1. At the top of the Canvas window, you will see 3 drop down menus. Click on the one farthest to the right to see a drop down menu appear. Scroll down and select “Show Title Safe”. This will active the Title Safe overlay, which lets you know where it’s safe to place your text in the frame. Be sure all text falls within the innermost or smallest blue square. Otherwise, your text will fall off of the edge of a TV screen or computer screen when your video plays.
2. Go to the Effects Tab in the Browser. Open the “Video Generators” bin. Within this bin, scroll down to open the “Text” bin. Within the Text bin, there are many types of text to select. For basic text, select “TEXT” and double click on it to bring it into the Viewer.
3. Once the text is in the Viewer, you’ll need to get a feel for how long you would like your chunk of text to be. Mark an IN point to begin, and then hit PLAY until you feel like the piece of text will be long enough. Then Mark an OUT point. Click in the center of viewer, and drag this chunk of text into the Timeline at the beginning or end of your project.
4. If you would like your text to appear over a shot within your video, drag the text clip into the Timeline to V2 or Video Track 2. Make sure the video clip is on V1 or Video Track 1. Your text clip should always be placed on a track above the video clip you wish to use. Be sure to check the Canvas to see that the text is legible over all areas of the video image. If white text doesn’t work, change the text color to something that will contrast better with the video image.
5. Next, double click on the text clip in the Timeline to make it active in the Viewer. Go to the Control tab of the Viewer to make changes to your text. Click in the box with “Sample Text” and delete these words. Type in your own text. If you want to create multiple lines of text, be sure to hit the RETURN key on the keyboard whenever you’re ready to start a new line.
6. Scroll down within the Control tab to select a Font and Size. Be sure to make your text at least as large as 24 to be sure it will show up on a TV screen.
7. Look over at the Canvas to see the position of your text within the frame. It should fit within the smallest blue square or “Title Safe” box. To move the position of the text around in the frame, go back to the Control Tab and click the “+” or origin key. Once you’ve clicked this “+”, you can click down on your text in the Canvas and move it to your desired position.
8. If you’re using white text on a black background, go to the Motion Tab of the Viewer. Scroll down to “Opacity” and click the arrow to open it. Here you want to move the opacity slider to change the opacity of the white text from 100 to 88. White letters at 100% opacity are too bright for many TV screens.
9. I recommend fading your text in and out for a smoother transition. You can do this manually by placing key frames on the clip of text in the Timeline with the pen tool.
10. If you like the pacing you’ve established in one chunk of text, and you want the rest of the text clips to follow the same pace, just highlight the original chunk of text and copy (Apple C) and paste (Apple V) the clip multiple times to create a series of identical text chunks. Any fades you’ve made with keyframes will remain the same. Simply type in new words for each new instance of text.
11. Some text types such as “Typewriter” and “Scrolling” need to be rendered. You will see a red line above the text clip in the Timeline, if this is the case. Hit Apple R to render the text.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Final Cut Pro / Audio Editing Notes
On the Audio Meter -
You’ll see a yellow light and a red light.
The yellow light is the Peak indicator - it will hang at the loudest moment of your recorded sound.
The red light is the Clip indicator – it will let you know when your sound has reached or exceed 0db.
Basic Rules:
- Never let your Clip indicator light up
- Dialogue should fall between -3db to -12db
- Middle Ground Sound or Sound FX between -12db to -18db
- Background Sound or Music around -18db
Why go so low? Because when you have a music track combined with an FX track, the audio levels will rise. So you need to leave some headroom.
The final mix of Foreground, Middleground, and Background tracks together should peak no higher than -3db.
________________________________________________________________
1. Below are three types of audio that can exist in Final Cut Pro:
STEREO
Both channels have been captured as a stereo pair. Stereo pairs are always linked - so anything applied to 1 Track applies to both. Waveforms for both channels appear in a single audio tab.
MONO 1/2 or CH. 1 / CH. 2
Both channels have been captured, but are distinct + can be adjusted independently of each other.
MONO
The audio consists of a single audio channel.
-To convert 2 audio clips to Stereo Pair -
Select the clips in the Timeline, Choose MODIFY ^ Stereo Pair + the viewer will then show them as a Stereo Pair screened together in the window.
To Adjust or Edit Audio:
1. Double click the Audio Track(s) of a clip in the Timeline to bring them up in the Viewer … or double click a clip in the Browser to bring it into the Viewer, and select the Audio Tab(s) in the Viewer.
2. Next, listen to your sound and look at the Audio Meter, which you can move around. You don’t ever want your audio to clip. This is indicated by the red lights or Clip indicator at the top of the meter. When the audio clips, it means the sound you recorded is overmodulated or recorded too high.
