Eric Maierson – Page 12 – Latest News from MediaStorm

Check Every Output

Post author:Eric Maierson
Post published:January 16, 2014

Here’s a simple tip I’ve learned the hard way: check every output. And by check I mean watch your files from start to finish every time. Because no matter how conscientious you are, it’s just too easy for typos and sound pops and other gremlins to slip by. Checking every output is the only way to catch them all. Once, at the very end of a Storytelling Workshop, I made some last minute structural changes to our team’s project. I did not have time to check my work before the final screening. Everything was out of sync and everyone saw it. It was a disaster. Check every output. Prior to the ICP Infinity Awards, we played back all of the projects on a large TV. Among the discoveries: white edges on photographs that went unseen on a smaller monitor, low-res footage that had not been replaced, watermarked video. We caught these mistakes…

Software Inventory 2014

Post author:Eric Maierson
Post published:January 14, 2014

I thought the start of the new year would be a good time to review the software I use most frequently at MediaStorm.

The Essentials

Adobe Premiere Pro CC (starting at $19.99 a month) – Back in October of 2012 MediaStorm announced our decision to use Premiere Pro, not FCP X. With the advent of CC, the updates are faster and the software keeps getting better.

Aperture (Mac App Store, $79.99) – Aperture is Apple’s workhouse picture-editing software. While it’s due for an update, we’ve been relying on Aperture for the better part of a decade. For an extensive guide to Aperture see the MediaStorm Post-production Workflow ($14.95).

Keyboard Maestro ($36.00) – Keyboard Maestro is a macro utility. When a user inputs a single keyboard shortcut, Keyboard Maestro will respond with a series of predefined actions. This small application really increased my logging speed last year. See MediaStorm Guide to Super Fast Logging with Premiere Pro and Keyboard Maestro.

PluralEyes ($199) – Essential software for syncing multiple audio or video sources. See MediaStorm Guide to Creating Multi-Camera Sequences in Premiere Pro, Part 1.

Final Cut Pro 7 – Apple’s venerable editing software is no longer available for purchase nor is it in heavy use around the office. But with nearly 40 TB of legacy projects, it’s still critical to have a copy on our production stations.

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MediaStorm Guide to Creating Multi-Camera Sequences in Premiere Pro, Part 2

Post author:Eric Maierson
Post published:December 19, 2013

This article is part of a series of posts with tips and tricks from our producers’ experience working with Adobe Premiere Pro CC after years of working in Final Cut Pro. To read more about why we made the switch, check out this post.

In the first part of this tutorial, I showed you how to sync multiple camera angles and audio sources using Red Giant’s $199 PluralEye’s 3.0. After you’ve imported the XML file generated by PluralEyes into Premiere Pro CC and your tracks are in sync, it’s time to create a multi-camera sequence.

First though, because PluralEyes offers no audio configuration options like stereo vs.mono, or which tracks to duplicate for stereo pairs, you’ll need to make sure your audio is set up properly. See the screencast MediaStorm Guide to Audio Configuration for assistance.

As a general rule, I use the better audio source and double it so I now have a stereo pair.

MULTI-CAMERA SEQUENCE

A multi-camera sequence appears in your timeline as one clip, but bundles multiple camera angles together so that you can easily see all available options as you edit.

To create a multi-camera sequence, first create a new empty sequence (Command-N). Next, drag your synced sequence from the Project window into this one. Putting one sequence inside another is referred to as a nested sequence.

Rename your new sequence ProjectName_InterviewName_multiclip_RAW. Still in the timeline, right-click your sequence and select Multi-Camera > Enable.

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MediaStorm Guide to Creating Effect Presets in Premiere Pro CC

Post author:Eric Maierson
Post published:December 4, 2013

This article is part of a series of posts with tips and tricks from our producers’ experience working with Adobe Premiere Pro after years of working in Final Cut Pro. To read more about why we made the switch, check out this post.

Reader Filip Lein asks, “I would love to be able to make custom effects like I had in FCP7…How can one make those please?”

Saving custom effects in Premiere Pro CC is easy but not obvious.

First, add an effect to a clip by doing the following:

Search for the effect in Effects window (Shift–7).
Drag the effect on to your timeline clip.
Change the effect parameters by first clicking the clip in the timeline then opening the Effect Controls window (Shift–5). You may need to twirl down the disclosure triangle to see all of its options.

Once the effect is set to your specifications, right-click the name and choose Save Preset.

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Story is the Point

Post author:Eric Maierson
Post published:November 26, 2013

Back in the 90s, as a graduate student in creative writing, I discovered the novels and short stories of Richard Yates. His masterpiece Revolutionary Road, which was the basis for the 2008 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, depicts the stifled dreams of a suburban couple. Kurt Vonnegut called the book the greatest American novel since Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Last week, I found a series of quotes by the author. One in particular stood out. “Don’t be seduced by prose, the point is structure.” I think the parallel is clear. To paraphrase, don’t be seduced by gorgeous imagery. Story is the point. Now don’t get me wrong, I love beautiful video. I adore it. And seeing a stunning photograph for the first time is like a window opening in your heart you didn’t know was there. It’s a revelation. In fact, I’ve written elsewhere that we should embrace the grammar and aesthetics of…