suggestions for how to put footage together (method rather than software)

I have no video editing skills, but I'll be able to deal with the software side ok (currently limiting myself to imovie 08 and iDVD).

So I've imported 6 DV tapes worth of mostly my kids over the last 5 years. Lots of little clips, the longest probably only 5-10 minutes long if that (sports day)

Any suggestions how to go about piecing it all together? The ultimate aim will be to create one or more DVDs.

What do people do when there are lots of bits here and there, and not really any 'story', just clips of kids?


I'm thinking probably not string everything together as one long video, but rather take advantage of DVD menus and chaptering etc to help break things up. But thats as far as I've got!

 

As to how to put your "story" together - a few possibilities:

1. Chronographically: E.g. a DVD or chapter for Year 1, then Year 2, etc.
2. By themes: there are probably reoccuring themes - sports days, birthday parties, etc. You could have a section on each.
3. By child: Not sure how many you have, but you could tell a story for each child.

1 is the easiest to do but probably the least interesting to watch.

I'd concentrate first on getting the flow of the story; you can worry about details like how many DVDs and where to break chapters later.

 

Software is to help you put your idea together :Marks ideas there as really helpful .. watching some other peoples work can be quite inspiring

Although some software can make up your video from footage, it may turn out different from how you would have liked it

The actual putting together of the video is much more fun when you have an idea of what you would like the final footage to look like before you fire up the software

Think of it as a video equivalent of a photo slideshow

 

With a random assortment of non-narrative clips it often helps to produce a montage (I hear the Team America song in my head every time) to get in the right mood. If it's a personal project and you're not worried about copyright isssues just choose a suitable piece of music and cut your images accordingly - you'll end up with an entertaining 5min piece of your 'best bits' and then can produce a longer form later, as you'll be quite familar with all the clips then.

It's just a suggestion to spark some ideas and help your familarity with the material, you can then include a long form and the montage on your final DVD as two separate pieces, and when people visit the montage is usually (a) shorter so holds their interest, and (b) more entertaining for third parties.