3. After I monitor my sound with the Audio Meter, I may decide that the levels are too high or low. By using the Level Slider in the Audio Tab of the Viewer, I can adjust the sound levels by moving them higher or lower in decibels. Then I will play my sound again, watching the Audio Meter to see if the change is any better.
4. Remember that you can use the pen tool (keyboard shortcut P) to create keyframes along the level bar in the Audio Tab of the Viewer or directly on an Audio Track in the Timeline. You can use keyframes to create fades in or out, as well as to dip out a glitch in recorded sound.
5. Generally speaking, your audio should begin before your image appears. Remember to overlap audio, creating crossfades between new sounds. You don’t want have audio tracks that cut out suddenly without a smooth transition to the next audio track or sound. The quickest way to accomplish this would be to use Automatic crossfades. Go to the Effects Tab in the Browser, and select the Audio Transitions bin. Then highlight and grab Crossfade +3db icon and drag and drop it on the beginning or end of the Audio Track you want to fade in or out.
Audio Filters
AUgraphicEQ:
To access a good equalization filter, go to the Effects Tab in the Browser. Click on the Audio Filters bin, and open it up. Scroll to the Apple Filters bin, and select AUgraphicEQ. To apply it to an audio clip in the Timeline, highlight and grab the filter’s icon and drag and drop it over the Audio Track you want to filter.
This filter divides the audio spectrum into 31 frequency bands, ranging from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. You can set the frequency for each band. This filter is especially versatile because it applies equalization in 31 bands of your clip simultaneously, rather than requiring you to apply multiple filters. This emulates the EQ controls that most mixers provide.
The best way to pinpoint the frequency of a problem sound in your audio is go through each of the 31 frequency bands individually. If you go through each frequency band and boost the gain, you can find the most noticeable sound problem(s). Then lower the gain until the sound is best. If you have excess hiss in your audio clip, try focusing on the higher frequencies. If you have booming or excess bass to remove, focus on the lower frequencies.
Filters in the Final Cut Pro bin (within the Audio Filters bin):
Hum Remover - A notch filter that allows you to compensate for various types of hum interference by screening out a specific frequency.
Vocal DeEsser- dampens the “S” or hiss sounds in speech or other sounds.
Vocal DePopper- takes the “P” out of potatoes, or eliminates popping sound in speech.
*If you want to apply the same filter settings to multiple clips or to the rest of your sequence, highlight the clip with the filter settings you’ve already set, then hit Apple C on the keyboard. Then select or highlight any other clips you want to inherit these same filter settings. Next, hit Option V on your keyboard. A Paste Attributes box will open and allow you to select Audio Filters. Do this and hit OK, and all of the audio clips selected will be filtered identically.
You’ll see a yellow light and a red light.
The yellow light is the Peak indicator - it will hang at the loudest moment of your recorded sound.
The red light is the Clip indicator – it will let you know when your sound has reached or exceed 0db.
Basic Rules:
- Never let your Clip indicator light up
- Dialogue should fall between -3db to -12db
- Middle Ground Sound or Sound FX between -12db to -18db
- Background Sound or Music around -18db
Why go so low? Because when you have a music track combined with an FX track, the audio levels will rise. So you need to leave some headroom.
The final mix of Foreground, Middleground, and Background tracks together should peak no higher than -3db.
________________________________________________________________
1. Below are three types of audio that can exist in Final Cut Pro:
STEREO
Both channels have been captured as a stereo pair. Stereo pairs are always linked - so anything applied to 1 Track applies to both. Waveforms for both channels appear in a single audio tab.
MONO 1/2 or CH. 1 / CH. 2
Both channels have been captured, but are distinct + can be adjusted independently of each other.
MONO
The audio consists of a single audio channel.
-To convert 2 audio clips to Stereo Pair -
Select the clips in the Timeline, Choose MODIFY ^ Stereo Pair + the viewer will then show them as a Stereo Pair screened together in the window.
To Adjust or Edit Audio:
1. Double click the Audio Track(s) of a clip in the Timeline to bring them up in the Viewer … or double click a clip in the Browser to bring it into the Viewer, and select the Audio Tab(s) in the Viewer.
2. Next, listen to your sound and look at the Audio Meter, which you can move around. You don’t ever want your audio to clip. This is indicated by the red lights or Clip indicator at the top of the meter. When the audio clips, it means the sound you recorded is overmodulated or recorded too high.
3. After I monitor my sound with the Audio Meter, I may decide that the levels are too high or low. By using the Level Slider in the Audio Tab of the Viewer, I can adjust the sound levels by moving them higher or lower in decibels. Then I will play my sound again, watching the Audio Meter to see if the change is any better.
4. Remember that you can use the pen tool (keyboard shortcut P) to create keyframes along the level bar in the Audio Tab of the Viewer or directly on an Audio Track in the Timeline. You can use keyframes to create fades in or out, as well as to dip out a glitch in recorded sound.
