Feeling the Love!!!

We just wanted to THANK Jewell Savadelis of Savadelis Films for such a fabulous post on their blog  about the launch of our NEW WEBSITE! We have heard from so many of our readers, fans, clients, and industry professionals and we just want to say THANK YOU! We love what we do so much and it is so great to hear from all of you! We are so excited about the new site and keep coming back as we add more and  update it! 

Also...we didn't want to not mention...that the oh so talented Jewel has her DIY wedding video seminar coming up on March 22nd and it is NOT to be missed....today is the last post of her 3 part series so we hope you enjoy! We also want to thank Jewel for all the information she gave to our readers and hope you all can make it to the seminar as it is something you will NOT want to miss!

Part III: Four Tips to Instantly Edit A Better Video

OK. You’ve gotten some decent shots, now how do you make the video interesting to watch?

TIP 1: Create a story.
Let’s take an example: opening a champagne bottle. Here are 6 key shots:
a. Unwrap the foil
b. Nudge the cork up with your thumbs
c. CRITICAL SHOT: see the cork and spray go flying and hear the cork pop
d. Pour the champagne into a glass and hear the fizz
e. Offer the glass to a guest
f. See guests toasting, drinking and hear them laughing

If you could only get ONE SHOT, it would be the third in the series – seeing the cork fly, accompanied by the unmistakable pop. But think how much richer the video would be if you led up to the cork popping with a little suspense. What is the best way to show the second shot, the thumbs nudging the cork up? It would be a close-up! By showing only the thumbs and neck of the bottle, you are focusing the viewer’s attention. What is the best distance to shoot the last shot, the group laughing and toasting? A medium wide shot, waist –up, so you can see the whole crowd of 4 or 5 people, So as you compose your story,
(1) Reduce the story to its key elements, in this case, 6 shots
(2) Think of the best way to portray each element of the story, whether close-up or wide shot
(3) Then put the images together in the best order to tell a story

The #1 key to good editing is telling a good story.

TIP 2: Make it brief.
Our motto is “not one frame more than necessary”. What makes a video boring? Usually TOO MUCH boring material. Do a first cut, then cut it down, then cut it down again and you will have a much better video.

TIP 3: Get a good reaction.
Sometimes the reaction is what really counts. Reactions can express happiness, surprise, laughter, and deep feelings that you can’t even name. Reactions are a universal language, and a good reaction can eliminate a lot of words. A good movie produces emotions in the viewer and reactions help to do that.

TIP 4: Connect one image to the next.
The biggest difference between videography and photography? In a photo album, the images are often unrelated, the order hardly matters. But in excellent videography, the clip before and the clip after each image should relate to each other. This is what creates movement, flow and emotion.