Even I am not happy with my extreme lack of editing skills. Any and every tip and bit of advice is welcome.
Last edited:
Great Subject, Horrible Editing - HELP!!!
- Thread starter Bird Man
- Start date
Hi BM, by no means I am a pro, I am learning as well. First of all I think you have a lot of potential with the capture you made, it is a beautiful scenery, however, don't feel like you have to show the whole capture. This is way too long. I think you can short this video to a 3 minutes or even less. I am practicing on my panning techniques. It is hard sometimes remembering which movement does what. The colors are not that bad but I think it can be improved. There a lots of subjects in the forum concerning color correction as well as in the video platforms out there. Love the Cabezon Peak. So nice to see places I have never seen before by users sharing their videos. Thanks.
Whitwellian
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Bird Man! That’s familiar territory By 4x4, foot & mountain bike. Thanks for the great images - we haven’t been through there for a couple of years. We did make a trip last summer out to the rim of Mesa Chivato from Mount Taylor to overlook Cerro Alesna. I didn’t own a drone at the time but am eager to go back with our MA2.
Howard
Howard
IF this is any indication of your early skill set of shooting angles and subject as well as editing skills, I will welcome your videos as highlights of the craft in say a year from now...well done.
And I second the full video for preview as well. Shame the sun couldn't have been captured at the peak though...oh well...timing what ya gonna do
Shot length is a big issue in any film or video. Your audience gets tired very quickly of images that don’t provide anything new very quickly, unlike in person. Shots longer than 4 or 5 seconds need to be pretty interesting to work, which most drone shots aren’t. Jump cutting forward sometimes works, as do montages.
Dave, the longer I spent editing, the more I began to see exactly what you are talking about. When I started getting bored looking and a particular cut I would trim it at that point.
Bird Man,
Great Footage, Great Exploration, Great choice of music (in original version).
I agree with Dave about length. Making assumptions here, but as a new shooter, we are either so 'in love' with everything we capture, or our subject, or we simply don't know when enough is enough, it is usually very difficult to cut out our "precious" footage. It looks like you are learning that distinction quickly -- Bravo!
Consider some over-arching basics with any new project (shooting AND editing):
"What is my STORY?"
"To WHOM am I telling it?"
"What do I want them to THINK and FEEL?"
Allow those questions (and others like them) to guide your shots and your edits.
On the timeline (editing suite), try to avoid "un-motivated" camera or aircraft movements. When a PAN (left/right) feels too quick or 'hesitant' -- don't use it or use editing tools to slow it down or smooth it out. Same with RISE & FALL, PUSHING IN/OUT, or TILTING UP/DOWN.
Also, consider your frame composition. If one cannot tell what in the frame is the Subject (as opposed to foreground and background), the viewer becomes confused or bored. That does NOT mean the subject must remain in the center, in fact most dynamic compositions have the subject elsewhere in the frame. If you cannot/do not get this as you shoot, you can crop the frame in your editing suite to help out a missed composition opportunity.
Jay241 makes a good point about color, contrast and saturation -- all image controls that can help (no miracles here) enhance the overall appearance of your images. These are tools that are more specialized and sensitive, and are usually late in the process after all other editing is mostly done.
Also consider pacing through wise choice of TRANSITIONS -- a way to control the feel or emotions of your viewer. Quick Cuts suggests urgency. Slow Fades relaxes and reassures the viewer. Both are good when they elicit the feel you are trying to achieve -- either can hurt your efforts when misused. As you may discover, there are several transitions available in your editing suite, but that does not mean you need to use them All, all of the time.
Music (and motion) is what separates Photos from Cinema, AND goes a long way to establish mood, emotion and story, so for that reason, I preferred the music choice you made for the original/first edit. While some of the background instrumentation suggested an Asian origin, the winsome flute and complex supporting instruments magnified the Majesty of the Cabazon Peak -- your subject. Overall, I think it conveyed an EPIC story, and the Asian influence was just enough 'Different' to interest the listener -- in other words "this is not your Ordinary wild west scenario".
