1:30 this afternoon I was requested to pull together a national, public facing project that will debut in about 6 weeks.  Requires filming both in Atlanta and in Tennessee.  2 hours later, concept is completed, film crew is booked and research is underway.  This is on-top of the other 20ish projects I’m already managing.

The beauty of having a right and left brain that play very well together.  My left brain works quickly to come up with the creative and a narrative.  Then the right brain kicks in to plan out the technical, scheduling, crew and travel to execute that creative.  Doing all that in less than 2 hours, well that’s what makes me LOVE what I do.  Telling amazing stories.

Stay tuned for more blogs from the road once we get going.

The post Quick Thinking for a Quick Storytelling Turnaround appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

The corrugated division wanted to create an emotional connection to our audience.  I decided to let the box tell his own story.  Who knows the story of corrugated better than the box himself?  Drawing on my four seasons of animations with Alton Brown and “Good Eats,” I crafted the animation to be a combination of styles including paper-craft and stop-action.   The style allowed us to inject a lot of fun and humor into an otherwise dry subject.

Atlanta Artist Colleen Finch created paper-craft models which I both photographed and manipulated with stop action photography in GP Studios, Studio B.  The images were photographed in RAW giving us ultimate flexibility in post to manipulate the imagery to suite the style.   Parts 1 and 3 were animated by Atlanta artist Amanda Davis while I animated Part 2.

The wrap-around live action were filmed locally in Atlanta using the Sony FS7 in the 4k format.  The finished piece was produced and uploaded to YouTube in 4k which I believe is a first for Georgia-Pacific.   All in all a very fun piece and the start of what we hope will be a long and varied campaign.

You can view Part 1 here.

The post New Branding for Georgia-Pacific Corrugated appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Before the scripting even began, I followed my normal plan of attack, working backwards from the end.  How the film would be displayed influences how the project would be produced.  Video framing, camera movement, sound design, graphics design and more are all affected by how the viewer will experience the presentation.   Because the idea was to immerse the audience into the presentation, I proposed filming in a super wide format, akin to the original 1960’s CinemaScope 2,55:1 aspect ratio.  We would film in standard 4k 23.98 and then crop the image vertically to create the ultra-widescreen effect.  This was important to decide before production because the videographers had to frame correctly for the center 1/3 of the image.

I originally proposed an over-sized, wraparound screen for the ballroom.  Something that would fill the field of vision vertically and wrap out from the wall at least 25 degrees to create that ‘you are there’ feeling.  The viewers would have to turn their heads a little side to side in order to see everything.  That was going to require a screen over 75 feet wide and 8 feet tall and proved to be too expensive for the budget.  Then Director of Studio Operations, Brad Hinton discovered a ‘virtual theater’ concept whereby the viewer would be immersed in a 360 virtual theater with the CinemaScope widescreen at the front.   VR goggles using a Samsung smartphone, all triggered simultaneously so the audience experiences the film together.    Straight ahead would be the big screen, wide enough that they would have to turn their heads a bit to see everything.  If they looked all around, they would see the rest of the movie theater.  So we could create a ‘traditional flat’ presentation and our audience would be immersed into a VR theater.  It was a brilliant discovery and knowing that delivery mechanism up front was vital to the rest of production.

Since the viewers would be wearing the headsets, we had to be conscious of camera movement.  This presentation was not designed to be an entertainment attraction so we didn’t want to have fast camera moves that could be distracting or worse, make our viewers motion sick.   All camera movement was designed to be horizontal (left to right or right to left) and it would be done slowly and deliberately.  For the motion shots, we went with an OSMO rig with x5 camera to stabilize the camera moves and all other videography was done with the Sony FS7, both shooting in 4k, 23.98.

The scripting process involved many stakeholders including the Sustainability department in Atlanta, research and development in Wisconsin, Dixie brand in Atlanta, paper making facility in Alabama and the Dixie plant in Kentucky.  What I discovered was that there was no way for me to script the intricacies of the entire manufacturing process.  The better way to tell the story would be through the people who actually know the process at the facilities.  They can speak freely in their own words because they live it every day which creates a more natural piece.  So the scripting process was more of an outline and key bullet point process.  In order to keep the running time reasonable, I worked with the stakeholders to identify the key elements of each step of the process.  Then created an outline so each person would focus on only those key areas.   I designed the presentation to go from start to finish of the process with each segment handing off the process to the next step.  The two areas that were fully scripted was the opening segment on Sustainability and the close featuring the head of the Dixie brand.  I Directed the opening scene in the forest while the filming in the Naheola and Bowling Green facilities was Directed by Doug Congleton.

