Thread: Boxthor's Guide to Making Freestyle Videos That Don't Suck

I wrote a guide. It's large. Therefore I made it availible in a .txt and .odt format for your downloading pleasure.
http://pages.sbcglobal.net/gf1777/Guides/


Boxthor's Guide to Making Freestyle Videos That Don't Suck.


This is a guide on how to make high quality freestyles. It starts you off 3 weeks before the contest, to the days after. You need a minimum amount of equipment, but a lot of dedication. If you're going to attempt making freestyle videos, do it right. It's definitely not for everyone, but it is just as crucial a part of the contest as anything else.

This is how I do things. There are probably a few things I am missing, as I've taught myself how to do all of this. If you see anything I've missed, please contact me at boxthor@gmail.com

CHAPTER 1: BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

First lets start off by listing the equipment you need, should have, and would help.

Need:

Camera: You don't need a nice camera. I use a Sony DCR-TRV140. This is a Digital 8 camera, which means it uses 8mm tapes rather than the commonplace Mini-DV. This is a hella old camera, and I have had it for at least 6 years. You can find them on Craigslist for under $50. In reality, any camera with a DV port will be perfectly fine. I am sure older ones would work too, but I won't go into that. All your default camera options will be fine.

Tapes: I have never had a problem with any brand of tape. Usually I try and shoot for whatever I can find cheapest. Just a note, for Digital 8 cameras, they use up twice as much tape as non digital cameras, so you only get half the mileage listed, although most tapes will tell you this. You want to have a lot of tapes. For freestyles, I try to shoot for an extra minute per freestyle, and then plan out the tapes accordingly, as a minimum. In reality, I buy tapes 30 at a time and always have 5 or 6 on me. I like to unwrap them as soon as I get them, more on that later.

Computer: I use a PC. Having a good computer will make processing faster, and if your computer really sucks, well then, get a new one. Or alternatively email me and I might capture the videos for you.
I am warning you though, if your filming sucks then I am just going to send them back and laugh at you. IMPORTANT: You will need a lot of disk space. 1 GB of space will give you approximately 4.63 minutes of video

Capture Card: If your motherboard doesn't have a firewire port built into it, you'll need to get a card that adds this. They are $20 or less and usually come with USB 2.0 ports too.

DV cable: Oddly enough, they don't usually come with cameras or capture cards. This will run you $20 or less.

Video Editing Software: You will need a couple programs.

First off you will need capture and edit software:
I pirated Adobe Premiere. It is really easy to pirate, and I recommend you do the same. However, if you're not into that kind of thing, I also have some quick and dirty instructions for Windows Movie Maker

After that, you'll need encoding software.
While Adobe Premiere is supposed to be able to encode, I don't know why but I never manage to get good results with it. I like to use Videora iPod converter, simply because it is quick, and once you set it up you only need to click one button and point to your video. It's available here (http://www.redkawa.com/blog/post.php?t=1034)

Webhosting Space: You need to upload these videos somewhere. Google Video and the Yoyoing.com Video site are my recommendations for newcomers. You can ask people for hosting, but these two options are much easier.


Would be REALLY nice to have.

Tripod: You don't want to have to hold your camera this whole time, do you? No, you don't. Also, it will make your shots much more steady and watchable.

Camera Bag: You gotta organize! They're cheap.

Extra Camera Battery: The original battery will usually only last an hour or two with the LCD screen open. You're going to need longer than this.

Sharpie: Good for labeling tapes

Would be nice to have.

Wide Angle Lens: This is nice to have in certain situations, mostly when you can get right up next to the stage. Usually you will have to get the judge's permission for this, and most of the time, you won't need to sit so close anyway.

Tasty Beverage and Yummy Snack: You'll be sitting there a nice long time, and you can't get up and leave for any reason if you want to get all the freestyles. Don't drink too much though, and be prepared to not be able to use the restroom.

Do not need

Octopus: u u
I just bring one for giggles.



CHAPTER 2: LET'S GET READY TO START

So you've gotten all of your equipment together, read all the manuals, know the basics. Now you've organized everything in your camera bag, charged your battery, double checked everything, you're good to go.

About a half an hour before freestyles start, you're going to want to sit down and prepare stuff. You want to sit in a key position.

Behind the audience, in the center. Usually there is a raised platform here just for people to film. This is what I highly recommend, because you avoid any chatter of people speaking around the camera, you get all of the crowd noise, and you barely have to turn the camera.

