Editing Videos With ShotCut

This is not an area I usually get into, video editing and software, but I was contemplating doing something with drones, and realized that videos usually need editing in some form or fashion. I have played with drones in the past, but it has been a while.

Background

I started off around 2011 with a budding interest in radio control (RC) because a neighbor attempted to interest me in flying model airplanes. I thought about it awhile, but after doing some research, I discovered my interest really went toward helicopters. However, early in my investigations, I realized they were very expensive, unless we were talking kiddie toys. Then I did some more looking and discovered I could probably build drones lots cheaper. Before I retired I had some exposure to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms, now called unmanned aerial systems (UAS). During the time when I had a job, we had platforms a bit heavier than those, more like 2000 lbs, with wingspans of about 40 ft and almost 30 ft long.

So, I first bought a tiny helicopter, but soon discovered it could only be flown indoors, so lost interest in that approach. I then started acquiring parts to build my first hexacopter. During that process, I also discovered first person view (FPV) flight. Woo hoo! That was a real thrill, as I was virtually in the cockpit of the airframe. The real advantage was I didn’t have to learn to think backwards and sideways while watching the airframe from the ground to determine which direction I was flying.

ASIDE: I contemplated taking flying lessons in the late 70’s, but finances prevented that adventure.

Anyway, after flying the hexacopter for a while, I reconfigured it into a quadcopter. That was really brought on by crashing the hexacopter, and breaking off a couple of the arms. Fortunately the broken arms were opposite each other, so the airframe could still be used.

After building a couple of different configurations, and swapping parts, engines, propellers, batteries and such, I eventually bit the bullet and acquired a DJI Phantom 1 quadcopter, which I still have by the way. That was prompted by exposure to global positioning system (GPS) inputs for flight stabilization.

One issue which troubled probably most drone pilots was vibration, usually from unbalanced propellers. That led of course down the path of balancing tools, where I discovered magnetic suspension for propellers while sanding. That was fun!

Another problem was the cameras of the time, usually CMOS, had update problems as they updated sequentially, not an entire frame at once. This led to videos which looked a bit like jello wiggling, as any vibration caused that effect. In the early days, gimbals for cameras were very expensive. Also, the latency was an issue, especially for FPV control. Obviously any delay in position update had the possibility of crashing into obstacles.

Along the way, I managed to collect some FPV headsets of various configurations, including one homebuilt for a “Pocket Drone” I acquired somewhere. One issue with all the technology of the time was transmitter power. There was never enough to get a decent range, even with cross-polarized antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, and various other configurations. But, that’s what was available at the time for the civilian market. I even tried frequency hopping and dual receivers.

And then somewhere during that time the government decided to stick their fingers into the pie and instituted registration for drones over 250 grams. I did that path also, as the built drones I had weighed over 5 pounds. I don’t remember how much the Phantom 1 weighed.

Fast forward to now. Technology has crept forward a bit for civilian platforms to offer much more sensitive electronics, which give extended ranges. I think for the US consumer market the figure is 10 kilometers maximum range, for safety reasons; less in European countries.

The Software

Now that I’ve said all that, I get to the titled subject, video editing. Having recently acquired a DJI Mini 3 drone, I needed to get a bit more knowledgeable on how to make recorded flights more interesting.

Enter Shotcut video editing software. This is a wonderful free, open source, cross platform editor. There are many Internet sites giving a plethora of information on this software package, so I’m only going to explore a couple. Some things I’ve never tried are reversing a video, or portion of a video, and manipulating the audio track.

The version I currently am using is 23.11.04, and I am just getting my feet wet in the massive functionality and options of this package. Anyway, on to the subject.

Firstly, I discovered that reversing a video or portion is really simple, once you know where to look! After loading a video into the timeline, I just click to highlight the video, go to the place I wish and cut. Then I go to the end of the portion and cut again. After dragging the remaining video after the cuts out of the way, I copy the portion to manipulate, then paste twice. This gives a smooth forward, reverse, and forward sequence. Then I select the center of the three, select properties, and on the menu that pops up, select reverse. After saving the portion, it is converted. The next step is to delete the space made when dragging the rest of the video out of the way.

To reverse an entire video, just highlight the video, select propetries, reverse, then save. After a while the video will be reversed. The progress is in the right side of the default layout.

It’s helpful if the audio is separated from the video clip, as it will play backwards in the reversed portion. That will have to be dealt with in whichever way is desired. Perhaps replacing with other audio would be the simpler approach.

And that’s about it for this post, pretty simple once it’s been done a time or two.

Have a great day, stay warm, and God Bless you and yours. If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, there’s no time like the present. Pay attention to current events, and don’t get lackadaisical, as you may be “left behind.”