Here's what I learned:
1) Video editing essentially consists of a lot of cutting & pasting.
2) Even the most basic video editing suites out there, like Final Cut Express (Mac-only) or the ones from Pinnacle (Windows-only) will fit the bill.
3) Importing any video footage into a video editor requires the appropriate codecs for it to be installed, and for the software to be compatible with those codecs. Sound editors are much more simple in this regard. This is probably due to MP3 being a standardized compression format.
4) Not all compressed video can be imported and edited. Some video can be imported, but editing will not be possible or you will experience a lot of stuttering.
5) DV format is the way to go. Converting files into DV format essentially guarantees a pleasurable and smooth editing process. DV files do require a lot of space, and time to compress.
6) You need a way to convert your video into different file formats.
7) If you're looking for a simple solution; don't. Those AVI files you downloaded will most likely NOT import and be editable.
8) Uncompressed DVD rips are your best option. Edited video needs to be compressed to a streaming-friendly format and size. Remember that AVI files are already compressed. This means that if you edit an AVI file and compress it again you'll have a file that's been compressed twice. Each of those compressions is a trade off in quality for size. YouTube is full of these. They look horrible.
9) Editing video is much easier than editing audio! Mistakes are less noticeable than they are with audio.
10) Doing a music video edit is simple and complicated. A video consists of 2 tracks (typically): one for video, and one for audio. A remix video keeps the video but replaces the original audio tracks with the remix. The hard part is making sure the video is properly synced with the new audio track. In addition to making sure the original video is synced with the new audio track, you need to make sure the parts match. Remixes not only consist of a tempo change, but also of a different track layout. Trust me, it's fun. It allows you to play around with your creativity.
11) Forget about editing MKV files. It's one of the least editing-friendly formats available.
12) Youtube requires FLV files. If you're compressing for Youtube I suggest you export your video directly to FLV, otherwise your compressed video will be compressed again to FLV. The result will be a low-quality video, which you don't want.
13) Back-up. Keep several copies of your video. The last thing you want to do is make an edit you can't undo.
14) I recommend Sony Vegas (PC-only), Final Cut Express (Mac-only), and Adobe Premiere (PC and Mac versions available.)
15) Doing a music video megamix is not easy. It requires double the work: once for the audio, and once for the video.
16) It took me over a week of searching on the Internet to get this information. It's not fun.
It ain't too hard for me to jam!
