What Could Be Done To Improve My Editing.

[Borat]

And dont write 'dont incluse banks init'

I am genuinly wanting to know how I can improve, or what is your faveroute style of editing (include a link if possible?)

Youtube Video ->

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[eskimo]

Well, that video should of never been made. The majority of clips weren't landed. Also filming the floor and your bike isn't great unless done right. Wobbly unfocussed camera is not good. Abrupt filming finishes and abrupt music finishes also not good.

If you have the software and the computer take your time. If you don't just use Windows Movie Maker to show whatever good footage you had.

[Borat]

Well, that video should of never been made. The majority of clips weren't landed. Also filming the floor and your bike isn't great unless done right. Wobbly unfocussed camera is not good. Abrupt filming finishes and abrupt music finishes also not good.

If you have the software and the computer take your time. If you don't just use Windows Movie Maker to show whatever good footage you had.

Im using sony vegas 8pro...

So no cutting the end off songs, even though the song has 2/3 seconds left anyway?

[JonMack]

I know it's disheartening, but I agree with Nick, that video should never have been made. Half a dozen clips on two different objects doesn't make a good video, you need to get in a good mix of riding, some street, maybe some natural, if you wanna ride TGS that's cool but try and put in a few lines, even if it's a sidehop, to gap, to drop, it's better than nothing. With regards to editing, keep it simple, ditch the crappy effects, stick to something simple like a cross dissolve between clips, although if the music is paced right then you can get away with not using effects at all. The minute of looking at your bike wasn't needed, maybe if it's something special then yeah sure, but no slow mo zooming in on the stem, that just looks tacky and boring. Also ditch the slowmo, or if you really wanna use it, cut the clip down, and stick to 50% slowmo, that side hop to front to back or whatever up the bank was ridiculous, it wasn't a particularly good move, riding grass verges makes you look like a nonce, and it had been played the clip before, having to watch the same tedious trick again for 15 seconds just puts people off watching, and you're not likely to get any responses to your video. Also, the song was awful, over dramatic for such basic riding, try something fun and up beat, even if it's a song from the charts, or something fairly popular, it's gonna be better than some orchestral piano type stuff, the music has to suit the riding, and yours just didn't.

If you wanna see good editing, take a look at Ben Rowlands videos (try searching GET or Glasseyetrials on YT/Vimeo) Jonny Jones always used to make great videos, and obviously the Danny Mac vid is a great source for inspiration. Also TRA makes some great videos, as does t33zr here on t-f, and the Gilles Coustellier 1/2/3 vids are awesome. Just taking a look through Trials Videos for the multi-page topics is a good place to start.

The more you practice, the more you'll improve, just like trials, but you don't have to release every video you make, sometimes it's best just to keep stuff to yourself until you make something that makes you think "Yeah, this is as good as xyz video".

Keep it up though, you never know you could have a hidden talent just waiting to get out.

EDIT: Just remembered, keep in tricks you land, bin the ones you don't. If you have a shitty day filming and you only land 3 tricks, then so be it, just make sure you film more next time, you don't HAVE to release a video just because you've gone out filming. Also most videos take months to make, unless it's a real busy ride or a few real decent riders, a couple of hours footage isn't gonna cut it really.

Edited June 28, 2009 by JonMack

[Maladie]

Jack: "What could be done to improve my editing?"

I'm sorry mate, but everything can be done to improve your editing,

Including maybe getting footage of a little better riding before you even start putting a video together.

[PaRtZ]

It cant be that hard to think what do you like watching?

Ive always been annoyed at people putting clips in of stuff they cant do. Ive never put a clip of me trying a 6ft hook and coming no where near. Even if I came near it still wouldn't cut the mustard. And cutting a clip too short is just shit. Having said that, dont draw moves out. Spend more time filming and ditching the clips where, upon playback, dont actually look that good

[Revolver]

Start from the beginning.

To get a good video, you need good editing,

to get a good edit, you need good footage,

to get good footage, you need good riding...

Riding wise, try to go for interesting lines. Even single moves like gaps are entertaining if they're interesting. Same old sidehop onto a wall doesn't impress, really, unless you really get a sense that it's big.

Among other things (weather being one of them)

Now, I've never edited a video, because it wasn't on the course that I did at college, but I still know one or two things that will help you out.

Firstly, watch a shitload of videos. This is to learn where to position the camera, first of all, or whether or not you include a rolling camera, how you can use different shots to affect the final product.

You might also pick up some cool ideas about editing, like for the intros.

Then, film your sick footage. Be prepared to film things from many angles, and lots of time. Get loads of footage. You might find that doing a closeup of the wheels as they roll would look cool edited in, for example. Go nuts, film things from loads of angles. You'll get the idea of which clips you want in particular whilst you're doing it.

You might, during filming, get an idea of which song you want to use. Make sure it's suitable. Nothing fast suits trials, and nothing intense.

Then, edit it together. Go for simple transitions, time moves to the music, don't overuse effects. This includes slow mo (you might for example only choose to slowmo the clip of just the wheels you shot earlier on).

Feel free to show people your editing, then ask them to compare it other videos. Don't just ask them if they like it, they might just say yes to shut you up.

Can't think of anything else right now, except -

Definately get someone else to hold the camera, and definately don't film it with a phone, it looks shit.

Oh yeah, if you film any stuff on that bank again, I will, if I see you on a ride, poke you in the eye.

Edited June 28, 2009 by Revolver

[Borat]

Thanks.

BTW, it's not filmed with a phone. When ever I compile a video in song vegas it normally comes out on the 600/650mb mark. Vimeo is limited to only 400mb if you arent a paying member and Youpube takes forever to upload and then years to process. So I downgrade it.

