Canon HF100 - Need Help with video editing

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StarsFan4Life

Golden Member
May 28, 2008
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Hello all! Good to see most of you again and some...well...we will just leave it at that.

I was recently married on November 1st of this year and have JUST NOW had the time to sit down and convert my wedding video into dvd's for the family. I currently own a Canon HF100 (great HD camcorder) and Sony Vegas 8.0 Pro. I am still learning this but I plan to get a book and video tutorials on how to effectively use this camera and software.

For now...all I can convert these HD files to is to a DVD. Tonight I gathered all of the .MTS files into Sony Vegas Pro 8.0 and at 13.0gb and 1:55:28 of realtime video, I thought it would be best to convert them to 1 .avi file. This has taken nearly 4 hours to render. Needless to say, it is taking awhile.

However, now that I have come back to my machine to see how they turned out...did I do the right thing? What file type would be best to convert and burn my original files to a playable DVD for all of my family. I do plan to purchase a Blu-Ray burner when the prices come down and media is not $8 a pop. For now, I want to convert and burn to dual-layer 8.5gb Verbatim dvd's. What is the BEST way to approach this?

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Hey glad to see you back on the forum! How are you enjoying your HF100? :)

I can't speak for Windows apps because I use a Mac, but my basic workflow is:

1. Import footage & convert to an editable format (ProRes in my case)
2. Edit clips (cut shots, add audio, transitions, filters, etc.)
3. Output using Compressor
4. Burn to DVD using DVD Studio or iDVD

DVD resolution is NTSC, which is 720x480. Depending on your DVD mastering app, it may convert the footage for you, or it may require a certain format(s) going in. Easiest way would probably be to output the movie to something like a 720x480 AVI and then convert to a DVD with whatever software you use. Although DVD discs are not high-resolution, footage from an HD camcorder still looks great, even downscaled.
 
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StarsFan4Life

Golden Member
May 28, 2008
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Kaido! I am really enjoying this...now its time to edit some of this video.

Lastnight I took the 13gb of .mts files, combined them in Sony Vegas Pro 8.0 and just straight up rendered them to avi at NTSC widescreen. The avi file came out to 23gb! The quality seemed a bit low as well. That took about 4 hours to render.

I then created an MPEG-2 DVD widescreen format that took about 5 hours to do but the end result was a 4.8gb file that played decently, but the quality was a bit low again. Now the original shooting was done in low light and I realized that this camera isnt the best for shooting HD video in low light levels, but is there a way to render this video and take out some of the grainyness and lighten it up a bit?

I have purchased Magic Bullets for Sony Vegas Pro 8.0 and have all this expensive software/hardware and am NOT using it to its vast potential. What do you suggest I do here?

I also downloaded Sony DVD Architect that can help me convert and make a playable DVD with the ability to create menus. This is something I am looking forward to!
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,799
7,342
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Originally posted by: StarsFan4Life
Kaido! I am really enjoying this...now its time to edit some of this video.

Lastnight I took the 13gb of .mts files, combined them in Sony Vegas Pro 8.0 and just straight up rendered them to avi at NTSC widescreen. The avi file came out to 23gb! The quality seemed a bit low as well. That took about 4 hours to render.

I then created an MPEG-2 DVD widescreen format that took about 5 hours to do but the end result was a 4.8gb file that played decently, but the quality was a bit low again. Now the original shooting was done in low light and I realized that this camera isnt the best for shooting HD video in low light levels, but is there a way to render this video and take out some of the grainyness and lighten it up a bit?

I have purchased Magic Bullets for Sony Vegas Pro 8.0 and have all this expensive software/hardware and am NOT using it to its vast potential. What do you suggest I do here?

I also downloaded Sony DVD Architect that can help me convert and make a playable DVD with the ability to create menus. This is something I am looking forward to!
Click to expand...

1. Low-light: Solution? Buy more stuff! :D Neat Video has an awesome noise-reducer plugin for Vegas:

http://www.neatvideo.com/

For brightening, read some tutorials on video color correction. You'll want to play with gamma, brightness/contrast, and color correction in your software. This combined with a noise-reducer like Neat Video can really help footage out.

2. Compression: Getting the right results from transcoding a video file can be VERY tricky. Probably the most annoying thing about video editing to me. Basically, go on video forums and ask questions, do a lot of googling, and practing outputting small samples (like 20-second samples) to get the image you like. I hate encoding for output lol.

3. Magic Bullets: This is like anything else...practice, practice, practice! Get some fun footage, sit down, and start going through all the samples and tweaking the settings. The thing I like about Magic Bullets is that it GIVES YOU "looks" to play with. The hardest thing for me is to create something from a blank canvas, but having a variety of "looks" to use instantly, and then to tweak to your personal tastes, REALLY helps me out.

I'm not sure which Magic Bullets product you got, but Colorista has a good Color Balance tool:

http://www.redgiantsoftware.co...agic-bullet-colorista/

Check this out - he takes a crappy shot (too dark) and makes it look ready for TV!

http://www.redgiantsoftware.co..._Effects_Intro_web.mov

The tricky thing with video editing is getting setup at first. There are lots of tools, and some cost lots of money, but once you get your toolkit down you can start burning through footage like there's no tomorrow! On the Mac side, I use Final Cut Pro with a variety of plugins, along with Compressor. My workflow usually goes like this:

1. Import to FCP & transcode to ProRes with Compressor (apply Reverse Telecine to 24p footage, etc.)
2. Open back up in FCP and edit (clips, transitions, audio)
3. Apply tweaks (white point balance, color correction, noise reducer, enhancement plugins, etc.)
4. Output using Compressor (to YoutubeHD, Vimeo, DVD disc, etc.)
5. Any post requirements (if to DVD, then DVD Studio, etc.)

It's a bit tricky at first, to learn the tools and develop your own workflow, and create your basic toolset, but once you've got it you're set. It's like being a gardener or a handyman - once you've got your skills and tools together, you're ready to tackle all kinds of jobs! It sounds like you've already got a good start, now you just need to discover what tools & plugins you need for your specific needs :)
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,799
7,342
136
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