trakAx

Follow TrakAx on Twitter

Transparent Image Support Coming Soon

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Another update on the development roadmap - support for transparent images (PNGs and Gifs) will be available in the upcoming release.

A few of our users who are tennis and golf instructors wanted to added circles / arrows etc. to highlight certain postures and moves when analysing their students’ performance. The short video below will show how quick and easy this will be with the new release.

If you purchase trakAxPC today, you will be eligible for this upgrade free of charge and remember trakAxPC Pro is only US$24.95!

Share |

Posted by Catriona in TrakAx News  Development Roadmap   |  2 comments

Video Basics – J and L Cuts

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

With trakAxPC Pro, we want users to be able to have fun editing and creating videos without getting bogged down in complicated software or convoluted technical terms. However, learning some very basic editing tricks can immensely improve your final cuts. In this short blog, I want to show how powerful, yet subtle transitions called J and L cuts can be used.

J and L cuts can also be called “audio advance” (J Cut) or “video advance” (L Cut) – this is actually a much easier way of thinking of it. An audio advance cut is where you can hear the audio before you see the accompanying video and a video advance cut is the opposite.

The name comes from how the edits can appear in modern video editing applications, like the letters L and a J - think it would be fair to say you may need to use some imagination.

Although you may not be aware of the technical terms, you see these transitions every day.  They are used almost constantly on news reports – standing in front of the camera, the reporter gives an overview of the situation, for example an erupting volcano. The video then cuts to show footage of the erupting volcano, while we continue to hear the reporter’s audio report. The opposite is probably even more common – we see footage of the erupting volcano while we hear the reporter’s audio report. We then cut to the video of the reporter in front of the camera who then finishes the piece. (Simply watching some news reports from BBC News, CNN, Sky News etc. on YouTube will give you an idea of how common this form of editing is).

Rather than getting too bogged down in technical details – watch the video below and keep an eye out for various L and J Cuts:

Here’s another really great example of these cuts in action:

I think you would agree that they are a very subtle but powerful way to tell a story.

There are tons of ways you can use L and J cuts to improve your videos (they are really important for interviews and dialogue scenes and we will cover this in another post). In trakAxPC, creating J and L cuts couldn’t be easier and there are various ways you can implement them. You can simply adjust the start point of your video using your cursor and the “adjust length indicator” until you reach the point which will make for a natural transition. You can even just drop the second video clip on top of the original video clip (although be careful if they have different frame dimensions that you can’t see any overlap). Another quick way is to use the split segment tool, so you can remove the video you want to replace. One handy tip is to use the group tool, so that as you edit, your original audio and video remains synced.

You can read a more technical explanation below from Wikipedia -

An L cut, also known as a split edit, is an edit transition from one shot to another in film or video, where the picture and sound are synchronised but the transitions in each are not coincident. This is often done to enhance the aesthetics or flow of the film as L cuts allow the audience to see context (either before or after) of speaking rather than simply the speaking itself. Without L cuts, a conversation between two people can feel like a tennis match.

L cuts are also used to hide transitions between scenes. They can be very effective in editing dialog scenes shot with a single camera using multiple takes. The ability to cut the picture/video separately from the sound/audio allows the sound from the various takes to flow smoothly, even though the picture cuts are at different places. In longer shots, this allows the editor to use the picture from one take with the sound from another take if the dialog reading is better.

The name of the cut refers to the shape of the cut pieces of the film - the audio track is cut somewhat after (or before) the last frame of video, resulting in roughly L-shaped film ends, as the video and audio parts of film are in tracks, one below, one above, on the film itself.

If you have any questions on this post or any aspects of trakAxPC, please leave a comment.

Thanks!

Share |

Posted by Catriona in Tips & Tricks  Tips for Small Business   |  Leave a comment

5 Tips for Vacation Videos

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

With holiday time coming upon us, we put together our 5 Top Tips for creating great Vacation Videos.

1. Travel Light

You’re on holidays and one thing sure to make you grumpy is carrying heavy loads of equipment in the heat. This isn’t a commercial project, so relax a bit and only carry what is comfortable. You will probably want a spare battery. A camcorder cover can be vital if you are shooting around sand or salt water. You could just use a plastic trash bag as a cover or you can check out these covers on Amazon.

