Getting Started/Work Flow

[MDEazz]

I’m fairly new to video editing and I’m using Premiere Elements 9 (and Photoshop Elements 9 for photo editing.)

I’m taking on what to me feels like a fairly large project - a video biography of a friend’s mother, with LOTS of still photographs and a narration by my friend that I’m thinking will end up 35 — 45 minutes.

I’m looking for advice or specific resources to consult on getting started and work flow.

Regarding all the stills that will be used, I had seen a response in another post where Bill Hunt outlined how he organizes his photograph files (say for originals, resized/edited originals, etc…) but now I can’t find it. Help? Should I bring them in all in the beginning or as I use them? or does this matter?

I could also use some advice on whether to keep the project in one big file or break it up for system capacity sake.

Should I do the key framing as I go or add once the story is layed out with the photos and video? Same question for any titles along the way.

I’m doubting myself posting this since I’m such a novice, but here goes.

Melissa in Atlanta

[Ted]

Hi Melissa,

My compliments for doing this... that will be a real special project for her.

I have no help, but I'm eager to follow this thread... it will prove to be a good resource.

[Steve Grisetti]

Have you got any interview footage with the friend's mother? That would also be great -- especially if you play the audio from the interview as you show old photos of the people and places she's talking about.

I recommend you start with your narration. Have you written a script for it yet?

Once you've written and recorded the narration, the other footage should fall right into place.

I've got an article on telling stories with video. You'll find it on this search page.
http://muvipix.com/products.php?searchp ... =0&btn.y=0

Make a goal of keeping it under 45 minutes. That's about the attention span for any home video.

In fact, even better if you keep it under 20 minutes. Although you can also include Bonus Features on your DVD -- longer videos about specific incidents in her life or even a slideshow of her from childhood to her present age.

[Chuck Engels]

Hi Melissa, another person from Atlanta finally

I've tried to find Hunt's article for you but it could be one of those that got lost when the Adobe forum changed.
Hopefully he will see this and chime in on some of his ideas

It is always best to limit the media in your project as much as possible, try not to add anything that you don't think you will use.
You can always go back and add more stuff to the project anytime.

I like to work on small "sub" projects whenever possible.
If you can easily split your movie into multiple parts that usually works best.
It is easier to edit, takes less time, and you will be able to work faster.

Definitely wait until you have the narration before starting any keyframing. Be sure to have the still images cover enough frames to ensure smooth pan and zoom and enough time for the audience to be able to really see the image.

Sounds like a great project and there are lots of folks here to help you all along the way

[momoffduty]

Hi Melissa and Welcome to Muvipix!

I use Bill's folder system and add my own too.

Each project has its own folder on my 2nd hard drive. I then add folders for clips, audio, PrPro, AE, Encore, Orginal photos, Resized photos, graphics, etc.

In PSE I import the original photos and tag with the clients name. (If you have any cropping or photo retouching do that first before tagging into albums in the next step.)

Next, I group photos into albums usually chronologically by event (wedding=getting ready, ceremony,etc) or by age (graduation=baby, preschool, KG-5th, 6th-8th, HS)

In the album view I sort the order of the photos and then export as new files in psd format with new names. Example: Baby photos are exported to a new folder "EE_Folder1" inside the Resized photo folder with the naming of each photo "EE_F1_ and sort number order". Preschool photos would be "EE_Folder2" and photos named "EE_F2_and the sort number order". Repeat for the other albums. When I see a photo I know now that it belongs to EE and is located in Folder 2 of the Resized folder group.

Now in the editor I Batch resize the psds by folder and overwrite. I still have my Originals in a folder. For standard projects the size is 1024xconstrain proportions and for widescreen 1600xconstrain proportions. I don't worry about portrait or landscape...yes, the portrait will be larger than needed but I find that it isn't worth the time to sort again.

I also print out a contact sheet of each folder 5 across x 8 down. On this I write notes when to insert a video clip or graphic or maybe I want to create a special effect. I check off the photos as I use in PrPro and AE. PrPro & PrEl does have a check for used items, but AE doesn't and this helps me to keep track of things and note which program I have used the photo. I also write notes on the back if I want to remember a font, color, or effect for future reference.

The contact sheet is good too if you are making something for someone else to give them a copy. They may want to add a few photos here and there (hopefully before you have started the project. )

The video clips are numbered too and I just write a list with a description. I jot down the number of the clip where it should appear on the contact sheet.

