The Final Wrapup - My Closing Comments

Lots of Details
I went into alot of gory detail on how to do each step. You might think it takes forever to actually do this in real life! The truth is it doesn't take that much time at all (except for the time you're waiting around for the computer to finish converting something)! I'm just breaking things down into real small bites and taking it real slow so that all you people who are like me can let it sink in!

Warning Will Robinson!
I didn't have time to delving into all the compression options for AVI files that are available to the user. I just saved them uncompressed. If you look at the file sizes of these files THEY ARE HUGE! My advice? Play around with the compression settings on the AVI tab (mentioned in Step 16). If you find something good, let me know! Also, until then, make sure you have plenty of Hard Disk space for this! You may want to remove the AVI files once you are all done to free up some space!

Confession Time!
Nearly all the video footage that is in this tutorial was shot with my Canon HG10. A little bit of footage (filming of the camera) was done with the webcam built into my MacBook. Other confessions:

• The only video edited in Windows Movie Maker was the sample clip you see. All (most of) the other video was edited on my MacBook using iMovie '08.
• Using iMovie '08 is much easier for HD movies. I can load video clips straight into it from my camera. No going through hoops like I just showed you. Sorry!
• But there's a good chance if you are going through this tutorial that you own a PC and not a MacBook. I mean, unless you're a geek like me, you probably own only one computer! So hopefully this can help you make the best of your situation!
• One thought here, if you can affort the camera, maybe you should just bite the bullet and buy a Mac and iMovie '08.
• Note: iMovie 6 does not import files from this camera (don't beat your head against the wall like I did).
• The camera does not come with software for file conversion for the Mac...none. Bad Canon!
• iLife which iMovie '08 is a part of is under $100 so its a pretty good deal.
• On the flip-side MovieMaker is free of charge.
• Trying to save disk space by loading an AVI file, saving as a Windows Media File, deleting the AVI file, and slicing the Windows Media file up for editing does not work! Trust me, I tried! If you split it, the first section will play fine. The other side of the split will not play at all. Bad Microsoft! Buggy! Booo! Hisss!
• Video in MovieMaker plays off the disk. The bigger the file the choppier things become. This really became clear when I saved a file on a slower external USB drive and imported into MovieMaker. The speed dropped so much, I gave up on that idea really quick!

The End
Well, that's it! Hope this helped you in one way or another. Any constructive crits? Go over to my blog and leave a comment. Know of a good AVI compression setting? Again, please let me know. All the best: Orville

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