Have someone get on stage and walk around, make sure you can have them in the viewfinder easily. You want to be REALLY zoomed in. On most cameras, when you look at the LCD screen, you see less of the image than is actually being recorded. A small border is cut off. Therefore, if you aren't zoomed in enough on the screen, you'll be really zoomed out on the PC. You want a different level of zoom for each style of play:

1A: Tightest zoom, you want to get from the knees to slightly above the top of the head.
2A: From the top of the ankles upward. The player's head should be 1/3 of the way down the frame.
3A: A little closer in than 2A, down to the ankles, but only a little space between the player's head and the top of the frame.
4A: Loosest zoom, you want from the shoes above, with the player's head 1/3 of the way from the top.
5A: Slightly looser than 1A, from the knees, with a little bit of gap above the head.

Of course, all of these depend on the style of player, how “big” their tricks are, how much they move around, etc. Of course if you err, you want to be too far zoomed out, but too far and you won't be able to tell what is going on.

Now you have everything set up, you're ready to go. It usually takes a few seconds for the camera to “initialize” a new tape, so record 5 seconds or so, then shut your camera down and wait for freestyles.

CHAPTER 3: LET'S GO

You want to start filming when the contestant looks ready. Usually, but not always, the announcer will say a few lines before each routine,

“[Introduction to Player]”
“Judges are Ready,”
Pause
“Ladies and Gentlemen, [Player's Name]”
Music Starts

If this is the case, you want to start recording at “Judges are Ready.”

Here is the key to getting good video:

Always look at the viewfinder.

This will allow you to always maintain a proper frame. You'll be watching freestyles through the LCD screen. While you don't get to see them “in person,” I find that in the long run, this is much more satisfying, because I'll be able to see the video forever, and be able to share that with others. Also I am not a selfish jerk.

As the player moves around the stage, do NOT be afraid to move the camera or zoom. Even constant movement, as long as the player is visible, isn't as annoying as you would think. What IS annoying is when someone releases a freestyle video where all the action is in 10% of the frame.

Follow the player around, making sure to get a good view at all times.

When the player finishes, let them do a few bows, collect their yoyos, and then stop filming.
Rinse and repeat, all day long.

Once you get to 5 minutes remaining on your tape, it is time to swap out for a new one. My camera takes a while to eject a tape, so immediately after the last freestyle I am going to record on a tape, I hit the eject button, go into my bag, retrieve a new tape, take it out of the case (here is where having them previously unwrapped saves a few seconds), take the old tape out of the camcorder, put the new tape in (do NOT let go of it), and hit record on the camera, to “initialize” it. While this is happening, switch the tab on the tape that prevents overwriting, and label it. Stop the tape, and now you're ready for the next onslaught.

CHAPTER 4: AFTER THE RAIN HAS GONE

So now you've gotten all your freestyles on camera, and you're back home after the contest. Now you want to capture all of your tape onto your computer, edit it, and export it. Remember, burn off all your porn, you're going to need the disk space. I'll go into both Windows Movie Maker and Adobe Premiere

First of all, hook your camera up to the AC Adapter, rewind all your tapes, hook up the DV cable, turn it on (in the replay mode) and get ready to go.

Windows Movie Maker:
Capturing:
Open up the program, start a new project.
On the left hand side, under Movie Tasks, hit “Capture from video device”
Choose your camera from the available devices, and hit next.
Enter a file name, and choose a directory, I highly recommend making a separate folder somewhere, just to organize things. Hit Next
For video setting, hit Digital Device Format (DV-AVI). Hit next.
Make sure the box that says “Create clips when wizard finishes” is checked. This will separate your video into clips, separating every time you started and stopped recording.
Finally, hit Start Capture, and if you're like me, you'll want to watch freestyles again.
Stop Capture when you're at the end of the tape, and you're ready to edit.

*Editing: (There is a star here for a reason. You'll see it later)
Switch the bottom display to timeline mode.
Drag and drop a freestyle clip into it.
On the timeline, drag the ends of each side of the clip to remove any extra filming you did. You can preview this in the window to the right. Now you're ready to export.

Exporting:

On the Movie Tasks menu, click “Save to my computer”
Enter a file name, and location, hit next.(This will only be a temporary file, and you'll delete it once you move on to the next freestyle, so don't worry about it. I usually just call it Temp.)
Click “Show More Choices” Check “Other Settings” and in the drop down menu, pick “DV-AVI”
Click Next and it'll save. Now you're ready to convert. That's for the next chapter.

