Recent Videography Articles

Budapest Captured From Day to Night in One Shot

Photographer Greg Florent has made images that capture Budapest in a new light. The images are made by taking them at the transition of daylight into sunset and then nighttime until the lights come on and the city's evening starts. He spends around four hours at a location taking one shot, making sure he gets the whole transition and changes of light to produce the images in post.

Apple's New Advertising Campaign Is 100% iPhone User Generated

Apple's new advertising campaign couldn't possibly get any simpler: One 15 second clip shot on the new iPhone 6 and then the name of the iPhone user who shot it. I personally think it's one of the most inspiring ad campaigns I've ever seen.

The "Cutting Edge Editing & Post Production Tour" Review

The premise for the Cutting Edge Tour headed up by Adam Epstein, five year veteran video editor and post production guru for Saturday Night Live, was a tricky one. I know because I spent a few days bouncing ideas around with him and looking at how to structure the thing. This review will set out specifically what you will (and won’t) find in the workshop.

Band OK Go Releases BTS of Their Zero Gravity Music Video

If you were on Fstoppers last week (or anywhere on the internet for that matter), you probably saw the newest music video from popular band OK Go. The band is known for their incredibly complicated filming, choreography, and performances which go into each video. Their latest song "Upside Down & Inside Out," is no exception as they take their act into a Zero Gravity filming situation. As they've done past for past music videos, this one was also followed up with a behind the scenes look at how they accomplished their latest viral hit.

Gear for B-Roll Shooting When You're a Team of One

In one of his latest videos, renowned YouTuber Thomas Heaton discusses the gear he utilizes for B-roll while producing videos for his large following. Heaton produces great cinematic work, but I was more taken by a profound statement during the video: the content and story you tell is far more important than the overall video quality you produce.

Pics Or It Didn't Happen? Fake Marathon Wants Your Photos To Make It Seem Real

The Kickstarter Project called Run Free 2013 is a fake marathon that Ridiculo.us is putting on to see if they can use user-submitted photos of an event that isn't actually happening, to make it seem like it did. While certainly a fun idea, a bigger question begs to be asked– if all it takes are photos and tweets to make something seem like it actually happened, how in the future can we account for the difference between the real and a hoax? Embedded video inside.

Do We Care More About Specs Than Image? What's Up With the Panasonic EVA-1?

The velocity at which camera technology accelerates each year is incredible. While we as consumers complain about the pressure to upgrade more often than we had to in the past, manufacturers cope with a similar, but different issue: how fast should we push to release new, exciting technology?

Four Ways to Get Smooth Video Footage (Three for Free)

There was a time when smooth, stable footage was the stuff of Hollywood, while us lowly plebeians dabbled with our shaky VHS home movies. But now, I can order laundry detergent delivered to my door by pressing a button on my washing machine and those magical devices in our pockets shoot in 4K. Here are four great ways to get with the times and give your footage that smooth, cinematic look.

5 Cinematography Styles That Every Film Uses

The look of a film or feature can make or break even the best storyline or acting. For that reason, and many others, a lot of thought goes into the style of a film. Here are five that every film draws from.

A Behind the Scenes Look at "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

With the release of the next installment of Marvel's Captain America series "The Winter Soldier" less than two weeks away it's great to see a full sixteen minute behind the scenes video (b-roll) to prepare us for what's to be an action-packed, movie-going experience. The movie was shot with both the ARRI Alexa and RED Epic cameras with Panavision lenses.

How to Easily Time Sync Your Files in Lightroom

Have you ever been on a shoot in which you used two cameras or had an assistant shooting with you, imported the files into Lightroom and then realized they were not time synced properly? If so, this quick 5-minute video is for you. Lightroom makes it incredibly easy to time sync your files so they all line up perfectly in chronological order by capture time. I'll show you how it's done in the video and read on below for some additional quick tips.

Apple's Latest Ad Features Martin Scorsese, Thoughts on Creative Pursuits

For many of us, the weekend is our time to work on personal projects, try new processes, and get creatively refreshed after a week of the 9 to 5. If you're in need of come creative inspiration, Apple's newest iPad Air ad featuring legendary film director Martin Scorsese has got you covered. I highly encourage you to spend a minute checking this one out.

35 Years Since John Candy Invented 3D TV

It was the 25th anniversary of John Candy's untimely death this week. I always found his brand of humor hilarious. Little known fact: did you know that John Candy helped to invent a 3D motion capture process that didn't need 3D glasses? Although his early work in this field was designed for T.V. only, the sky could've been the limit.

[Video] Canon 5DMkIII, 5DMkII, and Nikon D800 Low-Light Video Test -- Take 2

You may remember a while ago when we posted a candlelight video test by Joe Marine over at NoFilmSchool.com. After seeing feedback from the video, Joe sent me a new one (thanks!). The beginning is almost the same, but adjusted since Nikon and Canon handle ISO differently. But later on in the video, Joe got some interesting results when adding noise reduction and color correcting...

