3-Point Lighting in Video: The Secret to Creating Professional Videos
If you are getting into shooting and editing videos then it is inevitable that at some point you will encounter the subject of three point lighting.
When I look years back at some of the original videos I shot in a controlled environment it is pretty clear I was yet to discover that concept!
These days I can set up and be running with good image quality in minutes and that is mostly because I learned this concept.
As a side note three point lighting is usually presented in a studio or fixed setup situation which is actually an accurrate portrayal of its implementation.
However it is also important to understand why and how each source of light is affecting the captured image even if you are not in such a controlled environment.
In any shooting situation especially a natural one with no added lights it helps a great if you can identify all the sources of light that are available and be bale to predict how they will affect your image.
The Return of Video Opacity Control on the Timeline in PD 365
With the release of the latest version of CyberLink PowerDirector there was a great deal of angst generated by the changes made to the user interface.
This always happens when any established software does this because there will be an existing user base that has become accustomed to the way things are.
Humans are great at calling for change but terrible when it actually comes to thing having changed!
Personally I think the new design was a much needed overhaul to an interface that had been “tacked on to” for years and was getting downright messy.
One particular feature that was removed was an indicator on the timeline that showed the opacity of the clips below and to me its loss was hardly worth noting.
Apparently I was in the minority of existing users when it cam to this feature and there was a lot of whining going on about it.
Well this week CyberLink restored the Opacity Control to its former glory and lo the people did rejoice!
Best Video Export Settings for YouTube in 2023
This is a pretty good explanation of the whole video export discussion and is important of you want your videos to display on sharing services like YouTube at their best.
Particularly with YouTube you have to understand that regardless of how you upload they will automatically re-encode your video.
Even if you upload at their exact specifications it will still go through that automatic process of re-encoding.
At the same time they will also re-encode at lower resolutions and bitrates creating versions that can stream successfully on smaller devices or on connections that are not as fast.
For example if you upload a full 4k video, Youtube will create versions of that video at 1080p, 720p, 480p, 320p and 144p and the quality of those lower resolutions will depend on the quality and bitrate of the one you originally uploaded.
Filmora 13 New AI Text Based Editor
Last week I showcased a post that gave a run-through of the new Text Based Editor released in Filmora 13.
Not all videos are actually going to be suitable for this feature but many with a voice over will.
Here’s another video this time from Jacky highlighting how the new module works and how it can be used to cut editing time on certain projects.
Epic Eye Transition in Filmora 13
These are the simple basics of creating quite a striking transition manually using Filmora.
Of course there is nothing special about the tools being used so you can pull this off in just about any video editing software that offers masking.
This version uses a mask to add the next scene to the eye which is already in close-up and is probably better because you get to see the steps more clearly that way.
However as an add-on to the effect shown you can also use footage that zooms in on the eye then goes through the transition to the next scene.
Pop-Up Comment/Social Media GFX in Fusion – DaVinci Resolve Motion Graphics
This is actually a great little tutorial done in DaVinci Resolve on the Fusion Page.
Although the effect or the result is quite simple the tutorial covers a lot of things in Fusion in one go.
If you have at least overcome your fear of Fusion then this is an excellent intro into some of the features and settings in there.
How to Transfer Video from iPhone to PC (& PC to iPhone)
If you find yourself stuck halfway between the world of PC for computers and Apple for your iPhone it is somewhat common to have a few problems getting those two worlds to come together peacefully.
Here’s a complete runthrough of the various methods you can use to get these two on speaking terms for the purposes of file transfers.