Week 7: From Camera to Screen - Video Editing

This week, Encik Johari has discussed about video editing. Video editing is essential part in the video production process. According to Encik Johari, a few basic purpose of video editing;

1. Properly arrange sequence; to give proper sequence so that the audience understand the story nicely

2. To have meaningful program to suit the purpose / objective of the video

3. To make the program more attractive

The Goals of Editing

There are many reasons to edit a video and your editing approach will depend on the desired outcome. Before you begin you must clearly define your editing goals, which could include any of the following:

Remove unwanted footage

This is the simplest and most common task in editing. Many videos can be dramatically improved by simply getting rid of the flawed or unwanted bits.

Choose the best footage

It is common to shoot far more footage than you actually need and choose only the best material for the final edit. Often you will shoot several versions (takes) of a shot and choose the best one when editing.

Create a flow

Most videos serve a purpose such as telling a story or providing information. Editing is a crucial step in making sure the video flows in a way which achieves this goal.

Add effects, graphics, music, etc

This is often the "wow" part of editing. You can improve most videos (and have a lot of fun) by adding extra elements.

Alter the style, pace or mood of the video

A good editor will be able to create subtle mood prompts in a video. Techniques such as mood music and visual effects can influence how the audience will react.

Give the video a particular "angle"

Video can be tailored to support a particular viewpoint, impart a message or serve an agenda.

Loose Vs Tight Editing

Loose editing is when editor have longer period / timeline for the video, while tight editing is when the editor have to put everything in a certain limit of time. The example of tight editing is on documentary program, and the example of tight editing is to produce commercial advertisement.

Video Leader

Video leader is the opening part of the video, usually display the title of the story. The important of video leader is;

1. As the introduction to the video

2. To show the standard of the video (displaying the colour bar for adjustment)

Linear Vs Non Linear Editing

1. Linear ( Tape-to-tape)

2. Non linear ( Computer editing)

Read more on : 

http://www.mediacollege.com/video/editing/linear/linear-vs-nonlinear.html

Week 6: Avid Xpress Pro HD

This week En. Johari is off, so we have class with En. Aziz, technician in FP Video Editing Studio. He showed us some basic editing steps using Avid Xpress Pro HD software.

Avid Xpress Pro HD

Avid Xpress Pro was a non-linear video editing software aimed at professionals in the TV and movie industry. It was available for Microsoft Windows PCs and Apple Macintosh computers.

Xpress Pro included many of the high-end editing features offered by other Avid editing systems, and was closely based on Avid's Media Composer systems. In conjunction with the Avid Mojo hardware, it provided real-time uncompressed video editing at a professional level. Xpress Pro was capable of sharing media files with Avid's advanced Media Composer editing systems making it a capable logging or off line editing system for larger projects.

Screen Features of Avid Xpress

Week 5: Visit to DSI Control Room

For this week session, Encik Johari brought us to the control room in the Dewan Sultan Iskandar, UTM to see the process of video production of the Convocation Ceremony.

We have been exposed to several equipment in video production such as video mixer. according to Wikupedia,the definition of video mixer is ;

A vision mixer (also called video switcher, video mixer or production switcher) is a device used to select between several different video sources and in some cases Compositing (mix) video sources together to create special effects. This is similar to what a mixing console does for audio.

The main concept of a professional vision mixer is the bus, basically a row of buttons with each button representing a video source. Pressing such a button will select the video out of that bus. Older video mixers had two equivalent buses (called the A and B bus; such a mixer is known as an A/B mixer). One of these buses could be selected as the main out (or program) bus. 

Most modern mixers, however, have one bus that is always the program bus, the second main bus being the preview (sometimes called preset) bus. These mixers are called flip-flop mixers, since the selected source of the preview and program buses can be exchanged. Both preview and program bus usually have their own video monitor.

Week 4: Lights, Camera, Action!

This week, we learn about lighting in video production. Lighting is very important key element to produce good video. The use of different lighting will gives different effect to the video.

