Once the video shooting events are over, it is time to edit the set of FlipCam videoclips into a video composition.
The first step is to get the files copied from the camera to a computer. Flip open the camera's USB connector and plug it into the computer. On a Mac the icon for the drive will be on the desktop. Open the FlipCam drive to find the DCIM folder within it and within that the 100VIDEO folder. Copy the 100VIDEO folder on the FlipCam to a place on the hard drive of the computer. On a Windows computer go to My Computer and open the FlipCam drive. Once this is done, the FlipCam can be disconnected and is no longer needed other than as backup to the files just copied. If the camera is borrowed from someone else, the files should be deleted before returning the FlipCam.
Next, find the Import command within the video editor that will be used, whether Mac iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. Import the relevant videoclips into a folder created just for this video project. Next, click on File in the menu bar and save the editor window into the same folder. If the video editor must be closed at some point, the application will then return to the whatever step in the editing process was last completed.
If the file format being Imported into the video editor from the FlipCam is not understood by the application, your computer may create an error message which looks something like this.
The file C:\Program Files (x86) Pure Digital Technologies\FlipShare/FlipShare Utils.dll cannot be imported because the codec required to play the file is not installed on your computer.
This means it is missing a special file that make it possible for the computer to work with the FlipCam videoclips. The file is called a codec which stands for compression/decompression. The video is highly compressed on the FlipCam and needs a codec file to be decompressed so that is usable.
The files needed are titled:
Note that different files are needed for different computer operating systems. They can be found in a couple of places.
The first place to look is on the FlipCam itself. The codec file find on the FlipCam does not have any 30 day time limitations on its use. Generally when the Flipcam is connected to the computer it opens a window with several choices, including "Open folder to view files". Open that folder. Then, doule-click on the System folder. Double click on the Install folder. If on a Windows computers, double click on Windows 3ivx Installer.exe. If on a a Mac then double click on Macintosh-3ivx-installer. However, if the folder does not open on a Windows computer, then use the Start menu, then select My Computer, Double-click on the Flipvideo item and then onto the System and then Install folder.
Use this link to the http://www.3ivx.com/download/ and look on the right hand of the screen for platform options. There is also a link in the WebLinks section within the course WebCat site. It is the top-most link. It leads to the same 3ivx site, a page with links to the needed files. This is a license limited to a 30 day time period.
Once the file is downloaded to your computer, run it and follow the installation instructions for the codec to be properly installed. If that does not immediately make importing the file work, restart the computer and try importing again.
For further help with Flipcam trouble-shooting contact Dr. Houghton, IT technical support, or Dr. Nickles.
= = = = = =