Linear Video Editing

When I first saw the Linear video editing machine, I felt like observing a kind of dismantled time machine. Video monitors, big key board, recorders, players, speakers, tapes and network of cables in a small room just shook up my brain. My editor friend took his time to explain the complexity of this machine. I watched him edit for more than six hours on that mutli-gadgeted machine. I was so very much excited.

Linear editing setup

Well, linear video editing is a video editing post-production of selecting, arranging, and modifying images and sounds in a predetermined, ordered sequence. The only thing you need to take care is the order of editing; you can't go back and forth and edit. You have follow your storyboard and go chronologically.

Few Precautions:

You need to make sure you have at least 5 seconds of footage present on the raw footage tape prior to the point you want to start your clip. When you set “in” points, the editing system automatically goes back 5 seconds before your 'in' point in order to properly place your edit. If you don’t have 5 seconds of extra video prior to the clip you want, the machine won’t be able to place the edit on your master tape. This is why it is very important to always allow the camera to run 5 seconds before and after a shot been taken.

You need to control DV tape by hitting the “p” button on the key board or player. By using the jog, you need to cue DV tape to the clip you want to transfer onto your final edit. Once you are at the beginning of the clip you want, set an “in” point on the DV tape. Register an “in” point on the DV tape by hitting the “in” and “entry” buttons at the same time.  A light at the top will light up to indicate that you did this successfully. Using jog, fast forward your clip to the point you want it to end. At the end of the clip, set an “out” point on the DV tape by hitting the “out” and “entry” buttons at the same time.  Again, a light at the top will light up to indicate that you did this successfully.

Doesn't that sound easy? Yes, that's how it works...

In case you messed up and need to re-set an “in” or “out” point, hit “cancel” and “in” at the same time or “cancel” and “out” at the same time. Then reset your “in” or “out” points. You can also re-set an “in” or “out” point by simply hitting the “in” and “entry” buttons again, or the “out” and “entry” buttons again. Computer will automatically use whatever points you last inputted. And your project will be safe on the timeline again.

Yes, it was that simple!!

In the past, loss of frames, frames slipping, audio out sync, and background sound was a problem with this kind of editing. That's the reason, they are out of market now and replaced by non linear editing machines.

As a beginner, it was fun for me and I enjoyed editing on it for more than a year. Despite its complications and drawbacks, it made me more accurate and organized in learning the abcd...of video editing.

Short Film

It was the end of the semester and our group was assigned to shoot a short film. We were given 15 days to write a script, approve it from the instructor, shoot, and edit it. We all group members gathered at one place and discussed on the story, characters, locations, technicians, and artists.

I was the editor and director for the short film. Other group members assisted me in direction, scripting, casting, location hunting, and costumes. One of them wrote the dialogues, some became part of the technical team, and some showed their interest in production work. We had a very few days to make our short film.

Our mornings began at 7:00 and day ended at 11:00. In this busy schedule, we had no time for ourselves. During that time, we all were also helping other students for their projects. I was the cameraman and editor for a few projects. So, my day time was busy with my group and evening working on editing machine.  Most of the times we forgot that we had our families, who were waiting for our phone calls for days!!

We finished our shooting portion in five days; during that time, we used to be very charged and passionate about our story and entire filming process. Our skin tone completely changed, body weights reduced to some pounds, and our clothes stinking to the unbearable smell!!.

In a few days’ time, we edited and polished our film. We had spent two days and three nights on the post production work. Finally, editing done, color combination and background music perfectly matched, and dubbing completed. The film was ready with our names in bold letters in the beginning and also at the end.

We took the final output of our short film at 8:00 am in the morning.

At 9:00 am, we had to present it to the jury of our university. Yes, we managed to complete our project just one hour prior to our presentation.  They liked the subject and the making of our film. But, the Jury noticed that we all were tired and yawning during the interaction; they suggested us to go home and take rest.

When we got the results, we were surprised to know that our short film was declared as the best production of the year. We were very happy to hear this good news. My friends, who helped me in the project were too very much excited. We celebrated that night with the entire crew and teammates. 

Today, in this professional busy life, I still remember the fun of our first group project. I miss my friends from my university, I wish to get those days back with naughty college friends and make more such documentaries full of memories..

The Unusual Marathon

After landing in Delhi in the evening, we went to the train station where we were supposed to board our train to Jammu. My wife and I checked our ticket, which showed that our train was going to be about four hours late. We kept our luggage in the cloak room and roamed a little nearby the station to explore and pass the time.

