Browsing Category Tips and Tricks

What’s the difference between a Shotgun Mic and a Boom Mic?

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Brent Pierce

Simple, a shotgun mic is a microphone that has a directional pick-up pattern. The microphone itself is known as a shotgun microphone, due to the “shotgun” type of polar pattern. They can also have cardioid and super-cardioid polar patterns. They are the most common type of mic on a film or tv set.

A boom mic is any microphone that is at the end of a long, extended pole, also known as a “boom pole.” It doesn’t matter what type of microphone you use, if it’s on an extended pole, it is a boom mic. It is the technique of using the microphone, rather than the microphone itself. A boom pole is used to get the microphone in as close as possible to a subject, without getting in the camera shot. Most boom mics are used with shotgun mics.

So, if you have a shotgun mic, and you put it on a boom pole, it becomes a boom mic, as well as a shotgun mic. Kapeesh?

Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic

Boom mic

FCP Quick Tip: Using Audio Properly

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Brent Pierce

In this quick tip, I show you how to use audio in Final Cut Pro 7. The file type needs to be exactly AIFF, 48 Khz, and 16 bit to work natively in FCP. It only takes a few seconds to convert to this format.

If you are experiencing glitches or “pops” in your audio, this is your problem.

Watch on Vimeo

FCP Quick tip: Paste Attributes and Scale to Sequence

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Brent Pierce

In this Final Cut Pro 7 quick tip, I show you how to copy and paste attributes to other clips. I also touch base on the “scale to sequence” command.

Watch on Vimeo

Render and Export in Final Cut Pro

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Brent Pierce

In my years of using Final Cut Pro, I’ve stumbled across the question myself, “Do I need to render before I export in Final Cut Pro?”

Short answer: “No.”

Now, I’m not going to get too deep into what rendering is, but rendering is basically FCP’s way of making preview files for you to view. Sometimes, you can’t view heavy effects or mismatched codecs in your sequence in real-time, so FCP creates render files that allow you to view the clip in real-time.

But, FCP does NOT need these render files to export. Yes, if you create render files, it will use them to speed up the export process, but if you do not create them, FCP will do so in the background while it is exporting.

I usually render everything for a final 100% real-time viewing, but there are rare occasions where I have no need for render files. Such as a 30 minute speech that I am not cutting, just simply placing text and graphics over the entire thing. The text and graphics, once placed on top, will show me that a render is needed to view in real-time. But I know I don’t need to watch the entire speech, so no need to waste time and render. Simply export (CMD+E) and everyone’s happy.

I would, however, strongly encourage you to render, even if you don’t need to preview, if you are sending your timeline straight to Compressor via “File>Send To>Compressor”. Compressor will slow your computer down big time trying to render at the same time as encoding, so definitely render before you send.

Here’s a setting that not many editors know about: ”Unlimited RT”

Unlimited RT is basically a back-hand to the render bar.

Click this. Select "Unlimited RT."

If this option is available, it will show here.

It’s a setting found in the timeline, that forces FCP to play as many frames as possible when your effects exceed the processing power of your computer. Final Cut Pro does this by spending time to process some frames in real time while skipping others completely. It’s not available for all effects and codecs, but if it is available, I always enable it. As opposed to Safe RT, Unlimited RT will change your red render bars to orange, meaning that it will drop frames and quality during these segments to achieve real-time playback.

Red render bars: this is with Safe RT

Orange render bars: this is with Unlimited RT

It’s a pretty cool feature. Depending on your system, you may get a pretty decent 12-15 fps playback. That’s enough to quickly check your effects without rendering. On an old MacBook Pro, playing full 1080p ProRes 422 files, I can only playback about 2-3 fps. So it’s not very usable in that case.

So go on, don’t be afraid to skip the render process if you don’t need it.

3 rookie DSLR problems

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Brent Pierce

DSLR’s are awesome for video. They’re a great way to get great cinematic looks on a budget. They pack alot of power in a small package. These are cameras that we, as consumers, can purchase on our own, yet they are powerful enough to make Hollywood movies. The DSLR revolution has brought out tons of new filmmakers that are trying their hand at making some cool stuff. I bet that most of the videos uploaded to Vimeo are shot with a DSLR.

But, like all artforms, there are a few things that make the rookies stand out like sore thumbs. These are 3 simple problems that, as long as you think about them before you shoot, can be easily fixed.

1. Shaky Footage - DSLR’s have a poor center of gravity and they’re small, so they receive every tiny hand shake and amplify it. Seeing shaky, jittery footage usually makes me turn the video off before I get a headache from watching it.

