Category: How-To

Insta360 X2/X3/X4 Filming Tips

Timelapse Videos

You can create timelapse videos using the Insta360 ONE X2/3. The resulting timelapse will be a 360-degree video that you can edit the same way you can non-timelapse videos. Unfortunately, the interval setting between when a picture is taken to create the timelapse can only be set from your phone. The interval options are 0.5s, 1s, 2s, 4s, 10s, 30s, 1min, 2min. Note that standard video is 29.97s, which is like making a timelapse video where the interval between still images is 1/29.97s or 0.03s. According to this timelapse calculator, if you film for 8 hours straight (event duration) with a shooting interval of 0.5s, then the camera will take 57600 photos. If you want the resulting timelapse video to have a frame rate of 29.97 fps, then the resulting timelapse video duration will be 32m 2s long.

Here are the number of photos and video durations for an 8-hour event duration for the shooting intervals supported by the ONE X2.

IntervalNumber of PhotosVideo Duration
0.5s5760032m 2s
1s2880016m 1s
2s144008m
4s72004m
10s28801m 36s
30s96032s
1min48016s
2min2408s

I wouldn’t choose a timelapse interval greater than 10s since an 8-hour-long filming session would produce a video that’s longer than 1m 36s. If 1m 36s is too long, then in post-production, whether in Insta360 Studio or some other video editing program, you can speed up the timelapse to produce an even shorter video.

The battery that comes with the Insta360 ONE X2 is good for 80 minutes. You can buy additional batteries, but if you’ll be recording a long timelapse video, it would be annoying to have to keep changing the battery every 80 minutes. In this case, you’re better off recording with the USB charging cable plugged in. To prevent overheating, remove the battery. The camera can still operate and record while plugged in.

When taking a 360-degree timelapse video, make sure the following options are set

360-degree mode (not 150-degree mode)

Left to right: 360-degree mode, panorama mode, 150-degree wide-angle mode

Video timelapse mode

Slow Motion Videos

If you want to make a slow-motion video, e.g. a real estate tour video, then you definitely want to record at a high frame rate like 60 fps. Then, in your video editor, slow down the video and export it at 30 or 60 fps. If the original video is recorded at 30 fps, then the slowed-down video will be choppy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ywQnh2gmX0

Action Videos

When filming action scenes, it’s better to record at a high frame rate so that playback will be sharp, more fluid, and not blurry.

Low-Light / Night Scenes

When filming in low light like at night, you’ll get much better results if you manually adjust the exposure.

ISO

ISO is a camera setting that will brighten or darken a photo.

However, if you increase the ISO too high, you’ll see a lot of grain.

You should only raise your ISO when you are unable to brighten the photo via shutter speed or aperture instead (for example, if using a longer shutter speed would cause your subject to be blurry). The ISO 200 image on the left was brightened with a long shutter speed.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is responsible for two particular things:

  • changing the brightness of your photo and
  • creating dramatic effects by either freezing action or blurring motion.

Shutter speed is the length of time in seconds the camera shutter is open, exposing light onto the camera sensor. Essentially, it’s how much time your camera spends taking a photo. When the shutter is open, light passes through the lens and is collected on the camera sensor. The button that fires the camera is also called “shutter” or “shutter button,”

Fast / Short Shutter Speed > Freezes Action

A fast shutter speed is a small fraction of a second, like 1/250th of a second.

Slow / Long Shutter Speed > Motion Blur

A long shutter speed is 1 second or longer. A slow shutter speed is like 1/2 or 1/4 of a second.

Shutter Speed and Exposure (Brightness)

If you use a long shutter speed, your camera sensor gathers a lot of light, and the resulting photo will be quite bright. If you use a quick shutter speed, your camera sensor is only exposed to a small fraction of light, resulting in a darker photo. 

The following flowchart can help you tweak the ISO and shutter speed.

Left: Manual Exposure. Right: Auto Exposure

Learn more

Invisible Selfie Stick

Insta360 offers some selfie sticks that will become invisible in your videos. I have 2 sticks

  1. 2-in-1 invisible selfie stick with tripod (3.4′ long)
  2. Extended edition selfie stick (10′ long)

Following are how some videos look when using each stick.

3.4′-long selfie stick, front, face level
10′-long selfie stick extended to about 5′, front, face level
3.4′-long selfie stick, front, stomach level
3.4′-long selfie stick, 45-degree angle, face level
3.4′-long selfie stick, side, face level
3.4′-long selfie stick, side, face level
3.4′-long selfie stick, front, feet level
3.4′-long selfie stick, straight up
10′-long selfie stick, straight up
10′-long selfie stick, up, back
10′-long selfie stick, up, side

10′-long selfie stick, front spin, face level
10′-long selfie stick, low to high, facing down
10′-long selfie stick, low to high, facing up

Selfie Drone

For comparison, following are some videos taken with the Hover Air X1 selfie drone.

Bird’s Eye, no spin, 10 feet
Bird’s Eye, no spin, 10 feet, return
Bird’s Eye, no spin, 50 feet
Bird’s Eye, no spin, 50 feet, return
Bird’s Eye, fast spin, 50 feet
Bird’s Eye, fast spin, 50 feet, return
Bird’s Eye, slow spin, 50 feet
Bird’s Eye, slow spin, 50 feet, return
Dolly track
Dolly track
Follow
Hover with target tracking
Orbit, 5 feet
Orbit, 20′
Zoom out, down
Zoom in, down, return
Zoom out, flat
Zoom in, flat
Zoom out, up
Zoom in, up
Zoom out, up, far
Zoom in, up, far

Lens Care

The Insta360 X2/X3 camera has protruding lenses on two sides. As such, the lenses can easily get scratched, so extreme care must be taken to prevent that from happening. Also, before shooting, you should always clean the lens to remove any dirt or fingerprints. A dirty lens can easily result in a blurry shot. Following are comparisons of image quality when different lens conditions.

