Mmm, perhaps I did not express this well enough in my post. I don't find my blindness to be a hindrance as a viewer. In fact, I am grateful for it as it allows me to enjoy things I wouldn't otherwise. However, I do think that it is a handicap as vidder not to be able to see things that will alienate some of my audience. If it was a matter of me being able to see them but actively deciding not to care about them I would feel differently. I've done that in some cases (e.g. decided not to wait for DVD source material) and I feel fine about it. I know I may lose a small fraction of the audience but I don't care. I would like to be in control of those decisions though. Does that make sense? So rather than just having shitty colour by default, i'd like to decide whether a vid project is worth me spending time on colour correction or not. And if it is, being able to do it competently.
Haha, you fade everything! I envy you so! Can I ask you a couple of questions about that? Do you use mainly 'cross dissolve' or do you use other things? When you are checking to see if a fade works what do you look for? How do you know how long to make the fades--just trial and error? Is there anything you adjust to make them look better?
Sometimes seeing exactly what's going on in the clip *isn't* the point, you know? Yeah. Sometimes it isn't. And sometimes it is arguably the most crucial meta point in the whole vid and your beta didn't even see it the first 50 times she watched. ;p (Which is the case in point!) In this case, it's a problem. It's definitely not always a problem though, no.
I agree though that it can be stifling to worry about all possibilities... I don't think that's what I'm doing here. It's more that I'm wanting to build up self-awareness about how things translate to my audience. And I'm the one wanting to push myself in this more subtle direction. Apart from the very clear 'fix this for I do not understand it / it is tonally incorrect' type beta feedback, it's me far far more than anyone else that is dissatisfied with the lack of subtlety in the end result. I don't actually think anyone else really cares (those glaring mistakes aside). :p But I care. Mostly because I have things I'd love to make that I don't feel able to make with my current style/abilities. Does that make sense?
Anything is helpful!! I have been dying to coax people into explaining fades to me but have yet to work out a way... I do have a thing called 'additive dissolve' in FCP as well as 'cross dissolve' but I could never work out what it did. Maybe a regular fade is 'crossdissolve' in FCP?
just, the feel of the thing and the music and what I want to be visible for how long, depending on how soft and dreamy I want it to feel, or how long I want them to overlap and how connected I want the two clips to seem Yeah, ok... It's hard for me to understand because I have sort of played with that and mostly I just adjust things and stare at them and then do something different and stare at it again and it all looks much of a muchness to me. But from what you say it sounds like I need to just carry on with that and train my eye more. It's definitely one of those things where I find it hard to tell what is better. I render something and then I think 'huh, well this is different, but is it better?' Very much need of trial and error I think!
Don't get too excited! We don't have anything just called 'fade' so I am pretty sure it's just the FCP name for a basic transition. ;)
I pretty much can only think of one, maybe two transitions I've ever been happy with so I don't know... I still feel like I'm doing something wrong. This is backed up by the fact that I often get beta feedback that is basically 'everything looks fine except the transitions look clunky, why don't you just remove them?!' and then I think 'waaaah yes I thought they looked ugly too but I am TRYING damn it!' and delete them. Maybe I am innately drawn to shots that do not want to mesh together?! LOL! And I like other people's fades in their vids lots so I don't think it's that I just don't like fades. It is so baffling! I think I'll have to put it in the 'all too hard' basket for another year. :( Waah! How many years before I can use these buggers?
I shall cling to this song choice idea! It's true I like strong fast beats (my dance teacher laughs and is bewildered by the fact that put anything Punjabi on and I pick up the choreo waaaaay faster than for anything slow). As she puts it: 'it's what inspires you'. She is so kind! LOL. A more unkind person would just say I'm the most unsubtle person of all time. :p
especially if you use a lot of internal motion I would say that is the ONLY thing I do as a vidder. I have recently started adding external motion but I really mostly don't like it. Even in other people's vids I can often find it very distancing (though there are some very notable exceptions). That's one aesthetic preference I am quite comfortable living with and not changing--it is just a preference, not something I think I need to improve, but I only felt sure of that once I was technically able to add external motion and then could freely decide not to. :D
ADDITIVE DISSOLVE! \o/ It's cool! I like it! You made me brave enough to try it! I have no idea if it's appropriate or not for my source but I am very much enjoying playing with it and in my current vid project I have transitions!!! BREAKTHROUGH! Am deliberately not worrying about whether other people think they look rubbish or not yet. I think they look cool. :D Or at least new! :D
Haha, you fade everything! I envy you so! Can I ask you a couple of questions about that? Do you use mainly 'cross dissolve' or do you use other things? When you are checking to see if a fade works what do you look for? How do you know how long to make the fades--just trial and error? Is there anything you adjust to make them look better?
Sometimes seeing exactly what's going on in the clip *isn't* the point, you know?
Yeah. Sometimes it isn't. And sometimes it is arguably the most crucial meta point in the whole vid and your beta didn't even see it the first 50 times she watched. ;p (Which is the case in point!) In this case, it's a problem. It's definitely not always a problem though, no.
I agree though that it can be stifling to worry about all possibilities... I don't think that's what I'm doing here. It's more that I'm wanting to build up self-awareness about how things translate to my audience. And I'm the one wanting to push myself in this more subtle direction. Apart from the very clear 'fix this for I do not understand it / it is tonally incorrect' type beta feedback, it's me far far more than anyone else that is dissatisfied with the lack of subtlety in the end result. I don't actually think anyone else really cares (those glaring mistakes aside). :p But I care. Mostly because I have things I'd love to make that I don't feel able to make with my current style/abilities. Does that make sense?
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just, the feel of the thing and the music and what I want to be visible for how long, depending on how soft and dreamy I want it to feel, or how long I want them to overlap and how connected I want the two clips to seem
Yeah, ok... It's hard for me to understand because I have sort of played with that and mostly I just adjust things and stare at them and then do something different and stare at it again and it all looks much of a muchness to me. But from what you say it sounds like I need to just carry on with that and train my eye more. It's definitely one of those things where I find it hard to tell what is better. I render something and then I think 'huh, well this is different, but is it better?' Very much need of trial and error I think!
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I pretty much can only think of one, maybe two transitions I've ever been happy with so I don't know... I still feel like I'm doing something wrong. This is backed up by the fact that I often get beta feedback that is basically 'everything looks fine except the transitions look clunky, why don't you just remove them?!' and then I think 'waaaah yes I thought they looked ugly too but I am TRYING damn it!' and delete them. Maybe I am innately drawn to shots that do not want to mesh together?! LOL! And I like other people's fades in their vids lots so I don't think it's that I just don't like fades. It is so baffling! I think I'll have to put it in the 'all too hard' basket for another year. :( Waah! How many years before I can use these buggers?
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especially if you use a lot of internal motion
I would say that is the ONLY thing I do as a vidder. I have recently started adding external motion but I really mostly don't like it. Even in other people's vids I can often find it very distancing (though there are some very notable exceptions). That's one aesthetic preference I am quite comfortable living with and not changing--it is just a preference, not something I think I need to improve, but I only felt sure of that once I was technically able to add external motion and then could freely decide not to. :D
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