This has been another monster chapter, but there was a lot of ground to cover.

It’s your job to make the edit look good, as it’s not always possible to get everything right on set. If the cinematographer is a farmer who provides the ingredients, you’re the chef who assembles them into a meal. Video properties are how you cut and present those ingredients, showing only the best parts, and turning imperfect shots into perfect ones. Video effects are your salt, pepper, and spices, helping each shot to shine, while animation… actually, the metaphor breaks down a little here.

Animation can let you add life where the shots couldn’t, and it injects not just movement but also interest. Object Tracking lets you add changes to moving objects and can open up whole new workflows around advanced color correction and isolated effects. It’s fancy and can create compelling effects.

To return to the metaphor: get cooking, and make the best...