This may seem like overkill, but my first big project was for the tennis team and I had one big tangled mess of clips and photos. I spent more time searching for things than putting it together.

Hope this helps and welcome again to Muvipix!

[Peru]

You may want to use background music on another track and keyframe its volume to a lower level when the narrator is speaking.

[George Tyndall]

I’m fairly new to video editing and I’m using Premiere Elements 9 (and Photoshop Elements 9 for photo editing.)

I’m taking on what to me feels like a fairly large project - a video biography of a friend’s mother, with LOTS of still photographs and a narration by my friend that I’m thinking will end up 35 — 45 minutes.

I’m looking for advice or specific resources to consult on getting started and work flow.

If your goal is to create a 35-45 minute slide show (a series of stills accompanied by music and narration that you will output to a DVD), then you already have, with the PRE/PSE bundle, extremely capable software.

Here is how I would approach the probject:

1. Use the PSE Organizer to, yes, organize your photos. If you intend to use the slides in the order in which they were taken, by date, then the Organizer will put them in proper order for you, from earliest to latest.

2. If you want to fine-tune the ordering of the slides, create an Album and then move them as desired within the Album.

3. Once they are in the desired order, select them all and go to Create>Slide Show, which opens the PSE Slide Show Editor. Import the narration and that will go with the slides and then click the button that will automatically adjust the duration of each slide to so that the last slide and the narration end together.

4. Send the slide show to PRE9, which should be already open in Timeline (not Sceneline) view.

5. Fine-tune the show in PRE9 and then "Share" it to Personal Computer by choosing the desired HDD.

6. Repeat steps 1-5 until you have completed all the segments.

7. Open PRE9 and import each of the segments, one after the other, onto the new Timeline.

8. If desired, place DVD markers at the beginning of each segment and use those to create a DVD menu.

9. Share the completed SD project by going to Disc>Burn to Folder.

10. From that folder, burn as many SD DVDs as you desire.

[Barb O]

George,
there are many ideas in your scenario that I like. I would suggest some additional considerations.

Resizing the photos ? Perhaps you were expecting that they had been resized prior to beginning your steps. Cheryl posted her resizing comments.

1A. In the Organizer, digital camera photos can sequence automatically according to date taken. However scanned photos may require manual sequencing. The PSE Album (described for use in step 2) can do the resequencing: it would be interesting to know if photos were scanned and saved with any particular sequence or file naming convention?

3A. Pan and zoom motion on the photos -- consider using the pan and zoom boxes of the PSE slide show editor to apply this motion. (Why ? I have seen many comments from beginners that these boxes are easy to use. This would avoid the learning curve of keyframing on a first project. Later more time could be devoted to learning keyframing)

3B. It is not clear to me if the narration will cover the entire length of a slide show "segment". If yes then I understand the benefit of the button in PSE slide show editor that adjusts the length of the slides to fit the length of the audio (narration).

7A.Generally I have favored adding audio in Premiere Elements because there is more control. If there will be both narration and music, then I think more discussion about when the music is added should be considered. Premiere Elements will do the lower volume adjustments of the music during the narration.

[MDEazz]

Oh this is all juicy, delicious stuff. Thanks so much for the generosity of time it takes to write a thoughtful response!

Going to take some time to absorb it to figure out best way to utilize the advice.

I had already interviewed my friend and the bulk of the info is in one 2 hour clip. I will mainly be using the audio, but some video of her talking as well.

I have not scanned photos yet as I wanted to get the flow of the "story" in audio first then scan the photos I felt best supported her rememberances.

@Momoffuty - bravo! your advice exactly addresses one of the needs I had - how to manage all these files! This is great.
@George and Barb - I have done a little key framing in PRE9, but I haven't used PE9 at all for slide shows. I'll have to figure out if this is the most efficient way to get the project started. I assume that one can completely edit the slideshow created in PE9 once the segments are brought into PRE9?

