What is Deep Depth of Field? (Definition & Examples)
These days many of us are shooting with DSLR or MILC cameras armed with lenses that allow for us to create specific depth of field.
In fact you can also find lens attachments and Apps that can allow you smart phone to pretty much do the same thing.
The question of how to make video more cinematic is one that comes up over and over around the traps and quite simply one of the most powerful ways to achieve this is through depth of filed.
The article linked below gives a great explanation of the subject with lots of examples on how depth of filed influences what the audience in perceiving on the screen.
5 Ways to Use Basic Compositing
Obviously the title of the video below refers to Compositing but the reality is that many of you reading this have actually engaged in Compositing without knowing!
Compositing is one of those specialized terms in video editing of which there are many, that describe what these days are quite common actions.
Using masks or working with something in green screen are both very common examples of compositing.
One of the best reasons I know of for expanding your editing vocabulary is when it comes to learning how to do things.
On YouTube alone there are thousands and thousands of “How to” style videos showing all sorts of shooting and editing techniques.
The problem is that if you don’t know what exact terms you should be searching for you will have a hard time finding instructions to do the exact things you want to do.
If you search for “how to do that blurry cross-over thingy in video” on YouTube you are not really going to get much that makes sense!
On the other hand if you search for “cross-fade transition” you will find a mountain of information.
So in light of that the video below not only provides examples of some of the most common compositing tricks but also provides you with the correct names of them for further reference.
Lawrence Sher Shoots Short Film Entirely on the iPhone 11 Pro
I am including this clip in this weeks post because it is another of those “shot entirely on an iPhone’ ones that crop up every now and then.
On the face of it yes, it is impressive looking, beautifully shot and the quality is out of this world!
However videos like this tend to set the bar a little high for the average user so I think it is important to keep a few things in perspective.
It is inevitable that most people will see this, try to replicate something like it and fall so far short of the mark that they get a bit discouraged.
So as you are watching it and are being amazed at the quality keep a few things in mind.
First of all the video was directed by Theodore Melfi who was the director of the Academy Award-nominated Hidden Figures, as well as St.Vincent.
Secondly the cinematography was by Lawrence Sher who was the Director of Photography for the Joker, Godzilla King of Monsters, and The Hangover.
So right there you can see that we are not, in the strict sense just watching something that is good because it was shot on an iPhone!
What the video does do is highlight what is possible and that whatever you are using to shoot your videos is just a tool and the most important part of the equation is the person using that tool.
PowerDirector 18 – Speed up Editing with Keyboard Shortcuts
This is a subject near to my heart and is probably one of those topics outside of transitions that I tend to bang on about… probably too much!
That subject is the use of keyboard shortcuts to do your editing.
Just about everyone starts of editing with their new software by following along with some kind of video or demonstration of the software that almost invariably uses the “drag and drop,” “point and click” functionality of that software.
This is fine and probably is the fastest way to actually get started.
However as people begin to engage in more and more complex projects, that style of editing becomes more and more tedious!
So what do the pro’s do because let’s face it, they are working on things that are way more complex than anything you or I will most likely ever do.
Well the answer to that is keyboard shortcuts.
Having watched pro editors at work I would say that they use shortcuts for about 80% of the actions they carry out and only resort to using the mouse for the remaining 20% of the time.
The video below covers some of the shortcuts in PowerDirector and shows how to access the settings for these from within the program.
Every editing software program that I know of has at least some keyboard shortcuts available to be used.
I cannot stress enough how much easier your editing will become if you simply take a little time to work out what those shortcuts are and start using them.
There is a great suggestion in the video on how to go about that which I think is spot on.
Take four actions that you regularly do.
Learn the shortcuts for them and start forcing yourself to use them every time you are editing.
You will be surprised at just how fast you can drop the use of the mouse for those things and start automatically going for the shortcut.
Once you have done that, find another one or two and add them to your repertoire and so on.
How to Find Location and Schedule a Music Video
This is part two of a series being put together by the guys at Filmora.
It is more associated with their Filmora Pro product than Filmora9, their basic level product but that’s not really important.
So far it has been pretty interesting to follow along with to see what it really takes to put a fully professional music video together.
How To Use The Audio Mixer in Filmora9
Nothing particularly ground breaking here but it is a reasonably good walk through of the audio mixing capabilities of Filmora9.
As you would expect from an entry level editor aimed squarely at the “easy to use” or “easy to learn” market the controls on offer are quite basic.
If you are a Filmora user and want more control over your audio you could always go up to their Pro level software, Filmora Pro.
However I also think that just exporting you final audio to a free program like Audacity can be just as effective if you take the time to learn that program.
Time Lapse Filmora 9 Tutorial
This is not really a tutorial on Time Lapse video as such and if you are looking for something like that then just enter “time lapse” into the search bar on this site.
You will get a bunch of results pointing to some far more appropriate and complete tutorials.
The reason I added the video below is that it shows a particular technique you can use to makes sure that if you use the Time Lapse function on your iPhone you can export that image sequence to your computer successfully.
How to Make Motion Graphics in Title Designer – CyberLink PowerDirector
This is a good tutorial on using Motion Graphics in the Titling module of CyberLink PowerDirector as well as a run through on adding your own color blocks to the program for later use.
PowerDirector comes with about 44 preset motion graphics filters you can use for projects and most of them offer some kind of ability to tailor them to suit your needs.
The amount of adjustment you can make is limited to the text itself, some of the colors used, the position on the screen and the size.
On the face of it that may look a bit restricted but bear in mind that on the CyberLink “Director Zone” community site there are hundreds more motion graphics available that have been created by other users.
Some PowerDirector Effects Videos
This week CyberLink uploaded a few tutorials on to their YouTube Channel so I thought I would group them together here on the Friday Roundup.
Before we go any further I have to point out that the way CyberLink makes these videos is not what I would call all that user friendly!
Generally they tend to just create these really, really fast videos that show the result, step through the process, show the result again and we are done!
Hey! What the?
If you do want to learn any of these then the best way to deal with them is follow them step by step while you have he program loaded so it all makes sense.
Make a Goldfish Come from a Bubble-gum Bubble
This tutorial is specific to CyberLink PowerDirector and shows the exact steps you need to take to achieve the effect shown.
That effect is of a person blowing a bubble gum bubble, a goldfish appearing in that bubble, the bubble bursting and the fish swims off into the air.
Kind of specialized but if you look at it and the techniques you can probably work out some other cool sequences to work into your projects.
Basically it is an exercise in Chroma-key and Blending.
How to Create a TV Head Glitch Effect
This one is an exercise and demonstration of adding and working with multiple effects.
Create Illusions with Blending Modes
And finally one that shows some of the more advanced effects you can create using Blend modes.
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