Keep Your Effects Simple

Effects

The story I am going to use for this post is Minimoto.

 

This story was on my 2007 Editor of the Year entry.  It’s a natural sound feature.  Looking back on this package and the effects I used, I think it still holds up today.  The effects don’t look dated.  This looks like something I might edit today.  I try to keep all my effects very simple.  I am just looking for a few effects to enhance a story and not to distract from it.  Trust me, I’ve had my fair share of edits where the effects were so distracting you didn’t even know what the story was about.  I encourage everyone to play with all those effects in your palette.  I encourage you even more to create effects of your own.

This was part of a program I produced called Colorado Getaways Extreme.  My co-producer and I liked the show to look different, so we added effects to each story.

You’ll notice as we go along, I use the same effect in a story over and over.

I’m going to take you through these and describe how I did them.  You don’t need a high-end machine to do any of these.  All you need is a simple NLE that will let you do two layers of video.

The story starts right off with effects at [:01].  This is simply two layers of the same video.

Video layer 1 is normal. Video layer 2 is the exact same shot.  I increase the size (scale) to about 200 percent and drop the opacity to about 40 percent. This gives the feeling of speed and a blur sensation.  The video is slowed down by about 50 percent as well.  This helps with the blur sensation.

Right after that is single frame edits at [:02] at half opacity of a swish pan my photographer shot.

I love single frame edits. I use them whenever I can.  I could write an entire post about single frame edits…hmmmm.

  • I use single frame edits whenever and where ever I can.  I love them!

  • You’ll see lots of single frame edits in this story.

Next is a shot of a minimoto moving left to right at [:03].  Video layer 1 is blurred.  Video layer 2 is cropped, so you just see the body of a minimoto, scale increased to 200% and blurred as well.

After that is more single frame edits using that same swish pan.  Using a swish pan and single frame edits create that motion feel.

This is a circle wipe.  I just layed the wipe onto the video like an effect.  Then moved it to match the contour of his face.  The wheel is scaled to 200% to cover the entire screen.

After that sound bite, you see a combination of single frame edit and the effect I used at [:03] This is the exact same crop used from earlier.  I saved the effect.  I do this in a lot of stories like this.  I’ll reuse and idea over and over.

More single frame edits.  I dropped the contrast down to make the bikes look darker here. There is also a slight blur.  Very slight.  The quick cuts are edited to the music.

 The same circle wipe from earlier at [:06].  I just moved to to the other side of the screen.  See, the same effect over and over.

The same circle wipe again at [:09].  Moved down on top of her windshield.  Another slight blur to disguise the bikes a little.

At [:10], I speed up a driver putting on his helmet.

The next shot, I slow down another driver moving her head.  I like the look of two speeds juxtaposed together.

This is a neat wheel shot.  I like editing when a movement has already started (If you know me, you know I’m a massive proponent of editing on motion).

This isn’t an effect I created in the edit bay. I field produced this story.  I had my photographer shoot with a forced perspective.  So as not to give away the true size of the minimotos.

A good idea when doing a story when you want to use the foreground but don’t want to give away all the story.

At [:11], Coming out of that interview above, I have the video scaled to 200% and then quickly resize it to normal.  All of these color effects I use, I’m just playing with contrast.  This is really simple to duplicate. Use your color correction filter.  Drop your blacks down, increase the mids, and highlights.

Another forced perspective.  I love these kinds of shots.

I like to using shots when the photographer is zooming in or out of moving to another shot.  This is an example at [:15].  My photographer was zooming in to get the shot, and I used it.

  • I like using photographer mistakes or the moments before they set up for great shots.

This is two layers of the same video at [:23].  Layer 2 opacity is dropped,  and I scale starting big and pulling back to 100%.  In this same sequence is single frame edits using the same swish pan I’ve been using.  I’m also using the same color effect from above.

Reiterating what I said before.

  • All my effects are straightforward

  • I use the same effects over and over in stories.

At [:25] scale, single frame edits, playing with the opacity, using color correction or color effect, and some cropping, and that is most of the effects I use.

Those simple things are all you need to create effects like these.

From [:26] to [:43| there are no effects.  I do want to tell some of the story without effects getting in the way.  When you’re doing an effect driven story, just sprinkle the effects here an there.  When you’re cooking, you don’t put spices in constantly; you put them, in the beginning, a few during your cooking and then some at the end, right?  Well, you should edit like that.

Notice the next effect section at [:41]. Then, not again until [1:07]. Then the last bunch toward the end at [1:28].  You don’t have to go hog-wild with each edit, just sprinkle it in.

Thanks for reading.

 

Use should be Constantly Experimenting with Natural Sound

Anatomy of an Edit, Natural Sound

One of my favorite stories I have ever done is It’s a Kids Game.

I love using natural sound (you should too).  I love experimenting with natural sound.  I have used too much natural sound in a story.  I have used too little natural sound in a story.  The only way to figure out if you use too little or too much is to experiment.  Ultimately you have to decide if your story has too much or too little natural sound.

I did more than just experiment with natural sound in It’s a Kid’s Game.  I experimented with the rhythm of natural sound in this story.  A long time ago, someone told me that using natural sound elements in threes was his/her guideline or rule, meaning he/she would use three distinct ‘pops’ of natural sound when appropriate.  This rule/guideline helped with the rhythm of stories.

What if you tried to do anything but three natural sound pops.  What if you did four, five, or six.  What if you did just one but tried to avoid three.  That’s what I attempted to do one day while doing a natural sound story.

I’ve written the story out here as if I was following was a script.   So, watch It’s a Kids Game, then read the script, then watch It’s a Kids Game again.

Here is the script;

  • Whiffle ball being thrown
  • The player taking a deep breath
  • Swinging a ball
  • Pitcher saying ‘All right.’

