You may not realize it, but your brain is waging a battle against itself every time you watch a film. Every film is its own universe with its own laws, and how those laws compare to those outside that universe determine how your brain interacts with the film and evaluates it against reality. But if you're making your own work, it might be worth stepping outside the norms.
Successful video editing is a confluence of creative vision, technical skills, and practical problem solving, so it's no wonder that it takes a lot of dedication and practice to become skilled at it. To help you jumpstart that process, here are five skills you need to have to be a successful video editor.
The art of animation in any form can be a long an tedious process however doing so with traditional stop motion techniques, manipulating your subject one frame at a time takes serious commitment and determination. Brett Foxwell takes this practice to a higher level creating amazing alien like organic worlds by slicing away one layer at a time from various pieces of wood in his newest short film "WoodSwimmer".
You've fired up Premiere Pro. You've watched the entire JJ Abrams repertoire... twice. You're ready. Here's how to add convincing and tasteful lens flares to your videos.
Neill Blomkamp directed "District 9" and "Chappie" and now he's released a short film of a dystopian future where aliens have taken over earth and the humans have to fight with whatever they can to survive and before it's too late. It's done in the style you kan expect from Blomkamp, in a way I believe only he can do, and it's got all the action, suspense, and gross details of brain implantation and alien creatures that he's become known for.
We have all been there: you see an image online that gives you the best perspective of a location but you have no idea exactly where it is located. Sometimes the photographer lists the location on social media, but more often they leave you wondering where exactly they were standing. Last week I set out to film a time-lapse of one of the most photographed skylines in the world. However, finding the exact location I wanted required me to use multiple resources. Welcome to project "New York Harbor."
Whether you are a photographer or a videographer, special effects are one way to separate your work from the crowd. Not everyone is willing to put in the time or effort, and many don’t know how to get it done. If you are amongst the ones missing the knowledge, don’t worry, Film Riot has got you covered with a new tutorial on how to create a fake bullet with Play-Doh, a bit of post-processing, and a few makeup products.
How many times have you seen a video or photo where a subject or even the artist themselves appear in it multiple times and wondered how they did that? Having a background in graphic design, I always guessed you just merge the footage or photos together and mask sections out to reveal the subject in each area. Well, it is as simple as it sounds but if you are not sure how to get started or how to do that, Peter McKinnon shows how he cloned himself in both photo and video using Photoshop and Premiere, respectively.
This video displays basic tips for a person looking to start vlogging or capturing video to showcase their skills. It's aimed at beginners, although there are some great tips for the avid shooter too. How to create a dolly-like effect using only your body, and how long a shot should last to make it something the viewer can actually focus on and absorb is included. It's practical and the video is only two minutes long.
At Monday’s WWDC keynote, Apple announced the latest iteration of the iPad Pro, leading with a 75 second commercial that is as slick as one would expect with any Apple product launch. The iPad Pro will sell by the bucketload no doubt, but “Any Given Wednesday,” directed by Leonardo Dalessandri, is worthy of recognition itself as a supreme piece of commercial filmmaking.
The past few weeks here in New Jersey and New York have been pretty rainy and not so nice. With that in mind, I came across a video that really caught my attention and had me confused for a good minute or so. For a while I thought I had been out of the loop, when suddenly I realized that this was just another sort of filming "trick" to fool the eye. Relating to my last article, this "video" takes it to another level showing a city we probably all know flooded by water. For me, it was not much of a pleasant sight and if this were to really happen, I can't imagine how much we would all be affected by it.
Sara Dietschy is a professional YouTuber and vlogger based out of New York City. She most famously appeared on the scene over a year ago when she knowingly mocked the one and only Casey Neistat with a hilarious video mimicking his style. Her channel has grown in size and so has her professional expertise in the field for both photographers and videographers alike. Her recent series 'How to Vlog' is a four part series in which she explains how to go through every single step from conception, to editing, all the way to uploading, and finally managing that video online. If you are interested in building a brand online, starting a YouTube page, or beginning your own vlog series this is the place to learn how.
We’ve all had one of those moments where we were in the middle of watching a video and realized that the pacing just didn’t quite feel right. It’s something that once it catches your attention can ruin the rest of the video for ourselves. Whether it be fast jump cuts to a slow song or vice versa, the pacing of our videos is a highly important variable that can quite easily be overlooked in the video production process.
As a photographer getting into video work, audio has quickly become the area where I had to learn the most. Anything camera related is very similar to photography, editing is not too complicated once you learn the software, but then there is the sound. Something we do not have when shooting still frames. One of the issues is how to make a track last the length of our video without having to spend too much time cutting it manually? Here’s the answer using Adobe Audition.
When I first started out, I always used to see color that I wanted to replicate. It seemed there was some magic preset or tool that helped. There isn’t and really what it boils down to, is first really “seeing” the color. What is it about a certain look you like? To help with this I have always been a fan of side-by-side comparisons, both for photo and video.
With the upcoming release of “Off the Tracks,” a documentary that chronicles the seismic shift that Final Cut Pro X introduced to the video industry in 2011, there been some chatter, even here on Fstoppers, about the video editing software’s place in history. I don’t have any qualms about its place in history: Simply put, it deserved better than what it got, which was heaps of shame, blame, and ultimately denial.
