I took a video editing class about 6 years ago to learn how to make (tantanaNAAAN) fanvids. Unfortunately, they left out the part about encoding and authoring video discs. So I figured that part out myself, with the helpful Vidding Community at LiveJournal. And while I've never finished a fanvid, I've made a few audio-visual presentations (AVPs) for academic and birthday stuff.

The last AVP I made was two years ago, so I've totally forgotten how to encode and author stuff. It took me three whole days rediscover the process that worked for me (and my OS)! In an effort to avoid this supreme waste of time and disk space (I exported from Adobe Premiere three times, encoded five times, burned thrice, and all in all downloaded MORE THAN TEN new software) for a measly 13-minute birthday video, here are the basic steps that work for me. This post is more of a "for my reference" thing, so I didn't define any terms. Feel free to comment or message me if you're a vidder yourself and have questions!

Basic Steps:

1. Edit with Adobe Premiere Pro, + Adobe Audition (for audio) -- both firmware
2. Export as avi (File > Export > Media > Microsoft AVI)
3. For web use:
1. Compress avi with VirtualDub or VirtualDubMod.
2. Resize if needed (e.g., to correct aspect ratio).
3. You get 1 new compressed avi.
4. For DVD use, Option 1 (beginner, DVD menu not customizable):
1. Burn with Windows Media Center
5. For DVD use, Option 2 (advanced users, more customization):
1. Encode avi with LlamaEnc. You get 2 files: m2v for video, wav for audio
2. Author DVD files with IfoEdit or DVDAuthor (DVDAuthor can create menus but can't use wav files). You get bup, ifo, and vob files.
3. Alternatively, you can author the DVD with with Llamamatic. You get 1 iso file.
4. Burn with DVDDecrypter, Nero (firmware), or other DVD burning software.

Reference Sites:

• A&E's Technical Guides to All Things Audio and Video (v3) - general vidding theory. I downloaded the AMVapp to get VirtualDub and a few codecs.
• videohelp.com - extremely useful forum with tons of tutorials and troubleshooting solutions, for example: How to author & burn a DVD using only freeware tools

How do you guys edit your videos?