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Improve Your Pace

One of the most required skills of a video editor is pace. An editor that edit fast is valuable for a company as he creates more content in less time. In this blog post I'm going to share with tips that will help you improve your editing pace. 

1) Work With Shortcuts 

By far the fastest way to increase your editing speed is simply to learn your keyboard shortcuts for your software. If there is a repetitive task that you perform, chances are there is a keyboard shortcut for it. Shortcuts will only save you a couple of seconds here or there, but over time those seconds can add up. 

2) Customize Your Workspace 

Most software gives you all of the tools you need to create a professional video, but sometimes you don’t need every panel to create a cool video. I only use about six panels for any given project, but by default, you’ll find no fewer than ten. For each step of the editing, if it is cutting scenes, mixing the sound or adding effects, I will have a different workspace which has only the necessary panels for the task. 

3) Organize Your Files 

Editors are not normally known for being organized, but some simple organization can save you dozens of hours over the course of a long or complex project. It’s advantageous to create a very ridged folder hierarchy on your computer for each project. 

4) Use Markers 

Another great tool that will save you a good deal of "where did that go" time is markers. Most professional video editing suites have this tool that allows you to place a marker anywhere on the program timeline. In fact, you can set as many markers as you'd like or need. 

5) Use Proxy Files 

As the video resolution gets higher, it is more difficult to the computer and the editing software to work with these files. This is why you should create proxy files to the heavier clips you are working on. A proxy is a low-resolution file that you can edit, while all the changes are still happening to the original file.

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Creative Block

In this blog post I will discuss an issue all creative personals have - creativity block. Every creative worker meets the creative block (and if they say they not they are lying, so it's a good idea to adopt few techniques and routines to be able to detour the block. I can’t tell you how many times I feel like I’ve been working on a cut all day long and when 6 P.M. rolls around I don’t have much to show for it. Turns out, if I’m honest with myself, I was probably working in a very distracted state. 5 minutes of editing…then checking Facebook on the phone. 10 minutes of editing…time to walk to the kitchen and get soda. Another 10 minutes of work…then looking out the window for a bit. You get the point. So here are few tips that will help you avoid the block.

1) Eliminate Distractions

There is nothing that will sap your creative energy and focus more than distractions. Think about the last time you had to begin something new...how many times did you procrastinate by checking Facebook or Twitter? Or perhaps you were working on a difficult scene, and as soon as you heard your e-mail chime, you checked your inbox. If you want to avoid editor’s block, you must create a mental working environment free of distractions. Close all of your non-essential browser tabs. Turn off your e-mail. Put your phone in airplane mode. And additionally, try wearing headphones while editing to eliminate noise in your external environment.

2) The Pomodoro Technique

This technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. The goal here is to create a series of short, artificial deadlines that give you the kick in the pants to get some real work done. Think of it as an interval-based exercise routine consisting of sprint/walk / sprint/walk etc. When applied to editing, there are six steps in the technique: 1 – Decide on the editing task to be done. 2 – Set your phone timer for around 25 minutes. 3 – Work on the task until the timer rings. 4 – After the timer rings, put a checkmark on a piece of paper. 5 – If you have fewer than four checkmarks, take a short break (3–5 minutes), then go to step 1. 6 – Once you hit four checkmarks, take a longer break (15–30 minutes), reset your checkmark count to zero, then go to step 1. Of course, with a creative task like editing, there’s always the chance that you’ll find yourself in a “flow state.”

3) Set Rules

When I am ready to cut a new scene, I first analyze it to determine which emotional moments are the most important to emphasize. Once I have determined these moments, I will create rules for myself that promote focus and help me avoid distractions and procrastination.

For example, if I’m editing a dramatic scene and I know that roughly 45 seconds into the scene a character says something that turns the scene in a different emotional direction, I will give myself a rule that I can’t stop editing forwards and review my work until I’ve hit that moment. And I will even make it into a game by timing myself and seeing how quickly I can get myself to that point

4) Be a Copycat

All creative work builds on what came before. Painters learn their trade by painting other masterpieces. Musicians learn how to play instruments by practicing pieces from other artists. Figure out what inspires you, and try to imitate it. You can develop your style from there.

5)  Use your support system

Good friends can help out on big projects, boost you up on bad days, admire your inventiveness, or simply be there. It helps to lean a little.

The most important thing to remember is that EVERYONE has a creative block, so don’t panic.

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Choosing The Right Soundtrack For Your Video

My favorite part of editing videos is choosing the soundtrack. As a musician and sound designer, I find the weight of the sound and music as even as the visual itself in a video. In this post, I’m going to share tips about choosing the right soundtrack to your video.

