How To Make A Video For Free With Pinnacle Videospin

Sorry guys. This is not about some sexy Bollywood actresses or hot celebrities. Instead I'm just referring to Pinnacle Videospin - a free video editing software from Pinnacle Systems Inc.

Pinnacle Videospin is a stripped-down version of the popular and award-winning Pinnacle Studio(TM) video editing software. It is a very basic home video editing program and yet it can make a decent video pretty well.

Pinnacle Videospin is specially created for home users who do not want to spend much money or time making videos (movies). It was launched in the Fall of 2007 and its Beta version has been successfully used by more than 60,000 consumers. Since then, it has been improved upon and VideoSpin 2.0  is still offered as a free download from http://www.videospin.com.

Most of us love to watch videos and we visit social sites like YouTube and Yahoo!Videos to watch our favorite videos. They appeal to our emotions. It is often said that a picture paints a thousand words, and a video, with its combination of sights and sound appeals to many of our senses, can leave us speechless.

Very often we want to produce our own videos to share our stories or ideas with others but somehow we never get started. We feel intimidated by how much technical knowledge is required to produce a good video and the cost of video editing software.

Well, the good news is these two constraints are no longer excuses for our in-actions to make our own videos. You can now use the free Pinnacle Videopspin to easily make a video in a couple of minutes and you don't need to have any technical know-how at all. 

All you need are some video clips, photos or images and a few minutes of your time. Don't procrastinate! It's no excuse by saying you don't have any video clips or pictures. We keep all sorts of stuff on our computer. Take a good look at your hard-disk and you'll find plenty of video clips and great pictures of your favorite sexy celebrities, family, friends, pets etc. that you've stashed up over time because you like them. Now you can get them out of the "closet" and make a video out of these resources and share them with others. If you like them, many people out there will like them too.

Downloading Pinnacle Videospin from http://www.videospin.com is pretty fast and easy. Its 148 MB file size should be completed within 5 to 30 minutes depending on your connection speed.

Well, when you first run the program you will be prompted with the following message:

"VideoSpin includes a 15-day trial of advanced video codecs (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DiVX). If you wish to use these codecs after the 15-day trial, you will need to purchase the Advanced Codecs Pack. (Note: If you have separately purchased Pinnacle codecs, either individually or as part of a product, those codecs will still be usable.)"

Hey, don't let that message put you off. The basic Pinnacle VideoSpin program is absolutely free. This message is just a pre-sell of the optional $14.99 Advanced Codec Pack that includes MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, MP3, Dolby Digital and AAC audio. Pinnacle feels that if you like the basic program and you're serious with video editing this is not a big price to pay to advance to a higher level of making videos.

For the home users who do not want to spend any money, the most important question you would asked is:

And the wonderful news is: "Yes!"

VideoSpin will still work but you will not be able to create or edit MPEG-2, MPEG-4/DivX, or Dolby Digital 2 Channel files.

Without the advanced codecs, VideoSpin can still create movie files in the following formats: AVI, MPEG-1, Real Media and Windows Media. And for the newly initiated video makers these simple codecs are more than enough for basic home video editing.

Hey, don't let these technical terms frighten and confuse you. If you're going to get involve with making videos at home, you'll be learning all sorts of new terms pretty soon. It's easy once you get started.

Let's start off with "codec" or short for "code-decode." This is the software that converts your videos from and into formats used by specific recording or playback devices. For example, MPEG-1 is for VCD, MPEG-2 is for DVD and MPEG-4 is very popular for small devices such as iPods and PSPs.

AVI is widely used and stands for Audio Video Interleave. This is a container video format that specifies certain structure how the audio and video streams should be stored within the file. Most commonly used video codecs that use AVI structure are M-JPEG and DivX

DivX is based on MPEG-4 video compression technology and is also supported by a wide range of DivX-compatible hardware devices. Real Media streaming video and audio format is developed by RealNetworks. RM movies is played by a RealPlayer® software, and the basic version is a free download from www.real.com.RM file could not be converted to any video formats, because the format of RM file is secret

WMV stands for Windows Media Video, developed and controlled by Microsoft. WMV files can be played on any computer where the Windows Media player – a free program from Microsoft – is installed.

MP3, Dolby Digital and AAC audio are all sound formats and the players can be freely sourced from the Internet.

When you launch Pinnacle Videospin, it opens the interface page most often used - the Edit mode.

For those of you who are familiar with Pinnacle Studio, you'll find that Pinnacle Videospin is very similar in layout except for the Browser Window. The Videospin edit page displays four main areas with the lower half comprising the Movie Window (also known as the Time-line) with the Pinnacle logo in the center. The top half is divided into three areas with the Album on the left, the Browser Window in the middle and the Player on the right.

The Movie Window

The Movie Window is where you create your edited movie by arranging the various media elements to your production. This is a simplified version of the familiar video editing time-line with tracks for the video clip or pictures, the synchronized audio from the video clip, titles, sound effects and background music.

The Movie Window title bar contains two important controls on the right - the razorblade and the trashcan.

You click the razorblade button to split the currently-selected clip in the Movie Window, or the currently-selected scene in the Album.

