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Scrub Footage & Insert Into Film

Lesson 39 from: Filming Families: The Modern Family Video

Courtney Holmes

Scrub Footage & Insert Into Film

Lesson 39 from: Filming Families: The Modern Family Video

Courtney Holmes

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Lesson Info

39. Scrub Footage & Insert Into Film

Lessons

Class Trailer
1

Class Introduction

09:38
2

The Spark That Inspired Me

13:50
3

What Are Family Films?

06:15
4

Gear for Family Films

11:50
5

Camera Settings for Video

02:56
6

Frame Rates & Slow Motion

20:48
7

Picture Profiles & Color Grading

06:47
8

Settings for Audio Capture

14:13

Lesson Info

Scrub Footage & Insert Into Film

The next thing that I would do is go over and look at my opening footage. Here's a shot of the house. It's not super great. I'm gonna scrub through that. The car, I was grasping at straws here, clearly. I didn't wanna be in too close. It wasn't working. Then I go behind the fence pail and then I do this like opening. The numbers are blown out. You can't really see them very well. Finally, I see these flowers and I'm like, oh, this is pretty, and so I use this, okay? I'm gonna play the music. Start at the beginning. [Whimsical Music] So, pull that down. Now there's a couple of different ways that you can pull down the footage. You can either go from the picture. If you do that, you're pulling the video and audio together and it will be linked. You can pull down the video footage. That'll be on its own, video only. Use this icon for that. Drag audio only. Use this icon for that, if you wanted to just do the audio, alright? There's also -- Oh. When I'm selecting the clip, the part that I ...

