Recently Updated Posts for 2021 and more!
Welcome to 2021 everyone, I hope you’re hanging in there. The best is yet to come.
In this quick post I wanted to highlight a few of the most recently updated posts here on the blog, that I’ve been updating to be relevant into 2021, as well as some recent new posts and other fun things.
If you’re new to the blog then definitely check out the Top 5 posts page, which has just been updated for 2021, where you will find the top 5 most popular posts across fifteen different categories, including a brand new one for articles geared towards anyone wanting to become, or working as, an Assistant Editor.
The Top 5 most popular posts on the blog in 2020 were:
- How to Record a Zoom Meeting in High Quality for Video Editing
- Free Film LUTs for Editors, DITs and Colorists
- Colour Management for Video Editors
- Affordable Colour Grading Monitors
- The Best Mouse for Film Editing
A quick shout out to all my newsletter subscribers too – Hello, and thank you! If you’re not yet a subscriber you can drop your email in the ‘Free Weekly Newsletter’ box on the sidebar to the right here, to be alerted once a week to every new post as they appear.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about how to make this site better in 2021 I’d love to hear them – hit the Contact page and drop me a message there!
Given that COVID is still here, it might be worth checking in again on this fairly extensive list of helpful resources that might make a financial difference to you in 2021, or at least give you some ideas for wise ways to spend your time.
Useful Things To Do During COVID-19
Speaking of finances, definitely take a look at some of the resources in this post on Negotiating your Freelance Finances to see what other editors and colorists are earning and for some insights on how to negotiate better rates, land better projects and make your journey through life a little less fraught.
- How much do freelance film editors make?
- Common money mistakes freelancers make
- Learn to negotiate your rate as a freelance film editor
- Freelance training for film editors and colorists
- The Best Books on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- Chris Voss FBI Hostage Negotiator Masterclass and book Review
- Free Business Training for Creatives by Creatives
I learnt a lot putting this particular article together – it’s sort of 5 posts in one!
Don’t miss this! Mixing Light January Sale
MixingLight is running a rare and massive sale on it’s premium annual and monthly colour grading training memberships, with 50% off the first year and then up to 20% off the normal price locked-in for life!
They have only run sales like this three times before, once at the launch in 2013, the 2.0 re-launch in 2017 and earlier this year at the start of the COVID-19 crisis, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to save some serious cash! The best part is this sale is available for new and existing members.
A premium annual membership would normally cost $244 but you can get it now for just $122, and then save 20% every year on the normal price after that for the lifetime of your subscription.
Mixing Light is also practically giving away it’s extensive standalone professional training courses for DaVinci Resolve 14 and 12.5, offering them with a $100 discount at just $29 each.
That’s nearly 40 hours of expert, in-depth DaVinci Resolve teaching for just $58!
The 14 hour Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 14 Certification Bundle includes two training courses and a documentary short practice project (In The Shadow of Giants) which will give you everything you need to grade your own project and follow along.
In the $29 DaVinci Resolve 12.5 bundle (26 hours) there are three training titles, one of which is called DaVinci Resolve Deep Insights, which covers advanced features not taught in the other courses and is far more focused on how a colorist actually works, than simply understanding the software. I’ve previously reviewed Deep Insights here.
Now you might be wondering why you’d want to bother with these courses if the latest version of DaVinci Resolve is 17?
Well, although a lot of features and UI changes have been added since, the fundamental nuts and bolts of how DaVinci Resolve operates and what you need to understand to work like a colorist, hasn’t changed. So you’ll be able to ‘bring forward’ much of what you’ll learn.
Plus did I mention you’re getting nearly 40 hours of training for less than $60! That’s $1.5 an hour!
Mixing Light are also offering their standalone practice projects at just $29 each too, which includes the 5K RED horror short film, Mother Died, which I’ve previously reviewed here.
Check out all the details of the sale for yourself here.
You can also work your way through every single free article on MixingLight.com here, with an updated list for January 2021.
The Best Mouse for Film Editing in 2021
Other than the keyboard, the computer mouse is the other essential tool that every editor will use day in day out, year after year. So you want to pick one that will serve you well for all those hours of editing – and preferably make a substantial difference to your post production workflow.
In this updated post I recommend some of the best mice for film editors, and suggest that you’re actually much better off using a (Wacom) tablet and pen for both ergonomic and creative reasons. But, if you do want to use a mouse, then a programmable gaming mouse that can unleash a myriad of shortcuts and macros under your thumb is an ideal choice.
The mouse I had been recommending was the Razer Naga Chroma – now in 2021 available as the wireless Razer Naga Pro and the wired Razer Naga Trinity, which has been used by Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Fallout editor Eddie Hamilton (and many of his post crew) for years – in fact you can even download his shortcut set up from the post!
It’s a fantastic mouse and one I still have on my desk today, but as of late in 2020, Razer has dropped support for Mac OS in Synapse 2 and Synapse 3 is Windows only. So what do I recommend for all those Mac editors going forward?
Two things: a workaround to keep using Razer mice on Mac if you prefer as well as some other very good mice to replace your Razer or avoid it all together.
If you’re on a PC, the Razer Naga Pro is still a great choice!
Read the full post here: The Best Mouse for Film Editing
More Updated Posts for 2021
I’ve also updated this popular post on the best Audio Plugins for Film Editors with a quick review of the Accusonus ERA 5 Pro bundle of audio repair and polishing plugins.
They deliver great results in just a couple of clicks and their subscription model makes them even more affordable and accessible.
Click through to read the whole review as well as learn a ton about delivering better sounding audio on all your projects in 2021 as the post covers all these things:
- Editors recommend audio plugins
- iZotope RX7 Advanced Review
- Accusonus ERA 5 Review
- Free audio clean up presets for Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro
- Basic Sound Design Tips
- Adobe Premiere Pro Essential Sound Panel Explained
- Alex Audio Butler Tested
- DaVinci Resolve Fairlight Tutorials and Training
The Best Audio Plugins for Film Editors
Using the DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor in Other Video Editing Software
The new Blackmagic Design Speed Editor keyboard is a fantastic little device that makes editing in the DaVinci Resolve 17 Cut Page a joy. But the question lingers – can you hack it to use in other software?
In this post I talk about what I tried to do to answer that question, as well as delivering a detailed breakdown of what functionality is available in each page of DaVinci Resolve 17.
I’ve updated the post most recently with a ‘technical proof of concept’ from Tobias Ohls where he demonstrates some limited functionality using the Speed Editor keyboard in Adobe Premiere Pro.
If you’re considering purchasing the Speed Editor this post is worth a quick read.
More Recent Posts Not to Miss
My final post of 2020 was titled – The Difference an Editor Makes and offered both a look back at 2020 and some of my favourite posts from the past year as well as a ‘video essay mashup’ of five of my favourite moments of editors describing or demonstrating the difference an editor makes in the filmmaking process and details of the sources I drew from.
I hope you enjoy it! – The Difference an Editor Makes
Last but not least, I wanted to mention my latest review on the blog of the excellent nuraloops – the second product from nura and a more nimble set of in-ear headphones compared to the full size over-ear nuraphones that I’ve reviewed previously.
The nuraloops are not perfect, but the future of enjoying music, movies and sonic experiences is definitely in personalised EQ – a sound uniquely crafted to your ears and your ears only.
You can read all about how the technology works in my original nuraphone review which includes an interview with nura’s CEO.
Nuraloop – A Film Editors Review | Using Nuraphones for Film Editing
