editing My Parents are messing with my skills!

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xGi4nnix

Hey Guys,

i´m a video editor learning to edit. I think i´m over the state of amateur now. So to get a new challenge, i gave my parents a gopro when they went on their 5-Week New Zealand-Australia vacation. I thought i would try myself out with editing with a- and b roll for the first time. (all the other times i edited as i wanted. Results were decent but i want to improve :D). I didnt tell my parents to point the camera at them when talking because i thought that was obvious. That´s were i was wrong. Now i have many clips with my parents talking and filming in a pov type style. How do you get a decent A-Roll out of that?

I need help :D
 
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What a great way to expand your experience as an editor!

This is often what professional independent editors must deal with - a client
who wants something amazing with no options. How you deal with it is what
makes the difference between an amateur and a non amateur.

Using only B-roll can mean using voice-over and/or music to create an
interesting project. You could take a page from documentaries - use some interview
type of footage of your parents talking about what is on the screen. Think about
those docs made by Ken Burns.

You have so many options, I envy you. Time to use your creativity and show
what you've got.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
 
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Tbh i have never heard of Ken Burns :D
I think i will go with music only, but i´m afraid my parents would get the feeling of them explaining everything while filming was pointless. I´m soo unsure
 
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Shoot some new scenes and have them sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee, reminiscing about the vacation.
 
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They won´t do that. They were hardly agreeing on even taking the cam with them. I really had to convince them. I need something that doesnt involve "bothering" them again :D
 
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Burns is an American documentary maker who does very long (12 to 36 hour)
docs for our public broadcasting system. Much of his work uses decades old
film footage and stills - essentially B-roll never intended to tell a story. Great
use of music and narration.
xGi4nnix said:
They won´t do that. They were hardly agreeing on even taking the cam with them. I really had to convince them. I need something that doesnt involve "bothering" them again :D
Click to expand...
A professional doesn't give up. Convince them.

Put together a nice cut of your project, show it to them and convince them
their involvement will make a better project and this help you career.
 
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Did they reveal their personalities? Do they have funny quirks? You could shoot yourself as the host and turn it into a good-natured comedy as well as get some additional footage with them shying away from the camera for interviews.
 
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You can mix in "stock" footage and stills of the the places they visited. Some judicious use of sound effects can enhance things as well. You may want to interview them now to get some additional narration/commentary.

BTW, Ken Burns docs are something you should watch. His docs are always well researched and well presented.

en.wikipedia.org

Ken Burns - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

The way he takes still pictures and paintings and then pans across them or zooms in/out, etc. has actually been named "The Ken Burns Effect" and a plug-in of that name used to be a standard part of Apple iMovie.
 
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Think of their footage in terms of "narration without pictures". First you edit the narration into a logical sequence, taking out all of the pauses and dead spots. You could also consider recording and adding you own narration to theirs. After you've edited all of the narration together, you go back and put video over the narration, using only their best shots. During this process you can take out all of their "bad" shots, such as swish pans, shakey footage, and so forth. You can also add stock footage still pictures, and music if you wish. The end product will look like a documentary.
 
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I'm loving all the suggestions. I hope you are, xGi4nnix. Far from your parents
messing with your skills, you parents have forced you into a great opportunity
to show everyone (including yourself) just how skilled you have become as
an editor.
 
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xGi4nnix said:
You guy agave me some really good inspiration.
Click to expand...
AGAVE.jpg
 
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