wanna do, I'm choosing, I'm pressing 'I' on the keyboard to set an in point, and then I'm pressing 'O' on the keyboard to set an outpoint. So, once you do that, you can still change it. You can still change the in and out points by just hovering over this little blue line goes to red. You can even drag that out if you want. What's awesome about this is you're not actually cutting anything, okay? So when you pull this down here, see, I've already got it here. I can move it around on my timeline and I can actually drag it back out and get back that information if I want, alright? So nothing's permanent, which is great. Then what I'm doing and what I did just there is I was listening for the beat and I was trying to work out exactly where I wanted to end it. I'm gonna change it here, so I'm just gonna make sure that this lines up. The more zoomed in I am, the more accurate I get at this. Now I also wanna say, a lot of times, I'll go through this in kind of a rough way. I'm looking for this, yes, but I'm not obsessive with it yet, until the end. At the very end after I've put them all on there, then I drill into my timeline and I really listen very closely and that's all I'm doing, is looking at the timing of the music and making sure that it's exactly on the beat. [Whimsical Music] Now, I'm gonna just go over to this one. This one I really liked, which was the flower, back lit. I like this one. And see how I'm just using a tiny little bit of it, right? [Whimsical Music] So, I could have set a marker here too, really. This is my intro. When the lyrics come in, I'm going to the family. So, I'm skipping everything else. These are the only two things I'm gonna use from the outside of the house. Not using that flag. Also note, when you double click -- (laughter) when you double click, like wherever I double click, when it comes into the source panel, that's where it starts. So just double clicking on it, unless you double click over here. You can see that it starts it and then it'll end after a little while, so just know that. (distorted audio) That's great audio, isn't it? But you know, sometimes these loving moments are so short and short lived that having it slow just brings significance to it. So I like it from where they're a little bit out of focus and then I focus onto them. I don't love that I can see her mouth moving, but I'm ignoring that, okay? I like this angle, and I like this as an introduction into this scene, so I'm working with it. [Whimsical Music] ♪ You are the rain ♪ ♪ You are the sky ♪ Now the next thing that I need to do is figure out where I'm gonna go next. There's nothing else really usable there. I like that moment, but I like it better, I like this better because this feels like they're just waking up, so this is a cute moment that I'm not gonna keep, okay? You can be sad about it for a second and then move on. (laughter) Sorry. And you know, the parents don't know any better. Look what the boy's doing. But I need to figure out how to get from here, where they're all laying down. If this would've been, I could've kept it if I'd have shot it from a different angle. But I didn't know that was gonna happen, and so unless I choose, I have to choose between this one and this one. Because now it would be a jump cut. Because now it would be a jump cut, yes. So I like the nostalgic, ethereal, obscure feeling that I get from this soft focus as an introduction to the scene for this one, okay? And later, other people come in, so I can't go from now the other people in the family are in and all of a sudden, we're back to the people, just the three of them. So I can't jump around there, so I just have to lose it. It's fine. There's other stuff. So this clip, I thought, I didn't know how long we were gonna be there and I thought, if I'm only gonna use this for if it's just gonna be a short part of the scene then I need to have something that's gonna give me the opportunity to end it, alright? So that's the reason why I sort of go down. We'll just fast forward. So we've got the feet, his feet are kind of going. This is me giving myself an out if I need it. It's giving myself a transition. I shoot for long enough of the moment that's happening that I could use it if I wanted to, and then I give myself an out if I need to end it there, okay? I will do that a couple times throughout just in case everyone leaves the room, just to give myself options. That's kind of cute where the feet are going up. Let me just look. And it works because they're still laying down. Oops. I just did control Z, if anybody's wondering what just happened there. So I had -- my timeline was selected, and I set an in point, and it set an in point on the timeline. I just did control Z. It feels weird saying Z. They say zed in Australia. So I just did that to undo it. What I'm looking for is the moment. Not there. Maybe there. The feet are not in focus, but ... Can also see that mom is kind of telling him to pull himself together because he was, I think he was playing up for the camera a little bit, so I was purposely kind of trying to shoot below so that you saw, you felt the moment, but not quite exactly. ♪ You are the rain ♪ ♪ You are the sky ♪ And so I want to come in with the next clip on the beginning of the word yellow. I think it's yellow. ♪ You're yellow ♪ Yeah. And I can tell in the waveform where that is, so I'm using that to also help me, and then I'm just gonna extend this out. ♪ ... the sky ♪ ♪ You're yellow ♪ (garbled voices) There's not a lot happening here. Baby looks uncomfortable. Not gonna use that. I do like this. I'm gonna watch it from the beginning just to help me make up my mind. This is something that I do a lot. It's like you get to a point and then you need to watch it from the beginning, get the story, watch it from the beginning, and then add your stuff. [Whimsical Music] ♪ You are the rain ♪ ♪ You are the sky ♪ You know what? Because of that word, sky, I know ... I have this. And I like it better. [Whimsical Music] ♪ You are the rain ♪ ♪ You are the sky ♪ Now this B roll clip probably doesn't need to be as long, so I'm gonna make this come in, the next one come in earlier. ♪ You are the sky ♪ So instead of that beat, it's now ... (fingers snapping) Double, okay? So I'm listening for that in between beat between those two. ♪ ... the rain ♪ ♪ You are the sky ♪ ♪ You're yellow ♪ Looking ahead, I can see the next marker's there. I know that dad comes in at some stage, so I need to make sure that I bring him in before that happens, probably. I like this. ♪ ... the sky ♪ ♪ You're yellow ♪ But that doesn't work side by side because we've got baby's feet, and then we've got baby looking at me, so I need to decide which one I would keep or rearrange them. So I could go back and swap them or lose one. ♪ You're yellow ♪ ♪ You are the rain ♪ ♪ You are the sky ♪ ♪ You're yellow ♪ Alright. I'm gonna scrub through this. The middle child has just run in. You can see that. I'm still in the same position, so I'm not gonna use that. Dad comes in. This is a bit too literal for me. There's not really, like it's okay, but it would take a little while for me, for this clip to play out to show this whole pan across to what they're doing, so I'm not gonna use that. I like this, where he puts his thumb over his eye. He hasn't been in any of it yet, right? He's just gonna appear. But we haven't ... I don't have anything that has him coming in. ♪ You are the rain ♪ ♪ You are the sky ♪ ♪ You're yellow ♪ So I'm kind of just trying to go with the whole feel of, they're all in the bed and it's not gonna be super