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 Contents
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021
Volume 35 • Number 04

There’s Now No Reason

www.videomaker.com

Features
To Hide From Big Projects 12 Best mirrorless and DSLR cameras
These are the best DSLR and mirrorless cameras on
the market right now, organized by use case.
27 Best desktop computers
An efficient editing workflow depends on a solid editing
system. Here’s a look at the best desktop computers for

20 Best video editing software video editing.

Announcing the new AMD Radeon™ Pro VII GPU. The new In this guide, we cover software for every budget and 36 Best Products of the Year
skill level for an optimal editing workflow. As the year nears its end, it is time for us to compile our
standard for crushing 8K broadcast & media projects,
26 Best audio editing software picks for Videomaker’s Best Products of 2020. 2020 was
a crazy whirlwind, and while video production came to a
without crushing the budget. Are you frustrated with the audio limitations of your
near halt, we still saw some huge releases. In fact, there
video editing software? It might be time to invest in
were so many great product releases that it made it dif-
dedicated audio editing software. Let’s look at the best
ficult to narrow down this list. Each product was carefully
audio editing software currently on the market, then
evaluated for innovation, value and overall performance.
go over the most important features to consider as
you shop.
Best of
NAB WEEK 2020

amd.com/RadeonProVII
12 26 47 58 4
Columns
On the Cover
2 Viewfinder
Sony a7S III
A New Year’s resolution Departments
by Matthew York
60 Article index — 2020
44 Editing
62 Production Tips
Adobe After Effects vs Premiere
5 tips for creating social
by Luis Oscar Maymi
media video
47 Profit Making by Haley LaPlant
Promoting your virtual event
by Sam Rios
64 Production Tips
What is a sizzle reel?
50 Documentary by Jo Mayer
How to market a documentary
by Landon Dyksterhouse

52 Legal Reviews
Entertainment attorneys by Chris Monlux
by Mark Levy
and Roman Zelicchenko 4 Sony a7S III
Mirrorless camera

contents
Next Issue
• Sony FX6 reviewed
54 Audio
9 GoPro HERO9 contents
Mono vs stereo: a breakdown
• The best storage for your workflow Action camera
• How to market your documentary by Blag Ivanov
full screen full screen
58
• Learn about algorithmic editing
On Sale: February 16, 2021 Lighting
print What is low key lighting? print
by Sean Berry
© 2020 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Radeon, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro

1
Devices, Inc. Other product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies.
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
 VIEWFINDER
b y Mat t h ew Yo rk
A New Year’s resolution
It’s that time of year, the time when
we set resolutions for the year ahead.
2020 is behind us—I’m sure we’re all
ready for that.
Every January, we resolve to change
something in our life. Maybe it’s time
to lose weight, get in shape or finally
clean out the garage. But, how long do
we typically stick with it? Most people
keep their New Years’ resolutions for
about 4-6 weeks.
Why do we have a hard time
sticking to these resolutions? For
the most part, we choose a goal that
is either too lofty or something we
really don’t want to do. If we really
wanted to clean out the garage, it
would have already happened. We
like the idea of losing weight, but
the box of holiday candy grandma
sent is just too good to toss out—
and that would really disappoint
grandma.
2020 has been such a challenging
year and filled with lots of change.
Many of us might be thinking, “Do
I really need one more life adjust-
ment?” Let me give you a bit of a push
toward a Videomaker resolution.
Chances are, you’ve had to change
something that you were doing
in the past year. We’ve all been
there. Have you started doing more
livestreaming? Running production
with less people? The pandemic has
caused everyone to reassess the way
they do things. That’s the best place
to start setting that goal. What have
you had to shift that you know you
can do better?
Maybe you have more time on
your hands now. Since the stay at
home orders were put in place,
many people are now working from
home. That should be saving you
contents
some time, at least in your daily
commute. Maybe some events you
full screen were doing regularly were canceled.
The point is—you likely have some
print
additional time on your hands. Why
2 VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
not carve out some hands-on time
with your gear?
You have a need and you can
probably find the time. Because you
are reading Videomaker, there’s a
good chance that you have a desire
to get better at what you are doing.
There’s the resolution—find one
area to improve your sills. At the
very least, break out the user’s guide
and learn what all those settings do
on your camera.
But let me remind you, Videomaker
has been in the business of helping
you improve your production skills
since 1986. On our website, we have
thousands of articles and online
courses on everything from aperture
settings on lenses to zebra stripes in
your monitor. We also have a podcast
that features industry leaders sharing
their knowledge.
Create better video by spending
some time learning about the art and
craft. Now, doesn’t that sound like a
resolution that you can keep?
Matthew York is Videomaker's Publisher/Editor.
You can comment on this article by going online:
www.videomaker.com/?p=72061570
Videomaker empowers people to make
If you’re ready to start building a fan base and earning income from your
video in a way that inspires, encourages and video producing skills, take a few minutes to learn the strategies.
equips for success. We do this by building a
SIGN UP FOR CREATOR HANDBOOK
community of readers, web visitors, viewers,
attendees and marketers.
publisher/editor Matthew York
associate publisher Patrice York
director of content Mike Wilhelm
web developer Katz Rosal
Your videos are awesome. Your friends and family are
managing editor Haley LaPlant always enthusiastic about the latest on your channel.
multimedia editor Chris Monlux
art director/photographer Susan Schmierer You know that you have lots of potential, but you’re
contributing editors Sean Berry still just a drop swimming in the ocean of YouTube.
Peter Biesterfeld
Kyle Cassidy
Chris “Ace” Gates
Blag Ivanov STORIES • ADVICE • TRENDS Hooking a YouTube Audience
WITH SERIAL CONTENT 30
Mark Levy
Sponsored videos:
IMPORTANT DOS AND DON’TS 38
What is
IRL STREAMIMG? 42
How to respond to
YOUTUBE COMMENTS 50
MARCH 2020
director of sales Terra York
telephone (530) 809-4514 LGR
How Clint Basinger found
account executive Andrew Burke YouTube success in content
about outdated technology
PAGE 14
marketing specialist Sam Rios
director of finance Stephen Awe
accountanting manager Kelli Malinowski
fulfillment assistant Jo Mayer
ALSO INTERVIEWED:
Cherry Wallis page 54
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 REVIEW
REVIEW Sony a7S III

Sony
a7S III taken so long to offer it, but regard-
less, we are happy it’s here. It’s bright
Sony a7S III all rigged up

enough to deal with the bright midday

sun. We would have liked a higher
resolution screen. With just 1,440,000
Dots, it pales in comparison to the
Canon EOS R5 with 2,100,000 Dots
and the Panasonic Lumix S1H with
by Chris Monlux 2,330,000 Dots.

Battery life and

Finally, it’s here! overheating
The camera is both larger in size in
all directions. It’s also heavier by 3oz
Sony than the a7S II when both cameras
www.sony.com have both media and battery. This
makes sense as past Alpha cameras
have had issues with heat. The small
STRENGTHS
• Low noise in high ISO’s
• Internal 10-bit
S ony made us wait for this one. It’s
been almost 5 years since the a7S
II was released. Was the Sony a7S III
this
this review,
review, there
recorders
recorders that
Lastly,
there aren’t
that can
Lastly, itit has
aren’t any
can capture
any external
capture it.
has aa fully
external
it.
fully articulating
articulating
size of the prior Alpha cameras
made keeping the heat under control
difficult. You get even more heat to
• External RAW output wait worth it? You bet it was, this thing monitor,
monitor, aa first
first for
for the
the Sony
Sony Alpha
Alpha line.
line. manage when you add in that this need the monitor to get brighter to Media
is awesome! It’s a solid camera. It’s camera now captures much higher combat the sun? There are 3 steps The camera’s dual card slots accept
WEAKNESSES a better camera than its predecessor Hold
Hold me
me data rates internally. Sony has up- brighter over the standard bright- two different types of media. The
• 12MP still images by a long shot, and in a time when The
The grip
grip on
on the
the camera
camera is is very
very nice,
nice, dated the body with what they call a ness. The ability to move the monitor first is the new CFexpress Type-
• Overheating high resolution is the story for most it’s
it’s deep
deep enough
enough to to be
be able
able toto have
have heat-dissipating structure, to better A. This card is smaller than an SD
• No APS-C Crop option in 4K camera manufacturers, Sony just gave the
the camera
camera hanghang fromfrom your
your finger-
finger- dissipate heat. card and shares its name with the
us everything we could ask for and tips
tips but
but it’s
it’s not
not soso large
large that
that you’d
you’d bebe The larger battery likely also helps SONY HAS UPDATED THE currently more prevalent CFexpress
nothing more. We like this camera, but concerned
concerned by by its
its weight.
weight. The
The dials
dials and
and with heat and gives a longer battery Type B. Type A is currently more
SUMMARY BODY WITH A HEAT DIS-
it doesn’t come without flaws, we’ll dis- buttons
buttons for for exposure
exposure control
control areare right
right life. We tested both the battery life and expensive than type B. Because
The a7S III was worth the wait.
cuss the good and bad. Let’s jump in. where
where you you need
need them.
them. ItIt even
even has
has an
an its overheating status and we are hap- SIPATING STRUCTURE. only the top resolution, framerate
easy
easy to to find
find record
record button,
button, though
though youyou py to report when shooting in UHD4k and bit-rate of UHD 4k in 10-bit at
RECOMMENDED USERS The high-level specs can
can reassign
reassign itit toto do
do something
something else else ifif in 10-bit 4:2:2 at 100 Mb/s and we saw 120fps requires the CFexpress card,
• Any project that requires extensive The Sony a7S III can capture up to you’d
you’d like.
like. In
In fact,
fact, all
all of
of the
the dials
dials and
and no overheating for the full battery life most would do fine with using SD
planning and takes on a cinematic UHD 4K in 10-bit 4:2:2 at 120 frames buttons
buttons can can bebe reassigned.
reassigned. PairPair that
that of two hours and 41 minutes. The rear where you need it will be more help- cards. At the time of this review, a
aesthetic per second (fps) at 280 megabits per with
with putting
putting allall of
of your
your needed
needed menumenu screen was up against the body of the ful than the increase in brightness Sony tough 128GB SD card is $210
• Documentary filmmaking and second (Mb/s) in full-frame. If that options
options in in your
your favorite
favorite menu
menu andand you
you camera and the room temperature you can send to the monitor. whereas an 80GB type A card is
journalism wasn’t enough frames for you, it can was 78 degrees Fahrenheit. $200.
• Run and gun videography where shoot up to 240fps in HD; also in 4:2:2 Menu The camera does not have a
10-Bit. It has two media card slots for THE A7S III HAS A FULLY Fully articulating monitor Sony gives us a new menu and that’s record limit time outside of the
conditions are unpredictable and
agility is key
either SD cards or the new CFexpress ARTICULATING MONITOR, The monitor offers a full touch func- great, however, it’s more different amount of time a battery can power
Type A cards. Don’t confuse this with tion. It can be used for selecting a than it is an improvement. However, the camera and the amount of space
• Corporate and event videography
the larger CFexpress Type B cards that THE FIRST FOR THE SONY subject to track or to choose a menu because there is a favorite menu and on your media. So roll till your
• Situations where ease of use and
share the XQD form factor. This new ALPHA LINE. option. It’s intuitive to use and works you’re able to customize all of the battery dies or the card fills up, the
reliability is more important than media allows for the top data rate as you would expect. Sony has moved buttons and dials that, if taken advan- camera will not restrict the length
the film look when shooting at 280Mb/s. away from a touchscreen that works tage of, will give you all of your most of the clip. The camera can capture
• Marketing video production The camera comes with the far can
can have
have any
any control
control just
just two
two or
or three
three for some functions but not all, which typical functions however you’d like video to one card and stills to the
contents • Short form video produced on a superior battery, shared with the a7R clicks
clicks away.
away. we are happy about. A Sony Alpha to organize them. The camera has all other. It’s able to also print the same contents
schedule IV, but grows in size over the previ- camera with a fully articulating rear the shoot assists that we have come file to each card simultaneously so
full screen ous a7S II. Another exciting feature Monitor
Monitor resolution
resolution screen is a big thing. Sony has never to expect in a mirrorless camera, with you always have two copies. Lastly, full screen
$3,500 is the ability to output 16-bit RAW Being
Being able
able toto flip
flip out
out the
the monitor
monitor is
is offered a fully-articulated screen in focus peaking, zebras, audio meters you can capture proxy files at the
print out the HDMI, though at the time of fantastic.
fantastic. It’s
It’s surprising
surprising that
that Sony
Sony has
has an Alpha camera before. What if you and histogram. same time, but not to a different print

