Blender Video Editing

@for PhD students and other short video producers
@authorKai Ruhl
@since 2011-09

Blender [home] is a 3Dmodelling tool that, surprisingly, can also be usedfor video editing. It is not as full-fledged as e.g. Adobe Premiere [home],but it runs on Linux and is open source. Together with ffmpeg [home] andmplayer [home] for video, andAudacity [home] foraudio, it suffices for most paper submission videos.

Blender is best known for being a feature-rich, 3D editing and rendering application and a huge open source success story. What is less known is that Blender does regular video-editing too, and tha.

1 Install

View Types; Performance; Sequencer. Introduction; Toolbar; Navigating.
The Video Editor offers a range of basic yet very efficient tools.

Download the latest Blender version (in 2011: 2.5.x) [download] andunpack it somewhere in your user directories. It comes with ffmpegincluded. Start it with ./blender and you are ready to go.

The mplayer [docs]and Audacity[docs]packages should be available under Ubuntu.

apt-get install audacity mplayer

And that would be it for installing.

2 Gather and organise

It is good to be organised with your clips. In Blender, it is safestto work with png frames for video and with wavsnippets for audio. Create a suitable directory structure, deleteframes that you dont want, and cut the sound as you see fit. To turnany avi/mpg/whatever file to png, create anew directory, go into it, then do:

mplayer -vo png ./<your_avi_file>

Blender Editing Software

.. which will get you 00000000.png to 99999999.pngor similar. If you want aspecific timespan from the video, try:

mplayer -vo png -ss <hh:mm:ss> -endpos <hh:mm:ss>./<your_avi_file>

where instead of a time 23:59:59, you can also specifyseconds as floats, e.g. 10.5. Note that the times will beslightly off for most of the times, because extracting starts and stopswith a keyframe. Leave some leeway, then delete what you do not want.

Regarding fonts: There are no fonts in Blender! So you need any textthat you want as PNG images.

Lastly, for audio, load your recording with Audacity [tutorial],cut it, and save into smaller files.

3 Blender VSE setup

Start Blender and you will be greeted with the 3D view. This is notwhat we want, we want the VSE (video sequence editor).

In the lower part, identify the main window mode button. Click itand choose the video sequence editor. Opener for mac.

You will see a giant timeline, without preview. To see the previewtoo, enable the 'both' mode as shown below:

And there you have it. Next, we go to the video settings panel, onthe right side of the window. You can edit the length of the videos(start and end frame), and the format (choose MPG). Also, resolutionand output resolution (default: 1080p input, but only 540p output, seenas 50%) can be modified here.

After choosing MPG format, a new section 'Encoding' will appearbelow the 'Output' section. Choose AVI as format and MPEG-4 (divx) ascodec, as shown below.

With all the video encoding set, the audio encoding is just a tinybit down below.

Choose MP3 and you are all done with the settings.

04 Compositing with Blender

Ok, now to the compositing! Consider the timeline in the middle,which goes from frame 1 to 250. Hover with the mouse cursor over one ofthe lines, near the frame where you want to be at, and press Shift+A(yes, you need to memorize this key). The 'Add' menu appears, and youcan either choose a still image (or several ones, by dragging a mouserectangle or by pressing A for all -- the images areinterpreted as one movie), a movie file, or a sound file.

A new strip appears on the bottom, as shown below. Also, press N(yes, memorize) to get the properties of the strip on the right.

To select a strip, rightclick on its middle (left and right end arethe handles for length). To move, press G for grab, thenleftclick new location. Any new image or movie is initially stretchedto full canvas (1920x1080 here, see right side 'Resolution'). Activatecheckbox 'Image Offset' to keep original size, then use X and Y offsetto position the image. If you have several strips stacked on top of eachother (e.g. Fl studio for mac with crack. for compositing two clips), select the upper one andchoose blending mode: 'Alpha over' instead of 'Cross'.

