How To Use VideoPad
*NOTE: In order to export videos, students will need to purchase a VideoPad software license. An educational price is available at approximately 50% discount.
Go to this website and follow the directions below under "Purchasing the software" https://www.nchsoftware.com/software/education.html
- Open VideoPad
- On the top left hand corner of the screen click Menu>File>New Project
- To add videos and photos to your project you can drag files from file explorer into the project files section of VideoPad or you can choose file>Import Files and then import the files that you need
- Find the Pictures or Videos you wish to add to your movie and click open.
- The video/picture will appear in the middle of the screen. This is your timeline.
- Above the timeline is the slider.
- Moving the slider towards the right compresses the video/picture on your timeline to make it smaller and easier to see your entire project.
- Moving the slider towards the left makes the video/pictures on your timeline expand so it is easier to edit smaller portions of your project.
- To move video or pictures around on your timeline just click and drag the video.
- To add music/audio drag an audio clip onto the timeline from the Audio section of your Project Files
Transitions
- For transitions you go to Sequence>Transition. Then you could either overlap two clips to automatically add a transition between them or you can drag a transition from the transitions pane onto the beginning or end of a clip to transition out of that clip. If you are transitioning from one clip to another and you would like to use a transition in the transitions pane then you would need to use two of those transitions. You would drag the first transition onto the end of the clip that you are transitioning out of and the second transition onto the beginning of the clip that you are transitioning to. You may need to select one of the transitions and and right click on it and select “reverse transition” to get the transition to transition in the right direction
Video Effects
- To remove part of a video clip in order to achieve the 30 second time limit, first add the clip to the timeline. Then start by moving the playback indicator to the time you wish to start cutting the clip.
- *Remember* - Copyright video and audio cannot be played for more than 30 seconds.
- Select the Edit tab on the top of the screen. (It will also say Video Tools in yellow above it).
- Press Split. The video will then be cut at the point you selected in the timeline.
- If the portion of the clip you wish to remove is not at the beginning or the end of the clip, repeat the last step. The portion of the clip you want to remove should be in between two splits.
- To delete the portion you just selected, right click on it and choose Remove. The clips after the deleted portion will move into the unoccupied space.
Audio Effects
- You could split the audio from video clip by right clicking on the video clip and then mousing over Separate Audio then clicking Single Clip.
- Volume control- You could adjust the volume of a video or audio clip by right clicking on it and mousing over the volume option
- Fade in/out-You could choose for audio to fade in or fade out by right clicking o an audio clip and mousing over the audio option and choosing for it to fade in or fade out at the beginning of the clip or at the end of the clip or both
Tools – Title and Credits
- You can create a title by selecting the “title” tab at the top of the window and clicking on title. Then after you make the title you can add the title to your movie by dragging the title from the project files to the track for your project
- You can do a text with the Add Text button on the Home tab.
- And then set the opacity down to 0%
- You can create a "credits screen" by selecting another title page but setting the option to "scrolling from bottom to top"
Save Project As
- To save your project, select the blue button on the top left of the screen > Save Project As or press the F12 key.
- Select the folder on your computer you wish to save the project.
- Type in a file name for the project and click Save.
- You should save your project every couple of steps to ensure your changes are kept.
- PLEASE NOTE: You are only saving the project file. You are not saving or producing a movie file.
- Make sure that you keep all of the files for the project together. If you move the files they will disappear in your movie until it is published.
Producing the Video
*NOTE: In order to export videos, students will need to purchase a VideoPad software license. An educational price is available at approximately 50% discount.
Go to this website and follow the directions below under "Purchasing the software" https://www.nchsoftware.com/software/education.html
- Click file>”export video”, then specify the name of the file and the place where you would like the file to be stored.
- Note that this is different from saving the “Project.”
- You are actually PRODUCING the video when you select “Export Video.”
- Wait for your video to save. This will take several minutes.
Uploading to YouTube
- After the video is done exporting, open your web browser and go to YouTube. Log in using the username and password you were given, and upload your video, following the on-screen instructions.
Purchasing the software
- Go to this website https://www.nchsoftware.com/software/education.html
- Click on the link that says "Please register here to create an account and receive a quotation". A form comes up for you to fill out.
- Remember you MUST have a valid email address containing .edu or a school/university domain name to qualify for the academic discount.
- The 1st field asks you to choose an "Inquiry Catalog" and there you can choose Education and below indicates what software you want to get.
- The software company will email you with a quote on the education cost of the software. At that point you can follow their directions to purchase a license.