How to Make Video File Sizes Smaller and What Software to Use
A fairly common type of question that I get asked here on the D.I.Y. Video Editor concerns unexpected outcomes when it comes to video encoding and more commonly, video file conversions.
With the majority of my readers having come into the world of dealing with video through easy to use video editing software, probably the one thing missing is understanding of this subject.
Very often when you are about to do something questionable the software may pop up a message asking you if you really want to do that thing.
Basically it is politely saying that you are about to do something stupid and perhaps you may want to reconsider!
That level of automation and error checking is great for day to day use but unfortunately when it comes to stepping outside the normal workflow there is no substitute for knowing what you are doing.
Converting from one file format to another is probably the one action that can create the wildest outcomes.
Someone takes a file, decides it is too big, has heard another file type that creates smaller files so converts and… the file size they end up with is through the roof!
The only way to really get a grip on that process is to understand what is going on so that you can control it.
Check out this article that has a complete explanation of everything you need to know about compression, file sizes and the software you can use.
5 Keyframe Tricks Every Video Editor Should Know
This is a tutorial done in Premiere Pro which is not an editor I particularly like or use.
However it does cover some important uses of keyframes in your general editing and if you have a key frame enabled editor you should take a look.
Keyframing was introduced to most of the consumer level video editors quite some time back now and although they are not promoted as heavily as other features they really are an invaluable source of control.
I guess it is hard for the marketing department to come up with a sexy angle on Key Frames!
How to Start a Cut: The 5 “Edit Drivers”
The link below to this article goes to a static website page and on that page in written form is all the information contained in a video these guys made.
The reason I am linking to the page and not just pulling in the video is because NBC Universal have blocked the showing of the video in some regions.
This is probably because the Film Editing Pro guys have used footage from an NBC Universal property.
Anyway it is a good article and gives an excellent overview of the key factors you can use to determine how your edit is going to go.
If you are the right region you can watch the video on that page.
Make Cheap Cameras More Cinematic
I have to mention here that this tutorial is aimed at more aspiring amateur video makers that have their eyes on more professional targets.
As such when the video talks about “cheap” cameras we are not necessarily talking about something you picked up in the toy department of your local department store!
It is targeting that layer of video cameras that sits just below the fully professional range and not your average consumer point and shooter.
Having said that some of the tips are applicable at all levels.
How to Shoot the Perfect Timelapse – Tutorial
This is one of those “everything you wanted to know” tutorials on time lapse and probably has a bunch of stuff that you didn’t realize you wanted to know!
It speaks for itself but one thing I think you should pay particular attention to is the demo clip at the beginning.
Sure you can watch it and see some great time lapse sequences but that’s not the key to why it looks so good.
The key is the audio soundscape Aidin added to it and that is worth noting.
5 Steps to Start Flying FPV
OK, FPV stands for First Person View and is all the rage with the kids these days!
Basically it describes using a VR (Virtual reality right?) type headset whilst you are flying a drone so that it feels like you are up in the air while you are using the drone to capture video.
It is as if you are actually the pilot of the drone as it flies and you are looking at everything from a “first person” perspective.
The effect and the video you can get can be quite spectacular but like most things it requires a lot of practice to get right and make sure you don’t keep crashing your drone!
The video below offers some interesting insights into the subject and some great suggestions for getting into FPV at a reasonable cost.
Daniel Batal Filmora Live Q&A
Time for Daniel Batal’s monthly (or so) Q&A session on YouTube and once again he doesn’t disappoint.
In this session he covers over 50 general and some very specific answers to questions on using Filmora.
If you don’t really want to sit through the entire two hours to see if there is something you want to know then go to YouTube to watch it and in the blurb below the video there is a full list with play times of the topics discussed.
As I have mentioned many times before, these Q&A sessions are aimed at Filmora but contain a bucketload of stuff applicable to any video editor.
X-Ray Glasses Effect from “They Live!” – Filmora9
First of all this effect is by no means software specific to Filmora.
In fact given the simplicity of Filmora it is pretty safe to say that if it can be done in Filmora then it can be done in just about any video editing software.
It is a simple effect that just uses overlays, transparencies and some very basic masking to make it appear that the person is seeing something different when looking through sun glasses.
PowerDirector – Tips on Managing the Background Music
It would be safe to say that video editing software even at the amateur or prosumer level these days has become incredibly powerful.
A few of my friends who are pro video editors are still quite surprised when I pipe up and say that I can easily do certain things they thought were super advanced.
The slight downside to that is that the user interfaces of your average video editing software is pretty complex.
If you then look behind the curtain on a lot of those advanced features you find a whole new world of knobs and buttons and dials and stuff!
So in the spirit of that here is a video that just goes through all the features of the Background music Manager in CyberLink PowerDirector.
As an added tip what you should occasionally do is grab a clip and load it on to the timeline of whatever software you have.
Add an effect or or anything you like then look for the “Advanced” button or tab then go into that.
Have a play around and see what you find!
How to Stop Transitions From Moving Your Clips – CyberLink PowerDirector 18
This one is not necessarily PowerDirector specific so if you are using something else as your video editing software you may need to check for yourself.
It is however quite an important tip for anyone editing videos.
The basic problem here is that when you add a transition between clips there are a couple of ways the software will handle that depending on brand.
One way is to take some of the end of the first clip and some of the beginning of the second clip and apply the transition.
When it is done that way you may end up with a slightly shortened sequence because the end and the beginning have been overlaid on each other.
In turn this can have the effect of throwing out of sync other assets like audio that you have on the timeline.
If you then repeat this many times on your main video tracks things can get seriously out of whack!
The other way the transition can be applied is by keeping the clips in their same positions and at the same length with the transition being “created” in between with no overlap.
There is no right way or wrong way here, the two methods give slightly different results visually.
The important thing to understand is how your transitions are being applied and how you can control or adjust that to suit yourself.
PowerDirector 18 – Glitch Text
This is a simple tutorial on just applying a “Glitch” effect to text.
It is done in PowerDirector using the NewBlue FX glitch effect that comes with the program.
If you are not using PowerDirector there is a good chance that your software also has either the same NewBlue effect as part of the package as it is quite common.
If not just look for any glitch effect and you can apply it directly to text and you should be good to go.
Facebook Live With Multiple Presenters
This is a quick tutorial on how to use Facebook Live from the point of view of adding more than just yourself to the stream.
You can do it to some degree just using FB Live itself but there are limitations to just how far you can take it.
After that you need more specialized software and that is covered in the video.
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