Once filming was completed, I pulled together the storyline from transcripts and worked with Editor Scott Franklin to assemble the story.  Ultimately we ended up with a frame size around 4096 x 1605.  It created that ultra-widescreen look and really forced your eye to look at what we wanted you to see.  Because the screen was so big in the viewers eyes, we chose a small, minimalist graphics package that would not detract from the visuals and break the ‘you are there’ feeling.   Because the audience would all be wearing individual headphones, we ensured that there was good stereo separation and sound placement to further reinforce the ‘you are there’ experience.

Ultimately the presentation far exceeded what was requested from the client and multiple divisions from GP have come back to request a public facing version be created.   Understanding the delivery mechanism of the message and working backwards from the end is how you achieve engagement results for your message.

The post Taking the Dixie brand to VR by Working Backwards appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

DP Brad Hinton showing some moves in GP Studios, Studio A

We filmed entirely in GP Studios, Studio A, located in Georgia-Pacific’s headquarters.  A 2600 square foot space with a 3 wall hard cyc so we were able to get the nice, neutral white limbo for the backdrop.  Camera was the Sony FS7 set up for 4k, 23.98.   We put out an open casting call for any and all employees at GP HQ to come on down in intervals over a 4 hour period.

Using the storyboard for a guide, I had most of the talent perform most of the lines and scenes so we had lots of options in Post for the assembly.  With the huge space of Studio A, we were able to let the employees cut loose with the basketball and got some great moves on camera.  The GP Dubuque facility makes pizza boxes, so we incorporate that into the piece and it was hilarious watching the employees try to spin a pizza box like a basketball.

Believe it or not the hardest part of the entire shoot was getting a vertical stack of 26 Dixie cups to stay in place.  The tallest basketball player ever was 8 foot and 1/2 inch.  I wanted to visually show that height with the cups.

The original idea was to scotch tape them together, but the tape would not stick to the Perfect Touch outer shell.  DP and Director of Studio Operations, Brad Hinton rigged a tall pole into the lighting grid.  We used the lids as an interlocking device, you can see the dark strips at every second cup.  Very thin strips of white gaffer’s tape to the hold the stack to the pole and voila!  We had a stable stack of Dixie Cups.

I cut the piece in Adobe Premiere Pro and did the color grade using both the Adobe Lumetri tool and Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Color Suite to really give the piece a punch.   The piece recently premiered on GP’s Facebook Page.   Enjoy the spot and Happy March Madness everybody!

The post Georgia-Pacific is Tourney ready. Are you? appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Prior to a recent cruise I picked up the iOgrapher for my iPhone 6.  Having seen the product at NAB a few times, I knew it created a stable camera platform for the iPhone making the camera much more useable.  I was more than impressed with the stability and ease of use of the system.  In fact I shot a LOT more video than I originally intended on the cruise.  While I was really happy with the with overall results, I felt that camera control and audio quality were lacking.  The iPhone camera auto irises too much and the color temperature changes, sometimes at random.   When the phone is mounted into the iOgrapher, the microphone is essentially blocked by the unit.  So before my next trip, I knew I wanted to improve both areas.

For audio, first off, you’ll need an adapter to convert the stereo TRS mic feed into a TRRS signal that can be recorded by an iPhone or iPad.  Just connecting the stereo mini jack to the phone or iPad will not work.  Here’s the Rode SC4 adapter I picked up for this purpose.

The first mic I purchased was the Rode VideoMic Pro which was recommended to me by multiple folks, but the darn thing didn’t work.   The first 9v battery I installed overheated to the point of needing tongs to extract it from the battery compartment because I couldn’t touch it.  Yes, it was installed correctly, but it overheated.   I absolutely HATED the battery configuration on this unit.  The battery door is below the front of the mic requiring you to remove the mic cover, the battery door itself feels like it’s going to break, and to actually get the battery out, you need to pry it out with something.  So instead of having a replacement unit shipped to me, I decided to go with something else.

I found the Shure LensHopper VP83 which was highly rated on multiple sites and it takes a AA battery which I prefer to the 9v.  There is also the VP83F model which has an onboard digital recorder.   The mic comes with shock mounts which are a must, low cut filter and three position gain (-10db, 0, +20db).   I can say the mic just works.  Battery installation was a snap, connect it to the phone and that’s it.  It’s VERY directional staying focused on what’s in front of the camera and minimizing off axis sound.  Very impressed for a sub $200 mic.

