IN[FOCUS]

This video post will teach you how to create a simple visual organization of your backlog using a wipey board and post it notes. Learn what you can reap when you add a “Rewards Jar” in the mix!

I want to know how this works for you. Leave a comment below on what you choose to put in your rewards jar so that others can get inspired too!

To gain access to Chris P. Jones backlog training, click here, and if you want to get the training for free, simply submit an educational video to the In[Focus] blog.  That offer is launching soon, so read more about it by clicking here.

Meg Simone

Wedding filmmaker, avid skier, and travel enthusiast!

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G’day, blog followers!

Jet Kaiser here today to share a little time/money saving technique for us event filmmakers.

Those that are using DSLR’s know that it can be a pain to locate clips and stay chronological when editing from multiple cameras. When you transcode your footage, the original date created time is terminated since it is a newly created clip, making it impossible to view the clips chronologically once in FCP. Batch renaming your clips prior to transcoding will ensure that your clips stay together just as they were shot. When you are editing, you will have all you ceremony footage together and the toasts and dances from all angles will be sequentially and chronologically numbered to the precise second.

Batch renaming workflow is as follows-

1. Back up the footage!
2. Place all of the footage from all your cameras into one folder (some might choose not to include prep footage with the batch considering their might be footage from 2 different locations that you might not want to be sequenced together).
3. Using a renaming program, batch rename all the clips together while the files are arranged under “original date created”. Renaming a file does not change the date/time created (shot), only the name.
4. Transcode files as normal (MPEG Streamclip, Compressor)
5. Import in FCP

First and foremost, this workflow has increased our delivery times and has saved us a lot of time searching within our FCP browser to find related clips. Batch renaming clips might not be for everyone, especially those using the EOS plugin within FCP. I have not found a way to log and transfer renamed clips using this plugin.

Download Many Tricks’ Name Mangler

Thoughts? Comments? Am I out of my mind? Let me know (in the nicest way possible) by commenting below.

Bye!
Jet Kaiser
Jet Kaiser Films

Jet

Jet Kaiser saved up enough money to by his first camcorder at the age of 14 and he's been creating films ever since. He eventually created the Indianapolis-based, Jet Kaiser Films where he collaborates his with his lovely wife, Dani. Together they produce cinematic, story-rich, "motion pictures for those in LOVE™ "

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With hours of footage, multiple audio sources, and anxious clientele you can’t afford to have an unorganized project and scattered media. Using organizational tools within your editing platform of choice can help you provide a quick turnaround and without compromising the quality of a wedding film. Today I’ll outline some uses of these tools.

Bins are the simplest form of organization in FCP. Organizing footage in bins based on a system you understand can help you locate footage very quickly. I prefer to organize by the events of the day such as preps, ceremony, and rehearsal. You can take it a step further too and separate bridal and groom footage, photo sessions, etc. In addition to footage it is often helpful to sort different audio sources from the ceremony and receptions in this manner as well. Bins can help bring overall organization to your project and help you easily locate necessary clips.

Labels are a commonly overlooked organization tool within FCP. Labels allow you to assign colored overlays to clips in the browser and timelines. I commonly use green labels for all clips able for use within an edit and red labels to mark clips that have previously been used. Finding a system of labeling that works best for you will undoubtedly help you navigate all of your media.

A method I find very useful is using a combination of labeling and sorting footage into sequences to easily scrub and pull clips for short form trailers. After sorting footage into bins, placing the footage then into sequences provides a quick and easy method to scrub footage rather than opening clips in the browser and scrubbing through. As I mark clips for use I can pull them into the V2/A3A4 tracks from V1/A1A2 and copy and paste them into my final sequence. The labeling comes into play by assigning a separate color for all used media in the V2 tracks, these labels will also be reflected in the browser.

These are some methods that I use to navigate the large amounts of media that come with filming weddings. I encourage you to explore the organizational tools within your preferred editing program to keep your editing schedule on track and cut down backlog.

Dusty Frey
Northernlight Filmworks

John and Jennifer Moon

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