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Lighting your Video - Tips for Small Businesses

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

When you are creating a video for your small business (or any video for that matter), a key element of the recording will be you or a staff member speaking to the camera explaining your products and services. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to help your video look professional is the lighting. You don’t have to spend any money, just use what is available to you - overhead lights, natural light from windows, lamps etc. What’s more, once you get the set up you are happy with, you can use it over and over again for video blogs, product announcements etc.

Professionals often talk about “Three-Point Lighting” - which is a pretty simple theory. It involves a key light, a fill and a rim or back light. They often add a fourth point, which is a background light. As the name would suggest the Key Light is usually the most important source of light - in your video, you could try and use a large window or a strong lamp.

Play around with some lamps for the Back Light until you get the look you want - if the back light is too strong, your face may go into the shadows, so change the position (or lamp) until you get an even light. The Fill light is normally softer than the key and back light, so you could try a lamp with a lower wattage bulb or even some foam board from a Art and Hobby shop. Lastly you may want to turn on the overhead lights as a background light to brighten up the whole picture.

You’ll be surprised what a difference a little bit of time spent on the lighting will do for your video - as always, the more professional you look, the more trustworthy your business will appear.

The video below from Videomaker also gives some great tips of improving your lighting (especially if you decide to record outdoors):

Remember trakAxPC can be used for all your video editing needs. Take advantage of our special price - buy trakAxPC today for just $24.95.

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

20 Great Resources for Making Better Videos

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

We have put together a list of some really great resources to help you create better videos. Some of the tips are super simple, while others will take your skills to the next level. If you have any tips or resources that you'd like to share, please drop us a comment.

The 5 Deadly Sins of Amateur Video

Some easy tips on improving your recording technique

Handheld Video Camera Shooting Tips

Some slightly more advanced tips for recording with the camcorder

Using a Tripod to stabilize your shots

Using a tripod (even an extremely cheap one) will really help you get a more professional look

Recording Audio - Tips

Lighting Techniques

Filmmaking For Dummies by Bryan Michael Stoller
See: “Let there be lighting” Chapter 11 page 167
http://tinyurl.com/3ydezz9 - Google Books

Videomaker's Lighting Techniques 101

Moviemaking Techniques - 80 Degree Rule

Moviemaking Techniques - Rule of Thirds

Moviemaking Techniques - Shot Types

Videomaker's Shot Types 101

MIA Tutorials - Shot Types

"DV filmmaking: from start to finish" by Ian David Aronson
see “Composing a Shot” Chapter 3 / page 25
http://tinyurl.com/3yvqud4 - Google Books

Storyboarding Resources

Wikipedia - Storyboards
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyboard

Ohio State University - Storyboard Resources
http://accad.osu.edu/womenandtech/Storyboard%20Resource/

Video Production Handbook
see Chapter: 3.15 p.34
http://tinyurl.com/34ofsv3 - Google Books

The Videomaker Guide to Video Production
See Chapter 24. Page 104
http://tinyurl.com/35s3v8u - Google Books

Filmmaking For Dummies by Bryan Michael Stoller
See Chapter 9. Page 129
http://tinyurl.com/3ydezz9

Video Transitions

Introduction to Natural Transitions

Basic Transitions

Introduction to more Technical Editing

Video Editing – History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editing

What is B-Roll Footage?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_Roll

J and L Cuts
http://www.trakax.com/software/about/comments/video_basics_j_and_l_cuts/

Videomaker - Cutting on the Action
This is a more advanced recording and editing technique

Remember trakAxPC can be used for all your video editing needs. Take advantage of our special price - buy trakAxPC today for just $24.95.

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Posted by Catriona in Tips & Tricks   |  Leave a comment

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!

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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.

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Posted by Catriona in Tips & Tricks   |  1 comment

10 top tips and ideas to help you get the most out of trakAxPC.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Hey Everyone,

In this blog post, I am going to share with you my Top 10 audio and video editing tips and ideas. These easy tips and ideas will hopefully help you get the most out of trakAxPC, while at the same time give you a chance to learn some new features, provide some fun and create awesome new audio and video mixes. You can view the video tutorials which shows you how to implement these tips by simply clicking on the links provided.

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Posted by Colm in Tips & Tricks  Site Notes   |  3 comments

How to Create a Video Montage of Old Photos & Memories with trakAxPC

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

It was my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary this weekend and my family had got together to plan a surprise party for them. One of our brothers lives with his family in New Zealand, so I wanted to include them somehow in the party. I had asked him to record a short video message from his kids that I could play on the night. After seeing how cute the message that he had sent over was, I decided to include it as part of an overall video montage that would try and capture some of the great memories from my parents’ 40 years together.

Making a video montage from old photos or videos is such an easy process, but can be so powerful that I thought it would make an interesting blog to show how I went about making it. It is a really great centrepiece for so many events - important birthdays, retirement parties, bachelorette parties, anniversaries, baby’s first year - the list goes on! It also makes a really thoughtful gift that you can enjoy after the party.

Firstly here is my finished video and below I will bring you step by step through creating the video:

Gather your Content and Scan the photos

The first step is to gather all your old photos and any video footage that you may have. You then have to get scanning. I found scanning the photos in batches much quicker that scanning the photos individually. However, my scanner is pretty ancient, so perhaps your scanner may be quicker.

You may want to draft up a quick storyboard - do you want to tell a story with the photos/ show the footage chronologically/ play songs that are particularly meaningful for the person?

Create your Mix

The next step is to start creating your mix in trakAxPC. My video was pretty straightforward - 4 songs, some text, photos displayed with either a crossfade, a simple transition and some with no transition and 1 video clip.

To create the video, it is simply a case of dragging and dropping your media into the Mixing screen and placing it where you want it to appear in the timeline. If you are completely new to trakAxPC, you may want to check out the following video tutorials:

• Creating a Video Mix
• Adding Text to your Video

I simply used the default YouTube HD settings when creating my video, but if you know you will be showing your video on a square monitor / screen etc. you may want to change your Target Frame Size.

Export your Mix

The next step is to export your mix - I normally use the MPEG 4 (Level 4) setting, but feel free to play around with the Export settings and choose a format that suits your needs.

The final issue you have to decide is how to show your video on the big night. There are various options that you can explore. I think the easiest is to bring your laptop and play your video using something like the VLC player. I simply hooked my laptop up to a large monitor and played my video in fullscreen (see screenshot below), but obviously if you have access to a projector or wide-screen TV, this would work great. You can also burn your mix to a DVD (most PCs now come with DVD burning software such as InterVideo WinDVD) and you can play in through a regular DVD player and TV.

If you have any questions on any of the steps above, please just drop me a comment and I would be happy to help in any way.
Remember, trakAxPC is currently available for the very special price of $24.95 and you can download a 30 day free trial here.

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Posted by Catriona in Tips & Tricks   |  Leave a comment

Use the Filter Functionality to find files quickly

Thursday, April 01, 2010

In this short video, Cormac shows you how to use the Filter functionality within the Scan window in trakAxPC to find specific files quickly.

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Posted by Catriona in Tips & Tricks   |  Leave a comment