All posts by Josh Elmer

Video Editing Tips

Audio Production

Poor sound can ruin an otherwise spectacular production. Anything from a simple car or ambient sounds out side of a cabin environment there is always a need to add the right sounds for the right situations. Adding to the feel of the video. If done correctly the viewers will likely never notice that the sound where added to the project but instead feel that it was all recorded from one shot and one mic. Below is a clip that had only the video clips with absolutely no sound. Let us know if you can identify all the sounds that we had to add.


Why videography is a skill beyond point and shoot is due to the knowledge that has to be in place long before the camera is turned on. There is a lot of talk about the type of cameras that are available along with the different features and preferences of the users. The camera is only a tool but the operator is the one who creates the amazing shots. Basic understanding is the primary starting point. understanding how to stay out of auto anything. Know what the differences between ISO – Shutter speed – Aperture settings. Then growing from there developing your own approach to what works for you. We will be going through a variety of different topics and cover many topics that pertain to being a successful videographer as well as share what we continue to learn.

Learning About Drones

As drones have become more popular in the public, we find that more and more footage is posted from them. The benefit brought to the filmmaking industry is a unique tool. Our first purchase was an F100 ghost.

A lower end model that had no stability features for the camera nor a remote view feature. (unless you picked up a go pro) When flying it you have to be able to see it and try determining what direction it is facing while in flight. (there are lights on the bottom but when you go high or far enough it is difficult to see.) The camera is fixed with no stability so every movement the drone makes causes a jerking motion on the camera. The batteries that came with it would last about 15 minutes and then you had to manually land it making it difficult to get good shots unless you had a lot of practice. Even it that there was no guarantee that the quality was of any use. Another issue we came across is there had to be little to no wind otherwise you spend the entire time trying to compensate reducing the time trying to get any useful shots. One thing we can say about this drone is that it can take a beating and keep going. We crashed into trees and into the ground enough times I was sure something broke on it but we just flipped it over and took off again. The trick flip feature is fun to see and play with (without the camera attached anyway.) All and all it’s a fun toy version to play around with but if you are looking for more user-friendly systems for things such as filming I would recommend spending the extra money on a more higher end drone.

DJI Phantom 3 Professional

Our next purchase was the DJI Phantom 3 Professional. Going from our previous drone to this was day and night. With the GPS Features, Camera, Stability and a lot of other features made flying much more enjoyable. Even though this model has been discontinued by the maker I really can appreciate the capabilities in it. here is footage from our very first flight with it.

Learning the controls was fairly easy for me. Having experiance with RC controls and the previously mentioned F100 Ghost. With a few more switches and buttons to learn was pretty easy to utilize.

the first thing I noticed was the Auto take off feature. (Using the app for the display) by pushing the take off icon and sliding to the right it send the command to the drone to take off and hover about 4 feet off the ground. was an incredible feature in my opinion. The next thing i apreciated was the way it would auto compensate for wind gusts. there was a pretty decent wind while in flight but the drone had no issues keeping in place. Making it easier to pause and make sure the camera was recording. Being able to see through the drones eye (the camera) makes it easier to fly a farther distance without being concerned that you would loose it if something happened not to mention seeing what you are filming to insure you are getting the shots intended.

Now let’s talk about the camera for a minute. This thing is increable. The 4k quality does look amaking. The benefit of being able to control the uo and down angle in flight makes it even easier to fine tune the shot angles you are going for without having to land it every time.

In addition to that the camera stabilizer works wonderfully, Allowing the smooth motion at any angle with the only issue of the blades appearing in the shot while in the up right position and only in certain sercumstances. (Easily avoidable)

And one of the most crucial features that i didn’t appreciate until now is the Return to home feature. This is another reason i feel more comfortable flying out of my sight range. After pushing the return to home feature it will automatically fly back to where it took off from and then lower to the ground without having to manually control it. I had tested the feature a couple times and found that once i could see it again i was able to cancel the rth and continue to fly it more.

The battery life is about 25 minutes depending on how cold it is so there is more flight time from the previouse model we had. Now, we k ow there are newer and more advanced models out there but for the price we paid on this one we are happy with the results and plan to utilize it in more of our upcoming filming. We will also be updating this post as we test it out more (Considering this was only the first flight) and keep everyone updated. Thanks for reading and reach out with any comments or suggestions.

Canvas Cafe

Alexia Sober

While in Virginia City we stopped into this amazing place for something to eat and talk to the owners. Richard and Alexia Sober. Two of the most down to earth people we had ever met.

(Yes, it was so good we had some before the pic. )

They open the doors early in the morning so it was nice to get a head start to the day and stop in for breakfast. Little did we know that the breakfast would be so incredibly good I can almost still taste it.

While we sat there we met some incredibly nice locals that were in the filming industry. We sat there for a while talking about cameras, lenses and so on. It was nice to be able to learn from people who had been in the field for a long time and listen to the stories that they had.

To read more about our experience visit at Maryann’s Island

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Thank you for visiting us.

Here at TIPA Studio, we believe that everyone has amazing stories to share. We love to take those stories and create a visual experience that not only delivers the words but the emotions that go along with them. This industry is constantly evolving and advancing, and we do the same. Not because we have to, but because it is our passion. With our skilled team and constant drive to learn and grow, we believe that we offer a valuable resource to help share those stories.

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Here we go Adobe Premiere


We filmed a couple of interviews (Last minute decision) in Virginia city for a friend out there. We shot with a canon hg30, Nikon d3100 along with a sony handy cam. We also ran 2 mics and ran a HDMI cable from the canon to my laptop where i used the OBS software to moniter the shot and record the audio from a USB audio interface along with it.

After getting back home I started to sync up my footage in Adobe Premiere 19. Granted I am new at this software it’s a learning experience every time I open it. So first I uploaded all the footage into separate folders on my hard drive naming each file the camera type. Canon, Sony, Interface, and Nikon. This helped me to tell easier what shots were where. Then I proceeded to load them into Premiere under separate bins. again to help keep things organized. After loading everything in I layed down the interface track (for audio) then brought in the footage from the Nikon.

I learned that there was an auto-sync feature that matches up separate audio sources so I wouldn’t have to do it manually saving a lot of time.

I then created a link between the two files so I could move them around together without needing to re-Sync every time. I then proceeded to add the other camera footage and continued to sync everything together in the correct positions. I know there is a better way to arrange the multi-camera settings in premiere but this time I chose to take this route to see the difference editing and selecting the different shots for the audio running. It Did take longer to edit the cuts but the final render i was happy with either way.

So for those who are still figuring this out i would recommend learning how to do the audio synce feature by selecting 2 audio tracks recorded at the same time right click and go to synchronize. Wonderful time saver tool that adobe provides. Here is the video we created with this approach: