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Computer Video Editing: What's the Best Approach? (page 2)

Cutting to the Beat

Another commonly-used technique in both music videos and other music-driven edits is cutting to the beat - matching the edits to the actual beat of a song. This technique can be very difficult with a traditional tape-to-tape editing system, but today's timeline-based computer editors make it very simple. Most timeline-based systems have a way for you to place markers on the timeline as a clip plays; all you have to do is lay your audio track into the timeline, let it play and press the keyboard command that places markers in time to the beat (see the Mark It in Premiere sidebar).
Like most editing techniques, this method is best used sparingly - seeing every cut made to the beat of a song can be tiresome. It is useful, however, for placing video effects and other editing elements alongside the music.

Practice! Practice!

Like all techniques that video editors use to enhance their productions, techniques for tying the video to the audio require patience and repetition - in other words, like the musicians who created the music you'll use in your videos, practice makes perfect. As you experiment and play around with the audio in your videos, you'll come up with your own methods of interleaving the audio and video in your productions.
Remember, in the real world of video editing, there is no clear distinction between audio and video editing - it's all a part of the whole, and taking an all-encompassing approach is best. Nonetheless, as you discover new techniques for editing audio and/or video, don't hesitate to tell us about them; our address is located in the Masthead on page four of this issue. Who knows, your ideas may just make it into the Your Tips department in Videomaker Magazine.
Happy editing!

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