Do you VideoThang?

Because I need to make a short executive interview video for a client's executive retreat, I am loaded with clips from an interview and the mission to make a video with "acceptable" quality within a very short.

Okay, I don't normally work with videos, and only position myself as a Youtube "watcher" rather than "producer". I seldom use the camera of my cell phone. Digital camera hibernates on the self.

So, a one-day production time is really a serious problem.

The usual video editing tools are too heavy weight. (It seems that there is something in Mac that may help. But I don't have a Mac!)

So, I search for feel alternatives on the web.

There is VirtualDub. Yes, I know it years before. But it is still a bit complicated, especially when I need to add some title pages and transitions.

There is also TMPGEnc. But it is more for converting mpeg, cutting and merging.

I need something quick and dirty!

Then, there is an odd thing call VideoThang.

Frankly, I don't really get it when I visit the site. It seems to be a web service for home-made video mixes, with a software for simple mixing and editing. However, the introduction video really catches my attention.



So, I give it a try... and I love it.

It is simple. You just import your video, photos, audio clips into VideoThang and starts mixing. Then you select the item to insert in your "Thang" (the video), select the portion to show, add simple titles and transitions (fade-in, fade-out, cross-fade). And finally, publish the Thang (save as a file, publich to the web, or save for email).

My 33-minute video is done in 3 hours, including my time of planning and rearranging the clips.

Pros:

• Simple to learn and use
• Safe to use - the original media files are not touched
• Can import from the web, such as Flickr
• Can import from and output in different file formats - mpeg, avi, flv

Cons

• Limited video and transition effects
• Not for professionals and long video originals - the sliding guide for marking the portion of your video does not allow precise positioning. Better for short clips of a few minutes)
• No control on the output video dimension. All are determined by the system.

Conclusion

VideoThang is a definitely not for the serious producers. However, it is very good for novoice like me. Further, it can also be used to compose slide presentation into a flv (flash movie) file, which cannot be done with slideshare or zohoshow.

Try it and you will love it!