In this busy three hours time, we realized that we had not feed our stomachs in a long time.

Hot potato parathas with chilled sweet curd, what else could you ask for if you are in Delhi? We ate to our fullest; I mean more than our stomachs could ask for. Since we were nearby the station, we relished our food taking an entire hour.

We came back, took our luggage, and moved ahead. We began searching for the platform number where our train was supposed to arrive. But to our surprise, no such platform existed! We panicked and began running here and there. We decided to ask the vendor on the platform. Now what, another surprise was in store for us. The vendor informed us that our train was not from this station “New Delhi” but from “Old Delhi”! My wife and I looked at each other and uttered “What the hell!!” under our breath. The vendor told us that Old Delhi was 45 kms away and would take half an hour to reach there from the station we were standing on! We had no time. My wife looked at me angrily, my guilt was apparent. It wasn’t my fault that I relished my food for a complete hour! We had the time back then!

The vendor explained to us that we needed to take a metro train to reach the other station at our soonest; the metro station was 2 kms away. It would take 15 minutes for us to reach it, and 10 minutes from the metro station to Old Delhi. “God save me from my wife,” I begged.  We ran to our fastest we could, took an auto rickshaw immediately, went to the metro station and stood in the queue for tickets. We finally got the tickets, and what we saw was another queue for checking our bags. “What the hell!” was becoming the theme of the day.

My wife found some men that might have been able to pull me out of the fire. She begged the policemen to wave our bas check and showed them our tickets. She knew the process would take a lot of time and we would surely miss the train. She told them we had another train to catch within next 10 minutes from Old Delhi. They allowed us to board the metro train without checking our bags. Bless that woman.

“Yay! We reached Old Delhi and we have some spare time too!” said my wife. But nevertheless, we learned how fast dreams can crash. We found that our train was from platform 8! Can you guess which platform did our metro train left us on?  Hmm..well sadly on platform 1.

Then what?  I took 2 bags from my wife’s hand, one on one shoulder, and other one on another, third was already on my back. For a moment, my wife called me a “Coolie”!! Well that was too funny.

Our last mission was to catch our train. I caught my wife’s hand, looked into her eyes and said “Baby, unfortunately I cannot lift you like these bags. We need you to perform a miracle. I hope you understand but if you don’t run today, we won’t reach Jammu for the next two days!” That was emotional blackmail against my wife, but she agreed to it!

We began running. Running, in truth, it was a sprint. A sprint so fast that nobody could ever imagine a marathon like this! Lot of people at the station, the Delhi hot weather, unexpected baggage on my body, my extremely tired wife, the steps and bridges between platform 1 and 8, our four running feet and those “delicious parathas with chilled curd”  filled my senses!

Announcements on the station urged us on, and we channeled the speed of leopards! At one point we heard that our Jammu train had already arrived and few seconds later we heard it was about to depart! With no energy at all, we came down through the last steps of platform 8. We saw the train and we boarded, we had no idea of which compartment we stepped in! Gosh! We stepped in and the train started!!

Well, this is what happens if you just look at the departure time and not the departure station! Specially, if there are two stations of similar names!!

I and my wife blame each other for this stupidity! But yes, we have no place to forget those hot parathas with chilled curd!! We always wish to get that day back in our lives just to run a marathon....

The Big Sea

The celebrations were in full swing since morning. I started my day with swimming. The wonderful breakfast at the resort was an added blessing. The afternoon was spent completely on a bike to tour around the awesome place. The cake, the knife, the dusty looking beach, the orange sun saying good-bye in the evening, and the party goers who were all waiting for the greatest celebration of our marital bliss! It was my wedding anniversary, and the awesome place was Goa, India.

My wife and I were waiting for the sun to say its final goodbye, and we were waiting for the sea to become calm. More than that, we were waiting to cut the cake and wish each other “Happy Anniversary”.  We sat on the beach for a long time watching the sun go down and the vast, unlimited sea going to sleep. The waves became calm and their voices still murmuring in our ears.

Suddenly, we realized that we were in danger of losing our special moment, just looking at the sea. We blew out the candle, we cut the cake and we wished each other “Happy Anniversary”! And of course, a photo session was a must for the special time. We celebrated our day in the midst of the unknown sea and open sky. This was followed by an unforgettable candle light dinner!!