There’s an interesting documentary in the works if you’re a video editor. With an obvious pun for the title, "Off the Tracks" interviews professional editors, trainers, and application developers to dig into why Apple made such a shift, when their existing app suite was already successful. I’ll provide some background, but also some editorial commentary below, as I feel like this documentary has potential to either be very interesting or completely pointless.
Video editing, much like photo editing, carries with it its own set of clichés and pitfalls. And while style is a very personal thing, these are five things you might want to avoid if you want to keep your videos looking professional.
If you're just getting into video, one of the most important things you can tackle to improve both the look of your footage and the efficiency of your editing is LUTs. This helpful tutorial will get you off and running in very little time.
Summer is in full swing and that means there's plenty of blockbuster films to see over the next few months. One that my son and I are looking forward to is the next chapter in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise starring Jack Sparrow, aka Johnny Depp, along with returning original cast Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. This is the fifth installment of the franchise and it hopes to breathe a fresh take on the story that brings back key characters from the first couple films. In this video, you get a fantastic glimpse into what makes these movies what they are and it gives you a hint at how they do it.
While editing video, there are several effects you can add to the project to exaggerate, dramatize, or put focus on a specific portion. One popular method to do this is to slow down the footage. Many of the new cameras that are coming out today are able to shoot in higher FPS (frames per second), allowing this technique to be achieved effectively in camera. It might confuse some that shooting more frames per second equals slow motion video, but it's right. When you play the higher FPS clip at an average playable frame rate of 24 FPS, the time line for that clip is extended resulting in slow motion.
As consumer-level and professional drones become more and more capable, filmmakers are increasingly turning to them for the unique perspective they offer and as a way to augment existing work. Building on this, PolarPro has just released 12 new cinematic LUTs specifically for DJI's most popular models.
Modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras are capable of shooting razor sharp footage in spectacular 4k 60fps and up. But how do you give your footage a cinematic feel without purchasing pricey anamorphic lenses and professional cinema cameras? Fstoppers is here to help with five great hacks to achieving a cinematic feel to your video without spending a small fortune.
Some of my favorite video editing tricks and tools are quick and subtle edits that have a lot of impact on the final piece. This tutorial from videographer Casey McPerry is definitely one of those tools that I will be adding to my bag.
Most, if not all, have seen the picture profile settings in our cameras. These can include settings for Landscapes, Portraits, or even Cine-style formats for filmmakers looking to achieve that cinematic look. But what do these mean and how do they affect our final image?
Beautiful images are crucial to create an attractive video, but the soundtrack is just as important if not more. Put crappy sound over your breathtaking pictures, and people will probably not even watch more than a few seconds before stopping the film. When creating content for YouTube, finding good music or sound effects can be quite a challenge. But there are solutions, here are three of them to help you out and hopefully make your clips even better!
One of the worst gut wrenching feelings any content producer can face is opening up a memory card only to find that a file is corrupt or missing altogether. Recently we sold most of our Nikon gear and switched over to the new Panasonic GH5 cameras because of their better video features, superior image stabilization, and overall smaller size. Unfortunately we have found that unlike our Nikon cameras, the GH5 can corrupt files pretty easily if you are using their battery grip. In this video, I show you how these files can easily corrupt as well as a few software options you can use to recover any files corrupted during a loss of power.
There was a time when smooth, stable footage was the stuff of Hollywood, while us lowly plebeians dabbled with our shaky VHS home movies. But now, I can order laundry detergent delivered to my door by pressing a button on my washing machine and those magical devices in our pockets shoot in 4K. Here are four great ways to get with the times and give your footage that smooth, cinematic look.
One thing to remember in life is that there is always someone cooler than you. Today, it's this guy. He decided his '96 Suzuki needed a little boost to be sold, and I don't think anyone could have done a better job. Even I want to buy that little car now.
DaVinci Resolve 14 looks very promising and more videos about it are popping up on YouTube every day. One feature that was left out in many demonstrations until now is the integration of FairLight for audio editing. With the new version of Resolve, it’s possible to edit sound within the software. No need for an additional costly plugin, or any round-trip of a sort. Let’s see how with Casey Faris.
This week I finally got around to editing some footage I shot at SXSW this past year in Austin, Texas. I imported all of my clips into Premiere and began the laborious process of sorting, organizing, and cutting in and out points for all of the clips I wanted to use. Then I laid down a music track to cut against and around this time is where all the fun ended.
There's a trend with our social networks these days. All the networks and apps call it "stories." It's on Facebook now, just like it is on Instagram, Whatsapp, Messenger, and Snapchat. It's a way of showing others your day, or, documenting it with video and photos and making it a story. This media that has been added to our daily feeds of consumption is obviously difficult for people who haven't learnt to filter out information that they don't need. I follow over 400 people on Instagram, so if each one has a story for me to watch my day will be filled up watching stories which is a lot of time to spend on things that might not have a positive effect on our daily productivity or work.
