This semester I...

Became a Final Cut Pro pro!


For my internship with Virginia Tech's EcoCAR 2 team (p.s. I created that website with my outreach team.. shameless promotion), I've had to create multiple videos throughout the semester.


I first started out with Final Cut Pro in the fall and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Luckily, Tech has a multimedia creative lab that offered lessons in Final Cut Pro. Slowly but surely I learned how to import, cut, clip, render (the bane of my existence) and export files to make a video.


This is the first video I created for the team (Jan '12); an intro video that was a competition deliverable meant to inform the viewer about Virginia Tech's team and the competition in general.

At the time, our team was elated by the final product. To be truthful, it's decent for a first video. 


There were several curve balls during this process. Here are a couple things I learned from this first experience:

1. Much like with a PR campaign, you should have a strategic plan for the video before you set out to film it.
2. Make sure to double-check microphones before you film. In the scene with Dean Benson, the audio only came out of one speaker causing several people to think there was no audio during that clip.
3. Think of creative spaces and angles to film clips.
4. B-roll is super important to maintain the attention of the viewer.
5. Don't get too fancy with transitions.
6. Filming in HD really does make a difference.

Now, keeping in mind the first video and the points I just mentioned, take a look at the most recent video (April '12) I created highlighting the team's relationship with Virginia Clean Cities (yep that's me in the thumbnail).

I don't know about you, but I noticed a pretty big difference. Let's review my earlier advice:

1. Much like with a PR campaign, you should have a strategic plan for the video before you set out to film it.
1. Our outreach team made sure we had our overarching idea for the video ahead of time so we knew what we were doing and didn't waste time filming other footage.
2. Make sure to double-check microphones before you film. In the scene with Dean Benson, the audio only came out of one speaker causing several people to think there was no audio during that clip.
1. All of the audio is perfectly clear and streams out of both speakers.
3. Think of creative spaces and angles to film clips.
1. Our team found different and creative locations/angles to film rather than our go-to move of "film in front of EcoCAR 2 sign."
4. B-roll is super important to maintain the attention of the viewer.
1. Infusing b-roll over static clips of people talking will provide the viewer with more interesting content and not lose their attention.
5. Don't get too fancy with transitions.
1. Right after completing the first video (which I think I mentioned I was extremely proud of at the time), I attended a workshop on filming video for the competition and the presenter specifically said not to use fancy transitions like the 'cube spins' and 'page peels' I seemed to be so fond of in the Intro video. In this one, however, the team and I stuck to simple, non-flashy transitions that didn't distract or diminish the value of the content.
6. Filming in HD really does make a difference.
1. Did you notice a difference in quality? We specifically decided to rent an HD camera from the computer lab to make sure all of our film was as clear as possible. The camera we used was also much smoother, so that even if the camera moved, the shot wasn't shaky.

I think filming videos was one of my favorite aspects of my internship this past year. I'm going to have to figure out a way to have access to Final Cut Pro in the future without paying $$$$$ for it. I may be graduating, but I am still on a budget!