To fade stuff in/out gracefully, you can use a 'transform'. Using Shift+A,create an 'Effect Strip -> Color' strip and position it sidewaysbelow the clip, as shown below in black. Give it the same 'ImageOffset' as the clip you want to hide.Then, select first the color strip, and (with Shiftheld) the target strip, followed by Shift+A again, this time'Effect Strip -> Cross' (please note that the order of selection wasimportant!). A new brown strip ('transform strip') appears above thecommon strip space.

But being a conglomerate of color, clip and transform strips, thisdoes not alpha blend nicely with the first clip below. A good way tohandle this is to make the 3 strips into 1 metastrip. Select all three(Shift, rightclick middle), and press Shift+G for meta strip;if you wanted to revert, you could press Alt+G to un-meta.

Now select the metastrip, and choose 'Alpha over' as blending modeagain. And voila! With these steps, you can already composite quite anice paper submission video.

05 Export

One last thing.. you need an actual video file. So consider theright panel again. You may want to select 'Keep UI' as display.

Consider one last time the resolution percentage of the output andthe FPS (frames per second). Then, click 'Animation' and in /tmp(or wherever you have set it in the 'Output' section), a new file 0000-0250.avior similar should appear after a short while. In the meantime, at thevery top of the window, you will see a small gray horizontal bar.

Btw: If Blender says 'Error initializing video stream', it is anffmpeg bug. Just set output format to 'H.264', press 'Animation', stopthe process, set output back to MPG, press 'Animation' again, andmagically, it should work this time.

And with that, you have your paper submission video! And this withBlender, who would have thought?

EOF (Sep:2011)

Blender is a comprehensive and ever expanding application for making all manner of 3D content. Its power derives to a large extent from the way its functionality is accessible through the use of keyboard shortcuts and combinations. For the User this can be a challenge in terms of remembering what shortcut keys do what in Blender.

Resources

Important note: the ever changing nature of Blender's development means features can be arbitrarily updated so shortcut keys may be mapped to different functions or be in different locations version to version - this is especially true of Blender 2.50, up to and included, the latest versions.

The following is a list of useful keyboard shortcuts, commands and features for Blender, handy to keep to one side when modelling. Although the bias for the below is towards making content for games, either Blenders own internal Blender Game Engine or external third-party technologies, they are worth getting to know because there is a lot of commonality to most other types of content creation and will facilitate the User getting the most from Blender.

Design note: charts and references relate to common or frequently used actions in Blender so should not be regarded as a comprehensive list of shortcuts. Note also that triggers are context sensitive, the same key may function differently depending upon the Editor open or operation performed.

Shortcut (hotkey) chart ^

Basic (Standard UK) keyboard layout and hotkey map for Blender - N.B. some shortcut keys may be mapped differently depending on system language

Blender keyboard shortcut & hotkey map blank so you can chart your own key-combinations - standard keyboard layout based on UK language

Blender can do a lot of 'stuff' so having a chart of some sort to 'map' all those keyboard shortcuts would be handy, especially if it were printable. The following hotkey chart shows the basic shortcuts available for Blender. A blank version is also provided for 'custom' key mappings and mappings that differ based on system language.

Blender shortcut chart (300dpi) - download as [PDF | PNG | EPS | TIF]
Blender hotkey 'blank' chart (300dpi) - download as [PDF | PNG | EPS] 2 gis for mac os.