  • “It’s kind of like a swiss cheese ball.”
  • A whiffle ball being thrown
  • A ball hitting the chain link fence
  • A ball bouncing on the tennis court
  • Someone hitting a wiffle ball with a bat
  • Spectators saying ‘nice.’

  • It sounds like baseball.
  • A batter takes a big sigh
  • Someone saying ‘One out.’
  • Someone saying ‘bases-loaded.’
  • The pitcher saying 3,1
  • A batter hitting the ball

  • “It resembles baseball a lot.
  • A batter hitting a whiffle ball
  • Another batter hitting a whiffle ball
  • A batter watching ball go by and hit hitting the net
  • A spectator saying ‘just a bit outside, ball two.’
  • Ball going into net and batter saying aw!

  • They’re all kids when it comes to this game.
  • Guy saying oh! as he misses a ball while batting

  • That’s the first time I’ve ever seen an adult play whiffle ball before.
  • A batter hits a wiffle ball

  • Wiffle ball, all the way.
  • ‘Count’
  • ‘2-0’
  • The natural sound of someone missing

  • The Balls are a lot smaller.
  • Sound of pulling the ball out of the bucket
  • Sound of pitcher’s efforts

  • And they’re a lot obviously lighter.
  • It’s pretty much like throwing air
  • Sound of whiffle ball going by and hitting the fence
  • The guy said, oh!

  • It’s the baby brother of baseball.
  • The guy hitting a foul ball

  • It’s America’s game.
  • One guy hits wiffle ball
  • Another guy hits whiffle ball
  • The guy saying, ‘yeah, baby.’

  • It might be the next Olympic sport you never know, yeah, you never know.
  • The guy saying ‘all right.’
  • Give you something to hit

  • We’re all a bunch of has-beens, bunch of has-beens never will be’s.
  • Natural of shoe scraping ground
  • Sound of his second-foot scraping ground
  • A batter hitting the ball

  • They don’t run like the bases, they just basically have points where um it’s used for 1st base, 2nd base or whatever cause there’s not enough room you know to run.
  • Sound of whiffle ball
  • Sound of the ball hitting the fence

  • You can’t get a full team of guys together anymore. We’ve got work, kids.
  • Bat hitting a whiffle ball
  • Kids saying whiffle ball
  • Gentlemen clapping

  • It gives us a chance to come out and be heroes even if it’s in front of six guys in an afternoon.
  • Guy missing pitch

  • I’m really surprised to see a lot of these guys have gotten it over the fence here.
  • You got it, get over, get over.
  • Hey, this guys just hit a home run.

  • I always used to think it was a kids game, but it’s actually gettin’ to be pretty serious.
  • Bat hits ball
  • Wiffleball comes in

  • It’s just kinda come out here and be a kid for a little while.
  • I should of hit that one.

  • I played it back in elementary school, but that was it.
  • Ball coming in
  • guy hitting ball

  • It is a kid’s game.
  • More adults are getting into it.
  • Ball hits backstop
  • If it makes me just a little bit younger.
  • “Nice, buddy.”
  • I’ll take every second of it I can get.
  • Good game, good game.

As you observed, I only used natural sound in groups of threes only 4 times.  I tried to avoid doing that, but I also had to get this story to air.  I wanted to prove you don’t need to follow some rules or guidelines simply because.  Understand the rules (which are really just guidelines) and then break them.

Thank you for reading

It Went Viral! But did the editing help?

Anatomy of an Edit, Blink Points, , , ,

In my post-news career in the freelance world, I do many different types of productions.  I do corporate videos, presentations, music videos, business profiles, and much more.  The rules of editing I learned in my news career I still apply as often as I can when I produce material today.

This production went viral.  This Ignite talk by Ash Beckham is the #1 Ignite talk viewed ever on Youtube. It’s been viewed over 550,000 times!

My editing had nothing to do with this video going viral.  The content drove it to be viewed by so many.  I do think my editing helped in the viewing and understanding of the content.  Yes, there is a logic in editing this video.

If you are familiar with Walter Murch, you know about blink points.  If you are not, allow me to explain.  When you listen to someone talking to you, your blinks may, in fact, coincide with your understanding of the information.  You quite often blink when you’re brain has processed some info.

Walter Murch has a theory that the human blink is emotional punctuation.  Murch found that nearly every single time he decided to make a cut, a character in a movie he was editing would blink very close to the frame he chose to make an edit on.  He concluded a person will blink every time they understand thought or emotion.
“So it seems to me,” Murch says, “that our rate of blinking is somehow geared more to our emotional state and to the nature and frequency of our thoughts than to the atmospheric environment we happen to find ourselves in.  The blink is either something that helps an internal separation of thought to take place, or it is an involuntary reflex accompanying the mental separation that is taking place anyway.”

As I was editing the Ignite Boulder presentations, I used this ideal.  The first sentence Ash says is, “My name is Ash, and I can say unequivocally I am so gay.” and right after she completes that thought, I make an edit.

I put her graphic on the screen full, and she says, “… eliminating the word gay as a pejorative from our lexicon.” She completes the thought, and I make an edit.

I am using her completions of thoughts to make edit decisions. I’m not using her complete sentences.  Quite often, you see multiple edits make before she completes a sentence.  Now I will sometimes use other cues to make my decision.  Perhaps I make a decision because I want to cut to the full-screen graphic. After all, she talks about it.  For the most part, in this edit, I used what I felt were thought completions. Here’s an example.

Explain to you the difference between what I just said and what this image conveys (CUT).  Now you may be saying Ash we live in Boulder we love gays here, (CUT) we have pride, we have BCAP all true, (CUT) but I guarantee you there are places you go every day (CUT).

As you can see, I’m not waiting for her to complete a sentence but a thought.  Watch the entire video and really concentrate on it when she makes a complete thought.  Watch how often I have an edit at that same moment.