1) Analyze The Emotion And Tone of The Video 

It doesn’t matter if you edit a documentary film of a commercial - your video has a general tone and emotion that leads it. Try to analyze the tone and pick your music accordingly. Is the scene in your film dark and ominous? Then maybe you’ll want something with a cello (like in Jaws) or a piano piece played in a minor key. Is your wedding video light and jaunty, highlighting the happiness of two lovebirds being all in love and newly married? Then maybe a more celebratory sound, like a “happy” acoustic guitar (also known as the “Jack Johnson guitar”) would work better. 

2) Analyze The Pace of The Shots in Your Video 

The pace an editor creates in his visuals relates directly to the music. Short shots with fast transitions fit a high energy soundtrack with fast BPM (Beats Per Minute). 

3) Enjoy The Silence 

Your film doesn’t need wall-to-wall music. Let your audience breathe sometimes. Pause here and there to let the natural sounds take center stage; it will make the music you do use all the more effective and memorable. 

4)  Don’t Always Go For Epic 

Choosing an epic soundtrack seems to be an easy fit anytime. Don’t go for the epic unless your scene is epic. If your video isn’t epic, your soundtrack shouldn’t be either. Your music should complement your subject matter and never overpower it. It’s important to understand a scene’s weight, scale, and importance first, and then choose your soundtrack accordingly. A musical mismatch can make an otherwise quaint scene melodramatic, leaving the audience wondering if they’ve missed something or if you’ve spent too much time in the editing room. 

5) Choosing The Right Stock Music Library 

It’s worth spending a bit of time searching online for various libraries. Often just a quick look at the homepage of the website will show you the type and style of music that sells well. Try and find a library that has a broad selection of music in the style you want. There is a few point to consider when picking libraries to search and buy music from. - Royalty Free Libraries There are some incredibly popular royalty free music libraries available. Royalty free means that the track you buy can be used anywhere – even broadcast television – without paying additional royalties. The quality of these libraries can vary quite dramatically, but there is no doubt there are some excellent composers who contribute to them. - Exclusive vs. Non-Exclusive An exclusive library means that the tracks in their catalog can’t be found anywhere else. Non-exclusive means the tracks can be found on other libraries if you decided to have a search. 

The most important rule is… BREAK ALL THE RULES. So now that you have a good idea of how to choose the perfect music for your film disregard everything and try something off-the-wall. Sometimes a complete contradiction in shape, pace, and era can create an unexpectedly amazing effect. Think about an energetic, fast-paced car chase accompanied by a sad cello track.

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Transitions and Cuts

As I’m creating more and more videos, I understand how transitions are a crucial part of the product. In this blog post, I’m going to discuss different transitions and cut techniques.

1) Standard Cut

This is the most basic transition between two clips. Connecting the last frame of one and the beginning frame of the next. The standard cut doesn’t really invoke any meaning or emotion.

2) Jump Cut

A jump cut is when there are a single subject and camera angle suddenly switch positions or transition between sentences instantly rather than through fluid motion makes a video appear more active or lively.

3)  J or L Cut

J and L cuts are incredibly common. An L cut is used when you want to have audio from clip A continue when clip B comes in. The J cut is the opposite, where the audio from clip B comes in when we still see clip A. Pretty much every documentary interview you’ve ever seen uses J and L cuts throughout.

4) Cut on Action This is what it sounds like. You cut at the point of action because that’s what our eyes and brains are naturally expecting. When someone kicks open a door, we expect to see the change in angle when the door is kicked, not after it’s flown open and swaying for a moment.

5) Cross Cut This type of editing is when you cut between two different scenes that are happening at the same time in different places. It can be great for adding tension. For example, showing someone breaking into a safe while a security guard walks toward their location.

6) Match Cut A match cut is an edit that gives continuity to the scene and pushes it in a certain direction, without disorienting the viewer. For example, shooting someone opening a door from behind, and then cutting to the opposite side as they walk through it.

Remember, you can use few techniques in one scene, experiment and try a different version. Each version will take your video to a different direction with a different meaning.

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Motion Graphics Titles

In my last blog post, I wrote about the company Wibbitz, which created an algorithm that creates a video with motion graphics titles out of a given text. It is not a coincidence that Wibbitz product became so successful in such a short term. Today media consumers consume their content through their mobile phones, much of the time during their commuting. This trend made motion graphics titles an essential part of viral movies, as many of the consumers are not using sound. This is why I decided to share some tips for creating motion graphics titles. 

