{"id":296,"date":"2015-02-22T23:08:40","date_gmt":"2015-02-22T17:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/promincproductions.com\/blog?p=296&preview_id=296"},"modified":"2015-02-22T23:08:40","modified_gmt":"2015-02-22T17:08:40","slug":"photoshop-cs6-video-editing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/promincproductions.com\/blog\/photoshop-cs6-video-editing\/","title":{"rendered":"Photoshop Video Editing – Adobe Photoshop CS6"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know that while I’m writing this post, Adobe is far past Photoshop CS6, and they have their cloud service and I’m sure there are new features. \u00a0Regardless, I still use CS6 and really enjoy it. \u00a0Lately I’ve been utilizing a newer feature that I’m falling in love with – video editing within Adobe Photoshop.<\/p>\n

Now really, this is kind of a funny\/odd post for me to write. \u00a0I earned my college degree in video production and the first 5 years of my career life were in the video production world producing everything from TV commercials to short films to corporate training videos, etc. \u00a0You name it, I had my hand in it – that even includes the full graphics packages for TV news shows.<\/p>\n

That said, video editing in Photoshop will never replace Final Cut Pro (the older good version), Premiere, After Effects, Avid, etc. \u00a0At least CS6 won’t. \u00a0But for basic cut videos, some basic transitions, simple compositing, etc. it’s actually a pretty good editor. \u00a0And aside from it having the basic tools to make it work great, here is why – every good video needs graphics. \u00a0And what does every video editor do for their graphics? \u00a0They build them in Photoshop and then figure out how to import them into their editing or compositing software. \u00a0So why not put this all in one place? \u00a0Makes sense, right?<\/p>\n

\"Perform
Doing video editing in Adobe Photoshop takes a bit of a mental shift – you don’t think of using a still photo editing software to work on a moving set of images. But I’ve given it a try for a few projects now and have really come to enjoy it for some basic to intermediate projects. It does work pretty slick and can allow you to quickly output a professional looking video in short order using controls that you are used to working with.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article is not focused on how to be a video editor – it assumes you have some general knowledge on how to edit. \u00a0What it does focus on however is tips, tricks, layout, and possible gotchas or issues you might find. \u00a0What it comes down to is that Photoshop does offer a nice video editing option, however there are some slight changes to workflow you’ll need to account for.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/h2>\n

Here are a few videos done following the workflow outlined in this article. \u00a0Again, these are not Telly worthy videos, but not bad for working with what I have on hand – a copy of Photoshop CS6 and a DSLR camera with a decent microphone.<\/p>\n

Rimowa Luggage Features<\/a><\/p>\n

Ovation Hearing User Videos<\/a><\/p>\n

Workflow<\/h2>\n

Video projects in Adobe Photoshop are saved in the familiar PSD format that Photoshop typically works in.<\/p>\n

To begin, you need to choose to show the Timeline panel. \u00a0This is found under\u00a0Window -> Timeline<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Display
Display the timeline panel in Adobe Photoshop by finding it under the Window menu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Depending on if you’ve used the timeline panel before, you may see it display in one of two ways to start – Adobe Photoshop offers two types of timelines. \u00a0There is an animation timeline designed more for still frames, and the video editing timeline that this article is focusing on. \u00a0If the video editing timeline shows, click the button in the middle of it to create a timeline and begin importing video clips. \u00a0However if the animation timeline shows, click the video timeline icon in the bottom left corner to switch it to the video timeline method.<\/p>\n

\"The
This is the first video editing timeline panel that displays. Simply click the button in the middle to start your editing process.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Switch
This is the animation timeline panel in Adobe Photoshop. This is not the timeline we wish to use for this article, so simply click the timeline icon seen in the bottom left corner of this clip to switch to the video editing timeline panel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keyboard Shortcuts<\/h3>\n

By default, video editing keyboard shortcuts are not enabled. \u00a0However they can be quickly enabled from the sub-menu on the\u00a0Timeline<\/strong> panel.<\/p>\n

\"How
Enabling the Timeline Shortcut Keys will make the keyboard in Photoshop behave more like a video editor and less like the traditional Photoshop you are used to. So keep in mind that the shortcuts you typically use will not function as expected when this is enabled.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the video editing keyboard shortcuts enabled, the arrow keys move you frame by frame, up and down arrows move you to the in \/ out points of a clip, page up and page down jump you around, etc. \u00a0Keep in mind – these keys now function for all of Photoshop, so using the arrows will not move an object on the canvas, rather your timeline marker. \u00a0So you may end up switching the video keyboard shortcuts on and off a bit.<\/p>\n

