This tutorial will be about conversations, one of the most important elements in many movies. It might seem as simple as lining up the correct takes, but there’s a bit more to it than that. The audience will spot any slight timing mistakes, so you have to make sure everything is perfect. But what is “perfect” for a conversation?

Conversations in theory

The first thing to do when editing a conversation is to decide whether the conversation is real or unreal. “Real” conversations are typically more serious; they’re the conversations that are edited tightly so that the space between lines is for drama. This means that a “real” conversation should only leave gaps for the audience to feel an emotion. “Unreal” conversations are typically more comedic. An unreal conversation should leave gaps for the audience to process information. I like to think of them as “real” and “unreal” because the unreal conversation is something that’s much more common in storytelling than reality. An unreal conversation is usually for exposition or humour, which are things that are usually embedded in emotion when done by actual people.

What this all means is that, the vast majority of the time, dramatic dialogue moves faster than comedic dialogue or exposition. Because drama is understood mainly through emotions, it’s not something you need to slow down for; the audience will understand right away. Comedy and exposition are things that the audience needs to think about (in order to find the humour or to understand the information), so you need to give the dialogue more breathing room.

In many cases, it makes absolutely no difference whether you categorize a conversation as “real” or “unreal”. Just edit however you see fit, then watch it back and see if it sounds right. If the joke goes too fast for anybody to laugh at it, you’ll know that you need to slow it down. It has nothing to do with how “realistic” the conversation is: if it sounds right, it is right.

Conversations in practice

To edit a conversation properly, you need one video track and two audio tracks. This means that free editing software such as Movie Maker or iMovie cannot edit a conversation as well as prosumer-level software such as Pinnacle or Vegas. If you’re really interested in video editing, you need to invest in some decent software.

Start out your conversation by picking out the takes you want and placing them in order. Put the audio for each take onto one of the audio tracks aligned with the video track. Alternate the audio track for each clip, so the first audio clip goes on track 1, the second on track 2, the third on track 1 again, and so on.

Do some trimming so that the video clips are timed correctly. It doesn’t matter too much if you can’t decide whether your conversation is “unreal” or “real” at this point; you can just go back and fix things later if you need to.

To make a good conversation, you need to never cut the audio. The audio clips for the dialogue should always crossfade into one another. The best way to explain this is with a picture.

This is an unreal conversation, with large gaps between the lines. If it were real, the dialogue would be much closer together.

Notice how there are no cuts in the audio? Compare it to the video track, which has several cuts. This is a matter of basic logic more than anything: if you imagine your conversation as an actual event, it makes sense that you would abruptly change view to see the different people. But when would the audio ever cut? It wouldn’t. Audio needs to be smooth all the time or it sounds very amateurish.

Once you’ve mixed the audio smoothly and put your video in the right order, you’re ready to playback your edited project. Try to listen from an outsider’s perspective and determine if the conversation is moving at the right speed. With modern non-linear editing software, it’s incredibly easy to go back and make minor changes to the pacing. Continue to watch your conversation and edit until it’s perfect.

First a little background information on what this is. A bunch of Mexicans tripped on it to justify their religious bullshit and now kids on Youtube embarrass their families on it. Salvia is an extremely potent hallucinogen that, depending on the dosage, can range from mild disorientation to completely losing self awareness while in a dream-like stupor.

Understand its not a party drug. Any tool that has the potential to give you a microscope view into your unconsciousness is exactly that: a tool. You need a reason to want to take a drug such as this – to gain insight into personal issues, interpret the world differently — but if you’re expecting a cheap buzz, you will be sorely disappointed.

STEP 1: Find a source
Salvia is very easy to obtain compared to most psychoactive drugs. You can go to Grasscity and buy nine grams of leaves for $20 or just google around, but it usually stays in that price range. For a first time user, I highly suggest staying away from the extracts, starting with the less-potent leaves as you acquaint yourself with the drug’s effects. Or if you don’t live in a state that made the legality the equivalent to child molestation like me, go to your local gas station.

STEP 2: Find a trip sitter
This is the most important step. Everyone’s brain chemistry is different. Salvia is a k-opioid agonist, meaning, it switches on a certain class of receptors that are widely distributed in your brain. Because scientific research is limited I feel confident in saying it is very unpredictable and there is no telling how any single individual might react to it. Some people move around in a confused state while others don’t. You never know. Don’t come back to reality to witness your house on fire! Make sure a sober friend is nearby and that they have a basic understanding of the drug.

STEP 3: Turn the lights out!
To fully experience the dissociative effects, especially at lower doses (such as leaves), you will want to make sure there are no visual distractions. Make sure you can trip in a comfortable space such as a bed or a really nice chair. Don’t do Salvia while standing up or in a folding chair. You may also want to turn on some music as it sounds very awesome on Salvia.

STEP 4: How to hit it
Once you’ve planned your environment and your trip sitter, now is the time for you to smoke it. You will need a bong (water pipe) to get the most concentrated smoke. Salvia blunts generally don’t do much for people. The active ingredient, Salvinorum A, has to combust at a very high temperature – more so than weed or tobacco, so be sure to hold the flame over the leaves during the entire bong rip. Release the carb and try to hold it in as long as physically possible after the chamber is loaded with smoke.

STEP 5: Trip
After that you should be in outer space or something. But if not, always repeat! Most trips last about five minutes but from your point of view it can be perceived as far longer than it really is. If you start to freak out, try to remember that its a temporary state. You may start to forget who you are and may start seeing your life as an inanimate object or as another person — don’t worry, it’s fine!

STEP 6: Reflect on your trip
Did the experience have any applicable insight on your everyday life? Was there anything interesting you learned or was your brain going on auto-pilot at least enjoyable to you? Was it horrifying?!

And that’s a crash course on Salvia. Enjoy and with any drug that alters your mind, tread with caution.

WoW screenshot without the HUD

A lot of my friends have been asking me how I take such good screenshots on World of Warcraft. I know most of them probably won’t read this but I decided to write this for everyone on the internet that doesn’t know how to take a perfect screenshot in the game.

First off, there is no way to choose whether World of Warcraft is in day or night mode. World of Warcraft runs on a day and night cycle, keeping up with real life. This means that when you play at night, it’s night in the game. It’s the same with day, sunset, sunrise etc.

Second, there are no downloadable AddOns or tools that can help you take better screenshots. The HUD and everything else  can be removed for the screenshot by pressing ALT + Z at the same time; pressing it again will restore everything.

Third, arrange and line up your camera for the screenshot the way you want it. Remember, you can zoom right in to first person view to take a landscape shot without your character in the way.

Fourth, screenshots are taken by pressing Prt Scrn (Print Screen) and are then saved in a folder named screenshots within the games install folder. You will normally find the folder here – C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\Screenshots.

I hope that this helped you understand how you can take better screenshots in World of Warcraft. Have a great journey!