4 VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 5
 REVIEW
Sony a7S III
TECH SPECS
Camera Format: Full-Frame
Pixels Actual: 12.9 Megapixel
Maximum Resolution: 4240 x 2832
Aspect Ratio: 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 16:9
Image Stabilization: Sensor-Shift,
5-Axis
ISO Sensitivity: 80 to 102400
(Extended: 40 to 409600)
Continuous Shooting:
• Up to 10 fps at 12.1 MP for up to
1000 Frames (Raw) / 1000 Frames
(JPEG)
• Up to 8 fps at 12.1 MP
• Up to 6 fps at 12.1 MP
• Up to 3 fps at 12.1 MP
Interval Recording: Yes
Video Recording Modes: H.265/
XAVC HS 4:2:2 10-Bit
• UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/2
5p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.
88p [50 to 280 Mb/s]
• H.265/XAVC HS 4:2:0 10-Bit
• UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/2
5p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.
88p [30 to 200 Mb/s]
• H.264/XAVC S-I 4:2:2 10-Bit
• UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at
23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p
[240 to 600 Mb/s]
Fully articulating rear monitor
contents
full screen
print
6 VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
REVIEW
Sony a7S III
we count how many steps you can a7S III battery and slot
see after that. We saw 15 stops of
• Full HD (1920 x 1080) at • Full HD (1920 x 1080) at
dynamic range, however, the last
23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p [89 23.976p/50p/59.94p stop is likely not to give much, other
to 222 Mb/s] • Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 50i/59.94i than texture to an image. 14 stops
• H.264/XAVC S 4:2:2 10-Bit Recording Limit: Unlimited of usable dynamic range is noth-
ing to scoff at either though. To get
• UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/2 Live Streaming: Yes
the most dynamic range from this
5p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p Webcam Functionality: Yes camera shoot in the default picture
[100 to 280 Mb/s] • Autofocus Points profile 9 that is set to S-log3 S-Gam-
• Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/25 • Phase Detection: 759 ut3. Like every Sony offered before
it, Slog2 and Slog3 and HLG are also
p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p/ Contrast Detection: 425 options.
200p/239.76p [50 Mb/s] Viewfinder Type: Electronic (OLED)
• H.264/XAVC S 4:2:0 8-Bit Viewfinder Size: 0.64″ Sensor crop
Viewfinder Resolution: 9,437,184 All frame rates and resolutions use
• UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/2
the whole full-frame sensor. Unlike
5p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p Dot other Alpha cameras, the a7S III does
[60 to 200 Mb/s] Monitor Size: 3″ not offer any 4K with an APS-C crop.
• Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/25 Resolution: 1,440,000 Dot It seems funny to complain that the Rolling shutter ter thread, making any filter you buy
full-frame 4K camera doesn’t offer a The camera has very little rolling for it expensive. Because this camera
p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p/ Display Type: Articulating Touch- shutter. It’s so slight, that you have to is very sensitive, f4 is not going to be
crop, but it’s helpful to be able to do
200p/239.76p [16 to 100 Mb/s] screen LCD a 1.5x zoom by just using less of the look hard to even see it. At first, we an issue unless you need a shallower
External Recording Modes: Memory Card Slot Dual Slot: CFex- sensor. Outside of that, this camera thought it was completely without, depth of field (DOF). Although a pricy
press Type A / SD is unified with offering the full sen- but it is there, but it by no means has lens, it could be the only lens you
• Raw 16-Bit
sor regardless of the resolution or any jello. That’s true for all resolutions need with this camera for most shoot-
• 4.2K (4264 x 2408) up to 59.94p Connectivity: HDMI A (Full Size), USB framerate settings. and framerates. ing situations.
• 4:2:2 10-Bit Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1), USB Micro-
• UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at B (USB 2.0), 3.5mm Microphone, Bit-rate and high 5-Axis Sensor-Shift Eye-tracking autofocus
23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p 3.5mm Headphone frame rates The key to being a run and gun The eye-tracking AF is great. You can
The Sony a7S III offers a large swath camera for event videography or for make it quickly respond or slower,
• Full HD (1920 x 1080) at Wireless: Wi-Fi of bit-rate, resolution, bit-depth and documentary work is good image depending on the subject matter. To
23.976p/50p/59.94p Battery: 1 x NP-FZ100 Rechargeable frame rate options. Offering a bit- stabilization. If you shoot handheld, test the eye-tracking, we turned it on
• Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 50i/59.94i Lithium-Ion, 7.2 VDC, 2280 mAh rate up to 280Mb/s in 10-bit 4:2:2 you need sensor stabilization. The and from 30 feet zig-zagged across
in-body image stabilization or IBIS in the frame getting closer to the camera
4:2:0 8-Bit Dimensions (W x H x D): 5.07 x 3.81 the a7S III works great. It even works with each step. It picked me up and
• UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at x 2.74″ / 128.9 x 96.9 x 69.7 mm THE HIGH QUALITY OF alongside lenses that also offer image kept me in focus the whole way. Even
23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p Weight: 1.35 lb / 614 g (Body Only) THIS CAMERA’S HIGH stabilization yielding axes to the lens when we ducked out of the frame,
if it offers better optical stabilization. it quickly snapped back in to focus
FRAME RATE OPTIONS IS from the background once I was back
There are two options for stabilization;
card.
card.They
Theywill
willgo
goon
ontotothe
thesame
same JUST AMAZING. standard and active. There is a slight in the frame. Not that it was tracking
card
cardas
asthe
theoriginals.
originals. crop to the image when using active my mouth, I was wearing a mask,
internal capture, it also offers lighter mode. something that could mess with the
Dynamic
Dynamicrange
range weight 8-bit video too and lower camera, it was not phased.
The
TheSSin ina7S
a7SIIIIIIstands
standsforforsensitivity.
sensitivity. sampling 4:2:0 color space. The high The lens for testing
Along
Alongwith withbeing
beingable
abletotogive
giveaaclear
clear quality of this camera’s high frame Sony has a wide range of lenses in all Tracking AF
picture
pictureat athigh
highISO’s,
ISO’s,the
thelowlowresolu-
resolu- rate options is just amazing. Most of the typical focal lengths. The Sony There are times when eye and face
tion
tionof ofthe
thesensor
sensorgives
givesthethecamera
camera cinematic slow-motion requires FE PZ 28-135mm f/4 G OSS is a one tracking autofocus won’t do the
larger
largerpixels
pixelsthat
thatalso
alsoincrease
increaseits its framerates of 120fps and below, size fits all lens that is great for video. job. A face is not always what you
dynamic
dynamicrange. range.Sony
Sonystate’s
state’s15 15stops
stops and this camera offers that in 4K. If It has a built-in servo, so you are able might want to focus on. In those
of
ofdynamic
dynamicrangerangeand andthey
theyweren’t
weren’t you don’t mind or if your project is to do motorized zooms, but also has cases, tracking will be your friend.
contents
lying.
lying.We Wetested
testedthethedynamic
dynamicrangerange in HD, you can shoot up to 240fps. a zoom ring and aperture ring. The We didn’t find it to be as infallible
with
withaaDSC DSCLabs
LabsXyla
Xyla2121dynamic
dynamic That makes the a7S III the leader in focus ring clicks in and out for Auto- as eye-tracking AF is. Shooting our
range
rangetest.test. focus or manual focus control. It also managing editor Haley LaPlant, she full screen
slow-mo. 240fps when slowed to
ItItshows
showslight
lightat atstop
stopincrements.
increments. 24fps makes every second last 10 offers optical stabilization. However, gave us her best impression of a
print
The
Thefirst
firstlight
lightisisatat100
100ireireand
andthen
then with 10X slow-mo. it’s costly at $2,500 and has a huge fil- football player. We selected her as
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 7
 REVIEW
Sony a7S III
our subject to track by tapping on
the screen. It kept up with her, but
some erratic movements at the edge
of the frame confused the tracker,
without going back to tracking her.
If you were to say doing a follow
shot of someone walking and you
selected their shoulder to be your
focal point, as you both moved, the
camera and subject, the tracking
would work well. Haley’s movement
was a worst-case scenario for track-
ing erratic movement.
Low light performance
As one would expect, the a7S III has
fantastic low light performance. Com-
ing from a long lineage of low light
THE SONY A7S III HAS
FANTASTIC LOW LIGHT
PERFORMANCE, AS ONE
WOULD EXPECT.
cameras, this camera is no slouch.
Doing an ISO ramp from ISO 200 and
dubbing it and the shutter speed to
see at what ISO noise is introduced
into the picture. It looked great until
ISO 6,400 and then started very
small and slight noise. From there
it’s usable until ISO 25,600. Now, the
ISO’s above that are usable, but they
have significant noise. It doesn’t go to
I/O ports on the a7S III
contents
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8 VIDE OMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
REVIEW
GoPro
complete garbage Two supported media types, CFexpress Type A and SD
until ISO 204,800,
HERO9
which is impres-
sive.
Taking that
Black
data, we set up a
low light scene
of toy figures at
ISO 25,600 and
we noticed that if
we overexpose by by Chris Monlux
half to a full stop,
the noise isn’t as
GoPro continues
noticeable. How-
ever, it has mini-
mal noise and a
sharp image all
to outdo
the way to ISO themselves.
25,600. That’s 2
stops greater performance than most $4000 for the S1H. They all capture
mirrorless cameras. The camera
does have noise, however, its sensi-
10-bit internal video, but the a7S III is Y ear after year, GoPro releases a
new camera. Some years, it’s a hit.
tion service. Because of the deep
discount, it makes it an easy choice to
GoPro
www.gopro.com
the only one to output 16-bit, though Other years… not so much. Regard- go with HERO9, that is if it’s for you.
tivity gives it a good-looking image at the moment, it’s not possible to less, they persevere and this year they
for more stops where most cameras capture that quality. The S1H is a have given us another new camera, What’s new with the STRENGTHS
GoPro HERO9? • Forward-Facing Monitor
would fall apart much sooner. much bigger camera and the R5 has the GoPro HERO9 Black. This camera
• 5K capture
overheating issues. is their most advanced camera yet, but The HERO9 comes with a long list of
Audio preamp is it enough? new features, like a front-facing monitor • Longer battery life
Mirrorless cameras aren’t known for Final words so you can see yourself when shooting
having discrete audio preamps. To test The Sony a7S III is what a solid, A high level overview a selfie or a vlog. It upped its resolu- WEAKNESSES
how much of a noise floor the camera feature-rich mirrorless camera for Starting off the top, the HERO9 offers tion in both stills and video with almost • Reduced image quality in
has, we used a Rode VideoMic NTG video looks like. It’s got all the fea- a new 23.6 Megapixel (MP) sensor, a 24MP stills and up to 5K 30p video. high framerates
that has its own preamp and the one in tures you need like UHD 4K 10-bit big improvement over the 12MP sen- The lens is removable and the rear • Touch function on rear monitor
the camera to show the difference of 4:2:2 internal capture at up to 120 sor of the HERO8. With the ability to screen is larger than found in the
the noise floor. We found a 3db to 6db frames per second. Its sensitivity capture up to 5K (5120 x 2880) at up HERO8 by .27 inches. It offers the
difference between the two with the SUMMARY
is great and the dynamic range is to 100 Mb/s, it offers frame rates up newest flavor of GoPro image sta-
preamp from the mic being quieter. significant. It has a long battery life The HERO9 has many new features.
to 240 in HD and up to 60 frames per bilization called HyperSmooth 3.0,
and two media card slots. Its sensor second (fps) in UHD 4K. along with real-time hyperlapse called
Market- stabilization works well and so does TimeWarp 3.0. You can live stream RECOMMENDED USES
place the AF. Get $100 off directly from the camera and it can be • Documentary Filmmaking
There isn’t one We wish the fully articulating GoPro has done something quite connected via USB to be your com- and Journalism
camera that is a monitor was a higher resolution and unique with its initial marketing effort puter’s webcam. • Run and gun videography where
perfect match for an APS-C crop option when shoot- to sell the HERO9. The camera costs Another cool feature is called conditions are unpredictable and
this camera. Its ing in 4K. Not much to complain $450 if you buy it retail. However, HindSight, which guarantees up to 30 agility is key
competition has about here. Sony didn’t go with when you buy it from GoPro direct seconds of capture before you press • Online Video Production
higher resolution, record-breaking features, instead, and sign up for an annual subscrip- the record button. The catch to this • A well-produced YouTube video,
with the Canon they built a solid mirrorless camera tion to their subscription service for function is it adds work to the camera,
EOS R5 shooting for example
that is great for video shooters, it $50, they will sell you the camera so likely it will affect battery life.
up to 8K or the would only be better if it was the • Casual Video Production
for just $300. That means the cam- Lastly, the feature called Scheduled
Lumix S1H cap- same price and in a cinema camera era is only $350 total, plus you get Capture allows the camera to wake-up • Home video, vacation highlight reels
turing up to 6K. form factor. unlimited cloud storage, total camera and capture at a predetermined time. and any other project that is
Between the a7S replacement and up to 50% off stuff This is a great feature, it means it wakes minimally planned
III and those two contents
Chris Monlux is the Videomaker’s Multimedia at GoPro.com with the subscription. up at dawn, so you don’t have to.
cameras, it’s the Editor. Why are they offering this deal? $450 or $300 with $50
most affordable at This is obviously a ploy from GoPro to In action subscription yearly subscription full screen
$3500 over $3900 You can comment on this article by going online:
www.videomaker.com/?p= 72060426
get you to buy directly from them and We understand that GoPro makes ($5 a month after) for a $350 total
for the R5 and print
get you signed up for their subscrip- these cameras for action sports, so
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 9
 REVIEW
GoPro HERO9 Black
TECH SPECS
Sensor: 1-Chip CMOS
Sensor Resolution: 23.6 MP
Recording Media: 1 x microSD/HC/XC
(256 GB Maximum)
Video Format:
• 5120 x 2880 at 24/25/30 fps (100 Mb/s
MP4 via H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC)
• 4096 x 3072 at 24/25/30 fps (100 Mb/s
MP4 via H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC)
• 3840 x 2160 at 24/25/30/50/60 fps (100
Mb/s MP4 via H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC)
• 2704 x 2028 at 50/60 fps (100 Mb/s
MP4 via H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC)
• 2704 x 1520 at 50/60/100/120 fps
(100 Mb/s MP4 via H.264/AVC, H.265/
HEVC)
• 1920 x 1440p at
24/25/30/50/60/100/120 fps (MP4 via
H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC)
• 1920 x 1080p at
24/25/30/50/60/100/120/200/240 fps
(MP4 via H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC)
we would be overlooking a typical
use case if we didn’t test the camera
shooting that way.
We gave the camera to Andrew, one
of our sales executives here at Video-
maker. He enjoys downhill mountain
biking, so he mounted it to his helmet
and headed out. At first, Andrew had
the camera on auto exposure, which is
the default GoPro setting.
However, to gain more control,
users have the ability to set the range
for a minimum and maximum ISO.
This is mostly because the camera
just doesn’t look good in high ISO’s.
But this also can control the bloom
contents the camera does when going through
rapidly changing lighting.
full screen This was what Andrew experienced
driving through sparsely leafed shrub
print
oak trees found in Upper Bidwell
10 VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
Audio Format: WAV
Display Type: Fixed Touchscreen LCD
Size: 2.27″
Secondary Display Front: Live-View
Monitor
Shutter Speed: 1/25 – 1/2000
Seconds (Photo)
ISO Range: 100 to 6400
Burst Photo: 30 Photos / 3 Seconds
Image Stabilization: Digital
Waterproof Depth Rating: 33.0′ /
10.0 m (Camera)
Built-In Mic: Yes
Built-In Speaker: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
Outputs: 1 x USB 3.0 Type-C
Battery: Rechargeable Battery Pack,
1720 mAh
Charging Method: USB
Dimensions (W x H x D): 2.8 x 2.2 x
1.3″ / 71.0 x 55.0 x 33.6 mm
Weight: 5.6 oz / 158 g
Park in Chico California, the home of
Videomaker. This was the first time we
saw how good the stabilization works.
We talk more about it later, but without
customizing the settings, the camera
performed very well. While on his ride,
Andrew also shot himself talking about
the camera, trying out the front-facing
camera. This was a great test to show
off how the built-in microphone works.
Even with a plane flying overhead, his
speaking was clear.
Ergonomics
The camera is larger and heavier than
the HERO8, but not by enough that
it would matter. The larger size does
mean that the camera offers a new
battery. Unfortunately, if you own a
GoPro from the recent past, you can’t
use those batteries with this camera.
However, with that increase in size,
we saw an hour and 25 minutes of life
per battery. The camera was hot to the
touch, but it did not overheat. Our test
was inside in a climate-controlled 78
degrees Fahrenheit.
Forward-facing monitor
and touchscreen
We are very happy that the camera
has a forward-facing monitor. This
makes framing for selfies or vlogging
easy. Overall, we like this feature. The
only issue we have is that the front-
facing-monitor doesn’t work while
shooting in 5K. The rear screen is
slightly bigger than the previous mod-
el. However, its touch response is not
great, even after an update that said it
would be improved. The update made
minor improvements, but not enough.
We found ourselves taping, touching
and sweeping the screen harder and
harder, trying to get features to work.
We found it easier to use the app on a
phone to change the settings.
Menu functionality
Outside of the frustration of a hard to
use touch control function, the menu
is great. It’s easy. Users can set up
profiles for different types of shooting,
so changing between high frame rate
shooting and high-resolution shoot-
ing is easy. We used the GoPro app
most of the time when changing the
functions because of the poor quality
touch screen.
Image quality
With the larger sensor, what do you
gain? The first is the resolution. With
video up to 5K, users now have the
room to reposition or stabilize a
shot for a 4K finish. The HERO9 can
capture RAW stills, though they are
in GPR (GoPro Raw) files. We had to
change the extension to DNG to work
with Photoshop. We did have the abil-
ity to lift the shadows and lower the
highlights, but overall the still image
from this camera is still lackluster. It
would do to capture the moment, but
there isn’t anything exceptional about
the image, RAW or not.
High frame rates
Another place we saw the image quality
was when shootin in high frame rates.
We tested this three separate times,
thinking it was our setup that was giving
us a poor image, but it wasn’t. When
shooting in 120 and 240fps the image
quality lowers greatly.
TimeWarp
TimeWarp 3.0 is an awesome feature
that allows users to shoot hyperlapse
video. Hyperlapse is when an image
is captured then the camera moves
and so on, its timelapse with the
camera moving through space as well
as the subjects. The camera stabilizes
and lines up the footage for a very
nice and smooth effect. We circled
Haley, our managing editor, with no
plan other than to circle her desk,
and the result looked a lot like bullet
time, though it was not a capture of a
single moment.
The FOV
The camera has all of the typical Go-
Pro field of view (FOV) options. There
is superview, wide, linear and narrow.
We found linear was the most usable
and typical FOV we wanted, though
when mounted to a helmet or to a
body harness, the superview and
wide are very helpful with captur-
ing the full action. Linear flattens the
horizon, so you don’t have a distorted
field of view.
Image stabilization
GoPro calls their image stabilization
HyperSmooth. With the HERO9 you
get version 3.0. We are super im-
pressed with it. With HyperSmooth,
there is a substantial difference and the
image doesn’t have anything strange
as a result of the correction. They even
offer boost mode, which creates a
slight crop. The stabilization GoPro has
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
been able to put into this camera is as
close as you can get to a gimbal, and
we don’t just throw around that type of
talk. It’s impressive.
Dynamic range
Using our DSC Labs Xyla 21 dynamic
range chart, we shot the HERO9 to see
how much dynamic range you could
expect to get from the camera. Each
line in the chart indicates one stop of
dynamic range. We observed 9 stops
of dynamic range from the HERO9.
We wouldn’t expect much more than
that. Though it’s not amazing, it’s not
disappointing either.
Low light
Doing an ISO ramp from ISO100 up
to ISO6400 while letting the shutter
speed counter the increase in light,
we tested to see when noise is intro-
duced into the picture at high ISO’s.
The HERO9 showed minimal noise
up to ISO800 with everything above
ISO1600 offering chroma shift that
will appear with the noise.
So, what does this mean for the
HERO9? In many use-cases for a Go-
Pro, an abundance of light is typical,
like when outdoors doing activities.
Once you bring the camera indoors,
you can expect the image to degrade
quickly. Today’s mirrorless cameras
typically look good up to ISO 6400,
but DSLR’s often perform similarly
to the HERO9. The low light perfor-
mance is acceptable for the typical
use of this camera.
Marketplace
The market once was littered with
GoPro knock offs. Although plenty of
them remain, most don’t come close
to the features a new GoPro offers.
However, we are going to look at two
that are as close as it gets, yet both of
them have more in common with the
prior GoPro, the HERO8, with a few
exceptions.
First up is DJI. Known for their stel-
lar drones, DJI makes a nice action
REVIEW
GoPro HERO9 Black
camera too, the Osmo Action 4K,
which costs $245 and has a forward-
facing monitor, shoots up to 240fps
in HD and up to 60fps in DCI 4K.
It shoots DCI 4K—not 5K like the
HERO9— and has only a 12MP sen-
sor. It has a smaller battery than the
HERO9 with a difference of 530mAH.
But, it has a slightly better underwater
depth rating of 36 feet.
The Insta360 ONE R 4K costs just
$300 and can capture HD up to 60fps
in UHD4K and also has a forward-
facing monitor that can shoot up to
200fps in HD. It shoots up to UHD
not 5K like the HERO9 with its 12MP
sensor. It has a smaller battery with a
difference of 420mAH. However, it has
a shallower underwater depth rating
of 16ft to 33 in the HERO9.
The final say
The HERO9 Black is the best GoPro yet.
The stabilization is fantastic, the longer
battery life is great and the front-facing
monitor is a great addition. We were
disappointed in the quality of the
image when shooting in high frame
rates, when an abundance of light is
not available. The touch function was
not ideal but could be easily executed
through the phone app.
We like TimeWarp, it’s a fun
feature that could be a good tool for
storytelling. Although not ground-
breaking, the low light performance
was a stop greater than we expected
and it’s easy to operate. Regardless
if you are a veteran professional
or a kid with a dream, the GoPro
HERO9 Black is going to be a great
tool to get it done. By offering it with
insurance and cloud storage for a
discount, GoPro is begging you to
buy one. If you need the best action
camera in the market, you can’t beat
the HERO9.
contents
Chris Monlux is Videomaker’s Multimedia Editor
full screen
You can comment on this article by going online:
www.videomaker.com/?p= 72061109 print
11
 The best
mirrorless
cameras
& DSLRs
for video
2020

These are the best DSLR and

mirrorless cameras on the
T
he best mirrorless cameras and DSLRs
dominate the video production scene
contents
market right now, organized thanks to their impressive image quality
and relative affordability. Though these little
full screen by use case. cameras still look like photo-only tools, they
have become increasingly capable video cam-
print eras with some big advantages.
At the end of this article, we’ll go over some
of the special considerations unique to this form
factor. But first, here are the best DSLR and mir- contents
rorless cameras across several use cases.
full screen
print

12 VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 13
 THE
THEBEST
BESTMIRRORLESS
MIRRORLESSCAMERAS
CAMERASAND
ANDDSLRS
DSLRSFOR
FORVIDEO
VIDEO—
—2020
2020
Best all around camera
Nikon Z6

Strengths:
• 10-bit external capture
• Great image quality
• Vibration reduction
Weaknesses:
• Single media card slot Best
Bestall
allaround
aroundbudget
budgetcamera
camera
• Screen isn’t fully articulating Sony
Sonya6400
a6400
Best
Bestcamera
camerafor
foronline
onlinevideo
video
The Nikon Z6 is one of two new full-frame mir- Strengths:
Strengths: Fujifilm
FujifilmX-T4
X-T4 Best budget camera for online video
rorless cameras from Nikon, the other camera • •No
Norecord
recordlimit
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time Canon M50
being the pricier Z7. While the Z7 prioritizes • •120fps
120fpsininHD
HD Strengths:
Strengths:
photo resolution with a large 45.7-megapixel Weaknesses:
Weaknesses: 10-Bit
10-Bit4:2:2
4:2:2DCI
DCI4K 4K Strengths:
sensor, while the Z6 uses a sensor with an ef- • •No
Noin-body
in-bodyimage
imagestabilization
stabilization Eterna
EternaBleach
BleachBypass
BypassFilm
FilmSimulation
Simulation • Long battery life
fective pixel count of 24.5MP. The Z6, however, • •No
Noheadphone
headphonejack jack Long
Longbattery
batterylife
life • Good image quality
supports a larger ISO range, from 100 – 51200. • Flip out screen
As for video, the Z7 and Z6 both record in The
TheSony
Sonya6400
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followup uptotothe
thea6300
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lineupofofcompact,
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featuresfor foron-
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for capture in either the FX or DX format, so cameras.
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claimsthe thecamera
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andaanewnewvari-angle
vari-angleLCD LCDscreen
screen The Canon EOS M50 sports a 24.1-megapixel
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alsosports
sports4K 4Kvideo
videorecording,
recording,“Real-time
“Real-timeEye Eye that
thatmakes
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the full-pixel readout for sharper 4K. 180-degree
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card. 1.6X APS-C crop factor. The M50 uses Canon’s
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algorithmsasasSony’s Sony’sfull-frame
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the Z6 with an external recorder enables both profi
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toolsinclude
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works NFC connectivity. There’s also a vari-angle, flip-
Its full-frame sensor, flexible recording op- ality,
ality,Gamma
GammaDisplay Displayassists
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andproxy
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tions and growing collection of Z Mount lenses ing.
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work together to help the Nikon Z6 capture video
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camera. both
bothcompact
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lightweight. gers on a budget.