Previewing Clips<\/h3>\n

Photoshop doesn’t offer a standard preview or viewer window like most traditional video editing software does. \u00a0So this means if you want to view to simply check the contents of it, you’ll need to either put it right onto the timeline and scrub through it, or use an external video player – which is the method I personally prefer to use. \u00a0I’ll open a clip in Windows Media Player or VLC, scrub through it to find the best take of a scene, and then just import the best take into my Photoshop video timeline project. \u00a0This does help to reduce clutter in your project which is nice. \u00a0But it does take a bit of getting used to since you’re now using the windows explorer window, a video player software, and Photoshop to all blend things together.<\/p>\n

Importing Video Clips<\/h3>\n

To import a video clip, find the\u00a0+<\/strong> icon on the right hand side of the timeline track you wish to add it to. \u00a0Clicking on this will open the file browser, and you can pick your clip. \u00a0This will add the video clip to that track, as well as that bin in the layers panel. \u00a0Note that you can add video clips, PSD files, or other image files to the track this way.<\/p>\n

\"Add
Using the + icons on the timeline tracks you can add video clips to the track.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alternatively, you can import a video layer using the menu system at\u00a0Layer -> New Video Layer from File<\/strong>. \u00a0This will import the clip into the folder that you have selected.<\/p>\n

\"Use
Video layers can be imported via the Layer menu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Color Correction<\/h3>\n

I’ve always love Photoshop’s levels and curves color correction tools. \u00a0So to that point, this is a huge perk of doing video editing in Photoshop – that’s how we accomplish color correction!<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0Layer<\/strong> Panel<\/strong>, select the clip you wish to color correct (and you’ll of course want your timeline marker over this clip so that you can see your edits), and choose the\u00a0Layer Mask<\/strong> button in the bottom of the\u00a0Layer Panel<\/strong> and choose your desired layer mask. \u00a0As I mentioned above, I prefer to use either levels or curves. \u00a0Adjust the color as you see fit using these controls and you’re all set!<\/p>\n

If you are new to layer masks, I’ll point out a few things quick. \u00a0Layer masks get added as a layer in the\u00a0Layer Panel<\/strong> and affects ANY layer that is below it. \u00a0However you can easily change this to affect only one layer by setting a\u00a0Clipping Mask<\/strong> on the layer mask. \u00a0This can be done by right clicking on the layer mask and choosing\u00a0Set Clipping Mask<\/strong>, or you can set it via the\u00a0Layer Mask Panel<\/strong>. \u00a0If you don’t use layer masks with or without clipping masks, you need to start experimenting with them – you’ll wonder how it is you’ve use Photoshop without them before!!!!<\/p>\n

The Bin Structure<\/h2>\n

In Photoshop, there are two types of bins you can create for editing – the video bin and the standard bin (folder). \u00a0There’s one key difference here – with a\u00a0video bin<\/em> all of your layers within it will layout horizontally one after another. \u00a0So it’s one solid track of video, no overlapping (unless you use a cross-fade) or stacking of layers \/ clips. \u00a0This is great for doing your A Roll or B Roll tracks. \u00a0Alternatively, you can use the standard bin<\/em> if you need to stack layers. \u00a0So lets say you’re building a lower 3rd, you’d want to use the standard bin.<\/p>\n

\"Different
Notice the bin on the bottom has a film slate icon – this is a video bin. There is only one clip in that bin in this screenshot, but multiple clips can go in this bin. But keep in mind, those clips will ALWAYS be stacked left to right on your timeline. Conversely, the standard bin you see at the top of this screenshot allows you to stack clips on top of each other as well as move them left to right on the timeline.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Audio<\/h2>\n

You can add audio in Photoshop, but the editing tools are nothing glorious, that’s for sure. \u00a0This is one of the weak points here. \u00a0But that doesn’t mean you can’t get good results yet.<\/p>\n

There is only one audio track in Photoshop’s timeline. \u00a0Well, ok, not really. \u00a0There’s one dedicated audio track, but each video clip can also have video. \u00a0So for your B-Roll tracks, you may want to disable the audio, which has to be done on a per clip basis. \u00a0To do this, click on the triangle in the right corner of each video clip to open the clip menu, and choose the Audio tab and check the\u00a0Mute Audio<\/em> checkbox.<\/p>\n

