Wednesday April 11: First Edits

Now that we've got our footage, it's time to ingest it onto the computers and start editing.

1) The first step is to get it onto the computer.  To do this we'll need:
-Camera
-Tape w/ footage
-Firewire transfer cable

-Computer with Final Cut

(if you're shooting on a camera that uses digital files instead of tapes, you simply need to copy the files over.  You may need to transcode the files into a format that Final Cut can work with).

2) Turn your camera on to 'Play' or 'VCR' mode, and rewind your footage to the beginning.

3) Hook the firewire cable to the camera and the computer.

4) Open up Final Cut Pro

Once Final Cut is open, you'll need to make sure it can communicate with the camera and capture the footage in the proper format.

Once final cut is open go to Final Cut Pro > Audio/Video Settings...

Cameras shoot in a variety of different formats depending on how the information is recorded.  The list of different formats can be overwhelming - but don't worry, it's not actually that complicated and you can always look up the settings for your camera.

For the camera we used, we shot in a format known as High Definition Video, or HDV.  This means that we shot in full HD (1920 x 1080).  We also used a frame rate of 24 frames/second.  So, we need to find the settings that match that:

For my sequence preset I used HDV - 1080p24.  HDV is the format.  1080 is the resolution (size) of the image.  and the p24 is because I shot at 24 frames/second.

For my capture preset I can just tell it HDV and it will figure out the rest.

For my Device Control I'm saying use HDV and Firewire - so the computer will know to look for an HDV camera over a firewire connection.  This will allow me to control the camera's playback using Final Cut.

Now, just say 'OK'


The next thing we need to do is make sure we know where it's going to save all of our footage.  When I capture footage from a tape onto my computer using Final Cut, it creates a digital Quicktime movie file.  These are automatically stored in my 'scratch disk' - which is simply a folder somewhere on my computer.  I can tell Final Cut exactly what folder to use by going to Final Cut Pro > System settings:

Now I just navigate to my folder and everything I do will be saved there.

It's important to make sure these settings are the same every time you open Final Cut, or you may end up accidentally saving your files to someone else's folder.

Now you're ready to capture!  Go to File>Log and Capture...

The Capture window will open and you should be able to control the camera to watch your footage.  When you're ready to capture it, just hit the 'Now' button.

It will start saving your files onto your scratch disk location.  The clips will appear in your browser window in Final Cut.

Monday April 9: Shooting day!

Great work by everybody getting to our location on time, staying organized, and rounding up tons of people to interview.  It seemed like everyone had a good time and got what they needed - now it's just a matter of making sure that it looks/sounds okay and manages to give you what you need for each project moving forward.

Here are some images from today's shoot:

Monday March 19 - Monday April 2nd: Project Planning

Now is the time where we work on developing out our class projects!  You've each established some initial ideas, and over the next couple of weeks we'll develop out the details of what you need to get, what you're going for aesthetically, and making sure the concepts you're working with are strong enough to get us through the next month.

I'll be keeping track of how everything shapes up.

Alma: Working on an idea having to do with 'The Hustle' and what people do for money/the role money plays on individuals, society, and the choices the people in her life make.

Allou and Elisa: Working on an idea contrasting people's traditional ideas of homelessness with Elisa's own experiences as a youth who lives in transitional housing.

Tammy, Buffy, and Melissa: Working to create a piece about San Francisco - playing with how the city is perceived by tourism and how they as residents perceive it.

Sarah, Jacque, Hanin, Karina: Working on an idea to deal with the influence of media on women - initial ideas dealing with who young girls look to as role-models, and what those role-models are actually presenting themselves as.

DEVELOPING:

Alma: Staying with her initial idea, looking to do a combination of interviews (more staged) and street footage.  She'll be taking the camera to some sites she already knows of as soon as today (3/28).  She'll start capturing footage this weekend and keep the camera through next week.

Allou and Elisa: Looking to get street interviews of people's perceptions of homelessness, and also shoot a more stylized/narrative portrait of a day in Elisa's life.  Will compare the interview answers/audio with the footage of her daily life and reveal at the end that she is in fact homeless.

Tourism group: They would like to each have an individual section to film their own footage of SF and edit their own little portrait of their own experience.  They will also take the SF tourbus tour, and capture footage that they may use in contrast to the footage they create.

Women in Media: Still need to develop the final details, now looking to grab street interviews at Powell street between men and women and who represents them in media.