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Visual Aides for the Four-Part Series: How to Edit a Simple Project with Digital Video-Editing Software

Besides your music tracks, you will need some media files before you begin. Refer to your software on how to Digitize Video and create Title Pages.
Simple Editing Project: Part 2 INSERTING A VIDEO OR AUDIO CLIP INTO A TIMELINE Inserting a clip into a Timeline can be done a couple of ways. Go to your Bin where the file is, click and drag it to wherever you want on the Timeline. You can also select the clip and do it with your software User Button. For the article project, insert your video clip starting at two seconds. Then insert your black frame right in front of the video clip.	Simple Editing Project: Part 2 CREATING A DISSOLVE OR CROSS FADE The easiest way to insert a Dissolve is by clicking and dragging to overlap the clip next to it. Another way to insert a Dissolve is by placing the Timeline Indicator where you want it, and clicking a user button or pull-down menu. You will have to make adjustments by doing this, if you want customized timing of the effect. By doing this with two video clips it will create a Cross-Fade between them. In this example from the article we are using the 01:15 sec. Black Clip and sliding it over creating a 01:00 sec. Dissolve. This leaves 00:15 (a half) sec. left on front. Select both clips together using your software's Selection Tool (once the user button is pressed you can select a section of video on the timline with the mouse) and move both clips over to the beginning of the Timeline. This will result in a half-second of black playing before your video actually starts.	Simple Editing Project: Part 3 REVIEWING YOUR WORK SO FAR Your video and audio clips are in place on your Timeline and your Main Screen should look something like the example below. Your Preview Screen will display whatever frame the Timeline Indicator is at. Your Source Screen will show whatever Clip is selected, whether it is audio or video. In this case it is the B Roll-1 Clip.

AN EASY WAY TO CUT OUT AUDIO FROM A TRACK Whether the Audio Track is attached to a Video Clip or not, you can cut out portions of audio by using what are normally called Points. Using your mouse pointer, click on the line where you want the audio to first cut out (1). This will create a Point on the line. Create another Point where you want the audio to begin fading back up (2) and another where you want the audio to fully play (3). Create one more Point in front of the second one (4). Next select and and lower Points 1 & 4 to the bottom. This will cut out any audio in that section of the clip. Then lower Point 2 to the bottom as well. This will create a fade up to Point 3. The length between Point 2 & 3 is up to you. All Points can be selected and moved around after being created to make final adjustments.

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