Brand New and Clean Lens

The image quality is relatively sharp.

Brand New Lens But Full of Fingerprints

The image is blurry, especially around the lights.

Scratched But Clean Lens

Despite being cleaned with a new cloth, the image is partially blurry due to the scratched part of the lens.

3rd-Person Pan

High-Up Shot

Freestyle

Hyperlapse

Rise-Up Reveal

Upward Tilt

X3/X4 Picture Quality

Here’s a comparison of the picture quality of the X3 and X4 after reframing a 360-degree video and exporting to 1080p and 4K at 20 Mbps, respectively. It’s clear that the X4 produces a brighter and sharper picture, even if the X3 picture is upscaled to 4K using Topaz Video AI.

X3 (1080p)

X4 (4K)

X3 (1080p)

X4 (4K)

X3 (1080p)

X4 (4K)

X3 (1080p upscaled to 4K using Topaz Video AI)

Various Action Camera Mounts & Accessories

Here’s a collection of mounts for action cameras like the Insta360 X3 that I’ve found useful. These accessories can mostly be used with other cameras as well.

Flat C Clamp

This particular clamp has a 2.36″ max width opening and many 1/4″ screws around it. It’s useful for clamping to a flat surface.

Example Use Cases

  • Clamp to a table
  • Clamp to railing

Buy on Amazon

Curved Clamp

This clamp is lightweight. Since it’s curved, it’s ideal for clamping to cylindrical objects like bike handlebars. You can connect it to a long selfie stick or a 1/4″ rod that accepts a 1/4″ screw.

Example Use Cases

  • Clamp to a bike handlebar with or without a short selfie stick or rod

Buy on Amazon (clamp, rod)

Adjustable-Angle Selfie Stick Clamp

This clamp is designed for fishing poles, but it can be used for selfie sticks because selfie sticks are like fishing poles. You can adjust the angle of the stick.

Example Use Cases

  • Secure to cruise ship railing and insert 10′ selfie stick to get drone-like footage.

Buy on Amazon

Flexible Rod

This flexible rod is 20″ long. One end has a female 1/4″ screw opening and the other has a male 1/4″ screw.

Example Use Cases

  • Wrap around a large or irregular shape like a tree branch, hand rail, or large cylindrical object.

Buy on Amazon

Short (6-8″) Selfie Stick

This short selfie stick is great because it’s small enough to completely fit in some pockets.

Example Use Cases

  • Sliding down waterslides
  • Playing in a swimming pool

Buy on Amazon

Alternative: Insta360 Mini 2-in-1 Tripod for X3 GO 3 ONE RS and ONE R

Medium (3.4′) Invisible Selfie Stick With Tripod and Invisible Quick Release Adapter

This selfie stick is invisible when used with the Insta360 X3 camera. To quickly attach and remove an Insta360 X3 camera, use the invisible quick release adapter designed specifically for the Insta360 X3.

Example Use Cases

  • Walking around
  • Placing it on the floor / ground using the tripod while you perform an activity, e.g. painting a room

When walking, I find it best to keep the camera at face level, unless you want to create some interesting perspectives like positioning the camera near your feet.

Buy on Amazon

Long (10′) Invisible Selfie Stick

This incredibly long selfie stick will make it seem like you’re photos and videos were taken using a drone.

Example Use Cases

  • Whenever you want to simulate taking photos and videos using a drone, e.g.
    • extending it our from the balcony of a cruise ship
    • walking along the beach to get bird’s eye views
    • holding it while being in the water at a beach
    • holding it against your shoulder with it extended behind you

Buy on Amazon

1/4″ camera screw

If you’re worried about dropping your selfie stick and losing it, you can attach a 1/4″ camera screw to the bottom of it and a wrist lanyard to the screw.

Buy on Amazon (1/4″ camera screw, lanyard)

Invisible Quick Release Adapter

To quickly attach and remove an Insta360 X3 camera, use the invisible quick release adapter designed specifically for the Insta360 X3.

Buy on Amazon

Tripod Stand 1/4” Mounting Screw

If you can’t mount the Insta360 camera to something, then you can stand it on the ground by attaching a tripod to a selfie stick.

Buy on Amazon

Forearm Mount

Having a selfie stick extended away from you allows you to get shots that look as if someone is filming you. You can also get more of yourself in the shot. In certain situations, however, you may not be able to hold the stick in your hand. That’s when having a forearm mount comes in handy. Since no one makes these, I had to engineer one myself using a forearm brace and an adjustable clamp.

Materials

The brace comes with a thin aluminum bar that is inserted in a pocket at the top of the brace. Using a utility knife, I had to make minor incisions to be able to insert the clamp into and underneath the aluminum bar.

At the front of the brace, I wasn’t able to slide the clamp underneath the bar, so I trimmed the bar to make it a bit narrower.

Like this.

This is the finished product.

The metal bar and clamp can cause discomfort on the top of your hand, especially when the selfie stick is extended and is shaking up and down. To address this, you can simply slide a dishwashing sponge above your hand as shown below to act as a cushion.

Example Use Cases

  • Any time you want to extend the selfie stick and you can’t mount it on something else and you need your hands free, e.g.
    • when you are driving a jet ski

Wrist Mount

If the forearm mount is unavailable or can’t be used, then you can use a wrist mount. This is not as good as the forearm mount because the distance from the camera to your face is just the length of your arm extended.

Example Use Cases

  • when ziplining
  • when you are driving a jet ski
  • sliding down water slides

Buy on Amazon

Chest Mount

This mount is great because it’s hands-free, but you can’t film yourself with it.

