The typical AVI project: an old camera folder
Many digital cameras from before about 2010 saved their videos as AVI, one short clip at a time. Tape camcorders copied to a PC produced AVI files too. The result is often a folder with dozens of separate files called MVI_0001.AVI or similar, each a few seconds or minutes long. Nobody watches them one by one. The AVI editor turns such a folder into one film you can actually show:
- drop all the clips at once and arrange them in the order they happened;
- trim away the moments where the camera points at the floor;
- add a title card with the place and the year;
- lay a song under the whole film and lower the original sound where it is only noise.
How the editor handles AVI
Browsers can't play most AVI codecs, such as Motion JPEG, DV or Xvid. When you add an AVI, the editor makes a preview copy in the background with its built-in converter engine. You edit and watch that copy, while the export still reads the original file, so no quality is lost by the preview. Preparing the copy takes a little time, and longer files take longer.
Fixing old footage
Dull or dark colours. Old camera sensors and tapes often give flat, dark pictures. Raise brightness and contrast for each clip, and add a little saturation.
4:3 picture. Most old AVI clips are 4:3, for example 640×480. Set the canvas to 4:3 in the Project tab to avoid black bars, or keep 16:9 for a modern TV and choose a background colour for the sides.
Rough cuts between clips. A short cross fade or a fade through black makes jumps between scenes feel deliberate.
Loud wind or hum. Turn the clip volume down, mute the track or let music carry the scene.
Keep the export resolution at the size of the clips. Making 640×480 footage larger doesn't add detail.
AVI or MP4 for the finished film
The export is preselected as AVI with MPEG-4 video and MP3 sound, which most DVD players with a USB port, media boxes and older TVs can play. This uses the built-in engine and is slower than an MP4 export. If the film is meant for phones, tablets, a family chat or a website, choose MP4. It is smaller and plays everywhere. To change the format of single clips without editing, use AVI to MP4, and to shrink a finished AVI, the AVI compressor. For a simple photo-and-clip film with captions and music, the slideshow maker is another option.
Family videos are private. They are edited on your own computer and never uploaded.