For camera control, Filmic Pro was a highly recommended app and very reasonably priced.   Clicking the gear icon at the bottom brings up a standard set of controls for your recordings.  On my new iPhone 6s I can set the Resolution as high as 4k 100Mbps!  Generally I leave the resolution set to 1080p 50Mbps and that gives me a great recording.   Frame rates can get from timelapse up to whatever is the highest speed available on your device.

Looking at the main app screen You’re presented with what looks very familiar from a “regular camera” viewfinder.

Right away you can see how nice it is to have the running time and audio meters right there at the bottom of the image. To the right of that you can also see both a battery indicator and right below that, a storage indicator.   Nice touches that we’re used to seeing in “regular cameras.”

The two overlays on the screen are “reticles” with the circle being exposure and the square being focus.   Simply drag each reticle to the area you’d like to draw your exposure from and keep in focus.  If you’d like to lock focus or exposure, simply tap them so they become red.  Locking the exposure is especially sweet so you don’t get a whole series of iris changes in the middle of a move.

In the upper left of the image you can see a twirl down triangle, click that to reveal a series of additional controls across the top.

Manual audio adjustment, grid pattern, camera stabilization, reverse camera, the light and my favorite, zoom control.

Tapping on the zoom control brings up the zoom slider on the right.  Simply touch and hold the + or – to zoom in and out with the camera.  It’s easy to control with my right thumb while holding the iOgrapher and it’s surprisingly smooth.  Down in the lower left you can see what looks like a flower icon, that’s white balance.

Press and hold most any control and you’ll be presented with full manual control over that option.

Here I’ve brought up the manual exposure controls which include ISO, Shutter Speed and Exposure.   Simple select the parameter to be adjusted via the icon on the bottom, then slide the adjustment up or down to make the changes.   The controls the are same for manual audio, white balance / color temp and many other controls.

This is a great little app for taking control of the camera and making your iPhone a very good camera platform.  There are other apps out there to take control of your camera like Mavis, which is another app I’ve recently been made aware of.  I do also highly recommend the JOBY GorillaPod SLR-Zoom unit as it has the independent leveling head on it.  Very useful in the field.

This is going to be a great little rig not only for vacation, but I’m going to start putting something like this to work in production as well.   Here’s a quick 4k Camera Test I did recently at a beach.

iPhone 6s on the iOgrapher with a Wide Angle Lens and Shure LensHopper VP83 Shotgun Mic with Rode SC-4 Adapter.  Mounted on a JOBY GorillaPod SLR-Zoom

The post Taking Control of Your iPhone Camera for Mobile Video appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

[av_video src=’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJPc94cEYlY’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′]

The post Why I use Rampant Design Tools appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
It’s Day Three of my “real world” editing on DaVinci Resolve 12.5 and this is going to be the longest blog yet as I want to show you guys a lot of the “little things” that are making editing in Resolve a pleasure.   I know there are a lot of questions still out there whether this is really a professional editor.  For me it’s the small things that separate the applications making life efficient and fun for the the editor.   I also had a pleasant surprise today.  Alexis Van Hurkman, the man who literally wrote the manual on Resolve, called to point out some of the editing specific features that I might not be aware were there.

Day Three Editing.

Today I realized that DaVinci Resolve as an NLE is really the sum of all of its parts.  The Edit Panel alone is NOT the editor.  It’s the entire application working together.  So if all you do is look at the Edit Panel and say “well this is missing a lot of stuff” (like I initially did), you’re missing out on so much more that’s available, particularly in the Color Panel.   I looked at the Color Panel as what comes AFTER editing, but in reality, it’s part of the editing process.  Now that I realize that some of the elements I thought Resolve needed are actually in the app, they’re just in a different place.  Of course having Alexis walk me through a bunch of features for 30 minutes REALLY opened my eyes to a bunch of stuff I didn’t realize was there.   More on that soon.

Exporting

In the edit I started putting a bit more polish on the project, getting it to the point where we should be about ready to move to finish next Monday.  The biggest thing I had to figure out was the round trip to / from After Effects to create a few animated graphics.   Time being of the essence and me being new to Resolve, I reverted to my old FCP workflow.   Export audio guides (clips) from Resolve and use those to build the AE comps.  Very simple.

Resolve does NOT have your standard File > Export command like most NLEs out there.  The Deliver Panel is primarily set up to deliver finished files at the end of the process, but you can also use that panel to export individual clips and selections for approvals and sending to other apps like AE.

