soto_better video

by Brenda Soto, emdt alum

In a previous blog, I mentioned the importance of sound quality in our projects. Video, is not an exception Since the beginning of my Master’s Degree in Education Media Design and Technology in Full Sail University, we have been required to make videos most of the time. Fortunately, for me this was not a problem. Audio and video is part of my daily living. Probably this blog came really late, at this point in this program, but it still a good benefit for a lot of people, including myself (this will help me to continue reviewing the material).

As part of this program we received great tools to work like our computers and a variety of software that came in the package, but today I will like to mention a few tips to use those tools, or others to make a good quality video. Let’s start for the Pre-Production. Every product have a production process. In the pre-production you need to prepare your script (if necessary), analyze possible locations to film, your “props” (articles needed as part of your video), the equipment that you need and the people that you need, among other important things. Following that, came your Production.

The filming day you need a camera to film and I will recommend you a microphone to capture a better sound quality instead of using the camera built in microphone. At this point you also will need a type of shot list or rundown with every scene and camera angles that you want to make the filming and editing process more practical. Returning to the camera, when taking images is important to make the appropriate white balance. This will help you to make a good color balance of your images avoiding blue images (normally with daylight) or red images (normally in night scenarios). Other recommendation, never buy the first camera that you see. One of the most important facts to have a good camera and good image is the 3CCD. This will provide higher quality images and resolution, because provide a balance of red, green and blue colors.

For audio, try a directional microphone (a.k.a. Cardioids), like the “shotgun.” This will help you to capture the most accurate sound since it will receive the audio from the place that you are pointing it.

Now, moving to Post Production phase, we need to have our workstation. To capture image from our camera or for a professional video recorder, better known as video deck. This connection is usually establish through a firewire cable.

For editing software we can have access to easy to handle software such as Windows Movie Maker, iMovie or Sony Vega Studios. Other softwares more common through professionals are Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and Avid. The last one is one of the standards program in the industry but is not a secret that Final Cut Pro has gain popularity for its excellent quality and friendly user interface. Also, is not a secret that my preferable software to edit is Final Cut, but that is a personal preference. The reality is you can create good projects with all this software if you apply important techniques when editing.

It is very important that you maintain a pattern when using images of the same place or person. For example, If you are having on screen the image of a person talking is recommended that if you are going to make a transition (dissolve or direct cut), you will need a different shot. If you use similar shots you will provoke a “jump cut.” This is not very pleasant to a human eye for a type of interview material. This is more common through music videos because they make sense through the beat of  song. See the next example below for a “jump cut” in the editing:

Other important thing that we need to prevent is cutting while an image is moving. When you have moving images you can try two options, first wait until the image is stable and cut to other stable images. Second, if you are making a pan movement you can jump to other image moving with a pan, to make connections between them. Try to avoid cutting the moving image and jumping to a stable image. See the example below:

This are some of the cautions that you can take when editing and make your video more pleasant to your viewers. It is important to analyze all the images and make sure they are telling your story properly. When exporting your video, make sure to select the appropriate format depending on your delivery channel. You can try variable options and judge the final quality of the video. Common formats for internet usage are Quicktime (.mov), Windows Movie Video (.wmv), MPEG (.mp4) among others. If you are going to deliver to major resolution media, like DVD, you can try searching for converter software or authoring software, like DVD Studio Pro or Toast, an export the video from your editing software to the recommended format for this software.

I hope you enjoyed this blog, and that could help you to improve your videos. Next week, I will introduce more editing options through my favorite software, Final Cut. If you will like to know a little bit more about this software don’t miss next week, Final Cut: The basics. Brenda Soto

Important Sources:

Editing Software:

Film & Editing:

Microphones:

Camera:

original post: http://web.me.com/brendamsoto/MacBlog/Week_3/Entries/2010/5/21_Week_3_-_Free_Topic:_Making_an_Outstanding_video.html

(close this window to return to previous web page)