CHOOSING A MUSIC VIDEO GENRE

Knowing the genre of a music video helps a director clearly define the style of a video. It's important to know their details so that you can make sure your video not only matches the artist's demands but connects with your audience as well.

Video Transcript

INTRODUCTION TO KEYFRAMES

screen shot of Adobe After Effects with keyframes on a timeline

Adding motion to your graphics can seem a little overwhelming when you’re first starting out. Understanding keyframes can help add simple motion or effects to your next project, and help build a foundation for more advanced techniques. In this segment, we use simple transform properties like position, scale, opacity and rotation to show you the basic keyframe steps, and how they work.

USING SHUTTER SPEED TO CONTROL MOTION BLUR AND EXPOSURE

four still shots of the same fountain shot with various shutter speeds

We show you how to maintain control over the amount of blur that motion has in your footage. Learn how shutter angle and shutter speed work. How different settings affect the blur and exposure of your footage, and some common ways it can help improve your shots. Whether it’s a fast moving action, flowing water, or low light shooting, knowing how to set your shutter properly can help you achieve the precise look you want.

CREATING FOLEY SOUND TO POLISH YOUR AUDIO MIX

Foley artist using sweatshirt near mic to create sound

Adding great audio to your video is an easy way to raise your production value. Foley sound brings details into your mix to make your video sound more professional. We show you how to create footsteps, clothing rustle, breathing, and unique barn door sounds. With some ordinary items as props, you can create some extraordinary sound for your next project.

CANON XA25 TEST FOOTAGE

We took the Canon XA25 into various shooting environments to test its color reproduction, fine detail and texture, contrast, dynamic range, rolling shutter, moire, image stabilization, infrared, autofocus, and color correction.

JVC GC-PX100 TEST FOOTAGE

We took the JVC GC-PX100 into various shooting environments to test its high-speed frame rates, autofocus, detail, moire, rolling shutter, low light capabilities, dynamic range, color, saturation, and image stablization.

INTENSIFY YOUR VIDEO WITH SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC

Great video is just the beginning of a well produced project. Well placed sound effects and music can help provide context for your scene, and give your character's action more meaning. In this segment, we walk through the process of adding sound effects and music to help intensify a scene.

TURN DAY INTO NIGHT WITH ADOBE PREMIERE PRO

screen shot of video and curves controls

Shooting your footage properly is only the the beginning of the day-for-night process. Using simple editing techniques, we take uncorrected day-for-night footage and finish the look in post production using simple techniques. Plus we show you how to fix some of the common errors encountered in day- for-night footage.

Watch Shooting Day for Night

SHOOTING DAY FOR NIGHT

split shot of day for night footage corrected and uncorrected

With careful planning and execution you can turn footage shot during the day, into night-time magic. In this segment, we show you how to shoot day-for-night by using exposure, white balance, and creative framing. Plus we talk about choosing your shoot time to get the look you want. Following a few simple guidelines will help you avoid common pitfalls, and gather footage that’s ready for the final touches in post-production.

WHITE BALANCING FOR DSLRS AND CAMCORDERS

two images side by side, one with correct white balance, one with incorrect white balance

There are many factors that contribute to getting a good looking shot. Setting your white balance correctly saves time and frustration when it comes time to edit and opens up artistic options in the field. In this segment, we talk about the basics of color temperature, when to use auto white balance, setting your white balance manually by dialing it in or using a white reference object and how to ensure good results in tough situations.

BUILD AN OPEN WITH GRAPHICS, CAMERAS AND EXPRESSIONS

screen shot of Adobe After Effects with opening titles being editing

Go behind the scenes as we break down how the opens for our latest Videomaker web videos were created with Adobe After Effects. From start to finish, we show you how we built a basic two dimensional graphic title, and then used camera movement and expressions to take it into the third dimension.

TRICASTER TC40 VIDEO REVIEW

The TriCaster 40 is the classic magic "black box;" a powerful multi-cam HD switcher that is well-designed, flexible, easy to use and affordable.

MICROPHONE PICKUP PATTERNS

screen shot of microphone with waveform, eq, and polar pattern

Choosing and using the right mic for the job is an important step in any video project, and understanding a microphone’s directional characteristics is one determining factor. In this segment, we talk about a microphone’s directional response and sensitivity, how to interpret a polar response chart, and we listen to examples of various mics to hear how response works in practice. Knowing how to determine the directional characteristics of a mic, and understanding how this affects the sound your mic picks up, can help you make an informed choice for your next project.

EDITING TIP: STREAMLINE YOUR AUDIO EDITING USING PREMIERE AND AUDITION

A quick video tip on streamlining your audio editing workflow using integration between Adobe Premiere and Audition.

MASTERING DEPTH-OF-FIELD - PART 2

3 shots compared with different settings to demonstrate depth of field

The basic concepts of controlling depth of field with aperture, focal length, and distance are fairly easy to grasp, and we covered those topics in part one of this series, but now it's time to dig a little deeper. In this segment, we talk about perceived depth of field, how sensor size and angle of view can affect your ability to get the depth of field you want, and using depth of field to rack focus. There's a lot of confusion surrounding these topics, but a little common sense, and of course a bit of math and science can help us break it all down.

MASTERING DEPTH-OF-FIELD - PART 1

graphic showing relationship between focal distance and depth of field

Every shooter wants to be able to direct the viewers' attention to the important aspects of a shot, and manipulating your depth of field is a great way to do it. In this two part series we talk about controlling your depth of field with aperture, focal length, and distance. In part two we talk about perceived depth of field, how sensor size and angle of view might affect your ability to get the depth of field you're striving for, and rack focusing. Knowing the different ways to achieve the depth of field you want for your scene will ultimately help you to craft more effective scenes.

GELS & DIFFUSION - EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD KNOW - PART 2

before and after shot with and without color correction gels

In a perfect world, every light source would cast the perfect color onto your scene, but in reality, the color temperatures of the light sources in your scene can have a wide range, and this can cause color balance issues in your footage. In this segment we talk about the basics of color temperature, and how to use color correction gels on your light sources to create a balanced scene. Understanding how varying color temperatures affect your scene, and learning to correct the imbalance will have your scenes looking good.

Acting & Directing tips/ Entertainment blog

Tuesday, 2 July 2013