I have managed to get the drone up in the air a couple of times. Recently it was in Shenyang. I’ve started editing these videos while on trains which gives me a good “clock” to work to.
Took me about three hours to do a rough cut, followed by another hour of colour correction, but I have yet to set music to it. We’ll see if that happens quickly or not. My goal is to establish a work flow by which I can shoot, edit, colourize, and set music to all within about 6 or 7 hours TOTAL. Sounds like a lot but our train trips are usually anywhere from 1.5 hours to 3 hours long so I can spare the time. Plus, I think it’s good practice to establish an efficient work flow.
What am I using for music creation? Logic Pro X and Garageband.
I find Garageband much easier to use than Logic Pro X for numerous reasons but this is something I’ll be working on over the next little while. Compose and record to the video, mix, master, export, post everything. I hope this gets easier as I go along.
The music creation isn’t just for drone videos, it’s also for all of those other videos I’ve neglected to go through (or simply haven’t had the time). You know that thought “I’ll do it later, when I have more time”? Yea, well, apply that to years of travel videos and pics and then you can see the problem I face. If it’s even really a problem.
One issue I’ve had is hard drive space. When I bought my MacBook Pro back in 2017 I opted for the 250GB version. Why? Because I figured it’d encourage me to keep my stuff organized. To an extent, that has happened, but it also means that I have to carry an external drive with me a lot of the time. I didn’t realize just how much space both Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X would take up. Right now I have all of the extra Logic files on my main computer, something I want to move to an external drive. But which external drive to get?
I mainly use 5400 RPM drives as those are the cheapest and most common drives to find. I’ve read in a few places that 7200RPM drives are better for music and video creation but, looking at my work schedule, I’m not home enough to use a 7200RPM RAID set up. And I’m not lugging any of that with me. No way. As far as I can see, the 5400 RPM drives work just fine with the newer MacBook Pros, despite occasional hiccups in rendering speed. Other than that, if I keep the computer clean and clear of other junk, it should work well for the next few years.
And that is what I’m looking at, another few years of this tech. It looks like 4K has become the standard video quality for the current digital environment, though I’m biased because I’m using 4K cameras. I don’t have a problem with this, but I do want to get a good few years out of this equipment because it does become dated very quickly. Remember last year I was trying to transfer a bunch of MiniDV tapes? Ha!
Hey, wait! What took the photo? My aging DSLR camera.
I also thought about getting an extra monitor for editing purposes but, again, with my travel schedule, it looks like I’m confined to using my laptop for just about everything. Editing, previewing, posting, etc. However, I am researching these things because it is good to know what’s out there should I ever be a little bit more settled. In truth, I feel a little bit like I’m back in my 20s when digital video was just taking hold and learning about all the things one needed to make a video. I can say that things are much, MUCH easier than 15 years ago. Much easier. Fewer cables, fewer compatibility issues, more hard drive space, quicker processors and, most importantly (I think) software that renders while you work.
Some of my colleagues have asked me what I do with the videos and I couldn’t really give them an honest answer. Although I’d like to say I’m making a grand documentary, the truth is that I hardly do any editing and just put rough cuts up online just so I have backups of the videos of my journeys. That is, they’re more for posterity than anything else. In any event, it’s something I want to get done sooner than later.
I am posting less here mostly because I often become a victim of “Epic Post Syndrome”, meaning that I want it to be perfect and well-researched and all that bla bla bla before posting it. As I’ve learned, however, it’s counter-productive to posting (as may be painfully obvious). But then the days go by and the research never really gets done anyway though the thought remains “But I want it to be good, so it’s easier to assemble my book later” and that’s a tall thought to have anyway and just leads to more putting-off. No, the best way to get a post done is to write it in under an hour, put it aside for a day (maybe), then give it one last edit and then publish the damn thing. Don’t think about it too much or you might just get it wrong. So too with photo editing, video, music, etc. Most things creative, I suppose.
Anyway, winter is here but many of the trees still have their leaves on them and they are slowly changing colour and being blown away. I have some ideas of getting to the outskirts of Beijing to take a few shots and, if possible, to the Great Wall to get a few more before all of the leaves are gone. Let’s hope things go well!
(Hey, Steve! Where is the drone video you took? Ah, well, I’ll let you know once it’s posted!)