Dynamic Trim in FCPX from Chadwick Shoults on Vimeo.

 
Shortcut References:

shift + x = extend edit (edit during playback, dynamic)
; and ‘ = go to prev and next edit
[ and ] and \ = selects the type of trim operation (single roller, dual roller)
, and . = nudging 1 frame (use shift to x10 the change)
option and [ = top edit
option and ] = tail edit
command + b = add edit (cut)
t = only really used for slip and slide (not changing durations)
x = selects range between 2 cuts

If you’re anything like me, then you use many computers during the course of a week.  You also might use many different hard drives.  I recently found this cheap $10 app that makes working across different computers and external hard drives a LOT easier.  It is called DropSync.

This app allows you to synchronize folders across drives of your choosing.  So how is this useful?

Scenario 1 – You want to take a project home with you on a shuttle drive.  You make changes.  Maybe make some new files (or delete some) then need to copy back only the changes to your work machine when you get in the next day.  This does that!

Scenario 2 – You want a backup of your Lightroom photos and catalog backups?  This does that with ease.

Scenario 3 – Let’s say 2 editors start out with 2 identical drives but are working together on a single project.  At the end of each day you can do a right to left, then a left to right sync and both editors will be caught up with all of the new files they created each day.  Pretty awesome.

You can manually run the sync operation by running the app.  Also, another cool option available with the r sync functionality is to have the backup copy be created immediately when the original file is created.  This assumes your backup drive is mounted of course.  Give it a shot, it’s cheap and pretty powerful.  Credit goes to Kanen Flowers for introducing me to this great little too.

Canon T2i/550d with the 70-200 F4 L lens.  1/200th second, f/10, at ISO 400, 109mm.  Shot on tile board with 2 off-camera flashes.

Take 2 minutes and see how easy it is to move old shows forward with FCPX.

Supplies Needed:

• 2 – 3/4″ steel conduit (10 foot sections).  Use one as top crossbar at full length and cut the other one in half.
• 1 – 1″ steel conduit (10 footer).  Cut it in half.
• 2 – 8 foot 2×4′s
• 2 – 3/4″ steel conduit corner pull elbows.  These join the vertical conduit to horizontal conduit.
• 4 – 1″ conduit wall mounting brackets.  This secures the vertical conduit to the wood base.
• 2 – 3/4″ conduit wall brackets.  This is the height adjuster.
• 24 – Wood Screws to hold both bases together (12 each).

To make full use of 2 cheap 2×4′s, I cut them for the base feet like this.  32″ front to back with 12″ cross legs at the ends.  It has a 16″ vertical support and about an 11″ 45 degree cross support making it more rigid.  2 wood screws are drilled into each joint which makes the stand pretty bomber.  Slide a 5 foot section of the 1″ conduit into each base.  The conduit is held by 2, 1″ wall mounting brackets.

Here you can see why I used a 3/4″ and 1″ diameter conduit.  The 1″ sits below and the 3/4″ slides inside it like a sleeve and you can adjust the height as needed.  You lock off the height by tightening down the 3/4″ wall bracket and it will act as a stopper.

Finally, the long 10 foot 3/4″ cross bar is connected with what is called a “corner pull” elbow.  They are built specifically for this 3/4″ size and tighten down with supplied screws.

The final stand is probably as strong as you can get without shelling several hundred on a pair of C-Stands.  It is 10 feet wide and can easily go up to 9 feet tall.  I have had toddlers running crazy in my basement with no fear of anything falling.  Now, I have no more excuses for not creating awesome visual content and neither do you.

Make something awesome!

Also, if you have other time saving mixing techniques I’d love to hear ‘em.

I know I’m a tad late on this, but thought what better place to toss out some goals of mine publicly and see how many stick come December 2012.  I got to spend the holidays in Plano with my family and meet my brand new niece (above) the day after she was born.  She is far cuter than any video or image can resemble.

Now onward with some goals:

1. Become a better Husband and Daddy.  Simply put, to get to know my beautiful wife and smart son better than I ever have by spending lots of quality time together.
2. Lose 50 pounds as usual.  ;)
3. Create a real demo reel for the first time since I started in post 8 years ago.
4. Write-Shoot-Edit 1 short film.
5. Make at least 1 photograph a week all year.  iPhone doesn’t count.
6. Shred pow on at least 1 +12″ day this season.
7. Kayak the Numbers at med-high flow.

Ok.  Maybe I’ve been playing too much Modern Warfare 3 lately with the sniper reference. Regardless, I’ve come across several rules of thumb when it comes to shooting kids this past year that I thought might benefit some of you with children.

1. Shoot like a sniper with a shotgun.  What I mean is be prepared.  Always prepared.  And make sure your lens can get a wide spread.  Then wait for it, wait for it – shoot.  BAM!  Take less shots that are more filled with meaning and personality.  If you shot wide enough and you have a decent camera you can crop to your delight in post.  Long lenses and fast shutters are for sports and fashion.  Not kids!  You want to be up close and on their level.  After you got the shot, be done.  Stop shooting or you’ll just be testing their patience.  The photo at the top was a 1 shot, 1 kill shot.  (F/5.6, 1/200th, Canon T2i with 18-55 kit lens at 39mm, ISO 100, 2 flashes at 1/2 power.)
2. Be a comedian.  I think there is a lie that kids don’t like to get their pictures taken.  The truth is, kids don’t like to not have fun.  So make a quick photo session as fun as playing with his toys or watching her favorite show.  The more you talk to and interact with your kids when you photograph them, the more likely you can represent them accurately in pixels.  Resist the urge to closely inspect every shot on the back of the camera.  Keep them active and happy by making them tell stories or laugh with them.
3. Shoot fast!  Face it.  Kids are moving targets.  I have wasted thousands of photos learning this the hard way with unusable images.  1/200th of a second is probably my go to shutter speed most of the time when shooting my son.  Any slower than this and I risk getting unintended motion blur or camera shake, even with an IS lens.  1/200th is also the fastest I can shoot with my external flashes without seeing the black curtain in the exposures.  For sports, I’d probably go up to 1/1000th as a minimum.
4. Stop down!  Again, face it.  Kids are still moving targets.  Shooting at f/1.4 with a toddler just doesn’t work, period.  The area in focus (depth of field) is such a tiny sliver that I’d say 95 times out of 100 I’d miss focus.  I have had some luck at f/2.0, but that was a lucky shot.  Most of my shots become more consistant at f/2.8 and up.
5. Don’t sweat technical details.  I think there are really 2 things that matter when making a photograph of a child.  When I think about these two things, I make my best images.  1 – Expression, capture the right moment.  It will only exist once like that.  Good news is if you miss it like I do, there is another expression right around the corner.  2 – Focus, if he or she is super blurry it’s pretty much as if it didn’t happen.  With any modern autofocus camera this should not be a problem if you stop the lens down a little.  Nail these two and in my book, it’s a keeper!

For me, photographing kids and babies is incredibly rewarding and fun.  You get the chance to document a person when they are at such a brief phase in their life.  You can’t ever make the same photo twice and every moment gives you new challenges to overcome.  Take more pictures of them more often.  Most importantly have fun.  If you do, they will too.