Editing Systems: Getting What\'s Right for You

Have you ever had a video session with your team and spent a large portion of it fast-forwarding and then rewinding, trying to find a specific play? When you were fast-forwarding, did you have to guess where the play was? This sort of wasteful guesswork can be eliminated with the help of a video editing system.
by: Rod Smith
© More from this issue

          
ADVANTAGES OF EDITING SYSTEMS

Using an editing system will not only make your video sessions run more smoothly but also allows you to easily scout your opponent and your own team - not to mention helping you teach and grade out players. You'll save time by watching only the essential video clips, because an editing system allows you to customize videotapes to your team's needs. You can create separate tapes for offense, defense and special teams.

Imagine the benefits of sending scout tapes home with your players so they arrive at practice already knowing what the opponent's favorite formation is. Or giving your coaches customized tapes so they can get their grading done at home.

LINEAR vs. NON-LINEAR

There are two types of video editing systems available today: linear and non-linear. While programs around the world and of all sizes utilize both, getting the right system for your program requires a basic understanding of the differences between the two.

Both systems rely on tape to record an image. But the way in which that image is stored and accessed differs. In a linear editing system, images are stored in an analog process - one in which the recorded image is a continuous equivalent of the original. As a result, access to the desired image requires the user to move along the videotape until the particular play or sequence of plays is located. This is not so in a non-linear system, where images are stored digitally - as a series of ones and zeros - either on a computer hard drive or on a CD-ROM. As a result, access to a particular image can be virtually instantaneous, if its location is known.

The first computer-controlled analog editing systems were introduced to the football industry in the mid-1980s. Digital systems followed in the mid-1990s and are becoming more affordable for coaches at all levels. Basic hardware for both includes cameras, video cassette recorders and a television or monitor. Linear systems operate in one of two formats. The simpler version includes a specially designed controller box that stores video sequences on an internal memory chip before they are then recorded to one or more target tapes. The second system uses a personal computer that databases plays while the coach provides terminology to assist with the data entry. On the other hand, digital systems consist of a personal computer, a video capture card, a high-capacity hard drive and software.

HOW VIDEO EDITING WORKS

Whether the system you choose is linear or digital, the editing process begins with the same source - videotape. Once you have captured your video - whether it is of a game, a practice or a weight room drill - the first step is to log that video into the editing system. The logging process, where you manually find the beginning and end of each video sequence, allows you to record the location and label the sequence with an appropriate tag such as "32 Outside." During the logging process you can be as general or specific as you want. In fact, most editing systems allow you to log plays based upon several parameters including down, distance, formation and field position.

Once the video has been logged, it can then be cut up according to either basic guidelines - offense, defense or special teams, for instance - or more specific ones - long yardage, red zone or goal line. Or you could group all the occurrences of a particular play. In the days before video-editing systems, this categorizing process involved the actual cutting of 16-millimeter game film, which was then sorted using clipboards for each category (e.g. offense, defense, special teams).

Today, computer databases or memory chips in special control boxes serve as electronic clipboards. This electronic storage makes the editing process - splicing the video clips back together - not onlyeasier but also much quicker. In fact, with digital technology you cancreate custom cut-ups of the video in real time. For example, you can create a 10-minute video of all your opponent's I-formation plays in just 10 minutes.

GETTING WHAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU

Deciding whether to go with a linear or a non-linear editing system is not an easy choice. Just as there are advantages to both, there are also several key factors that go into selecting the right editing system for your program. Image quality, storage and overall price are just three such factors. But all are intertwined.

Whether you are using a linear or a non-linear system, the one thing that cannot be sacrificed is image quality. As a coach, your video is worthless if you cannot identify jersey numbers or clearly view a player's actions. Image quality is a direct result of two factors - resolution and compression. The higher an image's resolution, the smoother it appears and the easier it is to review. Because resolutionwanes with each subsequent tape dubbing, it is important for the original image to be recorded with a high resolution. A high-resolution image takes up more storage space, though.

That's where compression comes into play. Video images are composed of large amounts of information, so it is necessary to compress them in order to conserve storage (hard-drive) space. Unfortunately, when video is compressed, it looses resolution. There are a number of compression schemes (e.g. JPEG, MPEG-1, MPEG-2) that allow you to both compress and save storage space. The resolution-compression issue is a trade off - one that generally comes down to how much money you are able to spend.

In fact, the choice between a linear and a non-linear system also often comes down to dollars. While recent advances have brought entry-level non-linear systems into the same price range as linear systems, the investment into the digital technology is not made completely up front. Because non-linear editing stores video clips digitally on a hard drive, storage space is paramount and, unfortunately, limited. Increasing storage space by adding hard drives can become a costly investment. One that, if not budgeted for properly, can leave you with a mid-season decision of choosing which video clips to keep and which to dump. However, if money is not an issue, a non-linear (digital) system may be the way to go.

Many companies that offer editing systems also sell the necessary hardware, as well as personal computers, cameras and video cassette recorders. In fact, if you're planning to purchase a digital system, it might actually be wiser to invest a little more money and get the entire package from one company. Not only will this ensure that the hardware and software are completely compatible, but it may also eliminate the headache and hassle of having bought new system that doesn't work properly.

This is not to imply that any equipment (cameras, computers or VCRs) that you already have won't work. Just remember that the additional cost of on-site technical support will undoubtedly eat up any money you may have saved, and many companies cannot, or simply will not, be able to provide technical support for computers and other hardware that they did not sell.

INVESTIGATE EDITING SYSTEMS

What's right for your program may not be what your oppositionwould choose. The key is finding the system that will do what you ask of it and will accommodate you from one season to the next. The first step should be gathering information. Allow yourself time to adequately analyze your options before you begin the decision-making process. Take your time and, when in doubt, question the professionals.

In today's fast-paced, win-at-all-costs society, coaches and players need every advantage they can get - whether that opponent is the clock on the wall or the high school across town. With an editing system, you should become better at beating both. EDITING TIPS

Scout Your Opponent: Whether you exchange tapes or make your own scout tapes, you will be better able to scout your opposition. Make cut-ups for your players to take home so they can study next week's opponent on their own time - and as a result, come to practice more prepared. Make cut-ups of offense, defense and special teams so that your team meetings will be more effective.

Scout yourself?: By the time you've figured out your opponent'stendencies, you can bet that your opponent has probably pin-pointed a few of yours, too. Scout your own team's tendencies to figure out what your opponent expects you to do. Then do something different. Keep your edge.

Create Highlight Tapes: Big awards banquet coming up? Important recruits or recruiters coming to campus? Impress parents, recruits, college coaches and boosters with a professional-looking highlight tape of last year's biggest plays. Highlight tapes can also be a great way to motivate your athletes.

Develop Younger Athletes: Make tapes of your varsity executing proper formations, schemes, etc., and provide copies to your junior varsity and freshman teams to take home and watch. Providing younger players with tapes that demonstrate proper technique, execution or lifting form is a valuable teaching tool.

Involve Your Players: Why not teach your players how to log video? If you're not comfortable with that, log the video yourself and then teach your quarterback or captains to create their own custom cut-ups. Getting several players involved will not only make the process easier but it reduces the learning curve.

NEW BOOK!

Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach