File organization and transferring.

Today’s post focuses in file organization process as we prepare for video editing.  Weather you have used one or more devices to capture your great footages, organizing your files will ensure your editing process simple, fast and fun. Also when files are organized in the specific folder you will always be aware of  the location of your media files in case the adobe premiere required it.

File Organisation.

Before you transfer footages to your computer, it’s best to create a project folder with specific name of the project you plan to edit. In this folder, create two or more sub folders with names Media (where footages will be transfer to) and Final (where final completed video will be saved).To demonstrate this, below is a plan of folders organization hierarchy for the video project I am planning to edit which is called “The Dance.” The following file organization is for a project that captured using a single device,––i.e., the iPhone. 

•  MyVideo/The_Dance/Media
                                     /Final

The next file organization is for a project that captured using multiple devices that output different video formats,––i.e., the iPad 3^rd generation, iPhone 4, Android Phone. 

        MyVideo/The_Dance/IponeMedia
                                  /IpadMedia
                                 / AndroidMedia
                                 /Final

Transfer.

Once I have my entire files organized then the transferring of the footages begins. I’d connect my device using USB cable to a computer. In some device such as Android phones and tablets you can transfer files by removing an SD card and plugging in to a computer with a built-in SD reader or using external card reader. As the device  panel appeared locate the clip files under DCIM folder and drag the video files to the Media project file in your Project files.

Therefore when files are organize helps in making your editing process fast and smooth.

Non Linear Editing (NLE) systems

Many people today use devices to capture videos, but probably lack knowledge about Non Linear editing systems (NLE ). Understanding these systems will be an important part of learning video production.

Definition.
An NLE system is computer software that lets users edit video in a nondestructive way. Non-destructive editing is a form of editing where the original content is not modified —instead the edits act more like layers in Photoshop, preserving the original content. (Find the source for this from the bottom of the Wikipedia page!). Nowadays, there are many different NLE programs that you can use. These NLE systems can be classified into two groups:

Inexpensive Consumer NLEs

• Pinnacle Studio
• Adobe Premiere Elements.
• Sony Vegas Movie Studio
• Apple iMovie.
• Windows Moviemaker.

Advanced NLEs

• Adobe Premiere Pro.
• Apple Final Cut Pro.
• Sony Vegas.
• Avid Media Composer.

Although, the inexpensive Consumer NLEs are designed to be simple and easy to use, the advanced NLE are more flexible, and as such allow the user to be more creative. In his post “What is the Difference Between Consumer Video Editing Software and 'Real' NLEs”, Matt explains that many consumers have complained that Inexpensive NLEs have many problems, among which are sluggish playbacks when editing longer footage, and sound not syncing well with video.

Training and exercises in this blog will be based on Adobe premiere CS6 editing system. A 30 days free version of this system can be downloaded straight from the adobe website. I prefer this editing system due to the following advantages:
–– flexibility to use multiple file formats.
–– Smooth playback regardless of file formats.
–– Shaky footage stabilization tools –– i.e., Wrap stabilizer.
–– Integration with other software –– i.e. Photoshop, Aftereffects, Media Encoder and many more.

Adobe premiere CS6 system has many more advantages that we will be discussing in future posts. 

Understanding Lights and set-up.

Have you thought about making good quality video resume that standout? Do you think having the best camera is enough to make quality video? In this post, I will introduce the type of lights and learn the ways to set them up in order to capture better quality video footages.

Lighting  can be the most important aspect for making your video look clean and sharp and improving you video quality tremendously. Sunlight is always a great starting source, but having additional lights can boost your video production.  Before purchasing lights, here are few factors to consider:

• Did they have an adjustable beam spread?
• Are they portability?

Different Types of Lighting

Incandescent lights.
This type of lights is similar to your home light bulbs, which produce a yellow tinted light.  These bulbs are known to produce a lot of heat and therefore are not often placed close to the subject. They also tend to not last long. These lights allow consume more energy than a few of the other sources.
Halogen lights.Halogen lights produce a steady light of a higher luminous efficacy and put off a lot of heat. This kind of lights consume a lot of energy. Some of examples of Halogen lights are flood and construction lights.

Fluorescents lights.
These kind of lights produce nice bright white light at 5600K temperature and they produce less  heat. Hence its energy consumption is usually less than the  first two kinds. Fluorescents lights are cheaper and widely available through online retailers such as Amazon and EBay.  Most professional video artists and photographers preferred this lights. Some example of fluorescents lights are the tube lights and LED lights.

For more information about lightings see Dr. Robert G. Nulph  “Choosing the Best Video Lighting Kit”.

Light set-ups techniques. 

The first technique is the use of a single light. The light can be mounted on the camera or fixed onto a tripod. Camera mounted lights provide more flexibility especially when shooting a moving subject. Some cameras and devices have built–in flash.

Another technique is 3 point lighting. This technique works for interviews where the subject is stationary in a single place. Using three different lights positioned at a 45 degree angle away from each other and from the subject produces a nice evenly lit space. Such lights are named as follows:

• The Key light
• The fill light
• The backlight.

––The key light is usually placed on the front and side of the subject to create soft, diffused light.
––The fill light is placed on the side  of the key light to soften the shadows.
––Lastly, the back light is placed behind the subject to illuminate the overall shape of the subject.  

Reference:
Dr. Nulph, R, G.(May, 23 2012) Choosing the Best Video Lighting  
Retrieved from http://www.videomaker.com/article/9362


 

Video formats and Devices recording capabilities.

Nowadays, most camera devices record  video in HD format.  High definition (HD), is a high quality video format that is standard definition, according to Wiki. HD video comprises of vertical lines that determine the aspect ratio of an image such as 1280 x 720 (often called 720p), 1460 x 1080 (often called 1080i) and 1920 x 1080 (also called 1080p). HD format has several recording frame rates that are: 24fps, 25fps, 30fps, 50fps and 60fps.

On the other hand, the Standard definition (SD) is in PAL and NTSC formats. PAL format has 25fps and commonly used in Europe, Africa and some parts of Asia. However, NTSC format has 30fps and is used in North & South America and some parts of Asia.

In order to understand cameras and other recording device capabilities, I have broken-down this section into the following three categories:

• The first category is Phones such as I-phones and LG Android phones. The I-phone 4 and earlier models captures video in 720p HD format at 30fps while I-phone 4s and 5 record 1080p HD format. The video footage is stored internally on all versions of the I-phones. However, Android LG phone capture 720p HD format at 30fps. The phone stores footage internally as well as using an external storage card––e.g., mini SD card.

• The second category is tablet PCs like an I-pad. I-pad 2 and prior models captures in 720p HD format. The 3rd generation I-pad and I-pad mini records in1080p HD format. In addition, all I-pads have 30fps and stores footage via its internal storage.

• The third and last category is consumer camcorders such as the Cannon T2i and the 7d. Cannon T2i and 7D or DSLRs are capable of capture images and video footage in a wide range of formats. The high quality footages from these cameras range from SD to HD –e.g., 480p, 720p and 1080p at variable frame rates from 24 to 60fps. The cameras use a removable SD and or Compact flash cards to store the video footage. These cards are usually inserted in the camera slot section. Furthermore, the camera ability for Interchangeable lenses is what makes it more popular. In addition, various shooting modes and other settings including both automatic and manual adjustments of ISO and Aperture are quite useful when adjusting image quality from these cameras. So far these camera produce best quality video compared to other devices.

Summing up, we have gone through an understanding of the formats that are used in the video production. Thus formats are High definition (HD) and standard definition (SD). We have also gained some knowledge for some devices recording capabilities. This knowledge will be an essential tool as we proceed with more lessons throughout this blog.

Welcome to Simple video production blog

Have you used your favorite video device to capture your great memorable events lately? Are you wondering how to transfer video footage for editing and sharing via online as well as DVD? If this is you, then you have come to the right place. Welcome to simple video production blog. In this blog you will learn how to use simple short cuts for video production that will help edit, store and easily share all of your memorable captured events. Some of the topics that will be covered are:

Preparation Stage

• Gaining an insight of camera and devices recording capabilities.
• Recognizing formats used––digital video (DV) and High definition video (HDV).
• Understanding lighting and set-ups.
• Gaining knowledge of the editing systems or Non Linear Editing (NLE) systems.

Editing Stage

• Explaining the importance of file transferring and organization.
• Understanding the process of digital video editing.
• Applying various effects and transitions to the footages.

Video enhancement

• Gaining perspective in color correction and video footage adjustments.
• Providing techniques for stabilizing shaky footage.

Post production

• Explaining the techniques for video/images compositing.
• Understanding the output formats.
• Finalizing or preparation digital video output to web, DVD and television.

The skills learned from this blog will not only provide the knowledge in making the best home videos, but also help in designing a stand–out video resume––as require in many professional level companies, including making corporate video materials and television commercials. Finally, I am planning on creating a great learning experience which will be fun and exciting.