Recent Video Editing Articles

Learn How to Read and Correct Color in Adobe Premiere Pro

One of the basic skills of video post-production is color correction. While Adobe Premiere Pro is full of tools to help you both read and correct the color in your work, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to tackle them all at first. This great video will walk through the basics to get you off and running.

Improve Your Videos With Better Transitions

While working on putting together great video work, you will come across breaks in scenes where they need to come back together. In most cases, a transition effect is used to merge the scenes together instead of having one stop completely and the next one begin. A great transition can improve your video, but they can also be used incorrectly and ruin your film.

How to Properly Edit B-Roll Footage for Your Video Work

If you're just starting out in video work, getting a good grip on editing b-roll can do a ton to make your output more interesting and create a stronger narrative. Here's how to cut and edit it in along with your main footage.

Five Creative Habits Every Filmmaker Should Adopt

It’s common knowledge that to master a craft you have to practice it every day. As Twyla Tharp says in her classic book The Creative Habit, “I’ve learned that being creative is a full-time job with its own daily patterns… The routine is as much a part of the creative process as the lightning bolt of inspiration, maybe more.” But what does that mean for filmmakers whose craft is so macroscopic? A film takes years. It includes writing, casting, financing, producing, editing. So how, exactly, do you practice filmmaking?

Artlist Releases Full Version of Website - Music for Commercial Licensing

Last year I told you all about a new commercial music site that was just starting up in beta version. As with all beta sites, there were a few things that customers wanted changed. Artlist.io listened, and has completely rebuilt the site from our requests to release the full version. Check out all of the great new features this subscription based music website has to offer!

How to Use Look Up Tables to Edit Photos

Look Up Tables (LUTs) are generally used to changes certain colors and their ranges in video using Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or any professional video editing software. We often edit our photos with actions and presets in Lightroom or Photoshop, but it is possible to edit these photos using LUTs too. This video by Peter McKinnon shows how to do just that. The next time you like a certain look of your videos because of a LUT you applied to it, know that you can use it on a still image too.

Five Simple Tips For Fast-Cut Video Editing

A lot of photographers have embraced adding video to their business offerings. With the rise of video-capable DSLRs, shooting video as a photographer comes naturally. Editing video, however, does not always make for an easy skill transition.

Learn Adobe Premiere's Basics with Famous YouTuber Ben Brown

With the recent addition of albums to Instagram, photographers have a fantastic opportunity to add videos such as behind the scenes, short vlogs, or even short clips along with their images. However, if you are like me, cinematography is kind of a new world. While setting up the camera to film isn’t incredibly complicated, editing the content afterward is like learning Photoshop all over again: a nightmare! Thanks to YouTube and amazing people like Ben Brown, getting a grasp of Adobe Premiere’s basics isn’t too difficult.

A Simplified Round-Trip Workflow for Davinci Resolve and Your NLE Program

In the world of film and commercial video work, there are so many working components that need to come together in order to have a successful production. So when it comes to bringing all those components together, you want it to be as smooth and simple as possible to minimize stress and streamline efficiency so that production does not fall behind schedule. One of those components that is insanely critical for a finished product is the coloring — not an area you want to skip on.

Win $25,000 by Cutting Together a Music Video for 'Make the Cut'

Want to win $25,000 by showing off your video editing skills? Imagine Dragons has teamed up with Adobe by offering fans full access to uncut footage from the lead single, "Believer," from their upcoming third album. Video editors can download the footage and create their own version of the video for a chance to win numerous prizes.

Tips for Shooting Black Light Video

It so happens that ultraviolet light bulbs (or black lights) weren't discontinued in the 90s. In fact there are plenty of photographers out there who are shooting some incredible stuff under black lights. But shooting video in this guise brings its own set of unique challenges. Here are some tips to create video in this hedonistic and fluorescent style.

Five Ways to Edit Video More Quickly in Adobe Premiere

Some view editing as the place where the magic happens, while others see it as a necessary evil before they can get back out to shoot some more. Either way, we'd all love to be more efficient at it. These five tips will help you speed up your workflow in Adobe Premiere.