There are no waveforms, and of course no mono\/stereo controls. \u00a0So at best, you can get a rough audio edit done in Photoshop.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Click the triangle on the right hand side of a video clip to open the clip options menu. Then choose the Audio tab. Here you can mute the clips audio, adjust the volume, and fade in or out the audio clip.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What I then do, is edit the audio track in Audacity<\/a> – or really any other audio editor. \u00a0But Audacity is pretty impressive at what you can get done for a free piece of software. \u00a0One more note about Audacity – it requires an audio file only for you to edit. \u00a0But Photoshop only exports video files with audio – not audio only files. \u00a0So I’ll edit in Photoshop till I’m picture locked, then export the video to an mp4 file. \u00a0I then use VLC<\/a> to export the audio only to a WAV file. \u00a0(See \u00a0Export a WAV Audio File from Any Video Clip with VLC<\/strong><\/em><\/a>\u00a0 for instructions on how to export audio clips from video files.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That WAV file can then be imported into Audacity for editing.<\/p>\n

If you’ve shot your audio like I do, where you have a reference track using your onboard camera mic and the other audio track is the external lav or boom mic, you need to clean up the audio before you complete your video. \u00a0Photoshop does not offer the functionality for this, so here is one big place where\u00a0Audacity comes into play. \u00a0For instructions on how to use Audacity for creating a stereo track from your mono audio track, check out this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One other tip I do to make the audio track sound cleaner and more professional is to ensure that it has continuous whitenoise through the entire track. \u00a0In your gaps between clips and voice tracks, you don’t want to dip to complete silence since all recorded sound has some natural whitenoise in the background. \u00a0Using Audacity, you can quickly fill those gaps with whitenoise to ensure you have the clean audio track. \u00a0For help on this, feel free to read this article on how to fill in silence gaps with whitenoise using Audacity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I then export from Audacity to an mp3 file, which can be added to Photoshops one audio track. \u00a0Lastly, I mute the audio for all of the video clips in Photoshop, and we are all set to go!<\/p>\n

Performance<\/h2>\n

I’m using an Intel I3 processor with 8 GB of RAM, and typically my video doesn’t play 100% smooth. \u00a0Much of the time I have to start playing before my clip to get the audio and video to sync up enough on playback to get a good sense of what the edit actually is. \u00a0As a professional video editor, this is not ideal, and I’m not 100% sure if the problem lies in the hardware on my machine, the fact that Photoshop isn’t powerful enough to be that good of an editor, or if it’s the media I’m using. \u00a0I shoot on a Canon T2i in 1080i in MPEG format, and so the source video could be the issue. \u00a0And most likely is a big part of the issue. \u00a0I’ve done straight graphics on the timeline and they play back much better – not as good as Final Cut or Premiere do for me, but far better than the video clips.<\/p>\n

\"Keep
Adobe Photoshop can become a drain on your systems resources. This is true when doing photo editing, but certainly true when you are doing video editing. Properly managing your projects will help in smoother playback.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One thing to help the performance of your machine however, is first off close down applications and windows you aren’t using. \u00a0This is the basics of computer performance that many of us may forget with the new beefier machines, but the more stuff open the more taxing it is on the system. \u00a0Kind of along those lines though, is something else you can do to help. \u00a0Photoshop saves a cache of video previews and undo history. \u00a0At times, when it gets bogged down too much, I’ll simply clear those caches and it tends to help out a bit. \u00a0This can be found at\u00a0Edit -> Purge -> Video Cache<\/strong> and\u00a0Edit -> Purge -> All<\/strong>. \u00a0If clearing those to doesn’t help, it’s often times worth just closing out of Photoshop, wait a minute or to for it to fully close in the background, and then re-open your project.<\/p>\n

\"Purge
Purging the video cache, clipboard, and history data can free up some RAM on your machine and other resources to make for smoother playback.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cautions from Video Editing in Adobe Photoshop<\/h2>\n

I should throw out a few cautions that I have come across that might help save you a few headaches:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Keep a close eye on what moves on the timeline when you move an object or two. \u00a0It likes to link clips together by closing gaps you may have intentionally left between clips.\u00a0 Sometimes shifting one object moves more than you might think and you’ll have to go back and readjust some things. \u00a0Typically, if it’s going to move more than you think, it’ll essentially move everything beyond a point, so you’ll need to adjust several clips typically – not just one. \u00a0One way around this is to create a new video bin for doing edits. \u00a0Move a single clip into that new video bin. \u00a0Adjust the in and out points, move it left to right on the timeline, and once you are happy with the edits you’ve made, you can drag it straight up \/ down on the timeline into the video bin you want it to live in.<\/li>\n
  • It’s a bit slow at times, and playback isn’t always 100% real-time. \u00a0So it’s a bit harder to be precise, but typically it’s close enough to get the job done. \u00a0Starting your playhead a bit ahead of where you’d like to check for video and audio sync, etc. is advised. \u00a0Also, how well it performs will depend on your machines hardware, the codec of your video and audio clips, the number of layers you have, how much keyframing you are doing, etc. \u00a0So your results may vary from mine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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