Fighting Shyness in Post Production

November 6, 2021October 22, 2014 by Josh Short

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.

EVF Tutorial – Quick Transitions in Avid Media Composer

October 17, 2014 by Josh Short

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

Blurry Text Transition in After Effects

October 26, 2021October 10, 2014 by Josh Short

This tutorial is on how to create a blurry text transition in After Effects. Learn how to make this effect in under 3 minutes.

Castle Premiere and How a Poorly-Made Montage Can Effect Story

July 17, 2019October 1, 2014 by Josh Short

Monday night was the season premiere of Castle. It’s right up there with The Walking Dead for me. They are interchangeable as my #1 and #2 favorite shows. Last night I couldn’t wait for the Season 7 premiere as Season 6 ended in a cliffhanger. After the show I was left questioning how one poorly constructed montage had completely destroyed the credibility of many of the relationships the main character had built with other central characters.

Note #1: This will contain many spoilers.

Note #2: You don’t need to be a fan of the show to read this post. What I’m going to get into will go beyond the reach of the show and I’m merely using it as an example.

Keyframe Text Color in After Effects

October 26, 2021September 26, 2014 by Josh Short

This tutorial is on how to keyframe text color in After Effects. You’ll learn how to keyframe the layer and how to keyframe just a section of it.

Conferences for Video Editors — Should You Attend?

July 10, 2020September 24, 2014 by Josh Short

Conference floor — Determining whether or not to attend a conference can be tricky.
Photo by Kounosu on Wikipedia Commons

This article focuses on conferences for video editors and determining when you should or should not attend.

Oh, conferences. You are a surefire way to get out of the office for a day (or more) in order to eat mediocre at best mass-produced finger food while trying to impress everyone around you even though they are all speaking in their own jargon that they don’t even understand.

Oh, conferences. You can cost a fortune and give me zero value in return or you don’t have to cost that much and I make a connection that’ll change my life.

Oh, conferences. How will I ever know which of the conferences for video editors to attend?

Hi. I’m Josh, your friendly neighborhood video editor here to open up and give you my thoughts on the answer. I’ve been to my fair share of conferences, both in industry and out of industry. I’ve been to enough to know the factors that should determine if you should attend that conference. Let’s jump into them!

Yes, you must attend.

There are two factors that can invoke an automatic “yes, you must attend” response for all conferences for video editors.

First, is your company paying for it? If that is a yes, there really isn’t much of a reason not to go. Any chance you get to build your skills and network while someone else pays for it, you better go.

What marriage has taught me about my NLE

July 17, 2019September 17, 2014 by Josh Short

I’ve been married to my wife for nearly two and a half wonderful years. I’ve been married to my NLE, Avid Media Composer, for twice that. What I’ve learned over that time is that the two relationships are fairly similar. I’m going to explain to you how lessons learned through your significant other directly relate to how you should work with your NLE.

How's your relationship with your NLE? Photo by Christopher Michel on Wikimedia Commons — How’s your relationship with your NLE?
Photo by Christopher Michel on Wikimedia Commons

Learn and Observe

In any relationship there is a learning curve. A man or woman never writes a user’s manual for himself or herself. That’s where you have an advantage with your NLE. Everything you need to know about it is right in front of you!

When I began editing on Avid Media Composer I had zero idea of what I was doing. None. I sat there for hours trying to figure out why I couldn’t click a clip in the timeline and move it (this was pre-Smart Tool). Then one day digging around my edit bay I found the software manual. I took it home and after a couple weeks had read the entire thing. This didn’t mean I knew everything about it but it did give me a huge heads up because I knew what it could and couldn’t do.

After Effects Masks Tutorial

July 14, 2020September 12, 2014 by Josh Short

This tutorial is on how to create and manipulate masks in After Effects. You’ll learn to make masks using the shape and pen tools then how to manipulate them.

My week of focus – an experiment for video editors

July 17, 2019September 10, 2014 by Josh Short

Focus. Or else. Photo courtesy of Unsplash by Thomas Lefebvre — Focus. Or else.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash by Thomas Lefebvre

Last week I wrote about focusing and asked you to participate in an experiment with me. The experiment was simple – go one hour a day with complete focus on editing. No music. No Internet or email. No cell phone. Here’s what I learned from it.

Focusing and an Experiment for Video Editors

July 17, 2019September 3, 2014 by Josh Short

Growing up I hated reading. I hated reading worse than broccoli and flossing. Somehow over the past 6ish years I have fallen in love with it though. I’m still a slow reader but I’m usually reading at least two books at all times. My most recent endeavor is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It’s not a book about tuning engines. It’s “an inquiry into values.” I’m only ~50 pages into it but already really digging it (a term that’s been stuck in my head because it’s in every other paragraph in the other book I’m reading). The other night I came across a few pages that focus on focus and an idea struck me. I realized this is something I’ve been slacking on and thought we could try out an experiment together in the edit bay to see if it helps us edit video faster.