General Navigation/Mouse Control ^

Shift and Control (Ctrl), core keys used in combination with Left, Right and Middle mouse buttons

MIDDLE mouse button (MMB)
- MMB+hold+drag
  - Rotates the 3D View
  - Strafes left/right, up/down other windows/editors
- MMB scroll Up/Down
  - Zoom 3D View and other Editors in/out
  - Scrolls misc. Control & Property panels up/down
- Shift+MMB
  - Strafe/Translate viewport or editor left/right and up/down
- Ctrl+MMB
  - Zoom 3D View and other Editors in/out
LEFT mouse button (LMB)
- LMB Click
  - Confirm or set an action or operation
- LMB+hold+drag
  - Initiates & drags X, Y, & Z Widget handles in 3D View
- Ctrl+LMB
  - Freestyle 'loop' Select
  - Edit Outliner datablock names/ID's
RIGHT mouse button (RMB)
- RMB Click
  - Select Object, item or element
- Shift+RMB
  - Multi-select or multi-deselect Objects, items or elements

General Object/Element manipulation shortcut keys ^

Basic manipulation shortcuts to 'Move', 'Rotate' and 'Scale' - these are universal shortcut keys in that they apply/are usable in most Editors, Windows or Control/Properties/Options Panels

G = free Translate/Manipulate (X, Y and Z to lock axis)
S = free Scale/Resize (X, Y and Z to lock axis)
R = free Rotate (X, Y and Z to lock axis)
- +Ctrl = Snaps to increment (^)
- +Ctrl +Shift = Snaps to smaller increment (^)
- +Shift = Slows movement (^)
- +Shift +Ctrl = Snaps to smaller increments (^)

Design note: (^) indicates an action initiated after manipulator, i.e., press “G” then “Ctrl” etc., held down throughout activity/action.

General 3D View Orientation shortcut keys ^

The 3D View and the orientation of Objects within can be controlled using the 'NumPad' keys - note default axis orientation is X/Y/Z ( left/right, front/back, up/down)

Design note: where Numpad keys are unavailable (laptop), in 'User Preferences' activate 'Emulate Numpad' under 'Input' options, forcing Blender to use the main numerical keys, 1 - 0, as alternatives. Enabling 'emulate' disables the normal 'layer selection' feature attributed to the same keys.

Home = re-centre 3D View (averaged on visible objects)
NumPad 0 = Camera Perspective
NumPad 1 = Front ortho (looking back)
Ctrl+NumPad 1 = Back ortho (looking forwards)
Shift+NumPad 1 = axis orientation to Z/X/Y (up/down, left/right, front/back)
NumPad 4/6, 2/8 = Roll scene left/right, up/down (relative to view left/right) [*]
NumPad 3 = Right ortho (looking left)
Ctrl+NumPad 3 = Left ortho (looking right)
Shift+NumPad 3 = axis orientation to Z/Y/X (up/down, front/back, left-right)
NumPad 5 = toggle Perspective/Orthographic
NumPad 7 = Top ortho (looking down)
Ctrl+NumPad 7 = Bottom ortho (looking up)
Shift+NumPad 7 = axis orientation to Y/X/Z (front/back, left/right, up/down)
NumPad / = Local/Global orientation
NumPad + = Zoom in
NumPad - = Zoom out
NumPad . = Focus on selection
Ctrl + NumPad 4/6, 2/8 = Strafe/Pan scene Left/Right, Up/Down [*]
Shift + NumPad 4/6 = Roll scene clockwise/anti-clockwise [*]

Design Note: items marked '*' above indicate schemas useful in instances where mouse or touch-pad control options are not available (but access to full keyboard layout is).

General Editor type shortcut keys ^

Using 'Shift+F[n]' quickly switches between Editor Types (Display Types)

