RTF318: PHONE or SCREEN RECORDING WORKFLOW
So you've decided to shoot your Project B on your phone or computer - great. Read through everything below BEFORE shooting to avoid technical issues. THEN, make sure you read through it again AFTER shooting to follow the step by step guide. Use the side outline feature to navigate between the specific workflows. Here we go...
AVID MC - SHOOTING WITH YOUR PHONE (iPhone or Android)
See this wiki for Android Phone Video Setup
Android Phone How to Record Video and Download to Computer
NOTE: Your phone is likely shooting at a different frame rate. Some phones shoot at traditional frame rates (24fps, 30fps, 60fps), while some shoot at variable frame rates (to assist with exposure).
This workflow will ensure that all of your footage is set to the same frame rate BEFORE you import into your editing software.
General Tips for recording ALL phone footage
- Shoot your film (preferably HORIZONTALLY, unless you want the vertical look).
- Create a folder organizational structure on your hard drive BEFORE transferring your footage. This should look very similar to the structure from previous projects. Make a master folder for PROJECT 3, and then a subfolder for VIDEO inside.
- Transfer your footage to your hard drive (via AirDrop, a USB cable, the cloud, etc). Put this footage inside the VIDEO folder.
- Once everything is transferred to your hard drive, disconnect your phone.
Now open Avid Media Composer or Media Composer First.
Media composer first project setup
AVID - Media Composer First How to Activate and Create a New Project
Avid Ultimate Project Setup
| Open AVID Media Composer | |
Then open Media Composer click on "New Project" then click on the folder icon to navigate to where you want to save your project then |  |
Name the Project "Mad Men" - YOUR Name Set the Format 720/29.97 Raster dimension 1280 x 720 Color Space YCbCr 601 |
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Choose Create All the way at the bottom of the screen |
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Now bring the files into AVID In the open BIN right click in the bin and go to >Input>Source Browser |
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Choose the Import not Link Then click on the Options icon Also note the bin where you will be importing |
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Media Composer First Settings Choose Image Sized for Current Format Ignore Alpha Channel Click OK |
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| Media Composer Ultimate Settings on how to import video see this link | AVID - AVID Media Composer Ultimate how to Import footage |
Media Composer First Navigate to where the files are saved that you want to import and click on import |
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The files will import and will be stored here your user account / Shared / folder as shown here in the frame grab |
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| Click the red X to close the source browser |
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NOTE: The target drive will default to your computer's hard drive. It is VERY IMPORTANT to switch this to your hard drive, ensuring all of your media is there.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: When converting this footage, Avid will create a folder called Avid MediaFiles at the root level of your hard drive. DO NOT (under any circumstances) move or rename this folder. This is where all of your converted video files will live. If you do anything to this folder all of your footage will unlink and you'll have a bad time.
Finally, select all of your footage and then click OPEN. Avid will convert all of your footage to a constant frame rate of 23.976 and bring it directly into your project.
Now edit away! Just like you normally would. All set.
ADOBE PREMIERE - SHOOTING WITH YOUR PHONE (iPhone or Android)
NOTE: Your phone is likely shooting at a different frame rate. Some phones shoot at traditional frame rates (24fps, 30fps, 60fps), while some shoot at variable frame rates (to assist with exposure). This workflow will ensure that all of your footage is set to the same frame rate BEFORE you import into your editing software. Use it for ALL phone footage.
Shoot your film (preferably HORIZONTALLY, unless you want the vertical look).
Create an organizational structure on your hard drive BEFORE transferring your footage. This should look very similar to the structure from previous projects. Specifically, make a master folder for PROJECT 3, then a subfolder for VIDEO inside.
Make two final folders INSIDE your VIDEO folder and name them RAW and CONVERTED. We will put the original phone footage inside the RAW folder and the newly converted (consistent frame rate footage) inside the CONVERTED folder.
Transfer your footage to your hard drive (via AirDrop, a USB cable, the cloud, etc). Put this footage inside the RAW folder.
Once everything is transferred to your hard drive, disconnect your phone.
Now open Adobe Media Encoder. NOT Adobe Premiere.
Navigate to FILE → ADD SOURCE. Select ONE of your clips and click OPEN. Your clip will appear in the Queue. Don't worry we will add the rest of the clips in a minute.
Click on the highlighted blue portion under OUTPUT FILE. Navigate to your PROJECT_3 → VIDEO → CONVERTED folder and select SAVE.
Next, click the downward arrow on the far left under your file's name (pictured below). Select DNxHR/DNxHD MXF OP1a.
Then, click the downward arrow in the middle (pictured below). Select DNX LB 1080p 23.976.
Then, go back to FILE → ADD SOURCE. Select the rest of the clips in your RAW folder and click OPEN. Now all of the clips will be converted to the same codec and to the same folder. Double check this JUST IN CASE.
Finally, click the green play button in the upper right hand corner. The conversion will take a little while. Grab a snack and wait.