360-Degree Video Finally Comes to Vimeo

With the prices of 360-degree cameras dropping every day, and more people embracing the medium, it was only a matter of time before more video streaming services joined the 360 party. Showing up fashionably late is Vimeo. The company announced support for 360-degree video on its blog yesterday.

Are PCs Cool Again?

The video showcases and discusses the latest desktop computers and what features you can get with regards to screens and processor capabilities in the category. I've used a laptop for most of my photography and videography career. The idea of not being able to take the machine with me when I need to go has been my reason for not getting a desktop machine, and the work I do requires me to get up and go when a job arises.

Musicbed Film Initiative Is Back with Over $70,000 to Fund Your Untold Stories

All films start with a small seed. An idea. It’s something we as filmmakers all have in common — we want to turn a thought into something tangible, a place where we can meet someone and share a thought. These ideas change with the season, but there’s always something there. It’s what makes us filmmakers.

A Simple Method for Using Instagram Stories in Landscape Mode

Ever wondered how to create Instagram Stories in any editor? Bobby Burns (a videographer and occasional photographer) from Wedding Cinema University, has created an online tutorial to assist industry amateurs and professionals with this very problem.

How to Create Text Message Bubbles in After Effects

Texting is more ubiquitous than ever, having become a central part of our culture. This useful tutorial shows how to create convincing text chat boxes to overlay on your video work.

Five Filmmaking Tricks for More Efficient and Effective Videos

Whether you're working on limited time, limited budget, or you just want to expand your arsenal of filmmaking tricks, these five quick tips will give you some great workarounds and techniques for achieving better results more efficiently.

Five Free Ways to Make Better Videos

Video is a beast of an undertaking. Every element: pacing, storytelling, lighting, etc. must be working in top form to achieve a truly successful result. Here are five quick and free ways to improve your video work.

Want to Shoot Video? Check Out the Best Camera Settings to Make a Cinematic Video

So you're interested in filming video with your DSLR. I don't blame you, I 100 percent prefer to shoot video over stills. I came across this super creative YouTuber, and in nine minutes, not only will you learn about the basics of shooting video, but you'll also save money by not spending it at an art school like I did. You're welcome.

YouTube Star Casey Neistat Gets a Daily Show at CNN

Casey Neistat built a name for himself with his documentaries and unique editing style long before his daily vlog started. When CNN purchased his team for $25 million, he had over 6 million subscribers on YouTube, but it wasn't clear what he'd do for CNN. But the latest news is that he will be getting his own daily show at CNN which will run at 5 p.m. and is planned to launch in March.

How an Outsider Delivered the Intimate Cinematography of Academy Award-Winning Film 'Moonlight' and the Photographs That Influenced Him

On Sunday night, "Moonlight," Director Barry Jenkins' beautiful film about the coming-of-age of a young man dealing with issues of race and poverty, while simultaneously discovering his own relationship to sexuality, won the ultimate prize, the Best Picture trophy at the Academy Awards. LensCulture just posted a lengthy interview with the film's talented cinematographer, James Laxton. Here is a bit of what he had to say.

Fstoppers Review of Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Denoiser III

We've all been there. You were hired for a run-and-gun shoot only to find the location has terrible lighting. Or your shoot is running later into the evening and the sun is going down fast, without any lighting to plug in. The ISO gets cranked up, and your exposure is saved at the expense of adding unwanted noise to your image. This is where noise reduction software becomes useful, and a new product from Red Giant has changed the way it approaches this task with Denoiser III.

Great VFX: How You'll Never Notice It

We all know that visual effects have come a long way in recent years, but it’s always worth remembering that the best of the lot are the kind you don’t notice. This video – a wonderful tribute to VFX – is a smart way of showing off exactly what can be done.

