There are 10,000 posts like “The Top-8 Ways to Tackle Your New Year’s Resolutions” streaming through your social media timelines and inboxes right now. This post is not one of them. This short post is to tell you that you can do whatever you want to do and give you a quick tip on succeeding in whatever goals you have whenever you have them.
Video Industry
These are my thoughts on the video industry from the eyes of a video editor, video producer, and freelancer.
Change Starting Timecode of Sequence in Avid MC
This tutorial is on how to change the starting timecode of a sequence in Avid Media Composer. Learn how in under 3 minutes.
End of 2014 Challenge
Are you in?
Without fail the last two weeks of every year can be called the most anti-personal-and/or-work-related productivity period of the year.
Nothing gets done.
Nothing.
Ever.
At least nothing of any importance gets done towards your personal and/or professional goals.
Clients don’t respond. Producers go on vacation. It snows. Your in-laws stay at your house. You don’t want to workout because you’re waiting for January 1st. You are overburdened with last minute shopping and wrapping presents after one too many drinks.
I have a feeling that you’d rather use these two weeks to get something big finished instead. Maybe it’s something that’s been bugging you all year that you just didn’t get around to. Did you want to edit a family vacation video? Or write a short book? Start a website? Deep clean the garage? Why are we going to wait any longer to do these things when the opportunity is right in front of us?
I have a challenge for you. Let’s call it the End of 2014 Challenge. Together let’s take the next two weeks and complete one of these projects.
How to Become the Best Production Assistant
To break into the video industry you almost always have to become a PA, Production Assistant, or an AE, Assistant Editor. I’m assuming since you’re reading this than you’ve either been one, are one or want to become one. This article is on how to become the best assistant editor or production assistant that you can be.
I’ve worked as an assistant in a number of industries, as a PA and an AE and through my experiences I learned that there’s only one way to become the best PA or AE.
Here it is: Become the best PA or AE by always being one step ahead of the person you are assisting.
It’s rather simple. You can stop reading now if you want, my feelings won’t be hurt, or you can continue reading and learn about a couple real life examples from my career. There will also be some tactics along the way that will help you become the best PA or AE.
Video Editing Methods: Swoopers vs. Bashers
There are only two methods for editing video. Which one do you use? Find out what they are and decide…are you a Swooper or a Basher?
Before leaving for vacation I was listening to Tim Ferriss’ podcast. He was interviewing Rolf Potts and they discussed author Kurt Vonnegut’s concept of “Swoopers and Bashers” when it comes to writing. This idea states that writers can only write in one of two ways: by swooping or by bashing. I believe the same theory can and should be applied to video editing methods too.
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.
Preparing for Vacation: A Quick Guide for Jet-Setting Video Editors
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.
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.
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?
Freeze Frame in After Effects
This tutorial is on how to create a Freeze Frame in Adobe After Effects. It takes seconds to make a Freeze Frame and only a couple minutes to learn to do it