First thing I discovered is that In / Out points set in the Edit Panel do NOT transfer over to Deliver Panel.   I set them first in the Edit Panel and when I went over to the Deliver Panel, they were gone.  Alexis explained the reasoning why and it has to do with the fact that the Deliver Panel can output many variations from the same timeline including different combinations of In/Out points.  So the Deliver Panel controls its own set of In/Out points.  Sounds a little confusing to read I know, but in practice it makes sense.   Setting up the video to export is pretty straight forward.    Here  you can see the controls are what you’d expect.  At the top you see you can render a single clip or if you have multiple clips selected, export them as individual clips.  In the File tab, you can either use the name of the timeline or set a custom file name.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Delivery-Video-Selection.png’ attachment=’4489′ attachment_size=’full’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=” target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Deliver Panel: Video Format Settings
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
And below is one of my guides in After Effects on the bottom most layer (Layer 4).  No fuss, no muss, super easy and then I just rendered a ProRes out of After Effects to send back to Resolve.   If I have to make changes I’ll render them as the same name and let Resolve reconnect to the new file.  Yes, Blackmagic has Fusion, but one application at a time……
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/AE-Guides-Wide-1030×373.png’ attachment=’4485′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Resolve exported guide files on Layer 4 in After Effects
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]

Window Burns

Yesterday I could not figure out to get a window burn on my Approval copies.  That’s because I was looking in the wrong place.  Turns out window burn controls in the Color Panel under the Data Burn controls.  See what I mean about the ENTIRE application being the editor?  BMD is not cramming every feature into an “editor” and then having the “color grading” act like a separate app.  It’s all designed to work together.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Data-Burn-with-Keywords-1030×412.png’ attachment=’4475′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Data Burn panel in the Color Panel
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
As you can see the options available in Data (Window) Burn go WAY beyond most NLE’s in what you can have displayed on screen.  In fact, most EVERY field of Metadata is available to be displayed on screen via the Custom Text options.  You can see that I have Codec_Scene_Take in my custom text as contextual items.  Every clip that has metadata information in the Codec, Source and Take fields will automatically be displayed as a burned in window on my output as you can see below.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Data-Burn-In-on-Screen-1-1030×81.jpg’ attachment=’4487′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=” font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Data Burn panel in the Color Panel
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
Very very slick.  So you set up you Data Burn info in the Color Panel and then you go over to the Deliver Panel to output.  After I did this one time, it was second nature.   For the purposes of this project I just output the Timeline name and the timecode.  This is one example of how the entire application is the editor, not just the Edit Panel.

Keyframing & Curves

One thing that’s not available yet is initiating key framing in the timeline.   You have to start the first keyframe up in the Inspector and then once that’s set, you can alter the settings in the timeline and keyframes are added as you would expect.  I’ve filed a feature request to allow for key framing to start in the timeline such as with a pen tool like so many other NLEs.  However, the Keyframe viewer in the timeline is awesome.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Keyframing-1030×230.png’ attachment=’4474′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Keyframe Viewer in the Edit Panel Timeline
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
Just like how easy it is to see the labeling of the clips themselves, it’s very easy to see and edit keyframes in the Keyframe Viewer.  This is very nicely done.  Click that little half circle on the right side of the clip or the keyframe viewer and you now have access to the Curves where you can add bezier curves to the keyframes.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Keyframe-curves-1030×783.png’ attachment=’4473′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Keyframe Curves controls
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
You can see in the dropdown on the left some of the parameters I can add keyframes and curves to.   At the top of the screen you can see there are four curve options giving me a ton of control over the actions of the keyframes.

Composite Controls

Composite controls are located in the Inspector panel and they’re what you would expect to find in a professional NLE.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Composite-Mode1.png’ attachment=’4477′ attachment_size=’full’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Composite Controls in the Inspector
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
I use a LOT of Rampant Design Tools in my day to day work so I’m using compositing all the time to overlay these elements on my work.  One thing I’ve requested as a future feature request is the ability to have the composite mode available via right click in the timeline.  That would be a little faster than going up to the Inspector.

Crop, Lens Distortion and More in the Inspector

Speaking of the Inspector, I love how many controls are at our fingertips without the need to add additional filters or effects.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Crop-plus-lens-correction-703×1030.png’ attachment=’4479′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Additional controls in the Inspector Panel
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
I have missed having the Crop controls right there along with the ability to feather the crop.  It always felt like a needless stop to grab a crop filter in other NLEs because it’s something I seem to use ALL the time.  It’s one less thing I have to go get and adds to the efficiency of an edit.

The addition of a Lens Distortion control right in the Inspector is a nice touch.  Obviously a nod to all the GoPro and small cameras that use wide angle lenses.  No need to grab a filter, you can make adjustments to the image right there in the inspector.  There’s also Retiming Controls right there as well.  I have NOT played with these yet, so I can’t comment on how and how well they work.

