What you can do with GTA's vid editor

With Grand Theft Auto IV due out for the PC on 3rd December in Europe (yes, it's a Wednesday), Rockstar has released four videos to show off what you can do with the video editor included with the game.

As you will know if you read our extensive hands-on preview of GTA IV PC earlier this month, it's possible to hit F2 at any time to save off the last 30-40 seconds of gameplay footage.

You can then manipulate the recording by going into the editor and positioning markers on a timeline to affect filters, camera changes and other visual effects. Ten seconds running behind Niko is suddenly transformed into a slow-motion, crash-zooming epic that drags you into the screen. You can even add text, change the music, turn speech on or off and create a montage of clips.

As you would expect, the results can be uploaded to a special Rockstar Social Club page, and you can also get the game to kick out 720p and 1080p videos if you'd prefer to keep them that way.

Anyway, the four trailers below are designed to show off some of the results you can achieve, and if you find your interest piqued then check out the full hands-on for a more exhaustive explanation of how the video editor works and how we got on when we tried to turn a bit of the Three-Leaf Clover mission into art.

We actually did better than you expect, thank you very much.

Gutterballs

The heart-warming tale of one man's obsession with more than just bowling. Of particular note are the changes of camera pace as Niko opens a door and the woman drops her broom. We're a bit partial to the lingering shot at the end, too.

Peeper

When you go down to the woods today (well, the park), watch out for the terrifying pervert hiding in the bushes. Nice synching of music and snappy zooms, and even a bit of handheld work in the middle. To get a picture of how the video editor works, consider each change of pace, each new shot, each sweep of the camera, as one block of user input via the timeline markers.

My Own Worst Enemy

Niko Bellic versus Niko Bellic in a shootout that does its best to show off how you can take multiplayer and make it look like some of the actual game's best action cut-scenes. And if you're not arty, you can always record yourself killing that guy on the internet and then show it to him over and over again. Especially if that guy's Kristan.

Liberty

Rockstar wanted us to make it clear that these are not trailers; they're all created with the editor, and even you could do them with a bit of time and imagination. It's particularly worth emphasising during this excellent, painstakingly considered compilation, set to one of our favourite songs in the game.

Look out for our full review of Grand Theft Auto IV for PC very soon.