Digital Video for Dummies

Fully half of Digital Video for Dummies deals with motion-picture production values in general, computer editing and applications aside. Doucette explains how to script scenes, frame shots, capture sound, talk to actors, and apply makeup. He also demystifies camcorder technology--his fine explanation of white balance is one example of this book's excellent hardware coverage (which focuses on the Canon XL1 camera). Once he's explained how to get your scenes on tape, Doucette tells how to convert them to PC format. (He uses a Pinnacle Systems video capture card in his examples.) He uses Adobe's image- and video-editing software (especially Adobe Premiere 5.1 for Windows) in his tutorials, explaining how to get things done with a combination of numbered procedures, sharp prose, and succinct hints. The book's main shortcoming is its lack of information on producing and publishing streaming video in RealVideo or Windows Media Player format--after all, most Internet videos use one of those formats. But this isn't a Web book and it stands on its merits as a video-production and Adobe Premiere text. --David Wall

Topics covered: Preparing for video shoots, lighting, sound, scripting, capturing video to PC format, editing with Adobe Premiere, and adding effects with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects.

Product Description
This guide to digital video provides advice on choosing equipment, optimizing a computer for video editing, shooting a quality video and using Adobe Premiere 5 to digitally edit it. The CD-ROM contains a selection of sample videos and software, including a demo suite of Adobe editing tools.

Part two of the book is about digital video editing software. The software covered here is Adobe Premiere 5.0, Windows Movie Maker and iMovie. Also Adobe Photoshop is covered! The coverage are a bit too shallow on the software. The information given on Adobe Premiere is so general that maybe it should have been left out. I know this book is supposed to be a helping hand for novices, but this is not enough info!

The main problem with digital video software is tweaking and setting preferences. The rest is possible to learn by doing. I think the author could have focused more on spesific hardware, and ways to hook them up on the PC.

In addition there is some information on useful equipment, and a demo CD. Overall not a bad book to purchase, but I believe there is better books out there, even for us novices!


Excellent beginner's book   January 4, 2002
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Some people are turned off by the title "Digital Video for Dummies," but if you have ever used one of the "for Dummies" series, you will find that perhaps the title should be "Digital Video for People Who Don't Know Anything About It." That doesn't scan well on a book cover, though.

The book covers everything from equipment to technique. It is quite thorough, considering its size, barely over 300 pages. There is some truncated software included to get you started on digital editing.

Simple clear explanations of the differences between digital and analog video are included, as well as the different formats that exist and the relative merits of each.

You could definitely save money on your first purchases of equipment by getting this book before you decide what to buy.


Pretty Good   November 10, 2001
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I am surprised this book didn't get better reviews. I found it very helpful. I am trying to learn more on the subject of DV and it was packed with important information on things like lighting and equipment. Things you wouldn't know unless you studied DV post production. I would definitely recommend this for the aspiring beginner videographer.