Transform, Crop and Dynamic Zoom Directly in Monitors

If you’re like me and you like to just want to make quick adjustments in the Source and Record Monitors, changes to scale, position and crop, this is easily done in Resolve, you just have to activate the controls in the lower left of the monitors.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Transform-in-Monitor.png’ attachment=’4472′ attachment_size=’full’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Transform, Crop and Dynamic Zoom activation control in the Source and Program Monitors
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
With the those controls active, you’ll now see you have options to make changes right in the monitors.  Change the scale, crop, position and you can play with the dynamic zoom.  Dynamic zoom is especially great for you FCPX users who like the Ken Burns effects.  Dynamic zoom interprets those movements correctly and allow you to make adjustments to them.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Transform-Move-1-1030×550.jpg’ attachment=’4468′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Transform controls active, moving the video in the monitor.
[/av_image]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Crop-in-Monitor-1-1030×539.jpg’ attachment=’4467′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Crop Controls active in the monitor, can now make changes within the monitor.
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
The ability to just grab and make quick adjustments in the Source / Record monitor is something I’ve missed since switching to Premiere Pro.  It’s in that app, just not as easy to use.  I’ve really missed this from FCP and it just one of those little things that make editing so much faster and efficient.

Drag and Drop Editing

If you’re a Drag and Drop Editor who likes to edit by dragging your clips from the Source to the Record Monitor, you’ll find all your usual overwrite and insert options along with some new ones when you drag your Source clip into the Record monitor.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Overwrite-controls1-1030×773.jpg’ attachment=’4492′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Editing options for drag and drop editing.
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
I like the Place On Top option so it lays the video on a layer above where the playhead is sitting which is handy when I’m laying in all my Rampant Design effects.  Or if I want to stage multiple takes one above the other, Place On Top means I don’t have to go making track selections with each edit.  You also see the Append to End which is handy if your playhead isn’t at the end of the timeline.  Ripple Overwrite I’ll explain in detail towards the end.  It’s awesome.

Transition Options in the Timeline

Transitions have some nice ‘little things’ that make for an efficient edit.  Right clicking at the head, tail, or between clips not only brings up a transition dialogue, but OPTIONS for those transitions lengths
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Audio-Cross-Frade1.png’ attachment=’4482′ attachment_size=’full’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Audio Cross Fade Controls
[/av_image]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Video-Cross-Dissolve.png’ attachment=’4481′ attachment_size=’full’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Video Cross Dissolve Controls
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
You can see there’s four options for both Video and Audio transitions right there from 6 to 48 frames.  How convenient is this?   I usually have a default transition set up to 1 second for my projects, but there’s always particular dissolves or cross fades I want to be faster / slower.  No need for that extra step to change the transition duration, I have four choices right there.  Done.  This ‘little thing’ I REALLY like a lot.

As you would expect, you can slide the transitions forward and back in the timeline to make them start, split and a end on the edit or you can make the adjustments in the Inspector.  Feathers and Ease controls can be added to wipes easily in the Inspector.  

Change the Transition Type In the Inspector

Changing the Transition can be done quickly in the Inspector.  
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Edge-Wipe-Transitions-831×1030.png’ attachment=’4478′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Transition Controls in the Inspector Panel
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
You can see the in drop down box, all the Resolve transition are available so I can just flip through them and adjust on the fly rather than having to drag them one by one to pick the one I want.

For additional filters and effects beyond what Resolve has natively, the application supports Open FX effects but again, the entire application works together as the editor.  Transition effects are found in the Edit Panel while filters are found in the Color Panel.  Both under the Open FX tab.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Edit-Panel-OFX.png’ attachment=’4491′ attachment_size=’full’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Red Giant Universe Transitions in the Open FX tab in the Edit Panel
[/av_image]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Color-Panel-OFX-700×1030.png’ attachment=’4490′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Filters and Effects in the Open FX tab in the Color Panel
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
I installed the Red Giant Universe filter package which gave me transitions and filters to play with.  I have not gotten the point of applying any filters yet in the Color Panel.  But at first I thought I was missing all the filters and effects, but Alexis pointed me to the Open FX tab in the Color Panel.

I should note that the New Blue FX filters crashed Resolve 12.5.  I honestly don’t use those filters at the moment and forgot they were installed, they installed as part of my Avid installation.  But after uninstalling the New Blue FX everything started working correctly.    Hopefully New Blue FX is updating their products to keep working with Resolve.

