to a computer because there are a lot of FREE resources available to you for creating your Internet and web videos. This includes a wide range free video editing programs and web sites. 

Actually, you probably don't even need a camcorder. You might not even need a camera or a web cam. There are lots of "free" video and images floating around on the Internet for you to borrow and use - as long as you are not trying to make money with your finished project.

However, lets assume you do have a way to capture your own footage and digital images. You can create a very nice web video by simply dissolving and panning across still images. Of course, most of us would prefer to start with real video that we shoot ourselves and then edit that.

The biggest gotcha is that the video files captured by some of the more inexpensive "flash memory" or DVD camcorders can be very difficult to edit. If you have a Flip Camcorder, Sanyo Xacti, Kodak QuickShare, DXG Quickshots or other small camcorder, you need to make sure that the video and audio captured by the camcorder can be easily edited by the software package you choose. You may have to use a video converter software package to convert the camcorder's unique video format into something more common that your computer will edit. 

Most of these compact and affordable camcorders record in some flavor of MPEG4 on an internal or removable memory card. You might need to do some research before you select your editing software. Do a quick web search on editing your camcorder's software and you should get a good idea on what type of software to use. 

The good news is that most mid level and up consumer camcorders record a more generic type of DV video that is easily edited. Most of the newer hard drive and memory card camcorders record a digitized video file that can be easily imported into your computer via a USB cable and then edited.

For flash and memory card camcorders, depending on what kinds of memory card the camcorder uses, and the kind of memory card readers on your computer, you may be able to simply pop out the memory card out of your camera and stick it directly into your computer for transfer and editing. A word of warning though - I prefer using the USB cable because the less times you handle the fragile memory card, the fewer chances there are for damage.

I also recommend creating a separate directory for raw video files on your computer hard drive and then transferring all your raw video files there - prior to editing them. Editing goes quicker when you are working with video and audio stored on a local hard drive rather than on the video memory card or the camcorder's hard drive. Transfer the video, unplug the camcorder and/or remove the card from the computer. Then edit!

If you are getting really serious about video editing, add an extra hard drive to your computer, and store all your raw video files there. Hard drives are so cheap now that it makes a lot more sense to dedicate a separate hard drive just for video. Your computer will be happier to as it will be accessing the editing program from one drive and the video from a different drive. If you have a standalone back up system, you might want to dedicate it just to backing up the raw and completed video files on your video drive.

If you have a tape based DV camcorder, the video signal needs to be converted into a digital format before editing. Luckily most camcorders have a USB or Firewire output jack makes it easy to do that for you. Plug in the appropriate cable to your computer and then transfer the files to your raw video hard drive for editing.

Unlike hard drive camcorders or flash memory camcorders that let you simply transfer a digital file, you will need to capture the real time video using your editing software. The capture process converts a selected part of the video and audio on the camcorder into a digital file, suitable for editing. You go through your recorded video and then capture the parts of the recorded video you want to edit. Don't bother capturing the bad stuff.

Webcam video can be captured and converted in the same way. Once you have your video stored on your computer hard drive, you can start to edit it. 

Free Editing Software

The good news is that there a lot of options for free editing software. This includes free editing software provided by Microsoft and Apple that is available when you buy a computer with those operating systems. For Windows, look for MovieMaker and for Apple, look for iMovie. Sometime the start up icons for these programs are easy to find. Sometimes you need to do a search or do a download from the Microsoft or Apple site. For example, with Windows 7, MovieMaker is part of the Microsoft Windows Live Essentials program. You may need to download and install it.

Another option is the free bundled software that you may get with your camcorder or other video peripheral or accessory. These are usually limited versions that allow you do to simple cuts and video assembly but not much more. However, as they are free, and come with your camcorder, you know that they will work with the video that you capture with your camcorder. A word of caution though - I have found that many of these "free" bundled programs are not the smoothest when it comes to user interoperability and often have very limited instructions.

There are also a bunch of freeware program floating around. Some like Zwei-Stein Video Editor 3.01 have been around for a long time. Others pop up, look good, get a lot of buzz, and then disappear into the technology desert. Often these freeware programs do not offer a lot of support or instructions and are better suited to those who are techy in nature. Also, many of these freeware programs will run on Linux.

Another good source fore free video editing programs are the demo versions of commercial software offered by most of the major commercial software makers. Some of these are simply light versions of the entire product, others are full versions that only work for a limited period of time or stamp a logo or product name on your finished work.

If you are serious about getting into video on a budget, this is often a good path to take as the software maker wants to provide an easy to use and enticing path to the next step in the software upgrade - buying a commercial video editing package. With many of the commercial video editing software packages coming in under $100, I strongly recommend considering this method of getting your feet wet with video. 

My recommendation for someone just starting out and with limited technical expertise and NO budget, is to start with MovieMaker for Windows or iMovie for Apple. Once you have mastered the entry level program and feel comfortable doing the basics of editing, then download and experiment with some of the free demos offered by Adobe, Ulead, Pinnacle and Avid.

Launched in 1999, Internet Video Magazine is the premier online resource for those who watch and make Internet Videos. In addition to thousands of great videos, we also feature hundreds of articles about how to shoot, edit, make and post Internet Video. Whether you make Internet video for fun or for business, we have articles and content for you. We also provide reviews of ma

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