Welcome to another in a series of video tutorials from San Diego video production company, BizVid Communications. Today I am going to show you how to separate a stereo audio channel into two mono channels. You may ask “why do that?” Well, in in the clip I’m going to use today, I have a stereo track that in actuality, is made up of two different microphones….one for each of the subjects.

You can see in the video what I am talking about. And since each of these gentlemen speak at different levels; I need to split their audio tracks out so that I can control the volume of each, separately.  As you will see, this is a very easy process. The first thing you have to know is that you cannot begin by having the clip already in the timeline.  It won’t work.  So, in the Project window, position your mouse on the clip and right click.  Next, scroll to “Modify” then over to “Audio Channels” and click.

This brings up a window that gives me some choices…so let’s take them one at a time:

First I am asked what format I want.  As you see it defaults to “Stereo.”  I want “Mono” so I click the drop-down and select “Mono.”  Next, it wants to know how many audio channels I want to work with.  In this case I want two channels.  And finally, it wants to know how to separate the stereo track and in my case, I want to build an audio track from the left channel and an audio track from the right channel.  Once I’m satisfied with the configuration, I click “okay.”

Now, in the “Project” panel, it does not appear that any change has taken place.  Fact is, you won’t notice it until the clip is clicked and dragged into the Timeline.  When I do, you can see that there are now two separate audio tracks giving me much more control over the manipulation of each.  For example, I need to increase the volume of this clip here, so I will right click, then position my mouse on “Audio Gain” and click.  Next I will increase the track volume by 8 decibels and click. As you can see, it only effected audio track two.

And there you have it: an easy way to separate a stereo track into two or more different tracks.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and that it has been helpful. To see the kind of work we do, be sure to visit our website, www.BizVidCommunications.com or our YouTube channel for other video tutorials on a variety of subjects.  Thanks for watching.

Welcome to another in a series of video tutorials produced by BizVid Communications a leader in San Diego video production.  Today I’m going to show you how to cut out a video clip so that it’s a separate element that can be moved and molded any way you see fit.  Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.  We’ll call it a video vignette.  I’m working in Premiere Pro CC but what you will learn in this tutorial is applicable to any version.  So let’s get started.

I have already placed the clip I’m going to use on the timeline in a sequence I named “Vignette.”  Next, I to want isolate only the section of the clip that I will use in the finished video.  To do this, I will use the Premiere Pro titler which I can open one of two ways…..either go to “File” then “New” then “Title” or, on a PC use the shortcut control “T.”  Here I will name my new title “Mask” and click “OK.”  This opens the title window.  Make sure you have “Show Background Video” checked otherwise you won’t be able to see what you are masking.

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 Welcome to another in a series of Premiere Pro video tutorials presented by San Diego video production company BizVid Communications.  Today I’ll be showing you how to create a “nested” sequence.   A nested sequence is the combining of clips and titles into one manageable asset.  Nesting is also a great way to reduce the number of video layers in your timeline so that your project is more manageable. So let’s get started. 

To save time in this tutorial, I have already created my project and brought my assets into the timeline.  I have sized them, added a title.  Looks nice.  Okay, let’s say that my client has asked me to spin these pictures and title up from infinity over a nice gold background.  How can I do that?  Read more →

Welcome to another in a series of Premiere Pro tutorials from San Diego video production company, BizVid Communications.  I think we have all shot video in the hand held mode and found the result to be a little shaky.  Well, prior to the release of Premere Pro CS6, the only way to correct an unsteady shot was in After Effects.

Take a look at this clip.   It was obviously not shot on a tripod.  But I want it to look like it was.  I can do that by using the Warp Stabilizer effect in Premiere Pro.  First, I’ll position my mouse in the search window of the effects panel and type, “warp” and before I finish, Premier will bring it up and, as you can see, it is listed in the “Distort” category.   Next, I’ll click and drag the effect onto the clip and when I do, this blue bar appears.  This means that it has begun to analyze.  This particular clip is about 4 seconds long it’s going to take between five and ten times longer than the clips real time, to analyze and figure out all of the algorithms in order to make the correction. Read more →

Welcome to another Premiere Pro video tutorial developed by BizVid Communications a leading video production company in San Diego.  Today I’m going to show you how to generate a circle similar to what you might see when a specific section needs to be highlighted.

