@cineblur What bitrate do you export with?

— Chad Whisnant (@VideoWiz19) April 15, 2013

When exporting, you usually refer to the bitrate of the video in Megabits per second. Don’t get Megabits confused with Megabytes. They are not the same thing. Megabits, or Mb (lowercase b), are used when referring to transfer speeds. Megabytes, or MB (capital B), are used for file sizes.

These setting are what I use when exporting for web streaming. When exporting a 720p video, I use 5 Mbps. When exporting a 1080p video, I use 10 Mbps.

I find that using the “auto” bitrate feature takes longer to export and creates larger file sizes with more compression. So, using auto bitrate is an all-around bad idea.

Simple. If you stick to those guidelines when exporting for web stream such as Vimeo or Youtube, your video will look great while still maintaining a small file size. Keep in mind, if you are exporting for broadcast or other outlets, your bitrate will vary. Always ask them what their preferred settings are.

3 tips for Video Technical Directing in a live church production

When working in a live church production, there are many roles required to pull everything off. One of the most important roles in the video department is that of the technical director. The technical director is the person calling shots and putting up the camera feeds on the big screen. They’re kind of a big deal, so it’s very important that the director is trained and always on-point with the flow of the service.

The point of a live video production is to convey the worship atmosphere to anyone watching the video. The viewer needs to feel like they are part of the live congregation and get a similar worship experience. So, how do you, the director, accomplish that?

Before we dive deeper into directing, we need to get a few things out of the way first, and this is very important. Your camera operators need to be trained and comfortable behind the controls. I understand, your camera ops might be volunteers, but they still need to know how to operate and do their job well enough to be able to use their creativity. They need to be able to compose and frame a shot without being told exactly how to. They also need to be able to “keep up” with director’s lingo during the service. This will all make your job, as the director, much easier.

That being said, there are three simple tips that I tell new directors to always keep in mind.

1. Always be thinking ahead.

This is one of the most important and obvious things that a director needs to know. As the director, it is your job to know what is happening before it happens. If there is a solo coming up, you need to have a camera ready on the soloist BEFORE they start the solo. If someone is about to speak from stage-left, get a camera on them BEFORE they start speaking. You need to always be one step ahead and think about where your cameras need to be to capture the moment.

Although your camera ops need to have the same mindset and be ready for the next move, it is ultimately your responsibility not to fall behind the action. Run-throughs and rehearsals are crucial for directors. When watching rehearsals, you get to see where everything is happening and how to best capture the moment. When I direct, I have a service order in front of me for the entire service. That way, nothing sneaks up on me.

Usually, you will have access to the worship set before show-time. This will give you a chance to listen to the songs and give you a good idea of how they will be played. Knowing where the verses and choruses are will help the flow of your directing and help you think ahead.

Always having a “fallback” shot will definitely help with this as well.

A “fallback” shot is basically a shot that you can fall back to in any situation. If you have all of your cameras pointed at a singer, what happens when the singers stop for an instrumental break? Or what if the band decides to throw in a last minute bass solo, and you don’t have a clear shot of the bassist yet. In situations like that, it’s a great idea to go to your “fallback” shot. Wide shots usually make good “fallback” shots. Drum shots also make great “fallback” shots because the drummer is almost always doing something interesting. Always having a “fallback” shot will save you whenever the action stops or something unexpected happens.Remember to always asses where each of your cameras are and make sure you have a “fallback” shot for any situation.

2. Be specific.

What does this mean? Here is an example: you’re directing and you see a guitar solo coming up after this chorus, and you know you need a guitar shot. Most new directors just naturally say, “Somebody get the guitar.” Then, every camera gets the same guitar shot. Now, all of your cameras are redundant and not usable.

Be specific on which camera you are talking to. If you are trying to tell camera 2 to slow down their zoom, don’t just say, “slow down.” Say something like, “Camera 2, slow down your zoom.” Adding a few extra words eliminates confusion for your camera operators.

If you see that cameras 1 and 2 have identical shots, be specific on which camera needs to change their shot. Don’t say, “Cameras 1 and 2, you have the same shot,” because both camera ops are likely to change their shot. Instead, say “Camera 1, change your shot.”

Remember, you have a bird’s eye view of the entire situation and every camera angle, your camera ops don’t. Let them know exactly what you are thinking when directing.

3. Don’t micro-manage your camera operators.

This one is tricky. As a director, it is your job to direct the camera ops and give them guidance and instruction. But, at the same time, don’t micro-direct them. Let them do their job. You don’t need to waste your time telling them how to get every single shot.

Yes, there will be times where you want exactly a certain type of shot, and that is fine to tell them that, but don’t do it every time. You need to give the camera operators creative freedom to make cool stuff happen. You’d be surprised at the awesome stuff that comes from camera operators when you just let them do their job and use their creativity.

How would you feel if your boss was always looking over your shoulder tell you how to do your job. Bosses are there for guidance, they’re not there to do your job for you. It’s the same with directing camera operators.

Newer camera operators might need a bit more guidance then seasoned camera operators, so if you know you have a new volunteer on a camera, be patient and direct them for shots, but still let them figure things out on their own.

Bonus tip: Don’t be afraid to cut.

