Newbie to Video editing...share the best place to get basics please.

[Ross H]

Long time studio operator and Pro Tools user. I want to get my feet wet with Video editing and would like to get the Video 101 basics education.

Can anyone please point me in the right direction for the basics?

I would like to understand some of the basics as it relates to what Pro Tools can and can not do with video? In general I will be using Pro Tools 9 and will be importing video from iphones and typical video cameras. I need some do's and don'ts about importing video from various consumer cameras, syncing, exporting, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Ross H

[Postman]

I would like to understand some of the basics as it relates to what Pro Tools can and can not do with video?

Pro Tools is not adequate to edit video. Cuts only, no media management in a useable sense. That's about as basic as I can think to say. Avid, Final Cut Pro, Premier, etc.

[Craig F]

no de-solves
no overlays
not what you want to cut picture

[voxy]

Spend 100 bucks and get Vegas. It's pretty easy to work with and you can do a lot for what it is. I'm no video editor but have managed to make some nice small vids from things I've shot with my Flip camera.

[idris]

If you've got a Mac, have a play with iMovie. It's very simple compared to something like FCP or Media Composer but if you're just doing simple stuff it's quite capable. Also it's aimed at the complete novice so there are tutorials and tools that assume you know nothing.

(Getting any kind of EDL from iMovie to PT is not an option AFAIK.)

Alternatively, isn't there a domestic version of Media Composer now?

[EGS]

Originally Posted by voxy

Spend 100 bucks and get Vegas. It's pretty easy to work with and you can do a lot for what it is...

+1. I using Sony Vegas Movie Studio 10 (Windows 7) and it's great.

[TiKkO]

I was about to say the same thing as Voxy. That is definitely good advice. Vegas is great. It is as simple as Acid Pro while still giving you the ability to do most anything you want to do. I've used it for HD music videos in the past and I stand by it 100%.
It's worth the price and more. It also works as a pretty good audio DAW.
Don't be fooled into thinking Pro Tools is always the way to go. The competition is pretty much great across the board from Abelton, Vegas, Acid, Cubase, etc. Especially Nuendo which in my experience is far superior to Pro Tools if you have the expertise to use it correctly.
I was just in a big argument with a guy in the music lab on campus this past Friday. He tried telling me EVERY professional work is done on Pro Tools. I had to inform him that he is sadly mistaken and needs to stop reading Pro Tools advertisements. Most albums and movies that weren't done on Pro Tools were done on Nuendo (which is basically Cubase' bad ass big brother).
VST is the standard for plug-ins. VST is a Steinberg (maker of Cubase & Nuendo) creation.
If you like PT then use it but do not be fooled into thinking it is your only option. I have PT LE8, Cubase, Cakewalk Music Creator 5, and Acid Pro 7. I find myself using Acid more than anything else because it is actually FAR superior to both Cubase and PT LE when it comes to arranging your audio. I wouldn't use anything but Acid if I could get it to allow MIDI control of my audio fx plug-ins (for example Eiosis ELS Vocoder and Waves Morphoder).

Moral to the story is don't assume any one DAW is better because you heard someone say it is. Odds are their opinion is based on very little experimentation.