First I’ll bring my assets into the timeline.  This is a publicity picture of some of the Emmy Awards we have received over the years, but it needs to be sized properly.  So let me right click on the clip and check “Scale to Frame Size.”   You probably won’t have to do that.  Next, I’m going to position my mouse on the “New Items” folder and click.  Then, I’m going to scroll down to “Transparent Video” and click….it will default to the correct size of the project so I will click “OK” I now have a new transparent clip in the “Project” pane and I’ll click and drag it and place it on video track 3.  Since I like to keep things nice and organized, I will drag the new clip into a bin I titled, “Elements.” Read more →

Welcome to another in the series of video tutorials presented by San Diego video production company, BizVid Communications.  Today I’m going to show you how to make and use a vignette in Premiere Pro.  The title of this tutorial is a little deceiving in that I am going to begin in Photoshop where I’ll create the vignette template and then I’ll switch to Premiere Pro to show you how to use the template in a video project.  This template will be one I can use for every video project I do from this point forward.  So let’s get started.

First up is Photoshop.  I position my mouse on “New” and click.  Next I’ll select the pre-set for “Film and Video.”  Then I’ll change the width to 1280 pixels and the height to 720 pixels.  This will give me a 16:9 aspect ratio.  I’ll leave the “resolution” at 72 but I’ll change the “background content” to “transparent” and click “okay.  Next, I want to create a second layer so I position my mouse on the little icon just left of the garbage pail and click.  This will create a second layer…as you can see here in the layers pallet.  Next, I want to select the elliptical marquee tool from the tool box and then position my mouse in the top left corner…a little way away from the edge, then click and drag to about the same distance in the bottom right corner.  This will make an elliptical outline which you can see as little dancing dots.  Now, I’ll position my mouse outside of the elliptical pattern, right click and “select inverse.”  By doing this, only the outer parts of the elliptical form will be affected.

Next, in the tool box, I’ll select the “paint bucket” tool then double click the color pallet to be sure that black is selected.  Once I am sure the correct layer is selected, using the “paint bucket” tool I’ll left click to drop black in the inverted section…like this.  Next, I want to remove the selected portion of little dancing dots so on my PC I push control “D” and the dots go away.  Next, I’ll position my mouse on filter and click, scroll down to “blur” then “Gaussian blur” and click.  This opens a box that lets me adjust the degree of blur to be applied.  For me, it’s right about here….100 to 150 pixels or so.  Next, I can play with opacity to lighten or darken the effect or do it in Premiere….either way.  And there it is.

Now let’s use this template in a video project.  First, I want to save this as a layered PSD file….don’t flatten this….I go to “file” and “save as.”  Next, save as a .psd.  Now, I’ll open Premiere Pro and use this newly built template….back I a moment.  Okay, here I am.  I’ve dropped the clip in the timeline and have imported my psd file.  Now I’ll click and drag the psd file to the track above the clip and there you have it.  Easy and it makes the video look much more professional.  We’re done.  Be sure to visit our blog at BizVidCommunications.com/blog or our BizVid Communications YouTube channel for more educating blogs and tutorials.  Thanks for watching.

Welcome to another video tutorial produced by Bizvid Communications, one of San Diego’s leading video production companies.  This tutorial is designed to teach you how to use the “Corner Pin” effect in Premiere Pro.  My version is 5.5, but what you will learn is applicable to other versions as well.  The “Corner Pin” effect is a nice little tool that lets you put a video or still photo into a space that is not perfectly rectangle or square.  So let’s begin.

Today, I’m using a virtual set video clip.  What you see is not real.  Virtual sets are used to create the impression that a person is in a real environment. You can see an example of what I am talking about in our blog post titled, “Strengthen Success with Search Engine Optimization.”    Go check it out if you have time.  As you can see, the screen in this scene has nothing in it.  So, to make things look more real, I need to put something in there.

I’ve chosen the clip I’d like to use so  I’m going to click and drag it onto video track two…just above the virtual set clip.  Next, I’ll go to Effects Controls and click on “motion” then try to scale it the clip down to see if I can get it to fit within the borders of the screen.  That doesn’t work.  So, let me go back to Effects Controls and uncheck uniform scale to see if I can do it that way.  As you can see, no matter how I try to do it, it’s not going to fit because it’s out of perspective.  So I’m going to re-set my clip back to its full size.

