Fund of Documentary I - Premiere Tech Part II

Tech 2: 180 Min

This technical seminar builds upon the lessons taught in the first edit tech, covering audio (including music and sound effects) and implementing basic visual effects (including color grading and clip stabilization).

In this tech, students will use their own footage filmed in a previous camera exercise. The first part of the tech will involve working along with live instruction. In the second part of the tech, students will incorporate the lessons learned to work independently on their own sequences.

If you have ANY questions about Premiere during the semester, be in touch with the Post Production Center for support. They can be reached in person on the 11th floor, or you can call 212-998-1736, or email ppc-team@nyu.edu. You can see their hours of operation here.

Notes:

• You will need class exercise footage shot on an SD memory card to work through this tech.
• Make sure you are logged in to your nyu account to access linkedin learning videos.

• Retrieve footage from SD card.

• Locate your original Folder Structure Template and duplicate it again.

★ NOTE: you made a copy of this in the first tech. If you can’t find it now, you can download it again here.

• Rename the main folder as EditExercise_2
• Make sure you drag and drop the ENTIRE contents of your SD card into the “MEDIA” folder on your drive (Media->Raw_Footage) (best practice: make a subfolder with the date of your shoot).

PAUSE TO COMPLETE - APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES

• Open Premiere

• Create a New Project Called - LastName_EditExercise_2
• SAVE this new project in the PROJECT folder of your EditExercise_2 folders
• Create the following Bins in your project.

• “Sequences” Bin
• Raw Footage Bin
• Music/Audio Bin

5 MINUTES

FOLLOWING - PLEASE COMPLETE THE WORK ALONG WITH THE INSTRUCTOR:

• IMPORT footage using Media Browser.

★ NOTE: we did this with the pre-filmed footage in Tech 1. If you need a refresher, you can watch the tutorial again here: Importing Media (9:50).  5 MINUTES

• Create a New Sequence from a clip and rename it as Edit Exercise 2 Assembly and move it to the Sequences bin. 2 MINUTES
• Open clips in the Source Monitor. Mark IN and OUT points.
• Practice adding clips from your source monitor into your timeline (again, we covered this in Edit Tech 1)
• IF YOU ARE USING CLIPS FROM DIFFERENT CAMERAS OR SOURCES, WATCH: Working with Mixed Media Formats (1:20)

AUDIO:

MUSIC AND SFX:

• Download music that you want to use in your cut to your Exercise 2 folder.

• This goes into Media > 3. Audio > 1. Music (in your project’s folder structure).

• Create a bin in your Premiere project for Music
• Import your music via Media Browser into your Music Bin
• Bring music into your timeline

• TIP: You can put all music on one (or two) track so that you can easily “lock” it and continue cutting picture without messing up your music

• Visit the Soundsnap SFX Library

• Login→ Username: NYUSoundFX     PW: NYU77!
• Look up SFX that could go with your project and download the ones you want to use in your cut to your SFX folder on your external hard drive in 004_Media’s→Audio→SoundEffects

• Create a bin in your Premiere project for SFX
• Import your SFX via Media Browser into your SFX Bin
• Bring SFX into your timeline

• TIP: Keep all SFX on one audio track (or two, if necessary)

TAKE ADDITIONAL 10-15 MINUTES TO ADD DOWNLOADED AND/OR SFX MUSIC TO PROJECT

KEYFRAMES AND AUDIO TRANSITIONS:

• Working with Audio (16:16)

• Expand Audio tracks
• Try using “solo” and “mute” buttons.
• Change audio level using Audio Clip mixer.
• Change audio level directly on the clip in sequence.
• Keyframe your audio
• Add in Constant Power crossfades between clips.
• Use Denoise Effect. Practice copying onto multiple clips (You did this in Tech 1: Copy, Paste Attributes)
• Add a track for room tone. Add room tone into the new track.
• Explore Audio Workspace.
• Take a look at the meters to the right of your timeline - you want to check that your audio never hits the red and stays mainly in the green (-12ish)

• TIP: Do not trust your headphones or your speakers! You can raise/lower the volume on your computer, but that doesn’t change the volume of the audio within the project. You must do a final pass before you export and keep your eyes on the meter to the right of your timeline to make sure it doesn’t go into the red.

• J Cut and L Cuts (7:35)

• Incorporate J and L cuts into your exercise
• Use the Constant Power crossfade to smooth out the audio in between cuts

TAKE 10-15 MINUTES TO WORK ON KEYFRAMING AND AUDIO EDITING. RAISE HAND FOR ASSISTANCE.

RESUME LIVE INSTRUCTION

VIDEO EFFECTS:

• Working with Effects (10:55)

• Select clip and open Effect Controls window to explore.
• Check out the Effect panel in the lower right panel.
• Add Gausian Blur per tutorial. Try it with keyframes.
• Add Warp Stabilizer effect on a clip.

• TIP: The shorter the clip you are trying to warp stabilize, the greater likelihood of success

• Change Speed Clip/Duration
• Choose a clip and color grade it using the Lumetri Color Effect tool

• Take before and after Screenshot (shortcut: turn on and off the fx)

• TIP: Color grading is how you fix white balance issues. Lumetri is one of many ways to color grade, but is the most recommended option for you to use this semester.
• OPTIONAL: Color Grading for the Colorblind

• Try Lumetri Color effect in Color Panel
• Add an adjustment layer - use effect on the adjustment layer
• Video Transitions - add a cross dissolve between clips

• Placing Effects on Multiple Clips (3:54)

• Use Paste Attributes to copy effects from one clip and put on multiple
• Go back to the history panel and undo all of the previous video effects if you are not wanting to keep them as part of your final cut

• TIP: this concept is also mentioned in the section on Audio Effects. It’s the same principle.

TAKE ADDITIONAL 10 MINUTES TO PRACTICE EFFECTS

TAKE 30 MINUTES TO WORK ON EDIT

• Take a screenshot of your final timeline for this exercise

RESUME LIVE INSTRUCTION TO REVIEW EXPORTING AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS:

EXPORT YOUR EDITED SEQUENCE

★ NOTE: You did this in Edit Tech 1. If you want a refresher, check out Exporting (1:36) and/or  Written Exporting Guide

• Export an H.264 version of you cut
• OPTIONAL (ask your Instructor): Export an Apple ProRes 422 version of your cut.
• Preview your export (it should open in Quicktime).

FOR DELIVERY

• Export an H.264 file and upload the resulting MP4 file to our shared google drive
• OPTIONAL: Some Instructors may ask you to also export and upload a Quicktime ProRes 422 HQ file.

Tech duration = 3 hours