If the item is an Album scene, it is split at the indicated point of the edit line into two shorter scenes. If the item is a video clip in the Movie Window, it is duplicated and automatically trimmed to the split point.

The trashcan button deletes the currently-selected content in any of the Movie Window views. By default, when video clips on the video track of your project are deleted in any view, the gap in your movie that would otherwise be created by the deletion is automatically closed up, and clips on other tracks are removed or shortened as required to keep everything in sync.

However, on the main video track, pressing down on Ctrl+Delete leaves a gap when the clip is removed, while on the other tracks, the gap on the track is closed up.

At the bottom left of the Movie Window just beneath the music track are two round buttons - the plus-sign button is the Ruler Zoom In which increases the size of the Time-line and thus make the clip larger to see. The other minus-sign button is Ruler Zoom Out which does the opposite and decreases the size of the Time-line.

-Above the time-line and occupying the top half of the screen are three areas - the Album, the Browser Window and the Player.

The Album

The Album on the left stores six media resources you will use in your videos or movies. The source folder for each section’s content is listed at the top of the Album page, next to a small Folder button. If you want to change the source of the current section, either select a folder from the dropdown list, or click the button, browse to another folder on your system, and select any file. The file that you've selected will be highlighted in the repopulated Album section.

Album sections (except Titles and ransitions) also provide a Parent folder button to facilitate moving around within a group of folders containing the appropriate media.

At the bottom right of each Album page, Pinnacle VideoSpin shows the current page number and the total page count for the section. You can click the arrows to move forward or back through the pages.

The Album has six media resources you will use in making your videos or movies. They are:

a. Video Scenes

This section contains all your video clips that you have uploaded and saved in your hard disk. You can access and preview the files directly, or you can load one into the Album, where its scenes can be viewed in three ways - icons, details or thumbnail view. To use some of the scenes in your movie, you just drag their icons into the Movie Window. Double-click on the icons will enable you to preview the files on the Player window.

In the Video Scenes and Photos sections of the Album you will find one further button which links to the Import Media dialog. This dialog makes it easy to locate video clips and still images stored on auxiliary devices such as optical disc drives, hard drives and flash memory drives plugged into your system, and you can copy selected items onto your PC hard drive for access through the Album.

b. Transitions

Pinnacle Videospin offers you a very generous set of transitions. There are 74 transition types ranging from simple fades to Hollywood-style presets. To use a transition, you simply position it next to or between video clips and pictures in the Movie Window. You can also increase or decrease the transitions speed by sliding them with a mouse.

c. Titles

This Album section contains editable titles, which you can use as overlays or as full-screen graphics. The title generator includes a respectable 18 templates that are suitable for various situations and they are all provided free by Pinnacle Videospin. You can also customize the titles to your heart's desire.

Titles have their own track on the timeline, and the program also allows you to insert titles on any part of the video track.

The Title Editor is very versatile and offers various ways of accessing it from Pinnacle VideoSpin’s Edit mode, using a mouse command on one of the timeline tracks. You can use the Title Editor to create and edit a full-screen title or an overlay title.

You can create your own titles from scratch or edit the free title templates stored in the title folder. Pinnacle VideoSpin supports rolls, crawls, and many typographical effects.

You can also add transitions to the title clips just like you use them on the main video track permitting titles to dissolve or fade onto the main video track.

d. Photos

This is a section where you store all your family photographs, favorite pictures and graphics. You can use any of these visual elements full-screen or as overlays on the main video.

A full-screen image is one that is placed on the video track. It fills the entire screen, replacing the video. When the preceding video clip ends, Pinnacle VideoSpin plays the still image clip.

An overlay image is one that is placed on the title track. It is

superimposed on the current video clip, without replacing the video.

Most standard image file formats such as JPEG, GIF or PNG are supported by Pinnacle Videospin.

e. Sound Effects

Pinnacle VideoSpin comes ready with some high-quality sound effects. You can also use audio files that you have recorded yourself or obtained from other sources. The formats supported are wav, mp3, avi, mpa and wma.

f. Music

In this Album section for background music you can locate and use music files stored on your hard drive. The formats supported are wav, mp3, avi, mpa and wma.

Unlike the paid-for Pinnacle Studio program, the free Pinnacle Videospin has an extra section known as the Browser Window that displays advertisements and help files. It occupies the center of the upper half and when connected to the Internet, the Browser Window alternately displays an on-going series of rotating promotional messages from Pinnacle as well as from Amazon.com and help files or tips.

You can click inside the browser window to learn more about upgrades, enhancements, or new products. Pinnacle hopes that if you like the free VideoSpin program, you will soon outgrow it and want to pay for a more complete version with advanced codecs.

The third area on the right of the upper half houses the Player.

The Player provides playback and preview for whichever item that is currently selected in Pinnacle VideoSpin. In the time-line, it is indicated by the edit line.

The Player is basically the output screen where you can see your work. This may be an Album resource such as a video scene, an image, title or sound effect. It can also be your edited movie, complete with transitions, title and audio tracks. The current position can be changed by moving either the Player scrubber or the time-line scrubber to which the edit line is attached.

