"Better Movie Making"

tidy up in progress ... ready for new content

2011-01-03T02:04:00.002+08:00

Well it has been a low priority project but I have managed to delete some of the garbage messages which accumulated.
I have also managed to change some of the settings which has slowed the tide of junk so this blog will become more useful in 2011 especially as I restart some of my movie projects.

Blog takeover .. Thanks Ian

2010-06-03T17:06:00.002+08:00

This blog used to be owned and run by Ian Usher. He has transferred the blog to me, along with a related domain name so all previous content was his.
I hope to remove some of the spam comments which have accumulated during Ian's travels, restore some of the content and just tidy things up a bit.

Art and Marketing All Mashed Up

2006-08-04T12:57:00.000+08:00

Art and Marketing All Mashed Up

A new way of editing video?

Hi there, I'm back after a bit of a prolonged absence, due to several reasons: travel, personal issues and a small degree of laziness. I will be trying to make a bit more of an effort to regularly update here, so keep coming back to see what's new.

I found this article today - very interesting - a different way of using video editing which I have only been vaguely aware of. Sounds like there is some very funny videos to be discovered.

Total Solar Eclipse

2006-03-24T16:37:00.000+08:00

29th March Total Solar Eclipse in Turkey.

I am currently in London, and fly to Turkey today for a week's holiday. On the 29th March there is a total solar eclipse, and of course I plan to take my video camera. I will post some video when I get the chance after I return.

For those interested there is live internet video of the event to be broadcast from Side in Turkey.

Click here to find out more.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/2006/index.html

Bryan White's Quest For Perfection

2006-03-14T18:14:00.000+08:00

A new extreme sport in the making??!!

Brian White's Quest For Perfection

My brother-in-law Tony works in Bangkok as an English teacher. From the looks of his first video here, it seems he and his colleagues don't work too hard, and have plenty of spare time on their hands!!

Well done Tony, looks like a new extreme sport is in development!!

Take a look by clicking on the picture link below:-

Amazing skydive wind tunnel video

2006-03-04T17:09:00.000+08:00

Have a look at this.

I found this business promo video on the Sky Venture website. They run a wind tunnel in Orlando, Florida. Fantastic stuff.

The video is well put together, and if this doesn't make you want to give it a go, I don't know what will!!

Click here to check it out.

Flickerfest film festival comes to Perth

2006-02-24T16:21:00.000+08:00

Australian touring short film festival comes to Perth, Western Australia early next month, and screens at the ouutdoor cinema in Mosman Park.

It looks like it will be well worth seeing, and has a wide range of international short films on offer over the four day period, from 9th to 12th March.

If you are anywhere near, call in and take a look.

Find out more at either:-

www.lunapalace.com.au

www.flickerfest.com.au

Movie Competition

2006-02-14T17:46:00.000+08:00

www.RoscoLand.com have invited us to put an entry in for their current movie competition. Further details can be found here.

I have used my "Baxter's Day Out" video as my entry.

Entries are still open until 20th March, so if you have got something worth submitting, there is a $150 prize. Worth a try!

I am now Australian!

2006-02-11T15:59:00.000+08:00

Australia Day - 26th January 2006

After living in Perth in Western Australia for the past four years, I have at last become Australian. I still have my UK citizenship, so now am dual nationality.

My citizenship ceremony took place on Australia Day, 26th January 2006. The video here is a short edit of the ceremony, and the day afterwards, including the brilliant Perth Australia Day Skyshow fireworks.

Take a look by clicking on the picture link below:-

Skydive freefall formation world record

2006-02-11T15:46:00.000+08:00

Nothing really to do with video editing, but some amazing video none-the-less!

Four days ago a new largest freefall formation record was set by The World Team in Thailand. The formation was held for 4.25 seconds.

There is video, and much more information available here, the video links are at the top left of the page.

Alternatively the two videos currently available can be accessed directly at the two addresses below:-

http://www.lukeoliver.com/wt2006/TomCam20060207.wmv

http://www.lukeoliver.com/wt2006/OverTheTop20060207.wmv

Amazing stuff. Well done to all involved.

Movies and Videos featured in January

2006-02-04T15:25:00.000+08:00

We only managed to feature three videos in January, as things here have been pretty chaotic.

The first clip shows the construction method for The $19 Underwater Video Housing.

I am very proud of my underwater housing, which featured early in the month, and in the January edition of "Better Movie Making Monthly". The housing also has its own feature page, which includes some underwater footage taken using it. Click here to take a look.

