Computer Editing: Which Comes First, the A or the V?

It's natural that the visual part of your presentations will take up the majority of your efforts when you first start flirting with the idea of telling stories with your camcorder. Nevertheless, you'll quickly learn that if you want to achieve truly powerful communication, you need to balance your visual efforts with equal time and attention to your soundtrack.

Writers and producers build most video scripts around what the audience will see. Shot descriptions, lists of props, lighting gear - all of these important tools insure that what the audience sees makes sense. Still, while getting your visuals right is critical, it's just as important to decide on how you'll approach your soundtrack. One basic decision that needs to be made early in the process is whether the pictures will drive the audio or whether the soundtrack will drive the visuals. In this month's article, we'll talk about projects where the picture drives the sound.

Decisions, Decisions?
Bang! What was that sound? A gunshot? You're sitting at your computer editing your video and you have a decision to make. On your monitor, you see your Femme Fatale holding a gun. The audio track displays a waveform spike of the gunshot. Normally you'd simply make sure that the two production elements stay in perfect sync so that when she fires at her two-timing, blackmailing partner, the sound of the shot syncs up with the muzzle flash and the audience knows exactly w…