Awesome Cameras for Video Under $1000
I NEVER get into reviewing cameras and equipment for two very good reasons.
The first is that I find the rate at which this area is developing and the sheer number of choices available simply overwhelming… I have no illusions that I can in any way keep up with it.
What’s hot this month, next month is totally outdated!
The second is that I am chronically lazy.
A weekly blog and keeping up with video editing software is more than enough excitement in my life thank you very much.
So in light of that here is an awesome article laying out 8 really good cameras suitable not just for making great video but that are operating at a level that would pass muster for a full feature movie.
Yes, the time really is upon us that we can all now have access to a sub $1000 camera that can capture movie quality video and that’s a really good thing!
Directing Tips
I was reading this article the other day and really wasn’t thinking of it from the point of view of my weekly blog post but as I got further into it I changed my mind.
At the end of the article they give 15 tips for becoming a better director which apply very much to someone wanting to engage in a full scale video production.
However when I thought about it I realized a lot of those tips actually apply to almost any situation when it comes to making video.
For example the first tip is to have a clear direction.
Boy, this tip alone just about sums up the entire difference between a good or bad home movie or family event movie or whatever, that entertains and engages the audience beyond the fact that they know everyone in it.
If there is one point you really need to think about it is this, otherwise all you end up with is, “we went somewhere with some people you may or may not be familiar with and we did some stuff.
Yawn.
If you at least have in your mind a direction or a way of presenting your footage as a story, no matter how ordinary you may think it is, your editing will lift enormously and the final product will be so much more engaging.
Magix News
Magix announced this week… or last, I can’t keep up these days, an update to their pro video editor Magix Video Pro X.
Now if you have never heard of it then you could be forgiven.
The program although having been around for years now, has been mainly marketed by Magix in Europe and this is probably due to Magix also being based in Europe.
Video Pro X is priced at around $400 or so and targets the pro end of the editing spectrum.
There is an intro video to the new release below and if you want my take on the program I have a review here.
Boris FX Tutorial
Another excellent video from Gripps these week using the Boris FX module in VideoStudio to create an effect of a leaf blower, blowing the picture to one side leaving the underlying picture revealed.
Bear in mind that although this appears to be a Corel VideoStudio tutorial it applies to any software like PowerDirector for example that has the Boris FX filters loaded.
The entirety of the video is done inside that module so the fact that it is VideoStudio is kind of unimportant.
Awesome Explanation of Editing
Just an awesome post this week on No Film School that anyone can benefit from.
Now I know no-one reading this blog is looking at video production from a “pro” perspective but nonetheless just watching the assets on the page linked below will make you a better editor.
For all of us there is question of how to cut parts of our projects together and what types of cuts and transitions will have what effect on the people watching.
Of course you can apply the usual amateur strategy of just cutting out the bad footage and simply joining whatever is left over together to make a video.
Add some music and there you go!
But really, there are so many simple things you can do to make your projects so much more enjoyable and you don’t have to go as far as a Hollywood blockbuster to do it.
Audio Production
There is an old saying with regards to video that has been around for ages that goes something like, “The most important part of video is audio.”
You can go over to YouTube and just start randomly going through videos made by ordinary users and I can absolutely guarantee a very large proportion of those videos will have atrocious audio.
They will in fact be so bad that you can’t watch them!
Notice I said “watch them” there and not listen?
Because that’s the effect audio has on video, bad audio makes any video regardless of the quality, unwatchable.
Now I am not expecting anyone to following the link below and begin operating at the level that is displayed there but importantly the two videos on that page go into incredible detail about how a sound editor does his job and how intricate his actions are in the movie making process.
- Audio: SoundWorks Collection | Indie Tips
Narration Anyone?
One of the absolute best ways of enhancing a “Home Movie” type project is through the use of narration.
The use of narration in home movies or video projects of that nature used to be quite common and in fact was considered the norm.
However as we have progressed (?) into the current world of immediate and almost constant access to video recording it does seem to be an art that is being lost.
Very often in a family and friends type of situation the reasonably simple act of sitting down and recording a little background narration or a little voice-over to explain something further can really bring a project like this to life.
- Bringing Narration Back to Home Movies
A Little History of Editing
Found this great video this week from the CineFix YouTube Channel explaining the history of editing.
Not only does it contain some awesome footage but also explains in very simple terms each type of editing advance made and what it does.
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