Video Editing Work Flow?

[Omni Images]

Hi Eninja,
Throwing my 2c worth in.
I have learnt so much from a web site called http://www.lynda.com/member.aspx .. they have so many tutorials on any sort of computer program as well as all sorts of other topics .... They use only Adobe Certified instructors ... Forget Youtube....
Over the years I have learnt to use pretty much every Adobe program, and others there is, Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash ... I am proficient in HTML CSS, my youngest Son now operates his own web site business from learning through Lynda.com .. and most importantly to this thread I learnt to use Premier Pro .. and even further to this AFTER EFFECTS ... I highly recommend this site for info, I am a member and subscribe to it, it's only $25 a month.
With Adobe CC now you can also become a monthly member so purchasing Premier Pro outright is no longer an issue.
Premier Pro is the best editing program by far in my opinion. Though it is fully PRO .. you can also just use the basic tools to do a very pro looking video ... if you are familiar with any Adobe programs then using it is seamless .. and importing other assets from any other Adobe program is easy as .. they all talk with each other using the same key strokes etc, any vector file from Illustrator, or an image from Photoshop imports right in ...
Prem Pro can handle any file format when importing, and out put to any file format once edited.

I would now also suggest to familiarise yourself with AFTER EFFECTS ... it is the icing on your video cake.
it is such an amazing program .. it would be the one used in pretty much 99% of all advertising, where you see your logo and texts etc spinning and doing all sorts of amazing things.
I can import a vector file from Illustrator and with one click of a pre set, have it shatter into a million bits, or shatter like glass ... the effects are endless.

So got to Lynda.com sign up ... then sign up to Adobe CC .. and get going learning with Adobe certified instructors.

+1 to an external mic ...

 

[Besisika]

Surprisingly you are going to find that early on that audio is a bigger deal than you would think. People will watch a so-so video with good sound, but they won't watch any of a video if the audio is bad. Internal camera microphones are very poor and the wind screen is about worthless. We use audio recorded using the camera microphone only as a reference audio. So you will need to use an external microphone with great wind protection, and also keep it away from the lens motor. There's lots of alternatives, you will need to determine which is best for your situation.

+1
To my taste, 50% is audio, 50% video. For paid work it would be appropriate not to use internally recorded audio.
Using an external audio allows you to interrupt your video recordings any time you want to, it allows you to synchronize multiple sources, in particular photos.
You could use tools like Plural Eyes to sync them later. Makes the job a lot easier. As specified above, use the microphone as a reference audio.

 

[eninja]

Thanks guys.

From reading, I will go towards these direction:
. Research and study about Adobe Premiere
. Use external mic with recorder: I only found this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/966010-REG/shure_vp83f_condenser_shotgun_mic.html - Shure VP83F. Is there any cheaper alternative than this.

. I think camera slide and crane does not suit.. I need to do some testing, if glide really is needed in contrast to hand held only..

what do you think guys? Do I really need glide?

 

[Khnnielsen]

Thanks guys.

From reading, I will go towards these direction:
. Research and study about Adobe Premiere
. Use external mic with recorder: I only found this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/966010-REG/shure_vp83f_condenser_shotgun_mic.html - Shure VP83F. Is there any cheaper alternative than this.

. I think camera slide and crane does not suit.. I need to do some testing, if glide really is needed in contrast to hand held only..

what do you think guys? Do I really need glide?

You don't need a glidecam. You lose a lot of flexibility with a glidecam and in many situations that trade-off isn't worth it.

 

[leGreve]

Thanks guys.

From reading, I will go towards these direction:
. Research and study about Adobe Premiere
. Use external mic with recorder: I only found this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/966010-REG/shure_vp83f_condenser_shotgun_mic.html - Shure VP83F. Is there any cheaper alternative than this.

. I think camera slide and crane does not suit.. I need to do some testing, if glide really is needed in contrast to hand held only..

what do you think guys? Do I really need glide?

You don't NEED to use glide or slide or jib. These are all gear that can boost production value in specific situations.
Just like hand held also isn't the natural choice.... it comes down to style as well as what you are trying to communicate.

Fx, if you are doing an interview where the subject is sitting down, a handheld camera will most likely look like S___, because it gives the impression that you are interrogating the subject or you are being impatient ready to move on.
But in an interview walking down the street, handheld just might be the thing to do.
Learn to do handheld well.... it can be done not so pretty and pretty, all boils down to experience.

In terms of sound.... if you plan to do interviews the classic way, that Shure mic or Røde Videomic Pro for that matter, will not give you proper sound... it will give you better sync sound.
A mic like that is suitable for one situation and that is run & gun.

If you want proper sound in terms of interviews, you should:

A. Hire a proper sound guy (yes I know.... expensive, but I had to place it on top, because that is the best way to record sound)
B. Buy a micro port kit and lav up the subject.
C. Buy a light stand, a boom buddy and a boom and a shotgun mic like fx. AT4053b or Røde NTG-3.

The micro port kit has its place. I think a lot of people end up using them, because it takes a lot out of the equation... less gear to worry about since you just plug the micro port receiver into the camera. Disable auto gain and adjust the sound properly. But it is also versatile because you can use it pretty much anywhere...

The boom option is obviously best when you have the time and the setting to do it properly, but has a better sound than a lav. One could argue though that lava can end up sounding better because mic placement is paramount in any situation. The closer to the subject the better..... which is also why a mic on a camera is a baaaaad option.