If you are afraid of the camera falling despite the strong magnet, you can loop an adjustable neck lanyard to the GoPro mount screw as follows.

Example Use Cases

  • when walking around and you don’t want to make it obvious that you are filming people and/or you want your hands free
  • when boarding an airplane and walking down the aisle

Buy on Amazon

Bicycle / Motorcycle Mount

This mount is very sturdy, but the handlebar clamp opening may be too big for some handlebars. In that situation, you can wrap some rubber around the handlebar, which will also protect it from damage. This mount includes the selfie stick.

Example Use Cases

  • when riding a bicycle or motorcycle

Buy on Amazon (handlebar mount, 2″-wide rubber strip)

Note: when mounting to a bike, I find it better to position the mount such that the camera is at face level.

Glass or Window Mount

This mount can stick to a glass very firmly. You can also rotate the mount in many directions.

Example Use Cases

  • mount to a car windshield or window
  • mount to a bathroom mirror

Buy on Amazon

Magnetic Mount + Rigid 1/4″ Rods

This mount has a small footprint and includes a very strong magnet. You can add one or more 1/4″ rods to it. I find this setup particularly useful when eating at a restaurant. The mount doesn’t take a lot of space and it positions the camera high enough that you can film everyone’s food and their faces.

This mount can also stick to any metal surface like the side of a refrigerator.

Example Use Cases

  • on a table at a restaurant
  • on any magnetic surface

Buy on Amazon (magnetic base, 1/4″ rods)

Straps

If you’re out and about and want to stand your selfie stick on the ground, you can easily do that with the 3.4′ stick with built-in tripod. But, if you try that with 10′-long selfie stick extended at max length, then there’s the risk of it falling and destroying your camera. In this case, one thing you can do is strap the stick against an object like a rail. You can also try to use a c-clamp to clamp onto something flat and then strap the selfie stick to the clamp.

There are many adjustable and removable straps you can use, including

MicroSD Card

According to the Insta360 ONE X2 manual, you must use a UHS-I Micro SD card with a V30 or above speed class and exFAT format. UHS-II and UHS-III Micro SD/TF cards are not compatible with ONE X2. You can find V30 cards on Amazon. Note that the U3 symbol in the image below doesn’t mean UHS-III but rather U3. According to Wikipedia, U3 has to do with software rather than speed.

The cards below have been tested to work well with ONE X2 and X3.

SD CardModel NumberCapacitySpeed Class
Sandisk Extreme V30 A1SDSQXVF-032G-GN6MA32GV30
Sandisk Extreme Pro V30 A1SDSQXCG-032G-GN6MA32GV30
Sandisk Extreme Pro V30 A1SDSQXCG-064G-GN6MA64GV30
Sandisk Extreme V30 A1SDSQXAF-128G-GN6MA128GV30
Sandisk Extreme V30 A2SDSQXAF-128G-GN6MA64GV30
Sandisk Extreme V30 A2SDSQXA1-256G-ZN6MA256GV30
Sandisk Extreme Pro V30 A2SDSQXCZ-1T00-ZN6MA1TBV30

The first character of the 3rd part of the model number may differ, e.g. “G” in GN6MA vs “Z” in ZN6MA. According to this forum, that just identifies a different manufacturer.

The last character of the 3rd part of the model number may differ, e.g. “A” in GN6MA vs “N” in GN6MN. “A” means it comes with an adapter and “N” means it doesn’t.

SanDisk MobileMate USB 3.0 microSD Card Reader

Transferring video files from the Insta360 ONE X2 to your computer can be really slow. To speed this up, use a USB 3 card reader. I use this one: SanDisk MobileMate USB 3.0 microSD Card Reader- SDDR-B531-GN6NN. It supports transfer speeds of up to 170 MB/s. With USB 3.0, move content up to 10x faster than USB 2.0 readers.

Extra Batteries + External Charger

The battery that comes with the Insta360 ONE X2 is good for 80 minutes. It may be a good idea to buy additional batteries just in case. I bought a pack of 2 batteries on Amazon. It comes with a charger and the batteries work.

Mount Adapter

For the adapters, this one is better because you can tighten it with the camera facing any direction you want.

Waterproof Pouches

When you’re swimming, having a waterproof pouch to keep your camera dry can give you peace of mind. Though the pouches pictured below are for phones, they fit the Insta360 X2/3 cameras as well.

Buy on Amazon

How to Customize a Hat with Appliques / Patches

While there are many services that let you buy a hat and customize it, you may not like the style, quality or fit of the hat. Also, you are limited in how you can customize it. In this post, I explain how I customized a hat I already own. Since I’m planning to go on a cruise, I wanted a hat that kinda looked like a captain’s hat. My preferred hat is a black cap that I get at a nearby mall.

I wanted to customize it with design elements from the captain hat shown below.

After much research, trial and error, I ended up with this:

Here’s how I made it.

Materials

  1. Scrambled Eggs, Embroidered, Iron on Patch (Metallic Gold)
  2. Gold Star Embroidered, Iron on Patch
  3. E6000 adhesive
  4. Gold buttons (similar to this)
  5. Sewing pins

Instructions

  1. Place the patches on the hat and secure using sewing pins.
  2. When you know where the patches should go, put sewing pins in hat at certain points along perimeter of patches to guide where the patches should go.
  3. Add glue to the back of the patches and place patches on hat.
  4. Insert sewing pins into hat through patches to secure patches in place. If necessary, clamp patches to hat using a clamp.
  5. Decide where to put the gold buttons.
  6. Drill hold in hat where gold buttons would go.
  7. Fasten gold buttons to hat via the holes you just created.