Canon M50
Nikon Z6 Sony a6400 Fujifilm
FujifilmX-T4
X-T4

contents contents

full screen full screen

print print

14 VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 15
 THE BEST MIRRORLESS CAMERAS AND DSLRS FOR VIDEO — 2020

Most cinematic
Most cinematic camera
camera
Panasonic GH5s
Panasonic GH5s

Best hybrid photo/video camera Strengths:

Strengths:
Sony a7R IV •• Image
Image Quality
Quality
•• Included
Included v-log
v-log LL
Strengths: Best budget hybrid photo/video •• Internal
Internal 10-bit
10-bit 4:2:2
4:2:2 recording
recording
• 61 Megapixel sensor camera Weaknesses:
Weaknesses:
• Real-time Eye AF Canon Rebel T8i •• No
No sensor
sensor stabilization
stabilization
• 240 MP Pixel Shift multi shooting
Weaknesses: Strengths: With aa new
With new 10.2-megapixel
10.2-megapixel Digital Digital MOSMOS sensor,
sensor,
• Poor menu system • Accepts EF mount lenses Dual Native
Dual Native ISO ISO andand aa Venus
Venus EngineEngine 10, 10, the
the Pana-
Pana-
• No 4k 60p • Record up to 60 fps sonic LUMIX
sonic LUMIX GH5s GH5s aimsaims to to correct
correct one one ofof our
our only
only
• No 10-Bit video • Flip-out screen issues with
issues with thethe GH5:
GH5: its
its performance
performance in in low
low light.
light. Best run-and-gun camera
Weaknesses: Though the
Though the two
two cameras
cameras share share manymany similarities,
similarities, Panasonic LUMIX S1
The Sony a7R IV offers more to hybrid shoot- • Shared headphone/mic jack Dual Native
Dual Native ISO ISO technology
technology borrowedborrowed from from the the
ers than any other camera before it. The a7R • Limited external controls VariCam line
VariCam line helps
helps thethe GH5s
GH5s shootshoot at at higher
higher ISOs ISOs Strengths:
IV combines a 61 Megapixel resolution image with less
with less noise.
noise. •Low light performance
sensor with 6K oversampled video for capturing The Canon Rebel T8i is a DSLR that The GH5s
The GH5s is is also
also the
the fifirst
rst mirrorless
mirrorless cameracamera to to • Face-detect AF
UHD 4K. Plus, it has no record time limit. While accepts EF and EF-S mount lenses. offer 4K
offer 4K 60p60p video
video recording
recording in in Cinema
Cinema 4K 4K — — aa Weaknesses:
the codec, frame-rate and resolution options That means it can use high-end EF pretty big
pretty big milestone.
milestone. And And thankfully,
thankfully, just just like
like the
the • Larger weight and size
for video haven’t changed since the previous lenses if you so wish. This camera has GH5, there
GH5, there isn’t
isn’t anyany record
record time time limit
limit for
for either
either • Auto exposure in high speed video
model, the added benefits to still shooters el- an APS-C sensor, on the larger side Full HD
Full HD or or 4K4K video
video recording.
recording. In In addition
addition to to 10-bit
10-bit
evate the a7R IV to the level of hybrid shooter’s for its price. This will give you a 1.6 video recording,
video recording, photo photo shooting
shooting in in 14-bit
14-bit RAWRAW for- for- The S1 is large for a mirrorless
dream camera. times crop factor, when shooting at up mat is
mat is also
also possible.
possible. The The GH5sGH5s shoots
shoots video
video in in DCI
DCI camera. In fact, it’s larger than all
If you are a hybrid shooter, meaning you want to UHD 4k at 4:2:0 8-Bit or any other 4K at
4K at up
up to to 60
60 fps
fps for
for aa maximum
maximum 2.5x 2.5x slow-mo.
slow-mo. the other full-frame cameras on the
a strong video and stills camera, the Sony a7R resolution. making it a good choice By contrast,
By contrast, resolution
resolution on on thethe GH5
GH5 topstops out
out atat UHD
UHD market. However, with that larger
IV is at the top of its class. Just looking for a high for those who want a solid video 4K. The
4K. The GH5sGH5s alsoalso ups
ups the
the maximum
maximum HD HD frame
frame size comes a long battery life and
resolution stills camera? The a7R IV might still be camera and strong photo capabilities. rate to
rate to 240
240 fpsfps for
for aa maximum
maximum 10x 10x slow-mo.
slow-mo. fantastic low-light performance. An-
for you, though you will pay a premium for the Additionally, the T8i can shoot up to With its
With its Multi-Aspect
Multi-Aspect sensor, sensor, the the GH5s
GH5s alsoalso other very cool feature is the cam-
added resolution over the previous model a7R 60 frames per second in full HD — captures aa wider
captures wider fifield
eld of
of view
view thanthan that
that of of other
other era’s unlimited record time when
III. If you are a video only shooter and wouldn’t that’s more than two times slow-mo four-thirds sensor
four-thirds sensor cameras.
cameras. Less Less crop
crop equals
equals moremore shooting 4K at 24 and 30 frames per
be able to use the photo features, then the a7R IV when played back at 24p. Although fifield
eld of
of view
view at at the
the same
same resolution.
resolution. This This will
will give
give second. And if that wasn’t enough,
might be a poor choice. You can get much more this camera offers plenty of options, videographers the
videographers the advantage
advantage using using the the maximum
maximum Panasonic offers a $200 firmware
for less money from many other cameras on the one of the most important for this sensor area
sensor area possible.
possible. upgrade that enables 10-bit internal
market. In all, the video looks great, and with the price point is the flip out screen. The Absent from
Absent from the the GH5s
GH5s is is the
the 5-axis
5-axis in-body
in-body stabi-
stabi- capture and V-log. We were really
addition of no record limit time with dual card T8i isn’t a ground-breaking camera, lization of
lization of the
the GH5.
GH5. IfIf you’re
you’re choosing
choosing between
between the the impressed with the S1 and think it’s
slots, its ready for just about anything. but for the money, it’s a great buy. GH5 and
GH5 and thethe GH5s,
GH5s, you’ll
you’ll be be confronting
confronting aa trade-off
trade-off a great camera.
between sensor
between sensor performance
performance and and image
image stabiliza-
stabiliza-
tion. However,
tion. However, cinematographers
cinematographers shooting shooting in in con-
con-
trolled environments
trolled environments where where the the camera
camera properly
properly
supported likely
supported likely won’t
won’t miss
miss the the stabilization.
stabilization.
Sony a7R IV Canon Rebel T8i Panasonic LUMIX S1
Panasonic GH5s
Panasonic GH5s

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Bio
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16 VIDE OMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 17
 THE BEST MIRRORLESS CAMERAS AND DSLRS FOR VIDEO — 2020
Special considerations for DSLR
& mirrorless cameras
As with any type of camera, choosing the right
DSLR or mirrorless camera means weighing a
number of different factors against your budget
and intended use. You can get an overview of
the important tech specs to consider before
any camera purchase in our article on How to
buy a camera. However, there are a couple of
considerations that are unique to this particu-
lar form factor.
DSLR or mirrorless camera?
One of the major differences between mir-
rorless and DSLR cameras is size. A DSLR
has a mirror in front of the image sensor,
allowing the user to look into an optical
viewfinder and through the lens. When the
shutter is released to take a still picture, the
mirror drops, momentarily exposing the im-
age sensor. When shooting video, the mirror
remains down, and the video can be seen on
the LCD screen in the same way as on a mir-
rorless camera.
Because of the mirror mechanism, DSLRs
tend to be larger and heavier than mirror-
less cameras. DSLRs, at their smallest, weigh
around a pound and a half and can fit in a
small bag. In contrast, mirrorless cameras
can weigh as little as half a pound and can be
pocket-sized with a small lens. If you’re shoot-
ing on a tripod or a shoulder rig, the difference
in size can be insignificant.
Another common difference is in monitoring
options. Some mirrorless cameras lack view-
finders, instead relying on rear display panels;
those that have them necessarily use electronic
viewfinders, or EVFs, which have a reputation
for making it difficult to see detail. Fortunately,
many come with the advantage of being able
to digitally zoom from within the EVF for focus
assist. When a DSLR is in video mode, the
optical viewfinder is disabled, and the video is
viewable on the LCD screen making it function
much like a mirrorless camera.
contents
Lens compatibility
When buying an interchangeable-lens cam-
full screen
era, lens mount is also important — especially
print if you already have a collection of glass in
18 VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
Build your own green screen to add dazzling
special effects
to your video
your kit. This is typically tied to the sensor size.
The larger the sensor, the larger the glass in the Have your actors survive massive explosions, fight dinosaurs in the jungle primeval,
lens needs to be because the lens needs to be or travel to any location on earth or beyond, from ancient Rome to the planet Mars.
able to cover the whole sensor with light. That’s
why a full-frame lens can work with an adapter
on a smaller sensor, but a small sensor lens
will not work on a full-frame camera regard-
less of the adapter; it won’t cast enough light
to cover the whole sensor. If you already have a
substantial lens collection, consider lens-mount
compatibility before you have to put your old
lenses on Craigslist.
DSLRs have the broadest selection of lenses,
from macro lenses to super-telephoto to fully
manual cinema lenses. You can find a lens
for almost any application to fit your DSLR’s
mount. While the selection of lenses for
mirrorless cameras is limited, the lenses are
smaller and lighter than comparable DSLR
lenses. You can often find adapters for mount-
Free Training Resource
ing DSLR lenses on mirrorless cameras, but
these adapters vary in quality, and some lens
functions such as autofocus and iris control
(aperture control) may not work.
What’s your style?
Do you need a camera that’s super compact
and lightweight? If so, then a small, mirrorless
camera might be right for you. Do you want an
affordable camera with a huge variety of lenses
and accessories? In that case, a larger DSLR might
be the solution you’re looking for.
Many of the newer models of mirrorless and
DSLR cameras share similar features, making the
difference between these two types of cameras The green screen makes it all possible. And with a few simple materials and a little
minimal. Besides the mirror, the biggest differ- know-how, you can build a green screen of your very own in your home studio and start
ence is weight and size. On a tripod, that doesn’t adding pro-level special effects to your own videos. Our free report can help you build a
mean much. With the camera handheld, a little
more weight and a larger body can make the working green screen.
camera easier to keep steady.
Above all, focus on the features that are impor-
tant to you. Think about what you’ll be shooting
and the environment you’ll be working in. Find-
ing a camera that has the right features for the
types of shoots you do is the first step in selecting Get this exclusive report, free when you sign up for Videomaker’s Video Tip emails.
the best gear for your productions. These tips are always free and you can choose to stop receiving them anytime! contents
Start your special effects studio at: videomaker.com/DIYgreen
You can comment on this article by going online: full screen
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print
Already a subscriber to Videomaker’s Video Tips? You can download all of the available Videomaker Free Reports by clicking
on the “Edit Profile” link at the bottom of any Video Tip message.
 In this guide, we
cover software
for every
budget and
skill level for an
optimal editing
workflow.

The best
video editing n the late 1980s and early 1990s,
the idea of a graphical editing
system was a futuristic dream
for many. Rumors swirled of pow-

software
erful systems in the works, hidden
behind the walls of Industrial Light
and Magic and Skywalker Ranch. Fast
forward to 2019, and the landscape

2020
of software available to videographers
is immense. Gone are the days of cut-
ting film strips, tape decks and linear
editing. Today, video editing is a digital
non-linear process and an incredibly
important part of video production.
In this article, we’ll go over the
criteria you’ll need to consider when
contents shopping for new video editing soft- contents
ware, including your skill level, work-
full screen flow and budget. But first, let’s take full screen
a look at our favorite video editing
print print
software for editors at every level.

20 VIDE O MAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 21
 THE BEST VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE — 2020
Apple iMovie
Best beginner editing software
Apple iMovie
Strengths:
• 4K video support
• Importing/Exporting of 1080p at 60fps
• Free for Apple users
Simple media organization
• Available for Mac, iPhone and iPad
Weaknesses:
• Wrapping timeline was removed
iMovie is a fun and engaging experi-
ence that succeeds at appealing to nov-
ice editors in its simplicity. Advanced
editors may find it limiting, but iMovie
clearly isn’t designed for the advanced
Wondershare Filmora9 user. In addition to supporting for 4K
video editing, the latest version of
iMovie also offers tools for creating
animated titles. You can also add color
filters to your video and creating spe-
cial effects like split-screen effects and
even green-screen compositing.
With an intuitive interface, easy
export and sharing, Apple iMovie pro-
vides a useful outlet for burgeoning
video producers. Anyone can start to
create content without much invest-
ment up-front. The software is free for
Mac, iPhone and iPad users.
Best enthusiast editing software
Wondershare Filmora9
Strengths:
• Supports up to 4K resolution
Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve 16 • Supports 3D LUTs
• Robust image adjustment tools
Weaknesses:
• Rendering previews is unintuitive
Filmora9 is the latest iteration of
Wondershare’s video editing soft-
ware. This desktop video editing app
offers a simplified editing interface
while still giving users control over
their media. Filmora’s collection
of editing tools includes all of the
basics, plus speed and reverse clip
contents controls, video and audio track sepa-
ration and picture in picture sup-
full screen port. As for image adjustments, users
can improve image quality and dial
print in a look with a robust collection of
22 VIDE O MAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
filters and effects, including support
for 3D LUTs.
Filmora also offers the ability to add
custom text to your production. Or,
you can customize one of the included
text templates. Other features include
audio repair tools, dozens of transi-
tions and support for screen capture
and green screen production. All of
this — along with editing and export
support for resolutions up to 4K —
makes Filmora is a great choice for
editors who want more flexibility for a
reasonable price.
A lifetime license for Filmora is $60,
or pay $45 per year for a yearly sub-
scription. If you plan to produce a lot
of videos, the unlimited plan for just
under $105 per year adds unlimited
downloads from the Filmstocks Stan-
dard Library along with new effects
added every month.
Best professional editing software
Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve 16
Strengths:
• Fully featured free version
• Industry-leading color grading tools
• Timeline tabs
Weaknesses:
• No 10-bit video in free version
Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve 16 is
an all-in-one software. It combines 8K
editing, color correction, visual effects
and audio post production all in one
software.
The Resolve 16 adds new tools for
sorting and previewing media assets, a
new cut clip tool and multiple improve-
ments to the editing, color, Fusion and
Fairlight audio pages in the app. Also
new is a Boring Detector tool that iden-
tifies sections of your timeline where
clips are running to long or clipped
too short, and a close up edit mode
that takes advantage of high-resolution
footage and face-detection technology
to automatically reframe wide-angle
footage into pleasing closeup shots.
The big three
A guide to video editing software would
be incomplete without a nod to these
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
three professional editing applications. While we whole-
heartedly support DaVinci Resolve 16 as our pick for best
professional editing software based on value and functional-
ity, we also can’t ignore the enduring ubiquity of the editing
platforms from Avid, Apple and Adobe. To be considered
a professional editor, it’s all but mandatory that you know
your way around at least one of the following programs.
If you’re already editing on one of the following three
applications, stick with it; we do not recommend switch-
ing. Additionally, if any of the three below appeal to you
over our official recommendation of DaVinci Resolve 16,
you should go for it. They are all very capable applications
that will take you far.
Avid Media Composer
Avid Media Composer was the original nonlinear editing
suite and is still a widely used powerful editor for many
professional editors in Hollywood and small production
houses alike. It’s a robust all-around tool, and though it has
a history of being less flexible than other editors, keyboard-
based editing and other pro features make this a strong
choice for editors who need fast, consistent turnarounds. It
has adapted over the years to support 4K and many other
formats natively while sticking to its roots as a video edit-
ing and compositing tool.
For a taste of Media Composer, check out Media Com-
poser First, Avid’s free starter version. The full application
is $19.99 per month with a 12-month commitment, or
$24.99 if you go month-to-month.
Final Cut Pro X
If you work on a Mac, Final Cut Pro X is a great option. Fi-
nal Cut Pro was once considered the industry gold standard
of editing software. In recent years, however, other software
Avid Media Composer
contents
full screen
print
23
 THE
THEBEST
BESTVIDEO
VIDEOEDITING
EDITINGSOFTWARE
SOFTWARE——2020
2020

suites have become more popular. However, Final Cut is graphics, color correction and compos- fessional
fessionalsoftware
softwareififyou
youare
areserious
serious while learning the skills you’ll need to The choice is yours
still a powerful and versatile software for Mac users. It has iting. This industry-leading software is a about
aboutediting
editingvideo.
video. edit professionally. Video editing is an essential step in
regained its footing with pros since X’s initial launch by favorite among enthusiasts and profes- While price is one important area the production process. It is the place
keeping up with the functionality pro editors expect, while sionals alike. In addition to providing a Making
Makingthe
theinvestment
investment to consider, functionality is another where the story is truly told. While the
refining the interface and timeline. With integrated support deep video editing toolset, Premiere Pro Years
Yearsago,
ago,your
yourstatus
statusasasaabeginner
beginner important area to think about. If you camera helps a director paint a picture
for 2D and 3D animated titles and graphics, a robust audio also uses automated functions powered editor
editorororaapro
promade
madeaahugehugedif-
dif- plan on working with 4K, multicam, of a scene or shot, editing reveals the
editing toolset and the ability to apply color corrections by Adobe Sensei, Adobe’s AI technol- ference
ferenceininthe
thesoftware
softwareyou youused.
used. 360 video or other complex forms of entire story. Editing is how we set the
and grading in-program, Final Cut Pro X is an all-around ogy, to cut down on repetitive tasks and Today,
Today,most
mostproprosoftware
softwarecomes
comeswithwith video, you’ll need to find software that tone, pace, and feeling for a piece of
great piece of software for Mac users and is still the stan- speed up your workflow. enough
enoughresources
resourcesforforthe
thebeginner
beginner can support that workflow. Profes- content. While there are many differ-
dard in many studios. Final Cut Pro X costs $300. Compatible with both Windows or
orprofessional
professionaltotogetgetstarted
startedwithout
without sional video editing software will all ent programs available, it is important
or MacOS, Premiere Pro CC benefits much
muchtrouble.
trouble.IfIfyou’re
you’reserious
seriousabout
about support 360, 4K and multicam editing. to consider your needs as an editor.
Adobe Premiere Pro CC from close integration with the rest of editing,
editing,there’s
there’sno
noreason
reasonnotnottotostart
start Check the features list for any other Purchase the software and system that
Premiere Pro is a complete video editing platform with exten- Adobe’s Creative Cloud. You can sub- with
withpro
prosoftware.
software. software you are considering. best fits your production workflow.
sive format support and built-in tools for audio editing, titles, scribe to Premiere Pro CC a la carte, Adobe
AdobePremiere
PremierePro,Pro,Apple
AppleFinal
Final In terms of computing power, you’ll For help choosing a computer for
but when you combine the power of Cut
CutPro
ProXXand
andAvid
AvidMedia
MediaComposer
Composer need to make sure your system will be video editing, read “How to choose the
Final Cut Pro X Premiere with other Creative Cloud are
aremuch
muchmoremorecapable
capablethan
thanmost
most able to handle not only the software, right computer for video editing: 4 key
apps like Audition and After Effects, consumer
consumerediting
editingsoftware.
software.Plus,
Plus,they
they but the video you are working with. specs to check.”
you end up with an incredibly power- offer
offeraaplethora
plethoraofofresources
resourcesififyouyou Always check the minimum system
ful storytelling toolkit with support for need
needhelp
helpgetting
gettingstarted.
started.It’s
It’strue
true specifications before making any soft- Contributors to this article include Chris Settin-
everything from color grading to me- ware purchase. You’ll also want to make eri and the Videomaker Editorial Staff.
these
theseupper-level
upper-levelprograms
programsoftenoften
dia encoding and delivery, along with require
requirelarger
largerinvestments
investmentsofofboth both sure the software you buy is compat- You can comment on this article by going online:
photo editing and graphic design. You time
timeand
andmoney.
money.However,
However,with withaapropro ible with any plug-ins you might want www.videomaker.com/?p= 72007143
can subscribe to Premiere Pro CC for editing
editingsuite,
suite,you
youcancanexperiment
experiment to use now or in the future.
$20.99 per month, or get full access to CSS-11-2020.qrk_Layout
CSS-11-2020.qrk_Layout11 11/5/20
11/5/20 2:02
2:02PM
PM Page
Page11
the complete Adobe Creative Cloud for

CSSMUSIC.com
CSSMUSIC.com
$52.99 per month.