Switch To Timeline After Edit controls

Here’s a neat little setting that Alexis pointed me towards.  In the Edit Menu, there is a Switch to Timeline After Edit option that can be disabled.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Switch-to-Timeline-558×1030.png’ attachment=’4493′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Switch to Timeline Option
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
When the control is enabled, which is a default for any editing system, when you make an edit from the Source Window, your keyboard control automatically follow the edit to the Timeline.   The assumption is you just made an edit, so now you want to control the Timeline.

But in the case of long rolls with multiple takes, interviews or just longer files that we want to string out, we can turn OFF the automatic switching and the controls will remain with the Source Window.   Mark In / Out, Insert the clip, scroll in the Source, Mark In / Out, Insert the Clip, etc…. without the need to keep re-selecting the Source Window.  That’s actually pretty cool and Alexis was saying this was developed primarily for keyboard editors.

One less click, one less motion to make as you’re editing.  Another ‘little thing.’

Ok, let’s talk about the Ripple Overwrite.

I saw this when I tested the Drag and Drop editing and honestly ignored it.  Then Alexis called and this is the one feature he really wanted to show me because it’s super SUPER amazing and efficient.  Basically what Ripple Overwrite does is allow you to replace a shot in your timeline with one of a different length, and Resolve will automatically ripple your entire timeline keeping all of your edit points and edit timing intact.  Your shot can be longer or shorter and Ripple Overwrite will re-assemble your timeline.   Here it is in action.

I have an edited timeline, music is timed to fade out where I want it, SFX are timed to the action on the screen, Rampant style effects are located at each edit point and even titles are in the timeline.  This is a 4:30 timeline and the 17 second shot highlighted has to be replaced.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/RippleOverwrite_1-1030×470.jpg’ attachment=’4496′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Ripple Overwrite Step One – 17 second clip needs to be replaced with a shorter one.
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
If you look up there at the previous image, note especially how I have my music fading out exactly where we want it as the SFX comes in.  Now the replacement clip is only 7:16.  About a 10 second difference.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/RippleOverwrite_2-1030×669.jpg’ attachment=’4497′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Ripple Overwrite Step Two – Replacement shot is 7:16. 10 seconds shorter than the original clip.
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
Now, I simply drag the 7:16 clip over to the Record Monitor, lay it onto Ripple Overwrite and…..
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src=’http://walterbiscardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/RippleOverwrite_3-1030×470.jpg’ attachment=’4498′ attachment_size=’large’ align=’center’ styling=” hover=” link=’lightbox’ target=” caption=’yes’ font_size=” appearance=’on-hover’ overlay_opacity=’0.4′ overlay_color=’#000000′ overlay_text_color=’#ffffff’ animation=’no-animation’]
Ripple Overwrite Step Three – Edit is completed and the entire timeline is rippled holding all my timing points automatically.
[/av_image]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
The 17 second clip is replaced by the 7:16 clip and all of my timing remains completely intact.  Note the music fade is still precisely lined up with the SFX.   The Rampant Design overlays are still exactly lined up.   In fact my entire timeline is still perfectly and all it took was one click.  This works both for shorter clips and longer clips, the integrity of your timeline and your edit points are held.

Now I will point out that Resolve made a cut edit in my music in order to shorten it up and keep the fade out lined up.  So I have to go back in and make some adjustments to that to ensure that the music remains on the beat.  I’m going to be asking if there’s any way to make the edits more intelligent whereby that fade in the music can be rolled back or forward to accommodate the ripple, instead of cutting it.   BUT one click, ripple my entire timeline and all I have to do is slip my music a bit.   That’s efficiency and something I wish I’ve had for a long time.

Relative Adjustments to Multiple Clips

Here’s another neat feature Alexis pointed out, Relative Adjustments to Multiple Clips.  So if I have clips in the timeline that are Scaled 70%, 80% and 50%.   I can select all three of them and make a Scale reduction of 10% and Resolve will make that change relative to their original sizes.  Making the three clips 60%, 70% and 40% scale.  I can do an absolute change to make them all 10% scale, but this relative changing of multiple clips, is pretty neat.

My Impressions and Next Steps

Well I think if you’ve read all three of these blogs you can tell I’m pretty darn impressed with DaVinci Resolve 12.5.  I have barely scratched the surface and continue to review Alexis’ tutorial on the features.   Is Resolve 12.5 a professional non-linear editing platform?   I would honestly say “Yes” with this release.  I’ve gotten pushback on forums from folks who have tried 12.0 and didn’t feel it could edit well.  I totally agree, it was a step in the right direction, but wasn’t there yet.  I suppose the .5 moniker makes folks thing it’s just an update.   12.5 is an entirely new release that probably should have been called Resolve 13.   This is a solid editing tool that I have enjoyed cutting in and again, I have barely figured this thing out yet.  It’s very feature rich and each time I use it, I’m discovering another one of “those things I wish Resolve had.”