As you are obviously learning -- editing takes time, and part of that time should be spent AWAY from your project, so that you can come back to it and view it with "Fresh Eyes", so consider taking more than one pass at the initial edit to be sure you have the order of shots and sequences and the transitions and pacing just right, before putting finishing touches to it (cropping, color grading, special effects, etc.).
From my own interest, I would love to see something more "in between" the two projects you have here. I prefer the pacing (and MUSIC choice) of your original edit, but using only the best of the Best shots, cut down for brevity and arranged in an order that tells a story and perhaps 'surprises' the viewer, once or twice with "Reveals" that they were not expecting. Really take my breath away!
Please forgive the lengthy post -- I so much wanted to share and encourage you to continue your Very Good Work. I think you are on an Excellent path to learn for yourself what is pleasing to you and your viewer. My sincere hope is that you will continue to refine this project (version 3 ???) as you learn how to compose your beautiful Symphony for the Senses.
Best of Luck,
Len
Great Footage, Great Exploration, Great choice of music (in original version).
I agree with Dave about length. Making assumptions here, but as a new shooter, we are either so 'in love' with everything we capture, or our subject, or we simply don't know when enough is enough, it is usually very difficult to cut out our "precious" footage. It looks like you are learning that distinction quickly -- Bravo!
Consider some over-arching basics with any new project (shooting AND editing):
"What is my STORY?"
"To WHOM am I telling it?"
"What do I want them to THINK and FEEL?"
Allow those questions (and others like them) to guide your shots and your edits.
On the timeline (editing suite), try to avoid "un-motivated" camera or aircraft movements. When a PAN (left/right) feels too quick or 'hesitant' -- don't use it or use editing tools to slow it down or smooth it out. Same with RISE & FALL, PUSHING IN/OUT, or TILTING UP/DOWN.
Also, consider your frame composition. If one cannot tell what in the frame is the Subject (as opposed to foreground and background), the viewer becomes confused or bored. That does NOT mean the subject must remain in the center, in fact most dynamic compositions have the subject elsewhere in the frame. If you cannot/do not get this as you shoot, you can crop the frame in your editing suite to help out a missed composition opportunity.
Jay241 makes a good point about color, contrast and saturation -- all image controls that can help (no miracles here) enhance the overall appearance of your images. These are tools that are more specialized and sensitive, and are usually late in the process after all other editing is mostly done.
Also consider pacing through wise choice of TRANSITIONS -- a way to control the feel or emotions of your viewer. Quick Cuts suggests urgency. Slow Fades relaxes and reassures the viewer. Both are good when they elicit the feel you are trying to achieve -- either can hurt your efforts when misused. As you may discover, there are several transitions available in your editing suite, but that does not mean you need to use them All, all of the time.
Music (and motion) is what separates Photos from Cinema, AND goes a long way to establish mood, emotion and story, so for that reason, I preferred the music choice you made for the original/first edit. While some of the background instrumentation suggested an Asian origin, the winsome flute and complex supporting instruments magnified the Majesty of the Cabazon Peak -- your subject. Overall, I think it conveyed an EPIC story, and the Asian influence was just enough 'Different' to interest the listener -- in other words "this is not your Ordinary wild west scenario".
As you are obviously learning -- editing takes time, and part of that time should be spent AWAY from your project, so that you can come back to it and view it with "Fresh Eyes", so consider taking more than one pass at the initial edit to be sure you have the order of shots and sequences and the transitions and pacing just right, before putting finishing touches to it (cropping, color grading, special effects, etc.).
From my own interest, I would love to see something more "in between" the two projects you have here. I prefer the pacing (and MUSIC choice) of your original edit, but using only the best of the Best shots, cut down for brevity and arranged in an order that tells a story and perhaps 'surprises' the viewer, once or twice with "Reveals" that they were not expecting. Really take my breath away!
Please forgive the lengthy post -- I so much wanted to share and encourage you to continue your Very Good Work. I think you are on an Excellent path to learn for yourself what is pleasing to you and your viewer. My sincere hope is that you will continue to refine this project (version 3 ???) as you learn how to compose your beautiful Symphony for the Senses.
Best of Luck,
Len
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