How do you take a video file off of a videocamera that uses a tape?

Plug a Firewire into your computer and into the camera and then use a program like Adobe Premiere Pro and get the stuf fthats on the tape into the Adobe program..Then you can do editing with it and add fancy stuff to it.

Hi Joel,My camera doesn't have a USB output so I use DVD Xpress.With DVD Xpress you can transfer your video to your hard drive and then edit it if you desire. DVD Xpress comes with basic video editing software. I got mine at Sam's for $59.95. They are cheaper now. You can look at one & read about it here - http://www.usb-ware.com/ads-dvd-xpress.htmYou connect the composite output of your camera into the DVD Xpress and connect the DVD Xpress to your computer via a USB cable.Norm

What camera is it? What tape format is it using?If it's a digital camcorder (hard drive, miniDV, Digital 8), then there's most likely a FireWire port on there. If your computer has a FireWire port, use a FireWire cable to connect the hardware and follow the instructions of your video-editing software. If you don't have a FireWire port, you will need to install a FireWire card.If it's an analog camcorder (8mm, Hi8, VHS-C), then you need to convert it to a digital format. To do this, you need a converter. One good one is the ADS Pyro A/V Link. BHPhotoVideo.com has it running at $134.95. It converts analog inputs to digital output via FireWire.If you have the option between capture over USB and capture over FireWire, do it via FireWire. Its performance is better.