I’ll be finishing the corporate piece this week and I’ve now committed a reality television pilot to Resolve 12.5 next.  I think it’s up to the task.  We have seven episodes of this series shot and one of those will become the pilot.   I’m running the entire series through Resolve.   One thing I’ve been advised on is to keep the project sizes manageable.  HUGE projects with thousands upon thousands of clips can get unwieldy. So I’ll employ the same workflow we used for Good Eats and This American Land where each episode is its own project.

As far as video editing for narrative, corporate, commercial, etc….  Resolve 12.5 is a great tool.  Very efficiently designed and all of the features I’ve found so far are the “little things” that make life easier.   I found myself having fun again in the edit suite.

Look this entire blog series isn’t about “My NLE is better than Your NLE” and the other NLEs suck.   This blog series is about DaVinci Resolve being another option for video editors.  It is a tool that can do the job today.  Whether you choose to use it, well that’s entirely up to you.  I’ll still be using Adobe Premiere Pro for projects because it’s a solid system and Resolve works well with it.  But Resolve is something that is now going to take a bigger place in the toolbox.  Kudos to Peter, Rohit, Alexis, Paul and of course Grant Petty for having a vision to make Resolve more than just one of the best color grading tools on the planet.  And for doing it right, making this a useful tool.

With that, these “Day” blogs on Resolve are done.   I’ll definitely chime back in when we get rolling on the reality series.   Thanks for reading and have an awesome day!
[/av_textblock]

The post Day Three: Editing on DaVinci Resolve 12.5 appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

For those who don’t know the history, DaVinci Systems’ Resolve has been around a very long time in the film industry and was the de-facto standard for color grading and color enhancement in the industry.  At one time it costs millions to set up a single Resolve color grading suite.  When Blackmagic Design purchased the company, it was on its last legs and after first shoring up the product and bringing it into the modern era, Grant Petty and his team began evolving the product into a full fledged video editing system.

The Media Panel on the new DaVinci Resolve 12.5 (Beta)

Today I spent my first full day editing a real project on the 12.5 Beta.   The first thing I did was to purchase Alexis Van Hurkmann’s tutorial “DaVinci Resolve 12.5 New Features” from Ripple Training.   He’s such a great trainer and I kept that open on the second screen as a reference while working.  It’s the best $49 dollars you’ll spend if you want to get up to speed on the new features in a hurry.  Use the code resolve40 when you check out.

The editing system is a new 27″ iMac 5k Retina  4.0 Ghz with 32GB RAM and all the top of the line graphics card.   Media is stored on our 48TB Studio Network Solutions EVO media share connected via 10GigE converted to thunderbolt.   The original materials were shot on a Panasonic GH4 at 4k UHD resolution in the H264 format.

Ingesting and organizing the bins was very straightforward if you’ve used any non-linear editing system before.  Can either select and drag individual items over or drag in folders from the Media panel.   The new layouts and options in the Media Panel are very intuitive as is the metadata editor.   After watching Alexis go over this panel in his tutorial, I jumped right in and started adding the Scene and Take numbers along with Comments on the good takes.   Really made it super simple to organize.  I really like the dual Metadata / Inspector Window.  Nice use of space to make them both share the same window.

Alexis Van Hurkmann’s “DaVinci Resolve 12.5 New Features” open on the right hand monitor. Entering metadata into my project on the left hand monitor.

All audio was recorded separately on a Zoom H6 recorder and as always, we made sure to audibly slate each scene and take along with a proper slate or hand clap.    After placing all the video and audio clips into a single bin, I used the “Auto-Sync using Audio Waveform” command.   There were about 50 clips to sync and it was done in about a minute or so.  I LOVED that no new clips were created.  No multi-cam clips or extra clips to be sorted through.  The audio from the Zoom recorder was simply placed on a new audio track on the video clips.   Double click the video into the Source and I heard the clean zoom audio.

For the most part it worked perfectly.  There were 7 B-Roll shots that had no Zoom audio recorded for them, which I should have left out of the Sync bin, but forgot.   Resolve sync’d some random Zoom audio to those B-Roll shots.   I tried using the Clip Attributes function to select the original camera audio for those B-Roll clips but it didn’t work.  Most likely a bug and this is beta software after all, so that’s to be expected.  I reported this issue via the Blackmagic Design forum for the Beta software.

