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Vidding tips, tricks and rules

 
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eloramoon
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Joined: 24 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:31 am    Post subject: Vidding tips, tricks and rules Reply with quote

I thought it would be fun if everyone listed:

1) The two best tips they have for other vidders (ie: always use coloring effects to add interest to clips)

2) Their two favorite vidding tricks (this can be a technique, a source, an effect, etc.)

3) Two rules that they always stand by when they vid (ie: Never use a clip for more than x amount of time) (I guess tips and rules are similar, but tips would be something you use sometimes, and rules are something you rarely if ever stray from).


I hope a lot of people will participate! It's good info for those of us who are still learning!
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littleton_pace
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 5:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

haha, fun idea Julia!

1) First tip; definitely always use colouring even just to brighten the natural colour of the clips. it makes such a difference. Second tip; have confidence in your idea. if you're so-so about it; that'll come off in the vid. Be sure of your idea and how you want it to be seen

2) Not really tricks, but I'm a big fan of manipping scenes. If two characters aren't in a scene together, MAKE ONE! Find a way to show what you're trying to get across. it's no use just saying it in the description and hoping people follows. the video should tell the story, so find a way to tell it

3) My number 1 rule, especially when it comes to AU's, is to never think something is 'unviddable'. Never think that there's not a way that you can't do something; because if you love the idea enough you'll find a way. My example of this was in my Leave out All the Rest conmama vid where I wanted Claire to be in the cages with sawyer, obviously claire has never been in a cage. So i found a way to make it look like she was; even tho it took forever. Commit to the idea and bring it into the vid; it makes the payout at the end that much bigger.

and Trick 2... Go with your gut. Sometimes your muse just pushes you to make a vid one way even if you planned on it going another; go with that! Let the story come out as you vid

Rule 2... Hmm...well like you're example, i don't like reusing clips as it can be boring to see the same things again. So if you're vidding a couple that have very limited scenes, like I said before, make more! invent you're own scenes and be creative. That's one of the reasons I love making AU vids/couples; you can do absolutely anything with them.
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Aislynn
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 6:09 am    Post subject: Re: Vidding tips, tricks and rules Reply with quote

eloramoon wrote:
1) The two best tips they have for other vidders (ie: always use coloring effects to add interest to clips)


1. ALWAYS watch your vid after its been rendered. A lot of times something will look fine in the preview and then a stray frame or just some other little oddity will pop up in the rendered version. If you catch a mistake, then don't be afraid to go back and fix it. It's much easier to fix something before you've uploaded it and submitted it and people have started looking at it, than to try to swap in a corrected version later.

2. Sometimes you can come up with what sounds like a cool idea and then when you actually see it in action, it looks... less than wonderful. I find that I have to know when to give up on a "cool" idea that doesn't actually look that good in practice. I would rather not do the one trick idea than to have the rest of the vid look slick and put together only to have one very clunky part in the middle of it. I've wasted a lot of time in the past trying to "save" a trick shot that I'd planned on doing from the start only to finally have to admit that the vid just looks better without it. It can be tough to give up on something but again, I feel like you want your vid as a whole to look its best and if giving up on a trick shot is what makes the vid look better, then that's what I'll make myself do once I've reached the point to where I know I've tried to make it work and it just isn't going to happen.

eloramoon wrote:

2) Their two favorite vidding tricks (this can be a technique, a source, an effect, etc.)


1. It can really add an amazing amount of interest to a very commonly used scene if you flip it. Suddenly Sawyer standing on the left and Kate on the right can make a scene look slightly "new" even though it's one that's used a lot! Obviously, you'll always want to keep your character continuity: don't have them randomly switching sides in what's supposed to be one scene unless that's what you're going for, lol!

2. If you have a scene you're holding on for a longish amount of time (and you pretty much never want to go more than 4 seconds uncut or so unless there's a lot of action to keep your watcher entertained ) or if it's a rather "static" shot (like it's just a character standing there not moving), then adding a very, very gentle zoom in or out can add a bit of subtle motion to keep the shot looking interesting and not like your momentum just came to a stop.

eloramoon wrote:
3) Two rules that they always stand by when they vid (ie: Never use a clip for more than x amount of time) (I guess tips and rules are similar, but tips would be something you use sometimes, and rules are something you rarely if ever stray from).


1. It's not a hard and fast rule but I try to make sure that if I'm doing an AU storyline, I try to keep the editing more "simple" so that I can get the story across. The last thing you want to do is distract away from your AU with such flashy effects that nobody can keep track of what you're actually trying to say with your vid. If I'm doing a canon vid, then I like to brighten it up with more powerful visuals, figuring that most of the people who'll be watching will understand the canon story going on beneath the glitter and glam. Of course, you always want to be able to grasp the story beneath the effects and not have it just look like one long effects vid if you can help it. You want your viewer to be able to answer one basic question when they're done: What was the vid about?

