Of all these rules, I like the Rule of Thirds the best.
The park bench is framed according to the Rule of Thirds.
This article first appeared in MotionArray.com. This is an excerpt.
As a film editor, one of the biggest limitations is the footage you have to work with. Framing and composition are essential concepts to understand if you want to get incredible footage in the first place.
Here are the seven rules:
The Rule Of Thirds
Symmetry
Leading Lines
Leading Room & Head Room
Depth
Size Equals Power
Break the Rules
The article itself has excellent examples and more details on each rule.
This article first appeared in MotionArray.com. This is an excerpt.
The job of the lens is to focus the light, so that when it hits the sensor of your camera, there’s a discernible image. This is exactly what the lens of your eye does — focuses light, which hits the retina in the back of your eyeball, so that you can make out the shape of the expensive camera you just bought.
There are three main things to consider in a lens:
Focal length. Focal length refers to how wide or how zoomed-in it makes your image look. Wider lenses make things look farther apart, whereas longer lenses compress the distance between objects, making them look closer together.
Aperture. T-stop and F-stop are different terms for aperture and they mean slightly different things, but for our purposes, we’re going to use the term F-stop. Basically, the F-stop refers to the diameter of the opening of the lens. The lower the number, the wider the opening. The higher the F-stop number, the smaller the opening.
Zoom vs. Prime lenses. A prime lens just refers to a lens that’s fixed at only one focal length that you can’t zoom in and out with. The truth is that you’re not going to be doing a lot of zooming in your filming career. A cheaper, higher quality option is to actually use prime lenses and whenever you need to frame your subject differently, either move the camera or change the lens to a different focal length.
EXTRA CREDIT
The article has more details and illustrations that make it worth reading.
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2020-05-22 01:30:002020-05-22 01:30:00Tip #707: The Basics of Lenses
Aerials are punctuation for your project, not the entire script.
A drone in action at sunset. (Image courtesy of Pexels.com.)
This article, written by Ryan McAfee, first appeared in Pond5.com. This is an excerpt.
Aerial footage is one of the most versatile types of footage you can use in your projects. In its most basic form, it establishes a location or gives a scope to the story; it can also heighten drama, help transition between locations or subjects, and can add physical and emotional depth to your productions.
The best aerial videographers maximize the utilitarian nature of aerial shots, but also try to push every creative boundary when it comes to dazzling viewers. Here’s how to shoot aerials and use them in storytelling.
In many cases, less is more, and it’s more about maximizing their impact. Show scale, heighten drama, and aerial dolly zooms, aerial hyperlapses, and aerial timelapses also increase the drama just like they would if they were “regular” shots.
Not only do aerials create new perspectives for and enhance the production value of your videos, they can also simply help ease transitions between shots or scenes.
You position the drone or helicopter so that the object or subject is obscured by an object in the foreground, and then reveal it by flying in a direction so it’s no longer obscured. These shots are great for giving importance to the item being revealed, and can also give more context to the scene as more and more is being revealed, like a waterfall being from above.
The article has excellent examples and more comparisons on when to use drones vs. helicopters, along with necessary permits.
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2020-05-22 01:30:002020-05-22 01:30:00Tip #708: How To Shoot Great Aerials
This article, written by Eran Dinur, first appeared in NoFilmSchool.com. This is an excerpt. Eran Dinur’s experiences as a visual effects supervisor who works on a variety of film and TV projects caused him to write “The Filmmakers Guide to Visual Effects.”
Here are five VFX tips to consider.
Be careful with tracking markers. Any markers not part of a VFX shot will need to be cleaned up in post later. There’s no need for markers if the camera doesn’t move during the shot.
Use green on green. The best color for tracking markers on a green screen is green (and blue for blue screens). Just make sure the markers are slightly brighter or darker than the screen itself (having a few types of green gaffer tape around is useful). If you can see the markers in the monitor, they are visible enough to be used for tracking
Successful crowd tiling can save money on extras. When you can’t afford hundreds of extras, crowd tiling is a great alternative. It is also much cheaper (and faster) than CG crowd simulations and digital doubles.
Beware of trying to fix shaky cam in post. Consider these two issues: First, every stabilization also requires a push in, and the bigger the shake, the tighter you’ll need to go. This means that on top of losing parts of the image, you also lose quality.
Keep safety wires behind the actors. Removing safety wires and rigs is standard VFX fare. But not all wire removal shots are equal, and some can turn out to be very difficult and expensive. If wires (or other parts of the rig) cross in front of the actor, it will take some difficult reconstruction of the actor’s moving face, body, and clothing to remove them.
The other, even more significant problem is the fact that stabilization can eliminate the motion, but not the motion blur (there really is no trick in the VFX book to kill motion blur in the footage).
EXTRA CREDIT
Eran’s second 5 tips are in Tip #710. His complete article – and book – are worth reading.
This article, written by Eran Dinur, first appeared in NoFilmSchool.com. This is an excerpt. Eran Dinur’s experiences as a visual effects supervisor who works on a variety of film and TV projects caused him to write “The Filmmakers Guide to Visual Effects.”
Here are five more VFX tips to consider.
Shadow alert. Strong cast shadows on a sun-lit green screen can seriously damage the success of the shot, and you want to do anything you can to avoid this. On a sunny day, it’s best to set up the screen against the sun so that it’s fully in shadow (and the actors won’t cast their own shadows on the screen).
Don’t let elements break frame. When shooting VFX elements, you naturally want to have the element as big as possible in the frame for optimal resolution and quality. But you should also make sure that no part of the element breaks frame. Partial elements that get abruptly cut off are useless.
