Chapter 7. Distribute

Distributing your final project is the most gratifying, and yet most nerve-racking, facet of digital video production. When you distribute your video, it means you’ve completed your project. That, in and of itself, is a huge accomplishment.

When you send off your video for someone to see, your head will swirl with questions. How will they react? Will they like it? Will they hate it? Should I have had Greedo shoot first?

Make a Window Burn Copy

If you want to make notes on your edit, it is best to make them while you’re away from your editing system. Creating a window burn allows you to do so.

When you are editing with a computer, it’s easy to make changes to scenes. It’s so easy that you can overedit a scene, or an entire project, by continually making changes. A friend told me a story that describes the problem perfectly:

Two kindergarten teachers were sitting in the Teachers’ Lounge, talking over coffee. One mentioned how much better the other’s students’ finger paintings always looked than her own students’. She asked what she was doing wrong. The answer was unexpected: “I know when to take the paintings away.”

Movie making is part art and part science. I don’t mean to knock George Lucas, but how many different versions of Star Wars: Episode IV do we need? He is a good example of an artist who can’t let his project go.

So, to overcome the temptation to make changes while you are viewing your project, you can make a copy of your project ...

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