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Thread: Using videos to promote services

  1. #11
    Charlie Brown's Avatar
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    Shaun, would you offer video editing as a service?

    I understand you're really busy with your design but do you reckon (some point this year - near your quiet times perhaps?) that it's something you'd consider?

  2. #12
    Shaun's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MikeW View Post
    That looks fantastic Shaun. Did you take all the video's yourself? What type of camera was used?
    Thanks. Clips taken on my cheap handheld Sony camcorder (AmazonAmazon . The video takes not too bad footage but it has a lot of niggles that I hate. It goes focus crazy in low light (disco) situations. So half the footage I take is unusable. And anything higher than background music and the on board mic distorts the sound - which is the sole reason all my disco footage has an overdub of music added at the production stage.

    Quote Originally Posted by Charlie Brown View Post
    Shaun, would you offer video editing as a service?

    I understand you're really busy with your design but do you reckon (some point this year - near your quiet times perhaps?) that it's something you'd consider?
    You've asked that before

    Honestly, it's not something I'd ever offer as a service. For several reasons really.

    1: I'm 'ok' at it as an amateur hobby. Nowhere near a level that I would feel comfortable charging for.
    2: Unlike my design services the editing takes me a while to sort through and decide how to best edit them. The fee I'd have to charge for the huge amount of time spent on it would be very pricey as the process is a lengthy affair for me.
    3: It's hit or a miss if the software works. Major issues with my PC has ruled out my 2 favourite video editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro...and the more basic (but my all time favourite) 'Pinnacle Studio HD'). Both keep crashing during rendering so I've had to move onto a relatively cheap and cheerful video editing suite (which I used to make the above video) but it's limited on it's features, but it's fantastic for first time movie makers! You should give it a go. It's VERY easy to get the hang off! AVS Video Editor: http://www.avs4you.com/video.aspx

    I'm more than happy to offer help and advice if you do give it a go, but I won't ever be offering editing as a service. There is a few expert editors here on the forum, First one that springs to mind is Max (member visualdjmax). He's forgot more about video editing than I'll ever know.
    Last edited by Shaun; 27-07-2011 at 12:05 PM.

  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shaun View Post
    Thanks. Clips taken on my cheap handheld Sony camcorder (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-HDRCX6-...dp/B000RF7TQQ). The video takes not too bad footage but it has a lot of niggles that I hate. It goes focus crazy in low light (disco) situations. So half the footage I take is unusable. And anything higher than background music and the on board mic distorts the sound - which is the sole reason all my disco footage has an overdub of music added at the production stage.



    You've asked that before

    Honestly, it's not something I'd ever offer as a service. For several reasons really.

    1: I'm 'ok' at it as an amateur hobby. Nowhere near a level that I would feel comfortable charging for.
    2: Unlike my design services the editing takes me a while to sort through and decide how to best edit them. The fee I'd have to charge for the huge amount of time spent on it would be very pricey as the process is a lengthy affair for me.
    3: It's hit or a miss if the software works. Major issues with my PC has ruled out my 2 favourite video editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro...and the more basic (but my all time favourite) 'Pinnacle Studio HD'). Both keep crashing during rendering so I've had to move onto a relatively cheap and cheerful video editing suite (which I used to make the above video) but it's limited on it's features, but it's fantastic for first time movie makers! You should give it a go. It's VERY easy to get the hang off! AVS Video Editor: http://www.avs4you.com/video.aspx

    I'm more than happy to offer help and advice if you do give it a go, but I won't ever be offering editing as a service. There is a few expert editors here on the forum, First one that springs to mind is Tim (member tc1ooo). He's forgot more about video editing than I'll ever know.
    Thanks vey much for the info Shaun. I have downloaded the AVS Video Editor, and will give it a go. I was looking for software that I could use to capture stills from video, and hopefully this will. Thanks again.

  4. #14
    alan@blacktiedj.co.uk's Avatar
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    I've just recently cobbled together a video, which I don't think has turned out too bad, bit of a work in progress really. I need to tidy up the edit on the track and also add a few more bits of text here and there. Shot mostly on my iphone, so the quality of video isn't that good.


