Izzy Video tutorials make it easy to learn video.

This is probably the most popular question I get about Final Cut Express: “How do I import AVCHD video into Final Cut Express?” A variation on this is “How do I import MTS files into Final Cut Express?”

This new tutorial answers that question. Enjoy!
(more…)

Yesterday I did my first webinar with the Izzy Video audience. A webinar is sort of like a conference call. We had 100 people in the “room”. I went through some video fundamentals and then answered questions at the end.

I just posted a recording of the webinar in the member’s area. The total run time of the webinar recording is a little over 27 minutes, and that’s without all the questions and answers.

Overall, I think it went pretty well, so I’m definitely planning on doing more webinars. Make sure you’re on my mailing list so you’ll know when I do the next one.

Shooting video outdoors is great because there are so many visually interesting things you can capture. But it can also be a big challenge because of unpredictable, uncontrollable elements. One of the unpredictable things is the lighting.

That said, the right tools can make a big difference.

When you shoot video outdoors, the three main tools you use to control the light are:

1. Reflectors
2. Diffusion Panels
3. Scrims

This video is all about item #2, diffusion panels — specifically showing you the impact of different levels of diffusion.

Diffusion material comes in different levels of diffusion. With the Scrim Jim system, you can quickly swap out the various diffusion fabrics.

Want to see the difference between light, medium, and heavy diffusion? This video shows you exactly what they look like.

Light Diffusion

When I use only 1/4 stop of diffusion, the changes aren’t significant. This very light diffusion softens the edges of shadows slightly, but mostly leaves the quality of light in place.

Medium Diffusion

As you would expect, when you use medium diffusion (3/4 stop in the video), you see more impact. The size of the specular highlight increases dramatically. The edges of the shadows become more gradual.

Heavy Diffusion

Once you move to heavy diffusion (1 and 1/4 stop in the video), you really see some big changes. Suddenly the shadows start to have no edge. The light smoothly wraps around the subject.

You’ll also note that I’m hosting this video on YouTube. My plan is to start posting videos there regularly. You can Click Here to subscribe to the Izzy Video YouTube channel.

Note: Members have seen this video before. Previously it was available to members only.

Video shooters who want good audio will love this video!

In the tutorial, I demonstrate the most important and most useful microphone accessories you need for your external microphone. I show you what they are and how they work. In particular, I show you the tools and techniques to handle that great enemy of audio – wind!

If you are interested in this tutorial and want access to more than 160 other video tutorials like it, you should learn about an Izzy Video Membership.

I get this question a lot. When I received it again in my email this morning, I decided to make this tutorial for you. It shows you an advanced technique in Final Cut Express.

The resulting effect? You can put moving video inside text on the screen, and then overlay the video text on another video. When you do it right, it creates nice visual interest.

There are several steps to this. Here is how you use the Travel Matte – Alpha composite mode in Final Cut Express:

1. Place the background element on video layer 1 in the sequence.

Video layers in Final Cut Express are similar to to layers in Photoshop and other image editing programs. Layers pile up on top of each other, and whatever is on bottom is furthest back. So when you’re creating this effect, it’s a good idea to start by placing the background element first.

2. Place your text on top of the background element.

I highly suggest that you use BIG FAT FONTS. The bigger the font, the more you’ll be able to see inside the letters to see the video within them. In this video tutorial I use Arial Black with a bold style applied.

Big fat fonts work great for this effect.

3. Place another layer of video on top of the text layer. This is the video that you want inside the text.

In the tutorial I should have mentioned that it helps to have highly contrasting video clips, otherwise it will be difficult to see the letters themselves. If they’re too similar, they tend to blend. You don’t want this.

4. Apply the “Travel Matte – Alpha” composite mode to the top clip.

In Final Cut Express, select the top clip, go to the “Modify” menu, then Composite Mode, then Travel Matte – Alpha. This will apply the composite mode to the top clip.

A composite mode defines how the pixels in the clip interact with the pixels underneath it. In this case, it looks at the alpha channel (area of transparency) of the clip beneath it, and applies the transparent area around the letters to the top clip.

By the way, you’re not limited to only using text. You can use any gray scale image with transparency instead of the text.

Experiment with different images and patterns to see what kinds of results you get.