When I first started directing, I would always use the fader on the switcher, especially during worship sets. I would never cut between shots, because I was afraid to. It is simply much easier to mix between shots because it doesn’t take much timing or thought, and it’s just easier. But, I soon found out that, if you want to get good at directing, and properly convey the emotion and energy from the live worship environment, you have to cut sometimes.

You need to find a good pacing of the songs to cut to. For new directors, it’s usually easiest to simply cut on the beat of over measure or two, but, eventually, it’s good to cut both on and off the beat.

During a high-energy song, if you are only doing slow dissolves between shots, you are absolutely killing the energy that is happening on the stage. There are times to dissolve, and dissolves are very powerful when used correctly. But, using dissolves for EVERY transition, is not using them correctly.

Cutting is especially appropriate for dialogue scenes. If you are transitioning from a wide shot to a tight shot of someone simply talking or praying, a dissolve usually looks weird. Whenever I transition between cameras with people just talking, I always cut.

You will only get better.

Knowing these tips will not make you the perfect director, but they will help you along your way. You will only get better with experience. Every director develops their own unique style of directing over time. Remember to be patient, and let the flow of the service happen.

The project works in After Effects CS4 and above. I’ve also included static images of the lower third in case you don’t want to use the animated version. The font that I used is a free font from dafont.com called “One Direction.” I’ve included it in the download.

My favorite piece of gear, the MoneyMaker, is HoldFast’s most popular product. It’s basically a multi-camera strap that goes around the shoulders and chest. It’s made of high-quality leather and is EXTREMELY comfortable to wear. And, since it’s made of leather, you can load it up with as much weight as you need without the fear of accidentally breaking a strap or buckle. And, it’s simply stylish.

Quick View video

If you find yourself needing to shoot with multiple camera bodies during a shoot, then you definitely need the MoneyMaker.

Holdfast Gear

I’m adding floating Dust Particles in AE for a Music Video. Should I grade before or after VFX? @cineblur #decisions

— Tim Bullock (@Tim_Bullock) January 31, 2013

Answer: After

Color grading after visual effects are added will make the effects seem like they are seamlessly integrated in the scene. You might have to correct your VFX a bit before the grade to match the original footage’s white balance, exposure, etc, but when you add a visual effect such as particles or flares, adding an overall color grade after they are added will make them seem more realistic and lifelike.

What on Hulu.

Gorilla Grain is basically footage of real grain taken from actual 16mm and 35mm film. You overlay the real film grain on your DSLR footage to make it look awesome. It’s really fun to play with and adds that realistic vintage look to your digital footage.

You can use Gorilla Grain seamlessly with any editor. Just overlay the grain clips over your footage. You can really dial it in to your liking with things like transparency and using a lightness or contrast effect on the grain. I used Gorilla Grain for this video. I even used the included sound effects.

Go check out Gorilla Grain. There is a “Super Pack” which contain all the film grains, as well as individual packs to purchase. Gorilla Grain has also paired up with Color Grading Central to offer “cineLook,” a filmic FCPX plugin, with Gorilla Grain built in.

Gorilla Grain LINK

cineLook with Gorilla Grain LINK

As an interactive webs series, you get to choose your own ending. At the end of the first Youtube video, annotation popups allow you to choose how you want the episode to end. The first episode introduces the clumsy duo and serves as a great pilot for the series.

Take a look (make sure Youtube annotations are ON):

Watch episode 1 on Youtube.

I personally like the “make her seem drunk” ending the best.

This series has TONS of potential. Check out their website, Facebook, Twitter, and make sure you subscribe to their Youtube channel.

Alot of people have asked me if it’s OK to use templates in their video projects. Short answer: “Yes.”

Templates are tools to help you do your job faster and be more efficient. Now, keep in mind that if you’re hired to create something completely unique and specific for someone, using a template kind of defeats that purpose. Also, if you are thinking about using a template for paid freelance work, you’ll have to make sure that the license that you are purchasing with the template lets you legally use it for paid work.

And, if you do use a template, I encourage you to customize the template to your project. Dont use it exactly as-is You can simply replace a background to match other elements; change colors, fonts, etc.

We recently had a big women’s conference at my church……not a conference for big women, but a women’s conference that was big…..anyways, I was given the last minute task of making intro video bumpers for the 4 different speakers. Instead of rushing something from scratch that would of turned out mediocre, I purchased an After Effects template. I customized the temple and adjusted the timing to match my music and voice-over and the videos turned out great. And it only took me about an hour. Here is one of the intros. I used a template from Video Hive called “System Error Promo.”

Project templates can also be things other than videos. Check out this overview of a DVD menu template from Precomosed.com.

Speaking of template resources, here are a few:

• VideoHive.net
• Precomposed.com
• VideoCopilot.net
• RevoStock.com
• AEdude.com
• Ruffkutmedia.com
• AEprojects.com
• AfterEffectsProject.com
• YouMakeMotion.com
• YourWeddingInMotion.com
• Fantazo.com
• BlueFX.net
• MotionArray.com
• FreeAEtemplates.net
• 10 FREE AE Templates (via PremiumBeat.com)
• 10 more FREE AE Templates (via PremiumBeat.com)