Adobe Premiere
Why do I use Adobe Premiere when Windows Movie Maker is so simple? Because Adobe is more powerful, gives you more options, and is much better for making clip videos, but that is another guide. If you're just getting started, try Windows Movie Maker first.

Open the program, hit new project, stick with the default settings, type a name in the lower box, choose a directory. Hit F5 to go to the capture window, also available via File > Capture.

Capturing:
Hit the settings tab, and in the Capture Locations box, make sure there is a lot of disk space available for what you are about to capture. If not, choose (Custom) from the drop down box, and pick a location where there is ample room.
Go back to the Logging Tab, fill out the tape name in the Clip Data box.
Click the Scene Detect box, and then hit Capture Tape. This will capture the entire tape, separating it into clips where you started and stopped recording.
As the tapes go on, the clips will show up on the left “Project” window. You can click them and rename them to make things easier later. Once you're done, close this window, and you'll be back at the main screen.

*Editing: (There is a star here for a reason. You'll see it later)
Drag a clip over from the Project window to the Source window, and you'll see it appear. Drag the { and } from each side over to trim out the excess video you don't want, then click the monitor where the video is showing, and drag it down to the Video 1 section of the Timeline window. The audio will follow it. Now you're ready to export.

Exporting:
Go to File > Export > Movie. (Or just hit Control – M)
Type in your filename (This will only be a temporary file, and you'll delete it once you move on to the next freestyle, so don't worry about it. I usually just call it Temp.)
Hit the Settings button.
In the General Tab, you want your File Type to be “Microsoft AVI”
In the Video Tab, you want Compressor to be “None”
In Keyframe and Rendering, check the box for “Deinterlace Video Footage”

Hit Okay, then Save, and it'll export. You're ready to convert.

CHAPTER 5: IT'S TIME TO CHANGE

There are plenty of programs that will do video compression, but as I said before, Videora iPod converter is going to be the easiest. Again, it is available at (http://www.redkawa.com/blog/post.php?t=1034)

Open it up, hit the settings tab, we're going to need to change a few things.
First of all, hit the devices tab, then within that, the iPod tab, and in the Video Output folders, change those to where you want the final files to end up. I recommend the desktop.
Go back to the Converter tab, and in the One-Click Settings box, pick the following settings.
Device: iPod
Profile: MPEG4 1500kbps Stereo/160kbps
Process Priority: Normal

While you can fiddle around with the Profile, this is what I recommend, and I've tried many of the settings.
Now click the Convert tab up at the top, and in the Conversion Queue box, hit the One-Click Convert button. Select the temporary video file, and hit Open.
Wait. This can take a while depending on how fast your computer is.
Go to your desktop, open up your new file. Watch it, make sure the quality is good, and close it.
Rename the file, and ta da, you're done.

Now delete your original temporary file. Remember when I told you you'd see the star (*) earlier? Go back to that step and repeat, this time with a different freestyle. You'll need to complete all these steps again. Don't worry, a lot of them were just changing settings and you'll not need to do those again.

Once you've completed all your videos, upload them to the webhost of your choice, and collect your profit and panties.

Just kidding. Video editing is often a thankless job, and the only real reward you get is your own personal pleasure. Definitely not a job for everyone, but nonetheless, someone has to do it. It takes a lot of commitment and dedication to do a good job, just like everything in the yoyo community, but it is boring, hard, complicated, and entirely unexciting.

Have fun.

Any questions/comments may be directed to boxthor@gmail.com

nice guide

How long did it take you to write that?

Originally Posted by yoyo fingers

How long did it take you to write that?

looks like it took you nearly 7 months to read it...

Originally Posted by Luke Vader

looks like it took you nearly 7 months to read it...

I knew it was there, just haven't bothered reading it until now. So what's your point, Luke?

Well, things usually take significantly longer to write than to read, so if it took 7 months to read, then the writing time was probably significantly longer than 7 months.

Originally Posted by Yossarian

Well, things usually take significantly longer to write than to read, so if it took 7 months to read, then the writing time was probably significantly longer than 7 months.

I already said that I didn't need to read it until yesterday. If someone doesn't read beowulf until they are 50 years old, that does not mean that it took that person 50 years to get through the book, nor does it mean that it took more than 50 years to write.

Good advice for the first time free stylist. Thanks alot.

sweet guide

holy crabapple that is one super long and indeepth guide that i hope that people will listen two

good job