I've always been a Windows desktop user, but until this point I've never built my own desktop from scratch. I finally decided to teach myself how to build the ultimate PC for video and photo editing and I'm bringing you along for the ride.
If you're just getting into shooting and editing video, you're probably running into the veritable plethora of editing techniques and tricks that you need to have at the ready to produce content. Luckily, this great tutorial will get you off and running in Premiere Pro.
In recent articles here on Fstoppers, you may have noticed the name DaVinci Resolve coming up on a regular basis. It’s a fantastic software for color grading video footage, and it’s evolving towards becoming a one-stop video editing solution. Some of the tools it offers are envied by photographers as they differ quite a bit from what’s available in Photoshop, Lightroom, or even Capture One. Many have been wondering if it’s possible to edit pictures with it and Ted Forbes from The Art of Photography has the answer for you: Yes. More than that, he shows you how to do it.
I saw the first minute of this video on Instagram and walked away from it thinking to myself, wow. The flying in this video was very good, the choice of lenses stood out, and it was filmed in some rather tough lighting conditions. I went back to the video on Instagram, found out who made it, and watched the full thing on Vimeo. While I was watching it again, I realized that this video was way different from what I had expected it to be. At first it began with straight forward camera movements along with flights through some tight spaces/buildings that would require a really good pilot. After a few clips of that, the movements began to get very unique and had me wondering what they were doing to achieve these looks.
I am a fan of good music. We all are. What I like even more is when a music video is directed to the music I like in a creative way that leaves me questioning how it was done, and how I can use the same tricks in my editing if at all possible.
Anyone that has dabbled in the world of color grading knows it's a complicated art and science that can require a certain level of dedication and obsession to really get that perfect look to your videos and work. In order to do that with as little strain on you and your psyche as possible, there are a few things that you can do that will definitely aid in your work, but none are as valuable as setting yourself up with a dedicated monitor for your grading work. While setting up a fully rigged coloring studio is not a trivial expense, thanks to Aram K, you can learn how to create your own setup on a budget and still get accurate results.
A few days ago Blackmagic Design announced DaVinci Resolve 14. The all-in-one video editing software was published in public beta version at the same time, and a few people have played with it to see what the differences are. Amongst them, Casey Faris recorded his experience and explained what’s going to change from the version 12.
Sometimes, whether it's for artistic reasons, historical accuracy, or the sheer novelty of it, you want to take your footage shot with your super-fancy, ultra-modern videographic apparatus and make it look like it was shot on a camera of yesteryear. This great video will show you how to do precisely that.
As a photographer getting into video, it’s frustrating when you are not able to reproduce what you are used to with Photoshop. For example, the simple task of the replacing a sky in a frame can eat up a lot of time when you don’t know what you are doing. But thanks to DaVinci Resolve and Aram K, the process is actually much easier than you could imagine. It almost makes me wish Adobe would include similar tools in their apps.
DaVinci Resolve is well known for color editing in the video world. But Blackmagic's goal is to create a complete solution for NLE, color, and sound. While 12.5 was already very convincing, the newly announced DaVinci Resolve 14 is even more so. It is up to 10 times faster than the previous version and with new tools for audio, this new release could be what many have been waiting for.
Avid’s Media Composer is, despite all odds, the industry standard for video editing. So if it’s good enough for Star Wars, it’s good enough for you. Luckily, users will now be able to get a dumbed down version for free this year.
When getting into video, filming may not be the biggest issue. Post-production plays a significant role and can be quite overwhelming. There is tons of software out there, and it’s difficult to know which is best for what. Learning how to use these programs is even worse when you are a photographer. The interface looks totally different than what we are used to with Photoshop, Lightroom, or even Capture One. So it’s always nice there are people such as Casey Faris producing comprehensive videos to help us out in getting started. If, like me, you can’t seem to get a perfect grading with Premiere or Final Cut Pro, this crash course on DaVinci Resolve is exactly what you need!
Ahead of NAB 2017, Adobe has announced a ton of new features and updates to their video-oriented products, which include new graphics features, audio effects, interesting AI capabilities, and more.
Filmmakers will be pleased to hear that Canon will now be offering the option to upgrade the 5D Mark IV to include Canon Log starting in July. In addition, a new model will be available with the feature pre-installed beginning at the same time.
The internet is a vast and seemingly endless collection of information as we all know. If you need to learn something new, we can simply Google the question and with almost 100% certainty you will be able to find an accurate answer.
Being a master of keyboard shortcuts isn’t just a party trick to impress friends and clients, it’s a path to a faster and more efficient editing process which makes you more of an asset as a video editor. Whether you’re hoping to earn a Pro Certificate or just become faster in post, one way to get you there sooner is to invest in a dedicated keyboard.
Once you master global color corrections in Premiere Pro, the logical next step is moving on to correcting specific areas of the frame. This is complicated by the fact that the camera and/or subjects are rarely still, but this great tutorial will show you both how to correct an isolated area and to track it across the frame.
One of the basic skills of video post-production is color correction. While Adobe Premiere Pro is full of tools to help you both read and correct the color in your work, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to tackle them all at first. This great video will walk through the basics to get you off and running.
