Clint Till • Video Production | Photography

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NAB Day Two Wrap Up

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The second day of NAB featured two all-day sessions that were extremely relevant to me:

Color Correction & Grading

Lighting & Shooting Interviews

In addition to these classes were two classes on After Effects:

Up & Running With After Effects Expressions

Using the Unused Effects in After Effects

I started with the session on After Effects expressions, led by motion graphic designer Angie Taylor. The amount of information crammed into this 75-minute class was incredible and it gave a good understanding of expressions within After Effects and how editors can really lighten their work load by using them. Rather than try and recap all of the step-by-step instructions (which would quickly become quite technical and confusing without any screenshots), I thought it best to simply pass on some valuable online resources that Angie mentioned

AngieTaylor.co.uk

motionscript.com

effectcafe.com

Adobe.TV (search Angie Taylor)

Lynda.com (search Angie Taylor)

thatstudio.com

In the class on Using Unused Effects in After Effects, instructor Eran Stern went over 12 different effects that many users overlook or don't understand. He showed how to achieve interesting looks by using built-in effects that have been packaged with After Effects for 20 years. Visit sternfx.com to learn more about Eran and view some of his tutorials. Here is a list of the effects he covered in the class: 

Color Neutralizer

Color Stabilizer

Blend

Color Link

Light Warp

Extract

Equalize

Unmult

Bubbles

Power Pin

Glue Gun

Offset Wire Removal

Time Displacement

The other session I attended on Day Two was a workshop on lighting and shooting interviews. I wasn't able to sit in for the entire day's session because there were so many other things happening simultaneously, but I was able to glean som very helpful tips when setting up for, shooting, and conducting interviews:

When gauging exposure, using zebras don't give you as much information about the scene as does a waveform moniitor or histogram. In order of importance, the waveform monitor would be at the top, followed by the histogram. 

The ISO for the Canon C100 and C500 can be pushed much further than I expected. Jem Schofield, the instructor and owner of theC47, will shoot interviews at 1250 to 2500 ISO on each of those cameras.

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Using bounced light as a key can really help soften shadows on your subject. This is helpful when the subject is wearing glasses. A soft, bounced key slightly overhead will reduce lens reflection and will soften the shadows caused by the frames. You can bounce the light using a piece of diffusion, a reflector, or foam core. However, you will need to use a strong light source if you want to bounce it as your key light. For the demonstration, Jem was using an LED fixture that was about a 2K equivalent. Add a honeycomb in front of your light to control spill on the background.

Day Two offered up some incredible classes and there was definitely a lot to take in. Each of these articles will provide a broad overview of what I'm seeing and learning. If you're interested in learning in more detail about the topics covered, send me an email and I will be happy to share additional information and notes.