Here is another example in the edit when I use blink points.  At [1:38] she says

“The top row they’ve all come out, (CUT) now the bottom row we cross our fingers but (CUT) until they do, their cartoons and muppets so at the very least they’re happy (CUT).  Now there is a long list of things that you should never call so gay (CUT); an assignment you don’t wanna do is not so gay(CUT). Someone’s new haircut is not so gay (CUT). A workout you don’t like is no so gay (CUT).  A test that you bombed is not so gay (CUT). Someone’s car is not so gay (CUT).   Now again, I may be preaching to the Boulder loving gay choir (CUT).”

Blinks point can be used in ANY type of edit.  Blink points should be used in EVERY edit.  Next time you are stuck with where to make an edit, think about blink points.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

The Cut. It is an effect too!

Anatomy of an Edit, Cuts, Effects, Natural Sound

The story you are about to watch put me on the map.  Several talented people took notice of my developing skills.  I won several awards for this story.   You should have a story like this, a story everyone notices and lives for a few years.  Ok, enough about that.

This is an educational blog, so what can you learn from a story like this.  You can learn that the basic elements we use every day can turn into an effect.  Yes, the cut can be an effect.  This was edited in a tape-to-tape edit bay back in 1999.

Our story for this post is New York Street Boys.

In this post, we’re going to talk about

  • Using a cut as an effect
  • Using quick edits as a transition device

The cut is the device storytellers use most often.  I’d guess over 95% of the content you see in film, television, and the web uses cuts.

We often see storytellers use effects to enhance a story.  Many of us know what effects our NLE are capable of and can grab any one of the numerous effects to enhance a story.

New York Street Boys is an effect driven story, except the effect is simply a cut.

Our story begins at [:02].  It starts with a wide shot of crowd gathered.

After that shot, we have 44 cuts in less than 8 seconds.  All of these cuts are edited to the beat.  I’m creating an effect by merely cutting quickly.

I understand I wanted to have fun with this story.  Rarely you ever get an edit that just calls out for a certain kind of edit.  I could have easily edited this with significantly fewer edits and had a good story.  This is a case of wanting the edits to enhance the overall experience of the story.

There are only 3 shots that are wide shots within that series of cuts.  Your eye probably only recognized two of those wide shots.  I did that because of the way the brain process information.  The brain can only process so much information at a time. If you’re going to use this type of editing and you still want the viewer to gather information about the story, tight shots are the way to go.

Try to use a vastly different shot.  Wide and tight and/or different colors or diverse elements.  This will help the viewer’s eye and getting information.

I’ve established the style in which I’m going to tell the story right from the beginning.  I’m going to use quick cuts, often single frame edits.  Does this represent the way the eye would work if you were there?  No.

New York Street Boys is not about imitating the eye.  It’s about using a tool, in this case, a cut to enhance the viewing of the story.

  • I want the viewer to see the story, hear the story, and I’m going to try and make them feel the story.

Quick cuts are my attempt to take the viewer as much into the story as I think I can.

In the series of cuts from [:12] to [:14], the tight shot has little going on in them.

In a few frames, you see the drumstick hitting the trash can.  But other than that, I keep what’s going on in the quick edits simple.

In the first 14 seconds of the story, I have lots and lots of cuts.  It would be an epic edit if I kept that pace up throughout this piece.  I don’t do this for a few reasons.

  • I don’t want this style to get in the way of the story
  • I’m just trying to use it to enhance the story in places
  • It would have taken me a long, long time to edit.

So from [:14] to [:31] I’m only just trying to tell a story.  I also introduce our first character in the story.

The next time I use quick edits is at [:32].  I’m using it as a transition device to introduce another character.

I do this quick edits transition again at [:52] to introduce the final character.

Looking back on this story, I realized I didn’t introduce the viewer to him like I did with Alex and Dean.  I guess that’s the reality of natural sound stories.  You don’t always have all the elements to tell the whole story.  It is a true talent to tell a great natural sound story.  I did a good job.  I did not do a great job.  You should always strive to tell a great story and have the editing secondary.  Honestly, I flipped those guidelines for this edit.  I put the editing first and the story second.  I will happen to you many times in your career.

At [:58] I use quick edits again as a transition device.  The story moves from them banging on trash cans to banging on their heads.

I have quick edits again at [1:09].  I use them for a transition to the crowd.  I felt I needed a little crowd reaction here with cheering.

  • You’ve got to have a reaction to all those actions in a story

I go back to quick edits at [1:15] to transition to the final element of the story.  The New York Street Boys using fire.

Again at [1:22] for the beginning of the fire portion of the show.

And then there’s my big finally at [1:32].  After doing all these quick edits in certain places, I wanted to create a big finale in the editing.  Just like the New York Street Boys create an end for the viewers in the mall, I wanted a big finish for the viewers watching the story at home.

Our story closes with a series of reaction shots from the crowd.

This was one of the most fun stories I’ve ever put together.  It took me about 8 hours to edit.  I edited this story tape to tape.  There are 246 edits in the story.  It runs [1:45]

Quick edits, when used in an appropriate story, can often enhance a story like this.  Taking the viewer in more intimately than even someone watching just a few feet away.  Frankly, it was a ton of fun to put this story together.

 

 

Eye Movement – They’ll remember your story better, no really!

Anatomy of an Edit, Eye Movement

There is research that shows horizontal eye movements causes the two hemispheres of your brain to interact with each other.  A lot of this research is about eye movement and memory recall.  If you can get your audience’s eye moving horizontally more than they would typically and there is even the slightest hint that they’ll remember your story, I say that’s one more tool in your editing arsenal.

The story I am going to use for this post is Lots of Snow.

We want to get the audience’s eye moving across the screen. Let’s break down doing this. I’m a huge fan of any movement in your edits. Now let us see if we can actually guide the eye around the screen.  Eye movement;

  • Makes your story look better
  • Movement imitates life and the way your eye would pick up visual cues
  • You can also move the viewer’s eye with audio cues
  • Eye movement helps the viewer retain more information in your story.