For the buttons, I actually took mine off of a cheap hat I had bought on Amazon. The buttons have 2 flat metal pins that can be folded to secure the buttons.

Editing Home Improvement Videos

There are many different ways you can edit home improvement videos. Here are some:

Make a Video From Photos

This is pretty simple to do. You can just add a bunch of photos to the video track of your video editor, animate each photo (many video editors can do this automatically), add some music to the music/audio track, and render the video. The result can be pretty good but it doesn’t really give a sense of the amount of effort or process involved. Here’s an example clip.

Regular 1x Speed Video

If you have a short video, leaving the speed at normal 1x speed might be okay. But, if your video is long, people will get bored very quickly. Since most home improvement projects take longer than 30 seconds, I don’t recommend this option, unless you are maybe adding a voiceover that explains what you are doing in the video.

Fast Speed (Timelapse) Video

Another option is to just timelapse the entire video. Some home improvement projects can take all day. Many people, including myself, will just leave a camera somewhere that will take many still photos at a set interval to create a timelapse video. You can also record an entire day’s worth of video, which I’ve also done using a WyzeCam mounted on a wall. Timelapsing an entire video is as easy as speeding up the video clip. The downside is the audio is also sped up and often doesn’t sound good so you usually mute the audio and optionally add some background music. Here’s an example.

Mixed-Speed Video

Another option is to timelapse (speed up) certain parts of the video and leave the other parts at regular 1x speed. This is definitely more work but I personally find this better than just speeding up the entire video. However, I find the best effect is when the regular speed segments are ones that have a high volume, e.g. when you’re using a tool that makes a lot of noise (drilling, jackhammering, cutting, etc). Here’s an example.

I normally use Corel VideoStudio to edit videos but for this purpose, I find Shotcut to be easier to use. Shotcut, which is free, shows the waveform very clearly, runs faster and hasn’t crashed on me yet. The UI takes some getting used to but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty simple to us. Here are the steps I follow in Shotcut to create this type of video:

  1. Open the original video in Shotcut
  2. Drag it from the player to the timeline
  3. Zoom in, if necessary, so that you can see the audio waveform
  4. Choose some or all segments where the waveform is high (high volume)
  5. Scrub the playhead until you find a segment where the waveform is high (high volume) and the segment is interesting to show at 1x speed
  6. Split the video at that playhead position.
  7. Move the playhead by where you want to end the segment. For 1x speed segments, I choose a duration of 1 second. You can advance the playhead by 1 second by going to “Player” > “Forward One Second”.
  8. Delete any segments you don’t want to keep (choose Ripple Delete to remove empty space as well)
  9. Click on a segment you want to speed up, click Properties, and change the speed. I choose 5x.
  10. Click the Export button, select “Timeline” in the From field, and click “Export File”.
I changed the speed of this segment to 5x.

Video Showing Only Selection of 1-second Segments

Another option is to create a video from a selection of 1-second segments. Some segments will probably have high volume, e.g. drilling, jackhammering, cutting, etc. , Others may not, e.g. lifting, cleaning, drawing lines, etc. Again, I find this much easier to do in Shotcut than in Corel VideoStudio. Here’s an example.

Here’s how I do it in Shotcut:

  1. Open the original video in Shotcut
  2. Drag it from the player to the timeline
  3. Zoom in, if necessary, so that you can see the audio waveform
  4. Scrub the playhead until you find an interesting segment
  5. Split the video at that position
  6. Move the playhead forward or backward by 1 second (“Player” > “Forward One Second” or “Backward One Second”.)
  7. Split the video again to create a one-second clip
  8. Repeat steps 4-7
  9. Delete all other segments (choose Ripple Delete to remove empty space as well)
  10. Click the Export button, select “Timeline” in the From field, and click “Export File”
I reduced this 3-minute long video to 3 seconds (each segment is 1-second long) where the volume was high.

Merging Clips

If you end up with a bunch of video clips that you want to merge and you don’t need to apply any transitions or effects, you can merge them almost instantly with LosslessCut.

Strong, Waterproof Glue: Liquid Nails Fuze-It Max VS Loctite PL Marine

I wanted to find a glue that was simple to use, not too expensive, was very strong, and would maintain its strength in wet conditions. There are many glue options to choose from. I ended up choosing two popular brands: Liquid Nails and Loctite. For each brand, I chose either the strongest option or the option that was designed for wet environments. I didn’t include epoxy in my test because I didn’t want to mix two parts together and apply the mixture using a stick. Below are the two options I chose.

I first glued a piece of 2×4 to a concrete landscape block.

After waiting 1.5 to 2 days to fully cure, I attached each piece of wood to a chain to suspend the wood / concrete block combo in the air.

After 2 days, both adhesives kept the wood attached to the concrete block. I then wanted to see if water would affect the bond. I submerged each test in water without having it touch the bottom of the bucket of water.

LeftL Fuze-it | Right: PL Marine

After 12 hours, the wood pieces were still connected to the concrete blocks. But, after 23 hours, the Liquid Nails Fuze-It MAX lost its strength and the wood piece became disconnected from the concrete block.

Left: Fuze-It MAX, Right: PL Marine

So, the winner is Loctite PL Marine, although if you are gluing something in a dry environment, Liquid Nails Fuze-It MAX is probably sufficient. Unsurprisingly, the Marine adhesive is stronger both in dry and wet environments, including while being completely submerged in water.

How To Fix Open / Close Door Error on Microwave

I have the KitchenAid 1.9 cu. ft. Over the Range Convection Microwave in Stainless Steel with Sensor Cooking Technology microwave (model # KMHC319ESS).