5. Generally speaking, your audio should begin before your image appears. Remember to overlap audio, creating crossfades between new sounds. You don’t want have audio tracks that cut out suddenly without a smooth transition to the next audio track or sound. The quickest way to accomplish this would be to use Automatic crossfades. Go to the Effects Tab in the Browser, and select the Audio Transitions bin. Then highlight and grab Crossfade +3db icon and drag and drop it on the beginning or end of the Audio Track you want to fade in or out.
Audio Filters
AUgraphicEQ:
To access a good equalization filter, go to the Effects Tab in the Browser. Click on the Audio Filters bin, and open it up. Scroll to the Apple Filters bin, and select AUgraphicEQ. To apply it to an audio clip in the Timeline, highlight and grab the filter’s icon and drag and drop it over the Audio Track you want to filter.
This filter divides the audio spectrum into 31 frequency bands, ranging from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. You can set the frequency for each band. This filter is especially versatile because it applies equalization in 31 bands of your clip simultaneously, rather than requiring you to apply multiple filters. This emulates the EQ controls that most mixers provide.
The best way to pinpoint the frequency of a problem sound in your audio is go through each of the 31 frequency bands individually. If you go through each frequency band and boost the gain, you can find the most noticeable sound problem(s). Then lower the gain until the sound is best. If you have excess hiss in your audio clip, try focusing on the higher frequencies. If you have booming or excess bass to remove, focus on the lower frequencies.
Filters in the Final Cut Pro bin (within the Audio Filters bin):
Hum Remover - A notch filter that allows you to compensate for various types of hum interference by screening out a specific frequency.
Vocal DeEsser- dampens the “S” or hiss sounds in speech or other sounds.
Vocal DePopper- takes the “P” out of potatoes, or eliminates popping sound in speech.
*If you want to apply the same filter settings to multiple clips or to the rest of your sequence, highlight the clip with the filter settings you’ve already set, then hit Apple C on the keyboard. Then select or highlight any other clips you want to inherit these same filter settings. Next, hit Option V on your keyboard. A Paste Attributes box will open and allow you to select Audio Filters. Do this and hit OK, and all of the audio clips selected will be filtered identically.
Basic Video Questionnaire
This assignment needs to be presented in hard copy form, typed and stapled, and is due at your Individual Appointment (the week of October 12, 14). Your answers should be thorough and detailed. The purpose of the Questionnaire is to test an idea. I always put any project idea of my own through this same test.
Name:
1. List 2 final video project ideas (a, b) you would be interested in exploring and creating:
a.
b.
2. Do you have a strong emotional connection to both of these subjects / ideas? Answer yes or no for both, and How?
a.
b.
3. Do you have a drive to learn more about both of these subjects / ideas? Answer yes or no for both, and Why?
a.
b.
4. What is the real significance of both ideas to you:
a.
b.
5. In your opinion, what is unusual, interesting, and fresh about both ideas / subjects.
a.
b.
6. Is there anything that might be too predictable or overdone about each idea?
a.
b.
7. How is your connection to each subject completely unique to you or your experience?
a.
b.
8. What could you show in both video projects? What images and sounds might an audience get to see / hear in both videos? List at least 5 specific images and 5 specific sounds for each proposed idea.
a.
b.
9. What change and development would both video projects show? What would change from beginning to end?
a.
b.
10. Define what you would want to avoid in both videos:
a.
b.
11. Which aspects of both potential projects are likely to be the most challenging for you to pull off?
a.
b.
12. After exploring the above questions, answer the following: Do I still really want to make a video about both of these subjects / ideas?
a.
b.
Name:
1. List 2 final video project ideas (a, b) you would be interested in exploring and creating:
a.
b.
2. Do you have a strong emotional connection to both of these subjects / ideas? Answer yes or no for both, and How?
a.
b.
3. Do you have a drive to learn more about both of these subjects / ideas? Answer yes or no for both, and Why?
a.
b.
4. What is the real significance of both ideas to you:
a.
b.
5. In your opinion, what is unusual, interesting, and fresh about both ideas / subjects.
a.
b.
6. Is there anything that might be too predictable or overdone about each idea?
a.
b.
7. How is your connection to each subject completely unique to you or your experience?
a.
b.
8. What could you show in both video projects? What images and sounds might an audience get to see / hear in both videos? List at least 5 specific images and 5 specific sounds for each proposed idea.
a.
b.
9. What change and development would both video projects show? What would change from beginning to end?
a.
b.
10. Define what you would want to avoid in both videos:
a.
b.
11. Which aspects of both potential projects are likely to be the most challenging for you to pull off?
a.
b.
12. After exploring the above questions, answer the following: Do I still really want to make a video about both of these subjects / ideas?
a.
b.
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