If you are hesitant to buy into my logic, here is some research on eye movement

Moving Your Eyes Improves Memory, Study Suggests

A quick eye-exercise can improve your performance on memory tests (but only if you’re right-handed)

This does not work for every edit.  If I could get this to work for every edit, I’d be an editing genius. I’m not.  I do, though, understand the power of making the eye move.

Let’s examine our story.

Our story begins with two wide shots of the East High practice field covered in snow.

The first 3 shots in the story don’t have any movement, except for the opening shot of the high school student [:01] walking away from the camera.

I usually don’t like editing so many shots back to back edits without any movement.  In this case, I wanted to show the practice field with no action going on, just snow.

But at [:09], I establish a good portion of what the story is about with the shot of shovels and kids. And…

our eye movement adventure begins here.

You probably didn’t notice, but your eye was focused on the turned over traffic cone [:07].  Then your eye immediately moved to the left of the screen to pick up the shovel at [:09].  Your eye then moved from the left of the screen to the right side of the screen, where a young girl is pushing down on the shovel with her foot.  I have your eye exactly where I want it.  Because in the next shot at [:10], you see snow added to a pile.

  • I used a visual cue to move your eyes

In that instance, I led your eye visually.

Your eye is on the right side of the screen when the next edit comes along, and it moves to the right side of the screen. It’s not a visual cue, it’s an audio cue this time.  You here a girl say, “It’s time to get out and play.” Your eye immediately starts searching for who is saying this.  Your eye discovers it’s a girl on the left side of the screen.  I moved your eye again.

  • You can lead the eye with audio cues

At the end of this shot, a shovel throws snow across the screen.  As your eye moves with the snow, the very next edit at [:13] has shovels moving primarily on the right side of the screen.  This is another time when I’m leading your eye across the screen.

The next 4 edits don’t have a lot of eye movement.  Like I said, as much as I try, I can’t accomplish this in every edit.

At [:24] we pick up some more leading the eye.

Your eye moves to the right side of the screen and the end of the shot.  The very next shot has action I want your eye to focus on right there on the right side of the screen.  Your eye now focuses on the shovel and actually stays mostly on the right side of the screen.

As the shovels are pushed into the snow, and I make an edit.

Everything in the next shot at [:26] is screen left. I’m moving your eye to the left simply because there is nothing to see on the right side of the screen.

I like to have a balance.  Meaning an equal amount of action on the left side of the screen as on the right side of the screen.

  • By keeping your eye moving, I’m also balancing my edits

Shooting with the rule of thirds really helps in balancing your edits.

The next shot at [:27]

I keep your eye on the left side, but your eye now moves down and will focus on the shovel at the bottom of the screen.

At roughly the same point at the bottom of the screen in the next edit, a tarp full of snow begins moving as your eye picks that up.

It’s the action at the end of the edit at [:28] that helps with eye movement.  Editors often wonder when to start an edit.

  • I think it’s just as important to think about what happens at the end of the edit as well.

In this case, the shovel pushes into the snow, I make an edit, and there’s your eye right where I want it to be.

The next 3 edits don’t really have a lot of eye movement.

At [:35], Your eye moves to the left of the screen, searching for who is talking.  The next edit is a tight shot of the tarp dumping snow.  The action starts screen left and moves your eye screen right.

Your eye then comes back to the left as you focus on the man singing at [:37].  As he bends down at the end of the shot…

your eye moves down. I’m leading your eye to the next shot of a shovel right where the shovelhead is.  Again, what’s going on at the beginning of the edit isn’t nearly as important as what’s going on at the end of the shot before I make an edit.

That shovel moves screen left-right to the next shot of a person throwing snow.

I have a lot of first eye movement from [:48] to [:51] Pay attention to the shovels.

My favorite edit of this story happens at [1:05]. It’s what happens at the end of the edit that makes these two shots work so well together.  You see, a girl picks up snow and throws it.

And the very next shot is snow coming down on the top, on the right side of the screen; right where I want your eye to be.  This is also matching my action.

Editing with Eye movement logic isn’t something that I understood immediately.  It takes a while to work into stories and understand how to make it work.

I have to admit I never would have known about eye movement had it not been for John Hyjek.

@shawnmontano

The Edit Foundry on Facebook

Less edits and longer shots make a slower pace in Video Editing

Anatomy of an Edit, Pacing

Pacing – To advance or develop (something) at a particular rate or tempo.  That definition is most appropriate.  Pacing first and foremost should advance your story.  How do you advance your story with pacing, you ask?  The pace of a story or a section of the story tells the viewer a lot about the story.

Are we about to get into a car chase?  Tell the viewer that.  Ramp up the pacing to say, “Here we go!”

Are we about to start a love scene?  Slow down the pace of the story. Let the viewer know where gonna take it slow; unless the love scene’s pacing should be faster?

Everything has a pace.  Let’s go back to that definition again;  To advance or develop (something) at a particular rate or tempo.   We should develop something? Developing the story, a scene?  Once you know what you’re trying to develop, you can begin to set the tempo.

Everyone loves to listen to music.  The music you enjoy is a great place to start learning about pace.  Ever heard of Tears for Fears?  They produced this song Mad World

This song definitely has a pace.  To me, the pace feels too fast. Why?  Because the Gary Jules version, in my opinion, is better and has the right pace.

The same song with two different paces.  Is it possible for two versions of a story to have two different paces?  You betcha!  The pace will help the viewer understand how they’re supposed to feel.

Do you want the viewer to feel the urgency?  A faster pace would do that, like in the story. It’s Bad.

This story’s pace has a slower pace.  That pace is helping tell this story.

Our story for this post is In Search of Flatter Ground.

Our story begins with a medium shot of the airplane in the field.

