# Have game films, now how to clip?



## G03_SD (Apr 16, 2018)

Hi,
Please recommend free software to use to make recruitment videos. I have heard iMovie on Mac, what about PCs?


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## outside! (Apr 16, 2018)

Good luck. I haven't looked in a couple of years, but all the ones I found sucked. For viewing the videos, I like VLC (free download) since it allows you to easily go frame by frame and discover that referees are correct more often than you would think. The same group is working on an editor called VLMC, but don't hold your breath.


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## MWN (Apr 16, 2018)

If on a PC, please consider not cheaping out (unless you are totally unemployed and your time is worth .0001 cent/hr).  I use Vegas Pro, which is likely overkill for you ($500), but recommend the very functional jr. version ($49):
https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/sem/vms-14/vegas-movie-studio-platinum/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzsSi-7TA2gIVFbXACh3aOQhOEAQYASABEgLkzPD_BwE&_oB=movie-studio-platinum&AffiliateID=145&phash=BBPtCllArZvjlyXI

But, if you are set on a free package, here is your list:
https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2016/01/21/free-video-editing-software/


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## Gokicksomegrass (Apr 17, 2018)

Free is the magic number. This is what I use for quick videos on the PC.
VLC for making clips. Easy to use and free. Lots of online help and youtube videos how to. You can combine clips using vlc.

Ezvid is great for combining clips. Free and very easy to use. Really made for youtube videos. You can add music from a pre-list or add your own. 
Bad is that you can't use original game sounds from clip. Maybe there is a way. 

Honestly, the tool doesn't matter. It is the CONTENT that matters. Good content means good videos. 
If I wanted to get fancy with arrows and circles, then I would probably buy something, but I am unemployed and make $.0001 an hr.


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## Surfref (Apr 17, 2018)

You really should spend a little money and put out a quality product.  College coaches and their assistance do not have a lot of time to just sit and watch recruiting video so you need something that will get their attention quick and hold their attention.  The goal of the video is make them curious about your kid and want to go see them play. I purchased and was extremely happy with Apple Final Cut Pro for iMac. It made the editing really quick and the final product looked professional.  It allowed me to easily put a circle around my daughter at the beginning of each clip to identify her.  It also allowed me to zoom individual or sections of video and they came out looking like the video was originally shot that way.

Also, get or borrow a quality video camera.  Don't use video off your phone, tablet or GoPro.  The quality is just not up to the standards of a good video camera. I have seen some decent video shot from an iPad Pro, but if the play was on the other side of the field it was subpar for recruiting video purposes.


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## MWN (Apr 17, 2018)

@G03_SD,

I'm going to make a revision to my above statement.  I downloaded *HitFilm Express* and have been playing around with it a little.  This is a very powerful piece of software for $0.   If basic edits and some 2d compositing, titles, etc., is what you need, this software is a tremendous bargain.  The $49 Vegas Software will likely be a little easier to learn, but HitFilm Express will give you far more power than you need and the price is right $0.  The software will allow:

Edits / Transitions
Still Photo animation (Ken Burns effects)
Titles
Basic Compositing (Circle or Arrow pointing at your player for a second)

The caveat here is with power comes complexity, so you will need to go through some basic tutorials if you are not familiar with NLEs and compositing.


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## outside! (Apr 17, 2018)

Gokicksomegrass said:


> Free is the magic number. This is what I use for quick videos on the PC.
> VLC for making clips. Easy to use and free. Lots of online help and youtube videos how to. You can combine clips using vlc.


I have used VLC for years and always update it. I was not aware you could crop and combine clips with VLC. I will have to take a look again.


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## DefndrDad (Apr 17, 2018)

Is the Final Cut Pro pretty user friendly or did it take a while to learn?


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## MWN (Apr 17, 2018)

DefndrDad said:


> Is the Final Cut Pro pretty user friendly or did it take a while to learn?


From what I understand (not being a Mac guy), iMovie (already on your system) is very easy.  iMovie will do everything you need to put together a recruiting highlight video.  If you outgrow iMovie then you purchase Final Cut Pro, which has enough similarity to iMovie to make the learning curve low.

On the PC Side, the two packages that have similar professional (do whatever you want from home to theatrical release) features to Final Cut Pro are Adobe Premier (Mac/PC - I own for PC but do not use) and Vegas (PC - I own and use heavily).  Both Adobe and Vegas have "Jr." versions that are essentially stripped down from their bigger brothers.  Adobe Premier Elements ($70) and Vegas Movie Studio ($50).  Note, there are many other "professional" NLE's (Catalyst, Avid, etc.) that are not relevant ($1,000+).

