I finally figured out how to edit, format, and process my HD videos into a full aspect ratio for YouTube with a high definition classification. I wanted to increase the quality of my screen printing videos with the new HD Sony Handycam and it seems to have come together. I found the HD camera difficult to get used to and working with the video format was a very big challenge. After many problems and many tests, I ultimately discovered a way for me to make these videos correctly for YouTube without making a ton of extra computer work for myself.

The new video is called, “Screen Printing Techno Music Video”. This is a fun entertainment video that features the screenprinting equipment in the shop. I most often work with Windows Movie Maker because it is very easy and fast to work with. It’s true it is limited in many ways but it is actually very powerful because you can accomplish so much in short a time. As I move to make my videos more complicated and involved, I was afraid Sony Vegas was going to make things take longer and perhaps make them more difficult to do. And for me, that is exactly what it was doing and I still can’t find any transitions in it.

Sony Vegas was giving me problems right off the bat by not being able to work with the camera’s HD file. Oh yea, it will play and edit and such but when I render it, all I get is a black video. What the? Then when I converted the files to Windows format first, Sony Vegas would not seem to get the format correct no matter what setting and aspect ratio I chose. The tests would upload to YouTube as HD but they would not fill the entire YouTube video player. Arrrgghhh!!! Then I stumbled on something that I think  works out for me being as though I prefer Windows Movie Maker anyway.

Since I am making “how to” videos about screen printing, I don’t really need fancy effects and bells or whistles in my videos. I just need good quality camera work with solid screen printing content. More cuts, pans, close ups and scene changes. And of course, great topics. But what I discovered is that if I edit the video in Movie Maker with a 16:9 aspect ratio and output as DVD widescreen quality, then process the video in Sony Vegas as 1280 X 720 HD format, it works perfectly. It fills the entire YouTube player and has an HD label with the ability to play in the 720p format.

This way I can make more complicated videos with tons of cuts, pans, close ups and scene changes without increasing my editing work in Vegas and still be in the true HD format. For a while there I though that the new HD camera combined with Sony Vegas were going to make my video editing a nightmare and double or triple my time doing it. I’ll definitely be spending more time making my videos but that time will be in front of the camera now. I won’t rip you off with a bunch of fancy and unnecessary effects. I’m more interested in making wholesome screen printing videos that are educational and fun to watch.

Thanks for reading! Learn how to screen print with Catspit Productions LLC!