1) References 

References are key for almost everything you do as a motion graphic designer. Collect a list of video with motion graphic titles that you like and don’t like. Analyze them. Go into details. Why did you like them? Why you did not? Which techniques have been used to create the titles? What colors been used? What fonts? Size? Location? 

2) Use Only One Type of Font 

Many times, when motion graphic designers are trying to be fancy and unique, they use different fonts. Don’t do it, use only one type of font. Using different fonts just make the titles not consistent and make it more confusing for the viewer. Nothing fancy here. 

3) Choose a Color Palette and Stick With It 

Same as with the font - changing color palettes just confuse the viewer and ruins the flow of the video. Stick with one color palette. 

4) Make Sure The Text is Legible 

It seems like the most obvious tip for titles, but still so many designers create titles that are difficult to read. There are few parameters you should adjust to make your title legible: * The size of the font - should be big enough to read but not overtaking the actual content of the video. * Position - As same as with the size, the position of the title should not overtake the main content. * Contrast - one of the main thing to make sure when you are creating a title - the contrast between the title to main content. Today we can see that many designers choose to put a layer of color under the title to create the best contrast possible

  5) Motion 

Choosing the right motion and animation for the title is the factor which can make the title and organic part of the video, rather than look like regular captions. The direction, the rhythm, the pace and more different animation parameters are the key to making an ‘organic’ titles for your video

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“Much Ado about Nothing.”

“Much Ado about Nothing.” The name of this comedy by William Shakespeare comes to my mind whenever I am asked to make a video that will be presenting some idea that in my view there is not much to make a video from. In my job, I am required to be responsible both for content as well as for the making of the product, but I am not the one who chooses the subjects or decide whether a subject has material to make a video from. And so I find myself sometimes sittings in front of the trying to make a video out of “nothing” or of something that does not have much to say about. I think that this is a problem that professionals meet at all levels (or in most of them): the policy is decided by the management and workers at all level are supposed to fulfill it. When the product is physical, it is expected to be perfect, but when the product is a work of creativity, it is hard to say if it fulfills the goals and it is hard for the worker to know if it meets the subject. In one instance I had to make a movie about a session that was held in one of the UN committees. In that occasion, the Syrian representative flared up in anger because something was said about Iran and he was banished from the meeting. Apart from showing the incident, not being able to understand what he yelled, there was nothing there to make a video from, and yet it was my job, and I was not in a position to decide if there was any content. So I did this “ Much Ado about Nothing, ” and surprisingly for me, the video appeared in main Israeli web news.

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New Technology

I decided to introduce new technology to my workplace. I made a connection with a company called Wibbitz. Wibbitz created a platform where the user can create video content automatically out of the text. Wibbitz works today with major media companies like TimeInc, CBS Interactive, TMZ and more. As content gets consumed more and more through mobile devices and viewers choose to consume this content in the form of video more than others, I decided to align our product to this trend. Although most of the companies that use Wibbitz are news and media companies, I thought that different fast-paced content I create about news in the UN could fit well with Wibbitz’s platform. I went to the company’s offices to get a one-on-one training on their platform. The training was very professional and individualized, trying to customize all the functions in the platform that fits my need the most. This week I did few demo videos to try the platform and no doubt that the big advantage of it is to create more content in less time. As I’m  the only one creating content in the team, it is a HUGE advantage. While Wibbitz is a great tool, there are few disadvantages for me when using it. First, the videos I create in the platform are based on the text, which is not one of my strengths. Second, I got hired to the job to bring something that is a bit different which is not what you see in the everyday news and social media, and the content created on the platform, as good as it is, is not unique and kind of a template. Third, the platform uses few transitions that don't fit specific kind of content. For example, I created a video which contains images from a terror attack. The platform transitions on these hard images looked weird and not fit. The bottom line is that Wibbitz is a big upgrade to my workflow, but I need to choose carefully which video I create within it to make the most out of it.

www.wibbitz.com

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The Unpleasant Side of Work

When I am asked to make a video, I usually get the subject and a request for particular visuals to be included. A few weeks ago I was asked to make a video regarding the payment that the Palestinian Authority is paying monthly to the families of terrorists that were killed while performing a terror attack, calling them “Shahid” (a Muslim that is killed in a religious fight). To do that video, I was asked to show some of the suicide attacks that happened in Israel. To do so, I watched several videos that were not easy to watch.

