Video Editing

Video Editors have many different softwares to choose from, but it is said that since they all accomplish more or less the same thing , it doesn’t really matter which one you use, as long so you are skilled in the program of your choice. However some of the standard programs that are respected by high industry professionals are Final Cut pro, Adobe Premiere pro, and DaVinci. At the beginning of their editing process, they must first compile and sift through the footage they either shot, or received. This can take a substantial amount of time seeing that they can sometimes deal with hours of footage at a time. After they have sifted and sorted/labeled their footage in an organized fashion, they can now begin editing.

This process includes: dragging your mouse through the timeline (the window showing you the sequence of clips) to scrub through the sequence, making cuts to clips, adjusting the position/ rearranging of clips, adjusting speeds of clips , assessing footage, adding visual elements (text, effect elements, and other illustrations), placing and synchronizing music and sound effect files to the video, adjusting the overall sound of the video, frequently re-watching sections of edited sequences, and color correcting/color grading the sequence. This process can get very complex as editors work with more and more footage and elements. All these afore-mentioned steps are standard across all softwares and programs.

The editing process uses a heavy combination of the mouse and the keyboard. The mouse is used mainly to drag, navigate, scroll, and make adjustments. Technically speaking, although it would take more time, aside from naming clips the entirety of the editing process could be done with only a mouse. The biggest use of the keyboard is the use of shortcut commands for efficiency, and the input of numbers to attain exact values for certain effects.

Insight
[I have noticed that editors need to frequently move their hand from the keyboard to the mouse and back again. The combined time of this extremely frequent motion must significantly decreasing efficiency.]

Sources

Walbeck, P. (2020, April 28). 8 Steps to Edit a Video in Premiere Pro (Start to Finish). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQDGJn89uNk

So what is the reason why creative industry individuals sit for so long a a desk and on one application?

This Post will Give and Overview of what each group in the Target Market does.

Video editors mainly spend their time in their editing software. at the beginning of their editing process, they must first compile and sift through the footage they either shot, or received. this takes a substantial amount of time seeing that they can sometimes deal with hours of footage at a time. after they have sifted and sorted/labeled their footage in an organized fashion, they can now begin the editing process which can take hours or days to complete.

for Video effects Artists, they mainly spend their time in their VFX software. There are many fields within VFX such as :

Illustration
Chroma Keying (using green screens)
Stop Motion Animation
2D & 3D Motion Capture Animation
2D & 3D Animation
Compositing

Modeling/Sculpting
Rigging
Character Animation
Environment/Physical Effects (explosions, fog, smoke, set extensions, destruction)
Rotoscoping (tracing over motion picture footage)
Tracking
Camera Matching

Most if not all of these fields have commonalities in the VFX Process. Most of them work with individuals frames (and keyframes) and must animate the position of those frames to achieve a moving sequence. This process can take hours, days, and in the case of high profile movies, months to complete. They also must use their creativity to achieve the look that they desire for that particular sequence (some shots require a different aesthetic and thus require a different method or approach to the shot).

vfx process

CAD Professionals spend most of their time in their modeling software. once they have a design that needs to be either produced (in the case of Design modeling) or passed on to the VFX artist (in the case of VFX&Editing), they can begin their modeling process. whether it is CGI or CAD design, modelers need to create entire models with intricate parts and elements usually from scratch. this process can take hours or days to complete.

Insight
[A lot of tasks of VFX Artists either are, or directly tie into the tasks of a CAD modeler]

Sources

Walbeck, P. (2020, April 28). 8 Steps to Edit a Video in Premiere Pro (Start to Finish). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQDGJn89uNk

MayoClinicStaff. (2020, February 01). Carpal tunnel syndrome. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/carpal-tunnel-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20355603

Lesley University. (2020). Visual Effects (VFX) at the College of Art and Design. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://lesley.edu/visual-effects

Tag: Video Editing

Why Long Hours? Focus Areas