Audacity Overview: Perfecting Audio with Keith Alexander

Let’s talk Audio for a second here.

When it comes to dealing with audio in any of your video projects you will soon find yourself realizing one thing.

Even though at the beginning it seems that audio is a part of video shooting and Editing the reality is that audio is an entire subject unto itself.

If you don’t get it under control, things can go bad real fast!

Most video Editing Software will come with at least some kind of audio editing component but in the majority of cases the features and controls on offer are pretty limited.

In fact even if you go up into the pro levels of video editing software nothing much changes.

In those programs they mostly don’t even bother with audio all that much and expect that the editor will be using entirely separate audio editing and enhancing software.

Fortunately there is a way to get your audio editing game on point before you start looking at high end audio programs.

That solution is a free program called Audacity and before we go any further you can download Audacity at This Link Here.

There are a few points I need to make about Audacity from the outset here.

First of all do not be fooled by the fact that this is a free program leading you to believe it is under-powered or lacking in features.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Audacity has features that go on for days and can be used in a professional setting.

The second point is not to be fooled by the late nineties user interface design aesthetic!

Remember it is free and has been developed for years by volunteers who are die-hard audio software geeks… not interior designers!

You can see an example of the software in use at this link Cleaning a Voice Track in Audacity.

So the reason I am bangin’ on about this is that I came across an excellent video this week that takes you through the entire interface and gives some great examples and exercises in using the software for yourself.

Get Cinematic Smartphone Footage

This entry is a little iPhone-centric (I think that’s a word… well it is now!) and probably some of the lighting tips assume a more pro level but still an excellent tutorial on getting the most out of your phone video.

It also gives a good explanation as to why a phone is never really going to give you a fully “cinematic” result.

Even though they use an iPhone APP in the demonstration there will be an Android one available somewhere!

Don’t Optimize for YouTube Search

One piece of advice that I still see being pushed around when it comes to YouTube videos and getting views is the whole “Keywords/Search Engine Optimization” thingy.

The background to this advice is that at a point in the past it was necessary to focus on these SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques in order to be discovered on YouTube and to ultimately become successful.

At the time it was sound advice as Google had taken over YouTube and a lot of the search technology Google used for their own search product was being applied to YouTube.

However over the years this has steadily changed to the point whre now we are looking at a totally different landscape.

Unfortunately many people have not really tracked with that change and are still either following or recommending those old techniques.

This NOT to say that having correct keywords and video optimization is now irrelevant!

That stuff still plays a part but that part has significantly reduced over time.

When it comes to who I listen to regarding YouTube I basically follow only a handful of people with proven track records.

Two of them are Derral Eves and Tim Schmoyer and fortunately they have just done a video together covering this subject.

If you have any kind of YouTube presence or want to develop one then this is a vital video to watch.

PowerDirector – Tips on using the Title Reveal Mask

This is a demonstration of a new feature just released by CyberLink exclusively for PowerDirector 365.

One of the advantages of the 365 subscription version of PowerDirector is that when new features like this are finished baking they get served up oven fresh to those users.

It is likely that it will be added as a core feature in a future version of PowerDirector 18 or even 19 when it is released.

In the video below you will see that the feature essentially offers slightly finer control over a text reveal mask making it far more flexible in the effects you can create.

PowerDirector Review Here

How To Make The Crystal Ball Effect – CyberLink PowerDirector 18

This is another effects video this time using overlay’s, masks and blend modes to execute the final effect.

As I was watching this one I realized that these days there are very few tools missing form your average video editing software when it comes to pulling off quite advanced effects like this.

Personally I think that the technical side of things is not really where your attention as a video editor should remain focused.

Once you get most of these basic techniques reasonably down pat the key from there on out is in imagining what you can do then doing it.

Remember when it comes to creating your videos the most important ability is the ability to totally suck! If can can be unafraid to suck then you will learn so much faster.

Stranger Things Upside Down Effect in Filmora9

OK so in the title of this one they call it the “Stranger Things Upside Down” effect.

However in the video itself they call it the “Stranger Things Upside Down” inspired effect which I think is a tad more realistic!

Aside from achieving a pretty good looking effect I think this is also a good tutorial on manipulating color in video.

One thing i thought of while watching this one was that one of the best things you can do with your video editing software is to futz about inside of it to see what buttons, knobs and dials do what!

Get into that color correction module and see what you can do… what could possibly go wrong?!

Filmora Review Here

How To Get Top Down Shots Easy

Stuck at home? Haha, just kidding, of course you are!

Here’s a handy little D.I.Y video from the guys at Filmora on how you can engineer some good top down shots using stuff you probably have lying around at home.

Walk Through Text Effect – Filmora Tutorial

This is quite an advanced effects tutorial made all the more complex because it is being demonstrated using Filmora9.

Because Filmora is a more basic video editor many of the tools you would find in more advanced video editing software are missing.

As you will see in the video, just because a few tools are missing doesn’t mean you can’t pull off effects like this.

However it does show that when you start to get to the outer edges of what any particular editor can do, things start to get complicated and to be honest… a little tedious!

Basically what you will find you have to do are a lot of repeated actions that at the higher end of the market may very well be automated.

This one builds on some earlier techniques shown in the video about half way down the page on this post here demonstrating the Annoying Orange effect.

Original post The Friday Roundup – Audacity Walk-through, Smartphone Tips & Effects