Recently, the microwave would keep giving an error saying I needed to “open / close door” no matter how many times I open and close the door. This prevented me from microwaving anything. Since this was an expensive microwave, I didn’t really want to buy a new one. Fortunately, fixing this error was easy. It turns out that there is a sensor along the inside front bottom edge that detects whether the door is closed or not. I prefer to clean using wet Clorox disinfectant wipes. I find that they lift dirt up easily. I’d then wipe again using a dry paper towel. After doing that, the open/close door error goes away and the microwave can start.

Door sensor along inside bottom edge of microwave
Door sensor along inside bottom edge of microwave door
Cleaning the door sensor
Cleaning the door sensor

Although my microwave is a KitchenAid, apparently this happens to other microwaves as well.

How to Fix a Frozen Samsung Ice Maker

Do a Google search and you’ll find that many people have problems with the ice maker in their Samsung refrigerator. Of all the things Samsung can make, it’s ridiculous that they can’t even make an ice maker that just works without freezing up every 3 months. I have the 28 cu. ft. Food Showcase 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator with FlexZone™ in Stainless Steel. I went with the counter-depth version. It’s smaller than the full-depth version but more expensive for some reason.

I have no problem with this fridge but as cool as it may look, the ice maker is a joke! I used up my extended warranty to have a “certified” technician come out 3 or 4 times to fix the ice maker (some of them are just clueless!). Anyway, in every situation, the ice maker stopped working because of ice buildup preventing the ice maker from working. One technician (a Samsung technician) said it was because I wasn’t using the original Samsung (overpriced) water filter. So, I put in an overpriced Samsung original water filter and, unsurprisingly, the ice maker still stopped working after a while – again, because of ice buildup. And, of course, I’m past the extended warranty so I have to fix it myself. If your stupid Samsung ice maker stops working because of ice buildup, here’s how you fix it (until it stops working again in 3-6 months).

Buy a steam cleaner

I bought this Bissel steam cleaner on Amazon. It’s supposed to be used for cleaning but it works well for melting ice that jams your stupid Samsung ice maker.

Melt the ice

Put some water in the steamer, wait till it’s hot, then stick the nozzle up the ice maker opening and pull the trigger. Super hot steam will fill up the ice maker box and begin to melt any ice in there.

After a while, try to pull out the ice box. If it still doesn’t come out, repeat until it does. Once it comes out, you’ll see some ice buildup like in the picture below.

Use the steamer to target the ice buildup until you can remove all the ice.

In the picture below, you can see that most of the ice is no longer stuck. Once you’ve removed all the ice, put the ice box back in and wait a day for new ice to be made.

And that’s how you temporarily fix your stupid Samsung ice maker.

Calculate Frequency of Unique Values in Google Sheets

I’m often finding myself needing to calculate the frequency of unique values in a spreadsheet. It turns out it’s a 2-step process. For example, if you have a column of data as shown below and you want to know how many times the numbers 1, 2, and 3 occur, you need to first add a column containing the unique values in column 1. Then, you can use the frequency function to calculate frequency.

1. Get Unique Values

In column 2, get the unique values in column one using the unique function:

=UNIQUE(A2:A7)

If you want, you can also sort the values as follows.

=SORT(UNIQUE(A2:A7))

2. Get Value Frequency

In column 3, get the value frequency using the frequency function. The data is in column 1 and the classes are in column 2.

FREQUENCY(data, classes)

=FREQUENCY(A2:A7, B2:B4)

Google Sheets seems to want to add an extra row with the value 0. I just ignore that.

How to Download Subtitles in Netflix

Note: the tutorial below works using Google Chrome and English subtitles where a user’s language setting in Netflix is set to English. It does not work for other languages like Arabic and Chinese. To download subtitles in those languages, you may need to change your language setting in Netflix.

1. Start playing a Netflix video

This tutorial uses Google Chrome.

2. Open Chrome Inspector

Click CTRL+SHIFT+I to open the Google Chrome Inspector. Click the Network tab. Make sure “All” is selected. Enter “?o=” in the filter field. Make the video window smaller than full screen so you can see both the video window and the Inspector window side by side.

3. Find subtitle file

In the Inspector, sort the files by “Name”. If subtitles are turned on, you will see a filename that begins with “?o=”.

If you don’t see the file, then in the video, click to see the subtitle options and then click on a subtitle, e.g. “English”. You should then see the subtitle file appear in the list of files in the Inspector.

4. Download subtitle file

In the Inspector, right-click on the file and click “Open in a new tab” to download the file. Rename the file to something like english-subtitles.xml.

5. Convert subtitles to SRT format

The XML format of the subtitles may not be user-friendly. You can convert it to SRT format by going to https://gotranscript.com/subtitle-converter where you can convert the format for free.

If you have multiple subtitles, e.g. in different languages, you can merge them using this online tool.

If you’d like to edit subtitles, you can try this free online editor. Some of the nice features are

  • clean user-friendly interface
  • can load a video from a YouTube URL
  • can change video playback speed
  • when you click on a subtitle, the video automatically jumps to the timestamp of that subtitle
  • great for learning a language

SketchUp Tools For Drawing in 3D

The free version of SketchUp offers many tools for drawing in 3D.

Following is a list of them and how to use them.

Select Tool

Select items and objects in the model.

Tool Operation

  1. Click on an item or object.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Ctrl = Add an item to the selection set.
  • Hold Shift = Add and/or subtract an item to/from the selection set.
  • Hold Shift+Ctrl = Subtract an item from a selection set.

Tips

  • Double-click a face to select the face and all of its edges.
  • Double-click an edge to select the edge and the faces that share it.
  • Triple-click an edge or face to select all connected items.
  • Double-click an object to edit it.
  • Ctrl+A = Select all visible items in the model.
  • Ctrl+T = Deselect all selected items in the model.

Lasso Tool

Make precise selections.

