Objectives for Project
For my project, I wanted to get some more experience working with a professional videographer and refine my editing skills. I talked with my mentor, Tanner, about what kind of projects I could help with. Tanner runs a video production company out of Idaho Falls and he told me that he could use some help making a video Reel of their past work as well as helping edit some upcoming projects. The plan was to come up with one large video reel and have two shorter Reels to post on social media. I also wanted to help edit videos for their clients. One of their clients, a Youtuber named Chandler Smith, had some vlog style videos that I was to edit. The goal was to learn more about how to edit, how to create video Reels, and how to work with large Files in Adobe Premiere, as well as getting any tips from Tanner on video production along the way.
Here is an example of one of the Reels I had to edit.
Challenges in Execution
I originally planned to have different kinds of videos for social media posts. I wanted to do an interview style video with Tanner so that we could show the behind the scenes of their company. Sadly, Tanner didn’t have enough time to help put that together. Instead, I just used the Reel footage and cut it down. One of the biggest challenges in creating the Reel was working with large files. Tanner shot all of his videos in the highest resolution possible so my old Macbook Pro was struggling to keep up. I would have to take breaks and let my computer load as I was processing really large video files. I learned how to use proxies on the videos, but sadly I wasn’t able to use them much because my computer took so much time to make them. But proxys did come in handy when I was making videos for Chandler Smith. He shoots his videos in 4k so I needed to create proxies so that my computer could handle the files.
Process
With creating the Reels, I had to get on the phone with Tanner many times to make sure that the Reels were just the way he wanted them. I had previously thought that he would want the Reels to be a certain way. I thought he wanted each clip to seamlessly transition into the next one. I also thought that he wanted inspiring music in the background. From what Tanner explained to me later, I realized that he wanted the exact opposite. He wanted each clip in the Reel to be completely different from the other. We also had to agree on which clips specifically he wanted in the Reel and which clips he didn’t. He would send me time codes on each section in which he wanted a change. The time codes he sent were very helpful in editing the video the way he wanted it to be.
The Reels turned out to be very good. The youtube videos that I helped with also turned out very good. The best experiences I had were the extra tips I got from Tanner as I was working. Sometimes we would talk about other kinds of projects besides making Reels. He sent me some tutorials about documentary filmmaking. In these tutorials, he broke down his process of making a compelling story and how to make it easier to compile interviews and create a script from them. He also showed me tutorials he made on how to edit After Effects videos. This was really helpful and I learned way more than I thought I would. Learning how to successfully use proxies was the skill that I found the most useful for future video projects. I learned that if you want to make proxies, sometimes they take a long time and you need to have them rendering the night before.
Takeaways
I intend on working on video projects with very large video files in the future, and now I know how to do it. I also learned what to do if I want to make a video Reel of my own. The key is to make each clip as diverse as possible. You want to have a string of video clips that are as different from each other as possible. This way you come across as someone who is able to do a wide variety of projects for a client. I never thought about it this way but it makes sense. I always get scared to make videos with electronic music in the background because I feel like it takes away from the image. But in these Reels, I think that the electronic music gives a fun beat to the video. In my personal reel, I want to incorporate this style of music.
I had to go through a lot of video footage to find the best shots. While I was looking through it I got to watch some of Tanner’s documentaries. Many of them inspired me to make my own documentaries. I was able to see what kind of techniques Tanner used that I might want to apply. I’m also grateful that he made tutorials about documentary filmmaking that help me know what to do when I plan to make one.