HighlandFoto
 lvl.3
Flight distance : 655171 ft
United States
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After grabbing some fun video, it's time to think about sharing it with others.
I start by downloading the video from the microSD card to a folder on my computer's desktop. I also copy the folder with the raw video to our media server, which is backed up nightly, and I archive the microSD cards so after I finish edits and delete the raw files from my desktop, they still exist in 3 different places.
There was a definite tone I wanted to set for the last video so I started by creating a folder just for the video and pulling in candidate media. In this case, I reviewed videos from 12 day's worth of flights and aggregated videos I thought would work well.
Since my wife and I have been working photography (fine art and landscape, product, drone, and real estate) for some time, we subscribe to the Adobe Photography Plan, which includes Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premier Rush. Premier Rush is a nice quick-and-dirty tool for generating content quickly, although it doesn't offer the capabilities of Premier Pro. Rush is very unlike most Adobe products, and is a lot more intuitive and user-friendly. You can use still images or video, add a soundtrack, add title graphics, and vary the speed of clips. If you don't use Rush I think some of the info here will still be useful (particularly regarding soundtrack licensing).
After creating a project in Rush and importing media, I start looking for a soundtrack, which helps to set the tone of the project. Rush provides access to some soundtracks, I also subscribe to Adobe Stock which offers access to a lot more media.
For the video I linked above, I wanted a ZZ Top sort of feel, and selected a piece called "Beards, Beer, & BBQ" because it was a fun piece that reflected the mood I wanted to show. Honestly, I probably would have used it just based on the title.
If you are using Adobe Stock, you can download previews of media without licensing it. This means you can start working with a soundtrack to see if it works without using one of your available licenses.
Once the different components are in place, I start to arrange the media, which can be either still images or video, in the order that I want. You can add a number of transition effects to both, and you can animate still images by selecting a portion of the image to display at first, then moving to a different portion of the image. This lets you zoom in, zoom out, pan across, or perform a combination of these effects. Each clip can be cut into segments that can be individually discarded or moved so you can break a long video into numerous short segments. I've seen a lot of drone videos that only show 4 or 5 seconds of any subject at a time and cycle through a few different subjects. I think that your timing depends on what you're trying to convey. As an example, for a hyperlapse showing the clouds and shadows on the ground moving, I tend to go about 10 seconds because it's hard to grasp everything going on when clouds are moving different directions at different altitudes, and you can't really appreciate the way some clouds constantly shift shape in a brief segment.
By this point, the project seems to take on a personality of its own. Once the segments are in the right order, I play it through and note where the video needs to be adjusted to sync with transitions in the audio. A finished compilation has a much more cinematic quality if the timing is right. Sometimes a transition (dissolve or fade to black) between segments is helpful, sometimes not, you just need to experiment to see what works best.
Rush will let you play the project in a small or large display. Editing is performed in the small display because you still have access to the controls and timeline. The large display is helpful for a preview before the project is rendered. You can play, and pause from any point, and Rush lets you move frame-by-frame in either direction This is really helpful for precisely cutting a segment shot in Mastershots because one sequence may be perfect for your project, and this lets you use every frame that's relevant.
After tweaking the timing and transitions, I play the project a couple of times in the large display (it's not quite full screen but lets you see details that the small display doesn't). When it feels mature enough, I use the 'Share' menu to export the project in mp4 format and play it again to see it in full screen at high resolution.
Important note: A project that's exported with a soundtrack that was downloaded as a preview seems to note that in the metadata. I started building this particular project with the "Beards, Beer & BBQ" soundtrack that I'd downloaded as a preview, and I licensed the soundtrack before I uploaded the mp4 to YouTube. The next day this video had a copyright claim that was easy to address by providing the licensing information from Adobe. However, TikTok also recognized a copyright claim and stripped the music without giving me the opportunity to provide licensing info. If you start a Rush project with a preview soundtrack and then license it, I recommend deleting the soundtrack, re-downloading the licensed version, and add that to the project.
I hope this is helpful!
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lvl.4
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