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organic transitions in 4:3
Just wondering if anyone has any favorite transitions( organic or not) they use while broadcasting/editing in 4:3 . I like using a few frames of camera pans and tight shots for transitions , but feel like some of the pans and pushes just dont work when viewing in 4:3 . I like using shots for momentum shifts or changes in content that a lot of people would leave on the editing room floor because I feel like the common eye has seen just about every stereotypical transitions or shot. Just trying to get some new ideas
Thanks,
MattMatt
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14 Replies
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A cut. Cuts work for me. 🙂
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I second that. I use a cut or cross dissolve 99% of the time.
Stephen Smith
Utah Video ProductionsCheck out my Motion Training DVD
Check out my Motion Tutorials
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i agree cut to cut . Im just asking if there are any particular tricks from going to cut to cut , it doesnt have to be a transition
Matt
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The vibe of the pice dictates this but I’ve always liked creating custom transitions using principals and properties the the shots via custom masks.
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The trick is in how an when you put the cut, so that it seems seamless. Walter Murch talks about cutting on eyeblinks. I think that’s right. You can cut on an eyeblink, but also on the place in the shot where a human would most likely blink while watching. Our vision is made up of cuts in real life, moment to moment. It is our brain that stiches all the cuts together and makes it seem seamless.
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Mark,
“The trick is in how an when you put the cut, so that it seems seamless. Walter Murch talks about cutting on eyeblinks. I think that’s right. You can cut on an eyeblink, but also on the place in the shot where a human would most likely blink while watching. Our vision is made up of cuts in real life, moment to moment. It is our brain that stiches all the cuts together and makes it seem seamless.”Well that’s what all of us old timers learned. The best transition is a well placed cut, the best cinematography is that which goes unnoticed, etc.
Blah, blah blah… That is so dated, so old school and so not kewl.
In response to how not kewl production values are, a new style emerged.
OK, it didn’t emerge, it was more like ‘stumbled on to’, but that is a minor point.
Gone were the days of boring, steady, in focus, well shot footage. In the new style, all camera work had to draw attention to itself, and distract from the story, becoming the focus (no pun) of what was being shot.
For a while, this style was mocked by many professionals who soon found themselves in a minority. Because this style was accompanied by a flood of new shooters who wore several hats like producer. They worked cheap, and didn’t waste all that time setting up the sticks. Or making sure shots were well framed. Why waste time setting up new camera angles, when you can just stay in one spot and pan and zoom? Duh!
Things that were normally considered production mistakes and cut out, were now considered ‘art’ and left in.
Soon many of the old editors that wanted to cut this stuff out, and demanded action matched footage were being replaced by new editors that worked cheap, cut whatever came in without bitching and also wore several other hats like producer. They soon grew tired of all the attention their artistic colleagues were getting with their flashy camera work. They said to themselves “why should I work deliberately, trying to make my shots flow together seamlessly?”, when the only attention this got them was that of the boss asking what was taking so long? They soon learned to work faster by jump cutting and leaving in focus rolls, light leaks, flares etc. This solved their speed problem, but only got them so far, because it wasn’t their art. They were in a quandary. There was only so much art you could add with the DVE and a couple of dozen modulated switcher wipes. Sure, jump cuts and fast cuts were really cool, but very limiting. You can only do thirty of them in a second. How is an artist supposed to work under those conditions?
Gradually new toys would come along. More DVE channels, a few more wipe patterns, better chroma keys. It helped, but it was really more of the same.
But then a knight in shining armor arrived in 1990. The Video Toaster. Now editors could finally unleash their inner artist with awesome Toaster FX like the tumbling gymnast wipe. No longer will editors have to screen hours of footage with search and destroy zooms feeling like second class citizens. They now had their own weapon, they could put their own mark on every story. Now if some rookie photog stupidly came back without a lens flare, the editor could save the day and add his own… or a dozen! More is better right? How about a transition that looks like a jigsaw puzzle? Got that!
Hey, now this is way cool!Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.comI have a system, it has stuff in it, and stuff hooked to it. I have a camera, it can record stuff. I read the manuals, and know how to use this stuff and lots of other stuff too.
You should be suitably impressed… -
Scott I agree shooting has changed a ton, but im not so quick to jump on the bandwagon that this a bad thing. As a editor it forces you to evolve and adapt to differnt styles. Which in part makes you a more well rounded editor. Mostly everything has been done at this point so showing the viewer something different ( which may be technically poor shooting or editing) can create a sense of intrigue and emmerse the viewer more. My OP was worded poorly , I wasnt looking for “snazzy transitions ” see jigsaw puzzle dissolve. I was trying to get dfifferent viewpoints on unique cuts.
Matt
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[matt love] “I feel like the common eye has seen just about every stereotypical transitions or shot. Just trying to get some new ideas”
I know what you’re saying. For me, most of where these ideas come from the material I’m working with, not so much from an existing ‘bag of tricks’.
Not to be dismissive but I think the use of transitions and/or FX, matching the content is more important than looking for something new. If the content demands something new it will come to you on its own.
Like a million others will say, a well placed cut is almost always the best, unless you are trying to. And depending on how you line up the footage, a cut can look like a custom transition.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.comI have a system, it has stuff in it, and stuff hooked to it. I have a camera, it can record stuff. I read the manuals, and know how to use this stuff and lots of other stuff too.
You should be suitably impressed… -
[matt love] “Scott I agree shooting has changed a ton, but im not so quick to jump on the bandwagon that this a bad thing. As a editor it forces you to evolve and adapt to differnt styles. Which in part makes you a more well rounded editor. Mostly everything has been done at this point so showing the viewer something different ( which may be technically poor shooting or editing) can create a sense of intrigue and emmerse the viewer more. My OP was worded poorly , I wasnt looking for “snazzy transitions ” see jigsaw puzzle dissolve. I was trying to get dfifferent viewpoints on unique cuts.”
Matt,
That was really written for humor value for some of us ‘old timers’, like Mark.
I actually gave a serious answer in another post.I know a lot of folks out there think that things like continuous search and destroy zooms, pointless jump cuts and things like that are simply a matter of style and taste. I guess you could say the same thing for wearing black dress socks with sandals at the beach, or wearing jeans to a black tie event.
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.comI have a system, it has stuff in it, and stuff hooked to it. I have a camera, it can record stuff. I read the manuals, and know how to use this stuff and lots of other stuff too.
You should be suitably impressed… -
true anough but a real key is to not adhere to any rules. This is where young guns shine as they often have not restricted themselves to listening to folks who hand down bugus rules. It’s as easy as makin’ it look cool. It really doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. Anyone who states rules when it comes to creativity to others as a teacher or otherwise is a freakin idiot, imo. I once attended a seminar on creativity and they kicked it off with ppt presentation. lol
Yes, I was laughing as I left.
That’s the bottom line. If you have to seek creativity, you simply are not being creative. Try stuff. Hit undo as needed. Yell woohoo when stuff works.Go home early whan ya can.
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