Vacation Approaches

Friends, My long-awaited vacation is fast approaching. I’ll be in Japan in no time and have a checklist a mile long of items to pack, devices to charge, things to remember, phrases to learn and more. Instead of trying to cram the next three weeks of blog posts and tutorials into my crazy, self-imposed schedule … Read more

Add an Alpha Channel in Photoshop Tutorial

This tutorial is on how add an Alpha Channel in Adobe Photoshop.

I’ll show you how to create an alpha channel from a selection, how to create an alpha channel from multiple selections, how to delete an alpha channel and more.

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Preparing for Vacation: A Quick Guide for Jet-Setting Video Editors

Preparing For Vacation

Soon I’ll be taking my first trip out of the United States and I’m making it a big one – I’m headed to Japan! In this post I’m going to go over what I’m doing to prepare for this lengthy vacation. I’d love for you to chime in too with your thoughts on what you do before going out of town. Thanksgiving for us in the US is right around the corner and the other winter holidays are fast approaching so I think the timing of this post is pretty ideal.

There’s nothing worse than being bothered on vacation or someone messing up your projects/media/hard drive/etc. especially when there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m sure I’ll come back to 1500 emails but I’m going to prepare my company and team the best I can for anything that can happen while I’m gone.

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How to Change (Remap) Keyboard in Avid Media Composer

This tutorial is on how to change, also known as, remap your keyboard in Avid Media Composer.

I’ll show you how to duplicate keyboard settings, add actions or shortcuts from the Command Palette onto your keyboard, add items from menus onto your keyboard and more.

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Editing for Others vs. Editing for Ourselves

My assistant editor is learning a valuable lesson in her young career. She’s learning that when she’s video editing for others, it isn’t necessarily about her sense of creative expression. It’s more about what the producer, client, or director wants. This can be extremely difficult for new, passionate video editors.

Video editing, like any other kind of commissioned artwork I’m assuming, has this weird blurred line. Is the end result what the creator (in our case the video editor) wants or is the end result what the commissioner (producer/director/boss/client/etc.) of the piece wants?

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Fighting Shyness in Post Production

FightingShynessInPost

I, like the majority of video editors I know and meet, am prone to shyness. Shyness in post production is an issue that is probably costing you money and time. As I write this I’m too scared to say “good morning” to the woman I sit next to on the bus at least twice a week for the past year. My commuter bus etiquette might not interest you but did you know that your shyness could be costing you hours of unneeded time in the edit bay?

I’ll explain that along with some other ways I try to fight my own shyness syndrome in the post below.

I enjoy the solace of my edit bay like you do. I’m away from others. Just me, some Bon Iver or Greensky Bluegrass and my project. I can focus on my work without any distractions. This is never an issue until it’s time to leave my cozy, secluded world. My mind is stuck on the edit rather than communicating with producers/directors/clients.

Issues from Not Speaking Up

There are a number of issues in post production that arise from scenarios when you do not speak up because of shyness.

Pre-Production

I don’t know how many times I didn’t speak up during pre-production and it bit me in the ass later. To this day I struggle with it but know it’s better to speak my mind than wait until I’m in post production and this scene isn’t going to work and we can no longer shoot. When there are concerns during pre-production, speak up! Yes, it sucks always being the Debbie Downer but in the end it’ll be less work for you.

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EVF Tutorial – Quick Transitions in Avid Media Composer

I am SOOO excited. Today I’m launching my first ever product — an Avid Media Composer Bin with over 50 preset Quick Transitions. In the tutorial below you’ll find out how to create your own preset Quick Transitions. After watching the tutorial go here to get my Quick Transitions Bin. As always I come out with a new … Read more

The Power of Presets for Avid Media Composer Editors

Presets will make you a faster editor. This article discusses four areas where you can use presets in Avid Media Composer to save you time.