Know what you need

With the rise of 360 video and 4K,
editing systems need to stay up to
date with the changing landscape.
New formats help us tell stories from
new angles, but we need to consider
how they will shape our work. Some
Simply
Simply The
The Best
Best
ROYALTY
ROYALTY FREE
FREE MUSIC
MUSIC
software comes with native support
for these emerging technologies, while
Adobe Premiere Pro CC others require the user to install a plug-
in. Keep this in mind as you shop.

Single Selections $29 -$49

Also consider your own skill level
and how you plan to grow your video
editing skill-set in the future. Most
beginners will start with a drag and
drop style editor, some version of
which comes standard on many com-
puters. These free options are fine for
simple cuts, but beware of down-
loading free editing software from
100
100PRE-PAID
PRE-PAID DOWNLOADS
DOWNLOADS
$$ 199
disreputable sources. This can come
with drawbacks like malware, viruses
and other problems.
contents These programs are also often contents
limited when it comes to input and
full screen

print
output formats. Plus, the interface can
be pretty clunky. We recommend you
seek out and learn to use more pro-
800-468-6874
800-468-6874 full screen

print

24 VIDE O MAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 25
 The Best
audio
editing software for video editors
Are you frustrated
with the audio
limitations of

2020 your video editing

software? It might
be time to invest in
dedicated audio editing
software. Let’s look at
the best audio editing
software currently on the
market, then go over the
most important features
to consider as you shop.

M
any digital audio work-
stations are designed
especially for musicians.
FL Studio and Apple Ga-
rageband are some great
examples. Yet, other software is much
more diverse.
In fact, some software is better
suited to mixing and editing audio for
film and videos, recording and editing
ADR and/or inserting sound effects
and Foley in addition to working well
for music composition and looping
contents sounds. In this article, we’ll look at contents
the best audio editing software for
full screen video editors. Then, at the end of the full screen
list, we’ll go over some key features to
print consider as you shop. print

26 VIDE OMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 27
 THE BEST AUDIO EDITING SOFTWARE FOR VIDEO EDITORS
Magix SOUND FORGE Audio Studio 14 Best enthusiast audio editing software
Magix SOUND FORGE Audio Studio 14
Strengths:
• Inexpensive
• 5.1 surround sound
Weaknesses:
• Primarily focused on music production
While the name may not be as familiar to edi-
tors using Adobe, AVID or Apple Products, Sound
Forge has been around for 25 years. In short,
features like audio restoration tools, time stretch
and pitch manipulation make this software ap-
pealing to the video editor. Other handy features
include one-touch recording, a spectrum analysis
tool and a new Event Tool that is supposed to of-
Adobe Audition CC fer a more flexible editing experience. The Audio
Studio’s interface is fully adjustable with four dif-
ferent hues: Dark, Medium, Light and White.
Magix Audio Studio 14 also includes iZotope
Ozone Elements, which is a nice plus. This soft-
ware supports FLAC and AAC formats and up to
six audio channels per project allowing you to
edit in full 5.1 surround sound.
Sound Forge Audio Studio 14 retails for $60, or
you can pay $5 per month for a subscription to
Sound Forge Audio Studio 365. A free trial of the
Studio version is available, as well.
Best professional audio editing software
Adobe Audition CC
iZotope RX 8 Standard/Advanced Strengths:
Audio restoration tools
Multitrack capabilities
Creative Cloud integration
Weaknesses:
Monthly subscription required
One of Audition’s greatest strengths is its audio
restoration abilities. However, it can also be used
to record and edit music clips. The latest version
adds new DeNoise and DeReverb tools as well as
general improvements to the interface and multi-
track management.
Audition also has the advantage of being bun-
contents
dled with Adobe Creative Cloud. If you already
have a subscription to Adobe CC for its powerful
full screen software suite, then Audition is a great bonus that
you should consider trying. Adobe CC lets you
print
easily move projects from Audition to Premiere
28 VIDE O MAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
and vice versa, which can make your overall post
work a much quicker process. It’s also important
to note that Audition has a stand-alone monthly
subscription if you don’t plan to use Adobe’s
other offerings.
Currently, you can get the complete Adobe
CC for $53 a month or pay $21 for just Audition.
Adobe also offers a complete seven-day free trial
with no credit card required. Adobe Audition is
compatible with both Mac and PC.
Best plug-in
iZotope RX 8 Standard/Advanced
Strengths:
• Extensive audio restoration toolset
• Wide compatibility with other programs
• Flexible pricing model
Weaknesses:
• Repair Assistant covers limited issues
iZotope RX 8 is an audio editing plug-in
known for its impressive restoration capabilities.
An extensive toolset — with tools like De-ess,
De-plosive, De-reverb and Voice De-noise and
more — it gives you lots of flexibility for edit-
ing, repairing and sweetening imperfect audio.
An automated Repair Assistant helps to detect
problems with your audio and to offer solutions
for some issues.
Like other brands, iZotope offers audio suites
whose tools and capabilities increase in proportion
to price. You might be able to save some cash if
you only need a few of the tools on offer. That said,
you’ll want to look at the difference in tools in each
version to decide which program is right for you.
As a plugin, it’s compatible with host pro-
grams including Adobe Audition and Premiere
Pro CC and Final Cut Pro X as well as other
popular music-focused audio editing software.
In addition, it can also function as a standalone
audio editor. RX 8 Standard goes for $299, and
RX 8 Advanced for $1,199.
Best free audio editing software
Audacity
Strengths:
• Free
• Expand features with plug-ins
• Open-source community support
Weaknesses:
• Destructive editing only
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
Audacity
Audacity is a fast, free open-source audio
editing software that’s also really easy to use.
Some people don’t like it and don’t consider it
a true DAW because it’s a destructive file editor;
however, with the right file management, this re-
ally isn’t an issue.
Audacity can record and edit 16-bit, 24-bit,
and 32-bit samples at up to 96 KHz sample rate
and can import a wide range of file formats.
The software has a wide range of tools included
but can be further expanded with plugs ins for
increased integration with other programs or to
add new effects.
There are unlimited Undo (and Redo), and
the only limit to the number of tracks you can
edit and mix are the limits of your computer’s
processor and RAM.This free software also has
some good plug-ins. FFmpeg, for instance, al-
lows you to edit your audio in sync with your
video file. If you’re looking for free software that
can work with an older system, this is a good
option. Audacity is compatible with Windows,
Mac OS or Linux.
Features we considered
You can do a lot of audio work directly in
your video editing software, but when you
need more specialized tools, a separate audio
editing program can really come in handy.
Moreover, if you’ve hit the limits of your built-
in audio tools, it might be time to look for a
contents
more robust solution.
What can your editing system support? full screen
Before we get into features and capabilities, the
print
first step to finding the right audio editing soft-
29
 THE BEST AUDIO EDITING SOFTWARE FOR VIDEO EDITORS

ware for you should be to consider your com- band EQ or parametric EQs which are almost audio engineer
audio engineer laying
laying down
down music
music tracks
tracks like
like However, there are also quite a few unique tools
puter hardware. That said, some audio software standard for DAWs. These more sophisticated Lucious Lyon
Lucious Lyon in in “Empire.”
“Empire.” specific to each software. Unfortunately, there
requires more processor power than many video EQs allow you to isolate and remove specific However, mixing
However, mixing consoles
consoles can
can also
also be
be used
used were too many features for each program to list
editing packages. Plus, there’s a chance your sounds from a clip like the chirping of a cricket. with DAWs to manipulate sound for
with DAWs to manipulate sound for your video your video in this article.
audio card may also need to be upgraded. With Additionally, if you are needing to enhance or projects. These controllers range in capabilities
projects. These controllers range in capabilities Most editors consider using a DAW when
that said, an external audio device might be an eliminate a particular sound in a mix, this can be and price,
and price, but
but they
they give
give you
you an
an interface
interface that
that is
is there’s a particular problem with a project that
easy solution for this. Other factors such as your tricky to do with video editing software because easier to
easier to work
work with.
with. they need to solve. Therefore, the feature that
computer’s operating system can also be a factor the only graphical view you can often get is an That said,
That said, the
the price
price range
range for
for controllers
controllers provides that solution may be what influences
since some DAWs are OS specific. In fact, some audio waveform showing the gain, or volume. A is also similar in pricing to camera
is also similar in pricing to camera support; support; your purchase the most.
of these audio editing programs are even specific spectrum analyzer shows you a graph of the gain they start
they start at
at less
less than
than aa hundred
hundred dollars
dollars with
with However, video editors usually continue to
about the version of that OS. For example, the of different frequencies. Using this can save a lot prices into
prices into the
the thousands
thousands depending
depending upon upon use their DAW for greater audio control. In the
program might work on Windows 7 but not on of time lost to guesswork. For example, if you’re the features
the features offered.
offered. Additionally,
Additionally, most
most digital
digital end, there is no single best DAW; the best DAW
Windows 10. Likewise, if you’re considering an trying to augment a person’s voice, you can look mixers can be used as controllers,
mixers can be used as controllers, and many and many for you will be the one that fits your needs and
audio editing plugin, make sure it’s compatible at the spectrum analyzer for the right range of DAWs support
DAWs support livelive multi-track
multi-track recording.
recording. It’s
It’s your budget.
with your preferred host software. frequencies — around 500 Hz to 2 kHz for most important to
important to note
note that
that many
many users
users don’t
don’t con-
con-
Some audio editing software is more special- people — and find the peaks to show you how sider aa DAW
sider DAW to to truly
truly be
be aa workstation
workstation without
without aa
Contributors to this article include W. H. Bourne and the
ized than others, so carefully consider how your you’ll want to adjust your equalizer to enhance hardware controller.
hardware controller. Videomaker Editorial staff.
needs match up with the software’s capabilities their voice.
before you buy. Here are some of the features Before you
Before you buy
buy
You can comment on this article by going online:
that might compel you to invest in a dedicated Noise reduction and clip restoration With all
With all of
of these
these software
software options,
options, there
there are
are www.videomaker.com/?p= 297641
digital audio workstation. Video editing software rarely had much in the many features that they have in common.
many features that they have in common.
way of tools for cleaning up audio clips. Audio
Equalizers and spectrum analyzers editing and repair used to be a painstaking pro-
One of the biggest benefits of many DAWs is cess that typically left you with subpar results.
their equalizers and spectrum analyzers. Most Now many issues can be fixed with a simple click

Reessoouurrccee
video editing software offers high pass and low of a button — if you have the right toolset.
pass equalizer (EQ) filters but don’t have 32 If you have audio that has a lot of noise, distor-
tion or additional common issues, a DAW is often

HOW TO
your best hope for fixing those tracks. Look for
options that come with de-noise and de-reverb
capabilities, since these will likely be your most
common audio issues. If you know you often en-

MAKE A
counter the same specific audio issue, put a tool
that can help with that at the top of your wishlist.

FFrreeee TTrraaiinniinngg R
Plug-ins and file types

STORYBOARD
Using a DAW is often the only way to get access
to some of the powerful audio plugins in formats
like VST. Some of these are plugins are even free
and can greatly expand your options for repair-
ing your audio and adding stylistic effects.
Additionally, using a DAW will often allow
you to work with higher quality file formats like
Broadcast WAV (BWF) and AIFF, giving you flex-
ibility and metadata capabilities that aren’t avail-
Get Successful Storyboarding Tips
able in containers like WAV and MP3.
from a Pro Storyboard Artist
DAWs and controllers
contents The ability to use a control surface is one factor
Get this
Get this exclusive
exclusive report,
report, free
free when
when you
you sign
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for Videomaker’s
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Tip emails.
emails. contents
that sets DAWs apart from your editing soft- These tips are always free and you can choose to stop receiving them anytime!
These tips are always free and you can choose to stop receiving them anytime!
full screen ware’s built-in audio tools. For example, when full screen
many think of DAWs, large mixing consoles is Become a
Become a Storyboard
Storyboard Samurai
Samurai at:
at: videomaker.com/storyboard
videomaker.com/storyboard
print what immediately comes to mind. Picture an print

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E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 31
 The best

desktop
computers
FOR VIDEO EDITING - 2020

An efficient editing workflow

depends on a solid editing
I n this article, we’ll highlight our picks for the best desk-
top computers for video editing on the market today,
then go over the main points a potential buyer will want to
tower offers
tower
processors
offers options
processors along
Nvidia Quadro
Nvidia
options for
along with
Quadro graphics
for both
with up
both single
up to
graphics cards.
single and
to four
four AMD
and dual
dual Intel
AMD Radeon
cards. Maxing
Maxing out
Radeon Pro
out at
Intel Xeon

at an
Xeon
Pro or
or
an astound-
astound-
Best budget workstation
Dell Precision 3630 Tower Workstation
While the Dell Precision 3630 Tower Workstation isn’t the

system. Here’s a look at the

consider in choosing a new editing system. ing and
ing and totally
totally unnecessary
unnecessary 3TB 3TB of
of RAM
RAM and
and withwith space
space most powerful desktop out there, it’s still powerful enough
contents for up
for up to
to 10
10 storage
storage drives,
drives, the
the Dell
Dell Precision
Precision Tower
Tower 7810
7810 to get the job done. You can get an Intel Core i5-9500 pro- contents
Best performance workstation
full screen best desktop computers for Dell Precision Tower 7920
isis fully
fully customizable
customizable to
post-production needs.
post-production
to meet
needs. The
meet even
The base
even your
your most
base system
most demanding
demanding
system isis reasonably
reasonably
cessor with 8 GB RAM and a Radeon Pro WX 2100 for just
$760. You can run multiple applications simultaneously full screen

print video editing. When it comes to power and customization, the Preci-
sion Tower 7000 Series has you covered. Dell’s 7920
priced, but
priced, but the
selected options.
selected
the cost
options.
cost can
can rise
rise quickly
quickly depending
depending on on your
your with relative ease. The Dell Precision 3630 Tower Worksta-
tion is a great option for anyone looking for an affordable print

32 VIDE OMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 33
 THE
THEBEST
BESTDESKTOP
DESKTOPCOMPUTERS
COMPUTERSFOR
FORVIDEO
VIDEOEDITING
EDITING——2020
2020

more parts which translates into more capabil-

workstation that can handle video editing and the
theGeForce
GeForceRTXRTX2080
2080Ti Tiwith
with11GB
11GBofofVRAM,
VRAM, ities and better performance. Plus, you’ll have
VR content creation. this
this system is ready for both professionalvideo
system is ready for both professional video plenty of room in the case to fit large compo-
editing
editingand
andhigh-end
high-endgaming.
gaming.The TheAsus
AsusROG

Apple 27-inch iMac

ROG nents such as an oversized CPU cooler — great
Best all-in-one Strix
StrixGL12
GL12can
canbe beequipped
equippedwith
withupupto
to64GB
64GBofof for overclocking, which means even more
Apple 27-inch iMac RAM
RAM and has lots of room for expansion.Styled
and has lots of room for expansion. Styled power — and a big league graphics card, or
Apple’s 27-inch iMac may not lead the mar- for
forgamers,
gamers,the
thecase
caseincludes
includesaatransparent
transparentside
side maybe even two! You’ll also be able to fit more
ket in maxed-out performance, but it’s still no panel
panelsosoyou
youcancanshow
showoff
offyour
yourcomponents
componentswith
with hard drives and solid state drives, providing
slouch! This all-in-one features some of the customizable
customizablelighting
lightingeffects.
effects. a vast number of storage possibilities. Al-
most advanced technology and design and though professional tier components can be
comes equipped with a six-core Intel processor, How
Howto
tochoose
choose pricey, they are still more affordable than
up to 64GB of RAM and an AMD Radeon Pro There
Thereare
areaafew
fewcore
corespecs
specsthat
thatyou’ll
you’llneed
needtoto specialized components designed to fit in all-
graphics card with up to 8GB of VRAM. With consider
considerregardless
regardlessof
ofform
formfactor,
factor,including
includingCPU,
CPU, in-one workstations.
these specs, the 27-inch iMac has more than GPU,
GPU,RAM
RAMandandstorage.
storage.For
Foran
anin-depth
in-depthlook
lookatat
enough power for 99 percent of us out there. these
thesekey
keycomponents,
components,read
read“How
“Howto toChoose
Choosethethe Advantages of an all-in-one system
It also offers more features than a traditional Right
RightVideo
VideoEditing
EditingWorkstation.”
Workstation.” However, choosing a tower does limit your mo-
tower through its all-in-one design. We love the bility. Typically if you choose a tower, then it will
big and bright 5K Retina display, built-in speak- The
Thetower
towerform
formfactor
factor likely remain stationary in your edit bay or home
ers, and a small footprint — all of which helps The
Thefoundation
foundationofofyour
yournew
newworkstation
workstationdepends
depends office. Towers can also take up a good amount of
reduce desktop clutter. The overall hardware aalot
loton
onwhat
whatform
formfactor
factorsuits
suitsyour
yourparticular
particular space. Having all those extra parts could lead to
design is second to none, and it also features needs.
needs.Does
Doesyour
yourworkfl
workflow owand
andspace
spacerequire-
require- more problems, too. With additional hard drives,
some great wireless accessories to keep your ments
ments demand an all-in-one solution,or
demand an all-in-one solution, orcan
can cables, and other components, there are more just what the name implies — it has everything
workspace clutter-free. you
youmake
makeroom
roomforforaafull-size
full-sizetower
towertotomaximize
maximize places for things to go wrong, which makes you need in and of itself to work. All-in-one
performance?
performance? troubleshooting that much more difficult. While workstations can also help keep your work-
Best workstation for editors who also love Aside
Asidefrom
frombeing
beingableabletotochoose
chooseaareally
really towers can be extremely powerful workstations, space free of clutter. These compact worksta-
to game cool
cool looking case with RGB lightingand
looking case with RGB lighting andflflashy
ashy consider their lack of mobility, and the potential tions have been stepping their game up over
Asus ROG Strix GL12 components,
components,towers
towerscan canbebethe
thebest
bestroute
routeto togogo pros and cons before buying. the last few years, too. They’ve been getting
With support for processors up to the 8-core, with
withwhen
whenthe
theabsolute
absolutemostmostpower
powerisisneeded.
needed. Whether you’re the kind of producer who is more powerful graphics cards and processors
16-thread Intel Core i9 and Nvidia GPUs up to With
Withaatower,
tower,you
yousimply
simplyhavehavemore
moreroom
roomto tofifitt mobile or not, an all-in-one workstation may to the point where they can take on the heavy
suit your needs. An all-in-one workstation is lifting of post-production work.
Unlike with a tower chassis, these all-in-one
workstations make it difficult, if not impos-
sible to upgrade the components when the time
comes. You’ll probably need to buy a whole new
Dell Precision 3630 Tower Workstation

system instead of simply upgrading the graphics

card, for instance. On the other hand, upgrading
parts in a tower configuration is pretty easy, so
you can keep your system at the top of its game
for a longer period of time.
Dell Precision Tower 7920

Which one is right for you?