2. Don’t move the Camera Constantly

Try and take one detailed shot at a time and if you must move the camera, try and keep it slow and steady (holding the camcorder with two hands can really help with this). We’ve all seen holiday footage that scans frantically over the scene trying to take in everything or the holiday maker who simply walks around everywhere with the camcorder constantly recording. All it does is leave the viewer pretty seasick. You probably don’t want to carry a tripod around with you on holiday, but you could look into a cheap monopod that can double as a walking/hiking stick – (check out these pretty cool ones on Amazon for $15) – or if you are using your camera, these Digidude Tripod keychains are very cute. Try and take a few moments and set up the best shot and you can then edit them altogether afterwards.

Here is a great example of a holiday video made up with some great detailed shots by Cameron Moll on a trip to Rome.

3. Shoot Street Signs and other images for Cutaway Footage

Record signs, street signs, maps and other images that identify where you are and what you’re looking at. These shots can make great video cutaways for bad cuts, dodgy camera work or simply as a bridge from one scene to the next.

4. Edit Your Video Once you get home

Everyone has a drawer full of old photos that never got sorted into albums. Unless you edit your holiday video shortly after coming home, chances are you never will. Give yourself a free afternoon or evening that you can sit down in peace and put your video together (with trakAxPC of course). It doesn’t have to be very long – I spotted this video from Marco Abis on Vimeo – it is only 1min 30 and seems to encapsulate a great holiday to New York.

5. Be Careful & Enjoy your holiday!

Camcorders and cameras are always prime targets for thieves in holiday destinations, so be careful with your stuff – especially in places when you could be leaving your stuff down like having a coffee or getting cash from the bank machine. Mark Shapiro of the San Diego Union Tribune is a big fan on the “ugly box” theory. Instead of using a camcorder case that proudly displays the manufacturer’s name, he uses his personal favourite – a diaper bag – “No one steals a diaper bag, especially if you get a few clean cloth diapers and wrap them around your camcorder to provide padding.” Although if you wanted something a little more classy, I did see these pretty cool Cloak Camera Bags, which look slick and allow you to take photos without getting the camera out of the bag.

Finally enjoy your holiday. You don’t have to capture every moment – you’re meant to be on holidays. Pass the camera around – let your kids, wife, husband, partner, friend take some shots and footage, so you don’t feel “on” the whole time.

Share |

Posted by Catriona in Tips & Tricks   |  3 comments

trakAxPC Wiki Launched

Friday, June 04, 2010

We have been working away on a Wiki for trakAxPC for the last few weeks and think it is now ready to be launched into the world.

We had a few reasons for creating a Wiki. The first one was to make it easier to search for answers to your queries, for example “How to insert envelope nodes?”. We also realised that although people loved the video tutorials, sometimes you don’t have time to watch a 7 minute video tutorial. Now all videos have detailed markers allowing you to jump to particular points in the video from the Wiki - so for example you want to know how to Split a Segment, when you Watch the Video you are brought directly to the section of the video that shows you how to do this.

Although it isn’t a perfect solution, we wanted some way of non-English speakers of accessing some support in their own language. Using the Google translation service, at least users can get a basic overview of the features and functionality in their own language.

The Wiki will continue to grow as we add further information and articles. If you have any suggestions or would like to contribute to the Wiki, please do not hesitate to contact me - .

I look forward to hearing your feedback!

Share |

Posted by Catriona in TrakAx News   |  Leave a comment

AVCHD, .MOV and FLV Support

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Just wanted to post a quick update to the development roadmap - I can confirm that AVCHD .MOV and FLV files will be supported in the upcoming release (importing only).

The new release contains some significant updates, which you can view below this post - improved transitions, faster parsing and thumbnail support. We have a bit more testing to do and hope to have a release date with you as soon as possible.

As always, anyone who purchases trakAxPC is eligible for this upgrade for Free.

Thanks!

Catriona

Share |

Posted by Catriona in Development Roadmap   |  Leave a comment