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How Times Are Changing!
Did you know House episode "Help Me" was shot entirely on a Canon 5D Mark II? Digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras mimic a 35mm Hollywood-esque quality that is widely popular among low-budget consumers.
Factoid for thought
House "Help Me"-Season Finale, Sixth Season
Originally aired on Fox-May 2010
1. Shoot for Editing
If you're pressed for time, the last thing you want to do is sift through tons of footage and wonder which shots should go where. Oh, and do you even remember what you shot and in what order? Try and shoot in the order of your edits. Chronologically. If not, that's okay. But definitely know where you filmed your OPEN and CLOSE shot(s). This will give you the right pad at the beginning and end of your edits.
2. Use Color Bars
If your camera has the option, insert and record color bars in between shots while out in the field. It's an industry standard for sports and newsmakers. Color bars can keep tabs and mark what you feel are important moments while filming. When you go into edit mode, you know where your good shots are since they're marked.
2. Save the RAM
I cannot stress enough how important it is to have steady, quick workflow while editing. Unless you're up and running with full-fledged company hardware, if you're like me, you need to be wary of how many programs are open during editing. Your editing software's minimum system requirements have to be met based on the amount of RAM (random-access memory) available. If your RAM is being stressed by other open programs, close them out! If not, expect huge lag times (with Macs, the "spinning wheel of death") and or program crashes. Yeah, yikes!
4. Export, Reimport
Sometimes open file projects will get too big, draw too much memory from multiple advanced edits and slow down our operating speed within our program. That's okay. Go ahead and export what you have and then reimport your video file back into either the same or a different project file. Even if you were using a ton of effects or other tidbits that draw a lot of memory, your system won't recognize the added features of that file and will just see it as a single clip. Nifty, right? You should be back up to speed!
5. Export as H.264/MPEG-4
AVC
This video file is gold when it comes to exporting. Both types are identical and export with low bitrate (smaller file size) and remain high quality.
6. Analyze Video Length
Keep it concise. It can make all the different to someone's attention span. In 2008, Tubemogul, a technology marketing service, reported that "Most videos steadily lose viewers once 'play' is clicked, with an average 10.39% of viewers clicking away after ten seconds and 53.56% leaving after one minute.” Source: Online Video Viewers Have Short Attention Spans
7. Experiment
You're working with film technology! You have such an awesome opportunity to provide great visuals for people who may never meet the maker. Give them and yourself something new and exciting. Challenge yourself into making something unique and worth every second of someone
else's time. DON'T SHOOT
THE DUCKS!