I then cut to a tight shot at [:02] of a lucky rabbit’s foot.  The sound bite says, “we’re going to try and get it off the ground.”  I thought it was somewhat symbolic of luck.  The pilot was lucky to land in a field and not crash.  He’ll need a little luck getting the plane back off the ground.

The next shot at [:04] is up for 3 and a half seconds.

I’m establishing the pace of the entire story with one shot.  You need to see the car going in the bumpy field.  The bumpy field is critical to the whole story.  I am establishing the pace of the story.

Now let’s see if I can stick to it.  Remember, that shot was up for over 3 seconds!  Anyone ever told you or have you ever read 3 seconds is about how long it takes someone to adsorb everything in a shot in a story?  I feel that’s jibberish. No two 3-second shots are the same. Each is unique in the information in the shot.

The entire process of getting the airplane out of the field is slow and methodical.  That’s how this happens.  I’m going to try and convey a slow and methodical story.

The very next edit of the car at [:08] is also over 3 seconds long.  Damn, again, with those shots up for a while?  If the shot is up longer, then there must be fewer edits.  Fewer edits and longer shots make a slower pace.

At [:12] I have another wide shot of the airplane in the field.

I keep this shot up for over 2 seconds (sensing a trend yet).

The reporter in this story helps tremendously with pacing.  She has a calm delivery in her narration.  There is no sense of urgency in her voice.  She’s only telling the story.

  • A calm delivery helps control the pacing

Another way I help with pacing is how I use natural sound.  At [:25] is a tight shot of starting the airplane.  This shot and the natural sound to support it is up almost a full 2 seconds.

The next time you hear the plane is at [:29].  I leave that natural sound up for over a second and a half.

This shot is also up for 4 seconds.

At [:35] I have another shot of the plane.  The natural sound up for nearly two full seconds.

The shot itself is up for nearly 5 seconds.   I also leave this shot up so long because I want the viewer to see the difficulty in trying to take off from this field.

They finally get the plane out of the field.  They have to maneuver through cattle gates to get the aircraft to a better place for takeoff.  I’ve never seen an airplane maneuver through cattle gates, have you?  This shot is beautiful and worth leaving up for over 3 and a half seconds, and it helps with pacing.

There are a lot of great shots in this story.  The next shot at [:49] is one of my favorites, and I almost didn’t put it in.

Initially, I just had the plane on the highway.  No cop car in front of it.  The reporter came into the edit bay and suggested I change it.  She was right.  This reveal of the plane on the highway really makes the story.  At the beginning of the shot, I just use the natural sound of the wind.  I let the shot breath.  It’s a great shot, and it helps with pacing.

The final shot of the airplane at [1:09] is the last, and I leave it up until our story is over.

At [1:12] and for a full 3 seconds, you just hear the natural sound as the plane goes down the highway and disappears, only to reappear airborne.  All this is helping with pacing.  It’s also the single most fabulous closing shot I’ve ever had in a package I edited.

  • This story has 27 edits
  • This story is 1:26 long
  • Average edit every 3.18 seconds
  • Slow pace

Just for comparison sake.

A story with a faster pace is It’s Bad.

  • That story has 41 edits
  • That story is 1.17 long
  • Average edit every 1.87 seconds

Play with pacing.

It’s another great tool to make your editing better.

Thank you for reading.

@shawnmontano

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The Logic of Natural Sound in a News Package

Anatomy of an Edit, Natural Sound, ,

Call it the NPPA style of storytelling if you like; I just call it good storytelling.

  • Sprinkle natural sound moments into your story
  • Break up narration with soundbites or natural sound
  • These elements are ultimately about helping the viewer

Sound helps the viewer get into the story.  The sound makes them feel like they are there witnessing the story as it’s happening.  Watch movies. The ambient sounds carry you away and into the story.  Storytellers presenting stories in this style are trying to do the same thing.

There is logic to the use of natural sound.  I’m going to try and explain my philosophy to the use of natural sound.  The story I’m going to use for this post is It’s Just a Drill.

We’re going to talk about the logic of natural sound.

  • Natural sound helps with action and reaction
  • Natural sound can help grab the viewer’s attention
  • Natural sound can act like an adverb
  • Natural sound can act like punctuation
  • Natural sound at the beginning of narration or soundbites can help change location
  • Natural sound when appropriate reinforces a narration or soundbite
  • Natural sound can help with the rhythm of a story
  • The natural sound should be relevant to the story

The story starts with an action [:01], a woman screaming, “get me down.”

This is followed by a reaction of a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) member at [:02] telling the woman, “I need you to be strong.”

  • Simple action and reaction

This is followed by another woman screaming at [:03], “Find my daughter please somebody!”

Those 3 pieces of natural sound set up the entire story.  I’m also grabbing the viewer.  Viewers aren’t always paying attention to the television or a website when a story starts.

  • Natural sound is an excellent way to grab the viewer

The first narration from the reporter is, The screams are real.

When I think of natural sound, I think of it as an adverb in a sentence.  What’s an adverb?

  • An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb
  • Adverbs generally answer one of four questions; how, when, where, or to what extent.

A simple sentence with an adverb is, He ran fast.  Now think of this in the world of stories you’re going to edit.  The reporter narration is, He ran.  You follow that with a piece of the natural sound of a person running fast.  Your natural sound is acting as an adverb.

In our story, the first narration at [:06] is The screams are real.

I then use a woman screaming, “Help.”  Its kind of like modifying the verb screams in the sentence like an adverb would in the written word.

The next narration at [:07] is, The injuries and the blood are not.

I follow that sentence with a woman sighing at [:10].

This piece of natural sound is acting more like an exclamation mark.

  • Exclamation marks are used at the end of sentences or a short phrase which express a powerful feeling
  • An exclamation can accompany mimetically produced sounds

In a story, you might right read, “The lion went roar!, and I ran away.”

