Continuing with the Final Cut module, for the second week
I was
looking for some new production video and audio podcasts on iTunes and
was reading the comments when I got curious about this podcast's page.
I checked it out and was surprised that there was
a comment. The writer was very generous and encouraging and indicated
that while he hoped one day he would be able to do some filmmaking,
this podcast gave him a look inside the process of learning filmmaking.
Just one comment, but I was both humbled and gratified. It doesn't take
a lot of encouragement to lift your spirits.
I haven't done much
since I began to promote the podcast and I know of several things I
could do. Frankly getting an episode out each week is often a struggle
in time and effort. I have yet to check my stats on Libsyn, my hosting
site, to see what, if any number of downloads there have been.
Occasionally I check the blogs to see if there are any comments and
even rarely do I check my email. I think that's the least I could do.
Already I'm making myself busy. I'll do better, I promise.
This
definitely points out my main goal though, which is to create a journal
of my school experience, regardless of anyone else's participation. I
don't mean I don't give a damn if no one listens to this podcast, or
sends me comments and emails. I've already said how good an experience
that is. I mean that my primary motivation, apart from any other
consideration, is to create the podcast consistently through the end of
my program at CDIA and in the process incorporate the best production
values that I can. I don't know how much time I could devote to
developing a community, no matter how small, of people interested in
talking about my experiences in school, or theirs for that matter,
unless it were to happen. I do know that I can learn a lot from
creating this podcast and using it to reflect on what I discover each
week at school. I'm just as glad that other people can do the same.
More
stuff about Final Cut Pro editing strategies. Placing shortcuts to menu
commands using the Button Bars in the top of every window pane,
Timeline, Browser, Viewer etc. Option-J brings up the Button command
lists, Option-H brings up the virtual keyboard that displays all the
command key combinations. Rendering, which applies a special effect to
a selected clip and then writes a file that stores that effect, can be
a big time saver, and at the same time a disk hog. You'll need to
remove these files from time to time. The wise thing to do is to delete
them within Final Cut Pro, as opposed to deleting them from the Finder,
otherwise you could get headaches from persistent alerts that media
files are missing. Use Command-R to generate a render.
By the
way, I'll always refer to the Apple Command key as the Command key, not
the Apple key as I hear it often referred to in class and by other
students. Maybe it's just old school, but I can't think of it as
anything else.
As far as transitions are concerned, there are four which are recommended for their consistently effective impact:
Finally I discuss
a variety of export options, depending on the medium you're sending you
film to. Most importantly, from an archival standpoint, send your film
to tape (DV tape on your camcorder). Also I mention exporting using
Current Settings, Flash for web and Audio to OMF.
Thursday night was the Practicum
showing. Student projects that created products in their media for
local non profit organizations under the direction of a professional
filmmaker. Great professional looking work.
Finally I mention a recent episode of This Week in Media, show # 53,
Learning to Learn. TWIM is produced by Pixecorps.tv. I listen to this
podcast weekly, very new media oriented with an emphasis on filmmaking
issues. This one is about learning strategies for professionals that
help you keep current.
Leave a comment or send me an email.