Tool Operation

  1. Click and drag to draw selection boundary.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Ctrl = Add an item to the selection set.
  • Hold Shift = Add and/or subtract an item to/from the selection set.
  • Hold Shift+Ctrl = Subtract an item from a selection set.

Tips

  • Drag to the right to create a window selection that will capture items entirely within the selection boundary.
  • Drag to the left to create a crossing selection that will capture anything the selection boundary touches.
  • Make single-click selections just like the Select tool.

Eraser Tool

Erase entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click on entity to erase. Alternatively, hold down mouse button drag over entities. All entities are erased when mouse button is released.

Modifier Keys

  • Ctrl = Toggle soften and smooth edges.
  • Alt = Toggle unsmooth edges and unhide edges and objects.
  • Shift = Toggle hide edges and objects.
  • Ctrl + Shift = Toggle deselect edges and objects selected by the eraser tool.

Paint Bucket Tool

Assign colors and materials to items and objects.

Tool Operation

  1. (Optional) Preselect the items or objects that you want to paint.
  2. Select a materials library using drop down list in Materials Browser.
  3. Select a material from materials library.
  4. Click on faces to paint.

Modifier Keys

  • Alt = Sample material for painting.
  • Shift = Toggle paint all faces with matching materials.
  • Ctrl = Toggle paint all connected faces with matching materials.
  • Shift + Ctrl = Toggle paint all faces on the same object with matching materials.

Line Tool

Draw edges or line entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set the first point.
  2. Move cursor.
  3. Click to set the second point (creating an edge).
  4. (Optional) Move cursor.
  5. (Optional) Click to set a third point.
  6. (Optional) Repeat step 4-5 to create additional connected edges.

Modifier Keys

  • Alt = Cycle through linear inference options (All On; All Off; Parallel/Perpendicular Only).
  • Hold Shift = Lock Line tool to the current direction inference.
  • Arrow keys = Lock Line tool to specific inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • Once you’ve drawn a closed loop of at least 3 coplanar edges, a face will fill in automatically.

Freehand Tool

Create hand-drawn curve entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click and drag to draw a freehand curve.

Modifier Keys

  • Ctrl = Decrease the segments of the last drawn freehand curve.
  • Alt = Increase the segments of the last drawn freehand curve.
  • Before an operation, use arrow keys to lock the drawing plane of a curve (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Segments may only be modified immediately after creating a curve.

Arc Tool

Draw Arc entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set arc’s center. Optionally, click and drag first point to set drawing plane.
  2. Move cursor to define first arc point or enter radius.
  3. Click to set first arc point.
  4. Move cursor around the protractor guide or enter angle.
  5. Click to set second arc point.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Shift = Lock current inference direction.
  • Arrow keys (before 1st click) = Lock protractor rotation axis direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel).
  • Arrow keys (after 1st click) = Lock drawing direction to specific inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • Click Window > Model Info > Units > Angle Units to change snapping angle.
  • Ctrl '+' or Ctrl '-'= Change the number of segments.

2-Point Arc Tool

Draw 2-Point Arc entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set start point of arc.
  2. Click at ending point of arc or enter value.
  3. Click to set bulge distance or enter value to finish arc.

Tool Operation (Tangent Inference locked)

  1. Click to set start point of arc at an existing edge or vertex.
  2. Click an end point for arc, or enter value.

Modifier Keys

  • Alt = Lock tangent arc drawing.
  • Hold Shift = Lock current inference direction.
  • Arrow keys = Lock drawing direction to specific inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • Ctrl '+' or Ctrl '-'= Change the number of segments.
  • When multiple edges intersect, define tangency by hovering over one of the edges before starting the arc.

3-Point Arc Tool

Draw 3-Point Arc entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set start point of arc.
  2. Click to set second point. The arc will always go through this point.
  3. Click to finish the arc, or enter an angle to define arc’s section of a circle.

Tool Operation (Tangent Inference locked)

  1. Click to set start point of arc at an existing edge or vertex.
  2. Click an end point for arc, or enter value.

Modifier Keys

  • Alt = Lock tangent arc drawing.
  • Hold Shift = Lock current inference direction.
  • Arrow keys = Lock drawing direction to specific inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • Ctrl '+' or Ctrl '-'= Change the number of segments.
  • When multiple edges intersect, define tangency by hovering over one of the edges before starting the arc.

Pie Tool

Draw Pie entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set pie’s center. Optionally, click and drag first point to set drawing plane.
  2. Move cursor to define first arc point or enter radius.
  3. Click to set first arc point.
  4. Move cursor around the protractor guide or enter angle.
  5. Click to set second arc point.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Shift = Lock current inference direction.
  • Arrow keys (before 1st click) = Lock protractor rotation axis direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel).
  • Arrow keys (after 1st click) = Lock drawing direction to specific inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • Click Window > Model Info > Units > Angle Units to change snapping angle.
  • Ctrl '+' or Ctrl '-'= Change the number of segments.

Rectangle Tool

Draw rectangular face entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set first corner.
  2. Move cursor diagonally.
  3. Click to set second corner.

Modifier Keys

  • Ctrl = Toggle drawing from center.
  • Hold Shift = Lock Rectangle to current drawing plane inference.
  • Arrow keys = Toggle lock drawing plane inference (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • When drawing rectangles, you can specify length & width by separating the measurements with a comma. For example: to draw a two foot by four foot rectangle, you can enter 2', 4' into the measurement box. The order of the measurements matches the order of the axes (R, G, B). For example: Red, then Green; Red, then Blue; or Green, then Blue.

