The day is finally here. You open your blinds and peer out of your living room window to see the sight you’ve been longing for – your reliable Royal Mail hero brandishing a box with your name on it. The patterned “DC” tape on the box confirms it – it’s your Mini DV transfer!


You grab the box, scramble inside and race to insert your memory stick into the computer. Finally, you can watch all your old memories again.


Feels good, right?


But we know you aren’t the type to stop there. You want to go bigger – so what’s next?


Turn your memories from hours of Mini DV transfers into a montage of best bits fit for the big screen. It’s time to learn how to edit videos!


You Will Need:


For this guide, we will be using Wondershare Filmora, a highly recommended software at DC and unbeaten compared with other editing software.


Importing your Mini DV Transfer Files


To import your files, open Filmora and click the “Media” button on the Top Menu. Then, select “Project Media” from the Side Menu.


This is where you will put your files for editing.


Check your Filmora screen looks like the image below after completing:



To move the files into Filmora, click on the green clapperboard icon shown in the image above. This will open a window where you can select the files you want to import; when you’ve found your video folder, double-click to open and access your individual files.


Next, select the files you want from the folder. Click and drag the files as shown below, or hold “Ctrl” and select the files you want.



Once all the desired files are selected, click “Open” to import the files to Filmora.


Below are the sample videos included with Filmora, but they should look similar to this:



Now your files are ready to be edited!


Adding Footage to the Timeline


To create anything in your project, it needs to be added to the Timeline.


Drag and drop one of the videos from the Media Screen onto the Timeline as shown below:



Cutting Footage


If you want a specific clip from a video, then cutting footage is the perfect tool for you. Thankfully, Filmora has made this tool easy to use.



At the bottom of the page, there is an empty timeline with a red line that is used as the cursor. Above the timeline, you will see a scissor icon.


Dragging the red line will move the cursor along, and clicking the scissors will cut the footage at the point where the cursor is.


This will allow you to carry a clip of your video freely – as shown in the clip below:



From here, delete the video’s unwanted parts by clicking and pressing the “Delete” key on your keyboard.


Adding Mini DV Transfer Clips Together


After deleting all the video parts you do not want, you can stitch them together to create your montage.


Drag each of your clips to the left to join on to the clip before it, as shown here:



If you want to join two Mini DV transfer clips from different tapes, repeat the steps above with a second video.


Drag and drop your second video to your timeline, only this time drop the video away from your first video so that it does not replace any of the first clips.


Cut the unwanted parts and drag the clips together.


The clip below summarises everything you have learned:



If you’re still standing after this information overload, congratulations!


You’re now ready to make the best birthday party montage anyone’s ever seen!


Want to convert your camcorder tapes and enjoy them with your family for years to come? Convert your tapes with the number one professional digitisation service in the UK!