Getting a workstation that’s configured to suit
your workflow is key. Remember what specifica-

Asus ROG Strix GL12

tions are important to your line of work, keep in
mind the factors which make each component
powerful and be realistic about how much pow-
er you’ll need. Getting a new workstation is a
fun and exciting experience. Do your research,
enjoy the process, and soon you’ll be editing on
a new workstation.

contents Contributors to this article include Odin Lindblom, Devin contents

Hujdic and the Videomaker Editorial staff.

full screen full screen

You can comment on this article by going online:
www.videomaker.com/?p=72005717
print print

34 VIDE OMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 35
 BEST
PRODUCTS
OF THE
YEAR
2020
Best
Bestcamcorder
camcorder
BY THE EDITORS Panasonic
PanasonicHC-X2000
HC-X2000
OF VIDEOMAKER The HC-X2000 has a ½.5” sensor that captures UHD 4K
The HC-X2000 has a ½.5” sensor that captures UHD 4K
60fps. I/O includes USB, SDI, HDMI, headphone, XLR and
60fps. I/O includes USB, SDI, HDMI, headphone, XLR and
WiFi. It also has optical image stabilization, face tracking
WiFi. It also has optical image stabilization, face tracking
autofocus, ND filters, dual SD card slots and livestream-
autofocus, ND filters, dual SD card slots and livestream-
ing via WiFi. Perhaps the HC-X2000s strongest feature is
ing via WiFi. Perhaps the HC-X2000s strongest feature is
As the year nears its end, it is its Leica 24X zoom lens with a 24-600mm equivalent focal
its Leica 24X zoom lens with a 24-600mm equivalent focal
range with focus, zoom and iris rings.
time for us to compile our picks range with focus, zoom and iris rings.
Read more at videomaker.com/panasonic-CES2020
for Videomaker’s Best Products of Read more at videomaker.com/panasonic-CES2020
2020. 2020 was a crazy whirlwind,
and while video production came
to a near halt, we still saw some
Best Products 2020
huge releases. In fact, there
were so many great product Best Products Award Criterion
releases that it made it difficult
For a product to qualify as one of our Best Products
to narrow down this list. Each of the Year, it must have passed through Videomaker
for examination by our editorial staff. From there, we
product was carefully evaluated judged the products based on the following questions:
for innovation, value and overall 1. Empowerment: does the product help
performance. videographers become more effective storytellers?
2. Ease of operation: is it user-friendly?
3. Affordability: does the product must provide good
value for the price?
4. Quality: is it well put together, durable and does it
display excellence?
5. Innovation: is it inventive and original?
contents
6. Dependability: can it endure the rigors of active
video production?
full screen
7. Performance: does it work consistently
print and effectively?
36 VIDE OMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
Best
BestDSLR/mirrorless
DSLR/mirrorlesscamera
camera
Fujifilm
FujifilmX-T4
X-T4
Fujifilm brings unexpected features in a mirrorless cam-
Fujifilm brings unexpected features in a mirrorless cam-
era to the X-T4. The 24 megapixel APS-C sensor records
era to the X-T4. The 24 megapixel APS-C sensor records
DCI/UHD 4K 60fps five-axis image stabilization in addi-
DCI/UHD 4K 60fps five-axis image stabilization in addi-
tion to fairly common options like log gamma, hybrid
tion to fairly common options like log gamma, hybrid
autofocus, headphone and mic jacks. What sets the X-T4
autofocus, headphone and mic jacks. What sets the X-T4
apart is its easy to use body with large dials, rear joystick
apart is its easy to use body with large dials, rear joystick
and its film simulation modes. Fujifilm recreates the look
and its film simulation modes. Fujifilm recreates the look
of many classic photochemical processes digitally in the
of many classic photochemical processes digitally in the
X-T4, including Eterna—the 35mm stock loved by cinema-
X-T4, including Eterna—the 35mm stock loved by cinema-
tographers.
tographers.
Check out all the details at videomaker.com/x-t4-review
Check out all the details at videomaker.com/x-t4-review
Best cinema camera
Canon EOS C70
Canon’s new Cinema EOS camera, the C70, packs in a
lot of features. Its Super35 DCI 4K sensor captures two
gain values at once and combines them to produce an
image with lower noise. The C70 can record 4:2:2 4K/HD
120fps to affordable SD cards and 24 bit/48k audio via
mini XLR. Timecode I/O and ND filters are also built into
the C70. The side 1/4″-20 mount and menu shift also al-
lows the C70 to be operated vertically—9×16.
Canon C70 - videomaker.com/canon-c70
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
Best hybrid camera
Canon EOS R5
The full-frame Canon R5 records 8K 12bit RAW or 8K,
4K or HD in 10bit 4:2:2 files to CFexpress cards. If that
amount of color and detail weren’t convincing enough,
the R5 also has five-axis sensor-shift stability that works
in addition to image stabilization on native RF and adapt-
ed EF lenses. The R5 has the latest in autofocus, image
tracking and image processing from Canon all in a 1.62 lb
camera body. As a bonus, it also takes 45 megapixel stills.
While the camera does overheat then recording in 8K, the
camera makes up for it with all of its other features.
Learn more at videomaker.com/r5-review
Best specialty camera
GoPro HERO9
Every year, GoPro continues to outdo itself. The HERO9
features a 23.6MP sensor, allowing you to shoot multiple
resolutions, including 5K at 24 fps. Likewise, shooting
1080HD at 240 fps lets you create some cool 8X slo-mo
effects. Other nice features include livestreaming in
contents
1080p and timelapse footage at night in 4K. Finally, 14
voice commands allow you to shoot completely hands
free. full screen
print
Check out our review at videomaker.com/hero9-review
37
 Best Products 2020

Best lens Best stabilizer

Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G DJI RSC 2 Best
Best desktop
desktop workstation
workstation
The Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G is very fast for a wide 20mm The RSC 2 is the latest in handheld electronic gimbal Dell
Dell Precision
Precision 5820
5820
lens covering full-frame sensors, but this lens offers even stabilizers from DJI. Designed for use by a select group of Dell’s
Dell’s Precision
Precision 5820
5820 allows
allows you you to
to completely
completely custom-
custom-
more. A focus hold button on the side of the lens al- DSLR/Mirrorless cameras, the gimbal has a total weight ize
ize your
your workstation
workstation to to provide
provide the the best
best options
options to
to meet
meet
lows you to lock the focus, or you can assign the button capacity of 6.6 lbs and can be configured by mobile app. your
your video
video processing
processing demands.
demands. Several
Several ways
ways to
to configure
configure Best storage
to other camera features. The lens also has a de-click The RSC 2 can be used traditionally or underslung for storage
storage with
with multiple
multiple drive
drive options
options include
include the
the ability
ability to
to SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2
switch, which allows the iris to move smoothly for video low angle shots while providing stability for lenses up to install
install aa RAID
RAID controller
controller for
for SAS
SAS drives.
drives. With
With the
the added
added Rugged and durable with a convenient, built-in carabiner,
shooting. The nine-blade rounded iris helps create a 100mm. The unit has a built-in tripod which allows for ability
ability to
to select
select aa chassis
chassis with
with aa 950
950 watt
watt power
power supply,
supply, the
the San Disk’s Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 can withstand
pleasing look to out-of-focus areas of the frame. timelapse and panorama moves. Precision
Precision 5820
5820 provides
provides allall the
the power
power youyou need
need for
for your
your 6’ drops and is made to protect against water and dust.
projects.
projects. Using a USB 3.2 connection, the SSD has fast read and
Read more at videomaker.com/sony-fe20mm Learn more at videomaker.com/dji-rsc2 .. write speeds up to 2000 MB/s.

Best
Best microphone
microphone
Best light Best
Best laptop
laptop RØDE
RØDE VideoMic
VideoMic NTG
NTG Best field monitor
Litra studio HP
HP ZBook
ZBook Create
Create G7
G7 The
The RØDE
RØDE VideoMic
VideoMic NTG
NTG isis aa versatile
versatile shotgun
shotgun micmic that
that Blackmagic Design Video Assist 3G-SDI/
The Litra Studio is less than six inches wide and provides The
The ZBook
ZBook Create
Create G7
G7 series
series features
features HPs HPs stunning
stunning you
you can
can use
use with
with your
your smartphone,
smartphone, tablettablet and
and computer
computer HDMI 7" Recorder/Monitor
3,000 lumens of light. The fixture is rated at 97 CRI, and DreamColor
DreamColor display.
display. The
The 15.6″
15.6″ 60 60 hzhz display
display is
is available
available using
using aa USB
USB connection.
connection. Features
Features include
include continuously
continuously This Blackmagic Video Assist has a 7” 1920×1200 LCD
its rectangular LED array is configured in an RGBWW in
in standard
standard or
or touchscreen
touchscreen options
options withwith either
either 1080HD
1080HD variable
variable gain
gain control,
control, an
an audio
audio peak
peak warning
warning light,
light, high
high 310nit panel that can record 10bit 4:2:2 1080 60fps to
pattern giving it the ability to reproduce 2-10K Kelvin. The or
or 4K
4K UHD
UHD resolution.
resolution. The
The G7
G7 uses
uses 10th
10th generation
generation Intel
Intel pass
pass filters
filters and
and aa dedicated
dedicated button
button for
for the
the -20
-20 dB
dB pad
pad to
to dual SD card slots. Features include waveform, vector-
light runs on a removable 9000 mAh battery and has an processors
processors including
including the
the I9
I9 with
with an an NVIDIA
NVIDIA GeForce
GeForce RTXRTX quickly
quickly lower
lower the
the record
record level.
level. Special
Special highlights
highlights are
are aa du-
du- scope, RGB parade, histogram, audio level meters and
contents aluminum body that is waterproof to 30 feet—10 meters. 2700
2700 Max-Q
Max-Q graphics
graphics card.
card. It’s
It’s aa fast
fast machine,
machine, perfect
perfect for
for rable
rable shock
shock mount,
mount, an
an internal
internal rechargeable
rechargeable battery
battery with
with custom overlays. On the monitor, you’ll find SDI and contents
The Litra Studio is controllable by a mobile app via Blue- editing
editing on
on the
the go.
go. aa 30
30 hour
hour run
run time
time and
and the
the option
option to
to set
set the
the mic’s
mic’s right
right HDMI I/O, mini XLR ins, headphone out and a speaker.
full screen tooth or DMX with an adapter. channel
channel to to output
output 2020 dB
dB lower
lower than
than the
the left
left channel.
channel. Audio can be recorded at 24bit/48K via analog or digi- full screen
Learn
Learn more
more at
at videomaker.com/zbook-nab2020
videomaker.com/zbook-nab2020 tal inputs. Finally, a 2.5mm LANC control port supports
print Learn
Learn more
more at
at videomaker.com/rode-videomic-ntg
videomaker.com/rode-videomic-ntg record start/stop. print

38 VIDE O MAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 39
 Best Products 2020

Best
Best livestreaming
livestreaming switcher
switcher
Best desktop monitor Blackmagic
BlackmagicATEM
ATEMMini
MiniPro
Pro
HP Z27K G3 The
TheATEM
ATEMMiniMiniPro
Proisisaa4×2
4×2switcher
switcherwith
withstreaming
streamingandand
The Z27K G3 monitor features HPs award-winning recording
recordingfunctionality.
functionality.ItIthas
hasfour
four1080p
1080pHDMI
HDMIins,
ins,two
two
DreamColor technology. With 99% sRGB for more than a Best
Best beginner
beginner editing
editing software
software 3.5mm
3.5mmaudio
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forprogram
programor ormultiview,
multiview, Best tripod
billion of colors, Pantone Validated Color gamut and VESA Apple
AppleiMovie
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control,USB-C
USB-Cfor
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Certified DisplayHDR 600, the Z27K G3 raises the bar for Simple
Simplewith
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useinterface,
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andcontrol.
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editors who need a color-critical monitor. you
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from23.98
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lumakeys,
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confidently say that this monitor is a step above the rest. iMovie
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it’sfree!
free! Learn
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moreat
atvideomaker.com/atem-mini-pro
videomaker.com/atem-mini-pro 28.7″ and a 55 lb capacity load.

That’s a wrap!
This concludes our round-up for the Best of 2020. There were
some excellent products for many of the categories that
just didn’t make our list this year, but to quote Highlander,
“There can be only one!” Don’t see your favorite product
listed? Let us know your favorite products from 2020 in the
comments.

You can comment on this article by going online: www.videomaker.com/?p=72061628

Best
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Adobe After Effects vs Premiere
Adobe offers some great
programs for post-production
editing, such as After Effects
and Premiere. But, what is the
difference between the two?
Should you use them separately
or together? Let’s do a side by
side comparison.
When you venture into the post-pro-
duction world, you will undoubtedly
need to decide which video editing
software and motion graphics soft-
ware to use. Adobe has both of them
with Premiere Pro as their industry-
leading video editing software for
film, tv and web and After Effects as
the powerhouse in motion graphics
software.
In Premiere Pro, you can edit raw
footage in any video format and easily
apply editing techniques to achieve
the director’s vision.
contents
With Premiere, you can create productions such as short films, full feature films, docu-
full screen mentaries, web shows, interviews and much more. In Premiere, you will be able to build
the entire sequence of your project to tell a story. You can use several editing techniques
print to accomplish your vision.
44
EDITING
On the other hand, in After Effects,
you can create cinematic movie titles,
intros, explosive effects, work with
particles, keyframes and expressions.
Honestly, there’s nothing you can’t
make with After Effects.
The question is, what is the differ-
ence between the two? Should you use
them separately, or together? We will
do an after effects vs premiere compar-
ison so that you may better understand
when to use these two programs.
VIDE OMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
by
by Luis
Luis Oscar
Oscar Maymi
Maymi
More about Adobe Premiere
Premiere is used to put together all
the raw footage you recorded and edit
it according to the project needs. In
Premiere, you will be able to build the
entire sequence of your project to tell
a story. You can use several editing
techniques to accomplish your project
vision, but you will always end with
a render video/film of your produc-
tion—an end-product.
With Premiere, you can create pro-
ductions such as short films, full fea-
ture films, documentaries, web shows,
interviews and many others. However,
most productions mentioned before
are better suited for Premiere Pro
rather than its basic counterpart Pre-
miere Elements or Premiere Rush.
You see, Premiere Pro is for ad-
vanced video editors who need power-
ful editing tools, while Premiere Ele-
ments is a beginner level video editor
to make videos quickly with limited
functionality. Premiere Rush is more
suited for mobile users who want to
make quick videos for social media. It
would be best to decide which version
is better suitable for your needs and
go from there.
However, keep in mind that al-
though all versions of Premiere excel
at video editing capabilities—espe-
cially the Pro version—they are not
ideal for creating motion graphics
EDITING
E E CE
FR OUR How Much
E S Should
R
animations. That when After Effects I Charge
for Video
comes in, giving you full capabilities
and motion graphics options.
More about Adobe After Effects
After Effects is used for anima-
tions, visual effects and motion
Production?
picture compositing—this means
It's the biggest question when you're
that every effect you apply is done
in the post-production phase. You just starting out, but even long time
can do so many things in After professional freelancers struggle
Effects that what you end up with with this seemingly simple question.
solely depends on the project you You know that your time and work
are working. If you are working on
a short film and need an explosion
is valuable, but how valuable? How
with smoke, fire and debris, you can can you keep your prices competitive
do that in After Effects. If you are without cheating yourself?
doing an interview and need a very
compelling animated lower third, Remove the guesswork
you can create it in After Effects.
There is nothing you can’t do with with Videomaker's free
After Effects. It even has some 3D
modeling capabilities by using the
Video Rate Calculator.
free installation of “Cinema 4D Lite.” Now you can take the guesswork
Keep in mind that although it allows out of the equation. Presenting the
you to use 3D objects and manipulate
Videomaker Video Rate Calculator – the
them After Effects is not the right
choice for advanced 3D animations. quick, easy and free way to calculate
Yes, you can do cool 3D stuff but is exactly the best rates for any video
not what After Effects was created freelancer. It takes into account your
for. It excels at motion graphics, unique circumstances – from your
compositing and animations. You will business expense to your cost of living
be able to do incredible creations in and even your desired profit level. Be
those areas. confident you're asking for a fair rate
The one thing that After Effects is that will keep you in business – while
not good at is editing videos. Splicing also giving your client a deal that they
videos together, adding a soundtrack can't refuse!
and sound effects is not a thing you
should be doing in After Effects. • Keep Track of your Business Expenses
• Keep your profits at the level you
Should you use both After Effects
and Premiere Pro? want
Using both Premiere Pro and After • Ensure you're always operating in the
Effects for a project allows you to black
create any video production you
can think of. The possibilities are • Grow your business with new clients
endless. With Premiere Pro, you will • Keep your prices competitive so your
have all the video editing capabili- clients come back again & again
ties to craft an incredible sequence s
te
of videos. Inside that sequence, you /ra contents
om
r.c ed
can add as many After Effects ani-
e
mations as needed. ak art full screen
Look at it this way, in Premiere eom et st
Pro you create the structure of your Vid to g print
isit
V
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 45

