Cinelerra is a complex, but very powerful Linux/GNU based video editing tool that does primarily 3 main things: capturing, compositing, and editing audio and video. It is a professional level video tool and is not for the faint hearted! However, with time an patience, you can have this powerful tool at your disposal to make films with (even if you are running windows, you can use this tool via boot-CDs like dyne:bolic ) - this guide is intended to get the ball rolling - to start you off on the journey to mastering Cinelerra.

Looking at Cinelerra

First download and run Cinelerra. You will notice that in its default state, Cinelerra has four windows you will use. These are:

• Main Program Window - The main window with the menu bar and timeline in.
• Resources Manager - Where your imported files, clips and special effects are stored.
• Media Viewer - The window where you can view clips.
• Compositor Window - This window that shows you the edited film you are making.

If you close a window and wish to re-open it, or if you cannot see a window referred to below, then use the Windows>Default positions option on the menu bar to display the windows needed. .

Setup

On the top menu bar, select: Settings>Preferences These options can be a nightmare to deal with, so we have created a suggested profile - but you will probably need to do your own explorations of these options. If an option is not mentioned, then leave as default.

Once done, File>New (Project) will create a new project for you, again you can set some of the settings for this project. (NB this option will overwrite previous projects!!)

To Load Video Files

Then you need to import the video you will be editing with: File>Load Files

A new dialogue box will open from where you can add video files, which are compatible (e.g. MPEG-4, .avi encoded with Open DivX Codec etc.). First change the 'Insertion Strategy' (at bottom of this box) to 'Create new resources only' then navigate to where the files are stored. You can hold down the Ctrl key and select multiple files if you wish. Then click OK. These files will then appear in the resources window, in the 'Media' directory. Repeat this process until the resources window has all the files you wish to use.

To Edit

Each video clip, or file, you have loaded can now be used to build a final film - this is the editing process at its most basic. Begin by dragging a file from the media directory of the resources window into the viewer window. You should now be able to use the play button here to view your file. Once you have identified what section of the clip you wish to use in the edited film, mark the in and out points of this chosen section and then use the clip button to transfer this into the 'Clip' directory of the resources window. A new dialogue box open that allows you to name the clip and add any notes. It is strongly suggested that you name each clip you create. These clips can then be dragged from the clip directory in the resource window into either the timeline or composting window to be added to the edited film. Each clip added in this way is placed, sequentially, after the existing one…and there you go - you are editing!

Further Information