How to Edit a Simple Project with Digital Video-Editing Software Part 3

In our previous installments, you learned how to prepare your editing project, insert and trim clips, and insert a simple dissolve transition. The actual procedure of how you did it is based on your software, and hopefully these steps are now becoming more familiar to use. There are only a few more basic things to understand, and know how to do. One is working with the other functions of your title tool, and inserting your first key page. The video clip (b-roll) in your timeline is now eight-seconds long, but will only be clearly visible on-screen for six, because of the dissolves we are planning to put on each end of it.

The title text over this video should also dissolve-in, display, and then dissolve-out. This effect should appear naturally. What I mean by this is that the eye should be given enough time to see the video image fully, before the title begins. The timing of this technique will often vary depending on application. For our example, we will make the title last for five-seconds. This gives a half-second (15 frames) on each side for the b-roll (Video 1) to be fully seen. Enough time for the eye to adjust for the full video before the title comes in. In other words, a naturally flow of motion. The title will also have its own dissolves. We want to set these dissolves at a half-second on each side, giving the title as much time on the screen as possible.