Digital video editing has, up until now, suffered the fate of many new technologies in the classroom. It has remained more talked about than tackled, while a few pioneering teachers, students and software packages have struggled together to make the dream a reality. Recent announcements from the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) about funding 50 schools to develop digital video editing as a spur to creativity, presage either a new enlightenment or a growing sense of desperation that, unless we let students compose and edit in the dominant media of their time, we are short-changing them both critically and creatively.

Apple Computer, partner in the Digital Creativity project, seems to have some real trump cards to play in this area. With iMovie Apple provided the first free software which made video editing a simple reality even at lower primary level. Now, with the launch of two G4 computers with built-in DVD writers, Apple has gone further and provided hardware and software which allows you to make your own DVD video discs.

The challenge with finished video projects has been getting them to an audience - they tend to stay locked in a computer accessible only to a few. DVD should change this. With players likely to cost less than pound;100 by Christmas, soon few schools and homes will be without this technology. In addition, many computers now have CD drives which are capable of playing DVD discs.

Starting up the new Apple G4 and editing your own video is a satisfying experience. Until now such work has seen machines running at the edge of capacity with hiccoughs and stalls commonplace. For the first time I can confidently report that the age of easily manageable video editing has arrived.

Apple offers two paths to making your own DVD video discs - iDVD, a free piece of software provided with all DVD writing machines, and DVD Studio Pro, a full commercial authoring package which allows you to build your own interactive discs.

The breakthrough for Apple is built around the tight integration of the software, the DVD writer from Pioneer (SuperDrive), and QuickTime 2 encoder, which turns QuickTime movies into DVD format files (MPEG2).

iDVD is built around a slideshow metaphor. You choose your background and theme and then import your still images or video clips from QuickTime files you have prepared earlier in iMovie. Within five minutes you can edit and produce your own presentation DVD. At pound;7 each, blank discs are expensive and a single disc is limited to holding up to an hour’s worth of video.

DVD Studio Pro is complex and powerful, more suited to specialist media studies units than the general classroom. With this software, many schools will be racing for the first interactive school brochure on DVD, if it has not happened already.

Building a project involves importing assets in the shape of video files, sound files and still images and text, which you may need to use for on-screen menus and information. These tracks are then pulled on to the graphical view area and connections established between them. Each track can be adapted in terms of the sound files it uses, the various camera angles it features and the subtitles it links to.

Scripts provide further interactivity and the basic commands for these are contained in neat drop-down lists. Surround-sound is also supported with a special editor in the “A Pack” software, which is part of the package.

You should expect a substantial learning curve with DVD Studio Pro, but it’s also clear that the software represents a huge step forward in an area previously shrouded by Sisyphean endeavour.

John Davitt was using 867MHz PowerPC G4 256K with DVD-RCD-RW drivePrice: pound;1,799.00 plus VATFive-pack of DVD-R media from www.apple.comPrice: pound;35iDVD is supplied free with all DVD-R machines DVD Studio Pro 1.1Price: pound;680 +VATJohn Davitt runs training courses on the creative use of new technologies in the learning process john@aardvarkwisdom.com

ONLINE STAR RATING

SUITABLILTY FOR PURPOSE **** EASE OF USE *** DESIGN **** QUALITY OF OUTPUT * **** VALUE FOR MONEY *****