The Ship Muscle

In this video I discuss the Ship Muscle for video editors. Seriously, I went back and forth for a day about whether or not to publish this video because of the graininess. But my own Ship Muscle needed a workout so I hit publish. Apologies if the pixelation is too much — I have some settings to adjust for low-light filming conditions on my phone.

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Can You Be A Video Editor Your Entire Career?

Are you a video editor or thinking about becoming one and are curious if you can be a video editor for your entire career? Is it possible to spend 30-40 years in the edit bay? I discuss my thoughts on this in the video and article below.

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How to Ask a Question to a Video Editor

In this video I discuss how to properly ask a question to a video editor. You will learn how to do this with three simple rules.

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Podcast: Video Editing Under Quarantine

Nick and I are back for the first new Command+Edit Podcast episode in 14 months. We discuss video editing under quarantine, our remote office setups, chasing a baby around while trying to produce videos, Korean zombie shows, and trying to find a silver lining in this whole quarantine mess.

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How to Learn Avid Media Composer

This video discusses how to learn Avid Media Composer the way I did. It’s still the method I recommend today some 11 years later.

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Solved: After Effects Can’t Import JPG

This tutorial shows you what to do if After Effects can’t import a jpg file.

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Pet Peeves for Video Editors

Maybe it’s the over-abundance of projects I’m facing right now, but I feel like I need a good rant session. Here are a handful of things that just drive me crazy when I’m editing. These are my pet peeves for video editors:

When the b-roll shots are too short

I’m okay if they aren’t white balanced or if they’re under/over-exposed. I can work my magic on them. But can’t do anything if there isn’t enough footage.

I can't GIF of Pocahontas jumping off a cliff

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How to Export a jpg from Premiere Pro

This tutorial will teach you how to export a .jpg from Premiere Pro. .jpg stands for JPEG and is a common file extension for still graphics.

Exporting a .jpg from Premiere Pro is useful if you need to send a client or director a frame of video. It could be to ask a question like, “Is this the shot you’re talking about?” You can also export a .jpg from Premiere Pro so you can make a custom thumbnail for a YouTube video.

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Work/Life Balance for Video Professionals (with Kids)

This article discusses work/life balance for video professionals, especially those with kids. Since having a child my thoughts on work/life balance went from the normal, “yeah, ya know, it’s important to separate yourself from work sometimes” to the now extreme, “this is my time with my family — leave me alone!

Being a video editor or just in the video industry itself leads to long hours, odd hours, and usually the constant need to be by your phone to respond to a client. I’m here to say that it’s okay to not answer a call or email. It’s okay to put the phone down; the laptop away. Take a step back. And go focus on your family or yourself.

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Adjusting Focus

The past few years my focus for Edit Video Faster has been all over the place. To be honest, I haven’t had a clear direction with where I want to take it for as long as I can remember now. It’s just…items on my to-do list that I never get to. It’s something I spend time on every once in awhile instead of playing with my kid or recharging my batteries.

Without a clear objective, what is a project besides flailing in the dark and hoping for some random good outcomes? A camera operator without proper focus leads to worthless shots. Creating content for a business, such as EVF, leads to worthless content.

Sure, I’m pretty happy with what I’ve been able to put out recently. But, honestly, I didn’t know who it was for or why I was doing it.

I’d like to do something about that. Get a little more clarity. More focus.

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