Industry workflow: Scripting: Movie is conceived or written Production: Where you create your footage, capturing performances using video or film cameras, as well as audio recorders. Post-Production: This is where you organize and assemble your production footage, putting scenes in proper order, selection the best takes and eliminating unnecessary elements. This is where we will work mostly in this class. Distribution: This is when you release or finish a project or movie for viewing.
Post-Production Workflow Planning Setting Up Logging and Capturing Editing Mixing Audio Adding Effects Outputting
Planning: Choose Format Acquiring footage, music, graphics Deciding on logging and capturing method Choosing an editing strategy Planning your use of effects All of this will determine the time and support you will need to complete your project
Setting Up Connect your Camcorder Housekeeping Choose correct Preset in Final Cut Save and name your file Set “Scratch Disks”
Logging and Capturing Logging is identifying shot on tape you want to capture for use in your editing You can add scene and shot descriptions, logging notes and markers This is how you become familiar with the footage before you begin editing
Logging and Capturing Capturing means transferring source media for your video source to the computers hard drive You should capture all of your footage for your project before you start editing. You can log all of your clips and do a “Batch Capture” You can log then capture each clip individually You can log clips after capturing your footage
Editing Taking your recorded assets, video and audio and arranging them in an edited sequence Usually you start with “rough cuts” a quick arrangement, then fine-tune these cuts once you are satisfied with the order Basic audio editing and synchronizing are part of this process in addition to your transitions such as fades and dissolves Depending on the type of project the editing process may vary
Mixing Audio Once the video is set, you can start working on the audio This may involve Cleaning up dialogue (applying effects processing) Adding sound effects, music and voiceovers Mixing the levels of all the different clips to get a balanced sound mix
Adding Effects Enhancements to you footage Color Correction Special transitions Animation, still or motion graphics Titles, etc.
Outputting Once your editing is finished, effects are added and audio is mixed, you can output your movie to tape, Quicktime, the Web or for use in a DVD authoring program like DVD studio pro
Nonlinear and Nondestructive Editing Nonlinear vs Linear Linear editing “Tape to Tape” Nonlinear editing “Footage stored on Hard Drive” This allows you to access footage instantaneously You can combine shots in different order and change their durations, etc.
Nonlinear and Nondestructive Editing Nondestructive editing allows you to add video and audio effects, do scaling, position, rotation and speed changes to your playback in real time and it doesn’t affect your original footage
Video Formats DV Editing: Native support for DVCAM, DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50, AND DVCPRO HD Broadcast and high definition (HD) format With appropriate equipment you can capture uncompressed SD and HD formats. Beta cam, D-5 HD and HDCAM Project interchange: EDL (Edit Decision List), OMF (Open Media Framework), XML (Extensible Markup Language) Quicktime-compatible files: Because Final Cut uses Quicktime technology, any QuickTime-compatible file can be imported
Audio Formats Final Cut is compatible with audio files with sample rates as high as 96kHz and a bit depth of 24 bits You can work with most audio devices like CD player, multi-track digital recorders and DAT machines.
Video Formats Most are described by the following characteristics: Standard NTSC (National Television Systems Committee) PAL (Phase Alternating Line) SECAM (Based on PAL) Used in France, Poland, Haiti and Vietnam. *Not supported by Final Cut Image dimensions and aspect ratio (720X480) etc.
Video Formats continued Frame rate 24 fps (Film, certain HD, certain SD) 25 fps (SD PAL) fps SD NTSC fps (720p HD) also can be 60fps Scanning method Progressive ( every line from top to bottom) Interlaced (every other line from top to bottom) SD uses Interlaced while HD uses either.
Timecode This is a signal recorded with the video that uniquely identifies each frame on the tape. Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
Understanding Projects, Clips and Sequences Building blocks Media Files, Clips, and Sequences Media Files Raw materials Video, Audio, Graphics
Understanding Projects, Clips and Sequences Clips This is the most fundamental object in Final Cut Pro A clip points to or connects to a video, audio or graphics media file
Understanding Projects, Clips and Sequences Sequences A container for editing clips together in a chronological order
Understanding Projects, Clips and Sequences Projects This contains all the Clips and Sequences There is no limit to the number of items you can store in the project
Understanding Projects, Clips and Sequences Bins This is a folder within a Project that contains clips, sequences as well as other items
Relationship between source tapes, media files, and clips Source tape Original videotape Media file QuickTime movie file captured by you Clip Object in final Cut that represents a media file on a scratch disk When you edit or delete a clip it does not affect the original media file on the disk.
File naming Considerations Try to avoid special characters Watch file separators Punctuation marks, parentheses, quotations White space characters Space, tabs, new lines and carriage returns
Editing should be fun and challenging. You conceive and idea in you head and Final Cut will help you bring your idea to life.