Friday, November 29, 2013

Adobe Premiere: Working with Clips

Today we learn how to use video clips, instead of just still images.  We are, after all, using a video editing software.  It would be remiss of us to not explore the video capabilities.

Step one is to create a new file (your screen may look different, depending on which version of Premiere Elements you're using.)  Be sure to give it a good name.  And set the SAVE IN directory to your desktop, or to your USB key.  If you do not do this, you will have a very hard time logging off.  If you save to a USB key you'll have no problem logging off.  If you save to Desktop it's easy to erase the overflow files that prevent logging off.

Be warned, saving to your desktop will make terrible things happen that prevent you from being able to log off normally.  You'll need to Cold Boot your machine at the end of class (hold the power button until the whole machine shuts down, then press it again, to start it booting up for the next class.)

There are ways to delete the temporary files, and log off normally.  If you can figure that out, I encourage you in that behaviour.


Next you need to figure out where your video clips are (they're added the same way that you added photographs, previously, and they'll be in the same area.  Then you need to check out your Timeline.  You want to be editing in "ADVANCED / EXPERT mode" where you can see the video bar, the audio bar, and other such things.  If it looks like a few giant images - that's not ideal.  Fix it.


Head to the SCHOOL/PICKUP/[TEACHER]/STREET FIGHTER CLIPS/ directory and copy those files to your computer.  You can then import them into Premier.

The first thing you should do is drag the "Blow by Blow" trailer into your timeline.  It's the one with the live action people, and the only one with audio.  But we're about to fix that.

Once it's in your timeline you will be able to see the video and the audio tracks, locked together.  When you move one, the other moves...  This keeps the audio synched up.  This is a good thing.  If you want audio.


Right Click on the clip, and select "Unlink Audio".  This allows you to move the audio file, while keeping the video file in the same place.  Or the other way around.  Try this now.



Now click on the audio.  We don't want it anyway.  It's obnoxious.  Once you've clicked on the audio, to select it, hit the delete key.  Bye audio!

Now use the zoom sliders to make the video clip fill your timeline.



Now we want to extract a small clip from this video.  Specifically the clip of Cammy White looking confused at Guile (played by Jean-Claude Van Damme.)

This clip begins around timestamp 0:32.  This means at the 32 second mark.  First you want to move your "red selector" to that moment.  Use the arrow keys for specific frame by frame selection.  You want the first image with Cammy.  00:32:28.


Next hover your mouse over the LEFT MOST part of the clip.  Your cursor will turn into a <-[ icon.  The red line will act as a "snap to" point.  Drag the leftmost portion, until it matches up with the red line.  Then release the mouse button.



You have now shortened your clip.  See how it takes up less room in the timeline?  The red line will still be set at 0:32:28, but now the image is different.  That's because you have shortened the clip.  In now BEGINS at the Cammy face, rather than having that be deep into the clip.  Move the red line to the front of the clip for proof.

Now we only want the clip of her face, so move the red line to the point where she disappears.  0:1:27.  You only want the - just under two second - clip.  Once the Asian man's face comes in, you need to go back a frame.

Grab the RIGHT MOST part of the clip, and drag it to the red line.  You now have a short clip of Cammy looking shocked.


Even though you have changed the amount of the clip being shown, you can still gain access to the sound, and the rest of the clip.  All you have to do is select the Blow by Blow clip from the media organizer, drag it onto the timeline, and the full thing is back again - along side the smaller clip of Cammy.

So, you should now drag the clip in, unlink and delete the audio, and shorten this to a clip of Guile talking like a fool.

To do this, we will look at another way to shorten clips.

Double click on the video clip, and it will open it up in a smaller window.


The little purple bar selects how much of the clip is shown.  Find the clip of Guile talking that starts right after the Asian man's face.  Drag the purple slider to begin at that point.  End it right before the screen goes black for a frame, and the people start to freak out.

You should now have two short clips.

Move the Guile clip to player before Cammy.  Leave a space between the two.  Then drag the clip VS SCREEN.avi into the gap.  Right clip in the space between VS SCREEN and cammy, and select "Delete and Close Gap."  This will ensure the video is seamless.


When you play this video you will now have a full scene of Guile talking, then the VS screen, then Cammy looking shocked.

After this, drag in clips of Cammy fighting.  Shorten them and put them together in such a way as it shows a compelling fight scene.  Chung Li Cammy.avi fits the VS screen.  Use that file.

At the very end, you don't want the video to just end.  You want it to fade to black.

Right click on the clip, go to fade, and select Fade Out Video.


Notice how the yellow line now has two anchor points, and slants down?  You can move those around to determine how quickly they scene fades out, and when the fading starts / stops.

You have now completed the task of creating a video using a number of clips, and selecting various parts of a clip.  Very good for you.  There's really only one thing left to do...  Explore multiple video tracks.

Scroll up in your timeline and you'll notice there's a VIDEO 2 track.  If you put a clip there, you it will override the clip below.  Trust me on this.

Move the Chung li cammy file there.  See how it still fades out?  Drag CAMMYFIGHT.AVI onto video 1 under the chung li fight.  When you watch it now, see how rather than fading to black, it fades into the clip below it?


Fade the last clip to black, and you're done. Way to go.  You're awesome!

Note... everything you did with video, you can do with audio.  Merging, moving, blending, fading, etc.

This will show an example of what your finished product should look like: http://youtu.be/yVedi5s8UwM

Good luck.

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