Ok so now that the dust has settled from last week’s Lunar New Year celebrations and general madness we can resume normal operations.
The downside to all of this (for me!) is that the rest of the world did not particularly pay much attention to my little break and just kept right on creating content, so this week’s Friday Roundup is going to be kind of big.
More than ever I have tried to keep this one to a “best of the best” edition but it is still going to be fairly long!
I have also attempted to limit my own commentary as much as humanly possible because let’s face it, this is not the week for me to be going off on my usual ramblings.
So I’ll just shut up now so you can get into it!
How to Apply the Three Act Structure to Nonfiction Video
In my posts on this site covering the subject of shooting better videos I mention the concept of finding the “story” of your video.
The reason I mention that at the shooting stage is that if you have the story in mind then you are more likely to get the footage you need to tell that story in the editing stage. That post is HERE.
If you want to delve into that subject a little deeper (and you probably should!) then the article linked below is a great start.
We are very much tuned into the concept of the three part story or the three act play in our lives even if we are not aware of it.
There are very, very few Hollywood movies or T.V. programs that do not follow that formula and now we kind of expect it.
You know, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back!
The trick in amateur video is how to get that three part structure into projects that from the outside, do not necessarily lend themselves to it.
Lighting 101: Intro to Light Placement
The absolute basis upon which nearly all lighting setups begin is the three point lighting system.
Simply put it is a key or main light that provides the majority of lighting for a shot supplemented with two other lights that adjust or enhance what is happening with the key light.
For most people reading this blog the idea of setting up and positioning three lights at least before every shot is just unreal.
However there is value in knowing and understanding that basic lighting setup even if you are not going to… well… set it up!
That value is in having a greater understanding of where your exiting lighting is coming from, how it will affect the shot you are trying to get and how you can position yourself or the subject in a way that will give the best possible result.
Editing Process – 2019 Breakdown
Aidin Robbins is a source I go to quite often here on the Friday Roundup.
Sometimes he strays a little too far into the world of professional video so I tend not to re-post that stuff, but quite often his tips and insights are quite valuable.
Last week he did a little pet project for himself which was for him a bit of a summary of his activities in 2019.
It was a bit silly and quirky but like most of his videos full of some excellent shooting and editing.
This week he did a “breakdown” video of how he put that whole project together and exposed some of the tricks he used to do it.
It is well worth taking a look at to see some of his techniques and creative choices in action.
Filmmaking Mistakes: 5 habits you should Avoid
Some great shooting tips here from the guys at Cinecom.net especially with reference to positioning yourself physically to suit the existing lighting conditions.
You don’t have to slavishly apply these rules to your projects but even in the most spontaneous situations you if you know them you can instantly check what’s happening, adjust and walk away with much better footage.
Quick Tips for Cutting Music
When people first start editing video with added music they tend to focus mainly on getting that music to start at the beginning of the video and end… well.. at the end!
It doesn’t take too long to realize that even though that’s at least tidy, the final product always seems to be a bit strange.
From there they usually discover the wonderful world of cutting to the beat!
Despite the slight improvement that offers it is not too long before the old CUT, two three, four, CUT, two three, four also wears a bit thin.
So, cutting to the music does not necessarily mean cutting to the beat (although it can), it can also mean cutting to “events” within the music of which there can be many.
Check out this article for a few more ideas on the subject.
Testing Viral Food Advertising Tricks from Instagram
Not that I think anyone is going to be using any of there tips but I thought it was pretty interesting to watch.
It actually goes a long way in explaining why when you execute a recipe from a cookbook book, the result you get never really quite looks the same as the image in the book! (Or is that just me?)
How to Make the Drink Pouring Effect – CyberLink PowerDirector 18
Working with track overlays, blend modes and masks can be a bit difficult to learn well if you have no real visual cues to follow.
That’s the main reason I tend to add video tutorials these days.
Just trying to duplicate some of this stuff from the written word can be pretty hard!
So even though the the tutorial below creates a pretty cool effect in itself the primary value is in watching the process being done and seeing how each effect or setting can be used.
PowerDirector – NCIS Style Editing Techniques
This is a three part series working in PowerDirector showing how to copy some of the effects you can see in the opening sequence of a TV show called NCIS.
If you have seen the show and its opening sequence then this will all be familiar to you.
If you haven’t seen the show you can probably do a Google search to find it and take a look.
The main reason I have included the series is not because it is awesomely faithful to the original!
The real reason I have included it is because it is a great exercise in just watching someone work in an editor to its full extent.
There are two main things to learn here:
1. Your average consumer level video editor these days can really do a lot of complex things and,
2. Editing is still predominantly the process of sitting for hours endlessly fiddling about with stuff!
Part One
Sync Audio with Video in Filmora9! – Two Minute Tip
This is one is just a simple walk through of how to sync your audio with your video in Filmora when you have recorded that audio separately to the camera.
Copy Effects and Paste In Filmora9
This is a demo of a feature that a lot of video editors have that people tend to either not find out about or overlook.
It is pretty common and it is certainly worth your time checking out to see whether your editor has it or not.
It is a great time saver when you find yourself applying the same effects or set of effects to some clips even though they may be separated on the timeline or from different sources.
Who’s Essential on a Film Crew – Filmora Music Video Series #3
This is part three in the series from the guys at Filmora tracking through the process of creating a professional music video.
In this episode they cover who is on the film crew, what they do and which roles are essential.
Cinematography Explained – Filmora Music Video Series #4
Number four in the series from the guys at Filmora following along the entire process of creating a fully professional music video clip.
Text Reveal – Filmora 9.3 Tutorial
Watch the intro to the video itself to get a full ideas of what this one is but in a nutshell it is the effect of text appearing from behind a moving subject in the original video.
In the tutorial below there is someone riding a bicycle right to left across the screen.
As the person is passing the title or text appear from behind that subject.
Speech To Text Effect – Filmora 9.3 Tutorial
A simple run through in Filmora on how to add text to a project and have it appear as if it is being typed out in real time.
It uses a specific “typing” effect that comes with Filmora but most editors have something similar so just look for it in the titles section of yours.
As an added bonus it also has a little tutorial in Microsoft Paint that shows how to get an original document and prepare it for use in the project.
Text Shake Effect – Filmora9 Tutorial
Well this one is exactly what it says on the box.
The text drops down on screen into position with the screen shaking as that text lands in place.
It also shows the power of having some good audio along with it to really “sell” the effect.
This is not an effect or sequence of effects that can only be done in Filmora.
I am guessing that once you know the elements you are looking for to get it done, most decent video editing software will offer something similar.
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