Several Types of Lighting

1. Main / Key Light
   The first and usually most important light

2. Fill Light
   May be used to reduce the contrast of a scene and provide some
   illumination  for the areas of the image that are in shadow

3. Background Light
    Used to illuminate the background area of a set. The background light 
    will also provide separation between the subject and the background.

4.  Accent Light

    Lighting that emphasize an area of or an object in a room to make the 
    object  'comes out'.

Type of Light Source

1. Natural Light

   natural light comes from the Sun (or other “suns,” in the case of starlight)

2. Artificial Light

   any light that is not natural and depends on an external source of power

   ie: Tungsten, Halogen, Neon, Streetlightts etc..

More Information from http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/types-of-light-in-photography/

Week 3: Behind The Scene - Basic of Video Shooting

This week, we have been introduced to the several technique of camera handling and types of video shot. Day by day I found that this course is quite interesting because it can open my perspective to explore the things "Behind The Scene".

Common Types of Camera Movements

• Arc
• Crab
• Dolly
• Dolly Zoom
• Follow
• Pedestal

• Pan
• Tilt
• Tracking
• Trucking
• Zooming

  

Common Types of Camera Shots

1. XLS/VLS/ES/WS

    XLS- Extreme Long Shot

    VLS- Very Long Shot

    ES - Establish shot

    WS-Wide Shot2. LS- Long Shot

3. MLS - Medium Long Shot

4. MS - Mid Shot

5. MCU - Medium Close Up

6.  CU - Close Up

7. ECU/ BCU
    Extreme Close Up
    Big Close Up

8. POV
    Point of View Shot

9. Two Shot

10. Cutaway Shot

Resource: Find out more from this useful link http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/

Week 2: Video Production and Terms

For this week, Encik Johari has introduced us to the basic steps of video production. Video production can be deceptively complex. It’s very easy to watch a cool video and get excited about making one like it. 

The video production process is divided into 3 phases:

 1. Pre-production
    Planning, scripting, budgeting, scheduling

2. Production

    Video shoot, graphics design, gathering assets (which can happen any

     time)

3. Post-production

    Editing, sound mixing, color correction, approvals, revisions, output.

   These phases can shift around a bit per project, for example, you might be
    in post production and need to go back to phase 1 and re-write the script 
    or maybe plan additional shoots.

[Click Image to Enlarge]

Terms Related to Video Production / Broadcasting Television Systems

Broadcast television systems are encoding or formatting standards for the transmission and reception of terrestrial television signals. There are three main analog television systems in current use around the world: NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. These systems have several components, including a set of technical parameters for the broadcasting signal, an encoder system for encoding color, and possibly a system for encoding multichannel television sound (MTS). In digital television (DTV), all of these elements are combined in a single digital transmission system.

Source: Wikipedia.com

Week 1 : Ice breaking Session and Overview of the Course

This is the first class on the very first week after quite a long holiday. Honestly I'm taking this course as an elective subject to fulfill the credit required for the Educational Technology course. But then, I felt so lucky because have given chance to learn new things. My  expectation for this course is to gain as much as possible the knowledge and skills about video and animation to be applied in the future.

Definition of Video and Animation

Video:

(adj.) (1) Refers to recording, manipulating, and displaying moving images, especially in a format that can be presented on a television.
(2) Refers to displaying images and text on a computer monitor. The video adapter, for example, is responsible for sending signals to the display device.
(n.) A recording produced with a video recorder (camcorder) or some other device that captures full motion.

Animation:

A simulation of movement created by displaying a series of pictures, or frames. Cartoons on television is one example of animation. Animation on computers is one of the chief ingredients of multimedia presentations. There are many software applications that enable you to create animations that you can display on a computer monitor.

Different between video and animation

Note the difference between animation and video. Whereas video takes continuous motion and breaks it up into discrete frames, animation starts with independent pictures and puts them together to form the illusion of continuous motion.

source: Webopedia

Points to ponder: If a picture worth a thousand words..whats a video worth?