[JonMack]

Export it full quality, then compress it using something else. There are plenty of tutorials online, VirtualDub always used to be the one to use IIRC.

[Simpson]

First 15 seconds… dirt… dirt… dirt….

Shitty shade to rim

Zoom out… up down up down bike random kid shitting by it

WOW look its an Echo stem!! WOOP WOOP

This is 29 seconds into a 2.29 video and you have showed me f**k all… if your going to be all artistic and shit do it better, and it only really works on feature length vids anyway

Shitty small sidehop to rear… too many hops didn’t land…. Why put it in?

On off up a small bank… fake frenchie…

Same move… different angle… slow mo… why?

Sloooooooooooow mo again…. Don’t over use it. / Don’t use it

Same sidehop as the 1st hop… why… then load of gay hopping and a failed gap… if your going to put it in your video... and spend time editing… make sure you make a line of least!!!

Then on loads of black screen.

Without being dead offensive, take it in a more positive way, why would anyone watch it...

what have you done differently?

what lines have you made?

how creative have you been?

how much time and effort has gone into it?

how smooth does the riding look?

How much of your flair has gone into it?

What does the atmospehre look like?

(these arn't like "don't bother making a vid if your not amazing comments" someone can be a shit rider and still made a good video if their being smooth creative and happy when riding)

Answer those questions about your own video, and see why no body will bother watching or commenting your vid.

[Hannah Shucksmith]

It's not so much the editing that needs changing, it's the banks that need to go.

[Simpson]

Thing is Jack your a solid lil rider and i do think your only gonna get better but why oh why with all this vid shit?

[0zzy]

It's not so much the editing that needs changing, it's the banks that need to go.

do you even ride :L

[Hannah Shucksmith]

do you even ride :L

no

[Christophe']

do you even ride :L

Its doesnt realy take a rider to know how a video should be made.

Hannah has a good eye for these things.

Edited June 29, 2009 by Christophe'

[Hannah Shucksmith]

Hannah has a good eye for these things.

As represented by my taste in men?*

*he made me say it.

[MadManMike]

snip

Edited June 29, 2009 by MadManMike

[bigamac]

no

You used to though didn't you?

[Hannah Shucksmith]

You used to though didn't you?

I had a trials bike, Echo Control 2006 longgg. Rode it for a while like, didn't get on with the geo at all, wanted a mod, sold the bike to pay for a mod and then other financial issues arose and so the money was used for that.

[scary_jeff]

Well I'll steer clear of the actual content as I know this video isn't supposed to show ground breaking riding, you just want to practice some editing. These are just my opinions, I've not made videos myself.

I actually thought the slowmo bit was OK. Also I thought the yellow flower to the goldish rim was a nice idea. Since I'm guessing you're using a digital camera for the video, without auto macro, only move the camera as close as it will focus.. it may seem like going out of focus would look the same as bluring, but it doesn't seem to work like that. Go in as close as the camera will focus, then do the rest of the zoom/blur in the software (digital zoom won't look bad when you're producing a low res video), then quickly ramp the gamma/hue across the transition to the next shot, so that it actually blends in smoothly. As it stands, the abrupt jump to the rim spoils the effect a bit.

Sound: wind noise really spoils the immersion because unless it's very very windy, you wouldn't hear that if you were actually stood there watching as opposed to watching a film. It should be possible to remove this in the editor, but you might need plugins and it would be very hard if you want to keep the bike noises. You could try and reduce this by taping a folded up sock over the mic of the camera or something, if you're not worried about how the camera looks!

If you want more footage, you could always film more of those guys in the background of that brick pyramid thing, if you're just practising editing then it doesn't really matter who is in the video. If there's someone doing the same thing over and over, you could try getting the same move from a few different angles - when edited together you could make it look as if it was all the same attempt (provided you don't show a clip looking back at where a camera guy should have been stood ).

Lastly, put in some very quick transitions between clips to smooth them over a bit. You only need literally a few frames to go from one shot, optionally to black, to the next shot, to really smooth it over.

Does the software have a steadycam simulator thing? This would reduce the video field of view slightly but I think could be worth it.

Someone mentioned VirtualDub, this sounds like a good idea if you are trying to upload videos that are 400mb for just a couple of minutes. Save from vegas in whatever the best quality format is, then open it in virtualdub, and you should be able to export very high quality video into only 10s of megabytes.

[bigamac]

I had a trials bike, Echo Control 2006 longgg. Rode it for a while like, didn't get on with the geo at all, wanted a mod, sold the bike to pay for a mod and then other financial issues arose and so the money was used for that.

Hannah you should get a job then buy a mod!!!

[Mat Tea Why]

When ever I compile a video in song vegas it normally comes out on the 600/650mb mark. Vimeo is limited to only 400mb if you arent a paying member and Youpube takes forever to upload and then years to process. So I downgrade it.

You can change the settings in vegas to suit whatever you need. Just google it and you will soon learn out what everything does.

Export it full quality, then compress it using something else. There are plenty of tutorials online, VirtualDub always used to be the one to use IIRC.

This man is correct, VD also has some handy little features such as plugins that can automatically reduce camera shaking

[Borat]

Ahhh reet.

Thanks alot for the positive input and thanks for the detailed info.

Next video I will have a mess about with virtual dub.

x

[0zzy]

Its doesnt realy take a rider to know how a video should be made.

Hannah has a good eye for these things.

it just seemed she was taking a dig at jack thats all.

[Hannah Shucksmith]

Me and Jacko are sound, he lets me take the piss and still talks to me like we're tight as nuns