Amazing 5 Minute Gatorade Commercial Shot In 1 Take

A couple months back Patrick and I flew up to Chicago to film a BTS of a Gatorade commercial featuring Chaz Ortiz. We have still not completed our BTSV but someone just sent me ANOTHER Gatorade commercial shot at the very same school featuring Chaz Ortiz that has a killer BTSV. The video below was shot in one single take and it will blow your mind. Our video should be released soon but it will be hard (impossible) to top this one. Check out the full post to see the BTS.
The Edelkrone Wing: Compact Smooth Dynamic Video Motion

Those of you who work with video will have heard the name Edelkrone passed around in regards to video and photography equipment, particularly in the compact market that's small in size, easily transportable, and reliable. Recently though they announced the release of their newest piece of gear they call, The Edelkrone Wing, marketed to achieve "perfect camera slides with no rails."

[Video] Powerful Slow-Mo Video Shot On $500 DSLR

We’ve featured slow motion videos before, and this one is right up there with the best in terms of it’s motion rendering. Shooting with a $500 Canon 550D/T2i, Sacha Powell put together this powerful video using Twixtor to slow down some of his shots. It really goes to show that you don’t need the most expensive gear to make amazing visuals. You'll want to watch this fullscreen.
Behind the Scenes with Photographer Craig Kolesky Shooting Skiing and Biking in the African Desert

It can be a real creative challenge to try and concept, as well as execute, something that has never been done before, especially in photography. Adventure photographer Craig Kolesky accepted that challenge and ended up in the desert of Namibia, with two unlikely athletes for such a location. I asked Craig a few questions about this project that he shot for Red Bull Photography.

Project360 Uses GoPro Array To Capture The Experience Of Climbing The Eiger

In this making of video, outdoor brand Mammut is shown working with Dani Arnold and Stephan Siegrist, two alpinists, to plan a climb up the north face of the Eiger. What makes this ascent unique though, is the inclusion of a 360-degree GoPro setup which is used to capture panoramic shots from the mountainside. The result of their efforts is a unique look into the views, terrain, and conditions that the climbers faced. Mammut recently unveiled an interactive web portal to give anyone who wants to ascend the Eiger, the chance to do so from the comfort of their office chair.

How to Move the Camera and the Actors Like Spielberg

It's difficult to watch a Spielberg film and at the same time try to dissect it from the point of view of a filmmaker or a cinematographer, because you are immersed in the story by the ingenious camera movement and actors' blocking.

Anamorphic on a Budget? A Review of Sirui's 50mm f/1.8 Anamorphic Lens

During World War I, French astronomer Henri Chrétien developed a wide-angle viewer for tank operators, enabling the crew members to see a 180-degree view of the battleground. His invention wasn't used in the cinema until after the war in 1927 when director Claude Autant-Lara decided to use it for his film, "To Build a Fire." Sadly, this invention was only picked up again over twenty years later when Twentieth Century-Fox purchased the rights to the Cinemascope Widescreen Aspect Ratio technique.

[BTS] Dave Hill Switches To The Sony NEX To Reinterpret Spiderman

There is no doubt that Dave Hill is a well known name in the photography community. With his recent collaboration with Sony, here's a behind the scenes look of him switching to the Sony NEX camera system for a reinterpretation of Spiderman. Do you feel that mirrorless is a feasible alternative for the way cameras are headed?

'Whispering Iceland' - Further Proof that Iceland is Disneyland for Photographers

If I'm brutally honest, I felt as if I'd become a bit numb to time-lapses. There's a sense in which the bar has been raised so high of late, that it's difficult to create anything that's likely to capture my attention (not that anyone's trying to). However, if there's one place that can deliver over and over again, it's the frozen tundra that feels as if it has been designed by a landscape photographer: Iceland.

Insights Into Hollywood's Favorite Lenses

As Gray Kotzé points out, there are bushels of reviews for entry-level cinema lenses on the web, lenses you might look to pick up on sale maybe. However, most feature films are shot on prohibitively expensive lenses that were always intended to be rented out over their multi-decade lifespans. The cost for these lenses puts them out of reach for most filmmakers who aspire towards ownership, but, if you have a budget and you're looking to shoot feature/cinema quality films, it's important to understand what's available for rent.

 [Humor] Instagram Uses Facebook’s 1 Billion Dollars To Make An Instant Camera

It’s Friday, have a laugh. The crew over at The Verge put together this video of a (fake) camera that resembles a Polaroid by instantly producing a printed image out of it’s body. This model, made by Instagram, lets you add you own effects for an even more unique look at your images! I can't wait to buy one of these and start shooting professional looking wedding photos!