Filming a multi-camera concert is exciting! Specially when you have the proper live video production truck with all available gear and tool. It’s another story to have 5 independent cameras scattered around the Cadogan Hall in London while filming a choir concert. Yep.
You don’t have intercom, so you can’t give real-time directions to your camera crew. You can’t see every camera at the same time. Basically, what I did was run between cameras to check they were on the right shots.
It was very important to give clear directions before the actual concert. The directions were: you stick to filming this side of the choir. No zooms while filming (only quick adjusting zooms to re-frame). Don’t stay on a super wide shot, because there is the fixed camera that covers that.
I have to get better in those directions, and then keep checking they’re being followed. Overall it was an exciting shooting. But I didn’t get to enjoy the concert until I got to the editing room. That’s the view I like! All 5 cameras at my disposal at all times for me to pick. 80% satisfying, 10% challenging, 10% exhilaration.
They filmed it in LA, I edited it between NY and London. There was this snow storm in New York, so my flight back to London was cancelled. What could I do? Well, that’s why this video has been filmed in Los Angeles, and edited between JFK airport, a Virgin Atlantic plane and London.
But seriously, it’s such a pleasure to cut soundbites of good speakers. And these teen Instagrammers with millions of followers (jealous) have definitely good communication skills. It makes me rethink about social media. And human beauty.
Talking about beauty. These are the most beautiful subtitles I’ve ever made. I love it when I have to do style archeology and replicate a brand’s style from scratch. And I hate it at the same time, because I never know if the client will be able to tell the original work from the replica.
No, you’re not the only one wondering where to get the best music to use legally in your videos.
Notice I highlight legally, because you can’t use the last album you bought in iTunes. Not without breaking a few rules and being taken down by YouTube and Facebook. And we don’t want that.
Did you notice how the transitions coincide with the musical beats? Some of them have an extra whoosh sound effect to highlight the movement. And after the intro, the fast-paced main title sequence is cut to the beat nearly mathematically, adding a nice half-way separator after the 4th bar of music, with a splash of water and some metal.
Track 1 is going to be the signature music track for Minkky Meets World YouTube channel, so we took time to select it. We browsed hundreds of tracks at AudioJungleuntil we had 3 candidates and we chose this one. For the tempo, the strings, and specially the light-hearted and happy-go-lucky mood. AudioJungle is a good resource for medium-to-high quality music at an affordable price, that range from $15 to $30 per track. It’s also royalty-free, which means that once you’ve paid for a track and used it in a video project, you have the right to distribute that video project everywhere (mostly) without paying royalties. Check the licensing for details before you buy.
Track 2 is the longest background track in the video. It’s from Audioblocks, just like the next tracks. Generally speaking, this site contains low-to-medium quality music, with the advantage that it offers a yearly $149 flat-rate that allow you to use the entire library in as many projects as you like. I never use music from this site as the presentation music for a project, because it’s not good enough for me and because it’s not unique (there is so many people using that very same track in other videos). But it’s OK to use it as secondary or background music.
Track 3 is what I call a mood-breaker song. I use it for about 50 seconds only and it has a very different tone. Its function is to serve as a separator between chapters, and to accompany a singular passage in the video: the fun silly moment. We couldn’t use it for too long because it doesn’t match the general intended mood of the video (and it would be too heavy to bear with for more than a minute). But it gives the audience the right trampolin to jump straight into the ending song, which is…
Track 4, the sweet ending tune. Such a contrast from the previous chapter! Nice, soothing words to finish the day in a warm blanket, and mellow music to kiss you good night.
Did I tell you I’m starting an online video editing course?
Did you know that 4x as many people prefer to watch a video instead of reading about your product? And that we remember 10% of what we read but 50% of what we see and hear? Video is not the future of the web but the present, and if you’re not using it you’re behind.
In this online course you will learn how to get started with video with a focus on editing. You’ll learn how to work on a timeline, how to cut your footage, add titles and music, and polish the audio like a pro. And you can get started with your smartphone and the simple editing software that comes with your computer by default.
You can get it here as part of the BC STACK 2017, and learn how to Make Video Magic.
So, this one looked pretty easy, right? I’ve got the brief, I’ve got the requirements and some of the assets. Get young, semi-professional sportspeople under heavy sun. Well, I was about to discover the delights of image researchers.
This is the final advert after 8 revisions. The music track was a hit, the first candidate was perfect. But stock footage libraries are quite limited when it comes to variety, I found out.
Of course, it all comes to being precise in your search. But sometimes it’s difficult to describe accurately that image that you imagine in your head. Yes, of course Thesaurus come handy. I find that usually language is not enough. And not just when you’re putting feelings or emotions into words. Also images that, in turn, express emotions.
Great exercise nonetheless. Hey, and I’m enjoying colour grading more and more! Soon I might even get good at this.
No, I haven’t danced for her majesty. But hundreds of people around the UK did a few weeks ago when London celebrated Queen Elizabeth II belated birthday (it is actually in April).
The Royal Academy of Dance is one of the many institutions that have the Queen as her patron, so they coordinated the dancing that took place in the parade. Quite a dedicated group of people rehearsed a lot to deliver their best. And they filmed it on their phones! And this is what made possible this wonderful and energetic short film about their adventure.
It is an exciting interconnected world. Last week took place the Cannes Lions advertising festival. A team of MEC was visiting it and recording their discoveries with Seenit in their smartphones. In the meantime, in London, there I was receiving it and editing those recordings into nice short videos.
And I learnt a few things from Cannes too. Not that the weather was any similar.
The Pink Singers have just released their 4th CD, filled with songs that have been arranged by members of the choir themselves. So I brought my cameras to one of the recording sessions in ENO’s Lilian Baylis House. Here’s the story of the day.
I must have been overexcited, because I filmed so much footage that I couldn’t use in the end. Like the mixing session before the full choir arrived, or the peaceful tuning of the piano. All that footage that you keep “just in case”, for some day.
Last week the Pink Singers had their 33rd anniversary, where they presented their brand-new CD and they were kind enough to give a small token to its contributors. And apparently that included me.
This is a timelapse video I filmed last summer in Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. A seven days hike gave us some very beautiful scenery, as always. This used to be my favourite place on Earth. It’s paradise for hikers, climbers and nature-lovers.
In this video I could experiment with some plugins to try and give it an HDR look. I shot everything with GoPro Hero4 Silver, protune on with flat colours. When I edit, I always do very simple colour grading. With this project I spent hours to fine colour grade every shot.
I found that I had to step back form the screen from time to time, because my eyes got used to the super saturated colours and contrasted lights. And actually, this translated in an increasing fairy look as the timeline advanced. Finally, when I finished grading the last shot I had to start again to try and balance the first ones with the last ones.
Now, when I look at the final work, I don’t see unreal colours. I can’t remember how they were before I boosted them. Reality is more than HDR, so we might as well exaggerate technical images to try and relieve the original paradise.
Every year, hundreds of Londoners gather in the Thai Buddapadipa temple to celebrate the Loy Krathong.
During this festival, people pay respects to the river for the water we use. Many Thais and foreigners come for the shows, the ceremony and, of course, the food. The magnificent Buddhapadipa temple, in Wimbledon, is usually a quiet, peaceful place. But on special occasions like the Loy Krathong the grounds that surrounds it fills up with life, joy and food.
But you can also be silent and make donations to your day of birth, while dropping coins one by one into countless bowls. The peace this brings is unexpected to the western mind.
In this report we also get inside the actual temple to talk with a Buddhist monk about this shiny temple and the beautiful celebration to pay respects to water.
