What will you do to make your edits better?

Let's throw out some brainstorming ideas for this year. I'm hopefully going to start filming next weekend at Lake McClure on a camping/drinking extravaganza and I have a few ideas up my sleeve for what I will be doing.

After the thread about music we do and do not want in edits it has helped me narrow down my choices for what I will use this year.

I think I will probably use "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield or "Animus Vox" by The Glitch Mob in my first edit this year, whichever doesn't make it for the first will be in the second. "Animus Vox" is a very expected song and I probably won't be the only person using it this summer, which makes me hesitant to use it at all.

LIFESTYLE SHOTS, I think are huge this year. Videos are getting better year by year, I think what makes a great 3-5 minute video is how well it can pull you in. You want to be able to watch the video and feel as if you were there. At least I do. I really don't care to see your trip to the lake at 500x speed and then you launch your boat and wakeboard for 2 minutes then close it with a funny clip of your friend. That is every action sports video on youtube ever, let's switch it up a bit this year.

Different angles. SO IMPORTANT. A GoPro can make a huge difference in your videos. Get behind the boat and film, either from a board or a tube. Set it up on shore and get ride by shots, or use another camera for that. Chase boats will make great shots if you have the ability to use one.

All of this may sound like a big production to do but not really. If you are worried about driving a chase boat behind the rider, then go off to the side where you don't have to worry. But these different angles can make a huge difference in video quality.

LESS TRANSITIONS. No star wipes please, over editing kills videos. What I think makes a great video are a few cross dissolves and GREAT TIMING. I cannot explain how many videos I watch where the riding kicks grass and it doesn't look as good as it should because the hammers are dropped off beat. If you are going to film something and put music to it, make it match up.

What I think makes a big difference as well is picking your music before you shoot. If you know what you want to put in your timeline, you can film accordingly and it makes the video much higher quality.

(NOW LET'S HOPE I GET THE HD HERO 2 FOR MY BIRTHDAY OR I WON'T HAVE A VIDEO TO MAKE!)

Good advice, but isn't this all common sense? The way I see it, some people know how to make videos and some people just flat out don't. It's a learning process, no doubt, but there's nothing you can tell someone who's set on throwing down LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOOOOOOORRRRR over a screen flashing neon colors.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I was just hoping to reach out to those that haven't taken the hint quite yet! Star wipes and Awolnation here we come! haha If there is an edit to, "Somebody that I used to know" by Gotye I swear I will cut my own head off.

Also if you're going to use slow-mo, for god's sake please use a camera that can actually take at least 60-100fps. I can't stand watching someone who edits slow-mo so its just 12/15 static frames played twice per second

That's a really good point I didn't even think about that but it's very true

The biggest thing these days I think is steadiness. I can't explain how many shots I won't use because their not steady or the horizon is not level. Sure some shots you have to use but take the time to get those steady shots and your video will be that much better.

And less is more sometimes. A 2 minute video with your best tricks is always better then a 5minute video of sloppy stuff and tons of Broll.

+1 on less is more! And since we're sharing opinons, haha, enough with the openings showcasing flowers and bees and other s$%! that is just delaying the inevitable of what the viewer really wants to see, not a nature vid! I feel like that needed to be said! But yes, vids are getting better. I'm on the permacation banwagon and am really enjoying the edits capturing the riding lifestyle.

Good point on the steadiness. Don't forget about water on the lens of your go pro. Lost heaps of sick footy early on due to not checking it after every hit.

Here's one we did quick and dirty last year in Seville. Some of it was still useable, but it still would have much better with a clear lens.

+1 to vids with awesome riders that are poorly edited. I've seen some vids with unheard of riders and basic tricks that get me way more pumped up to ride because they are well edited. My pet hate is a 3 min video with 1 and 1/2 min intro. Do it if you are making a longer vid, but seriously filler at the start is the biggest turn off.

