Jump Cuts and Shooting with the Sun

QUIT Chopping Videos Up and Use This Instead.

Back in the old days kids there were very few people shooting film because of the sheer expense and even when digital video appeared it was still not available for everyone.

That meant that it was basically only the pro’s working in the area.

Since then of course the world has changed and both video capture and video editing are easily accessible.

In the old days there was a particular editing cut that was considered to be the mark of the rank amateur and that was the jump cut.

A jump cut is where you just cut footage out and the camera angle stays exactly the same causing a slight “jump” in the action.

It was a cut that was to be avoided at all costs!

Then YouTube came along and everyone just started cutting up their videos with regard to pacing and with no regard to the visual effect it created.

That was mainly driven by the fact the the video footage was as a result of a single camera or device being used so there was actually no other angle to cut to.

After a few years of this the public have become used to it so that now a jump cut is not as noticeable.

That’s OK but in reality there are things you can to to hide jump cuts or at least reduce their… jumpness!

Check out Kevin’s advice below and make yourself look a little more polished and professional.


How to Film Outside Episode 1- Lighting with the Sun – Filmora Tutorial

There is a reason that even the big movies shoot outdoors using enormous lighting rigs and set ups. That reason is that natural light can be pretty tricky to deal with at the best of times.

The worst of times is when you have either no light or very strong direct sunlight.

The latter causing your footage to be blown out or leave any people in the shot squinting into the middle distance.


Using Video Effects The Right Way – PowerDirector

It is easy with the average video editing software these days to fall into the trap of just slapping on some effects and leaving it at that.

To be honest in many cases that probably enough but I guess the real question is whether or not “enough” is what you are going for.

To really set yourself apart you need to take it all a step further and it is not all that hard to do.

Check out the video below not so much because of the effects being used but how Maliek takes it that step further by adjusting and tailoring those effects so they look just right.


5 Seamless Transitions That Anyone Can Do!

With the proliferation of highly quality footage coming from handheld devices also came the drive to be able to editing that footage within those same devices.

Unfortunately those same handheld devices still lack the storage space and processing power needed to engage in complex editing.

That in turn led to a whole range of “in camera” effects being developed which of done right can look totally awesome.


Is A.I Taking Over Video Editing?

This is an introduction to an online service I first became aware of last year but chose not to mention on the blog because it was one of those “not quite there” services.

The service and website I am referring to is Runway and you can check it out for yourself at the link below just above the video.

Just this week Gripps who is my usual source of info for VideoStudio did a demo of the current situation with Runway and it certainly appears that they have been putting some work into the program.


Filmora 11 Editing Tips – Video Transformation

One problem that still persists these days with no real end in sight is that of adjusting footage to suit platforms that insist on different aspect ratios.

16.9 for YouTube, 1:1 for Facebook unless it is for #shorts or Instagram so then it has to be 9:16 and so on.

If you shoot in one aspect ratio then invariably you will hit problems trying to convert into another and end up with a badly cropped image or the dreaded black bars at the side.

One tiny step forward in this battle has been the availability of 4K video on many devices.

By adding 4K video to a 1080p project or even 720p you do have the ability to crop and zoom quite a lot before you begin to lose quality.

You can see that being done in the video blow but bear in mind that when you are shooting you should be aware of your framing understanding that there will be severe cropping done later.


Filmora 11.7.6 New Updates – Changes, New Split Screen Templates

As is usually the case there has been another update to Filmora from Wondershare and this takes us to version 11.7.6.

This update doesn’t really add any new features per se but mainly changes a few of the folder names in the libraries and adds some more content that you can see in the video below.

What I do suspect is that there have been some bug fixes included but let’s face it, no-one want to announce that they have fixed the bugs!

Speaking of which… since writing this version 11.7.7 has been released to fix some stuff in 11.7.6!!


Intro to The Color Page – Casey Faris ResolveCon 2022

For the past week or so Casey Faris and a few other more advanced users of DaVinci Resolve have been hosting an event called ResolveCon.

Experts in various fields as well as representatives from Black Magic Design who make DaVinci Resolve have been covering features within the software.

Most of it has tended to be aimed at advanced users wanting learn the latest and greatest as well as those wanting to up their game in Resolve.

Because of that I haven’t really bothered to add any of the videos as they are mostly incomprehensible… well to me anyway!

However there is one video which is an address by Casey that covers the Color Page in Resolve.

Although there are some parts that are a bit out there, most of it is great if you want to get those color correction tools under control.