'Planet Earth II' Is BBC's Most Cinematic Series Yet, Here's How

How did technology make "Planet Earth" so much more cinematic? If we go back to how it was done back in the day and compare it to the technology we have today, it's quite a leap. Back in the day 35mm was the broadcast standard. The 35mm cameras were bulky and heavy, they were perfect for studio and not for the shots that they needed. In the filming circles and the BBC insiders saw 16mm film as being for amateurs. But, thanks to David Attenborough first taking his 16mm camera out to shoot abroad and coming back with footage of animals never filmed before, it changed opinions. This made the program that later became one of the best wildlife documentaries of all time.

Filmmaking Tips: How to Create Different Moods in Your Videos

Being a filmmaker gives you a lot of power to manipulate the emotions of the viewer. This can be achieved in several ways. Peter McKinnon shows examples of the same clips edited with various techniques to evoke entirely different moods.

How Templates Can Improve Your Video With Ease

If you are a shooter or video producer, you know that there are many things that go into creating great video. Sure, using the right gear is key. Composition and lighting are key. But after the video is shot, shot selection, pacing, and color correction have to be considered for the edit. Then there are graphics. Titles, lower thirds, transitions, and the like have to be designed and animated. There are tons of parts that go into making one complete, great-looking video. And it’s hard to master every aspect of video production – not to mention the fact that time and budget constraints make things even harder.

Ten Tips for Recording Slow Motion Video

DSLR Guide, created by Simon Cade, is one of my go-to resources for all things film and cinema. With almost a half-million subscribers and over 21 million views, his channel is an awesome resource for anyone interested in becoming a film maker, particularly those who are DIY-savvy or on a budget.

Film Riot Shows How to Compose Audio in Adobe Premiere Pro

I've always had this issue with regards to the sound design of video and how to actually get something that is usable for the video you are working on. It's either getting audio from a stock library, having a friend compose something, or making it yourself. And the latter is really very time-consuming, and I'd rather focus on the stuff I enjoy and am good at, like shooting photos or video. Once I watched the latest video by Film Riot, it seems like the problem of finding audio might be over.

Filmmaker Makes Us Second Guess What the Real Horrors of Our World Are

Filmmaker Walter Stoehr just released his newest project, "Horrible Prospects." It's a timely short with all that is going on in our world; with a new president in the U.S., there is much that is unknown for the future. But what goes bump in the night is actually more scary than you might think.

The 10 Best Uses of Color in Film

I was initially drawn to photography mostly because of color. I find its usage both beautiful and fascinating and a power narrative tool. This great video celebrates some of the best uses of color in all of film.

Vimeo Launches Review Pages

Vimeo launched the upgrade to their Profile Pages a couple of weeks back and they aren't sitting back. They just came out with Review Pages, based on team and client collaboration. It's a space for notes that can be made at certain points of a video.

18 of the Most Creative Music Videos

The music video might be the perfect vehicle for an artistic statement: It's succinct, it has a built-in springboard, and it's conducive to both abstract and literal statements. Here are 18 of the most creative and interesting music videos out there.

Power Up the Alt/Option Key in Premiere Pro

Shortcuts for Adobe Premiere Pro are like the force is to a Jedi. The alt/option key on the keyboard allows you to remove some time-consuming drags of footage across the timeline. It speeds you up. Moving footage around on your timeline can often be exactly that: a drag. Enter the alt or option key.

How to Detect and Eliminate Color Casts From LED Video Lights

Often, lower-priced LED panels will have a color cast that can be difficult to correct in post, particularly if you're working with mixed lighting. This great video shows both how to detect the issue and how to correct it.

Director Of Young Thug's 'Wyclef Jean' Shows You How His Music Video Fell Apart [NSFW]

There is always something going wrong on set. Always. It could be something minor, like the gaffer forgot to tape a section of a stinger or something major, like the talent shows up hours late and then refuses to get out of the car. That's what happened to Co-Director Ryan Staake in his latest Vimeo "Staff Pick" video of rap artist Young Thug's "Wyclef Jean."