    Put it together using Pinnacle version 12

  5. #15
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    Nice work Alan.

    The only critique(s) I would add (if I may) is try get the audio edit a little more refined so it's less noticeable. And a little less transition effects (which I'll extrapolate a little further on later. Very nice work though.





    Are you sitting comfortably? I've had a few 's so this could be a long one.

    I'm going offer some tips and tricks for what I find works for me. Maybe it can be of use to others. Apologies in advance if it's a bit all over the place. My mind tends to wander too frequently when I've had a few so there might not be a cohesive flow to the info below..lol.


    I've had a few favourable comments in the past about my videos. The truth is, I'm winging it, I don't really know what I'm doing with regards to video editing. And that's the honest truth!

    I don't take particularly great footage. I've already mentioned the bad points about my camcorder that hinders really great shots. I'm (at the moment) using really basic and amateur editing techniques with pretty basic software. What I think I do well though is maximising what I have and refining it into something that hopefully ends up not too bad. It's achieved not through any particular skill, but by having a keen eye to what looks aesthetically good. So there you go. My secret revealed.

    It's also been said in the past that you need good footage to begin with to have a good finished effect.. Again, not necessarily so...most of my footage is absolute crap. The trick is maximising your best bits. Steady shots with an cheap HD camera and you're all the way.



    A FEW TIPS FOR TAKING FOOTAGE>

    STEADY CAMERA - shaky footage, zooms in and out, and fast movements don't work for me well at all. I setup my camera on a GORILLAPOD attached to my deckstand booth and I just record short clips about 2 minutes long max at intervals throughout the night. I just click record and carry on DJing, stop recording a few minutes later then repeat later on. Several times I'll place the camera at different angles and do the process again. Short clips make finding footage later a lot easier. Not zooming and having a steady shot allows cleaner edits and better transitions from scene to scene. I've also found that wash lighting effects work great for footage from the rig out onto the dance-floor as it illuminates your dancers. Faster lighting with more movement (especially when using haze) is great for getting footage from the guests perspective looking back at the disco. When recording first dances the more lighting you can get on the dance-floor the better. Perhaps even asking the venue to leave some lights on....it'll make for a better and clearer bit of footage to edit later on.

    GETTING USEFUL SHOTS - Take some quick nice close up shots of your lighting in action, and from different angles, these can look great quickly edited into your clips in between dancing shots. Alternate between taking footage of people a distance away dancing and shots where you have zoomed in for a close up. These will offer a bit more fluidity and a range of perspectives in your finished edited video. Again, do all your zooming in and changing camera angles before hitting record, and let your editing afterwards bring the shots alive. There is a time and a place for some nice panning shots but I tend not to use them for the kind of videos I try put together. Don't be adverse to standing on a chair and holding your camera above your head at arms length to get a good shot from up high looking down. You can get some good dramatic shots without guests heads getting in the way. Even doing that for 30 seconds to a minute can give you enough footage for one of your scenes in your finished video.



    EDITING AND PRODUCTION>

    LESS IS MORE (transitions)
    Less is definitely more when editing footage I find. Straight chopping from clip to clip and some basic fades have so much more impact than the hundreds of transition effects that are bundled with video editing software. Experience has made me realise that over use of transition effects can over-crowd the footage and ultimately give the footage less impact. When you do your next clip, out of curiosity, try making it without any transitions (with the exception of basic fades and just chopping from clip to clip). I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how much different it looks, and how much more impact it may have.

    MUSIC
    Music can have a dramatic effect on the outcome of your video. Music selection is EXTREMELY important as it sets the overall ambiance for your production. Personally, I try to keep away from current 'anthems' as it can restrict the footage longevity for your uses. Current 'big tunes' tend to be over-used, over-played, and people will be sick to death of hearing them this time next year (if not sooner). Try an off the wall, out of the ordinary or perhaps a classic track from way back. It'll offer your footage more shelf-life, especially if you plan on using the footage for an extended period for your marketing etc.