After Effects is used for animations, visual effects and motion picture compositing.
project, while After Effects brings all
the beautiful and exciting overlay-
ing graphics that will enhance your
production quality. Thay why using
both software in your production
is highly recommended for almost
every situation.
Take advantage of Adobe Dynamic
Link
If you will be using both Premiere Pro
and After Effects together, you can use
Adobe Dynamic Link. This feature al-
lows you to change the original assets
without rendering and exporting your
work from one application to another.
This workflow saves you disk space
and time working between projects.
Keep in mind that the more complex
the After Effects composition, it will
require additional processing time to
apply the actions and make the final
data available to Premiere Pro.
For example, let’s say you cre-
ated a lower third in After Effects
and would like to use it in Premiere.
First, in Adobe Premiere Pro, choose
File > Adobe Dynamic Link >
contents Import After Effects Composition.
Choose an After Effects project file,
full screen and then select one or more compo-
sitions. Then drag the composition
print to the Premiere Pro timeline.
46
EDITING JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021
Suppose you would like to edit
something from the After Effect
composition. In that case, all you need
to do is select the composition from
the project panel > right-click > edit
original and make the appropriate
changes in After Effects. After saving
the project, the changes made in After
Effects will automatically appear in
the Premiere Pro. Here’s a video of
Adobe Dynamic Link in action:
As mentioned before, if you work
with complex source compositions,
you may need to add more RAM or
a faster processor. Check out, “How
much RAM do you need for video edit-
ing?” for details.
After effects vs premiere—when to
use them separately
When to use Premiere only
You can use Premiere only when you
need to produce something quick or
edit something simple. We recommend
using Premiere Pro for advanced pro-
duction sequences along with After Ef-
fects animations. However, it might ben-
efit you to use Premiere Rush for short
interviews—such as one-shot talking
face without any B-rolls or supplemen-
tal graphics—editing screen recordings
tutorials and mobile phone video edited
on the Abode Rush IOS app.
VIDE O MAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
When to use After Effects only
Using After Effects and Premiere
Pro with Adobe dynamic link is
ideal when working with compli-
cated projects. However, if you see
yourself reusing multiple animated
assets, you can create them in After
Effects first, render the videos and
reuse them in future productions. It
is especially useful with Premiere
Rush because you can make an epic
motion graphic animation in After
Effects, export it and import it to
Adobe Rush to reuse it on the go in
the mobile app. Some of the assets
that can be created for this can be
lower thirds, fixed titles, logo anima-
tions and intros/outros.
It all comes down to what you
want to accomplish
Having a robust video editing software
like Premiere Pro and a behemoth
powerhouse for motion graphics like
After Effects will allow you to ac-
complish anything you desire in your
videos or film productions. It’s crucial
to learn how to use both software
correctly, so here are a few resources
available for more information:
Premiere Pro tutorials
• After Effects tutorials
• Introduction to After Effects
• How to get the most out of Adobe
Premiere Rush
There are also other Videomaker
resources you can check out:
• Basic Video Editing – The Essential
Guide to Basic Editing Techniques
• Advanced Video Editing
• Post Production Workflow
• This is what you need to know about
motion graphics.
“The meaning of a movie are the characters, the
life of the movie is the music, but the magic is in
the editing” – http://www.lomaymi.com
You can comment on this article by going online:
www.videomaker.com/?p=72057877
PROFIT MAKING
Promoting your virtual event
With video production experience,
you already have the foundational
skills needed to create an impact-
ful virtual event. Hosting a virtual
event doesn't need to be expen-
sive, either.
People are going to remember how
your video production business re-
sponded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Did your business roll over to the
circumstances, or did it fight to serve
your audience’s needs? If your video
production business is a fighter, virtual
events are an incredible opportu-
nity to promote your expertise and
services. In addition to growing your
business, virtual events allow you to
expand and engage your audience.
Fortunately, there are plenty of
easy-to-use platforms to host your
next virtual event. At Videomaker, we
use Zoom Webinars. Other popular
platforms include Cisco Webex, Adobe
Connect and ON24.
Hosting a virtual event will show
your audience and industry that your
organization is ready and willing to
adapt to unforeseen circumstances.
With video production experience,
you already have the foundational
skills needed to create an impactful
virtual event. However, a virtual event
can’t be impactful without attendees.
4 low-budget tactics to promote
your virtual event
Hosting a virtual event doesn’t need
to be an expensive endeavor. In fact,
you can create and host a successful
virtual event at a low cost. The follow-
ing tactics are effective and budget-
friendly methods you can try:
• Create a website for the event
• Curate a community around the event
• Share your content, show your
authority
• Offer low-cost, valuable perks
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
1. Create a website for the event
The first step to take in creating your
virtual event is to create a website. An
event-specific website doubles as an
information hub and a tool to convert
visitors into registrants. Unless your
organization is highly recognizable,
the number of registrants will be sig-
nificantly lower without a website for
the event.
If done correctly, a website will be
the most efficient promotional tactic
for your virtual event. By providing
registrants with relevant and convinc-
ing information, they will be fully
informed and in the loop. Once the
website is created, all you have to do is
update it with developing information.
All of your promotional materials
should direct people to your website.
Within your website, all visitors should
be directed to your registration page.
So, how do you create your website?
Creating a website
Creating a website for your event may
sound daunting, but there are plenty of
tools and websites that make creating a
website easy, even if you have no expe-
rience. We suggest the following sites:
• Wix.com
• Weebly.com
• Strikingly.com
• Godaddy.com
by Sam Rios
We can vouch for Wix, which al-
lowed us to create Videomakerevents.
com. The process was simple; all we
did was populate the template with our
content, with minimal design changes.
What do you put on your website?
Once you’ve created your website,
it’s time to put up some pages. There
are plenty of different pages you can
include on your website, it all depends
on your goals and what you want
viewers to take away from your page.
Here are a few ideas:
• Blog posts
• Agenda
• Speaker profiles
• Highlights from past events
• Gallery
• Sponsor offers
• A page for brands to sponsor your
event
• Information on your company
• Registration page
Not only will your website save you
time and effort, but it will optimize the
user experience as well. Make sure to
include only relevant information and
keep it intuitive to navigate.
contents
2. Curate a community around
the event full screen
One of the main reasons people attend
print
events is to network and interact with
47
 PROFIT MAKING JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021
other attendees. If you want to bring a sense of
connection to your virtual event, you need to cre-
ate a community specific to the event.
Now, more than ever, people crave a sense of
community. For many people, virtual communities
are their only option to easily meet and interact
with new people. If you don’t curate a community
around your event, what differentiates your event
from an informative video on the subject?
Communities as a funnel
Curating a community will benefit your organi-
zation just as much as it will benefit your audi-
ence. When people belong to a community, they
are more likely to engage in behavior that the
community supports.
When you create a community for your virtu-
al event, you create a funnel that will drive traf-
fic to the event. The community also provides a
group of people that you know are interested in
a specific topic and/or virtual events.
Where to host
Host the community where most of your audi-
ence is, which is probably social media. Face-
book event pages and groups are the easiest way
to create a community page. If your audience is
more active on a different platform, host it there.
contents
full screen Creating a website for your event may sound daunting, but there are plenty of tools and websites that make creating a website easy,
even if you have no experience. If done correctly, a website will be the most efficient promotional tactic for your virtual event.
print
48 VIDE O MAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
Setting up the page
It’s up to you to set the tone for the community
page. Do this by clearly explaining the page’s
purpose in the description. Tell your audience
as blatantly as you can, “This is a place for you
to communicate with one another.” Once you’ve
set it up, it’s probably best to take a mostly
hands-off approach from this page. Feel free
to intermittently seed the page with updates,
interesting information and polls. But it’s best to
let the community interact naturally.
After the event
Once the event ends, you’ll have to decide what
to do with the page. If you create the page for a
specific
specific event, rather than a series of events, you’ll
have to create another page for the next event.
The best move is to let the page live on its own
after the event concludes. You can always direct
this page to the new page for your next event.
3. Share your content, show your authority
Your organization chose the virtual event topic
because you have authority in that area. Use that
authority to your advantage. It is important for
people to understand that you have inside knowl-
field, which
edge and useful information in your field,
benefit from if they attend your event.
they will benefit
PROFIT MAKING
There are tons of analytics tools to analyze your top-rated content around specific keywords. Google analytics is a good place to start.
Understanding what content gets the most traffic is important, as you can convert organic visitors to registrants by linking to your event
website in your content.
Why wait until the day of the event to provide
useful information? Sharing your content before
the event will help prove your authority in the
space.
The time before the event is a great time to
direct your audience to content based on the
event’s topic. You can also convert organic visi-
tors to registrants by linking to your virtual event
website in the content.
If you don’t have much content on the topic,
create it. Your event registrants are an audience
that has already shown interest and engagement.
For previous Videomaker virtual events, we
created a “prep kit”, a curated collection of con-
tent, to give to registrants before the event. This
allows us to prepare more inexperienced regis-
IT IS IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE
TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU
HAVE INSIDE KNOWLEDGE AND
USEFUL INFORMATION.
trants for the topics of the event. We also offered
“exclusive” content, courses and eDocs that are
typically only available to paying members.
Creating a prep kit as well as other content
is a great opportunity to provide or create a
high-quality video that covers content related
to the topic of the event. Video gets much more
engagement and you can utilize snippets of this
video in all of your promotional material.
By creating content that is tangential and not
specific to the event, you can use it at any time.
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021
4. Utilize low-cost, valuable perks
Nobody wants to leave a party without a
goodie bag.
If people take the time to attend your virtual
event, reward them with something more than
just the event itself.
Utilize low-cost, valuable perks that you can
offer as an incentive to register and attend. This
is also a great way to show appreciation and
reward attendees. This is a great opportunity to
expose your target audience to what your video
production business does best.
An appropriate perk will be entirely depen-
dent on your organization, the topic and the
audience.
• Key traits of a perk
• Exclusivity
• Relevance to the event topic
• Easily accessible/actionable
• Perks for video production businesses:
• Discounted membership/subscription
• Consulting
• Software downloads
Conclusion
Without successful promotion, the quality of
your virtual event is irrelevant. But, with these
4 tips, you have the tools to create and host a
successful event.
Sam Rios is a recent graduate of CSU, Chico and a marketing
specialist at Videomaker. In his free time, he enjoys not using contents
Twitter and being a role model for his two kittens.
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49

How to market a documentary
You’ve finished your documen-
tary. Now the question is, how
do you get it seen? Marketing a
doc can be difficult, but there are
plenty of ways to be sure it gets
seen by the right people.
How do you market a documentary?
It seems like a simple question to an-
swer. You might try to build a strong
social media campaign and apply to
as many film festivals as possible.
However, this misguided strategy is
not enough to get your film noticed.
The real question you need to ask
is how do you create a demand for
your film?
As an indie doc filmmaker, it’s taken
me over a decade to figure out some
ways to do this organically without
spending thousands of dollars on a
publicist. Let’s look at a few examples
that work.
Major film festival buzz
The most established and proven way
to market a documentary is to show
it at a major festival. Obviously, there
contents
full screen
Make sure your doc story includes conflic to keep the viewer engaged and the buyers
print
excited about your film.
50
DOCUMENTARY
are key festivals that buyers attend,
and the rest of them are worthless.
Showcasing your work at the key festi-
vals like SXSW, Sundance and Toronto
puts your doc in front of potential
buyers and sales agents.
To land a major festival screening,
make sure your doc brings something
unique to the table. Some examples of
doc subject matter are unique access to
a subject, exposing some type of injus-
tice or docs about a celebrity subject.
VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
by Landon Dyksterhouse
Also important to note; conflict is
what fuels character and is at the root
of all storytelling. So, make sure your
doc story includes conflict to keep the
viewer engaged and buyers excited
about your film. This will help get
your film programmed at one of the
major film festivals and get people
talking about your doc.
Tease your doc on a major broad-
cast platform
Get your documentary associated
with a recognizable media platform.
It can be an entertainment show,
newspaper or magazine, or a popu-
lar social media blog site. Doing this
will help raise the level of interest in
your upcoming project and create a
demand for your project.
For example, our latest upcoming
documentary film, Warrior Spirit—
which is about former UFC champion
Nicco Montano and the dangers of
extreme weight cutting in the sport of
mixed martial arts—was featured on
a segment of HBO’s “Real Sports with
Bryant Gumbel.”
The inclusion of our doc on the
HBO segment came about in an or-
ganic way, starting with some simple
social media marketing.
DOCUMENTARY
We started by creating a Facebook
fan page for the doc at the beginning
of production. To grow the fan base on
the page, we posted weekly updates
about the film production, shared
screengrabs of footage, photos from
set locations and updates about our
film’s protagonist.
Towards the end of production,
we shared news that our protagonist
failed to make weight in attempting to
defend her UFC title. This post caught
the attention of the show producer
from HBO, who reached out to us via a
direct message about a segment they
were producing on extreme weight
cutting in MMA.
We followed up with the HBO
producer and did a background check
to make sure it was legit and every-
thing checked out. After months of
correspondence, the segment coming
together. We were featured in a segment
called the “Dark Reality of MMA” which
aired on September 22, 2020 on HBO.
The segment created quite the buzz
for our film. Even legendary sports
journalist Bryant Gumbel commented
directly on our doc footage from the
segment.
The result of the HBO segment
helped build the profile for our film
and as a result, major film sales agents
have reached out to inquire about the
film’s status.
With so many documentarians
having access to a camera and edit-
ing equipment, it’s imperative to cut
through the noise and give your proj-
ect a stamp of approval that will make
it stand out amongst your peers.
Premiere a clip or trailer of your doc
at a major event
Another effective way to market your
documentary is to premiere a clip
or the trailer of your film at a major
event in person.
In the current age of the pandemic,
this option may not be as applicable
as it once was, but the whole idea of
this article is to think outside of the
box and create a buzz for your indie
doc in an organic way.
Another personal example of this is
when we premiered a trailer for our
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021
2015 documentary Beats4Tanner at a
major music festival. The doc is about
a 16-year-old DJ named Tanner—aka
DJ Seebaum—who suffered from ter-
minal brain cancer. With the help of
electronic music pioneer and HARD
music festival founder Gary Rich-
ards—aka Destructo—we were able to
premiere the film’s trailer at the HARD
music festival in Denver in front of a
crowd of 5000 screaming electronic
music fans.
Richards, who was gracious enough
to share the spotlight with us, gave us
a platform to present the film to the
public in a unique way, which helped
launch the film before its distribu-
tion release. The Beats4Tanner trailer
MAKE SURE YOU USE
ALL OF THE SOCIAL
MEDIA TOOLS AT YOUR
DISPOSAL.
premiere at the music festival also
resulted in multiple music blogs pub-
lishing stories about the film.
So how did we get in contact with
one of the largest music festival
promoters and DJ’s on the planet
you ask?
We met Richards in Las Vegas when
Tanner came out to DJ an event at the
Hard Rock Hotel on EDC weekend.
Richards, whose brother also suffered
from terminal brain cancer, felt an im-
mediate connection with Tanner and
a relationship was formed.
Not only did Richards participate
in our documentary, he also agreed
to help us premiere the trailer for
Beats4Tanner with his music festival
platform. It was an incredible way
to launch the film and also inspired
other popular electronic music DJ’s
from around the world to share the
story on their social media platforms.
The right social media post
Obviously, social media will play a
major role in how successful your
documentary will be. Besides start-
ing a Facebook movie page and
sharing your film’s trailer a million
times, there might be a better way to
create an opportunity for your film
with social media with the help of
others.
This marketing tip comes with a
bit of an asterisk, as it helps to have
a protagonist or participant in your
film who already has an established
platform.
In the case of our 2017 award-win-
ning doc El Pantera, we documented
Mexican mixed martial arts star Yair
Rodriguez, who is arguably one of the
most popular combat sports athletes
in Latin America.
He shared the film’s official movie
poster on his Instagram page. This
led to an inquiry from a Fox Network
producer about the film’s status and if
it was available to distribute.
After several messages, phone
calls, a film festival premiere, a best
documentary award and an in-person
meeting with the networks acquisi-
tion director, we were eventually able
to finalize a distribution deal with the
Fox Network Latin America. The entire
process took around eight months and
the inquiry for the film was started by
a simple Instagram post.
It’s all about getting creative
and hustling
Using the resources in your orbit is
key and doing it in an organic way
is also just as important. Make sure
you use all the social media tools at
your disposal and work on building
the audience for your film from the
beginning of production until you
have reached your desired marketing
goals for the film.
Lastly, use these examples above
to create a demand for your docu-
mentary and always keep in mind
that the end goal of marketing your
film is to leverage a buyer so your
doc can reach its audience on a
larger platform.
Landon Dyksterhouse aka The Mash-Up King is contents
an award winning documentary filmmaker and
founder of company D-House Entertainment.
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51

Entertainment
Entertainment attorneys
attorneys
Entertainment attorneys wear
many hats and work with a vari-
ety of the people in the industry.
But, how do you know what
entertainment attorney is best
for your needs?
Sometimes, people want to know how
they can videotape in a public place,
or adapt a story or a song or a com-
mercial film to make a new movie.
Sometimes, they are looking for an
agent or contacts to help them dis-
tribute their production. This is where
an entertainment attorney steps in.
Choosing an appropriate entertain-
ment attorney seems like a simple
task, but identifying which entertain-
ment lawyer is most suitable for a
particular client depends on the legal
advice or work that the client needs
and—of course—the background and
experience of the lawyer.
What do entertainment
attorneys do?
Entertainment lawyers are often gen-
eralists in the field of entertainment
law, which requires them to know a
lot of legal subjects. They can give you
advice and recommendations about:
• advertising
• agency
• bankruptcy law
• contract law
• criminal law
• defamation
• employment law
• fee negotiation when the entertain-
ment lawyer is also a talent agent
• help clients manage their taxes
• immigration law
• insurance law
contents • labor law
• negotiate contracts
full screen • protect their clients’ intellectual
property rights
print
• publishing rights
52
LEGAL
LEGAL
by
byMark
MarkLevy
Levyand
• represent clients in court over dis-
putes
• right of privacy
• securities law
• security interests
• show clients ways to maximize
earnings
• tax law
• torts
Entertainment attorneys also work
with actors’ agents for contracts
regarding upcoming projects. They
negotiate with the agent and producer
for the actor’s compensation. Some
entertainment attorneys are also
agents, managers or publicists. Talent
agents and entertainment attorneys
often work together on behalf of their
clients. They secure talent releases
and advise their clients on jobs and
contracts. An entertainment attorney
can serve as a liaison between the
talent and other professionals, from
agents and tax preparers to networks
and venues.
Entertainment attorneys can also
facilitate distribution deals for enter-
tainment projects. They draft develop-
ment and production contracts with
writing, directing, acting and record-
ing talent. They work on financing
VID EOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
andRoman
RomanZelicchenko
Zelicchenko
agreements for sponsorships, bank
loans, co-production investments,
grants and other types of investments.
They prepare agreements for appear-
ance releases, location releases, and
licenses. They may also help clients
ENTERTAINMENT
ATTORNEYS ARE
OFTEN GENERALISTS IN
ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
join unions, guilds, and other profes-
sional associations if needed. On the
other hand, these attorneys may work
directly for professional organizations
to perform duties they may desire.
They most often deal with trans-
actions—negotiating and drafting con-
tracts. Some, however, are litigators,
which is useful when issues cannot be
resolved until two or more parties go
to court.
Clients hire entertainment attor-
neys for specific purposes, such as
negotiating or renegotiating contracts,
researching relevant case law, deter-
mining who owns parts of collabora-
tive intellectual property, initiating
legal action against people who
have stolen intellectual property or
breached contracts or helping clients
secure distribution rights for creative
properties.
Where to find an entertainment
attorney
The location of the entertainment
industry—Los Angeles for film, televi-
sion, and music; New York for music,
publishing, and theater; and Nashville
for music—dictates that most profes-
sionals in the entertainment industry
work in those cities, which have the
greatest concentration of law firms
that specialize in entertainment law.
Education
Like other attorneys, an entertainment
attorney spends three years earning a
law degree after receiving a bachelor’s
degree. But an entertainment attorney
chooses to focus on entertainment,
most often graduating from a law
school that offers a specialization in
entertainment law. Some of the top
schools are the University of Cali-
fornia at Los Angeles, University of
Southern California, Stanford Univer-
sity and New York University.
Once a person graduates from a law
school, they can represent clients in
the entertainment industry without
requiring additional training or certifi-
cation. But besides a general legal ed-
ucation, work experience is essential
to attain competence in this field. The
more situations an attorney observes
or participates in, the better and more
well-rounded the attorney becomes.
Discovering where an attorney went
to school is easy to do by consulting
the Martindale-Hubbell lawyer direc-
tory at www.martindale.com.
Experience counts
After finishing school, an entertain-
ment lawyer usually works for a law
firm specializing in entertainment law.
Networking is one of the most im-
portant skills for entertainment law-
yers. They should have connections
in the film or music industries so they
can secure the best contracts for their
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
LEGAL
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021
clients. Other types of lawyers may fo-
cus on marketing to potential clients.
Draft contracts for a client, review
contracts from managers, publicists,
record labels, film studios and others
to make sure they’re legal and fair to
the client, and then negotiate those
contracts.
A good entertainment attorney
maintains relationships with studios
or record labels, and is aware of who
is influential and what deals are being
made in the industry. Having strong
contacts can help an attorney get a
THE MOST COMPETENT
ENTERTAINMENT
ATTORNEYS HELP THOSE
NEW TO THE INDUSTRY.
deal done quickly, while knowledge
of what’s being offered elsewhere can
help the attorney get the best deal for
a client.
The most competent entertain-
ment attorneys help clients that are
new to the industry understand how
the business works, including which
types of contracts to choose, how to
identify pitfalls in business deals, what
performing rights they have. They
also guide the client on where to find
a manager, agent, accountant or other
business contacts. They act as general
counsel for established artists, helping
with marketing and merchandising
deals, as well as real estate transac-
tions and tax issues.
Also, they help artists secure the
rights to use music that other artists
have written, complying with copy-
right laws. This last activity can also be
performed by other lawyers including
but not limited to intellectual property
or copyright attorneys.
Steps to take when looking for an
entertainment attorney
As a moviemaker, the first step you
will want to take before you seek an
entertainment attorney is to determine
what legal help you need. For exam-
ple, do you want to protect your idea
for a script or treatment? Do you want
to adapt someone else’s novel or story
or life story and create a movie based
on that story? Do you want to hire
actors? Do you need to join the Screen
Actors Guild (SAC) or the Writers Guild
of America (WGA) or another union?
Once you determine the legal ser-
vices you need, you should investigate
potential lawyers. One place to look
is a lawyer directory. The Martindale-
Hubbell directory has an on-line,
searchable database that summarizes
each lawyer’s education, areas of
concentration, experience, and rating
by other lawyers. The website is www.
martindale.com.
You don’t have to physically visit or
meet face-to-face with an attorney now
that online communication is the new
normal. Call or email to schedule a
short introductory meeting with more
than one attorney, so you can evaluate
the attorney’s education and experi-
ence, and determine whether the two of
you are compatible. This is an oppor-
tunity to get answers to questions you
have about the attorney and the law
practice. I suggest you write your ques-
tions in advance, so you can use it as a
checklist as the interview progresses.
After interviewing a few attorneys,
you can decide on the one you would
like to work with. Call that attorney
back and be ready to sign the retainer
agreement to get started. Expect to
spend between $250 and $500 per
hour once the attorney begins to work
for you. Finally, listen to the advice
you get and, of course, take the advice
you pay for.
Mark Levy has been contributing articles to
Videomaker magazine since 1988. He is past
president of the Amateur Movie Makers Asso-
ciation and has won awards internationally for
his short films and videos. He practices intel-
lectual property law (patents, trademarks, and
copyrights) in Evergreen, Colorado. Roman Zeli-
chenko is Founder & CEO @ LaborLess. Entre-
preneur. Lawyer. Writer. Improviser. Climber. contents
Snowboarder. Eater. Traveler.
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print
53
 AUDIO
AUDIO AUDIO JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021

