Need tutorial on how to produce video

I can't find this anywhere. I need to find a tutorial of some kind that will
teach me how to produce video using still images and vector art among other
non-video things.

It needs to be from the ground up as I've really only been poking around in it
(and Premiere and Soundbooth) for about a week.

Windows XP
CS3 Master Collection

      It needs to be from the ground up as I've really only been poking around
      in it




Go to your local bookseller and purchase Classroom in a Book for Premiere and
After Effects. You might also want the CIB for Flash and Illustrator. Buy any
two or three of the many dozens of Digital Video for Dummies-style books.
These will take you about six weeks to wade through and then all you'll know is
what's in the books.
Creating video that's worth watching takes a lot of experience.
How many hours did you invest in Grand Theft before you got to level 57?

Otherwise, just start dropping stuff into your AE project window. That's what I
do.

Good luck.

Man, I was hoping you wouldn't say CIB. I have the Flash one and while it's a
little informative, I can't say I'm impressed with it. However, it may give me
the foundation I'm looking for here.

I'm already fairly well versed in Illy; will just need to learn how to take that
knowledge and apply it to video resolutions (this aspect ratio thing of 0.9 and
1.2 has got me spinning when I can't figure out how to properly view a finished
product as it will be seen on something other than a computer screen).

Six weeks may be a bit too long. What I need first is basically something a tad
better than a decent Powerpoint presentation for DV. I don't need to produce
something right off the bat that we'll use for TV commercials; I just need to
show the higher-ups that the money they invested in this software (that we were
on schedule to buy last September instead purchased last month) was worth it.

I have no doubt that experience is a major factor here. But I'm barely treading
water here. If I don't find a surfboard soon, I'll drown. However, based on
what's been done for us by "professionals" in the past, the bar isn't
set very high for me.

I haven't bothered with any of the GTA games. They don't make that for PCs, do
they? I'm not a gaming console guy.

Dropping stuff in the project window I have down no problem; it's knowing what
needs to be done beforehand to the files I'll drop there and how to accurately
preview them that's raising my blood pressure.

Knowing I won't knock anything out of the park any time soon, I've started
small: a 2.5 second "signature" to be placed at the end of a
commercial or segment. Black screen, PS-treated background element with a minor
scaling effect, and logo with a short wave file. I thought I had that relatively
simple thing figured out, but I can't seem to find a way to view it as it would
appear on a widescreen TV. It's just stretched and I can't tell if it just looks
like that on my computer screen because of how that displays aspect ratio and it
will look fine on our widescreens in the stores or not.

If I can figure out that 2.5 spot, I may just have a chance at figuring out how
to create the rest of it.

"I haven't bothered with any of the GTA games. They don't make that for
PCs, do they? I'm not a gaming console guy."

GTA started out on PCS... All GTA games (including 1 & 2, which I don't
think are available for consoles) are available for windows, except GTA4, but
that will be coming later.

I recommend the Chris/Trish Meyer books - they are very good and should help
explain some of the technical video stuff.

You can use the PAR correction button (bottom of comp window) to display your
comp as square pixels.

Chris and Trish Meyer's "After Effects Apprentice" book is probably
exactly what you need.