How to produce a video from Adobe Premiere Elements 8 from a HD Hero camera

Hello viewers/readers.  You may be thinking, what is this non-bicycle related subject?  I see your point, but this post is very germane to the contents of this video based cycling blog.  I feel that it could be of great value to some. 

I experienced a frustrating learning curve trying to learn the idiosyncrasies of the Adobe Elements Premiere Elements 8 and I thought it would be very valuable to share with others what I have learned.

One of the biggest things that I learned was which settings were most ideal, both on the the set-up and the output side of video editing for YouTube uploading and general archiving purposes.    I covered this fairly well in the video, but I didn't have time to discuss some of the aspects of high definition videos and this software.

One of these big aspects is that Adobe Premiere Elements 8 does not upload true high definition videos directly from the Share portion of their software.  DO NOT UPLOAD TO YOU TUBE DIRECTLY FROM APE8 (Adobe Premiere Elements 8) IF YOU WANT HIGH DEFINITION.  Instead just follow my guidance on my video.  Save the file to your computer as a MPEG2 1920 x 1080i 30 (even if you use different camera settings).  This is preferable even if the APE8 worked correctly because now you have the video in a format ready for archiving.  Additionally, YouTube does not have an upload manager (this fact may have changed), so if an error occurs you have to start the upload again.   It will save you tons of time to upload from a saved file because otherwise the software has to add additional unnecessary rendering times (which produces poor You Tube videos anyway).

Another huge issue that I had was producing a high definition video on a DVD.  Let me save you a ton of time figuring this out.  YOU CAN NOT PRODUCE A HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO ON A DVD DIRECTLY FROM APE8.  In fact, you can not produce HD videos on DVDs from most software.  Their default video size is more like 640 x 480, and not 1920 x 1080.

One software that will produce HD videos on DVD is Roxio 2010, and can only be viewed on blue-ray players.  The advantage of DVDs over Blue-ray Discs is simply cost and sharing (most people don't own blue-ray players yet).  The big disadvantage is that it takes more time to produce and especially the size limit of the disc itself.  A DVD will only hold about 16 minutes of high definition video compared to about 100-200 minutes on a 25 or 50 GB Blue-ray Disc.

The above image is from the Roxio 2010 software that allows encoding AVCHD files to DVD for high definition quality.

I should point out that APE8 will produce Blue-ray disc directly from the software and the image quality is stunning.  I still prefer to save the file first and then burn the file to a Blue-ray disc later.

Another helpful tip for new users is to use re-writable DVDs/Blue-ray discs to practice your first burns so that you don't unnecessarily waste discs.  This simple idea took me a while to figure out.

I hope this is helpful.  I do not claim to be an expert.  I may have some errors and appreciate correction as appropriate.  I do think that on the whole, this information is very helpful to new users of the HD Hero camera and Adobe Premiere Elements 8 software.

Regards,
David Henderson

Update (10Nov2010):  I am still learning how to use some of the features of APE8.  I finally paid the "Upgrade" fees to see some of the tutorials for the software that I use (there are some free tutorials and others require a fee to view).  I was basically shocked to learn that I have a substantial music library with my software.  Not only is it substantial, but I can use it without fear of copyright infringement and as a freaky bonus the software will customize the length of the music down to the second that I enter.  This means that the music is composed exactly to the length of my chosen clip, complete with intro, body and ending to the musical clip.

I am adding a video to this post below.  The purpose of the clip is to show some of the capabilities of the APE8 software that I use and a few cases I am testing or learning some of the effects.  My personal favorites are animating objects such as text, still images and even video.  I am also excited to know that I can zoom/crop on clips.  Another new discovery for me is that I can sharpen the image with the software as well.  Oh yeah, the green screen effect is pretty cool as well.

If anyone who uses APE8 would like to know how to use a specific effect, just comment below and I will answer.  I might even produce a short tutorial video if time allows.

Update (14Nov2010):  I just published a post that details how to use "SmartSound" software that comes with APE8 (and many other video editing software).   "SmartSound" is a big deal for individuals who are serious about editing video.  It customizes the length of musical compositions precisely, complete with intro, body and ending.  Additionally the music is royalty free and their internet music library is huge (APE8 comes with 26 tracks with several variations for each piece).    I also added a clip and some information about producing 3D movies.  It can be found by clicking here.


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