Thanks again for the support.
Melissa in Atlant

[videovillageidiot]

Is there a tut on "general" workflow methods? I think that would be a big help. I know that when i started in PE i had no clue about organization - i just was THRILLED to be making movies!! When i had my computer cleared and had an opportunity to start over i was more organized but i think mostly just because of what i had learned on my own and tidbits from muvipix posts.

just a thought, if it's not already there...if it is...never mind

[Chuck Engels]

There are as many different workflows as there are people
We could put together a general tutorial on organization and some ideas for workflows, but they will never apply to everyone. Something for us to think about for future tutorials, thanks

[rusty]

For standard projects the size is 1024xconstrain proportions and for widescreen 1600xconstrain proportions. I don't worry about portrait or landscape...yes, the portrait will be larger than needed but I find that it isn't worth the time to sort again.

Cheryl, this is very useful. I have tended to go through and batch resize the portrait ones and the landscape ones separately, but it is time consuming and, you're right, probably not worth doing. Also, just the tip about setting the horizontal size and keeping the proportions contrained is good, rather than being slavish to 1000x750 and 1600x1200 which can be unsatisfactory as many/most photos don't star out 4x3.

Melissa, I definitely have found that it is easier to work on segments, export each one as an AVI (with an appropriate file name) and then recombine everything at the end in the desired order with transitions and titles. This is particularly true if there is music. It allows you go go back and edit each segment (which is inevitable, at least with me) and not mess up the whole thing (eg by inserting something incorrectly and pushing the timeline out, and ending up with carefully synchronized music/voice-over/soundtrack being out-of-synch - I learned this the hard way!!).

Also, I thoroughly agree that if you can keep the piece to 20 - 25 minutes, your audience will thank you. They might even want to see you next work, as opposed to groaning when you roll out your latest marathon work of art on their next visit! I always try to remember that the audience doesn't know what you did not include. While every photo and line may seem important, and is no doubt very nice in itself, work hard to avoid items that are repetitious or that just don't really add anything to what you are trying to say (as Steve suggests, using "Special Features" on a DVD to include an entire interview or other sequence can be a great - it is most important to keep things moving. People can get the drift of something pretty quickly with a surprisingly short clip. Just have a look at any TV show or movie, and you will be surprised by the number of short clips and cutaways when you are looking for them.

On slideshow segments, I find that a duration of 5 seconds is far too long to keep people from drumming their fingers waiting for the next image. I prefer 3 to 3.5 seconds (or even shorter) as a standard, and this can vary depending on the music, or effect you are trying for. Also, I have watched other people's slideshows where they used random transitions throughout and found it very distracting. Pick a simple transition (eg cross disolve or dip to black) that you like and use it more or less throughout unless there is a reason to vary, such as making a particular impact, to mirror something in the music, etc.

Those are two cents worth.

Good luck!

[momoffduty]

Like Chuck posted we all have our own workflow. And to add to Barb's post about the order of the photos, I manually sort in albums because the photos usually come from different cameras and some are scanned and others burned on a CD so the date taken doesn't work. The one thing to watch for are FB photos and cell phone photos. Those are usually very low rez.

If working in PrEl bring in the resized photos by folder. Make folders in your PrEl project to keep things organized for clips, audio, titles, backgrounds, etc.

A member here (can't remember who) did a video with an interview talking about a family photo. As the person spoke a photo would appear that he was referring to. Then back to the video and another photo, and so on. Videos on track 1 and photos on track 2.

Russ - looks like we posted at the same time. I concur on the same transitions and am partial to gradient wipes, dip to black, & cross dissolves. Timing depends on the music. If there are lots of people in the photo or a title then a little longer, about 8 seconds or more. I would rather see a slideshow with less more meaningful photos than a long one with repetitious photos. Good idea too on breaking the project up into sections. Place DVD markers and the viewer can pick and choose which section to view later.

Melissa, it may be helpful if the person you are making this for to rate their most important photos and you can then give those photos extra time or titles.

[rusty]

Place DVD markers and the viewer can pick and choose which section to view later.

Exactly what I meant to add Cheryl - the different segments can help with logical DVD menuing.

[MDEazz]

Thanks, Russ.

it is easier to work on segments, export each one as an AVI (with an appropriate file name) and then recombine everything at the end in the desired order with transitions and titles. This is particularly true if there is music. It allows you go go back and edit each segment (which is inevitable, at least with me) and not mess up the whole thing (eg by inserting something incorrectly and pushing the timeline out, and ending up with carefully synchronized music/voice-over/soundtrack being out-of-synch

Do you mean to lay the soundtrack on once I have combined all the pieces?