With a 4k recording capability now easily available on iPhones and other smartphones, it has become simpler than ever to create videos. However, this does not imply that the level of videos or their originality has kept pace with these advancements!
The historical idea of creating a video is quite basic. One camera lens takes a number of still pictures (frames – 24 accurately) in one second. These are then rapidly played to create the appearance of movement, but the fundamental concept is the same as the Zoetrope – a wheel that was popular in the heydays and has now simply gone extinct!
The Evolution of Video Editing
Back in the late 1960s, TV producers used huge quad decks (about the size of a refrigerator laying on their back) to record video on 2-inch broad videotapes. Then in the seventies, these giant machines turned into tiny suitcase machines with a video recording of one inch or 34 inches.
The editing was even more primitive and involved tedious efforts in cropping sequences– because bobbles needed someone to carefully “chop off” the shots and attach them with the preceding tape, just as you would with a cello tape today. Therefore, deleted sequences were formerly limited to the scope of how much you can cut from your reels.
Today, in the digital era when people with smartphones can record, edit and even watch their films within minutes, this development has paved the way for tremendous advancements in digital technology, especially in the past 10 years.
Moreover, we have arrived at a point where we have the capability to shoot and edit an entire movie using an iPhone. Parts of the well-known movie ‘Sugar Man’ were filmed using a mobile phone.
This technology has paved the way for an explosion in the video content creation domain. Today, creators leverage the latest technology to create amazing-looking clips that were earlier deemed impossible. You now have the ability to record footage, apply filters, effects, adjust color profiles, crop, and make the video share-ready in just a few minutes.
We have arrived at a point where the only limitation is our creativity. However, this was not an overnight process, rather it was a culmination of various technologies working in tandem to provide the best possible results.
We started with offline video editors and we have arrived at online video editors that require little to no expertise on the editor’s part owing to their intuitiveness. Let’s analyze how digital video editing changed the game.
How has Digital Video Editing Changed the Game?
There are two principles behind digital video editing. First, software for video editing is non-linear. This is the capacity to navigate from anywhere in a sequence to any desired timestamp. Along the way, you may crop and insert films and make changes that help you in expressing your narrative precisely.
Edits are performed progressively using non-linear editing. It is unworkable to go back and re-edit after it has been completed and it is difficult to preview how things are going until all changes are complete.
The ability to go seamlessly from one edit to another gives the editor an unbelievable level of freedom. It creates a more flexible workflow in which the structuring of a narrative requires less compromise.
Second, the video editing platform is equally essential as all your editing endeavors are based on the platform. A high-quality online video editing tool implies that any modifications are reversible when editing the clip. This is true for many types of modifications, but mostly when we edit the raw footage into smaller, more targeted pieces.
Cutting down a video is a refining process. Excess is chopped down, first with broad swath cuts and then more targeted cuts as things develop. But what if too much is removed? We now have non-destructive editing that implies you can recover any film edit and ensure that all your data is safe.
Non-destructive editing, like non-linear editing, implies freedom and flexibility. Online video editing has come a long way since its inception and there is still a long way to go! However, the pinnacle of editing prowess that we have acquired today could only be dreamed of just 10 years back, and this development has massive implications for video production in the modern world.
Final Thoughts
Technological developments have been crucial and accessibility of high-quality software and gear for emerging filmmakers has improved dramatically.
Never before have the instruments required to produce films been accessible so readily and there is no indication of this slowing down since people record even the tiniest parts of their life more often and easily share them on the web.
It is recognized, however, that although video creation has been extended to the people, the technology’s underlying professional equipment has also significantly advanced. Mobile devices cannot replace experts and their gadgets with the newest technical advances in professional film editing, which usually requires great skills for a worthy final output.