Pinnacle Videospin does not provide any technical support but has a very comprehensive and helpful community support page. For help with VideoSpin, you just click on the question-mark link at the top right of the interface. It opens the support page where you will find the FAQs, Help and Send Us Your FeedBack links.

Like most free software, Pinnacle VideoSpin has some limitations. Here are some of the things you do not get with your free download:

a. No Advanced Codecs After 15 Days

Well, you have a 15-day trial of advanced video codecs (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DiVX). If you wish to continue using these codecs after the trial period, you will need to purchase the pack. However, if you do not want to spend any money, you still get a very basic home video editing software that allows you to make decent videos.

b. No Capture Video Mode

Unlike paid-for programs, Pinnacle Videospin cannot capture video data from tape-based video cameras or DV camcorders since the application works only with media files that are already in your computer hard-disk. However, this is not a big issue as most video camcorders, digital cameras or hand-phones with video and picture-taking functions are usually bundled with their own software to allow you to download your media data to your computer. You just go to the Album and get the stuff you want for your videos.

c. No Video Effects

Videospin program has no video effects that allow you to do fancy stuff to your videos or pictures. For example, you cannot brighten or darken your videos or pictures. You cannot sharpen your images nor can you do color effects. It does not support any sort of time adjustment features such as slow, fast or reverse motion. You cannot create additional tracks on the time-line. So any sort of image composition or picture-in-picture effect is unavailable in this program.

d. Limited Audio Effects

You cannot edit audio except for volume levels and duration of play.

e. Fixed Interface Size

The Pinnacle Videospin interface size is fixed, so you can't view it full-screen on your computer.

f. No Burn To DVDs Function

You cannot burn your completed videos or movies to DVDs. You can write only to files or upload your productions to the Web.

g. Presence of Advertisements

You must put up with advertisements for Pinnacle products, and even for products sold on Amazon.com rotating in the top-middle of the interface. But they are not intrusive and after a while you don't even notice they're there.

As a free download, VideoSpin is a very good option if all you want to do is some basic video editing of removing unwanted footage, and adding titles, transitions and audio effects to your movies before uploading them to the Internet. Even without the Advanced Codec Package, you can still create very decent videos or movies with the basic features available in the free version.

Perhaps because VideoSpin has been stripped of so many features, the program is very stable compared to many of the free video editing software on the Internet. I have had given up using Windows Movie Maker as it crashed every time I try to start a new project.

Videospin's simplicity in design and operation makes video-editing so much fun and amazingly easy. To prove my point, I made this short photo-montage video/movie (1 min 13 seconds), uploaded it to YouTube and it appeared live in under 15 minutes!

Now that you have a free video-editing program that's reliable and easy-to-use, you no longer have any more excuses to get started. So, what are you waiting for? Take actions now because many people out there want to see your videos! Get your free download at http://www.videospin.com and be a video maker. You'll be amazed how easy it is to make videos and have lots of fun. It only takes a few minutes of your time with Pinnacle Videospin!

You can easily make a decent video or movie within minutes with Pinnacle VideoSpin in a two-step process: edit and make movie.

In Edit mode, you go to the Album and import video clips from the Video Scenes section and photos or graphics from the Photo section and place them on the Movie Window or Time-line.

You start editing by rearranging scenes and discarding unwanted footage. You can cut and trim your video clips by using the razorblade or drag the mouse on either ends of the clip to shorten the length of the clip.

You then import and add visuals, such as transitions and graphics. For titles, credits and specific messages you can use and edit the preset templates supplied or you can use the Title Editor to create your own titles.

You can also add supplementary audio, such as sound effects and background music to your assembled video.

During editing, you can preview what you have created at any time and when you are satisfied with your masterpiece, you let Videospin make a movie of your work.

In Make Movie mode, you generate a finished movie in your choice of format (AVI, MPEG, DivX, RealVideo, Windows Media), save it to your computer for your own viewing and sharing with others or you can upload your video or movie directly to the Web. It's so easy as Videospin has default set-ups for uploading to YouTube and Yahoo!Videos for sharing with a potential audience of millions of other Internet users.

Pinnacle Videospin comes with two preset formats, Best Quality and Fast Upload, that provide different combinations of frame size and video data rate:

* Best Quality scales your movie to a 480x480 pixels frame size, and requires a transfer data rate of 2400 Kbits/second.

* Fast Upload uses a 352x240 pixels frame size, and requires a transfer data rate of 1150 Kbits/second.

After selecting the preset format you want, you then click the Create button. This opens the Web Upload dialog box, where you can enter editorial information about your video or movie you have just created.

All you need to do now is to set the title, description and comma-separated search tags as desired, then check the category or categories in which your video or movie should be listed.

That's it! You're almost there. Now, sit back and relax and let Videospin "render" or "author" (generate video frames in the output format for) any titles, transitions and sound/music you have added to your production.

This will take a couple of minutes depending on the length of your movie. Once it is completed your video movie will appear live on YouTube or Yahoo!Videos for viewing by potential millions of Internet users. You're now a video maker! Thanks to Pinnacle Videospin for making video editing so easy, fun and free.