Our friends over at Videomaker magazine are generously sharing their expertise and articles here in the Creator's Corner. It's a good thing, too: Videomaker.com teaches every aspect of video production, no matter your skill level. You will find hundreds of articles and videos about audio, video and lighting, tools and techniques, video editing and special effects, how to find financing and distribution, and much more. Their first guest post is all about "tips on time manipulation" -- in other words, techniques on keeping your video moving at a good pace.

The problem with movies, and perhaps, also, the greatest thing about them, is you just can't show everything that happens to your character. It would take too long, and be extremely boring. So how does one go about editing out the unnecessary content? By manipulating time to your liking.

One way to portray a passage of time without taking a lot of time to show it is with the use of cross-dissolves. A commonly used application of this technique is the long walk on a deserted road. This is usually a wide shot of the character, way off in the distance, walking towards the camera. As an editor, you could allow this scene to play in its entirety, with the character taking the 10 minutes to actually walk to the camera. However, since this would be agonizingly boring to watch, it's a perfect time to add some cross dissolves.

Start by establishing the scene and allow the character to walk for about five seconds. Using a cross-dissolve transition, cut to a part of the footage where the character is closer to the camera, maybe half the distance or so. Again, allow the character to walk for about five seconds. Use another cross-dissolve and cut to a point where the character has reached the camera, but continues walking. This will give the viewer the impression that your character just walked the whole stretch of road, without actually having to view the whole journey.

There are many ways to you can use this technique, as well as other time manipulation techniques, such as a montage, time-lapse, speeding up or slowing down your footage. So, be creative in your editing, and remember, as an editor, time is always on your side.

For more ideas on how to manipulate time in your video, check out Timeline: Time Control at Videomaker.com.

Earlier today, we announced a major initiative with the Guggenheim called YouTube Play: A Biennial of Creative Video. Basically, we're looking for animation, motion graphics, narrative, non-narrative, documentary work, music video or even entirely new art forms. The point is to garner some of the finest video-based creative work from across the globe and then to showcase it in a first-of-a-kind exhibit at Guggenheim museums in New York, Bilbao, Venice and Berlin later this year. There's lots more detail on this competition in the main YouTube blog.

And if you've seen the cool call-out video...



...there's also a neat behind-the-scenes video about how they achieved the special effects. It's worth checking out!

Welcome to "How'd They Do That?" a new series where we ask accomplished video-makers to reveal the secrets, techniques, inspiration and fun facts behind their videos.

Our first subject is "Metal Heart," a monster truck romp that's still an undiscovered gem. We caught up with the video's creator, Keith Loutit, while he was on location in Italy shooting an ad campaign and asked him just how he created such cool effects.

Who are you?
I am a photographer and film-maker based in Sydney, Australia. I initially developed the tilt-shift / timelapse technique to present Sydney in a new way, and help people to see their surroundings as if for the first time, through the eyes of a child. In the short term, I am releasing these films in a music video format, but I plan to consolidate the highlights into a single short film to conclude the project.

What gave you the idea to make "Metal Heart"?
"Metal Heart" was a break from my Sydney project and was a proof of concept for me to see what was possible with the technique and shoot a subject that is perfectly suited to the style. "Metal Heart" was the first time I had attempted to shoot a live event in this style, and it was also the first time I'd attempted to capture fast moving subjects using timelapse.

How many hours did it take you?
The film was shot during a three-hour monster truck event in Brisbane, Australia, and comprised around 20,000 still images which were later converted to footage that could be edited.

What special techniques did you use?
The two techniques that are combined in this film are selective focus, which creates the illusion of miniaturization by simulating the shallow depth of field that is common when viewing / photographing small things, and timelapse, which allows me to speed up action to simulate the movement of toys animated via stop motion (claymation).

Tell us a fact about this video that no one would know by looking at it.
That it's real :D.

For more info about Keith, visit http://keithloutit.com/news.