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Writer's pictureFlorina Titz

A curated list of apps, tools, gadgets & various resources for workflow

hardware

Connect to computer via USB, go to Adobe Premiere Keyboard Shortcuts, search for “Add Edit” function, select it then step on the pedal to assign. Now you will be cutting in on the timeline at the position of your playhead (with third limb!).

Controller that has a jog dial and assignable buttons, allows for smoother scroll through footage, & a more physical approach to Premiere. I use it for Pull Selects sessions by assign the following functions : "Source Clip: Next" , Insert/Overwrite or Make Subclip, and In and Out then I load all the footage to be reviewed into the Source Window. Then the Shuttle is the only tool needed to control Premiere & make selects (review clip with jog dial, set in and out points, insert to timeline or make subclip, then pull up the next clip & repeat). Same technique but using keyboard explained here.  

Rode i-XY for Iphone/Ipad Match pair of cardioid condenser mics with lighting connector for ipad/Iphone, stereo recording at 24-bit, 96kHz. 

iOS

App that allows you to take timecode-accurate notes on current edit timeline remotely via Ipad. Connect Ipad to same Wifi Network of your editing station.

Setup is a bit clunky - so for Adobe CC: open Audio Midi Setup.app, then Window > Show MIDI Window > double click Network. Click the + button under My Sessions and name the new session Cut Notes. Tick the box next to it to enable it. Under "Who may connect to me" at the bottom, set it to Anyone. In the Bonjour Name field, enter the name of your computer if it is not already set. Launch Cut Notes on Ipad, tap Sync button for drop down menu and set it to MIDI. in Premiere Pro, add Control Surface > Mackie. Click Settings, select Mackie Control and click Edit (or Add if the window is empty). Then set Device Type to Mackie Control and the MIDI input and output devices to Network Cut Notes. Now once you scrub the timeline, the timecode should appear synced in Cut Notes.

To get the Cut Notes markers into your timeline, you need to use Marker Import App that will combine an .xml of your project and the markers file into one (that can be imported after). OR you can just export a .csv. Other software supports marker imports natively (like Da Vinci).

Excellent iphone/ipad app for storyboarding and shotlisting (combines storyboards + shotlists into same document - a simple / obvious idea yet rarely implemented by prepro apps.

App that transforms your ipad into a drawing table (via wi-fi). 

App that makes your ipad into an additional external monitor for your main workstation (via USB or wifi if you pay). 

Hybrid field recorder app with sound warping engine for constructing new sounds out of ambient recordings. real time distortions & a number of presets.

writing

Complex writing app designed for long-form big projects, extensive note-taking, compiles docs & research materials into one hub for your story. Here an interesting Leviathan Worldbuilding Template 

screenwriting app with clean, beautiful interface (no clutter, no extra features, all formatting via text input). Multiplatform.

multi-platform (project managing)

Free Mac/PC App that creates organized folder structures for your editing project via customizable templates.

Trello is a project manager app that allows you to work with boards, cards & lists and move them around in a simple & flexible interface in order to organize your projects. Can be used for production, post, or anything that involves project-building & keeping track of tasks & project timeline. Lots of great integration with other apps. Trello Post TemplateTrello Story Structure Template (Lynda.com Trello Workflow Tutorial)

Essentially a chat app, built for collaboration & teams. Lots of Third Party App integrations. Meant to centralize all info, conversation, files & history of a project into one place - a hub where all most popular applications can integrate  - such as GDrive, GCalendar, Dropbox, Github, Trello, Twitter etc. 

Using a "If this, then that" algorithm, you can integrate various apps & force them to work together by generating a chain reaction. For instance "Whenever I upload a new youtube video, create a new Slack post" or "When I get an email attachment, save it to GDrive automatically". 

online tools

(for end credits) As soon as you sign up  you are given access to a comprehensive google spreadsheet with an ending credit sequence template, and you can add names &/or modify as you please. Then you can request a render of this either as an .mp4 scrolling credit sequence or as a TIFF. 1k resolution renders are free, then if you want higher res you contact them directly for an upgrade.