How to solve this: Get some sort of support. I don’t recommend relying solely on a tripod, as you are limited and can’t walk around or get different angles. Monopods are great for keeping your camera steady, especially during long events. Monopods are a godsend when I shoot weddings. You can also invest in some sort of shoulder rig to go mobile, although it may wear you down after a long period of shooting with it.
People always try to cover up jittery footage with a stabilizer effect in post, but it usually looks horrible. So fix the problem in production so you don’t have to deal with it in post.

2. Too Shallow DoF - DSLR’s are awesome in the fact they they give you a super shallow depth of field. Depth of field is the plane that is in focus. The shallower the DoF is, the more blurred out the background will be. Deeper DoF will get more things in focus.
So the shallowest DoF is better, right? Wrong.
Yes, you want some nice DoF, but one the biggest problems that I see around the net, it too shallow DoF. A common mistake for newbies is to simply crank your aperture open all the way, so you get some “nice” bokeh and the burry “film-look.” This is a problem, especially if you are shooting an event, and have to pull focus as your subject constantly moves.

How to solve this: Don’t shoot wide-open. Ever! Well…..very rarely shoot wide-open. On the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens, if you have your aperture at 1.4, you’re liable to leave your viewers wondering what it is that they’re watching. If you’re shooting a person’s portrait at f/1.4, the tip of their nose may be in focus, but the bridge of their nose will be blurred out of focus. That’s too shallow. If I’m looking for shallow DoF, I usually tend to shoot at least a half-stop up from wide-open, if the subject is contained and not moving around much. If the subject is walking, I’d go at least a full stop and a half up. Yes, the shallowest DoF may make the background look ridiculously blurry and bokeh-y, but not at the expense of proper focus.

3. Poor Exposure - Another very common mistake by newlyweds to DSLR’s is bad exposure. Especially over exposure. It may look good to you on the tiny 3″ screen, but to the image sensor, it may be completely bown-out. When an image has spots that are too bright, it peaks and has no color information. Trying to color grade footage that is blown-out is a nightmare. So, once again, fix it in production so you don’t have to deal with it in post.

How to solve this: Watch you histogram! Before every shot, yes I said EVERY shot, check your histogram to make sure you are not peaking over the top, or suffering with too much lost at the bottom. This will help you to get proper exposure. Most DSLR’s can access the histogram by pressing the INFO button a couple times to overlay it over your video. But don’t worry, it’ll hide itself once you press record so you can see your subject.
Also, you will benefit greatly with an external monitor to simply show you a bigger picture of what you are shooting. External monitors will not only help with your exposure, but your focus and composition as well.

There are many more steps to becoming a great cinematographer, but these are 3 simple steps that can make your footage better.

Using the function key on a compact Mac keyboard

Speed up your workflow with shortcuts

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Brent Pierce

Please note: this article is directed towards Final Cut Pro 7 editors, but the basic principle goes for any application.

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll notice that I talk alot about using shortcuts. I love using hotkeys to speed up my workflow. I strongly encourage you to take just a few minutes and assign a few custom hotkeys to your most commonly used actions. I edit on both a Mac Pro and a Macbook Pro, both of which, have pretty compact keyboards. To access any of the alternative function keys on the top row (like insert and overwrite), you have to hold the fn key down. Using those becomes a huge hassel when you want to be fast at editing.

Using the function key on a full Mac keyboard

Using the function key on a compact Mac keyboard

Since I personally use the top row function keys all the time (lock audio/video tracks, choose audio/video destination, insert/overwrite, etc.), I’ve switched from the default standard function commands, to those of the alternate commands. So I no longer have to hold the fn key to access the insert and overwrite actions. To do this, simply go into your System Preferences>Keyboard Settings>and uncheck “Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.” This will take some getting used to because to access the usual things like volume, brightness, and expose, you’ll have to hold the fn key. But this WILL save time for the hardcore editor.

I have this box unchecked

To view all of your shortcuts, go to tools>keyboard layout> customize, or simply press option H (yes, there is even a shortcut for the shortcuts window.) You need to know the normal and most-common hotkeys. These can get you by with most simple projects:

Transport keys – JKL
All of your tools - I cannot stress this enough. As a professional editor, you NEED to have ALL of your tools memorized and shouldn’t even need to have your tool palette on screen
Zoom – command +/-
Fit to window – shift Z
Cut, copy, paste – command C, X, P
New project - command shift N
Open project - command O
New sequence - command N
New Bin - command B
In and out points - I/O

To be a professional and fast editor, you need to not only know the common shortcuts, but the uncommon ones as well, and even create custom ones to fit your editing best. Here are a few uncommon shortcuts that I have found I use most. Some are more advanced than others:

