Can You Edit With Your Digital Video Camera?

We really hate to say yes to this question. To really edit your videos, you need to bring them into a video editor on your computer. It's the only way you can get all of the functionality of an editor and have complete control over your footage. If you're dead set against using video editing software or even sucking your video into a computer, however, there are a few things you can accomplish with just your camcorder.

Learn to Use That Pause/Record Button

For starters, you can start "shooting for the cut." That means shoot it like it should look when edited. To do this, learn to use your pause/record button often and in a timely manner. Shoot a wide of the family-packed Thanksgiving Day table. Hit the pause button. Move to get a shot of mom carving the turkey and hit record. Hit pause. Point the camcorder at Uncle Joe licking his chomps and hit record. Hit pause again and etc, etc, etc. You get the idea. When played back you'll get some nice looking cuts that will have an edited look to them.

Get used to using the pause button instead of just letting the video camera roll between shots.

Transitions

Your digital camcorder likely has a few transitions you can use as well. At the very least, digital video cameras come with a fade in / fade out feature. You can use this to fade into your scene and to fade out when you're done shooting. Consult your users' manual to learn how to access and use in-camera transitions.

Catch Your Mistakes Early

If you feel that what you just shot was bad (insufficient lighting, boring, noisy) go into playback mode and rewind to the beginning of that segment. Switch back to camera mode and you're ready to start rolling again. The next thing you shoot will record over the footage you were unhappy with. Instant cutting room floor.

With hard drive and flash memory camcorders, you can just select clips to delete if you are unhappy with them. This is a huge advantage over tapes and DVD.