Photoshop Power User Tips - Layer, Smart Object, Replace Content and Relink to File

 When you have an image embedded into a Photoshop project as Smart Object and you have resized it and done some work on it. How to swap for another image all the while keeping the work you've done?

Easy: Select the smart object/layer, in the Menu, go to Layer, Smart Object, Replace Contents and Select the new image.

That's it! And it's powerful. That's particularly handy when doing BD or DVD chapter menu pages with thumbnails.

In addition, Relink to File will create a link as oppose to embed the image into your project.

Final Cut Pro: How To Move A Clip Without Affecting Connected Clips

A very powerful modifier In Final Cut Pro, when you want to move a clip WITHOUT affecting connected clips. Because of the Magnetic Timeline behavior, any connected clip will move together with the adjusted clip, which is GREAT most of the time. Some other times I want connected clips to stay where they are.

To do that, hold down the Grave Accent (`) key and drag the clip to another location in the timeline using Select or Position tool. It also work with the Trim tool which is my favorite. Hold (`) and drag the clip with the Trim tool will modify its start/end point without moving any connected clips. FANTASTIC! Try it! It'll save you loads of time.

Check: https://support.apple.com/guide/final-cut-pro/connect-clips-ver7a77ef9e/mac

And open the submenu: Edit clips in the primary storyline without affecting connected clips.

Tips For Location Sound Recording In The Time Of COVID-19

Here are a few tips when recording sound on location.

- Protect yourself: don a mask and possibly gloves, else wash your hands regularly, stay 6ft apart.
- Do not use lavaliers microphones.
- Use directional "shotgun" type boom microphones.
- Position yourself upwind.
- Protect and clean the equipment.

The best equipment at the moment is a shotgun microphone on a shock mount with a long enough boom to be 6ft away from the subject.

Outside you must use a windscreen, that's difficult to clean, so wrap it loosely in a soft plastic bag or a large piece of plastic cling-wrap. The hit on sound quality is not too bad.

Stay as far as your microphone allows (most long shotgun have more reach than short ones), and boom from above. The largest particles fall on the floor, so miking from below is not a good idea.

Try to keep the air / breeze in your back, so that it doesn't carry the particles towards you.

At the end of the session, remove and throw away the plastic wrap.
Before packing, clean the boom and hard surfaces with alcohol or soapy water (check manufacturer guidance.) Remove and discard your gloves or sanitize/wash your hands.

Stay healthy!

Check out the Schoeps Covid-19 page.

Documentary Filmmakers, Do You Want Your Post-production To Go Smoothly?

Here are 10 organizational tips to make sure the post-production on your new project will go smoothly and not slow down to mollasses or cost a small fortune:

1) Shoot everything at 23.976fps. OK, except for high frame rates to be used as slow motion.

2) Stick to the same frame size, format, codec, picture profile, LUT as much as possible. Expose properly, strive for consistency.

3) Take the time to set your camera(s) properly so that the same clip name is not repeated at nauseam across days and cameras, no one wants to deal with a gazillions of "Clip0001".

4) Record Time Of Day time code, and jam-sync your cameras and main sound recorder several times a day. Imperative after powering-off, battery swaps, power outages. If that's not possible, use whatever clock your device has, and manually adjust the timing information on each piece equipment so that they are in close proximity. Watch for the pesky 12hrs. difference.

5) Always record proper temp audio (decent signal, not saturated, not garbled) on all cameras. That's another way to sync the footage in post if timecode is missing or wrong. Use a decent microphone on each camera, do listen.

6) Always record PCM uncompressed audio at 48k and at 32bit or 24bit if you your recorder allows it. Else 16bit.

7) There is no need to record 12 tracks of audio when 11 of them are empty. Learn how to use your sound recording equipment and turn off any empty/useless track.

8) Be generous with Preroll and Post roll. 

9) Offload your footage with a proper offloading software like Hedge, and keep camera cards structure intact.

10) Organize your footage in folders by day: 2020_01_30, 2020_01_31, and by device/card: A001 (camera A, card 001), A002, B001 (camera B card 001), S001 (sound card 001), etc.