    When editing your music track I think it's vital for the edit to be as seamless as possible if you are chopping it up. If in doubt try using just a whole complete section of the song instead of a part from here and there edited together. After the main break in the centre, just as it's kicking back into the main chorus can be a good part of the track to use. That way you get the main part of the song with the gradual wind down and natural end to the track - which will give you a nice finish to your own video. If you're confident in your editing, then a trick I use often is taking the intro and adding it in further in the song (in essence chopping a huge segment out to shorten the clip). As I nearly always add a music track into my clips I always edit the footage to work with the music, not the other way around. Which seems to go against the grain of thinking as the footage is definitely the most important part. It seems to work for me though in most cases. The exception was the clip above. That could have worked with any slow track as all there is to it is basic fades from scene to scene with an overlay of transparent PNG images for the text. I had difficulty finding a track I wanted so I put the music in afterwards once the clip was near completion.


    FROM CLIP TO CLIP
    Some other tricks I use is editing the footage/photos is so they come in on the beat of the track, or at a certain segment of the song. It's also handy to vary the times of the photos/footage on screen. Occasionally it's nice to linger on a great bit of footage, which can work well during instrumental breaks etc, and sometimes it's great to have a couple of quick and flowing edits from scene to scene during the faster parts of your backing music. It's all about trial and error and seeing what aesthetically looks and sounds right. It can be a lengthy process trying different things and different orders but occasionally it'll fall into place and you'll think "I like that!"



    GETTING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR SOFTWARE
    Ok, I mentioned earlier about 'winging it'. And to do that I don't use the bits of the software I think are 'too basic'. Firstly the countless transition scenes, of which there are sometimes hundreds. Tacky text overlays that are built in to the editing suites. Unless you pay seriously top dollar for top of the range editing software then the text overlays are (IMHO) very poor quality and to be avoided. A good trick I use is to use photo editing software (even something free like gimp). Make your text up with a nice font of your choosing and save it as an PNG or GIF image using a transparent background from the 'save settings' in your photo editing software. You can then overlay those text images on top of your video. That's the process I used above and it's come out much nicer than if I'd used any of the text overlays that comes with the video editing suite.



    PREPPING FOR DISASTER
    After too many bad experiences of software crashing, do remember to SAVE SAVE AND SAVE your project regularly. That's the biggest tip I can offer - it'll save you a headache later. Trust me on that.


    More will come to me later but it's late so I'll leave it there. Neil, sorry for hijacking your thread, perhaps there is something that'll help somewhere. I'll spit this topic later if necessary.


    Well, that's what works for me, and the way I take footage and edit. It'd be nice if some of the more experienced could offer some of their tips and tricks too.




    Happy editing!

  6. #16
    Disco Dude! DeckstarDeluxe's Avatar
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    Not at all Shaun I'm sure others will find it as interesting as I did
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  7. #17
    Booche's Avatar
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    Wow i won't quote that Shaun lol

    BUT

    Thankyou and i will follow that very helpfull advice

    Hopefully i can make a promo video

    BTW has anyone used Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11.0 and got any hints and tips on how to make a promo vid on that
    Dave

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Booche View Post

    BTW has anyone used Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11.0 and got any hints and tips on how to make a promo vid on that
    Sony Vegas? I'm pretty sure I tried a trial version but didn't purchase it when it expired. Very comprehensive and in-depth software but I didn't have the time for the learning curve it would've taken. If you're new to editing I'd recommend a less in-depth (and less expensive editing suite to start with). Pinnacle Studio is what I started with and it was a doodle to do the basics. The software I linked to above is easy to use too.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shaun View Post
    Sony Vegas? I'm pretty sure I tried a trial version but didn't purchase it when it expired. Very comprehensive and in-depth software but I didn't have the time for the learning curve it would've taken. If you're new to editing I'd recommend a less in-depth (and less expensive editing suite to start with). Pinnacle Studio is what I started with and it was a doodle to do the basics. The software I linked to above is easy to use too.
    What link lol

    EDIT: Found it on your older post sorry my mistake

    Thankyou will have a play about with that
    Dave

  10. #20

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    Well done Shaun for a very interesting and informative post. (if that was after a couple of beers, imagine what it would have been like with no alcohol at all ). I am sure a lot of members will get a lot from this. Thanks again.

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