Another day was a real unexpected day for us. We had no plans to go to the beach; we had no plans of having lunch or having any fun because of the previous day’s tiredness.  The resort manager came to us to give the final bill of our stay and reminded us that it was our very last day to stay in. We were supposed to check out yesterday morning.  My wife and I decided not to waste the last day by simply passing time in the resort, so we finally decided to go to the beach and talk for a long time, maybe till the end of the day.

Nature was telling us that we would be bidding adieu to the sun after a few hours. We had no idea of what we thought at that moment, we immediately got up and went into the sea. The sea waves welcomed us with open arms and its full heart. I pulled my wife into the sea and helped her enjoy the vastness of the ocean. The water was cool to the touch, the sand was kissing our feet and the waves were pulling us strongly towards them. Struggling to keep our young heads above the cold water, we began rolling in the surf with fear in our minds that the waves would harm us in some way. We got so much engaged in our enjoyment that we forgot that we had been in the water for almost six hours. We bid adieu to the sun and welcomed the cold breeze and the lovely twinkling stars in the sky.

Me at Bagha Beach

In the midst of our enjoyment with the sea, we realized that we had to go back to our resort before it shut the gates on us. We came out of the sea with small hearts and turned back to say goodbye to the water. It made us sad, and we hoped to meet it again sometime in the near future. We went back to our resort, dined and slept. Next day we left Goa.

The sea promised us big hopes and asked us to fulfill our dreams in our lives. It taught us to gather as many people as you can, as it does when it accommodates many people in its arms. It taught us to be strong, as it bears all the waves coming through it, making us enjoy every moment.

Still today, the taste of the salt still lingers in my mouth. Those wonderful moments were cherished with my wife after a long time. I deeply wish to rewind that day of my life and enjoy to the core with the wise sea again!

Magical 10 seconds

Suraj called my name. I needed courage. Well, I didn’t have any; but then I thought it was my very first opportunity, and I should not miss out. Putting money and my wife's insistence aside, I had to move ahead and face the forth coming situation. I proceeded with extreme confidence. Droplets of sweat began running down my face; my nose became red while the chilled wind smashed against my ears: hands and feet shivering. And of course, my heart beating in slow motion! 

My stomach called my name for the first time from the inside: completely growling. And the worst part was I didn’t know what for! Did it want food, water, a drink, or medicine? No! It hungered only for a little more courage! Oh well, how can I forget my dear God? I had never before remembered God so much, not even during my exams! Being a man, it was kind of embarrassing for me. But it was ok; I made up my mind and accepted the scenario.

Time was passing by very quickly. It seemed like there were 120 seconds in a minute! Everybody was looking at me: my sweating body and the unexplainable expressions on my face! God, God, God save me was the only thing I could murmur.

Suraj completely covered me from behind, unexpectedly. I didn’t understand what was happening. He asked me to run and only run: very, very fast….I ran and ran, and he pushed me hard: real hard! It was so unbelievable! I could not turn to see him; I could not move my arms; I could not do anything. The worst was I could not think what was happening, because my eyes were shut: ears completely blocked with air, and my mouth wide open! Would you believe, that I could not believe I was screaming from my belly button? I didn’t know when I started to scream. When did I run? When did I close my eyes? When did my body become normal?

Suraj whispered in my ears, “Amit, open your eyes; don’t worry at all; I am holding you.” I put all my faith in him, and opened my eyes. I have no words; no words at all to express my feelings. The unreachable snow covered the hills, and the lavish green land. The beautiful chirping birds, the dancing trees, smiling flowers, and the cool blowing wind. The unlimited blue sky, and an untouchable lovely horizon! Phew!

I saw it all in the valley, and trust me; the view was heaven on earth! I even forgot to blink my eyes! This breathtaking experience can be named as the most awesome experience of my life. In fact, it was unforgettable! A perfect picture in my mind even today!

A few seconds later, I realized that I had become an eagle! I felt as if I was living my whole life in that moment. I saw the view, filled my eyes with that beautiful dream (which I knew wouldn’t  been seen again) and landed back safe and sound on earth.

Can you guess what I did in those mere 10 seconds of my life??

Well, that was PARAGLIDING!! My honeymoon gift by my lovely sweetheart wife!

And even today, I wish for more such moments and badly wish to rewind those wonderful 10 seconds of my life!

My Cricket Bat:

I was a cricket lover in my childhood. Even my friends, my father, brothers, and uncles were good at cricket.  Cricket was played in the house, outside the house, and everywhere possible. Watching cricket matches on TV was my favourite past time.