bybyBlag
BlagIvanov
Ivanov

Mono vs stereo: a breakdown trickier because we need to distinguish between

the use of stereo microphone patterns or using
two microphones on a single stereo track, we
In simple terms, the difference will cover both.
You should ask yourself how a stereo record-
between mono and stereo is ing will benefit your project. Close-miking a
source is best done in mono because there is
in the number of channels that not much room for a stereo image to form.
the speakers use. We give you a However, it makes sense to use a stereo track
when recording that same source at a distance,
full run down on how and when more on that below.
they are used. Disk space is a smaller concern today than
it was 10 years ago, but we still risk artificially
inflating project sizes by unnecessary use of
When it comes to audio, you have stereo tracks.
likely heard the terms mono and
stereo. The question is: what are they? Mono recording
and how are they different? We’re go- We record voice and ADR tracks in mono using
ing to give you the rundown on mono a single microphone because they typically sit in
vs stereo—from what they are, to how the centre and stereo offers few gains in this case.
they work to how they differ. Multi mic recordings of a single source in mono Close-miking a source is best done in mono because there is not much room for
can make some amazing contributions to your a stereo image to form. However, it makes sense to use a stereo track when
Origins stereo image, this is common practice when recording that same source at a distance.
To truly appreciate stereo, we need dynamics of the performers. Stereo both
both studios
studios and and homes
homes alike.
alike. Playback
Playback recording music and is comparable to using
to understand the changes that ac- consists of two discrete channels of of existing
existing recordings
recordings through
through stereo
stereo multiple cameras to capture the same scene. side near the snare, hi-hat and kick. Move the
companied it at the time. The last 60 routed to separate left and right out- speakers
speakers becomes
becomes a dual-mono
a dual-mono using
using We love doing this with guitars where a single mic around until you achieve a good balance be-
years have seen several major shifts in put channels and speakers. thethe same
same signal
signal forfor both
both channels.
channels. take recorded with multiple microphones is tween all the drums and cymbals, this is a good
recording technology. The 1950s saw This was before the advent of tape, WeWe seesee a similar
a similar trendtrend today
today withwith blended and panned to create a richer sound. exercise in balancing lows, mids, and highs. We
the advent of multitrack recording which meant everything was cut in real- surround
surround sound
sound systems
systems and and passing
passing A single guitar gains so much more density! recommend a shock mount to reduce mechani-
and move towards stereo. By the late time to a vinyl master. The recording a stereo
a stereo signal
signal through
through more
more thanthan twotwo Microphones have their own characteristics and cal vibrations and offset any low-frequency
1960s, these were the norm, we can boom of the 1920s recorded everything speakers.
speakers. Amplifiers
Amplifiers willwillgivegive
you you thethe this is just one way to take advantage of them. sensitivity. A cardioid condenser mic makes for a
attribute some of this to the likes of from solo singers, early blues, big bands option
option to to playback
playback in in stereo
stereo ororfeedfeed suitable replacement if the omnidirectional mic
Les Paul and the Beatles. Tape record- and jazz. You are correct to conjure thethe stereo
stereo signal
signal through
through thethesur-sur- Why not have both? does not balance. Feel free to experiment with
ing peaked both technologically and images of large groups of musicians round
round array.
array. A word
A word of of caution,
caution, multi
multi Drum recordings are a good place to begin a the stereo pair as overheads or room mics from
creatively over the next 40 years. huddled around a single microphone. channel
channel speaker
speaker configurations
configurations forforthethe transition from mono to stereo. Depending on the audience’s perspective. This recording is a
Fast forward to the 1980s and we While microphone technology front
front leftleft
and and right
right channels
channels use usedif-dif- the style of music you can pursue a more com- demonstration of the benefit of room mics on a
start seeing the first hints of digiti- improved, this was largely the normal ferent
ferent placement
placement angles.
angles. It is
It is common
common plex approach using 10 or more microphones drumset’s stereo image. They capture the drum-
zation with sampling, and the DAT way of recording until multitrack forfor engineers
engineers to to
useuse multiple
multiple A and
A and recorded to mono tracks. Multi mic recording is mer’s movement across the kit and give it some
format. The first Digital Audio Work- recording and stereo mixing emerged B channels
B channels to tomixmix against
against multiple
multiple common with Rock and its child genres. Partic- room to breathe.
stations—DAWs—emerging at the start and everything changed. speaker
speaker configurations.
configurations. ForFor a better
a better ularly when seeking added definition and isola-
of the 1990s. Through all this we had understanding
understanding of of speaker
speaker placement
placement tion. These multi-mic setups always incorporate Stereo recording
stereo and it’s hard to imagine the Sound stage andand orientation
orientation you you can can refer
refer to toourour overhead microphones and can just as easily be Orchestral recordings brought about the
music and movie industries would article
The mono stage is purely vertical and article onon Monitoring
Monitoring Sound
Sound in in Post.
Post. a spaced mono or XY stereo pair. The overhead creation of some of the original stereo record-
sound like without it. level driven where sounds are either and room channels pan out to the left and right ing techniques, case and point the Decca Tree
higher or lower. There is no transla- Recording
Recording and are a key part of the stereo image. pattern. We should aim to capture essentially
Mono vs stereo: defined tion between left and right or forwards Recording
Recording in in
mono
mono is is
thethenormnorm forfor
thethe Room microphones are also commonplace in what is a self-governing mix and stay as true
Monaural is single position audio and backward. Stereo provides a new majoritymajority of of
studio
studio applications:
applications: dia-
dia- music recordings, we recommend using a pair to the source material. The band, conductor
that emanates from a single source. sound stage that allows sounds to be logue, logue, vocals,
vocals, foley
foley and and instrument
instrument re-re- during drum tracking sessions to capture how and acoustics already provide the sound stage,
The original iteration of mono audio panned to the left and right. Giving a cording.
cording. These
These sounds
sounds areareinherently
inherently the kit sits in the room and make use of the levels and panning.
is a single-channel recording that much greater sense and control over non nondirectional
directional oror areare panned
panned later
laterin in space’s natural reflections. You can use a single While the above mostly holds true, it is not
contents is output through a single speaker. the foreground and background. thethe
mix.mix. Dialogue
Dialogue almost
almost always
always sits
sits omnidirectional microphone, spaced mono or uncommon to reinforce some sections with contents
Recording meant gathering around in in
thethe
centre,
centre, effects
effects areare placed
placed where
where stereo pair—pan out as necessary. dedicated and overhead microphones. This gives
full screen a microphone in the middle of the Stereo playback: consuming they
theyareareneeded
needed and and instrumental
instrumental We will wrap up this section with a hybrid you greater flexibility during mixdown to help full screen
studio room. The overall balance is Our listening habits started changing 60 tracks
tracks arearelayered
layered and and panned
panned to totaste.
taste. drum recording using an omnidirectional and maintain the overall balance, highlight sections
print determined by the proximity and years ago with the adoption of stereo in Stereo
Stereo recording
recording becomes
becomes a little
a little stereo pair. Place the omni on the drummer’s or address any irregularities. print

54 VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 55
 AUDIO JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021
Depending on the style of music, you can pursue a more complex approach
using 10 or more microphones recorded to mono tracks.
Location
Environmental recordings and stereo go hand in
hand, that is why most field recorders come with
a stereo microphone configuration out the box.
The Zoom H1 would be nowhere as versatile if it
recorded in mono using a single omnidirectional
microphone. These recorders lend themselves
well to recording direct sound, environmental
and rehearsals. The latter categories are well
served by stereo microphones that capture the
focal points, reflections and movement within
the space. Those cues tell our brains how to
perceive a space we have never seen.
contents
A Decca Tree setup uses three omnidirectional microphones arranged in a “T” pattern
full screen outlining a triangle, often equilateral. The center microphone is mixed with the two
spaced microphones. It is most commonly used for orchestral recording.
print
56 VIDE O MAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021
Newscast location footage makes fantastic use
of stereo recordings because it captures the cues
mentioned above. Dialogue is typically mono, re-
cording location sound in stereo makes sense be-
cause the viewer is not limited to hearing sounds
that are in frame, establishing shots for example.
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma véritié was born out of a desire to bring
realism to cinematic formats and made possible
by the miniaturization of the audio and video
recording equipment required to record syn-
chronized footage. The intention is to provide an
added sense of reality through the intentional
use of the camera to break the fourth wall and
provoke a response.
Direct cinema
This is film style from the same period and simi-
lar to Cinéma vérité, where direct Direct Cinema
diverges is its focus on and being a documentary
genre. Growing portability allowed the genre to
use handheld cameras in its pursuit of realism
and truth. This produced a raw and unedited
window into the world it captured.
Editing and mixdown
The last thing you want is a flat sounding mix
that lacks width and feels center heavy. You
should always do a quick pass of leveling and
panning during the editing phase before starting
to layer in any processing. These are some of
your most powerful tools to build a strong foun-
dation for your mix.
We are going to leave surround sound mixing
out of the equation in this article and continue
our focus on stereo. Your mix will be a collec-
tion of mono and stereo tracks that are routed to
a stereo output channel. Projects of growing size
and complexity need to take into account phase,
particularly at the master output stage. Phase
issues can contribute to loss of clarity, muddy-
ness, and sounds cancelling each other out.
The stereo tracks and pairs in your mix are
like the walls of a room and the mono tracks are
the furniture. They both work together to convey
the space’s character and scale.
The hybrid drum recording from earlier dem-
onstrates this, the omni or cardioid captures the
kit and defines it as a feature, but the stereo pair
defines it within the boundaries of the space.
Dialogue is panned to the center channel with
the main exception being when reproducing dia-
logue movement across the screen. For example
which direction does the on-screen dialogue come
AUDIO
from? Panning the sound to the right cues some-
one entering or speaking outside of the shot.
Mono summing
Depending on your DAW this will either be a
function on your output bus, a plugin, or both.
These features allow you to sum your mix to
mono and help you audibly detect any phasing
issues. Your mix will temporarily lose its stereo
image, however, the overall balance and char-
acter should remain mostly the same. In Logic’s
world, this can be done with the Direction Mixer
plugin, we highly recommend that you use this
in tandem with the Correlation Meter plugin to
quantify what you are hearing into a graph.
Fake stereo
There are some common techniques available to
get mono signals to sound wider or more spread
out. We recommend plugins such as the Stereo
Spreader in Logic, this converts a mono channel
to stereo. It helps to push the sound further out
to the left and right channels to produce a better
balance. You can use stereo delay plugins to cre-
More Free Training Resources
Available from
Did you know that Videomaker has a whole library of free training
downloads available to anyone interested in making better video?
New titles
continue to be
added, so check
back often.
Go to Videomaker.com/FreeReports
V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021
ate a slight doubling that adds extra texture and
also pushes the sound further out.
Mono vs stereo—stereo is still king
Having a reliable and accurate stereo setup is
still a must in 2020 and is still the standard
mixing format. Surround soundtracks downmix
to stereo in the absence of a surround system.
Instead of mono summing, surround tracks need
to be checked in stereo during post.
A stereo field recorder is a must and a reliable
way to capture rehearsals and location audio.
Especially as reference material to use in work-
ing out the details before moving forward with
production.
Start trying some of these techniques for your-
self if you haven’t already done so. I hope you
enjoy all the new found space in your mixes!
Blag spends his time between DevOps, IT, and audio. He works
at a software company and is a contributing editor at Video-
maker where he mainly focuses on, you guessed it, audio!
You can comment on this article by going online:
www.videomaker.com/?p= 72057740
Available Reports
• 5 Advertising Tricks for YouTube
• Master YouTube: Get Viewers and Make Money
• Optimizing Your Video For YouTube Search
• The Essential Guide To Building A Home Studio
• The Top 5 Accessories for A DSLR Video Shoot
• 8 Tips for a Stellar First Video
• How to Make a Viral Video
• Screenplay Writing: How to Format a Screenplay
• How to Make a Storyboard
• Understanding the New Breed
of Digital Cinema Cameras
• Best Types of Lightweight Tripods for Cameras
• Cinematography Techniques:
The Different Types of Shots in Film
contents
• How to Make a DIY Green Screen
• Multi-Camera Shooting for Event Videography
full screen
• What’s the Best Video Format
for Online Distribution?
print
57
 LIGHTING
LIGHTING
LIGHTING
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021

by Sean Berry

What is
What is low
low key
key lighting?
lighting? Lowkey
Low
age to
keylight
evoke
lightisisused
a
usedininthis
feeling
age to evoke a feeling of mystery. of
thisim-
mystery.
im-

Low key lighting is a tool you can Releaseddays

Released daysbefore
beforethe thefull
fullan-an-

Image courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures / DC Films

nouncement,the thehype
hypefor forthe
thecamera
camera
use to make your scene look dra- nouncement,
announcement was high and this
announcement was high and this
matic and intense. With the right imageelevated
image elevatedit.it.The Theteaser
teasergives
givesthethe
viewerjust
viewer justenough
enoughinformation
informationthat that
equipment and techniques, you theyknow
they knowit’s it’sa acamera,
camera,but butnothing
nothing
more than that. Speculation was high
can achieve a quality, low light more than that. Speculation was high
and that’s what Nikon wanted leading
and that’s what Nikon wanted leading
shot for your project. upuptotothe
theannouncement.
announcement.
WeWecancanalso
alsotake takea alook
lookatata ascene
scene
from 2019’s psychological
from 2019’s psychological thriller thriller
Shooting in low lighting condition- filmJoker.
film Joker.InInthisthisscene
scene(figure
(figure2),2),
ing is often seen as a bad thing. Many protagonistArthur
protagonist ArthurFleck Fleckisislitlitwith
with
videographers and photographers ananoverhanging
overhanginglight. light.ItItcast
castshadows
shadows (figure 2)
avoid shooting in low light conditions. acrosshis
across hisbody
bodyand andthe thesurround-
surround-
However, there are a lot of stunning ing environment.
ing environment. We get the We get thefeeling
feeling
and beautiful things you can do in ofofunease.
unease.The Theaudience
audienceisisunsure unsureofof aperture of around f/3.5. This aper- light entering the scene with curtains.
low light. Low key lighting is a very Arthurasasheheprogressively
Arthur progressivelybecomes becomes ture won’t let enough light in for the You can let in a sliver of light in to
powerful lighting technique that can more unhinged as the
more unhinged as the film progresses.film progresses. best results. Using a prime lens with light the subject.
invoke powerful visual aesthetics and The scene conveys that message asas
The scene conveys that message a maximum aperture of either f/1.4
storytelling. Artherunravels.
Arther unravels.The Thelighting
lightingininthe the or f/.8 is ideal. It lets in a significantly Backdrop
Shooting in a dark environment can What is low key lighting? Whilemore
While moretraditional
traditionallighting lightinguses uses sceneadds
scene addsa afeeling
feelingofofmystery
mysteryasas less amount of light than a f3/5 lens. If Though this one is optional, you can
allow you to achieve some stunning Low key lighting is a style of lighting a three-point lighting setup
a three-point lighting setup with a key with a key well.The
well. Theaudience
audienceisisleft leftininthe
thedark
dark you start with a low f-number, you’ll get a black or dark grey background.
shots, but it requires some effort. It for film and photography that has an light, fill light and a backlight,
light, fill light and a backlight, low key low key wondering what Aruther
wondering what Aruther will do next. will do next. be able to make adjustments once you This one applies more toward studio
takes more than just waiting for the emphasis on shadows. The style is lightinguses
lighting usesmainly
mainlya akey keylight.
light.SomeSome take in the most light you can. videography and photography. Having
sun to set and pressing record on your achieved by using hard source lighting crews
crewsmay maydecide
decidetotouse usea afillfilllight
lightorora a Whatgear
What geardodoyou
youneed
needtotoset
setupupa a a dark background will make it easier
camera. To ensure that your scene is within the scene. Unlike high key light- reflector
reflectortotocontrol
controlsome someofofthe thelighting
lighting low key light?
low key light? Key light to isolate your subject. It will make
exposed correctly so you won’t end ing, low key lighting looks to increase if the project calls for it. Low
if the project calls for it. Low key lighting key lighting Camera
Camera Next, you need some sort of light your life a lot easier starting with a
up with noisy, grainy footage, the the contrast of the subject and the en- accentuates
accentuatesthe thecontours
contoursofofa asubject, subject, Firstand
First andforemost,
foremost,you youneed
needtotohave
have source. One of the benefits of low dark backdrop. The absence of color
setup needs to be just right. Before vironment. It does this by using shad- sosowhen
whenyou youuseusea afillfilllight
lightororreflector
reflector a acamera
camerathat’sthat’scapable
capableofofshooting
shooting key lighting is you don’t need to in low key lighting really lends to the
we get into how to set up a low light ows and dark tones. Shadows, deep it sometimes illuminates
it sometimes illuminates the shadow the shadow qualityvideo
quality videoininlow lowlight.
light.The
Thecamera
camera have a ton of lights. You need to overall look and feel. Even choos-
scene, we must first talk about what blacks, and dark tones are all charac- areasand
areas andcontrols
controlsthe thecontrast.
contrast. you use needs to be able to set itsitsISO
you use needs to be able to set ISO have at least one key light, which ing dark clothes for your subject and
low key lighting is and how it’s used teristics of low key lighting. There are totoa alow
lowsetting.
setting.Set Setyour
yourcamera’s
camera’s can be either natural or artificial. If avoiding patterns will help keep the
in the industry. little to no whites and mid-tones. Whyuse
Why uselow lowkey keylighting?
lighting? ISOtoto100
ISO 100ororasaslow lowasasit itwill
willgogowhen
when you want your shadows to be less attention focused on the subject.
Both low key lighting
Both low key lighting and andhigh highkey key shooting with a low key
shooting with a low key light setup. light setup. harsh, you can use a fill light or a
lighting are used to achieve
lighting are used to achieve an at- an at- AAlowlowISOISOwillwillkeep
keepyouryourimage
imagedarkdark reflector. Once you become more Experiment till you have it
mosphereand
mosphere andmood moodthat thata astandard
standard andkeep
and keepthe thenoise
noiselow. low.Higher
HigherISOISO experienced with low key lighting, Once you have all the gear you
setup can’t convery.
setup can’t convery. Whereas high Whereas highkeykey numbersare
numbers aremore
morelight-sensitive,
light-sensitive,sosoifif you can look into getting a softbox. need, you can get a fairly decent
lighting conveys a feeling
lighting conveys a feeling of light and of light and you are using a higher
you are using a higher ISO, ISO,your
yourimage
image That will allow you to light your low key setup pretty easily. How-
makesthe
makes thescene
scenelook lookairy, airy,low lowkey key will be lighter. Starting with
will be lighter. Starting with fast shutter fast shutter subject with soft light while keeping ever, mastering the technique takes
lightingmakes
lighting makesa ascene scenelook lookdramatic.
dramatic. speedisisalso
speed alsorecommended.
recommended.You Youcan
can a lot of the shadows. Ultimately, it is time and experimentation. Low key
ItItlends
lendsitself
itselfwell
welltotoportraits,
portraits,commer- commer- makeadjustments
make adjustmentsasasyou youtest.
test. up to you if you want your shadows lighting can produce some incred-
cial shoots and shots
cial shoots and shots meant to convey meant to convey IfIfyou
youcan,
can,try trytotouseusea afull-frame
full-frame to be harsh or soft. However, it’s im- ibly dramatic and emotional scenes.
a feeling of sensuality
a feeling of sensuality and mystery. and mystery. camera. Full frame
camera. Full frame cameras help cameras helpcap-
cap- portant to keep your subject close to It’s simple, yet adds much depth to
It’salso
It’s alsogreat
greatfor forisolating
isolatinga asubject, subject,a a turescenes
ture sceneswithwithlesslessnoise.
noise.You Youcan
can the key light. Also, it’s best to avoid scenes and photos. The only limita-
Image courtesy: Nikon

