Capturing the Moment vs. Being Present

I love spending time with my family. They are one of the most precious things in my life. And I want to be present for every special moment.

However, I struggle with spending my time behind the camera instead of engaging in the moment.

During the Christmas holiday this year, I made a conscious effort to let that photo or video clip I wanted fall to the wayside if it came between me enjoying my family. That also meant spending less time editing the photos/video as well. My family got my attention.

What was the cost? Well, for the price of enjoying my family and giving them the love and attention they deserve, I didn’t have all the shots I wanted or a well edited piece from the holidays. BUT, I have some great memories shared with people I love. And that’s worth it!

Sound: Replace with Ambient Noise

Sound is one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of a video project for those learning and getting started in film. And one thing that kills a moment is a big “Uhh…” in the middle of the monologue or speech.

Larry Jordan posted a great quick tip for using Soundtrack Pro to replace sections of audio with ambient noise. It’s definitely worth the read if you’ve never used it before!

LINK: Replace Ambient Noise in Soundtrack Pro

Kids Talk About Christmas

I love Christmas time. But I get caught up in the busyness of all that needs to happen this time of year. I have a feeling that I’m not the only one.

This year, I’ve done two things that have helped me not get lost in the busyness as much.

The first thing we did was take my 15 month old daughter to the mall and pick up a tag to get a child in need a Christmas gift. There was something special about explaining to my daughter that we are helping someone just because we can and it would be special for them, even though we will never meet this person.

The other thing that helped me focus on the Christmas season was shooting a short piece with preschool kids talking about Christmas. It was kinda a last minute project that I rushed through. After it was done, I watched it through and remembered the magic of the season as the kids told the Christmas story.

Check out what the kids had to say!

And don’t forget the reason for this crazy season!

Busy Learning & Enjoying My Family

It’s been over four months without a blog post. Oh well.

Over the past couple months, I’ve been kept really busy with projects and my family. I mean, a 15 month old darling daughter comes before sharing with you. Sorry! But in all seriousness, I love writing and sharing with you.

However, I have shot and edited two weddings over the last few months as well; and both with Final Cut Pro X. I learned a ton about how it works and it’s quirks. It’s definitely not the right tool for every project, but great for some.

For the second wedding, I just completed the montage. I had a ton of fun and learned a ton from this one. I’d say it’s not too bad for the second wedding I’ve done with a DSLR!

Check it out and tell me what you think!

Final Cut Pro X: First Impressions

I’ve abstained from any commentary on the new Final Cut Pro for about a month. I figured that there were enough people on the internet talking about it that you didn’t need one more article (and I’ve been too busy being dad and working to write).

However, I figure it’s time I share my experience. I bought Final Cut Pro X the week it came out—I think a couple days after the release. I had a corporate interview project to do, so I decided to take FCPX for a spin.

First off, the ability to import footage from my Canon T2i/550D and start working without transcoding or rendering was phenomenal! Also, I was able to apply a little color correction and played it back smoothly without rendering. The rendering and transcode time alone saved me almost the cost of the software. Seriously. I know… You could already do that with Premiere Pro. But that’s not in my price range.

The second time-saving feature that I loved was the synchronization feature. It basically analyzes the waveforms and syncs the files (here’s a tutorial to sync audio in FCPX). Super nice when you are using a dual audio system (in camera and external recorder) and have a ton of takes to sync. Before, I’ve used Singular Software’s DualEyes to sync files, but I never wanted to pay $150 for that feature. Now, that’s half the price of Final Cut.

Read More»

“Colorista Free” Video Color Correction Plugin

Life has been CRAZY the last month so it’s been hard to make time for the blog. But I discovered something that is awesome and worth posting.

Red Giant Software recently released Colorista Free, a free multi platform tool for color correction (I heard about it from Stu Maschwitz—I great guy to follow on twitter, @5tu). It’s basically a repackaging of their original Magic Bullet Colorista 3-way color corrector minus a few features. It’s incredibly easy to use and it’s something that can be used on a Mac or PC with Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Final Cut Pro (Mac only).

I used decided to give it a whirl with a little quick personal video I did a week ago with my T2i/550D. I had a shot that I completely messed up my settings (notably, white balance) but wanted to throw into the piece. SO… I fired up Final Cut and compared it’s default 3-way Color Correction plugin with Colorista Free.

Read More»

Magic Lantern for T2i Will Save You $60

When I got my Canon T2i/550D, I was really happy with it. Being my first DSLR, I really didn’t know there was anything I was missing. After several projects and a lot of time on the internet, I realized there were a few things that I wasn’t getting with the T2i. First, I wasn’t able to manually dial in the white balance (kinda a big deal). Second, I wasn’t able to select the camera sensor’s native ISO (which has it’s pros & cons).

About a year ago, I read about the Magic Lantern firmware for Canon’s DSLRs. Originally, it was to add functionality to the 5D that Canon left out, like controlling audio levels. Recently, they’ve ported Magic Lantern to the T2i/550D.

I decided to install it and now I can’t imagine not having Magic Lantern. It let’s me dial in my white balance & select whatever ISO I want; it gives me a histogram, false color, peaking, and gain controls in video mode. I LOVE IT! You need to download it and give it a try.

Another feature that I didn’t expect to see was an intervalometer (they let you setup the camera to take photos every X seconds). It’s perfect for doing creating timelapse videos. Anyway, I thought I would have to pay $60 for a remote control for the Canon T2i/550D to do this.

I tested the intervalometer yesterday and this is the product that I came up with.