2. I always try to make sure that somewhere in all of the "nuts 'n' bolts" of techniques and rules and making sure that I'm trying to make the best vid I possibly can, that I take the time to remember WHY I started vidding in the first place: because it's awesome to be able to edit pre-existing visual footage with a song and tell a brand new story that was never there in the first place! That just ROCKS, doesn't it? I try to remember how much joy I had when I made my first vid, how I was just as proud of it as if it were some slick, professional looking music video (which it wasn't, lol! ). I always want my technique to be solid but not at the expense of it being all that I pay attention to as I work. I try to remember that one simple creed: vidding is AWESOME! I'm the one who makes it angsty all too often. So rule number 2 from me is "don't forget your joy." If you make a vid that you love, then it's a rousing success right then and there!

And 2b: Never be afraid to break a rule now and again, just be sure you're doing it deliberately for a purpose.
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soapbubbles511
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Joined: 03 Nov 2008
Posts: 8959

PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rule: don't let coloring/textures overwhelm your vid.... I LOVE both coloring and textures... use them all the time... but in general they should be subtle, add to the feel of the vid and not distract from it... overly intense colorings and textures that just look like they're sitting on top rather than blending in are one of my biggest pet peeves... intense colorings do have their place and can be artsy looking, but it needs to be done with a very distinct styling purpose so it looks like a style choice and not overwhelming

Trick: screencaps/freeze frames... another of my faves... on a beat taking a screencap of the last frame and adding it as a picture for a freeze frame effect... then a little zoom and/or rotation to keep a little motion in the vid..

Tip: take control of the clips.... there is no reason you have to use the clips as they appear in the episode... if the shot you want is a bit too short, slow down the clip so it hits the beat you want, nobody will notice the difference if you slow down a clip by 10..20..30% so it fits where you want it... if there is a better reaction shot like 10 seconds later in the scene, use it... two characters are talking, don't feel obligated to use the conversation as it happens, cut it up to fit your vid

Rule: gotta agree with Ais on this one.. rewatch your vid... I recommend rewatching it a lot... rewatch it later with fresh eyes... you'll catch things that you didn't see before, see things that don't flow as nicely as you thought they did...

Tip: be flexible... you should have an idea where you're going with the vid, but if something's not working or you think of another way to get the point across, go for it... some of my favorite manips/scene choices have been things I hadn't originally planned but in the process of trying to make the first idea work found something that worked better

Trick: internal motion is awesome... clips that have a lot of movement within them... or have cool camera angles/motion/zooming.. use them... I started vidding with soaps where there is pretty much none of that and you have to create any motion yourself... so I get super excited when I find interesting camera work... that zoom or rotate or pan or whatever on their own
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Polarbear
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Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 13684
Location: having a bowl of brown with Davos

PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 3:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. Be original. Even when you're doing a canon couple for example try and use scenes that people don't automatically think of or vidding style that stands out.

Don't be afraid to start over or change your story. If it's not working it's not working and you can make it better by starting over on that bit.

2. Making audio stand out - if you create an extra audio layer and put it down by 1.5db under your audio clips then cut and paste the section of your song where the audio is playing and paste it in there. Make sure to remove the crossfades else it can make it sound weird. This helps the audio stand out. Also make sure to rerender audio clips if they are too quiet you can add the volume audio effect to audio clips to make them louder (Vegas.)

Use tags to help plan out your video. All you have to do is press "t" and it will create a tag which you can name something. I use these as important scene pointers so I can see where something is going to need to be fitted in. Also they are very handy for beat use as you can see where a beat is in case you need to change it.

3. Vidding is fun - it should never be a chore so don't treat it as such.

Don't vid just because you like the song make sure it fits with the concept of your video.

Hehe most of you guys had some I was gonna use but I did my best
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eloramoon
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Joined: 24 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great answers, everyone! I hope more people will add theirs!

Here's mine:

Two Tips

1) Use the resources that are available to you. The LVI forums offer an incredible wealth of information, from tips and help, to awesome tutorials, to finding scenes, to links to clips and other resources. Sites with episode screencap galleries (Lost-Media, for example) can be helpful if you want to quickly scan through an episode for ideas for clips. Lost Hatch is great for finding scenes, because you can plug-in a keyword and it will bring up every time that word was said or appeared in the show. Also, there are a bunch of easy-to-follow tutorials on YouTube now which are great if you're just starting to learn a program like Vegas.

2) Don't be afraid to ask questions!

One of the many things that is *awesome* about LVI is that people are more than happy to share advice, give constructive feedback, help with artistic/technical concerns, and share their techniques. I have asked a lot of "stupid" questions, but I've never been made to feel stupid. LVI is very much a "there's no such thing as a stupid question" environment, and whether you're brand new to vidding or a CG winning vidder, it's incredibly helpful to have such a knowledgeable community as a resource.