In the world of stories you are editing you might have a narration, The lion roared, and then you’d have the natural sound of the lion roaring.  That would make your natural sound an exclamation mark.

At [:10], I have a woman saying, “It’s scary for us.”

I break up her sentence with the natural sound of a woman saying, “I don’t wanna go down, I don’t wanna go again.”

Here, the natural sound is acting like a comma

  • a comma can be used to connect independent clauses, as in; My friend, wearing green pants, is playing football outside.

The sentence in this part of the story would read; “Its scary for us, I don’t wanna go down I don’t wanna go again, but we need to learn in this kind of exercise, 3, so that when a real one happens that we’re prepared.”

Just like in sentence structure, you don’t randomly put words or punctuation in the right?  If you apply that same logic to natural sound, I think it’ll greatly enhance your use of natural sound.

Watch the story again.  Notice the placement of natural sound and think about sentence structure.  Notice I don’t break up a sentence from either the reporter or a soundbite unless there is a natural pause, like adding a comma.

Notice when the natural sound comes at the end of a sentence from the reporter or a soundbite it’s acting more like an exclamation mark.

At [:19] I use the woman on the backboard before a sentence.

She moans.  Using natural sound this way, I’m changing location.  As you can see, they are now outside the arena.

DISCLAIMER

  • These are guidelines for using natural sound
  • These are not rules
  • This is my logic

I don’t follow these guidelines every time I edit.  Sometimes I add natural sound by feel.  Stories have a rhythm.  Sometimes I add natural sound just to keep the rhythm going, like a drum in a song.

At [:24] I have a CERT volunteer laying down a tarp.  You hear the natural sound of him putting the tarp down on the ground.

This natural sound is not an adverb, a comma, an exclamation mark, or a location change.  It’s merely there to help with the rhythm of the story.  You see him and the tarp later in the story.  So, it’s relevant to the story.  It’s just not appropriate at this moment.  This brings me to another topic of natural sound.

  • Relevant Natural Sound

Ask yourself when you’re editing a story.  Why is that natural sound there?  Just cause isn’t a good enough answer.

  1. It’s relevant to what’s going on is a good answer
  2. If you were there, you’d hear that is a good answer
  3. It’s helping tell the story is a good answer
  • Relevant natural sound is simply sound that helps tell the story and not some random piece of noise.

Back to our story

At [:27], I use natural sound again to change location.  The natural sound of the horse gate opening is taking us inside the barn. Then the narration is, They are real-life neighbors learning how to manage emergencies.

The natural sound that follows is reinforcing the narration.  I have a woman asking a girl on a backboard, “Is that painful?”  What is she doing?  She’s managing the emergency.

  • I love when natural sound reinforces a narration or soundbite

After her natural sound action, I have a natural sound reaction of the girl on the backboard saying, “yes!” Then I have a CERT volunteer picking her up saying, “on the count of three.”  This is a natural sound sequence.

At [:36] is the natural sound of the CERT volunteer saying, “Is everybody good?” I’m using that natural sound like a  comma.

At [1:00], the natural sound is used to change location.  At [1:02], the natural sound is used to change location again.  Again at [1:05] with the woman screaming, “Mommy, where’s Lexi.”

I love using natural sound.  I love it when I can use one shot and all the natural sound within it.  At [1:05] is a prime example of me milking a shot for all it’s worth.

I start the shot with the woman screaming, “Mommy, where’s Lexi?”  I back time the next time she says “Mommy,” and a natural pause in the narration.  Then, I start the soundbite and wait for a natural pause in her sentence at [1:14], which is natural sound acting like a comma.

The natural sound comes, well very naturally to me. With time I hope it comes naturally to you.

This was a story I edited in one hour.  So practice, practice, practice.  After a while, the logic and use of natural sound will just become second nature.

Thank you for reading my blog

Check me out on Twitter @shawnmontano

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Are you just a video editor? Neither am I.

Anatomy of an Edit, Editing and Writing, Emotion, Multiple Skill-set, , , , , , ,

This is a video editing blog.  I try to give you insight into my mind and the process I go through in editing stories.  I’m not just a video editor.    I produce, I shoot, and I write as well.

I wrote stories as a child.  I wrote throughout college.  I love writing.  I wrote my first story for broadcast for a news station way back in 2001.  Since then, I’ve dabbled in it here and there.  My primary job for most of my news-careers was just a video editor.  I slowly developed my skill as a writer.  In the beginning, I never narrated the stories I wrote.  This is one of those daily news stories under deadline I wrote.  I know this is a video editing blog.  I think it’s essential to be more than one skill-set.  So, allow me to explain my simple logic for writing a story.  Oh, yeah.  I edited this story too.

The story I’m going to use for this post is Miss Doe

When I log sound, I don’t write the entire sentence down.  I write the beginning of the sentence and then maybe a few keywords to help me remember the rest of the sentence.  I want to have just enough written, so I remember what was said in each soundbite I log.  I don’t always write my log on paper. Sometimes I’ll use my N.L.E. and write in the comments.  The first thing I do is put soundbites down on the timeline.  At this moment I don’t need them in order.

Once I’ve got my soundbites on the timeline, I start building a story with only sound.  I arrange the soundbites so I can create a story without any narration.  I have got a good skeleton of the story.

What’s a skeleton?  For me, it’s just soundbites strung together.  There is no b-roll or narration, yet.  I watch this over and over.  I arrange and re-arrange until I get some cohesive story.

When I write narration, I just want to create bridges.  They connect the soundbites.   I write simple sentences.  I try to make them as conversational as I can.

I’m not a great writer.  I am a good writer.

  • I try to keep my sentences plain and simple
  • I read it out loud, trying to make it sound as conversational as I can
  • I try to apply both these rules to writing this blog as well

The story begins with two soundbites butted together, followed by narration, “Jack and Lori Cavanaugh spend their mornings watching wildlife.”