The second video featured was the underwater footage taken using the housing.

The final video featured last month was my edit of the Gravity Games hosted here in Perth at the end of last year. What an amazing show.

I will try to feature a few more videos from others this month.

Ian

Gravity Games video editing finally completed

2006-01-31T22:45:00.000+08:00

At last the video editing is finally done!!

Gravity Games H2O took place in Perth, Western Australia at the end of last year. It was a fantastic day, and the guys competing and performing were amazing. Some of the footage is spectacular.

I wanted to add extra footage to this video that I would be unable to capture myself, and waited until I could gather more video from other sources.

Some of the footage is from a TV news feature, which shows how it is easily possible to add video from different sources.

Take a look by clicking on the picture link below:-

Imagine a world without copyright

2006-01-13T20:28:00.000+08:00

"Imagine a World Without Copyright
by Joost Smiers and Marieke van Schijndel"

There is a very interesting essay on copyright, offering an alternative to the current system.

Copyright is an issue we need to be aware of as video makers, particularly when we use well known copyrighted music as the soundtrack to our videos and movies.

Worth reading, click here, and scroll down to the article.

Some underwater video footage

2006-01-13T20:11:00.000+08:00

captured with the recently made underwater video housing!!

See the previous blog item for details on making an underwater video camcorder housing.

The video below shows some footage taken using the housing. Click on the Play button to view.

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As you can see the morning did not end as planned, when we returned to the car to find it had been broken into. Fortunately we had all of our video equipment with us.

You can find more details on the housing at http://www.BetterMovieMaking.com/underwater.htm

Make an UNDERWATER VIDEO CAMERA HOUSING for under $19!!!

2006-01-06T22:21:00.000+08:00

and capture some amazing underwater video footage!!

As part of my monthly email magazine "Better Movie Making Monthly", this month I did a feature on making an underwater video camcorder housing.

The video below shows a quick overview of the construction of the underwater housing. Click on the Play button to see how it was made.

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You can find more details on the housing, along with footage taken using the housing at http://www.BetterMovieMaking.com/underwater.htm

Ten Tips to Better Video - Shooting Good Video

2006-01-05T08:11:00.000+08:00

Ten Tips to Better Video - Shooting Good Video - News Guides and Tips - Consumer Camcorders - Camcorderinfo.com

This article is a good guide to ten basics for shooting better video.

"Better Movie Making Monthly" January Issue now being emailed out!!

2006-01-03T19:38:00.000+08:00

The January issue of "BMMM" is now being sent out.

I am very excited about this issue, as it contains details on how to shoot video UNDERWATER, for $19 or less!!

Take a look at:-
http://www.BetterMovieMaking.com/issue3.htm

Movies and Videos featured in December

2006-01-03T19:23:00.000+08:00

December has been a busy month, with only a few videos featured. However, the first one, Extreme Skipping, is now one of my all time favourites:-

"Extreme Skipping" is well made, and is very well edited. In fact my wife wasn't sure if it was real or not at first. Something like this can be very easily made by the amateur video maker. It just needs some imagination, some well-captured footage and an ability to edit effectively.

"Cheeky Girl Charlize" is the first video made by my friend Bek, who has just started video editing. She has bought her own video camera and computer, and with a couple of quick tuition sessions, is now making her own videos. Her first one here is of her sister's baby, Charlize.

The final video featured in December was this "Amazing Christmas Lights" display. I initially thought this had been done with some clever editing of stills pictures, but I am informed that it is for real. Amazing.

Hope you have all had a great Christmas and New Year. Here's to a new year of Better Movie Making!

Ian

Merry Christmas - amazing Christmas lights

2005-12-19T19:04:00.000+08:00

Have a look at this video of some Amazing Christmas House Lights. I bet you ask yourself "How did they do that?"

I have my own theory, but watch the video first before reading any more, and see what you think.

Fantastic, well done. I'm afraid I don't know who made this clip, but they have done a great job. I would love to see the original quality video to take a closer look at how it was done.

My theory is that the video creator has taken many still pictures of the house, with different light combinations switched on. It is then a fairly straight-forward (but time-consuming) process to edit the pictures into the correct order, and then synch it with the music.

This means that it is really more of an animation. You would also have to add a quick crossfade between each picture to give the impression of lights going on and off.

All in all, technically excellent. My only comment would be that if it was half as long, or even less it would have more punch. It just goes on a bit too long for me.