Once the files are done you can open Adobe Premiere. Import the CONVERTED folder the same way you would regularly import footage. And edit away!
AVID MC - SCREEN RECORDING (for Mac and PC)
NOTE: Your screen recording will likely come in at a variable frame rate (something editing softwares do not like). This workflow will ensure that all of your footage is set to the same frame rate BEFORE you import into your editing software.
Record your screen via Quicktime (Mac) or Game Bar (PC).
Here is a wiki for screen recording via Quicktime (Mac).
Here is a wiki for screen recording via the Game Bar (PC).
NOTE: There are always other tools and software you can use to screen record, but these are some free/included resources on Macs and PCs.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: The tools will typically default to capturing audio recorded by the computer microphone, not the internal audio. Pay close attention to the wikis if you're looking to record internal computer audio.
Create a folder organizational structure on your hard drive BEFORE copying over your footage. This should look very similar to the structure from previous projects. Make a master folder for PROJECT 3, and then a subfolder for VIDEO inside.
Copy your footage from your computer hard drive to your external hard drive. Put this footage inside the VIDEO folder under PROJECT 3.
Now open Avid Media Composer.
Set up a project (just like we did for Project 2). Follow the instructions at the bottom of this wiki for a quick refresher. NOTE: 1920x1080, 23.976fps. And make sure your project is saved within your PROJECT folder under PROJECT 3 on your hard drive.
Create some organizational bins for your Video, Audio, Titles, etc.
NOW WAIT. DON'T LINK IN YOUR FOOTAGE. DON'T BRING ANYTHING INTO THE PROJECT JUST YET.
Instead of linking footage, we will be IMPORTING. This will ensure a constant frame rate and more friendly editing workflow for you.
Navigate to FILE → INPUT → IMPORT MEDIA (pictured below).
Find your footage within your hard drive (in the VIDEO → RAW folder).
Click on the OPTIONS button at the bottom of the window and make the following changes (pictured below)… CHANGE the resolution to DNxHD 80 and change the TARGET DRIVE to your hard drive's name.
NOTE: The target drive will default to your computer's hard drive. It is VERY IMPORTANT to switch this to your hard drive, ensuring all of your media is there.
OTHER NOTE: When converting this footage, Avid will create a folder called Avid MediaFiles at the root level of your hard drive. DO NOT (under any circumstances) move or rename this folder. This is where all of your converted video files will live. If you do anything to this folder all of your footage will unlink and you'll have a bad time.
Finally, select all of your footage and then click OPEN. Avid will convert all of your footage to a constant frame rate of 23.976 and bring it directly into your project.
Now edit away! Just like you normally would. All set.
ADOBE PREMIERE - SCREEN RECORDING (for Mac and PC)
NOTE: Your screen recording will likely come in at a variable frame rate (something editing softwares do not like). This workflow will ensure that all of your footage is set to the same frame rate BEFORE you import into your editing software.
Record your screen via Quicktime (Mac) or Game Bar (PC). There are always other tools you can use, but these are some free/included resources.
Here is a wiki for screen recording via Quicktime (Mac).
Here is a wiki for screen recording via the Game Bar (PC).
NOTE: There are always other tools and software you can use to screen record, but these are some free/included resources on Macs and PCs.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: The tools will typically default to capturing audio recorded by the computer microphone, not the internal audio. Pay close attention to the wikis if you're looking to record internal computer audio.
Create a folder organizational structure on your hard drive BEFORE copying over your footage. This should look very similar to the structure from previous projects. Make a master folder for PROJECT 3, and then a subfolder for VIDEO inside.
Make two final folders INSIDE your VIDEO folder and name them RAW and CONVERTED. We will put the original screen recordings inside the RAW folder and the newly converted (consistent frame rate footage) inside the CONVERTED folder.
Copy your recordings from your computer hard drive to your external hard drive. Put this footage inside the RAW folder for PROJECT 3.
Now open Adobe Media Encoder. NOT Adobe Premiere.
Navigate to FILE → ADD SOURCE. Select ONE of your clips and click OPEN. Your clip will appear in the Queue. Don't worry we will add the rest of the clips in a minute.
Click on the highlighted blue portion under OUTPUT FILE. Navigate to your PROJECT 3 → VIDEO → CONVERTED folder and select SAVE.
Next, click the downward arrow on the far left under your file's name (pictured below). Select DNxHR/DNxHD MXF OP1a.
Then, click the downward arrow in the middle (pictured below). Select DNX LB 1080p 23.976.
Then, go back to FILE → ADD SOURCE. Select the rest of the clips in your RAW folder and click OPEN. Now all of the clips will be converted to the same codec and to the same folder. Double check this JUST IN CASE.
Finally, click the green arrow in the upper right hand corner. The conversion will take a little while. Grab a snack and wait.
Once the files are done you can open Adobe Premiere. Import the CONVERTED folder the same way you would regularly import footage. And edit away!