Blender 2.50 up, to & including latest
- Shift+F1 = Link/Append
- Shift+F2 = Logic Editor
- Shift+F3 = Node Editor
- Shift+F4 = Console
- Shift+F5 = 3D View
- Shift+F6 = Graph Editor
- Shift+F7 = Properties
- Shift+F8 = Video Sequence Editor
- Shift+F9 = Outliner
- Shift+F10 = UV/Image Editor
- Shift+F11 = Text Editor
- Shift+F12 = Dope Sheet
Blender 2.49 or below
- Shift+F1 = Load Library (Append - File Browser)
- Shift+F2 = Export (File Browser)
- Shift+F3 = Node Editor
- Shift+F4 = Data Select
- Shift+F5 = 3D View
- Shift+F6 = IPO Curve Editor
- Shift+F7 = Buttons
- Shift+F8 = Video Sequence Editor
- Shift+F9 = Outliner
- Shift+F10 = UV/Image Editor
- Shift+F11 = Text Editor
- Shift+F12 = Action Editor
Layout Schemes
- Ctrl+Left-arrow = toggle Layout Schemes ('Default', '3D View Full', 'UV Editing' etc.)
- Ctrl+Right-arrow = (per above)
- Ctrl+Up-arrow = toggle Maximise/Minimise active view
- Ctrl+Down-arrow = toggle Maximise/Minimise active view
- Alt+F10 = toggle editor Full Screen
View Schemes
- Home = View All
- NumPad . = View Selected
- H = Hide Selected
- Shift+H = Set Restrict View (hide all View proxy)
- Ctrl+H = Set Restrict Render (hide all Render proxy)
- Alt+H = Unhide All
Misc. UI Functions
- F1 = Open (2.49 or below)
- F2 = Save As.. (2.49 or below)
- Ctrl+N = New
- Ctrl+O = Open
- Shift+Ctrl+O = Open Recent
- Ctrl+Q = Quit Blender
- Ctrl+S = Save
- Ctrl+Alt+S = Save a Copy
- Ctrl+W = Save (2.49 or below)
- Ctrl+X = New (2.49 or below)
- Shift+Ctrl+S = Save As..
- Ctrl+Alt+U = User Preferences
- X = Delete (type/element)
Misc. Panel Overlays
- N = Properties (generic editor/area properties) (^)
  - 3D View
  - Graph Editor
  - Dope Sheet
  - NLA Editor
  - UV/Image Editor
  - Video Sequence Editor
  - Movie Clip Editor
  - Node Editor
  - Logic Editor
- T = Tool Shelf (generic editor/area tool shelf) (^)
  - 3D View
  - UV/Image Editor
  - Movie Clip Editor
  - Node Editor
  - File Browser

Design note: (^) denotes a function either not available to all editors, view or areas, and/or the data presented differs relative to the editor/view within which the panels appears.

3D View Object Mode shortcut keys ^

Using 'Shift', 'Ctrl' and 'Alt' on the same keys to perform different operations in Object Mode

1 » 0 = Layers (top row)
Alt+1 » 0 = Layers (bottom row)
Ctrl+1 » 5 = Subdivision levels 1x thru 5x
Shift+1 » 0 = multi-select Layers (top row)
Shift+Alt+1 » 0 = multi-select Layers (bottom row)
' = Select All/Deselect All Layers
. = Pivot Point - Cursor
, = Pivot Point - Median (default)
A = Select All/Deselect All
Ctrl+A = Apply
B = Border (Box) Select
Alt+B = Clip Select (toggles off when used again)
Shift+B = Zoom to Selected
C = Paint (Circle) Select
- C+LMB = Additive election
- C+MMB = Subtractive deselection
- RMB/Esc = Cancel Action
D = switch Draw mode (2.49 or below)
Alt+D = Duplicate (linked)
Shift+D = Duplicate (unlinked)
F = toggle UV Edit mode (2.46 or below)
Ctrl+G = Group
Ctrl+Alt+G = Remove Selected from Active Group
Ctrl+Shift+G = Add Selected to Active Group
Shift+Ctrl+Alt+G = Remove from All Groups
Shift+G = Select Grouped
H = Hide
Alt+H = Unhide All
L = Make Local
M = Move to Layer
Ctrl+M = Mirror/Flip
- +X = along X axis (front/back)
- +Y = along Y axis (left/right)
- +Z = along Z axis (up/down)
N = toggle View Properties
N = Transform Properties (2.49 or below)
O = toggle Proportional Editing
P = Start Game Engine
Ctrl+P = Set Parent To
Alt+P = Clear Parent
T = toggle Tool Shelf
T = Texture Space (2.49 or below)
Tab = toggle Object/Edit mode
Ctrl+Tab = toggle Weight Paint mode
Shift+Tab = toggle Grid-snap
U = Make Single User
V = toggle Vertex Paint mode
W = Specials
X = Delete
Z = toggle Wireframe/Solid viewport shading
Alt+Z = toggle Solid/Texture viewport shading
Ctrl+Z = Undo
Shift+Z = toggle Solid/Shaded Draw type (2.49 or below)
Shift+Ctrl+Z = Redo