I’m just writing to video.  I know I have a shot of each person, and a shot of wildlife. Simple stuff here.

I have a narration, “but on Christmas Day,” followed by a soundbite, “We have the deer come across our property all the time,” followed by another narration,  “a strange sight caught their eye,” followed by another soundbite, “Christmas morning, I looked out the window with my coffee.”  I simply just created a bridge between the soundbites.  It’s that simple.  Ok, it’s not that simple.  It takes practice to write narration.

In his story, a deer has an arrow in her nose.  We don’t have a video of the deer, but we do have pictures.  The question I had for myself was when to reveal the deer.

When Lori’s talking about the deer at [:20], I decided to show a shot of the deer for just a second, but not long enough for your eye to comprehend precisely what’s happened.  I chose a tight shot to only reveal the dear and not precisely what’s going on with the deer.

The narrations is, “a deer they nick-named Miss Doe was clearly suffering.”

We are [:29] into the story.  I’ve revealed her injury.  I felt good that I didn’t drag this moment out to far.

I show a picture of the doe again at [:42].  She’s the story.  I only have pictures of her.  The challenge for me in this story was not to over-rely on her photographs.  I also want to try and make sure I was showing her enough.

The following narration is, “Jack and Lori called immediately called the division of wildlife.”

You’ll notice when the reporter says Lori I don’t immediately cut to Lori.  On this story here at [:46] and at [:06], I tried to make cuts, but the edits didn’t feel right.  They felt rushed.  I was forcing S.W.A.P. (Synchronizing Words & Pictures)  I don’t want to force edits.  The edits are where they are for pacing purposes.

Speaking of pacing, you’ll notice the pacing of this story is very simple.  There’s emotion in this story.  I’m not going to rush it.

At [1:01], Lori gets emotional after her soundbite. At [1:04], her soundbite ends. I leave her up sniffling for almost 4 seconds.  I never try and cut away from emotion.

I try my very best to keep what I write to a minimum.  It doesn’t always work.  I like it when the people tell as much of the story as possible.  Try putting as much of the story down on the timeline, then you may realize that a lot of narration isn’t necessary.  Watch the story again.  There are a few cliches.  I know. I tried, but some of those simple cliches worked.  Pay attention to how much the soundbites drive the story.  Most of the information you get is from soundbites.  Obviously, we don’t get all the info from soundbites, and that’s where narration comes in.

  • Try writing and editing a story
  • You’re writing will get better over time

Your storytelling skills will improve with writing

Thanks for continuing to read The Edit Foundry.  Don’t forget to like The Edit Foundry on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @shawnmontano.

 

 

The Goodbye Talent Edit

Anatomy of an Edit, Opportunities,

Over the years, I have cut many goodbye stories.  This happens in every market.  It’s a story you should look forward to editing.  It always has emotion. How can you not want to edit a story that has emotion?

For this post, our story is Goodbye Ernie

Ernie Bjorkman retired from television news in December of 2008.  He was on the air in Denver, beginning in 1982.  What can you learn from me editing a goodbye video? A lot.

The first thing to remember is this is an opportunity to edit a good story.  You should never turn down a chance to edit a good story.  It’s practicing your craft, and it’s a chance to make people laugh or cry.  Those are 3 good reasons to edit goodbye talent pieces.  Be the go-to person for these edits.

The process for you will likely be similar to mine.  A producer will hand you several pieces of file media, some talent saying their Goodbye and off you go.  The rest is usually up to an editor.  You may have to sift a little.  You may have to spend some extra time in an edit bay logging.  All these things will pay off when people thank you for your effort.  Make people laugh, make people cry, and get thank you’s from the staff.  I’d call that a good day.

My idea is to take the same route, you would if it was a story with no narrator.  Weave the soundbites into a story.  Add lots of moments from the talent’s career, and you have a great edit.

Just like in a story with no narration, I try and use as much natural sound as possible.

At [:03], We see Ernie working as a trash man for a day.

The reporter I use first says, “You know sometimes there is a man,” I then cut to shots of Ernie with a trash man saying, “Let’s pick up some trash, man.”  My natural sound reinforces the reporter’s soundbite.  Just like you try and do with your daily news stories, I apply the same logic to this story.

I try hard to keep this up throughout this piece.  The next soundbite is, “And I don’t want to say a hero, ’cause what’s a hero really.” I use this great shot of Ernie looking left.

He looks hero-ish.

The next soundbite is, “Sometimes there is a man, well he’s just a man.  He fits right in there with his time an place.”  Ok, well, he is a man.  I don’t want to show the reporter.  This is a goodbye piece.  I want to show our anchor as much as possible. I do use older videos here.

I have 9 edits in 18 seconds so far.  I’m averaging an edit every two seconds.  The final runtime of this story is 4:10.  That’s a long story.  I want to keep the viewer interested.  I want a brisk pace.  I’ve got my work cut out for me.

At [:28], I move on to another reporter.  A younger reporter.

She says Ernie’s been like a father figure to her.  I sift through my media to find Ernie working in a pre-school.

I am not just using any video.  I’m reinforcing the thought just like I would in a standard news story.

Next up was the main weather anchor.  At [:58], Dave says, “I can’t believe it’s been 8 years from the day I walked into the door.” I sifted through my video and found a shot of the weather anchor walking into frame.  Kind of like walking into a door.

It’s close.  I’m trying.  If you work just a bit harder, it’s these little things that will make your pieces better.

At the time of the edit of this story, Ernie was pursuing a career as a veterinary technician.  I used as many stories as I could find, which had animals and Ernie in them.

As you continue to watch, the story notices my use of natural sound spliced among the soundbites from anchors and reporters.

Also, notice the effort I made to find a relevant video.  At [1:39], a morning anchor says, “He’s been a Denver favorite for the past 75 years.”  I found this shot of Ernie with a mauve jacket.

That certainly looks like something Ron Burgundy would wear.