technique that’s common

technique that’s common in the in thehorror
horror increasethe
increase theISO
ISOand andcapture
capturemore more lighting the background if you want tion is your creativity, so be creative
genre. However, low key
genre. However, low key lighting isn’t lighting isn’t light without having
light without having to compromiseto compromise your subject to be isolated. and experiment.
contents inherently scary. Since
inherently scary. Since it’s an effectiveit’s an effective thequality
the qualityofofthe theimage.
image. With some low key lighting setups, contents
waytotoisolate
way isolatea asubject,
subject,it’s it’soften
oftenusedused you don’t even need to have artifi- Sean Berry is a blogger and Videomaker
Contributing Editor.
full screen
(figure 1)
in product reveals and teasers. Take a a
in product reveals and teasers. Take Lens
Lens cial light. If you are shooting near a full screen
lookatatNikon’s
look Nikon’steaserteaserimage image(figure(figure1.)1.) Whilemany
While manylenses
lensescould
couldwork
workinin window, you can use that as your key You can comment on this article by going online:
print for the Z6 and Z7. low light, the standard kit lenshas
hasanan www.videomaker.com/?p=72058505 print
for the Z6 and Z7. low light, the standard kit lens light source. Control the amount of

58 VIDEOMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 59
 2020
A compilation of all the stories that appeared in Videomaker in
2020. You can find all articles on the Videomaker website. From
ARTICLE the homepage, click the magnifying glass in the navigation bar and PRODUCTION TIPS: How to find and use the best stock photos, REVIEWS:
INDEX search the for article's title. So, you’ve been roped into filming a school videos, music and more SMARTPHONES:
play March pg. 31#71101329 Sony Xperia 5
March pg. 64 #72034212 January pg. 4 #72029881
AWARDS: Best tripods for video EDITING:
EDITING: Why pre-production is essential for all
Videomaker Best Products of the Year 2019 September pg. 14 #95263 Whatare
What areproxies?
proxies? 5 time-saving tips for busy video producers video and film projects CAMERAS:
January pg. 40 #72028977 Januarypg.
January pg.60
60#72021950
#72021950 May pg. 64 #72018650 March pg. 42 #82046 Panasonic Lumix S1H
Best smartphone cameras for video March pg. 6 #72034480
BUYER’S GUIDES: September pg. 18 #72053033 Howto
How touse
usemonitoring
monitoringtools
tools Everything you need to know about disin- Grammy nominee Eric Alexandrakis: on
Best mirrorless cameras & DSLRs for video Marchpg.
March pg.48
48#72026140
#72026140 fecting video gear “Psychogenic Fugue” and scoring for film Canon EOS 90D
January pg. 12 #97076 Best live streaming equipment July pg. 64 #72050892 & TV March pg. 11 #72034477
September pg. 22 #72051338 Whatisisthe
What thevideo
videoeditor’s
editor’srole?
role? May pg. 36 #72042891
Best desktop computers for video editing Maypg.
May pg.44
44#72042460
#72042460 Capturing magic on video: how to shoot Canon 1DX Mark III
January pg. 18 #72005717 Best audio and video recorders magic tricks Professional networking: how to make May pg. 6 #72041036
September pg. 28 #299424 Audioediting
Audio editingworkflow
workflow September pg. 54 #72052862 connections and grow your business
Best video editing software Julypg.
July pg.40
40#72044647
#72044647 July pg. 34 #72040548 Sony a6600
January pg. 28 #72007143 Best camcorders DIY Tripod alternatives: how to support May pg. 12 #72022856
November pg. 18 #95547 Colorcorrection
Color correctionvs.
vs.color
colorgrading
grading your camera using everyday objects A practical guide to acoustics and sound
Best audio editing software for video Septemberpg.
September pg.46
46#72051531
#72051531 September pg. #72006578 treatment Fujifilm X-T4
editors Best drones September pg. 38 #72044958 July pg. 4 #72050559
January pg. 22 #297641 November pg. 24 #95770 Solutionsto
Solutions toediting
editingproblems
problems How to capture better audio at your desk
Novemberpg.
November pg.44
44#72053079
#72053079 November pg. 58 #72045400 How to make a documentary Nikon Z50
Best 360-degree video cameras Best camera bags and cases November pg. 36 #72054182 July pg. 10 #72051501
March ph. 16 #96401 November pg. 30 #72001545 HACKS:
HACKS: PROFIT-MAKING:
High-endlook,
High-end look,low-cost
low-costcamera
camera Managing too much work OPINION: Sigma fp
Best digital storage for video editors COLUMNS: Januarypg.
January pg.48
48#72029081
#72029081 January pg. 58 #72025388 Why you don’t NEED a dedicated camera September pg. 6 #72053845
March pg. 22 #72004989 AUDIO: January pg. 51 #72028555
Shotgun mics explained Makeupfor
Makeup forvideo
video Making money during COVID-19 Sony ZV-1
Best royalty-free music & sound effects May pg. 46 #72043006 Julypg.
July pg.53
53#8492
#8492 July pg. 56 #72051485 Professional quality video from a mobile September pg. 12 #72053847
sites device
March pg. 34 #72034435 LIGHTING: Theworld
The worldof
ofAdobe
AdobeColor
Color Cheapest livestreaming setup January pg. 55 #72026925 Canon EOS R5
White balance for film and video Novemberpg.
November pg.50
50#72056628
#72056628 September pg. 58 #72051706 November pg. 6 #72056647
Best After Effects & motion graphics tem- May pg. 54 #85341 “Joker” divides: should controversial mov-
plates sites INDUSTRYNEWS:
INDUSTRY NEWS: SHOOTING: ies win Oscars? EDITING AND VFX SOFTWARE:
March pg. 38 #72034438 Creative uses for RGB lighting The10
The 10best
bestfilm
filmschools
schoolsin
inthe
theU.S.
U.S. The state of mobile journalism January p. 64 #72029901 FXHOME HitFilm Pro 13
March pg. 55 #72029928 Novemberpg.
November pg.46
46#72056633
#72056633 January pg. 46 #72018588 January pg. 8 #72030231
Best camera stabilizers for video Can Facebook actually take on deepfakes?
May pg. 16 #97049 What is a cucoloris? LEGAL:
LEGAL: Cinematography 101 March pg. 41 #3252 DRONES:
July pg. 58 #72044216 Shouldyou
Should youhire
hireaaunion?
union? March pg. 60 #17568 Mavic Air 2
Best lenses for video Januarypg.
January pg.52
52#72027664
#72027664 You didn’t really need 4K, and you defi- November pg. 12 #72054595
May pg. 22 #97362 What is high key lighting? How to use the dutch angle nitely don’t need 6K
November pg. 48 #72057869 ONLINEVIDEO:
ONLINE VIDEO: May pg. 50 #72042924 March pg. 51 #72025803 VIEWFINDER:
Best laptops for video editing Streamingwith
Streaming withtwo
twocameras
cameras Learning from our readers
May pg. 30 #96428 DIRECTING: Septemberpg.
September pg.52
52#72051468
#72051468 How to make a movie at home Should you use a teleprompter January pg. 3 #7203008
What does a film director do? July pg. 46 #72033186 May pg. 52 #72040053
Best stock video sites January pg. 56 #72027965 PLANNING:
PLANNING: Your lens matters
May pg. 34 #72042896 Howto
How tocreate
createaashot
shotlist
list Shooting during golden hour You should be using cheesy effects in your March pg. 3 #7203008
Writing strong dialogue Marchpg.
March pg.58
58#72028358
#72028358 September pg. 50 #72051982 videos
Best cinema cameras March pg. 52 #72034535 May pg. 56 #72043291 Cameras vs. display tech
July pg. 14 #72007499 Costumedesign
Costume designfor
forvideo
video Find the best vlogging camera May pg. 2 #7203008
How to create funny videos Maypg.
May pg.58
58#72039032
#72039032 November pg. 60 #72053064 When should you upgrade to a professional
Best lights for video production November pg. 54 #72054199 video camera? On making video
July pg. 18 #95934 Whatisisaamotif?
What motif? Technology: July pg. 44 #72044826 July pg. 2 #7203008
DOCUMENTARY: Julypg.
July pg.60
60#72044325
#72044325 Log shooting considerations
Best microphone for video production What is documentary? May pg. 58 #72035686 Here’s why Quentin Tarantino is the film- Socially distanced video
July pg. 22 #295304 July pg. 49 #72039771 Rulesof
Rules ofno-low
no-lowbudget
budgetscripts
scripts maker’s filmmaker September pg. 2 #72054391
contents Septemberpg.
September pg.60
60#72051298
#72051298 FEATURES: September pg. 62 #72052899 contents
Best video monitors Researching for a documentary Alfred Spellman talks storytelling and trust Using video ethically
full screen July pg. 28 #97648 September pg. 56 #72051298 Howto
How towrite
writeaascript
script in doc filmmaking Why Kathryn Bigelow is a trailblazing November pg. 2 #72058191 full screen
Novemberpg.
November pg.56
56#72055654
#72055654 January pg. 34 #72020572 director
print November pg. 64 #72057871 print

60 VIDE OMAKER >>> JAN U ARY - FEBRU ARY 2021 V I D E O M AKE R > > > J ANUAR Y - F E B R UAR Y 2 0 2 1 61
 MARCH APRIL ISSUE
MARKET PLACE
PRODUCTION TIPS
by Haley LaPlant

5 tips for creating social media video

Social media video gets more engagement than any
other type of social post. So, how do you use it to
expand your business?

Over the past 10 years, social media • Provide answers or solutions to com- Self-promotion also goes a long
has exploded in popularity. Platforms mon problems, show your authority way. Reach out to people you know
like YouTube, Facebook and Insta- • Be accurate with the information in the industry and show them what
gram—as well as many others— have you share you’ve been doing. Encourage people
millions of active users that consume • What are people in your space look- you know to share your content to
content daily. People are reading posts, their socials.
ing for? Do some research. Powerful low-noise preamplifiers Reach
for superb audio out toand
XLR other peo-
TRS inputs
posting pictures and most importantly, • Make your content interesting,
Built-in fun ple
LiPo battery for up in your
to 10 field.
hours of If they’re
run time on social
Removeable Cheese Plate

they’re creating and sharing video.
So, with the power of video and
social media right at your fingertips,
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expand your business and reach as a
and engaging
By implementing these steps, you
will be on your way to creating great
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media and create content, see if they
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Create a community
One great thing about social media

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Once you pin down what kind of when considering your own social 1/30/19 7:29 AM

Figure out your social media
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The first thing you need to decide is
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your content to. Instagram, Facebook,
Twitter and YouTube are all great op-
tions—share to as many as you can.
The more platforms you share on, the
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YouTube is an obvious choice for
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ning a YouTube channel takes a great
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Although it is more of a commitment,
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If you find you don’t have the
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Create quality, engaging content
So, you’ve decided on what social me-
dia platform(s) you’re going to upload
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• Create original content
video content you want to share with
FullPageAD_NEWTemplate.indd 48
your audience, get in the habit of
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6/26/20 2:11 PM
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arsenal, you are ready to take a dive
into the world of social media video,
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build social media understanding and
grow your business.
Haley is the Managing Editor at Videomaker
and Creator Handbook Magazines. She has a
master’s degree in English from California State contents
University-Chico. In her free time, she loves to
relax and hang out with her two cats.
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PRODUCTION TIPS
by Jo Mayer
What is a sizzle reel?
A sizzle reel is a quick, effective way to showcase your work to a
potential client. But, what does it take to make a successful reel?
There are a few things to keep in mind.
So you have a lengthy video resume and
all kinds of experience, but how do you
show that to a potential client? In order
to wow them with your skills, you need
to present something that does two
things. Firstly, it shows off your video
production skills. Secondly, it shows
them whether or not you are a good fit
for their project. With that being said,
how do you show off your experience
quickly and effectively? You do it with a
bang. No, with a sizzle reel.
What is a sizzle reel?
A sizzle reel is the most attention-
grabbing type of video portfolio/re-
sume, more or less used by creatives
in their careers. The sizzle reel goes
by different names such as; demo
reels, promo videos, teasers, pitch
tapes and various others. Sizzle reels
are intended to show a select audi-
ence a project and someone’s creative
skill through a short introduction
video. Typically, they range from two
to five minutes. The shorter the bet-
ter, as people’s attention can only be
kept for so long. Sizzle reels provide
proof of concept. The word “Sizzle”
is supposed to incite the excitement
someone should feel after viewing it,
leaving them wanting more.
What are they used for?
Sizzle reels may be used for various
scenarios or projects. For example,
they can be used to pitch a new televi-
sion series to networks. In this sce-
nario, a pilot episode would be edited
from selected copacetic scenes and in-
troduce the logline of the show. Sizzle
reels are also often used as someone’s
personal showcase to highlight their
work for a job or project. These types
of reels can exhibit skills such as edit-
contents
ing, animation, reporting, lighting,
acting and other audio-visual work.
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You can think of the two types as sizzle
reels as “a taste” or “a meal”. A “taste”
print
would be the pitch of a new idea, like a
64
tv show or film. While a “meal” would
be the overview encompassing an indi-
vidual’s work. Sizzle reels can be used
once or multiple times.
What footage is used to
make one?
When the goal of the sizzle reel is
realized, it is time to gather the neces-
sary materials needed to create it.
If you are using your reel as a pitch,
then you will need to shoot the first
scenes of your project to introduce
your characters’ key traits and the
setting in which they are. If you are
using your reel as a showcase of your
work, you will need to gather your
best assets from past work. Gathering
your best work is one thing, but put-
ting them into an enticing structure
is another. Although your past work
may not be a synonymous story like
the pitch type of reel, it can still tell a
story. You can do this in many ways.
You can organize footage by the type
of feeling they represent, use music
to undertone your shots, or use the
speed of movement in scenes to build
up anticipation.
Something to keep in mind when
bringing materials together is to
clearly identify work that is yours and
work that is not. If you worked on a
film and did the costuming, be sure to
identify that to avoid confusion with
your audience.
What makes a successful
sizzle reel?
Success is not going to fall into your
lap. You will need to set time to make
sure your reel is up to par. Plan to edit
accordingly, study your audience and
keep your content on the topic.
A successful sizzle reel relies heav-
ily on the maintained attention and
reception of the audience. You must
cater to what the audience wants be-
cause they are deciding the outcome
of the reel. Ideally, success means that
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the pitch was picked up by a network
or an individual got the job. Your reel
should leave the audience wanting
more, enough to invest their energy or
money into it.
How do you cater to your
audience?
Giving the audience what they want
does not mean losing sight of your
original vision. Yes, you may have to
reevaluate the contents of your reel
and change a couple of aspects but,
the sizzle reel is not for you. It’s for
the audience. For example, although
a filmmaker can be skilled in many
areas of production, if they go out for
a job to be a cinematographer they
should use their sizzle reel to highlight
picturesque scenes they’ve created.
Sizzle reels can be broad as well, a
filmmaker could show their range of
production skills to get into an inten-
sive educational program. It’s all about
knowing your audience.
The sizzle reel’s sole purpose is to “8 Tips for a Stellar First Video” is a clear and concise free download for even the
tell a story in a condensed manner.
It should be something you’re proud
greenest video lover, with tips that you can start applying the moment you pick up a camera.
to show. Every sizzle reel is differ-
ent. Some may be abstract and some Learn:
may be straightforward but, they • How to make sure that, before you even start, you have everything needed to finish.
all hold value. Being authentic with • How to organize your thoughts into a video story.
your sizzle reel could set you apart
from the rest. • The secret to shooting footage that looks good on any screen.
• How video is different than real life... and how to take advantage of that while editing.
contents
Jo Mayer recently received her degree in Media • The single most important tip for keeping an audience interested. This remarkably simple editing tip will free
Arts Design and loves live event photography.
you from your old style of thinking so you can see the world the way the video pros do. full screen
You can comment on this article by going online: • The two easy steps to handling your video camera like a pro and capturing the best possible footage.
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• The mistake that can sink a first video and how you can avoid it.
Get hooked on making stellar video at: videomaker.com/8tips