Bek's first video edit

2005-12-19T11:50:00.000+08:00

Cheeky Girl Charlize

My friend Bek is a snowboard instructor, and for the past two Australian winter seasons (June to September) has worked at Mount Hotham in the Victorian Alps. In 2004 I visited her, and we filmed quite a bit of snowboard footage. Later I edited it into my video "Ride...", which can be viewed in the movie gallery.

Since then Bek has bought her own video camera and computer, and with a couple of quick tuition sessions, is making her own videos.

Her first one is of her sister's baby, Charlize. You can watch by clicking on the Play button below.

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Well done Bek. A couple of people have told me that this has brought a tear to their eye!

Internet video growing fast

2005-12-15T13:08:00.000+08:00

Big changes in the way people shoot video — increasingly on small digital cameras in-stead of camcorders — and lower costs for Web site operators have enabled a host of startup video sites to pop up in the last few months.

YouTube, Vimeo, Sharkle, ClipShack and Blip.tv all aim to be video versions of Flickr, the Yahoo-owned site that has drawn millions of people who post photographs, then dis-cuss them

This quote is from an article on the Indystar E Technology Trends website. Read the full article here.

Internet video is growing at a huge rate. YouTube now has over 200,000 members, and Sharkle doubled its membership from 10,000 to 20,000 in less than a month!

The only problem with most of these websites is the quality of many of the clips posted on them. You really do have to wade through alot of rubbish to find some well-made, interesting video.

Most people could make their video so much more interesting by learning the basics of digital video editing. It really is very simple.

You can find out more about learning the basics of digital video editing at BetterMovieMaking.com

Fantastic spoof documentary-style video found on Sharkle.com

2005-12-13T11:57:00.000+08:00

"Extreme Skipping"

I found this video on Sharkle.com, my current favourite FREE video upload site.

"Extreme Skipping" is well made, and is very well edited. In fact my wife wasn't sure if it was real or not at first. Something like this can be very easily made by the amateur video maker. It just needs some imagination, some well-captured footage and an ability to edit effectively.

My favourite doco-style scene is of him skipping across screeen with the Empire State Building in the background.

Great video, well done.

Another video upload site

2005-12-12T07:59:00.000+08:00

I've found another good video upload site called Sharkle. It's free to use, and gives you 1Gb of storage space. You can find it here.

Once again, I have uploaded a video to see how well it works. This can be found here.

A very good feature is that you are given "Player tags" which you can copy and insert into a blog or webpage, as I have done below:-

It seems to work pretty well.

Movies and Videos featured in November

2005-12-02T08:45:00.000+08:00

November was a bit of a hectic month, and being plagued by the 'flu really didn't help either, so postings and links to videos were a little thin on the ground. I intend to rectify that in December.

There were a couple of movies featured, one of which I think embodies everything good about home movie making. "Dear John" is a very simple idea, but is so well filmed and edited. If you haven't had a look at it yet I highly recommend that you do.

November Movies:

Baxter's Day Out video
Featured again in November as a test for using FireAnt software. This video shows what can be done with a very simple subject. Construction of even a very short movie is critical, and beginning, middle and end are important.

Dear John video
Just watch it - its great!

RiderTech snowboard video 1
RiderTech snowboard video 2
I just discovered this video weblog this month, and am as jealous as can be, as the winter season is just starting for them. Their videos are good at capturing the atmosphere and feeling of the day, helped by good footage and good music selection.

Snowboarding video
This video took so long to edit. I had so much good footage that I could easily have made it twice as long. Sometimes though, less is more, and I am glad I persevered, and cut it right back. Its better to leave an audience wanting more than boring them to tears.

Skydive video
This is where it all began for me. Good editing and music choice make for a good end result, but you can't beat having some visually stunning material to work with too!

If you know of any movies you would like to see featured next month, or have anything of your own, let me know:
ian@BetterMovieMaking.com

Video editing - how I got started - Skydive Video

2005-11-23T06:37:00.000+08:00

Skydive video

This is where my whole interest in video editing began. To see more about how I got started have a look at the About Me section on the right here, or the About Us section at my website.

There is also more about how I got started in my first two blog posts here and here.

Once again this movie shows how tight editing and a good choice of music can really make your footage look great. Of course, a visually spectacular subject helps too.

Monthly Movie Making and Video Editing Tips

2005-11-17T13:31:00.000+08:00

Better Movie Making Monthly - Video Editing Tips and more.

