Video Editing Questions

[PerroneFord]

2) I don't shoot underwater, but I am loathe to say to correct in post. It is not a good habit to start assuming that "I'll just fix it post." Shoot right and edit easy. I have spent too many late hours trying to turn bad footage into usable footage. Shoot right, edit easy. Lights, lights, lights. Ebay something and buy the right lights. There is no perfect answer here, and (although it sounds like a contradiction) there are some color/saturation/chroma/balance issues fixable with software (again, I like After Effects).

Rick, ordinarily I'd agree with you. But the problem is that most of these cameras have lenses that are utter crap. They let in SO little light, that cutting it down with a filter is about the LAST thing I'd want to do. It disrupts the auto-focus, and things get pear shaped in a hurry. There are some things you WANT to do in post. Color correction is not a bad one to do, even though it's time consuming. So yea, if you've got the light, by all means use the correct filter and white balance. But most people don't even lay color bars onto tape (and can't with their cameras) so you're working in the dark as soon as you run the tape off to disk. I always lay color and tone in the leader of my tapes. Fortunately, my camera can do it automagically.

 

[PerroneFord]

Something I would add to your "wish list" is an NTSC monitor! I've done color correction/post for more than a few local and regional things, and having a real honest-to-god TV monitor is essential for knowing what it REALLY looks like. Keep in mind that NTSC stands for Never The Same Color - every TV has its quirks, cheap TV's from wal mart that come with the reds turned almost all the way up at the factory to make the skin tones look "richer" being the most egregious example.

Man, this is SO true. First thing I bought was a real monitor with blue gun. Of coruse, how many people take the time to do proper color correction? Or even run gamut checks? This stuff is lost on folks today. What's an IRE? What's a black balance? Who uses a vectorscope in home video?

 

[bluesbro1982]

Frankly, since I'm doing this for my own gratification and not for pay, I will probably go with the ULead Video Studio stuff for now. I did download the Vegas 6 trial version and I was a little overwhelmed, (I'm a simple jarhead ) Maybe after I spend a few more dollars on my tech diving equipment I can upgrade. I do appreciate your advice and inputs, after all I asked.

I'm not against "trying" something like premiere for 30 days or so before one decides to buy it, so long as one has a conscience about limiting the trial for a specified period of time. There are numerous ways to get it online, but they are beyond the scope of this board... *cough* Once you try something pro-sumer like premiere or FCP, you'l never go back.

The real advantage to something higher level is the quality and quantity of export and creativity options that you can have. Being able to do things like wipes and dissolves is fun, but the real power comes from being able to make a higher quality DVD then you could with a lower priced piece of software, or being able to export something out uncompressed to put on film, etc.

Rick:

Agree with Perrone on the filter issue.. I would only use a light red filter if I knew exactly what my vis and lighting conditions were going to be, and even then, his point about getting as much signal-to-noise as possible is well taken.

Perrone, who have you worked for in the past? I'd like to know if I've seen any of your stuff around.

 

[bluesbro1982]

Who uses a vectorscope in home video?

In FCP: Window > Arrange > Color Correction.

instant scope, RGB Parade, gamma, and broadcast legal zebra stripes. Everything a growing boy needs

You are right about the lost art of color correction and scoping. On the ship, i asked some of the broadcast guys and the response i got was 'Well, we should scope it, but we just don't have time (read: don't get paid enough). Go Figure... in my business, when the bride's dress is greenish because there were some flourescents in the church, things get ugly in a hurry if you don't fix it

Theres also an urban legend about an assistant's comment about some of the things he would like to do with the bride when using a shotgun mike. Since the mic was pointing towards the Bride, it wasn't apparent monitoring the feed at a reasonable level that the mic had caught it, but as it turns out, many rich couples have loud 5.1 home theater setups. Wouldn't want to take that call... :shakehead

 

[PerroneFord]

Perrone, who have you worked for in the past? I'd like to know if I've seen any of your stuff around.

Unless you've spent time reviewing Florida Government Legal training, or committee meetings, you've probably not seen any of my work! LOL! I have done some cleanup of work from other sources (vehicle training films), but that's about all.

Those long form videos are a KILLER. 7-8 continuous hours of video, single mic (shotgun) swinging from speaker to speaker, myriad of color temps, all flourescent. I also get to shoot PSA type stuff which I can control a bit better. I had a number of friends in TV production, and movie filming so I spent some time with them. I also HATE sloppy work, so I try to get my stuff as clean as possible, within the time alloted.

I was fortunate in that they allowed me to handpick my video and audio gear a couple of years ago so we went from pro-sumer VHS with a Dazzle video converter and editor, to a DVX-100 with Canopus and Premier. I am going to try upgrade again next year to HD now that we have gone to plasmas. But I still need HD-DVD to mature a bit so I can deliver the product.

Something else you might be interested in, is I have a full internet video broadcast setup that allows multicast in house and unicast to the internet. Sure makes it nice when I want to push something out for a bunch of people to see!

 

[PerroneFord]

In FCP: Window > Arrange > Color Correction.

instant scope, RGB Parade, gamma, and broadcast legal zebra stripes. Everything a growing boy needs

LOL! Fortunately, the DVX-100 has zebra in the monitor so I can tell at capture time if I'm doing ok. Canopus also had the scopes, as does Vegas I've learned. I need to learn the effects chain stuff in Vegas a lot better before I am able to take advantage of these things. I've got a DVD to produce tomorrow, and it would SURE be helpful. Especially an audio gate.

 

[bluesbro1982]

LOL! Fortunately, the DVX-100 has zebra in the monitor so I can tell at capture time if I'm doing ok. Canopus also had the scopes, as does Vegas I've learned. I need to learn the effects chain stuff in Vegas a lot better before I am able to take advantage of these things. I've got a DVD to produce tomorrow, and it would SURE be helpful. Especially an audio gate.

Hmm. I wish i knew Vegas better, but I have to admit I've never worked with it. Guess google is your friend. I would be surprised if there isnt a vegas forum similar to SB... also the LA final Cut Pro users group has a very good DB of tutorials and gotchas.

Good luck

 

[Bobby_M]

I just got into shooting underwater and I'm talking DIY housing so cheap is my middle name. I did get a trial of Premier and intuitive is not the first thing that comes to mind. I ended up with Ulead Video Studio 9 and that is quite intuitive. I was editing down, color correcting, and burning a DVD with motion menus in a couple hours time. I really wish I could find someone to show me how to use Premier to do similar things because I know it is industry standard (outside of the MAC cult anyway).

Bobby

 

[Rick Inman]

I really wish I could find someone to show me how to use Premier to do similar things because I know it is industry standard (outside of the MAC cult anyway).

Bobby

Total Training has some good stuff (LINK), but there's nothing like sitting down with someone who uses it.

 

[bluesbro1982]

Total Training has some good stuff (LINK), but there's nothing like sitting down with someone who uses it.

Agreed. If you were in California I'd invite you over However, I'd bet that there are some users groups or communities in NJ that use premiere. The best way to do it is to find an indie film shoot that is advertising for actors, etc and ask if you can contribute $30 bucks or something to watch their editor at work and ask some questions. Most people outside of hollywood are happy to help... its when you get to smell-a that things get stupid.

Best of luck...