If you have a mac, start with iMovie (great for beginners) and then move to FCP or Premiere.  You can also consider HitFilm (Mac/PC), which is fairly powerful, but not easy if you are a beginner.


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## DefndrDad (Apr 17, 2018)

Thanks for the info.


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## G03_SD (Apr 17, 2018)

MWN said:


> From what I understand (not being a Mac guy), iMovie (already on your system) is very easy.  iMovie will do everything you need to put together a recruiting highlight video.  If you outgrow iMovie then you purchase Final Cut Pro, which has enough similarity to iMovie to make the learning curve low.
> 
> On the PC Side, the two packages that have similar professional (do whatever you want from home to theatrical release) features to Final Cut Pro are Adobe Premier (Mac/PC - I own for PC but do not use) and Vegas (PC - I own and use heavily).  Both Adobe and Vegas have "Jr." versions that are essentially stripped down from their bigger brothers.  Adobe Premier Elements ($70) and Vegas Movie Studio ($50).  Note, there are many other "professional" NLE's (Catalyst, Avid, etc.) that are not relevant ($1,000+).
> 
> If you have a mac, start with iMovie (great for beginners) and then move to FCP or Premiere.  You can also consider HitFilm (Mac/PC), which is fairly powerful, but not easy if you are a beginner.


Thanks for this info. Do you know if Vegas Movie Studio can convert MXF file extension to MP4?


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## Gokicksomegrass (Apr 17, 2018)

outside! said:


> I have used VLC for years and always update it. I was not aware you could crop and combine clips with VLC. I will have to take a look again.


I use it manually using the record and stop record button to clip videos.

For combining, use command line: "vlc.exe" foo1.mp4 foo2.mp4 --sout "#gather:std{access=file,dst=foobar.mp4}" --sout-keep

Ezvid is so easy to combine clips that lots of kids use it to make youtube videos. 

There are probably better ways, but works for me. But in all seriousness, I would buy more powerful video editor when I am sending
out to coaches. This is for mostly for fun and cutting out clips for future use.


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## MWN (Apr 17, 2018)

G03_SD said:


> Thanks for this info. Do you know if Vegas Movie Studio can convert MXF file extension to MP4?


Vegas Pro (and HitFilm (free)) can natively edit MXF and then convert to a bunch of different formats.

Vegas Movie Studio cannot natively edit MXF.  You would need to convert your video to AVC/AAC, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, or WMV to edit.  That is a fairly easy process using a program like "Handbrake" which will batch convert MFX of various flavors to MP4 or WMV.  All you have to do is put all your source MXF files in a director and let handbrake batch convert the lot to MP4.


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## mirage (Apr 17, 2018)

DefndrDad said:


> Is the Final Cut Pro pretty user friendly or did it take a while to learn?


Final Cut Pro has a steep learning curve, and far more capable and complex than iMovie.

For doing highlights, and if you want to stay free and use a Mac OS X, then recommend using iMovie to do editing (clip, cut, pan, crop, shorten, remove/add audio) of each major section of the video.  

What I've done is to divide the video into themes (e.g., attacking, defending, off the ball movements, agility, shooting left, right, headers or what have you) and make a video for each theme.  I then take the theme into Keynote and annotate to highlight the player by arrow, circle or whatever, as well as have the player number on the screen.  So each theme is a Keynote slide page. Insert the video then add text and build a transition using presentation tools in Keynote.  After each theme is built, then export the presentation as a mp4 file so that you get a video of the composite highlight.  You can do everything I said in Final Cut Pro but if you don't know how to use it, its a climb.

My kid's videos had an intro where he introduced himself by name, school, GPA and grad year, what position he plays and something about why he wants to play in college.  The video then showed highlights and ended with a text screen with his profile picture with his name, email and references.


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## Mrs-Ed (Jan 10, 2019)

Any suggestions for an overwhelmed parent who with hours and hours of film from the past 6 months to go through using iMovie (I also have no prior experience using iMovie).  So far I've managed to piece together a few clips that other parents were generous enough to share with me, but now I need to start sorting though all the video I have - in hindsight I realize I should have been going through and pulling clips as each game was recorded, but we all know hindsight is 20/20.


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## MWN (Jan 10, 2019)

Focus on the very best stuff.  Do what @mirage says above, which is figure out your categories of material and then focus on creating clips that fit.  Put just enough material in front to set context and keep it tight and short.


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## DefndrDad (Jan 12, 2019)

I learned iMovie by watching the YouTube tutorials.


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