As I started playing the game at my school, my uncle gave me a brand new ‘BDM’ cricket bat. It was a very popular and expensive brand then: very lightweight and easy to carry. My friends liked it a lot, and it became famous on my school team. Every time we won a match, my friends used to give credit only to my bat. We pampered it a lot and had good time with it!!

One of my friends, who is a doctor today, was the biggest fan of my bat. He was a very good batsman and always opened for our team. One day, he scored around 50 runs for our team playing with my bat. We were all so excited that, when we won the match, we lifted him, and he in turn lifted the bat and waved it around. 

At that moment, we realized that we were all together and bound because of that special bat. It had become an asset for all my friends.

One day while playing a match, unknowingly, the bat broke into two pieces. We all were shocked to see the broken bat.  It really touched our hearts, and many of us could not control our feelings. We did not even realize that our relationship with it was over: after a long two years of attachment. It was a very emotional moment for all of us.

We tried hard to fix the broken piece but of no use.

To ease our little minds, my uncle bought another new bat for me. We played some matches and won a few. But we missed all the magic moments and could never enjoy cricket again, as we did in our school days. I became a little detached with cricket for some time.

I played cricket for my college team, and for private teams, but the excitement was never the same.

I want to go back to my school days, and get that Star Bat to enjoy cricket again!!

My First Performance on the Stage:

In grade 8, I participated in my first ever play as an actor. We were competing to be in the school play for our annual gathering event. I auditioned along with many other students, and I was selected as I was fit well into one of the characters; my voice was suited for that role.  A few of my best friends also got selected, which made me more excited.

We prepared well by rehearsing after school. Our teacher was good at teaching us basic acting skills for performing on stage. We did the look test for each artist, and then did a final rehearsal in costume. It was, overall, a good experience for everyone; plus, a bonus was all of the good tips from other actors and friends.

On the day of our gathering, I played the role of a father of a young girl. My costume was an Indian dhoti, jacket, Maharashtrian-style turban, and a big, thick mustache. I even colored my hair grey to look old enough.

The stage was all set, and the audience excitedly sat in our school auditorium. We started the play with great energy and enthusiasm. My daughter in the play was my friend Gopal, who was playing a double role: a boy and a girl. In the first half of the play, Gopal was wearing a girl's costume; a kind of long skirt (Indian ghagra) and a top. The play was going awesome, and the audience was enjoying the gripping story.

At one point, Gopal had to exit the stage and re-enter as a boy. He went backstage and began removing the ghagra, which was tied with a thick string (nada). At a certain point, he could not remove the knot as it was tied very tightly. Time was passing by quickly, and the audience was expectating the entrance of a new character. Our teacher, and the backstage team, saw Gopal struggling. They went running and began helping him out, but it was no use.

Meanwhile, on stage we were waiting for Gopal's grand entry, but Gopal could not be seen near the stage. So I glanced backstage and realized that the situation was really worrying. Uff!! And we were sweating!! So,  all the actors on the stage decided to add one quick scene to our play to continue the sequence and keep entertaining our audience. We began searching for Gopal in the audience and asking questions to the actors on stage. Have you seen Gopal? Have you seen Gopal?  We were counting the time by simultaneously looking at the clock and asking God to send Gopal on time; the audience was laughing about the’ slow motion’ performance of everyone on the stage.

Phew!! Backstage, after a lot of struggle, our teacher somehow managed to open the string knot, and Gopal entered the stage with an awesome boyish look, taking in compliments from the crowd. The play which was supposed to be a serious one turned into a comedy show!! The audience started laughing uncontrollably, which showed that they were enjoying the performance. We continued our play, and after sometime, somehow finished it.

It seemed that all our friends and teachers too enjoyed our performance, but I enjoyed it the most, being one of the main character of the play.

Now was the time to breathe deep, as it was the time for prize distribution. Remembering God, hands completely sweating, and heart beats running faster than ever, we unexpectedly were announced the first prize winners for our play. We were looking at each other with our mouths wide open!! It was an achievement for all. We laughed a lot (till our stomachs growled!!) after taking the prize.

Later, whenever we met in groups, we remembered that cherished moment.

Life is full of moments; good and bad. We remember the good ones and laugh at them. I want to go back on the stage and perform that play again with all my best friends!! I want to see that string again which made us laugh and gave us the do or die situation!!

I want to color all my wonderful black and white memories from my childhood!!