Behind The Scenes

Chris Godfrey, VFX Supervisor on the film The Great Gatsby, recently released a 4 minute clip of before and after shots from the movie.

The sweeps reveal the sheer amount of post production that goes into a Hollywood movie like this. As a viewer, we know the movie magic is happening and that the heavy amount of FX are standard in blockbusters that hit the silver screens. It is interesting seing how some of the wide shots

Lowepro’s new DryZone bags come in two different models, a 40-Liter backpack (40L) and a 20-Liter duffel (20L). Lowepro has been making bags for years, and these are a new entry into their DryZone series. These new bags have an IPX6 waterproof rating, which means they can take a significant amount of water blasted onto them and keep your kit dry. Think rappelling through a waterfall or taking on some white water rapids in a small boat. This review will focus solely on my experiences with the 20L and how well it performed.

It seems like every week another story is circulating around the industry about one photographer stealing from another. Often the theft is done to build a portfolio of images they then use to promote themselves with and gain more business. This morning, though, I experienced a first. I learned that another company has stolen a video, put their header logo on it and is sharing this video on their site to promote themselves. Amazingly this was a video we featured here on Fstoppers and even shared how the original creator and owner of the video Simeon Quarrie put the whole thing together.

Bela Borsodi is a NY city based photographer that shot this beautiful photo of what looks to be four different images stitched together. In actuality, it was meticulously created in one take to look like four photographs. This is a behind the scenes video showing us how it was created, which in itself is a work of art.

With filmmaking it's not just the camera operators, directors, actors or even the composers that bring a good well-rounded film together, you also have to have an amazing sound team. It seems to be such an insignificant thing when creating a film, but in reality sound mixing can create the mood of the film just as much as the acting or lighting. Follow the team behind Zach Snyder's 'Man of Steel' as they discuss how they created the mood for the 'super' blockbuster.

John Hess From FilmMakerIQ.com traces the evolution of the screen shape from the silent film days through the widescreen explosion of the 50s, to the aspect ratio of modern digital cameras. If you've ever wondered why and how the formats we use today came to be, this is something you'll want to watch. The topic is too broad to summarize for those that would prefer to not watch his video but, there is one piece that definitely stuck out to me.

You may recall my previous automotive rig tutorial with the Green Hornet Black Beauty. My buddy, award-winning commercial photographer Nigel Harniman (www.harniman.com), recently put together another great automotive rig tutorial post using his Phase One ALPA and a Ferrari. I think the shot came out awesome and I definitely learned a few things, which you can read about below!

Preston Kanak has released another highly informative video, this one on the subject of capturing successful day to night timelapses. In this long video, he covers different methods for achieving good results, such as bulb ramping, aperture priority, or blending it in post. Each of these methods is a bit different, and Preston shares many tips along way while showing plenty of examples.

It's been over a year since Profoto interviewed Martin Wonnacott about his amazing beverage photography. Now the man dubbed "the master of liquids" has released a behind the scenes video of his work for us all to drool over and try to dissect. There isn't anything to guide you through it either, just press pause a lot. Martin definitely knows how to make a

Check out these awesome deals on Apple's new 13.3" Macbook Pro with the amazing Retina Display and Canon's EOS Rebel SL1 DLSR with an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens. In addition to all that, Zoom's newest recorder, the Zoom H6 Handy with an interchangeable Microphone System. Check out all of the links below for more information on these great deals!

'Man of Steel' is number one right now in the box office. Whether you loved the movie, hated it or haven't even seen it yet; it's hard to argue that this installment of the Superman franchise was a step up from the last iteration. Check out this 13 minute long behind the scenes feature on the movie where they discuss the making of the movie. Watch closely and try to pick out different lighting set-ups.

Photographer Rob Grimm has posted a nice little BTS of his 'Micro Brewery Project' - where the photographs feature some various beers from the United States based on "unique bottle design, label, and/or flavor profile." The video starts out with a great, little trick for creating an even pour in a photo. The bottle itself is clamped in place, but by using twine, nail polish remover and fire, you can cleanly remove the bottom.

Dream jobs are made where individuals labor in love, and passions are fostered. It is where “working” is hardly the right descriptor for they day-to-day. Seeing people who truly love their work and work for their passion is rare. I want to tell those stories, and I found one worth telling at a place where they produce the tools that make the lives of creative professionals possible- tools that often at first we never knew we needed, but now would find it impossible to live without.

Joe McNally does it again with a great video on making sure you're lighting for your overall scene. He breaks down the editorial by first discussing the message he wants to communicate, and then goes on to explain the whys and hows for lighting to achieve that vision. McNally is a great teacher and is able to convey these ideas in a way that even those new

About six months ago, I wrote a piece comparing flash techniques to HDR and ambient-only techniques when shooting for architecture and interiors clients. There was some great discussion involved and many valid points raised, and I'd like to take a few minutes to bring up another scenario that really shows the benefits of using flash whenever possible when dealing with interior or architectural situations.

If you shoot on location, you know that the size and weight of the gear is important. Shooting in bakeries, restaurants, and kitchens will provide you with a wide range of room size and lighting conditions. There may not be beautiful window light, outlets, or a large area that you are able to shoot in. To be prepared for any shooting environment in the culinary world you need a light-weight, compact, and battery-powered lighting system. In designing this system, you have two choices: LED or Flash.

In this short behind the scenes video, photographer Philip Lee Harvey takes to the sky, as well as the earth, for shooting images of Angel Falls in Venezuela. This expedition hits home with Philip, as he looks to follow the same path that an aviator named Jimmie Angel took when he became the first american to discover the area in 1933. With this backstory towing the line, Philip's shoot becomes that much more interesting of an adventure.