You'll Soon Be Able to Shoot Log Video on Your Smartphone

Your smartphone is about to take another step toward becoming a professional videography tool. Filmic Pro will soon be releasing an update that will include a log mode, increasing the app's versatility and capabilities all the more.

How 'Rogue One' Created Full CGI Characters of Peter Cushing and 19-Year-Old Carrie Fisher

"Rogue One" is the latest addition to the epic space battle in the "Star Wars" universe, and damn, did it impress. From all angles, the film looked to hit on all the cues that made the original 70s and 80s films incredible, yet still filled it with plenty of new and relevant stories to bring it to life in 2016. Capping off a wild year of many celebrity deaths, it brings an interesting question: should we bring back deceased actors to fill a role?

Why Cinema Lenses Are Measured With T-Stops And What's the Difference With An F-Stop?

Cinema glass has always been way more expensive than still camera lenses. Combined with the cinema camera sensors these high end lenses provide an image that's far superior to DSLRs capable of recording video. But yet, there are decent films created with DSLRs with still camera lenses. I'm not going to compare the glass quality here. I'm about to talk only about this peculiar T-stop measure on the cinema lenses while still camera lenses have an f-stop. Why should they differ?

The Trailer for the Holiday Movie 'Elf' Is Recut, Now It's a Creepy Thriller

Even if you're not much for holiday films, chances are you've seen the Will Ferrell movie, "Elf," that came out in 2003. It's a silly but fun tale of Buddy the Elf searching for his real father in New York City. The trailer seen here though, created by Cinefix, would have you believe that Buddy might just be an insane psychopath, spreading Christmas cheer in the form of violently stalking a person he believes to be his dad.

How Casey Neistat's Style of Editing Made Him So Famous

The Nerdwriter is a Youtube channel run by a guy called Evan Puschak. He uploads great analysis video essays about movies, writers, and most recently, about one of the great vloggers of our time, Casey Neistat. Now although Casey finished his daily vlog, it’s still important to analyze and see how Casey as an editor of his vlog went about shooting, and most importantly, how he edited his vlogs to make it entertaining and fun to watch.

The 12 Best Long Takes in Film

The long take might be my favorite shot in all of film. The blocking, timing, thought, and technical mastery that go into a successful one are astounding. So, when you take some of the best in history and bunch them all together, it's a film lover's dream.

Impressive Hyperlapse Video Shows Cappadocia in Four Seasons

Internationally acclaimed time-lapse film maker and photographer Rob Whitworth brings magical Cappadocia alive in his flow-motion hyperlapse film for Turkish Airways. The visually stunning clip, which highlights the tourist attractions in the region, took six weeks to shoot over the course of two months and two seasons. The effortless blending of multiple photography techniques and precise After Effects work culminates in a breathtaking finished product which pushes boundaries and leaves no doubt as to why Whitworth's videos have over 9 million online views.

Assets On Demand: Introducing Requests From Motion Array

Motion Array has been hard at work adding new features recently. For example, they recently came out with a video portfolio site builder. With this feature, any paid subscriber can create a custom site to show their video work, complete with text, images, and contact information (all editable). Users can even use their own custom domain or have one supplied by Motion Array. But now, Motion Array is at it again with Requests. Essentially, any paid member of the Motion Array community can put in a request for any type of creative asset that Motion Array offers.

How Jamie xx Made the Incredible 'Gosh' Music Video

It's set in a ghost town, the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It has an Eiffel Tower replica and empty buildings which sets a perfect scene for this incredibly choreographed music video. Directed by Romain Gavras, the video has hundreds of kids with peroxided, yellow-white hair and matching outfits running through the deserted city to the foot of the replica Eiffel tower, and a very unique dancing style captured with great aerial video.

Filming an Entire Music Video in One Moment With OK Go

For those of you familiar with the band OK Go, in addition to their catchy songs, they've also made a name for themselves with their intricately planned out and executed music videos. With their newest video "The One Moment," they sought to literally film the entire video in just one moment.