As you may know I run a video editing site at www.bettermoviemaking.com. As part of this website I produce a monthly email newsletter called "Better Movie Making Monthly".

"BMMM" is packed full of video editing tips, tricks and ideas to improve your movie making. It is freely available to anybody, simply by filling in the form over on the right here, or at any of the webpages that this article links to.

Receiving "BMMM" also gives you free access to our Movie Gallery, which features more videos that have not been seen here in the blog.

The next issue of "BMMM" is due out in early December, and is well worth getting - there are a few good tips in it, and a video tool that is so simple to make, but so effective to use that you won't believe that you didn't think of it yourself!

You can see the previous issue of "BMMM" in our newsletter archive, here.

I have had a couple of form issues on the website, so anybody who filled in our form, but does not get "BMMM 2" in early December, please drop me a line at ian@BetterMovieMaking.com

Snowboard video

2005-11-15T21:20:00.000+08:00

Snowboard video

This was filmed last winter here in Australia at Hotham, about four hours north of Melbourne. Winter is about May to September here down under! Mount Hotham is one of several good ski resorts here in Australia.

This video is a good example of how to set the scene, and let the audience know where you are without the obvious use of titles.

Always remember the old Hollywood saying, "Show it, don't tell it".

I wanted to have a fairly relaxed, cruisy feel to the video, and thought the music worked well. It is called Vapour Trail, by an English group called Ride. I thought that was appropriate too.

Hope you enjoy it.

Web movie making tips

2005-11-15T13:16:00.000+08:00

There are a few good movie making tips in this article by Astrid Bullen.

Once again, the importance of a script or storyline is stressed in Rule 2:

"Even if you are simply documenting your child’s birthday party, a little league game or a wedding, your event must have a structure, or it will appear pointless to the viewer."

Absolutely!

Streaming Video Tutorial

2005-11-14T08:04:00.000+08:00

An Introduction To Streaming Video

There is a good introductory tutorial here on adding video to a web page.

There is plenty of info on different file types, and on different methods of adding video to web pages, all very well explained.

Nice snowboard videos from RiderTech.com

2005-11-12T13:26:00.000+08:00

I'm jealous! The winter season has just started in Colorado, and already the team from RiderTech have been out and about in the snow with their video cameras.

They have a couple of nicely edited movies on their video website.

The first one, Vail Colorado Review, shows some footage from last season. You can see how much more interesting you can make your holiday footage by editing it down to a snappy few minutes and adding some appropriate music.

The second video is from this season, and again shows that you don't need to bore your audience with hours of footage in order to show them what you have been up to.
Take a look at Crystal Opening Day here.

Video blog directory

2005-11-09T19:35:00.000+08:00

Have just discovered a great video weblog (or vlog) directory site, which can be found at www.vlogdir.com

This is a pretty comprehensive list of people running video based online blogs.

Have a look, there is some pretty interesting stuff. WARNING: You may have to trawl through some less interesting stuff too!

Video editing - THIS is how it's done!

2005-11-08T13:23:00.000+08:00

Video editing - have a look at this video - this is how its done!

The creator says, "I made this video maybe three months ago or so. All of it was filmed by myself in my room on a rainy night with nothing better to do. There isn't a whole lot of story to it, I just thought of an idea and improvised as I went along. Some shots were shaky at times considering I had to hold the camera with one arm in some scenes.. so bear with that. In the end I was pretty satisfied with how it came out." John Edwards.

Download the video here

To see the original forum posting and feedback on this video, click here

Consider the music choice, and have a look at how the scenes are short and snappy, but still tell the tale.

What a great piece of work.

Video blog - update

2005-11-07T10:13:00.000+08:00

Video blog success!

Ah-ha, finally got the video files to work properly in FireAnt

FireAnt is brilliant! It works much the same as any other newsreader software, with the added advantage of being able to download and play audio or video files included as part of the blog posting. It can do this automatically, or when you tell it to.

It's free software, just download it and install, then browse the directory of video feeds and video blogs (vlogs) available, or add details of any feed you wish to view.

The feed for this blog is:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/BetterMovieMaking

I had some problems getting FireAnt to recognise my wmv (Windows Media Video) files to work properly, but Josh from FireAnt helped out, and had the answer here for anyone elsse having the same problem. Thanks Josh.

