Ok, so this isn't really new, but for the sake of trying to get back into posting stuff on my website (at least occasionally), I'm posting it. This is just a short video that I edited out of the footage Lauren and I had captured on our honeymoon. It wasn't ever intended to be some kind of cinematic masterpiece, hopefully just an entertaining look at our time there. I had wanted to do something split-screen for awhile so that's what I did.
With that said, I did still learn some thangs:
- Final Cut isn't really the place to be doing split-screen or motion (at least not FCP 7). I kind of already knew this but decided to do it anyway to avoid the extra step sending it to After Effects, where I would've had a lot more and easier control. If I went back and did it again I would have probably sent it to After Effects via Popcorn Island or Automatic Duck (if I could afford it) and done all the split-screening and motion in there. Or I would possibly try doing it in the new Final Cut if I did it today. I'll do another post on that because I just finished cutting a video for a friend that was also split-screen that I did in FCP X, and it did offer a lot easier control with cropping and placement (although still not perfect).
- DSLRs are the worst possible camera to use for video in a helicoptor. This kind of goes without saying because of the rolling shutter, but it's what I had, so obviously I was going to use it. It doesn't really bother me too much in the video because like I said, it was just for fun, but definitely not something I'd use on a professional shoot. Or maybe with a gyro stabilizer it'd be ok. I know I saw some Vincent LaForet shoot awhile back where he was using a DSLR in a helicopter and it looked fine.
- Try to get things close to how you want them in camera. I shot a lot of the stuff with a really flat profile because I had all the best intentions of doing some proper grading on it, but in the end, didn't want to spend too much time on it so I just did a really quick pass. I think a lot of the footage would've looked better if I would have just realized as I was shooting that I wasn't going to want it that flat in the end, and it wasn't really saving information that I cared about anyway.
- Just do it. That's a good slogan, and I wish I knew how to actually follow it. Sadly I started this project a year and a half ago, and although I did have a lot going on in the past year and a half, I don't think it's really a valid excuse for it taking this long to get around to finishing the video. I really have a problem bogging myself with different possibilities for projects, wanting it to be the best that it can be, and I think I need to learn to be better about just learning to trust my instincts, be happy with the results, learn from it, and move on to the next thing.