Trim - Use the brackets [ ] or comma/period. More on this can be found here.
Log and capture - command 8
Mark clip - X
Extend edit - E. Select an edit, and press E to extend it.
Add edit - control V (does the same thing as using the razor blade tool)
Add marker - M or ` (tilde key~top left)
- Edit a marker with M again while on the marker frame
- You can also add specific colors of markers with shift 1, 2, 3, etc.
- You can also immediately edit a marker if you add the option key to the combination above
- You can also extend markers with option ` (tilde)
Go to markers - shift up arrow (previous marker), shift down arrow (next marker)
Video/audio destinations

Set video/audio destination - F6 (video), F7 (audio 1), F8 (audio 2)
- example: to set the video destination to track 3, press F6 then 3.
Lock video/audio track - F4 (video), F5 (audio)
- example: to lock video tracks 3, 4, and 5, press F4 then 345
Insert/overwrite - F9, F10
Play around current frame - \
Add default transition - command T (video), command option T (audio)
Go to edits - up or down arrows. You can also use ; (semicolon) or ‘ (apostrophe) keys
Timecode entry - use the numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) to go to a specific timecode
- You can also use + and – to add or subtract from the current timecode
Open text generator - control X

Those are the advanced shortcuts that I find myself using on every project. Again, not every editor edits the same, so these may not be as popular with your exact editing technique.

Customize keyboard layout window

Once you’ve been editing for a while, you’ll notice actions that you use over and over. You need to apply these actions to hotkeys in order to save time. Here are a few custom hotkeys that I have found myself using the most. I assigned these because I found myself constantly going to the menu to find them. If you never use these, don’t worry about them. Custom shortcuts should be customized to YOUR editing style, not mine:

Insert/overwright - , (comma) . (period)
- F9 and F10 also do this by default, but I found myself looking down for a brief second searching for the F9/F10 keys every time. Using comma and period is MUCH easier. You don’t have to move your hand from the JKL position. And since comma and period have the same default action as the bracket keys, you don’t lose the trim feature when you change them
Audio: apply normalization gain - option N
Send to Compressor - control option C
Send to Soundtrack Pro audio file project - control option S
Export using Quicktime conversion - control E
Composite modes - control command 1, 2, 3, etc

Get familiar with your shortcuts. Glance at the keyboard shortcuts window (option H) from time to time, just to see what you can use. Force yourself to use them. It may take a few days or weeks to learn them, but once you do, you’ll be glad you did. It’ll make you a better editor. You’ll spend less time clicking through menues, and more time creating. The above shortcuts may only be for Final Cut Pro 7, but you need to get familiar with your NLE and figure out what custom shortcuts you need to make.

Load a custom keyboard layout

If you’d like to download my custom keyboard layout for FCP7, you can click here to download it. But, again, you should definitely take some time to figure out what YOU use most and apply those actions to YOUR customized keyboard.

FCP7 tip: Favorites

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Brent Pierce

It can be a hassle sometimes to search for a particular filter or transition in Final Cut Pro 7. Luckily, if you have favorites, you can put them aside and make them easier to find and use. This video tip shows everything you need to know about using favorites.

In the video, I use hotkeys to quickly add an effect. Below is a chart to help explain which hotkey corresponds to which effect. Click the image to enlarge.

Also, keep in mind, sometimes there is an issue where the order of the filters for the hotkeys gets mixed up. This also happens when adding multiple effects under a folder as one preset. If this happens, you may have to remove a few of the problematic effects from your favorites.

View in Vimeo.

Sorry that seems to be an invalid Vimeo URL. Please check it again. Make sure there is a string of numbers at the end (e.g. http://vimeo.com/2104600).

FCP quick tip: Fine Tune Edits

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Brent Pierce

In Final Cut Pro 7, the ripple and roll tools are great to quickly adjust edits with a simple drag of the mouse. But, what if you only need 2 or 3 frame rippled out? It’s pretty annoying to have to zoom in, and use the mouse to roll 2 frames to the right, then adjust again if it’s off. Well, there’s an easier way to do this.

Bracket Editing

Select the edit that you want to adjust either by simply clicking on it, or by pressing V on the keyboard to select the nearest edit.

Decide if you want to roll or ripple. Press U on the keyboard to toggle through roll, head ripple, or tail ripple. You can jump to the next edit with the up or down keys on the keyboard.

Press the bracket keys on the keyboard to shift 1 frame at a time. Left bracket adjusts to the left, and right bracket adjusts to the right. Add shift and it will shift 5 frames at a time.

Another hint: after you make your edit, press backslash on the keyboard right next to the bracket keys, and it will play a preview around your current time indicator. If you loop the playback (control L), it will continually play that preview. While it’s playing, if your edit is still not quite right, you can use the brackets to adjust on the fly while the preview is still playing.

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