noticeable because they've all been kind of snuggling so far. The other kid's not in this frame either. I'm just gonna pull it in and see how it looks. That's all from that that I want, is just that moment. Yes? Could you do ... Could you take out the clip of the baby's face and put the feet back in and then the shot of the boy coming into the bed? Yeah. Of him coming into the bed? Like of the third boy. It's still from the same. Or is it too much? It's a similar camera position, because it's from the foot of the bed. I'm shooting from the foot of the bed, so in one, I'm shooting from the corner at the foot of the bed and the other one, I'm shooting from the middle of the foot of the bed. ♪ You're yellow ♪ Oh, I already added it. ♪ You're yellow ♪ Another option would be that I go up to a sun flare clip, if I've got one. That's the only one I have. Probably not there. I'll start this from the beginning. [Whimsical Music] ♪ You are the rain ♪ ♪ You are the sky ♪ ♪ You're yellow ♪ ♪ You're yellow rays and burning fire ♪ I can go to this clip. (garbled voices) (audience laughs) Can we pull in the audio from this? So I shot this at a standard frame, right? Because I've noticed that there was a little bit of laughter, and at this point, I hadn't intentionally captured any audio yet. I use this. I think I would like to use this. Dad has come in. This would be a way of introducing him. You wanna pull both down? ♪ ... and burning fire ♪ I'm gonna go back to the window. Do another window shot here. ♪ You're every song that fills my mind ♪ Okay, so starting to get up the next change. I'm just aware of that. I'm also noticing that this is gonna end kind of soon. There's not a whole lot left. So where have I ended? (garbled audio) Hey, wild man. Oscar! Could maybe use that. One thing that's handy is if you wanna set markers on a clip and then ... It saves whatever you've set for that clip, whether you use it or not. When you come back to it, it'll still be there. There's not much happening there. Put them away, little buddies. We have about 80 cards, really? So I kinda like that audio. Just his voice. It's not so much what he's saying. I like his voice. Put them away, little buddies. We have about 80 cards, really? But it's not the kid who I'm pointed at. It's the other kid. I'm gonna use this under this B roll of the window pane. Put them away, little buddies. We have about 80 cards, really? ♪ You're every song that fills my ♪ Still comes in a little too early. ♪ You're every song that fills my mind ♪ Okay, too early. ♪ That fills my mind ♪ I'm gonna scratch that for this. Okay. So much of this is just like, I'm thinking and I'm like, does this work, does this not work? It's so much trial and error, and the things that you might do here at the beginning when you get to the next section, you might go back and change what you've done at the beginning. It's like, think of it like a painting. You know, it's like layers. You start with a base and you add stuff to it, and with a painting, obviously you can't take things away like you can a film, but you are always polishing as you go through, and it's so much just adding things, trying things, seeing what you think about how it works, so I wanna at least get through to the next scene. A hundred million thousand. I like that he's saying a hundred billion thousand, but it's clipped off at the end, because I stopped recording too soon. (distorted voices) Let me try this. ♪ You're yellow rays and burning fire ♪ So you see how when the music kind of naturally comes away there? That was a question that was asked earlier about where you put in the audio. It works better there in that moment because the lyric, they're no longer singing so it naturally is a lower place in the music ♪ You're every song that fills my mind ♪ So that was an unfortunate focus thing there, but I'm gonna maybe start from about here. What would've been better would've been if I could get this moment from the hand on the arm and up, but I don't have. I've got focus on his shirt, not his face, and then I think I go too far in. No, I go to his feet. Let go of perfection. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't. I mean, I get it more often than not. So maybe I can use that. ♪ That fills my mind ♪ There's this clip of her, but it's really blown out right here, so I'm not gonna use that. It was really hard light to be shooting in. So I'm coming from ... ♪ Every song that fills my mind ♪ I need to go to a clip of the boys now because I can't do another clip of the littlest. What's this one look like? Trying to look and see if I have anything. I do. Okay. So I might use this. Heres a slower one. I think we may put these away until after. Don't love that. Let's do this. I like this. (distorted laughter) ♪ Fills my mind ♪ ♪ You're a temple full ♪ I need to probably cut it a little bit at the beginning. ♪ You're a temple ♪ And then cut it at the beginning, typical. And then I'm looking for a way to get out of this room. (laughter) Where do I have an ending? I know I shot one earlier, but it was through the door frame, so I'm looking for that before they leave, but I shot it ... Here we go. I shot it before. I would have to rework this because I would wanna use this clip for sure. It's not gonna work next to this clip. Why? Because the boy is with his dad now. Yeah. Because the boy's with his dad now. So what I would probably do, and we don't have time for me to show all this, but I would move this to an earlier place and swap it out for something so that this ending, which is the only ending I have, will make sense. Maybe what it could be is ... Here. This might work. ♪ Fills my mind ♪ ♪ You're a temple full ♪ Still not ideal. ♪ Fills my mind ♪ That's definitely not. Why did I do that? Here. ♪ You're every song that fills my mind ♪ I'm gonna start that on mind. ♪ Fills my mind ♪ ♪ You're a temple ♪ ♪ Full of holy wine ♪ Let's play that back for you ♪ You're every song that fills my mind ♪ ♪ You're a temple full of holy wine ♪ I'm gonna play it from the beginning. ♪ You are the rain ♪ ♪ You are the sky ♪ ♪ You're yellow rays and burning fire ♪ ♪ You're every song that fills my mind ♪ ♪ You're a temple full of holy wine ♪ Do you see how just purely by adding a B roll clip in the middle of the two gives you the time to fill in the blanks in your mind and it doesn't feel as jolting when you have the two side by side, so it's really just all about arranging it in a way that, you know, like at the beginning, if you really sit down and analyze it clip by clip, you'll be like, but that one wasn't in there. What it is, is it's more about trying to kind of trick the viewer in a way. This isn't clear enough that the other kid's not in there yet. It's really not clear enough and you guys only know it because you're sitting here looking at the footage, but he could've just been under the covers somewhere. He could have been sitting by the bed and we just didn't see him yet. But having things like this and arranged in this way helps the viewer fill in the blanks in their mind and it's really more about creating a scene that feels like what it was to be there, so you really, really wanna focus more on that, less on the literal stuff, but be very careful about the clips that you're putting side by side and being really mindful about that for the viewer so that they're not left asking questions. Again, once we start doing that, then they're out of the story.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Shot List Worksheet Template
Shot List Worksheet Example
Ideas for Your First Film
Discount Code