Movie Making Manual - Music - Wikibooks

2005-11-06T16:20:00.000+08:00

Movie Making Manual-Music - Wikibooks:
"Many people do not understand just how important music is - it is so important that to have a job writing music for a film, one must have a university qualification in psychology."

Music choice is just as important for your short home movies as for any Hollywood blockbuster.

Keep a list of music and songs you like and feel would be good soundtracks for your video editing projects, and when you start a new edit, try your raw footage with a few different tracks to see which fits well.

Hopefully you will find the perfect soundtrack for your movie. Time spent looking at your music options is time well spent.

Video blog feed - video test - Baxter's Day Out

2005-11-03T22:33:00.000+08:00

Baxter's Day Out

I've just been introduced to video blogging, and a great piece of software for viewing video from other peoples' video blogs, or "vlogs".

I didn't really consider myself as a video blogger, although many of the films my wife and I feature do contain large elements of our life.

The software is called FireAnt and is freely available from www.getfireant.com. Its like any other blog reader tool, but can download and play video content from those that include such content in their blogs.

I've changed my blog feed settings so that any videos that I post here can now be automatically downloaded by FireAnt, and viewed at leisure.

This video has been posted before, but is simply here as a test for the new direct video feed:
Baxter's Day Out

Many thanks to Verdi from Freevlog.org for his help and information. He and Ryanne have a great info-packed site on how to get your video on the internet.

Home Movie Night

2005-11-02T23:47:00.000+08:00

Home Movie Night Blog

"It's a bit later than we would have hoped, but it's here - the first installment of Home Movie Night! This video will give you an idea of what home movies are about, and the kinds of things you can expect to see right here at the all new homemovienight.com."

This looks like it will be an interesting blog. It will feature all sorts of home movie footage from years gone by, captured on older film reel cameras, and now digitised.

Their introductory video gives an idea of what to expect - I love the 1926 footage of the ice skaters opening the beer keg. (Posted on the blog on 9th Sept 2005)

There should be some fascinating, as before unseen footage surface from family archives.

I watch with interest.

Movies and Videos featured in October

2005-11-01T21:50:00.000+08:00

Last month saw the launch of this blog, and I linked to quite a few movies, which I think show video editing style and flair, and which are good examples of what can be achieved with a little effort and the right equipment.

At the end of each month I intend to do a summary of movies and videos featured as an easy reference.

October Movies:

Kangaroo Near Miss video
A very short movie (about 17 secs), with very little editing, but shows that with a bit of extra sound you can spice up any clip a little.

Rollercoaster video
Excellent editing work, with great use of music to create excitement and atmosphere.

Karting video
Once again, a video which shows just how much difference the right music choice can make. Action is well timed with the music.

Baxter's Day Out
A very simple little movie, which shows that even without any real story, a simple "beginning, middle, end" construction works well. Lots of different viewpoints. My favourite is the under-car shot.

Scary Halloween video
A great selection of sounds and images to sum up a fun evening. Once again this is well edited to fit the music.

If you know of any movies you would like to see featured next month, or have anything of your own, let me know:
ian@BetterMovieMaking.com

Fantastic website for searching for sound files

2005-11-01T06:50:00.000+08:00

Search for sound files

FindSounds is a great tool for finding those extra sound clips that you need to add to your movie projects.

This site searches many other sites to find just the sound you are looking for, and lists sounds available. You can preview sounds, and download the ones you want.

We needed a creaky door slamming shut for the end of our spooky Halloween video, and a quick search here found a great creaking door, but no slam. Further searching produced many door slam sounds, and we picked our favourite.

Be aware of copyright issues, and check that you are able to use each sound you grab.

Scary Halloween video

2005-10-31T19:17:00.000+08:00

Scary Halloween Video

My wife Laura has just finished this edit of this year's Halloween, when monsters lurked in every shadow, and evil walked the night. She's the Linda Blair look-a-like in the stained nightie!

Music choice was from a Halloween party album, and she added all sorts of extra sounds, such as the heartbeats and ticking clocks. There is some good use of sounds and screams from the footage itself too.

The movie was made with Adobe Premiere video editing software, which allows multiple audio and video tracks, which can be layered, in this case used to layer several different sounds together.

Take a look by clicking here.

Baxter video now uploaded to Google Video

2005-10-29T10:06:00.000+08:00

Baxter Video now on Google Video

Well, I finally managed upload Baxter's Day Out to Google Video. It's a bit of a convoluted process, involving signing-up, installing video upload software, checking you own all copyright for your video, formatting it to Google's specifications, then uploading.

