For
those of you who don't know me, my byline has often read, "Charlie
White has been writing about digital video editing since it was the
laughingstock of the television industry." Well,
it hasn't really been all that long -- about six years. But the part
about dv being a laughingstock sure was the case when I started out
writing about this stuff. Back in 1993, this portal's (Digital Media
Online's) founder and guru, Lou Wallace was a believer in DV. No matter
that "digital video" meant postage stamp-sized, grainy and
jerky footage playing back on a tiny computer screen with no chance
of ever seeing the inside of a real TV station. It was tinkertoy city.
But that didn't scare us away. Way back then, Lou had a vision: "Someday,
my boy," intoned the ever-confident and prescient publisher extraordinaire,
"all video will be made this way." Some people laughed. I
didn't. I have a feeling that neither did you.
So here we are on the Web, umpteen years later, and we see that Lou was right. Almost all video is made this way. There's a catch, though. It's not easy to make video on computers that were not originally thought to be able to edit video. Heck, these machines, most of them at least, were invented to do word processing! Well, the whole process of video editing gets easier every day, but it always helps to have someone to talk to when the going gets rough. It also helps to have all the latest information about digital video editing, since things change in this market on a daily basis.
That's why we're here. Count on us to keep you up-to-the-minute about matters concerning the digital video editing world. Besides furnishing you with all the latest press about editing, we'll be offering you feature articles about all kinds of dv editing happenings, equipment and the people who make it sing. We'll even go a step further with detailed reviews and tutorials, tips and techniques that show you how to get the most out of your system or show you what that system across the street can do. We'll even invent new kinds of articles, Web articles that combine equipment reviews and tutorials, sorta like a "day in the life" with a particular editing system. And hey, you think your problems are bad? We might even tell you a few horror stories that'll make your situation seem like a walk in the park. Then, we'll see what those systems' manufacturers did to bring about a happy (or maybe a not-so-happy) ending.
This'll be a channel with teeth. With guts. And with a slightly wry sense of humor. But above all, it'll be a site with tons of accurate information, and it'll be the place for you to come when you're wondering what's happening in the world of digital video editing. Not 3D animation. Not compositing. Just editing.
Keep an eye on us! And, if you'd like to write about some of your experiences with digital video or would like to see a particular article here, please don't hesitate to let us know.
So after writing most of this column, who calls me but my new/old boss and buddy, Lou Wallace. Says Lou, "Someday my boy, all publishing will be done this way, on the Web." Some people may laugh at that. I'm not laughing. I have a feeling that neither are you.