Powerful preproduction & scheduling tool. You start each project by uploading a draft of your script, then you can perform a comprehensive Script Breakdown (once you highlight an element with your cursor, a Panel shows up where you can tag elements by department). It allows you to generate a Stripboard/Schedule for the shoot, generate schedule & script breakdown Reports (pdfs) as well as keep track of all aspects of prepro (Day out of Days, Locations, Character Ranks etc.).  You can upload the revised script & keep the previous breakdown as well as the original scene numbers (for example, a new scene between previous scene 10 and 11 would be labeled 10A). You can also generate sides, manage the production office, keep all the related docs into one place, send emails etc. It's free for a single login, and negotiable for an entire production.  

extensions & plug-ins for Adobe CC

Note taking Premiere extension that allows writing text & to-do lists directly into your Premiere Project via  dedicated panel. Each note taking session connects to a specific timeline/sequence in Premiere. It behaves like a simple Adobe panel. Might require ZXPInstaller.app to install properly as an extension. Access from Window > Extensions > Postnotes. 

Adds the pond5 interface ((huge database of user-uploaded stock footage) into your Premiere workspace. Lets you search for footage, then add it to your project bin, and then automatically replace it with hi res version if you decide to purchase it. Extremely useful to generate quick placeholders in timeline, or simply testing out different possibilities for the edit. 

simple free app that does what the title says. I use it in situations where you have 2 actors on screen - to do a splitscreen essentially and re-timing their actions or choosing different takes to reconstruct performance. First heard about this simple but very powerful idea from Kirk Baxter (editor of Gone Girl).

Premiere/AE Templates & Presets

An Adobe Premiere technique that Vashi Nedomansky came up with (he was the workflow consultant on Deadpool, writer of editing blog at Vashivisuals) where you stack two timeline windows on top of each other, and keep one timeline for Selects & one as your Master. Since in Premiere you can drag clips from one timeline to another without affecting the initial timeline (clip instance gets copied, initial clip stays where it was on timeline) this has become a popular way to edit because it also gives the editor an omniscient view of all existing footage. If zip file in the link above doesn't work, try using different unzip app. 

Camera shake presets made from actual shots taken in the world with a handheld camera, used by Deadpool editors.

downloadable .png files via Vashi 

Free AE Presets (great for reverse engineering VFX or to customize with your own assets) 

downloadable .png files via Vashi 

Premiere presets loaded with many different kinds of splitscreen layouts (hold down OPTION key and drop your own footage over placeholders to replace & keep properties). 

(actually free) Stock

Royalty free stock footage channel on youtube: animation, textures, greenscreen, layers, objects. Use clipconverter.cc or similar to download clips.

Youtube channel with motion graphics assets. Use clipconverter.cc or similar to download clips.

Free nature-y stock footage youtube channel (4K, time-lapses etc.). Use clipconverter.cc or similar to download clips

Blog with HD, 4K b-roll & stock footage, free to use, download links in many formats

Pond5 public domain archive, with around 1000 free downloadable clips 

Around 6000 copyright-free clips 

Limited but free library of selected stock video. 

sound

Free sound processing software that works on the frequencies of whatever wav you feed into it. The results are unpredictable, chaotic & interesting as the user does not have full control over the operations. 

Designingsound website does these great monthly round up reviews of newly released independent sfx libraries. often the independent companies behind them offer freebies (smaller libraries or single  sounds)  for download.

Every type of shoe, and every type of surface, playable as instruments via keyboard . You can foley your film live while watching the picture and playing the steps in synch. Can be VST into Premiere.  A video demonstration.

educational 

Lynda.com (Free Account with LA County Library membership)

Educational resources, greenscreen tracking plates, scene diagrams & blocking, also some free VFX assets to download.  

what the title says from Digital Rebellion

Bye

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