The trickiest part is producing the video to Google's format specifications. This required software I did not have, so in the end I gave up and just uploaded my wmv (Windows Media Video) file.

It seems to work okay. Take a look by clicking here.

New download location for karting video

2005-10-27T13:25:00.000+08:00

Karting video

If you have any problems with the ZippyVideos movie stopping while playing, try going here, where you can either watch the video or download it to watch later.

Two great video editing and movie making forums

2005-10-27T07:34:00.000+08:00

VideoForums.co.uk

AboutVideoEditing.com

These two forums offer a wealth of advice on video editing and moviemaking. They have discussions on different movie making softwares, on different video editing techniques, and have great user video sections too.

Baxter video feedback on videoforums.co.uk

2005-10-26T13:15:00.000+08:00

Baxter Video Feedback

Baxter's Day Out movie

I listed my Baxter video on video forums.co.uk a couple of days ago. This is a great video forum, and is well worth a visit. I have had lots of feedback, take a look by clicking here

New short movie on ZippyVideos.com

2005-10-24T18:04:00.000+08:00

I've posted a new video on ZippyVideos. Its called Baxter's Day Out. This was made as a promotional video for my video editing course, which includes raw footage, video how to's as well as heaps of other info. More info at www.BetterMovieMaking.com

I wanted to use a few different viewpoints, and had to make a camera mount to stand the camera on for the under-car shots to stop it blowing over! The first pass with the car was nerve-racking, even though we had thoroughly checked clearances.

One of the main aims of this movie is to show that a short film needs structure, with establishing shots, and a nice closing shot too. Also the editing needs to be tight, so the audience does not get bored.

This was cut down from 40 minutes of footage to about two!! Click on the pic below to view the movie.

Google Video (Beta) - Video Upload Program

2005-10-24T17:59:00.000+08:00

Google Video (Beta) - Video Upload Program:

"Your work deserves to be seen. You've made a great video. Now who will watch it?

Whether you produce hundreds of titles a year or just a few, you can give your videos the recognition and visibility they deserve by promoting them on Google"
More...

Hmmm, it seems Google are already taking video uploads. I have signed up for an account and will let you know how things go.

Google To Host Home-Video Uploads - Yahoo! News

2005-10-23T22:44:00.000+08:00

Google To Host Home-Video Uploads - Yahoo! News

"SAN FRANCISCO -- Move over blogging -- here comes Internet-based home video, to a Google server near you.

While there's no formal announcement yet, Google co-founder Larry Page said Monday that the well-known search engine concern would soon let the general public upload self-produced videos to Google's servers, partly in an effort to learn more about how to more efficiently search and display information about video-based data."

More...

I imagine that video on the internet will be one of the next big things - anybody can buy a reasonably priced camcorder and use free software to edit a very professional finished product.

With free hosting from one of the internet giants, where will it lead?

AC/DC go kart video

2005-10-23T00:37:00.000+08:00

I've just uploaded a recent video of mine to ZippyVideos. It was filmed on a rainy winter's evening here in Perth in Western Australia at our local kart racing track.

The track was floodlit, and a bit wet, so things were a bit slippy and slidy.

Click on the picture above to view the video.

Once again, music choice is important, and AC/DC seemed perfect for this. I like the way the video builds up from the preparations and practices, to some good fast on-board footage.

I was very pleased with the end too - the trophy freeze shot works well I think.

My favourite online video host

2005-10-23T00:28:00.000+08:00

I am a big fan of www.zippyvideos.com. You can upload video files up to 10MB for FREE. You also get link code to your videos that you can email to anyone else.

You can even have your own FREE account with 20Mb of space.

The only downside - a few ads on the page with your video - a fair trade off.

Awesome rollercoaster video

2005-10-23T00:04:00.000+08:00

I found this video through one of the video editing forums, and LOVE it. I think it shows some great editing skills, and the choice of music is perfect. My favourite bit is the "Go, go, go!" and then the music kicking in.

Music choice in video editing is SO important - it sets the whole atmosphere for the video.

Have a look here.

Use the scroll bar in the box to find the download button. Its a big file, 18Mb but well worth it.

Kangaroo car race video

2005-10-21T06:37:00.000+08:00

Only in Australia!! Have a look at this near miss at the recent Bathurst 1000 motor race. Drivers here have more to worry about than just the other cars on the track.

