Blender for Video Production Quick Start Guide

Blender for Video Production Quick Start Guide

by Allan Brito
Released November 2018
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781789804959

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Use Blender to edit and produce video for YouTube or any other social media platforms

Key Features

  • Use the Blender Video editing toolkit and UI
  • Make 3D info-graphics and interactive video with the latest Blender toolkit
  • Prepare a video production with live markings for tracking

Book Description

One of the critical components of any workflow related to video production is a reliable tool to create and edit media such as video and audio. In most cases, you will find video producers using software that can only cut and mount video in a "traditional" way. What if you could use a software that offers not only options to edit and cut video, but also create 3D content and animation? With Blender, you can make use of a fantastic set of tools to edit and cut video, and also produce 3D content that will enable you to take your productions to the next level.

Do you want to take footage from a camera and cut or add sound and titles? This book will show you how Blender can do that for you! You will learn to add 3D virtual objects to the same footage that will help you to create a full 3D environment. Using some camera tricks, you can even turn Blender into a powerful 2.5D animation software to create compelling infographics to produce educational, marketing, and instructional videos. You will also learn how to work with motion tracking to mix live-action footage with virtual objects. You will then learn how to use the video editing capabilities of Blender and match 3D content to your project for YouTube or any other media.

Toward the end of the book, you will export the project to YouTube using optimal settings for the best performance in the platform.

What you will learn

  • Import video and audio footage to Blender
  • Use the Video Sequencer Editor to manipulate footage
  • Prepare a project related to video in Blender
  • Cut and reorganize video footage in Blender
  • Create animations and add voiceover and sound to video
  • Build infographics based on 3D content
  • Blend 3D content with live-action footage
  • Export video for YouTube using optimal settings

Who this book is for

Anyone trying to produce content based on video for platforms like YouTube. Those artists will need a software to cut and edit video footage or make small intro clips, animations, or info graphics for video.

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright and Credits
    1. Blender for Video Production Quick Start Guide
  3. Dedication
  4. About Packt
    1. Why subscribe?
    2. Packt.com
  5. Contributors
    1. About the author
    2. About the reviewer
    3. Packt is searching for authors like you
  6. Preface
    1. Who this book is for
    2. What this book covers
    3. To get the most out of this book
      1. Download the color images
      2. Code in action
      3. Conventions used
    4. Get in touch
      1. Reviews
  7. Blender as a Video Editor for YouTube
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Using Blender as a video editor
      1. The Blender Video Sequencer and workspaces
        1. Previewing our video project
      2. Workspace for video and YouTube
      3. Importing video footage to Blender
        1. Matching video footage frame rate
        2. Video container compatibility
        3. Data compression types
        4. Adjusting the Sequencer zoom and time code
      4. Selection of video strips
      5. Transforming video strips
      6. Saving a video project
        1. Embedding media to Blender files
    3. Summary
  8. Editing and Cutting Video Footage in Blender
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Editing video for YouTube in Blender
      1. Using the cut tools for video
      2. Using markers to help edit video
      3. Adjusting the project length
        1. Using the preview range
      4. Importing still images
      5. Using the Snap for video
      6. Working with gaps for strips
    3. Summary
  9. Using Properties to Enhance Video
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Properties for video strips in Blender
      1. Using strip properties
      2. Visibility and opacity for video
      3. Updating the footage source
      4. Cropping and offsetting images and video
      5. Reversing a video
      6. Flipping videos and images
      7. Color management and correction
        1. Color correction modifiers
        2. Using masks for effect
          1. So how do we create a mask?
        3. Copying modifiers to strips
    3. Summary
  10. Animated Properties for Video Effects
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Working with animation for properties
      1. Making transparency animations
      2. Using effect strips
        1. Types of effect strip
      3. Mixing effects for overlay animations
    3. Summary
  11. Creating Intro Videos for YouTube with Text and Motion Graphics
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Creating an intro for YouTube
      1. Making a storyboard for your animation
      2. Preparing Blender for animation
        1. Creating an orthographic camera
      3. Working with 3D text in Blender
      4. Adding graphics as textures
        1. Creating the background
      5. Creating animations for the intro
        1. Animating the title
        2. Logo animation
        3. Background animation
      6. Animation timing and speed
      7. Adding a scene to the Video Sequencer
    3. Summary
  12. Using Videos as Textures for 3D Compositions
    1. Technical requirements
    2. How to use videos as textures in Blender
      1. What types of textures can you use?
      2. Using videos as textures
      3. Composite 3D content with video
      4. Creating the scene
      5. Setting the project length
      6. Adding the textures to each 3D plane
        1. Previewing textures in videos
        2. More materials and textures
      7. Animation and composition
        1. Animating the left panel
        2. Text animation
        3. Animating the right panel and videos
      8. Adjusting timing for animations
    3. Summary
  13. Adding Sound and Voiceover for YouTube
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Using sound and voiceover for videos
      1. Audio properties
    3. Grouping multiple audio tracks with video
    4. How to synchronize voiceover with video?
    5. Effects for audio in Blender
      1. Adding background music to a video
    6. Summary
  14. Aligning 3D Content with Video Using Virtual Cameras
    1. Technical requirements
    2. When to use virtual cameras and tracking
    3. Using the Movie Clip Editor in Blender
    4. Tracking points in the video
      1. Adding tracking points
    5. Using objects to track content
    6. Aligning content and rendering
    7. Summary
  15. Exporting Video for YouTube
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Preparing a project for exporting and rendering
      1. Lights and environment settings
    3. Exporting settings for video
      1. Optimal settings for YouTube
      2. Exporting audio-only projects
    4. Using image sequences to organize the project
    5. Summary
  16. Other Books You May Enjoy
    1. Leave a review - let other readers know what you think

Product information

  • Title: Blender for Video Production Quick Start Guide
  • Author(s): Allan Brito
  • Release date: November 2018
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781789804959