Two Vidding Tricks

1) Ais mentioned flipping a scene to make it new, and I'll add to that: cropping! Sometimes poor clip quality limits how far you can pull in without it looking awful, but when you have a forgiving clip, pulling in can give an old clip a new spin. It's also very helpful for creating AU scenes. Sometimes you can even use cropping to just make a clip look more interesting, much like you might do when creating a piece of fan art or an icon or something.

2) Make a lyric table to help you plan out your vid: I started doing this recently and it's incredibly helpful. I make a one column, several row table in word. Then, I copy the lyrics of the song I want to use, pasting one line at a time into each row. Line doesn't have to mean sentence--sometimes there can be multiple "sentences" in each row. You can divide out each line depending on how it sounds in the song. Then, you can print it out and write in notes above each lyric. You can mark out where you want a particular effect or transition to go, and write a specific scene you want to use on a certain lyric or line. It can be really helpful to be able to see the lyrics as you go.

Two Rules

1) Avoid using a lot of clips where mouhs are moving. Sometimes it's hard not to use any. Especially when you're vidding minor characters who are only ever on screen because they have a line. But, if it's a series of talking clips strung together it's really distracting.

2) Try not to be discouraged if your videos aren't up to par with everyone else's. We all have to start somewhere, and every single vidder here has beginner vids in their past. (This is a rule I struggle with but am really working to incorporate into my vidding mentality) To echo Ais, vidding is about having fun and creating something that you had fun putting together.
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Vidstep
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Joined: 14 Oct 2012
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 12:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tips:

1) SAVE OFTEN!!! I can't stress this enough. Nothing is more frustrating in video editing than having to re-do a bunch of stuff that you just finished because your program crashed. I can't speak for Vegas but Power Director crashes ALOT, specifically when using sliders for keyframes or coloring effects like hue, saturation, etc... Anytime I'm applying effects I make it a habit to save after every little change I make because you just never know when it's going to happen.

2) Before starting any project I like to just listen to the song a few times and brainstorm ideas of what the video will be about and any particular scenes I want to show at certain parts of the song. I write them down on paper to make sort of a rough timeline of how the video will play out.

Tricks:

1) Quick fades. If I had to choose one video editing effect that was my "signature effect" this would probably it. I love applying rapid fade outs to create a flashing effect to accent fast building drum beats or crescendos in the music.

2) Skipping. Another effect that I like to use is something I refer to as "skipping". For example, lets say I have a scene I want to use of a character walking from point A to point B. The scene is 20 seconds long but I want to fit it into a 4 second part of the song with 4 beats. Speeding the clip up so that it would fit isn't an option because it would look silly with the character walking super fast. So instead, I leave the video speed alone and cut out 4 1-second segments, one from the beginning, one from the end, and 2 from the middle. I can then fade them into each other to create a cool looking effect and also accomplish what I wanted; character moves from point A to point B in 4 seconds.

Rules

1) When clipping out a segment to use for a video, always cut slightly after and slightly before the transitions happens in the video. I generally leave at least 2 frames. This is to avoid having a flicker of a different scene or camera angle that you hadn't intended

2) Anytime you jump ahead and edit something later in the video. Make sure you move it to a seperate channel and lock it. This is to ensure that it doesn't move around while you are doing editing prior to it in the timeline.
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KajaM
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Joined: 28 Jun 2005
Posts: 10438
Location: On the run! (With Sandor)

PostPosted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 11:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great tips!

Quote:
SAVE OFTEN!!!


Yes, yes, yes!!!!!
Sony Vegas is quite fussy with some video formats and yeah, it crashes a lot, too. I sometimes forget to save, especially when I'm totally focused on the vid and the editing and it's so upsetting when the program crashes when you've just finished a bigger part of your vid
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Charlies_Innocence
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Location: down a rabbit hole

PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 12:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

First of all, this is just stuff that works for me... I'm not saying these tips and tricks will work for everyone.

Tips:

1. Don't use clips where mouths are moving! Not in excess, at least. It just looks sloppy.

2. Don't try to be too fancy! Simple editing can look just as good as a vid with a lot of textures and overlays and such.

Tricks:

1. This especially good if you have a slow song without a lot of beats - choose clips that have motion that fit with the music! Ex. if your song has a soaring crescendo, you don't want your clips to be static.

2. Actually, just be sure to match the feel of the song with everything about your vid! If it's a slow song, you probably don't want vivid, bright coloring and a lot of jump cuts. Try a softer, desaturated look, and maybe use fades for your transitions.

Rules:

1. If I listen to a song, think it'd make a great character study or shippy vid or whatever, but I can't visualize what I'd like to do with it, it might be best to find a different song. When I vid, even before I know what clips I want, I can visualize how they're going to move with the flow of the song. I've tried to vid songs that I can't visualize, and I just end up with a headache, an unfinished vid, and some major frustration.

2. Vid for you, no one else. Don't worry about whether or not people like your ship, the movie or show you're vidding, whatever. Don't worry about your number of subscribers, and certainly don't worry that your style of editing doesn't look like everyone else's.
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