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Posted: Wed, August 24, 2005
Ulead VideoStudio 9by Mark Kiddell Ulead VideoStudio provides an all in one capture, editing, and DVD burning package that is ideal for the home or business video user that just wants the job done quickly and easily. It supports titles and transition effects, and can combine many short clips into one final movie. The clips used in your final video do not have to be captured in one go from your camcorder - they can be contained in external video files and can be in various different formats. This allows you to piece together many previously made small videos into one final movie. It supports capture via USB, Firewire, and dedicated video capture card. When captured via Firewire it can pre-scan your video to identify the breaks in the video where you have turned your camcorder on and off - and automatically separates the capture into clips on capturing. This saves a lot of editing time for the user and is totally automatic. For USB and normal videocapture, this functionality is not available as the computer does not have the ability to control the camcorder directly. DV to DVD WizardThe simplest of the three tools provided, takes video direct from your camcorder and puts in onto disc. You also have the option of applying a template to the video which includes adding effects to the video and background music automatically. The process is completely automatic and is good for a novice... but it can be incredibly slow when it comes to apply the template to the final video. Movie WizardThis adds an extra level of control, allowing you to insert more than one video clip from more than one source via a wizard. It also allows you to add photos and images into the timeline of the video, and is ideal for the novice or the user that wants to put together a good looking video quickly. Once you have created your movie, you can burn a DVD directly, save the video as a file, or go into the VideoStudio editor for further editing. The VideoStudio EditorThe VideoStudio editor allows you to piece clips together in the order you desire. You can drag in external video files in different formats without any problems, and you can also capture video directly and insert it into your movie. Each individual clip can be edited using the Multi-Trim editor and cropped down so only the content you want goes into your final movie. Below you can see a number of clips joined together to make movie.
To add transitions between clips, you simply select the transition you desire from the video filter menu, and then drag them into the space between the two clips you want to apply the effect to. The video filter menu can be seen on right hand side of the editor screen.
From the video filter menu, you can select and drag sample audio tracks and drag them into the desired location in the audio track shown in the image above. If you wish to add your own audio, you can right click the audio track and choose insert audio, you can then insert your own tracks stored in common formats, this includes mp3 files. You can even overlay a second video on top of the main video by placing it in an overlay track. All of this complex functionality is suprisingly easy to use and even a novice should be able to pick it up after a bit of practice.
Once you have pieced all your clips and work together in the form that you want it, you can go to the Share menu and select project playback, this will play your entire movie from beginning to end with all transitions, titles, and overlaid videos added in. If the viewed video is acceptable you can then create the final video from the options in the share menu. The final video can be in WMV format for online sharing, MPEG or AVI format if you want to make a single file, or you can burn directly to DVD or CD for playback in DVD players and VCD players.
Final VerdictThis package provides all the functionality that would be needed for any budding movie maker. Other than a few difficulities finding the specific tool or menu you're looking for, it is very hard to fault. Highly Recommended. VideoStudio 9 is available from PC World, WH Smiths, Amazon, Dabs and other online stores as well as from www.ulead.co.uk, at RRP £49.99 inc VAT. Prestatyn based Saver Software are currently offering the product at a sale price of £41.99 inc VAT.
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As a finishing touch, titles can be overlaid on top of the video,
this is available on the video filter menu and a number of different
font/banner styles can be chosen from. 
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