Shoot VFX elements at high frame rate. Whether you are shooting elements of smoke, fire, debris, blood squibs, dust hits or splashes, it’s almost always better to shoot at a higher frame rate. This allows the VFX team to use the elements at a slower speed and still maintain full quality. Slowing down elements to make them feel bigger is a tried and tested technique.
Black is the new green — sometimes. Green screens work well for people, or cars, or horses—basically anything that’s mostly solid. But semi-transparent elements like fire or water don’t extract well from a green screen. With a black screen, the extraction process is not based on hue but on luminosity.
On set reference imagery is invaluable. Reference images of the set and its surroundings are indispensable for a variety of VFX tasks, from camera tracking to matte painting.
EXTRA CREDIT
Eran’s first 5 tips are in Tip #709. His complete article – and book – are worth reading.
Visual effects jobs are everywhere, but so’s the competition. These tips help you get ahead.
Fill your mind with images.
This article first appeared in CGSpectrum.com. This is an excerpt.
Visual effects jobs are everywhere. Many movies, TV shows, ads and video games depend on VFX to tell their story. These days, almost every major show out there has some level of VFX. However, VFX is an extremely competitive market, so here are some tips to help you get ahead.
Go to a school that specializes in visual effects. This is one of the best ways to gain a foothold in this type of career.
Strive to be the best at your craft.
Create an amazing showreel of your best work. When applying for visual effects jobs, your showreel will often be the first thing a recruiter sees. Be unique with your showreel, grab the recruiter’s attention and keep it.
Never stop looking for inspiration. Continue to grow by feeding off your ideas. Don’t be afraid to try new things, they may not always work, but you’ll never know until you investigate them. When things start to get dull, you need to look for things you may have overlooked before.
Be a great team player. One person can make or break a team. Be conscious of your attitude towards the people around you and what you’re working on. Don’t be afraid to have someone critique your work and vice versa.
EXTRA CREDIT
The article, linked above, contains videos expanding on these ideas.
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2020-05-20 01:30:002020-05-20 01:30:00Tip #711: 5 Tips for Getting a Job in VFX
Vibrance adjusts saturation, without risking clipping.
The Vibrance setting is in Lumetri > Creative panel.
What’s the difference between Vibrance and Saturation? Something significant, actually. Learn more here.
Both these settings are in the Lumetri > Creative panel.
Saturation. Adjusts the saturation of all colors in the clip equally from 0 (monochrome) to 200 (double the saturation).
Vibrance. Adjusts the saturation so that clipping is minimized as colors approach full saturation. This setting changes the saturation of all lower-saturated colors with less effect on the higher-saturated colors. Vibrance also prevents skin tones from becoming oversaturated.
The short answer is that when you need to adjust saturation, you may get better results by using Vibrance, than Saturation, especially if there are a lot of highlights or shadows in your image.
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2020-05-19 01:30:002020-05-15 16:00:11Tip #700: Vibrance vs. Saturation
Building a freelance career just takes focus and a willingness to “just get started.”
Recently, MotionArray.com sat down with freelancer Owen Chikazawa, also known as We Wander, to learn his thoughts on how to be a successful freelance motion graphic designer. This is an excerpt.
Getting Started as a Motion Graphic Freelancer. First off, you don’t have to jump in with both feet. Many artists don’t realize that they can take on a few extra jobs during the evenings or weekends in order to build a strong client base and a portfolio of work.
Going Freelance Full Time. One thing that is important when jumping into the freelance pool full time is making sure that you have enough money to keep you going through lean times. A common mistake is feeling like you will always be busy and not being financially prepared for downturns.
How to Get Work & Stay Busy. So how do you do this? Owen adds, “Go to creative meetups and network.” This might seem like common sense, but a lot of people miss this one. They don’t realize the power of networking. Even meeting other artists can lead to work as they may recommend you if they are too busy for a job. Let everyone know what you do and find events that are more likely to bring you work or connections.
He also suggests:
Be personable and positive
Continuously develop your craft
EXTRA CREDIT
The entire interview is worth watching. Use the link at the top of this tip.
Combining keyframes with behaviors is an easy way to create unusual effects.
A keyframed Motion Path, with the Randomize parameter behavior.
This tip originally appeared as an Apple KnowledgeBase article. This is an excerpt.
Any object can have behaviors and keyframes applied to it simultaneously. When this happens, the values generated by the behavior and the keyframed values applied to the parameter are combined. For example, if you create an animation path using keyframes, you can create a completely predictable and smooth movement.
However, if you apply the Randomize parameter behavior to the same object, its effect combines with the keyframed motion path you created. As a result, the animation path follows the general direction you want, with random variation in it to make it interesting.
Although this example discusses how you can combine behaviors and keyframes to create animation paths, you can combine behaviors and keyframes for any parameter.
EXTRA CREDIT
The article, linked above, has more details and examples.
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2020-05-14 01:30:002020-05-14 01:30:00Tip #671: Combine Behaviors and Keyframes
The default Smart Collection list associated with every FCP X library.
You see them listed at the top of every library: Smart Collections. But, what are they and how can they help us?
At its core, a Smart Collection is a saved search. If you double-click the name of any Smart Collection, it opens the Search Filter window, showing the criteria for that search and allowing you to change it.
You can easily create your own Smart Collections, but the interface is hard to find:
Click the magnifying glass at the top of the Browser.
Click the “slate” icon to the right of the search box.
This opens the Search Filter window.
Make whatever changes you want.
If you simply close the window, the current search is updated with your changes.
If you click the Save Smart Collection button at the bottom right, a new Smart Collection is created.
EXTRA CREDIT
Tip #84
explains how to create a Smart Collection.
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2020-05-11 01:30:002020-05-11 01:30:00Tip #664: What is a Smart Collection?
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