At first I set up using the FCPX keyboard shortcuts but almost immediately switched over to DaVinci Resolve shortcuts.  They’re definitely modeled on the FCP 7 shortcuts and I picked them up very quickly.

At first the system seemed very snappy but after I made just two edits it became sluggish.  I had a feeling it was the 4k H264 files.   Even Premiere Pro gets sluggish with 4k H264s.   The file sizes are very small, but there is a lot of processing involved to let them play smoothly.   Each time I loaded a clip into the Source window, it took a few seconds to draw out the frames and then when I hit play, there was a delay.  So I used the Media Management tool in Resolve to Transcode everything to ProRes.   Time well spent because the system was EXTREMELY responsive as soon as I started editing with the ProRes files.   Instant loads, instant JKL response on the keyboard.

Everything about editing in Resolve 12.5 so far is intuitive.  The Trim commands are fabulous and I especially love that some features are active by simply hovering over a different area.  Hit Trim and hover over the thumbnails in the video track and you’re automatically Slipping the video.  I use slip a LOT and loved this.  It was very intuitive and easy for me to poke around and discover stuff.

The ease of video and audio track assignments was refreshing.  I’m used to double setting the audio and video in Premiere Pro and then having a second set of commands for Pasting or snapping the playhead along the timeline.

The audio level control within the timeline is fantastic.  Full range of volume and loudness just by raising and lowering the volume without the need for any sort of gain control.   So simple.

The biggest thing I’m trying to figure out now is how to force Resolve to leave my 4k material at full 100% scale instead of scaling it down to fit my 1080 HD editing timeline.   I’m sure the moment I ask on a forum I’ll have the answer, but that’s about the only thing I couldn’t figure out on my own today.

There were some hiccups to be sure and I’m still trying to find some of the controls but as far as editing, it felt like trying on a new pair of shoes.   I was walking for a bit and then in an hour I started jogging.  Not up to full speed yet, but for a first day editing on the system, it was easy and intuitive.

Grant, Paul Saccone and the entire Blackmagic Design team have done an incredible job building up this app to be really useful, intuitive and simple to move into one of the most powerful color grading tools on the planet.  That’s Day One, I’ll update as we move along in the project.

Read Day Two here.

Grant Petty and I at NAB Show 2016. The man behind the Magic.

The post Day One – Editing on DaVinci Resolve 12.5 appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

It’s not just about adding a vignette over your video to give it a “Panavision Look.”   It’s about adding correct aspect ratio vignettes over your video so they “look real.”   Vashi goes beyond just telling you what the aspect ratios are, he gives you 50+ FREE templates to use in the NLE of your choice from SD to 6k.   You can even use them in FX software like After Effects or Fusion, you just drag them to a video layer above the one you’re working on.

Also included is a link to the Unravel_Resolution_CheatSheet for exporting to the current frame sizes for various outputs.

Vashi is an incredible artist and an all around great guy.  Be sure to bookmark his site for lots of great freebies.

The post Add a “Panavision Look” to your project appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Final Tally for the Week:  5 days.  4 Principal Locations.  127 Scenes.   Yep, you read that right.  127 Scenes shot for three videos in one week.  That’s the nature of emulating Bill Nye’s show, a LOT of cuts and a lot of variations on the same shot.  We finished one hour early on Wednesday and Thursday and we finished 3 hours early on Friday.

How were we able to do that?  A young, energetic crew and most importantly, our host, Ian Gregg.  Ian was able to memorize complex dialogue so quickly we could roll through scenes and multiple takes in a hurry.     I’ll have a full article coming soon on the entire process from start to finish, but that will come after we complete Post.   For now, here’s more images from one incredible shoot.   If you missed the first blog on this shoot, check it out here.

Oh and if you need a versatile outdoor location for filming, Lanier Islands Resort was so accommodating and they have so many places to shoot from shoreline to forest types of places to the pools to the hotels to the trails, golf and so much more.   Definitely look them up for great outdoor and indoor locations.

BISCARDI CREATIVE MEDIA is a full service digital media production company near Atlanta, Georgia with services that include Video Production, Sound Production, Sound Mixing, Graphic Design, Animation, Post Production, Video Editing, Color Grading, Finishing, Digital Asset Transfer, Digitizing and Archiving. Quite simply we’re the people who make video and media production easy for you.   No technobabble.  Just clear, concise and creative content delivered where and how you need it, on time and on budget.

The post 5 days. 4 Principal Locations. 127 Scenes of Video Production! appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.