Also going to put this out there - just because you CAN use twixtor doesn't mean you SHOULD! There are many videos out there that sacrifice continuity in their edits just to show off super slow motion and it doesn't really work. My 2c anyway

Style. Ask your riders. Push them to try grab a spin or a flip or just bone out some straight airs. Your riders will progress faster if they're trying to land a trick for someone else and your vids will look way better. Check out the Randall vid on another thread here for simple tricks like R2Rs and Toe 5s that look awesome due to style

I've got to agree with avoiding water spots at all costs. Use Rain-X vigorously. I just started shooting and editing a year ago, and I learned the hard way about water spots on the GoPro. There's nothing worse than one of your buddies being all stoked on landing a trick that he's been working on for days, thinking that you got it on film to find out that there's a water spot right in the middle of the lens and you can't see jack. Also, be careful of dried water spots. They're hander to notice and do just as much damage. We wasted about 3 hours of chase footage from a jet ski last year because of a dried water spot right in the middle of the frame.

As to steadiness, I agree. I'm looking at getting a steadycam stabilizer this summer. I'm not sure how well it will work when filming the rider from the boat or a chase boat, but I'm going to give it a shot. And it will definitely improve lifestyle shots where the camera man is moving. You can get one that will work for a GoPro or DSLR for $100-$150. I'll let you know how it goes after I do some work with one.

Slow Mo. Everything looks better in slow mo, as long as you have the camera to pull it off. In mode 4 on a GoPro, the camera shoots 60 fps in 720p. I would love a camera that could shoot 200 FPS, but that's still on the waiting list for now. If you slow things down, make sure you don't sacrifice quality for slower playback.

Sound. I always try to remove the sound from the actual footage if I am playing music over the top of it, unless there is a purposeful reason for it not to be removed.

Creativity. Try to do things that haven't been done before. Try to get inspiration from videos that have nothing to do with wakeboarding or extreme sports. I have been trying to keep an open mind when watching movies for shots/angles/ideas that would be cool in a wake vid.

Edit as much as possible. The more you do it, the better you get. I do feel that editing software can be a limitation. I'm still using iMovie, and I feel like I've out grown it. There are things that I would love to do that iMovie doesn't allow me to do. I've decided that I want to get FCP, but I've heard that it's not an intuitive program. If I could find a class at a local jc or something (and the time to take that class), I would be all over it.

Have fun with it. Plenty of people like to be critical and rip movies people posted on here, but who cares. If you and your buddies are having fun, that's all that matters. And some day you can break out the videos for your kids and grandkids to show them how cool you were.

I've been waiting to post a video I did at the end of last year for a small film festival that a local board shop put on. Maybe now's the time to post it to get the season started. We're not the best riders, and I'm definitely not the best editor, but we have a lot of fun doing it. Sorry for the long post.

By the way Paul, that was some sick riding and a cool vid.

I plan on fixing my camera so that I can actually change settings on it based n the conditions. I'll also continue working on shot steadiness. I just bought a new gopro since my original hd hero's lense kind of bit the dust. I also need to make sure I have better light, so that you know, the video looks better. My editing is still a little off in parts. I'm not super awesome at my pacing of the video content.

I think that al of the videos I made last year, the best and the worst was my gordon harrison edit. interesting that I find it to be the best and the worst, but if you watch it you might understand what I'm talking about.

Hey guys, I like this thread a lot, definitely a lot of good ideas. I just finished a vid from this summer when we had Benny G and Jimmy Trask come for clinics. I know the song is a little played out and there is only one angle (they were there for a clinic not a shoot) but I was happy with the way it turned out. Let me know what you think.

^^^^^^^^^^
Wow man, awesome work! That really got me pumped! You might have overdone it just a little with the speed changes/flash cuts on some shots, but for the most part, it worked really well. Nice edit!

Thank's man, I appreciate it, although I'm definitely a victim of my own ADD. I like shiny/flashy transitions or else I get bored.

Jimmy's style is second to none (at least for an easy coaster). Good to see a NH local killing it. He's awesome to ride with too, he deserves to get more recognition for the way he rides and his atitude. Its always good to see him get a shot or pop up in an edit. Good job on the edit too.
Hijack over

Yes my minimal go pro shots an come out awul from water on the lens. They're hard to keep steady too. Go pro use is an art for sure