Thankfully, Adobe created the “Corner Pin” effect which can be found in the Effects Panel.  Don’t worry, if you don’t know exactly where it is simply position your mouse in the search dialog box and type “Corner” and before you get too far, the “Corner Pin” effect will appear. And as you can see, it is in the “Distort” folder.   Next, I’ll click and drag the effect onto video track two where my screen capture video is.  Another way is to select the clip, then double click the effect and it will be applied.  Once the effect is on the clip, the controls for it will be found in the “Effects Controls” panel.

There are a couple of ways to manipulate the effect. One way is to click and drag these numbers around until you get what you want…the easier way is to do it…first let me re-set the clip…..now, notice this icon here.  Simply click inside that and, in the program monitor, you’ll get access to the same points…as you can see, there are four targets that I can click and drag around and into the proper place.

Okay, if I’m not sure I have every corner in its proper place, I can zoom in by clicking this button that says, “Fit” and go in 100%.  Then I’ve got scroll bars to scroll around to see how I did.  If my work is sloppy, I can refine.  Doing this gives me a better look at the fit.  When done, click “Fit” and I’m back to full view.

So that’s how you make things fit into odd shaped areas without distorting the image.  The “Corner Pin” is a great tool and I hope you have occasion to use it many times.  Thanks for watching this tutorial. Be sure to check out some of our other tutorials and please subscribe to our YouTube channel to get the latest and greatest as they are released.  Also, check out our website, BizVidCommunications.com.

Welcome to another video blog produced by San Diego video production company, BizVid Communications.  In this video I’m going to show you how to create a quad split sequence.  A quad split is defined as four quadrants of the screen each populated with separate video or, as I call it, picture in picture on steroids.  Once the sequence is created, it can be nested into other sequences within your video.

To begin, I have already imported the clips into my project so at this point I will stack one upon the other on the timeline.  In this case, my clips are larger than the project settings so I need to right click on each and check the “scale to frame size” box so that they will scale to the project size.  If you create your project the same size as the video you shot, you won’t have to do this.  Next, I’ll size each video so that they fit into each of the four quadrants.  To save time, I have already experimented and I’ve determined that each clip should be scaled to 53%….you will need to make that determination yourself.

To scale the clips, I’ll go to the Effects Controls window and scale accordingly.  Now that I’ve scaled each clip to the size I want, it’s time for me to position them in each of four the quadrants.  As you can see, they still need some finessing. So, in the Effects Controls panel I’ll use the position settings to do that.  The best looking quad split is one that has no blank space between the video clips.  There…..the quad split is complete.  For me, however, I like to add a little more impact, so in Photoshop, I created a “Quad Split template” that I’ll overlay on the clips to help create a little more separation.

Once I do this, I will need to adjust each clip again so that it fits perfectly within its assigned space.  If you would like to know how I created this Quad Split template, see our Photoshop tutorial titled How to Make a Quad Split Template.   Okay, there you have it.  A quad split sequence that can be nested with other sequences in your video production.  This technique is a great way to show more than one clip simultaneously and creating more visual interest.  For other BizVid tutorials, please visit our YouTube channel or search our BizVid Communications blog.  Thanks for watching.

Welcome to another video tutorial by San Diego video production company, BizVid Communications.  In this video you’ll  learn how to edit a project that was shot in iso with two or more cameras.  We’ll bring each of the camera’s footage into Premiere and cut them together as though it were a live switch.  Typically this technique is used on projects where different camera angles were incorporated.  I have already imported the footage into the timeline.  The first task will be to get both clips in sync with each other.

Let me find the starting point in clip one.  I’ll use the clap board for this.  You could also use time code as long as you jam synced both cameras so that they recorded the same code at the same moment.   I’ll position the CTI at the point where the board comes together.  You can finesse this with the arrow keys on your keyboard.  Now in the menu bar I’ll select “Marker”, then “order number.”   I’ll leave this at zero but you can choose any number just be sure that the other clips you mark have the same number.  Now I’ll do the same for the second clip.  I’ll find the start point, select “Marker” then “Clip Marker”  then “Set Other” and enter order number which is zero.  Now, to synchronize these two, I need to select both, then right click, scroll to “synchronize” and click.