I grew up in Jerusalem, at the time of some terrible suicide attacks that happened often and watching the videos brought back these scenes to me. I had to edit it in a way that will be shocking enough, but to the degree that it will be possible to watch. I was thinking about families of the victims and how to respect them. I guess this is a problem that every news’ editor has to confront: how to bring the horror of terror or war in a way that will make an impact but will be watchable. Some of the scenes I watched preparing this video reminded me of scenes from the popular tv series “ Game of Thrones.” The series shows us some terrible bloody scenes, and yet we watch them. The monstrosity is the same, but we take a distance and consider it fictionary when it is the “Game of Thrones” and can not take the same distance when it is our time and nonfiction at all. 

This was the first time I had to shock my viewers. It reminded me a conversation I had with a videographer that worked with an animal rights organization. He told me that as much as it is hard to create videos with difficult visuals of people who hunt or abuse an animal, he knows that visual is power, and that 1 picture is worth 1000 words is more than a cliche. So, when working on the video, I tried to make a mental distance from what I watch and so make it easier to work.

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360 Video

As a professional videographer and sound designer, I decided that I need to update my skill set to one of the biggest trends in the visual world, 360 videos. I wanted to learn different editing approaches, about different equipment and about various plugins I should use in my work process.

The first thing I researched is the popular 360 cameras in the market. My top pick is the Ricoh Theta S. Like many 360 cameras; it has two fish-eye lances who each capture 180 degrees. This is the easiest camera to use out of the ones I have checked, having only a few buttons and having an efficient workflow. The Ricoh Theta can be used for still images and video. The camera can be synced with a dedicated iPhone app, and by that to have a preview of the image while shooting together with some other control functions.

https://theta360.com/en/

The next thing I looked for are plugins that dedicated for 360 editing, especially for Adobe Premiere and After Effects. The main thing I was looking for is a plugin that adapts different motion graphics into the 360 spatial environments. Quickly enough I found the company Mettle. Mettle, like many other companies these days that developing for 360 and VR, got acquired by a big industry company, In this case, Adobe. Mettle developed a series of plugins under the name of Skybox. Skybox plugins do exactly what I was looking for - they adapt different effect like transitions or blur to the 360 environments. The nice thing about this plugins bundles that because it got acquired by Adobe, it is, for now, free for Adobe Creative Cloud subscribers.

https://www.mettle.com/product/mettle-skybox-suite/

The last thing I researched, and the most interesting one for my opinion, is a way to design sound for a 360 environment. Most DAWs (Digital Audio Workstation) is giving the user the option to work in a stereo environment. To be able to design sound in a spatial space, I need to find a DAW that supports this environment and the dedicated plugins to manipulate the sound in the space. The DAW that I found best for this use is Reaper, mostly as it is free to use. In the case of the plugins, like before, a big company called Facebook acquired the company that developed these plugins, Audio360. Facebook encourage their user to upload 360 content and so the plugins are also free to use.

https://facebook360.fb.com/spatial-workstation/

With all of these tools that I found, I’m now ready to try my first 360 projects. Updates are coming soon.  

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UN 1st General Assembly of the Year

I will start by describing my job. My job title is Media Content Manager for the Israeli Mission to the UN. The job includes every step in media production:

 Finding the audience we want to address.

 Building an idea for a movie

 Creating storyboard

 Collecting content

 Either researching from different databases or shooting new content

 Video editing

 Finding proper music

 Creating motion graphics

Most of the content I create is published on various social media channels, and some of the content is for the use of the Israeli Ambassador in different speeches and conventions.

Last week the first General Assembly took place at the United Nations headquarters. Many leaders from all around the world gathered to speak on this special stage and to bring their country’s voice to the rest of the world. This year, the General Assembly was in the same week of the Jewish ‘Rosh Hashana,' the Jewish New Year. And so, after a quiet period (apparently the UN mission also take some kind of a break in August), I got 3 big tasks in the same time:

The first General Assembly teaser

“What we did this year” movie (something common around the Jewish New year)

Fun short movie of ambassadors from all around the world wishing The Jewish and Israel people happy holiday.

Until last week, most of the projects I did were one at a time. I can’t recall any 2 projects that I worked on simultaneously. And then, BOOM, three important at once. Now, it is important to mention that the media team of the Israeli Mission is me, it is a one-man show. And so, I had to learn few important lessons at once: time management, prioritize tasks, efficiency, and the most important - trust myself and my work. I'm happy to say that all of the projects we’re a big success. I feel that I took a step forward with my technical skills, I learned how to manage my time better and organize my work and content more efficiently.

I’m ready for more work, bring it on!

Happy New (Jewish) YEAR

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz7wiJT-4c63cjZhZVhtLW9tWVE/view?usp=sharing