Dialog is mono by the way, so don't use stereo mics for anything other than environment recordings and so on.


Video editing workflow
If you are going the Premiere way, then you could start with getting ClipWrap to wrap the clips in a ProRes codec instead. .h264 is demanding on system resources. ProRes less so....

Bring in the clips in Premiere.

Open each in the source window and trim them roughly and drag them to the time line.

Once you have done it with all of them, you can start organising the flow of the movie.
Maybe some clips need to be shorter, maybe you want to put something back into them. Maybe this clip needs to go before that clip.... that is all just dragging around.

The sound will most likely determine how you story goes along. Once that is in place, you can start putting fill shots on top of the main video (which could be a sit down interview) and then cut to those shots now and again for some dynamics.

Once you edited the movie the way you are happy with it, lock it down mentally, and start looking at the colours, contrast, white balance and so on.

The reason you wait with that part is because adding filters also puts stress on the system resources. So might as well add them to the trimmed clips instead of the full length clips.

Then go research about managing sound. Of course being a photographer you won't be an expert at this. But learn the basics to clean up the sound a bit... like removing noise and so on.

When sound is done, then export it out in a small size. I normally do a 720p version to review my work and to send to the client. I prefer using either our workplace's Vimeo Pro account, since it's a nice way to not give them the concrete file but let them see what they can expect and send feed back on.

To deliver, we use WeTransfer Pro, because that will give us download confirmations and is WAY faster than fx. DropBox.

Best of luck...


OH.... about the sound.... an old saying is that sound is 50% of any movie.
You can save poor footage with great sound, but great footage will never save poor sound.

 

[cayenne]

Thanks guys.

From reading, I will go towards these direction:
. Research and study about Adobe Premiere
. Use external mic with recorder: I only found this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/966010-REG/shure_vp83f_condenser_shotgun_mic.html - Shure VP83F. Is there any cheaper alternative than this.

. I think camera slide and crane does not suit.. I need to do some testing, if glide really is needed in contrast to hand held only..

what do you think guys? Do I really need glide?

At very least...get a good mike to attach TO the camera, that's what I started with and still use as backup audio and to sync with off camera audio.

The Rode videomic is a shotgun mike that fits nicely on the hotshot of the camera, is directional and works quite well for the price.

HTH,

cayenne

 

[westr70]

So got to Lynda.com sign up ... then sign up to Adobe CC .. and get going learning with Adobe certified instructors.

+1 to an external mic ...
[/quote]

+1 I agree, IMO its the best way to go.

 

[eninja]

Thanks regarding mic input.

Should I worry regarding mic getting loose on its jack, making the shoot go worst that not having an external mic at all.

Honestly this is the thing that I worry the most.

 

[cayenne]

Thanks regarding mic input.

Should I worry regarding mic getting loose on its jack, making the shoot go worst that not having an external mic at all.

Honestly this is the thing that I worry the most.

I've not had that problem with my Rode video mic on the camera...however, I will admit after a couple-three years (how long have I owned this rig??)....the plug doesn't seem to snap in with the secure click I used to feel.

But, so far...hasn't been a problem.

I have, however, had to depend on the camera Rode mic....for the occasional times my lav mic plugged into my old iPhone 3gs (as the recorder) has mis fired and didn't record a scene or I forgot to hit the record button on it....so, very nice to have 2x of them, one is always a backup in addition to being a guide to sync the sounds in post.

 

[eninja]

Hi guys,

This is the result of my Same Day Edit Video.

http://www.sgphotog.com/Shonna-and-Vincent

On this day, I took both video and photo.

Regarding video editor, I use Premiere Pro.
I tried some free software and Cyberlink Editor, at first I thought they seem to be ok.
But when its time to do Premiere Pro testing - at first it looks to advance, I gave up just after looking at workspace - I say nah.. to expensive and advance,
but then I give it try one more. And I find myself able to trim, cut, and make my first practice video in no time.

As a beginner, how did I learn the editing on this video.
Frankly, I didn't practice at all, I only have one week to learn before the shoot.
I'm scared when I try to study all, it will be complicated and I just make the video fail.

All I did is these:
Double click on video file, play, choose In and Out. then drag to time line. thats all.
I still didn't add transition in between, since I still don't know how. Video looks ok, so nevermind that.
I right click begin and end of timeline and apply transition to fade it.

I shot this on 70D, every picture style parameters set to low.
I used 24FPS. Next time I will try 30FPS.
I bought a brand new EFS 10-18.. and was amazed with the build quality compared to 18-55 which I previously had. TBH, i find 18-55 like a toddler's toys, so light, so plastic. I expect 10-18 to be same. But was surprise,
EFS 10-18mm was just nice. and sharp for my taste and for the price.

Until now I still don't know how to increase contrast.. and if Its possible to crop.
I will learn that next.

Regarding Audio,
I never adjust any setting in camera, also use built in mic. Quality is so so, but should be ok since
most of the time, audio is from music add on.
Its good to know how much quality of audio is improve if I use external mic.

Thanks all. If you got advise, comments are always welcome.
Sorry for my grammar, as I type fast here at work. And was just want to quick share my first professional video.

 

[eninja]

I forgot to mention.

I didn't use any steadycam.
All I did was use the Camera strap on my neck, apply tension on it continuously and move my waist.

Since my target are low budget client, I will set aside use of steadycam and external mic.

Please advise on my camera movement. All I did was pan from left to right.

Thanks again.