OT: Editing advice

Here's a little off-topic question that I have for you guys:

I'm editing a training video for a piece of electronic hardware, and during the shoot, the on-screen person was pointing out specific things, so the shooter went to get closeups for cutaways of him pointing at various things...but the talent didn't really understand the concept of editing like this, and couldn't duplicate the actions he had just done.

Now...before I ask the question...I already know the RIGHT way to do this, and so you don't have to worry about giving me advice on how this should have been done.

This is a low-budget production and doesn't have to be perfect, but at the same time, as a perfectionist, I would like to get it to look as best as I can.

The question is, how would you handle cutaways that don't match up what happen in the wide shot? Typical cuts between wide and close shots don't look very good because the action doesn't match.

Any advice on how to transition between the wide shot and closeups here?

Thanks!
Casey

Dump the fingers pointing, jump to still grabs, and use arrow callouts? Voiceover continuing should smooth out the jump.

- Loren

Today's FCP keytip:
Invoke your Opacity/Audio Levels Adjust dialog with
Command-Option-L !

Your Final Cut Studio KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

Hard to tell without seeing the footage. Can you upload an example of what you have done so far?



www.strypesinpost.com

> The question is, how would you handle cutaways that don't match up what happen in the wide
> shot? Typical cuts between wide and close shots don't look very good because the action doesn't
> match.

Simple. Don't match the action. Cut before the action actually happens (motivation -- you are cutting in order to see the action), or right after (motivation -- you are cutting because the action is over). In other words, if there were a close-up where a finger comes in to point at something, cut into the shot before the finger appears in the frame at all, or cut after the finger has stopped moving.

Match action is overrated anyway.


www.derekmok.com

for a training video,
the goal is simple:
be as clear as possible.

so whatever works best to keep the point being made crystal clear is the right way to go.


nick

Quote

Now...before I ask the question...I already know the RIGHT way to do this, and so you don't have to worry about giving me advice on how this should have been done.

Wow...heck of a way to start off asking for advice

To try to answer the question without giving advice on how it should have been done, it's totally impossible to tell without seeing your timeline. All answers would be guessing.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

he's talking there about the SHOOT.
the "right way" i was taught was to play back the previous piece to camera's audio as a timing guide for the pick-ups.
whatever. it wasn't done "right" and the actions don't match.

now he wants some thoughts on the EDIT.

Thanks for straightening me out nick...I kinda knew that which is why I mentioned the TIMELINE (represents the EDIT).

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Thanks!

I'm not going to have time to upload a sample any time soon...I know it would help, and maybe if some of these techniques aren't working for me, I'll do it.

As far as the "right" way, I hadn't thought of Nick's method...if it were up to me, I would have had a second camera just getting closeups from an almost identical perspective...and doing it one time and simply switching it in post. I guess the "right" way is a personal preference...mixed in with budget, time and space constraints.

Casey

A refinement to my suggestion- get closeup stills without fingers, as mentioned, and then, instead of arrows pointing to features (callouts), photograph various finger-pointing snaps and animate them into the shot with vectors matching the wide shot.

It'll look stylish and you can lose the mismatching closeup pointing. If it's critical, this is how I would do it.

- Loren

Today's FCP keytip:
Invoke your Opacity/Audio Levels Adjust dialog with
Command-Option-L !

Your Final Cut Studio KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

Almost all visual aids today are computer generated... and you are editing on computer. Get a copy of the visual aids... make 2D magic.