The Synchronize Clips window appears and I tell the system to synchronize clip marker zero and click.  As you can see, the two camera clips are moved into sync.  This is now the master sequence but to get to Multicam mode I need to create another sequence.  Position your mouse in the Project window, right click and select Sequence.  The new sequence window will default to the project size but you will want to add a name for it….I’ll call it “nested” and click “OK.”  Next, I’ll choose 1-video layer and 1-audio layer….that’s all we’ll need in this sequence.  Click “OK.”

Here’s the new “Nested” sequence with one video and one audio layer.  Notice two tabs above the timeline….the “Raw” sequence and the “Nested” sequence.  Next is to bring the “Raw” sequence into the “Nested” sequence.  So, from the Project Window, click and drag it into the “Nested” sequence.  Next, right click on the clip and select “Multi-camera” then, “enable.”  Once you “enable”, you can see the sequence title change to MC-1….that means the sequence is ready to go.  To edit this sequence, position your mouse on “Window” click and scroll down to “Multi-Camera Monitor” and click….and there it is.

But before you edit, there is one more thing you need to do and that is to tell the system from which camera do you want the audio track to be pulled.  You have two choices, “audio follows video” meaning that every time different camera is clicked, the system will pull audio from that camera.  If you leave that choice unchecked, the system will only draw audio from one source of your choosing.  To start the edit, press “play” then “record.”  Next, I will use my mouse to make the visual cuts.  Whichever camera box I click , Premiere will make the cut at that point.  So let’s do a few………I can also use the number pad and click “1” or “2” and if I had more cameras, I could click “3” and “4.”  Okay, as you can see, the sequence has been cut at the points that I chose.

And there it is, a live switched program.  If a mistake was made, simply re-position the mouse at the point before the mistake, call up the monitor and start again from that point.  If you want to do a dissolve anywhere within your project, just position you CTI over the cut and add a dissolve…the shortcut is control “D.”Once you have the show to your satisfaction, you can export it like you do any project….by going to file, export, media.  I hope this tutorial has answered some questions for you and will help you launch into multicam editing…..a fun way to produce video.  Be sure to visit other tutorials on our BizVid Communications YouTube channel.  Thanks for watching.

Welcome to this BizVid Communicactions video tutorial.  Today, I’m going to illustrate how to animate a slide show.  I’ve already created a show complete with transitions, drop shadow, rough edges and music and our tutorial How to build a slide show in Premiere Pro will show how I did it.  To finish this show,  I want to add a different kind of animation move to each slide.    First I’ll select the slide I’m going to work on.  When I do, that activates the Element Controls panel and here you see the two effects already incorporated…..Roughen Edges and Drop shadow.

To animate, I’m going to work with the Motion effect.  I click the drop down arrow in the Motion tab which gives me access to the settings necessary to control movement of the selected slide.  Here, I can manipulate the slides position, its scale and rotation.  These other settings we’ll cover some other time.  For the first slide, I’m going to have it do a slow move forward from its current position.  So I need to tell Premiere Pro the start and stop points by setting a key frame for each.  It’s important to note that a key frame will appear where ever the CTI  or Current Time Indicator is resting.  To start the animation, I’ll move it to the beginning of the clip then click the little stopwatch just left of the Scale icon.  You can see that the first key frame has been set to start the animation.  The ending key frame will appear automatically as soon as I change the Scale size to its final size.  But first, I’ll move the CTI to the end of the clip where the animation will come to rest.  If I don’t, the endl key frame will overwrite the open key frame and no animation will take place.  I started at 100% and I’ll finish the animation at 125%.   I do that by placing my mouse on the numbers just right of the word, Scale and click.  Once highlighted  I can type 125 for 125% and click outside that box.  Notice the end key frame was automatically generated.   So now when I move the CTI between the two points, you can see the animation I created.  If I had wanted the picture to grow even larger, I could have changed the end setting to 150%….it’s all subjective.  Be sure to click and drag the key frames to the left and to the right so that the animation starts at the beginning of the clip.  And there is the first animation.  Next, select the second slide and let’s do a rotation.  First, I’ll set the beginning point……place the CTI here….set the rotation start of -11…..click the stopwatch……..move the CTI…….rotate the opposite direction to +11…….move the key frames…..and see the animation.  Now I’ll stop the recording to set the other slides in a similar fashion……..There, all done.  Each animation was created in exactly the same way.  Animations are easy to create and they add so much more to a production.  I hope you’ve learned through this and thanks for joining me.