Video Montage

A video montage is similar to a slideshow except instead of using still images it uses video clips. By removing the audio from the video clips and only using the audio from a song, the video editing process is simplified so the presentation can be finished very quickly and without a lot of experience.

If you want to start using video as part of your service, creating a video montage is the ideal place to start. They are simple enough that beginners can turn out something useable even if they are just learning their tools. The fast paced nature makes it easy to work with footage where the person shooting the video is learning how to film.

There are many things that can go wrong in creating a video just because there are so many parts. Sometimes computer systems act up. Sometimes you run into audio problems. Sometimes the tape with the perfect footage will just disappear or get eaten by a rogue deck. Starting simple will let people grasp the vision of what is possible through a quick "win�. One success can fuel many hours of working through the complications that will eventually arise in creating videos. Starting with a music video will minimize the things that can possibly go wrong so your team can quickly create the final product and move on to their next project.

Shooting the Video

When shooting video for a montage, you will want to concentrate on capturing 10 second segments of footage. To be effective most of the clips you will use in the video will be from .5 to 2 seconds long. By limiting your shots to 10 seconds, you will keep from filling up your tape with hours of the same thing.

When shooting the video, you need to think like a still photographer but capturing several seconds instead of just a fraction of one. Look for something interesting that is about to happen, frame your shot, and then capture 10 seconds of the action.

Finding Music

Copyrighted Music

When looking for music there is a temptation to just use a song off a commercial CD. From a legal standpoint you need to ask for permission to show a video that uses music protected under copy write laws.

Royalty Free Music

Royalty free music is specifically produced, so you don't have to ask permission to use it as part of media. The rules vary depending on where you get the music and what is written into the contract.

www.freeplaymusic.com has freely downloadable music from the internet. You can also purchase CD from them. Their site can be slow because of the many people downloading from it, so the Cds can be a good investment if you are using a lot of music.

www.digitaljuice.com sells Cds of royalty free music. They are more expensive than the ones from FreePlayMusic.com, but they are well organized and I have found them to be very useful. The website contains low quality samples that you can preview for free, so you can get a good idea of whether or not they would meet your needs.

editing

There are many different systems that can be used for editing video. See the Appendix for more information. Regardless of what software you use, the principles are still the same. editing is the process of taking your raw footage from tape, cutting it up into little pieces and arranging them in a way that tells your story.

For music video's I find the following strategy to be effective:

1. Capture your raw footage into the computer from the tape. The exact process depends on your system, but generally there are three ways to do this. The first way you tell the computer to listen and tell your camera to play the tape to the computer. The second way is a little easier. The computer talks to the camera and tells it to start and stop while you control what is captured using your mouse. The third way is called batch capturing. You go through and mark each clip you want captured, then the computer controls the camera and plays the tape back and forth while capturing all of the segments.
2. Break everything into small clips of various shots and label them. Cut off the excess that you know you won't use from each clip. This familiarizes yourself with the clips that you have available and helps limit your selection to fewer choices that are your best shots.
3. Now that you know what clips you have available, think of a story line or logical flow. It is usually most effective to decide what you want at the end and work backwards. The end will determine the feeling that you will leave with your viewers. For the Kid's Kamp video, we decided to show them lining up in the morning, doing some activities, eating lunch, going horseback riding, playing games, and end with the ministry time and kids raising their hands in worship. Our goal was to show that the camp was centered around ministry not just having fun.
4. Arrange the clips in order, but don't worry too much about transitions. Once you get them all on the timeline, play through it a few times without any sound to make sure you are telling a good story visually. You may need to move clips around in order to insure that the story makes sense.
5. Once your video tells a good visual story, you should add the music track. You may need to adjust some of the clips to make it work with the music, but make sure you don't lose your story line.
6. The next step is to go through and add transitions where they are needed. In most places a straight untransitioned cut is best. You can use a cross fade if you want a softer visual transition. The other transitions (wipes, 3d transitions, etc) should be used sparingly because they can easily distract from your story.
7. At this point you should get some one else to view the video to see what they think. Listen carefully to any questions they ask to see what may not come across clear. You don't need to answer all of your audiences questions, but make sure that your message isn't being confused by something you overlooked.
8. Once your video is the way you want it, you should send it back to tape. You may need to convert it to VHS so it can be played in a regular VCR. If your computer supports burning DVDs you can skip sending it back to the tape and burn it straight to DVD on the computer.

Making it easy to play

If you plan to show your video as part of your worship service, you should make it as easy as possible for the person who will start and stop the video. If they will be using a VCR you should add some type of countdown at the beginning, so they can queue the video up and avoid having several seconds of silence when the video starts. Some video editing products have the ability to append a standard countdown to the beginning of your video.

You can accomplish the same thing by putting in a series of 1-second slides with numbers counting down to the start of your video. The countdown allows the video to be queued by stopping right before the video starts. Otherwise people end up playing the tape until the video starts and queuing it by rewinding "just a little bit.� This could amount to an awkward start at a point partially into the video, or 5 or 6 seconds of silence as the person operating the VCR fiddles with the cables trying to figure out why nothing is playing. Invariably they will disconnect the video cable right as the video starts to play. The countdown helps eliminate these types of problems.

With DVD's things are a little simpler because most units allow you to immediately start a particular track without the delays involved with tape. With DVD's you'll need to make sure you use a title screen (the menu that lets you select which track you want to play) that is simple and doesn't play any music in the background. If it plays sound, it may be difficult for your sound person to turn up the volume for the video without catching some of the sounds from the title screen.

You should also put several seconds of black at the end of your video. This gives someone time to turn off the VCR or DVD player at the end. If you don't do this, your audience may finish watching an emotionally moving presentation and be immediately greeted by visual and audio static from the VCR. With DVD players the black at the end will give someone enough time to avoid showing the main DVD menu after the video.

Always test your video, to make sure it has the audio and video you are expecting. This is especially important if you are using DVDs because some players may not be able to read properly DVDs created on a computer.