A new age for video editors 🎥

It has been a decade since i made a living from the production of films and much has changed in this time so it has been a lot of fun picking up my camera again (this time a phone) and testing out the latest 'way to do things'.

I think before i tell you more i will ask that you first watch my latest film. Don't worry, it's just 2mins.

https://youtube.com/shorts/m874WZRQ5Mg

In the past it would have taken me months to create a film like this, with meticulous planning, shooting and editing but today a film like this takes me minutes to shoot and two days to edit.

The way i filmed the movie was no different to normal. But once i had my shots in the edit (imovie) i used Luma AI's Dream Machine to create the transitions between them. Those are the moments when the camera drifts away from one subject of attention to another, doing so in a way which matches the overall shooting style.

The Dream Machine works by uploading the last frame of one shot with the first frame of the next and the AI figures out the transition between them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and no matter how many prompts i give it, i cannot get exactly what i am looking for, so it isn't perfect by any means but we editors must work with what we have and simply make the best of it.

What i like most about this tool is that it doesn't take away from the human quality of own work, it just adds to it. If however i had used AI to create the shots themselves i would not in good conscience be able to call it my film. But in this case, as it is only the transitions between my shots, i am okay with it.

You can use Dream Machine yourself for free a few times before they start charging. In the end i spent around $20 creating the transitions for this film. Though i think i wasted a lot of credits just getting to know the system's limitations.

Once i had my video edit in place i imported the film into CapCut where i added visual effects, stickers, sound fx, graphics and subtitles. CapCut make it much simpler than products like Adobe's AfterEffects, by giving us access to a massive database of fonts, effects, stickers etc but without the option of plug-ins or external template packages i will eventually get bored of what is ultimately a limited selection.

I hate adding subtitles to be honest as they ruin the visual aesthetic of the film but i understand that 80% of viewers don't even turn the sound on! Which has me wondering why i bother putting so much effort into the sound fx.

Did you notice all the little sounds in there?

Many of them i created myself, like the sound of all the footsteps in the film for example, which is actually the sound of my hand patting against a pot full of leaves.

Cones cones cones

I have made 13 films now, all of which mention my paramagnetic cones.

Do please check them out and follow the account!

https://www.youtube.com/@TheSpiralGarden/shorts

The most popular one is this, perhaps because it is short and fast paced? Plus people seem to enjoy seeing how things are made.

https://youtube.com/shorts/xeSEQjKcgIo

Second most popular is my declaration to build a mini earthship in the Spiral Garden!
https://youtube.com/shorts/LG9fl61a5rg

My personal favorite is this one, due to its simplicity. And important message!

https://youtube.com/shorts/UMrHEZLC94s

Ah yes, this one was fun too because it was the first time i ever converted a Hive post into a film! The biggest challenge was condensing a 20min read into a 3min film.

https://youtube.com/shorts/oZ4N5-XYCfE

Since i started posting last month i have amassed 6.5k views, 47.5h of watch time and 62 subscribers. And that's just on Youtube. TikTok is a similar story.

As for X, Instagram and FB, things are rather more sleepy, but they will pick up if i stay consistent. Thank you to all those who help me out with likes and reposts!

For now these decent numbers are not converting to the sale of cones but i remain confident.

I really do love making films, so i will just keep doing that.

Plus writing articles!

Love & Light everyone 🌱