Design note: when 'Emulate Numpad' is enabled ('User Preferences' » 'Input'), the main numerical keys, 1 - 0, no longer function as layer selection shortcuts, acting instead as alternatives to the Scene manipulation keys typically attributed to the Numpad (useful for laptops/keyboards absent the extended Numpad section).

3D View Edit mode shortcut keys ^

Using 'Shift', 'Ctrl' and 'Alt' on the same keys to perform different operations in Edit Mode

1 » 0 = Layers (top row - selecting layers in Edit mode keeps active mesh in view)
Alt+1 » 0 = Layers (bottom row)
Ctrl+1 » 5 = Subdivision level 1x thru 5x
Shift+1 » 0 = multi-select Layers (top row)
Shift+Alt+1 » 0 = multi-select Layers (bottom row)
' = Select All/Deselect All Layers
. = Pivot Point - Cursor
, = Pivot Point - Median (default)
A = Select All/Deselect All
B = Border (Box) Select
Alt+B = toggle Clip Select (on select/off)
Ctrl+B = Bevel Edge selections
Shift+Ctrl+B = Bevel Vertex selections
Shift+B = Zoom to Selected
C = Circle (Paint) Select
C = Centre on Cursor (2.49 or below)
Ctrl+C = Copy Face Selected (2.49 or below)
D = switch Draw mode (2.49 or below)
Shift+D = Duplicate (unlinked)
E = Extrude
Alt+E = Extrude Region
Esc = Cancel action/operation
Ctrl+E = Edges options/Specials (incl. 2.49)
F = Generate Face
Ctrl+F = Faces options/Specials (incl. 2.49)
Ctrl+Shift+F = Flip Edge (2.49 or below)
Ctrl+G = Vertex Groups
Shift+G = Select Similar
H = Hide
Alt+H = Unhide All
I = Inset
J = Diagonal surface split (corner to corner)
Ctrl+I = Invert selection
Alt+J = convert Tris to Quads
K = Knife
Alt+M = Merge
Ctrl+M = Mirror/Flip
- +X = along X axis (front/back)
- +Y = along Y axis (left/right)
- +Z = along Z axis (up/down)
O = toggle Proportional Editing
P = Separate (to Object)
Alt+P = Poke Face
Ctrl+P = Make Vertex Parent
Ctrl+R = Loopcut
Ctrl+T = Tessellation (triangulation)
Tab = toggle Edit/Object mode
Ctrl+Tab = Mesh Select Mode (Face, Edge, Vertex)
Shift+Tab = toggle Grid-snap on/off
U = UV Mapping
U = UV Calculation (2.49 or below)
V = Rip/Detach Vertex
Shift+V = Slide selection (alt. double-tap 'G')
Ctrl+V = Vertices options
Ctrl+V = Vertex Specials (2.49)
W = Specials
X = Delete options
Ctrl+X = Dissolve Selected
Ctrl+X = Delete All/Reset (2.49 or below)
Y = Split Face/Edge/Vertex
Z = toggle Wireframe/Solid viewport shading
Alt+Z = toggle Solid/Texture viewport shading
Ctrl+Z = Undo

3D View Pose Mode shortcut keys ^

Basic shortcut keys for 'Pose' Mode (also largely available when Armature is in Edit mode)