Rotated Rectangle Tool

Draw rectangular face entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set first corner. Optionally, click and drag first point to set drawing plane.
  2. Move your cursor around the protractor to set the direction of the first edge.
  3. Click to set second corner.
  4. Move your cursor to set the length and angle of the second edge.
  5. Click to set third and final corner.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Shift = Lock current inference direction.
  • Alt (after 1st click) = Lock drawing plane for first edge.
  • Alt (on a locked plane, after first click) = Set protractor baseline.
  • Alt (after 2nd click) = Set protractor baseline.
  • Arrow keys (before 1st click) = Lock protractor rotation axis direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel).
  • Arrow keys (after 1st click) = Lock drawing direction to specific inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.

Circle Tool

Draw Circle entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set center point.
  2. Move cursor away from center point to define radius.
  3. Click to finish circle.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Shift = Lock current inference direction.
  • Arrow keys (before 1st click) = Lock surface normal (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel).
  • Arrow keys (after 1st click) = Lock drawing direction to specific inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • Ctrl '+' or Ctrl '-'= Change the number of segments.

Polygon Tool

Draw Polygon entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set center point.
  2. Move cursor away from center point to define radius.
  3. Click to finish polygon.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Shift = Lock current inference direction.
  • Ctrl = Toggle between inscribed and circumscribed radii of polygon.
  • Arrow keys (before 1st click) = Lock surface normal (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel).
  • Arrow keys (after 1st click) = Lock drawing direction to specific inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • Ctrl '+' or Ctrl '-'= Change the number of segments.

3D Text Tool

Push/Pull Tool

Push and pull face entities to add or subtract volume from your 3D models.

Tool Operation

  1. (Optional) Preselect the face that you want to push/pull.
  2. Click on a face to start push/pulling.
  3. Move cursor to push or pull face.
  4. Click to set face or enter distance.

Modifier Keys

  • Ctrl = Toggle create new starting face.
  • Alt = Toggle Stretch mode.

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation and clear selection.
  • When a face is pre-selected, you can click anywhere in the model to begin push/pulling it, and then click anywhere to set it down.
  • Double-click to repeat a Push/Pull distance, in the same direction.

Follow Me Tool

Extrude a face along a path.

Tool Operation (Nothing Pre-selected)

  1. Click the face of the profile that you want to extrude.
  2. Move cursor along the edge or edges that you want the profile to follow.
  3. Click to set the extrusion.

Tool Operation (Preselect Path)

  1. Use the Select tool to pre-select a continuous set of edges to define the path.
  2. (Alternatively) Pre-select a face to define the perimeter of the face as the path.
  3. Activate the Follow Me tool.
  4. Click the face of the profile that you want to extrude.

Modifier Keys

  • Alt = Use perimeter of face as the path.

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.

Offset Tool

Create copies of lines at a uniform distance from originals.

Tool Operation

  1. Click on a face.
  2. Move cursor.
  3. Click to finish offset operation.

Modifier Keys

  • Alt = Toggle allow/trim overlap.

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.

Outer Shell Tool

Combine all selected solid objects into a single solid object and remove interior items.

Tool Operation

  1. Select first solid object.
  2. Select second solid object.
  3. Select next solid object or press Esc to complete.

Move Tool

Move or copy entities, and/or rotate objects.

Tool Operation

  1. Click on an entity or object to pick it up.
  2. Move cursor to move entity or object to a new location.
  3. Click to set it down or enter a distance.

Modifier Keys

  • Ctrl = Cycle Move/Copy/Stamp.
  • Alt = Toggle Autofold mode (useful for overriding Move tool constraints); when hovered over an object, use Alt to cycle through grip types.
  • Shift = Lock Move to the current inference direction.
  • Arrow keys = Toggle lock inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • When items are pre-selected, you can click anywhere in the model to begin moving them, and then click anywhere to set them down. This is an effective way to move things precisely and/or align things to other things.
  • Click the red crosshairs that appear on the bounding box of an object to rotate that object.
  • After moving a copy, you can type a number followed by the X key and then press Enter to create an array of copies.

Rotate Tool

Rotate, stretch, distort, or copy items or objects along a rounded path.

Tool Operation

  1. (Optional) Preselect the items or objects you want to rotate.
  2. Click on an item or object to both make a selection and set the center point of rotation.
  3. Move cursor to indicate start point of rotation.
  4. Click to set starting point of rotation.
  5. Move cursor to indicate end point of rotation.
  6. Click to complete rotation, or enter angle in degrees.

Modifier Keys

  • Ctrl = Toggle rotate a copy.
  • Before first click, hold Shift to lock protractor inference.
  • Before first click, use arrow keys to toggle the protractor inference lock direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel).
  • After first click, use arrow keys to toggle rotation inference lock direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • During Step #2 of the tool operation steps above, you can click-drag the protractor along an edge or axis to set an axis of rotation.
  • After rotating a copy, you can type a number followed by the letter X and then press Enter to create a rotated array of copies.
  • When inputting rotation values into the Measurements box, you can enter either an angle of rotation, in degrees (for example 45 Enter),or a slope expressed as a rise:run architectural slope notation (for example 4:12 Enter).

Scale Tool

Resize or stretch items and objects.

Tool Operation

  1. (Optional) Preselect the items or objects you want to scale.
  2. Click on a face or object.
  3. Click on a Scale grip.
  4. Move cursor to resize or stretch item or object.
  5. Click to finish scaling item or object.

Modifier Keys

  • Ctrl = Toggle scale about center.
  • Shift = Toggle uniform scale.

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • Click a corner grip for 3-way scale. Default = Uniform. Pressing Shift = Non-uniform.
  • Click a midline grip for 2-way scale. Default = Non-uniform. Pressing Shift = Uniform.
  • Click a center grip for 1-way scale. Default = Non-uniform. Pressing Shift = Uniform.
  • When scaling an item or object you have the option to enter either a scale factor (for example 2.5 Enter will make the things you’re scaling 250%, or two and a half times bigger), or you can simply input the size that you want the thing you’re scaling to be (for example, if scaling up along the blue axis direction, 6' Enter will make the selection six feet tall).