The final Goodbye is this story is from his co-anchor.  At [3:39], she speaks about looking up to Ernie.  I found this great shot of Ernie looking confident.

Just trying to do my best in this story.

At [3:55], I decided to add this part with her co-anchor and weatherman.  They are wondering if he’s gone yet.  Here is the final shot in the piece.

Can you have a better closing shot than this?

This was the best goodbye talent piece I ever did.  Why?   I applied the logic of editing I would use daily.  I thought all those moments splitting up all the talent soundbites really made this stand out from other goodbye talent pieces I’ve seen.

Thank you for continuing to read The Edit Foundry.

Please like The Edit Foundry on Facebook and follow me @shawnmontano on twitter for daily tips and thoughts about editing.

 

Good Edits are Subtle Edits

Anatomy of an Edit, Cuts, Eye Trace, midmotion, , , , , , , , ,

The art of editing comes down to frames of difference.

It’s 3 frames here or 4 frames there that can make each and every edit so much better or so much worse.  This post is about some of those subtle editing tips.

The story for this post is Sentence Please.

We’re discussing

  • Subtle editing tips
  • Staggering audio and video edits
  • Maximizing shot potential

Sentence Please is a story I edited in just a few hours.  Under the opening shot, you hear the announcer.  He’s telling a speller a word.  I  stagger the edits.  I create a J-Cut and an L-Cut in the first two seconds of the story.  These are also known as split-edits.  For those of you not familiar;

  • A J-Cut is when you hear audio from a shot and then see the video. You make the letter J visually in the timeline.

  • An L-Cut is when you cut to a different video, but the audio from that previous shot remains.

In Sentence, Please hear the announcer say, “Speller, your word is Malaria.”  The first shot of the story is a wide shot of the room with the announcer audio.

I make a cut (video only) and show the announcer.  That is a J-Cut.

Then I make an L-Cut.  You continue to hear the announcer, but the video is that of a speller.

In addition to using J and L cuts, I’m also employing eye trace.

I want to take the shot of the speller in pink [:01] right as she turns her head.  The turn of her head helps acknowledge the announcer to her left (our right).

I am also trying to back-time the shot of her, so she speaks the word right after the announcer finishes speaking.  In case you didn’t realize, I merged two different versions of the announcer to make this work.  The photographer didn’t pan quickly from the announcer to the speller.  The edits made it seem like two cameras were shooting the spelling bee.  Create the illusion of a two-camera shoot in your edits.

You’ll see plenty of split-edits in this story.  You’ll see plenty of split-edits every day in everything you watch.  Split-edits are a part of the craft that you should notice all the time.  No really! You need to start seeing split-edits everywhere.  They are a vital component of editing.  Take notice of them in your favorite movie, your favorite TV show, even your favorite commercial uses split-edits.

Let’s continue with the story and some more subtle editing tips.

The first reporter track in this story is “52 kids sat on the stage.”

For 52 kids, I show a lot of kids on stage. The next shot is that of a speller’s nervous hands.

I take the edit the second I see him fumbling with his hands [:05] nervously. The simple tight shot shows he is nervous.  I also take the edit mid-fidget.  Meaning the action of fidgeting has already started.  Having as many edits with the action already started also makes edits look more natural.  You should try to avoid making an edit before any action begins.  Again this is another subtle tip.  An important tip.  Try taking your edits mid-action more.  Your edits will look better, and your stories will flow better.

  • Very often the action within a shot can help convey a subtle message

I want to keep reinforcing the kid’s fidgety state throughout the story.

After a shot of another speller at the mic, the reporter track is “All with one goal in mind.”

The next shot is that of a speller looking down.  I take the edit right when she moves her hand around.

Her motion helps convey everyone’s feelings while they are on stage.  I also take the edit midmotion.

The difference between a good editor and a great editor is something that comes down to the frame you choose.  In the edit, did I prefer something that helped convey the message of the story?  Really start asking yourself, why is that shot in my story, and why did I take the edit the moment I did?

  • I cannot stress how vital editing midmotion helps your overall editing.

At [:17] I’m milking a shot.  I like to maximize shots visually and auditorily.  I use the shot, and the speller says meticulous twice.  I place the reporter track within the two times the speller says meticulously.  It’s a subtle way of getting more natural sound into a story.  If you’re under a deadline, this is faster than trying to find another shot.  You’ve got the shot on the timeline.  See if you can milk it for all it’s worth.  Just remember not to dry up the shot.  Meaning doesn’t leave it up for any longer than you should.  Vague, isn’t it.  Every single shot in every unique story is different.  There is no hard rule for this.  It’s a feeling you get once you become a good editor.

At [:20], the reporter track is “The 7 to 14-year-olds each won their Boulder Valley or St. Vrain school’s contest to get here.”

I still want to show that uneasy feeling onstage.  This shot of a 7-year-old perturbed was too good to pass up.  His expression tells so much.

Don’t you just love this shot?  I do.  That’s why I’m writing about it.  This shot has emotion in it.  As I previously wrote, I always cut into emotion and never cut away from it.  Do you think I cut away from this shot too early? I do.  I should have left it up just a bit longer.

This shot is subtle. I wait to take the shot the second she scratches her face.  Movement in every edit is what I strive for.  Even if it’s something this subtle.

You’ll also notice a good amount of edits that are backtimed.  Meaning I make a cut visually and back time the edit, so the natural sound moment I use plays right into a piece of narration or a soundbite.

Back timing edits are another tool to help blend and stagger audio and video edits.

Watch the story again.  This time pay attention to what each kid is doing in each shot.  Also, pay attention to how the action in the shot helps convey their feelings.

Little things like what’s going on in your shot, and when you take the edit can often make a good story just a bit better.

  • Every shot in this story has meaning
  • There are many split edits in this story
  • Subtle moments help make a story better

Thank you for continuing to read The Edit Foundry Blog.

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