Ratings and Reviews

Adam Nicholls
 

Worth a watch! Courtney provides a clear and organised class, she is also very passionate about what she does which is always nice to see. She has a great back story which is fantastic. This course is good for beginners who have some knowledge in photography and want to learn more about video. I would recommend that people do not refer this class to the bible of filmmaking as I feel you can expand further on what Courtney teaches. Some useful tips for beginners but some methods I personally feel can be taught differently. I feel a gimbal is a useful bit of kit if used correctly. You can still use a gimbal when in manual mode providing you follow the basics rules! Obviously if Courtney prefers not to use a gimbal then that's also fine but I wouldn't discourage students from exploring useful filmmaking tools. Slow motion can be achieved with 50/60fps however I feel other frame rates should have been discussed like 120fps. I liked that Courtney engaged with the students as it gets them involved and will help them remember what they have learned during the class. Thank you for taking the time to share some of your knowledge

a Creativelive Student
 

Courtney's work is absolutely amazing and inspiring. I feel lucky that she has chosen to share her process and that this class is available! After watching all the videos and trying my hand at this video thing, I am feeling really encouraged and inspired to do more- both personally and professionally. I appreciate the way that she breaks things down in the video and that she shares her thought process. A really great course!

AShley
 

Courtney’s course completes me! I have storytelling “holes” in my film previously, but this course helped fill those holes to create a flow and a film with emotion. Not only is the course wonderful (and well worth every penny) but Courtney is wonderful as well! I had such an amazing experience at Creative Live!!!!

Student Work

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