For our project, we'll need to scan paper photos into our computer. We'll also need to convert analog video and audio tapes to a digital format. Often, the easiest way to accomplish this is to dub analog sources, like old VHS tapes, onto digital videotape using a DV camcorder. Many DV camcorders accept analog input via S-video or RCA video (composite) and audio jacks. Although the conversion process takes as long as it takes to playback your tapes (otherwise known as "real time"), the digital conversion process is easy and high quality. As a bonus, you've just backed up your aging tape archive. (Don't throw away the originals!)

This process also works for music. Take the audio outputs of your cassette player or turntable, attach them to the audio inputs of your digital camcorder and make a digital tape copy. The result will be black video with a digital soundtrack, ready to import into your editor like any other DV source material. Film is much, much trickier and is another article entirely. Remember to allow plenty of time for transferring if you have to send your old home movie film out to a photo processor to have dubbed.

Our goal so far has been to organize our work, then capture and store the fundamental source media for our project. Next Month, in Part 2 we'll cover moving our newly captured digital assets onto the timeline, trimming and balancing the timeline elements in a way that gives our program the proper pacing.

Bill Davis writes, shoots, edits and does voiceover work for a variety of corporate and industrial clients.

Our fictional video features music by "Aunt Martha" performing her own compositions on the piano. This would clearly be free of copyright concerns. Copyright-protected commercial music used for family-style home video projects isn't much of a problem. All producers should be aware, however, that the use of any element protected by copyright without explicit permission of the copyright holder is a violation of the law and can make your project ineligible for entry into video judging contests. The use of commercially available "buyout" music is always a safer choice if you ever plan to use your project for any public or commercial purpose.

Editing: Editing from Start to Finish, Part 2 of 4