Kangaroo Near Miss video

Bathurst 1000 official website

How I got started in video editing, part 2

2005-10-21T06:13:00.000+08:00

I was very pleased with my first video editing efforts, and soon bought my own video camera, and have since produced several short movies, many of which can be viewed in my video gallery too.

Take a look here

My preferred style of movie making is a short “music video”-style of movie, usually set to one song as a background track. I like to use my movies as a record of exciting events and activities, as well as holidays too.

I think that a tightly edited short movie of a holiday or activity is the best way to remember it, and when watched later on, brings the whole experience back to life so vividly.

My most recent favorite movies are my edit of last year’s snowboarding trip to Mount Hotham here in Australia (yes, we do get snow here too!!) and our recent go-kart racing evening. The go-kart racing took place at night, so is a little dark, but there are plans for a daylight session soon.

I am married to Laura, who also now makes and edits her own movies. She has a couple of her projects in the gallery too. We have no kids (yet), but when we do have them you can be sure that there will be a comprehensive video record of their lives!

I am currently in consultation with a local TV company, with a view to making a program or series of programs showcasing local and international movie making and video editing talent.

How I got started in video editing

2005-10-20T23:49:00.000+08:00

Hi there,

First of all, let me say a BIG “thank you” for taking an interest in my ramblings on video editing.

If you are new to the world of movie making and video editing, welcome. It is a wonderfully creative world to become involved in, with so many options for the type of movies you can create. You really are only limited by your own imagination.

My name is Ian Usher, and although originally from England , I now live in the wonderfully sunny city of Perth in Western Australia .

It wasn’t long after arriving in Perth that I met my friend Marty, who has introduced me to my two most recent passions, skydiving and movie making.

The two were introduced to me as a matching pair, as Marty had spent some time working as a freefall cameraman, and had made several movies from his skydiving footage.

I was hooked, initially on skydiving, and have since gone on to achieve my A-License, which allows me to make solo jumps. My next goal is my B-License, which will allow me to jump with other people, and ultimately my C-License, which will allow me to wear a video camera while jumping.

In the meantime I am happy making more earth-bound movies, of which I have now made quite a few.

My first movie was made from footage that Marty and I took at the beach one evening. We went with some friends and took a few beers and a couple of sandboards. Sandboarding is much the same as snowboarding, but a lot cheaper and much warmer.

Marty gave me the footage we took and quickly showed me the basics of editing. The resulting movie can be seen in our video gallery. You can gain access to this and many more movies, including footage of my first skydive, by clicking here.

"Better Movie Making"

tidy up in progress ... ready for new content

Blog takeover .. Thanks Ian

Art and Marketing All Mashed Up

Total Solar Eclipse

Bryan White's Quest For Perfection

Amazing skydive wind tunnel video

Flickerfest film festival comes to Perth

Movie Competition

I am now Australian!

Skydive freefall formation world record

Movies and Videos featured in January

Gravity Games video editing finally completed

Imagine a world without copyright

Some underwater video footage

Make an UNDERWATER VIDEO CAMERA HOUSING for under $19!!!

More Video Tips from CamcorderInfo.com

Ten Tips to Better Video - Shooting Good Video

"Better Movie Making Monthly" January Issue now being emailed out!!

Movies and Videos featured in December

Merry Christmas - amazing Christmas lights

Bek's first video edit

Internet video growing fast

Fantastic spoof documentary-style video found on Sharkle.com

Another video upload site

More video editing tips in Issue 2 of BMMM

Movies and Videos featured in November

Video editing - how I got started - Skydive Video

Monthly Movie Making and Video Editing Tips

Snowboard video

Web movie making tips

Streaming Video Tutorial

Nice snowboard videos from RiderTech.com

Video blog directory

Video editing - THIS is how it's done!

Video blog - update

Movie Making Manual - Music - Wikibooks

Video blog feed - video test - Baxter's Day Out

Home Movie Night

Movies and Videos featured in October

Fantastic website for searching for sound files

Scary Halloween video

Baxter video now uploaded to Google Video

New download location for karting video

Two great video editing and movie making forums

Baxter video feedback on videoforums.co.uk

New short movie on ZippyVideos.com

Google Video (Beta) - Video Upload Program

Google To Host Home-Video Uploads - Yahoo! News

AC/DC go kart video

My favourite online video host

Awesome rollercoaster video

Kangaroo car race video

How I got started in video editing, part 2

How I got started in video editing