Tape Measure Tool

Measure distances, create guide lines, or scale a model.

Tool Operation

  1. Click at starting point of measurement.
  2. Move cursor.
  3. Click at ending point of measurement.

Modifier Keys

  • Ctrl = Toggle create guide lines.
  • Hold Shift = Lock Tape Measure to current inference direction.
  • Arrow keys = Lock Tape Measure to specific inference direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • After measuring from point to point, you can input a distance to scale/resize the model.
  • When in Create Guide mode, begin on an edge to create a guide of infinite length; begin on a point to create a guide of finite length.

Dimension Tool

Place Dimension entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click at starting point of dimension.
  2. Move cursor.
  3. Click at ending point of dimension.
  4. Move cursor to pull out the dimension string.
  5. Click to set the dimension string.

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.

Text Tool

Create Text entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Click on an entity to indicate ending point of leader line (location where leader will point).
  2. Move cursor to position text.
  3. Click to place text.
  4. (Optional) Click in text box.
  5. (Optional) Enter text in text box.
  6. Click outside text box to complete operation.

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.

Section Plane Tool

Create section cuts through your model or objects.

Tool Operation

  1. Click on a face to create a section plane that is aligned to that face.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Shift (before 1st click) = Lock section plane to current orientation.
  • Arrow keys = Toggle lock section plane orientation (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel).

Tips

  • It’s possible to activate multiple section planes at the same time, as long as the section planes are in different contexts. For example, you can activate one section plane through the model, and then activate another section plane through a group or component object and have both planes active at the same time.

Protractor Tool

Measure angles and create angled guide line entities.

Tool Operation

  1. Place protractor’s center at vertex of angle.
  2. Click to set vertex. (Alternatively: click and drag first point to set rotation plane.)
  3. Move cursor in circle until touching start of angle.
  4. Click to set start of angle.
  5. Move cursor in circle until touching end of angle.
  6. Click to measure angle.

Modifier Keys

  • Ctrl = Toggle create guide lines.
  • Before first click, hold Shift to lock protractor inference.
  • Before first click, use arrow keys to toggle the protractor inference lock direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel).
  • After first click, use arrow keys to toggle rotation inference lock direction (→ = Red, ← = Green, ↑ = Blue, ↓ = Parallel/Perpendicular).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • When inputting rotation values into the Measurements box, you can enter either an angle of rotation, in degrees (for example 45 Enter ), or a slope expressed as a rise:run architectural slope notation (for example 4:12 Enter).

Axes Tool

Move or reorient drawing axes.

Tool Operation

  1. Click to set axis origin.
  2. Move cursor to locate direction for the red axis.
  3. Click to set the red axis.
  4. Move cursor to locate direction for the green axis.
  5. Click to set the green axis.

Modifier Keys

  • Alt = Alternate axis orientation (after clicking to set the origin).

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.

Tag Tool

Apply tags to objects.

Tool Operation

  1. Select a single tag in the Tags panel.
  2. Click on an item or object to assign the selected tag.

Modifier Keys

  • Alt = Sample the assigned tag from an object or item.
  • Ctrl = Apply a tag to all instances of a component.
  • Shift = Replace the current tag of all items in a given context with the selected tag.

Tips

  • Before tagging edges and faces, consider creating groups or components, and then tag the group or component instead.
  • Use ‘Select > All with Tag’ in the right-click context menu to select all items in a given context that share the same tag.
  • Color by Tag can be a useful way to identify which tags have been assigned to which items.

Walk Tool

Walk through (tour) a model.

Tool Operation

  1. Click and drag the cursor: Up = Walk forward; Down = Walk backward; Left = Turn left; Right = Turn right.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Shift = Float up instead of forward, or down instead of backward.
  • Hold Ctrl = Run instead of walk.
  • Hold Alt = Walk through things.

Tips

  • Esc = Cancel operation.
  • The further you drag the cursor away from the start point (indicated by crosshairs), the faster you’ll walk.

Position Camera Tool

Position camera at a specific eye height.

Tool Operation

  1. Click anywhere in the model to place the camera. The camera will be positioned above the point where you click, at the eye height distance specified in the measurements box.
  2. (Optional) Click and drag from one point in the model to another point in the model to create a target camera. The point you drag from will be the exact location where the camera will be positioned, the point you drag to will establish the camera target.

Look Around Tool

Pivot camera from a stationary point.

Tool Operation

  1. Click and drag the cursor to pivot the camera (i.e. look around in the model).

Tips

  • Esc = Enable previously selected tool.

Orbit Tool

Orbit camera around model.

Tool Operation

  1. Click and drag cursor within the drawing area to orbit the camera.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Shift = Pan tool.
  • Hold Ctrl = Suspend gravity (do not try to keep vertical edges up and down).

Tips

  • Esc = Enable previously selected tool.

Pan Tool

Move camera vertically or horizontally.

Tool Operation

  1. Click and drag cursor within the drawing area to pan the camera.

Tips

  • Esc = Enable previously selected tool.

Zoom Tool

Move camera in or out.

Tool Operation

  1. Click and drag cursor within the drawing area to zoom the camera.

Modifier Keys

  • Hold Shift = Change field of view degrees.

Tips

  • Esc = Enable previously selected tool.

Zoom Window Tool

Zoom in to a specific area of the model.

Tool Operation

  1. Click and drag the cursor across the items in the model that you want to zoom into.

Tips

  • Esc = Enable previously selected tool.

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