Any resource that explores the art of film and video editing I find utterly fascinating, and this video is a fantastic example of just that. Director/Editor Joey Scoma of Rocketjump Film School created this video that explores many of the different ways that editors can go from one shot to the next.
If you’ve been working with video in the last few years and are looking to take your post-production to the next level, color grading absolutely needs to be something you consider incorporating into your workflow. DaVinci Resolve is not only a powerful software for doing this, but it's base version is actually free for anyone.
A few years ago, simple timelapse videos were all the rage. To spice things up, videographers started to add small camera movements to their timelapses using motorized sliders. Those small camera movements have become far more complex today as some of these camera movements are miles in length. These are called "hyperlapse" videos.
Adobe Stock has been around for a short while now, featuring useful, deep integration into Creative Cloud products, as well as a more traditional online portal through which to purchase content. Through a blog post on its website, Adobe recently announced these platforms will now benefit from native 4K video content in addition to the photos and standard high-definition videos previously offered.
Big movies mean big budgets, which usually mean big visual effects. The Moving Picture Company (better known as MPC) recently released another one of those mesmerizing VFX breakdown videos for their most recent feature film, “The Martian.” The breakdown reveals some aspects of the film and of Matt Damon's performance that were both challenging and impressive, like the fact that the helmets worn in the film didn't feature physical windscreens. Those were added later with matching reflections to the scenery.
Watch as Josh Connolly tests out the slow motion explosion he bought off Amazon Prime (ya, you heard me) and then learn how to create your very own. OK, they won't actually teach you how to blow things up, but they will entertain you while walking you through the process they used to create a slow-motion explosion effect. So, even though you may go to Film Riot to learn filmmaking techniques and how to create kick-ass visual effects, you'll go back for the sketches.
We all know it's a little bit more competitive for females to "make it" in the photography and film industries. Yes, it is. The gender gap is real, and I'm not being a feminazi. There are studies about this — science. Even women who are the main characters in films don't get paid as much as their male counterparts (Jennifer Lawrence in the Hunger Games, anyone?). It's even worse for women who are behind the screen, the creators of these big projects. The team over at Vimeo isn't having it anymore, so they are doing something about it.
For the next 10 days, the entire Fstoppers staff is down in Curacao filming our next full length tutorial with swimwear photographer Joey Wright. Recently Facebook just added a new live streaming feature called Livestream which means we can live stream while we film this tutorial. Follow us on Facebook to watch all of our shenanigans and signup for Joey's mailing list for more info about this tutorial.
A little over four years since its release, Apple's Final Cut Pro X hasn't quite comeback to its prominence in the professional video editing industry it once held. To the point that even its creator, Apple, is abandoning the software in its workflow.
As announced at Adobe MAX 2015, Adobe released new updates to its professional Creative Cloud suite of applications. Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC, Premiere Pro CC, After Effects CC, Audition CC, Dreamweaver CC, Photoshop CC, Fuse CC (Preview), Adobe Stock, and more have been updated. You can download the new versions from the Adobe Creative Cloud app.
The Syrp Genie caught everyone's attention with its contemporary design and advanced automation features that made it a time-lapse photographer's best tool in the field. Today, photographer Mark Gee shares tips on how to set up and use the Genie while offering a few great suggestions that apply to all methods of landscape photography, from what apps he uses on his phone to help him plan every shot to how to edit for final output. Need to shoot a time-lapse soon? Whether you're experienced or just starting, there's undoubtedly something in here for you.
If you have ever shot time-lapse, you know the struggles of dealing with hundreds, if not thousands of large files. While Lightroom and other post production programs can definitely make editing your time-lapse easier, LRTimelapse is a program that can further ease the editing process and improve your workflow. LRTimelapse allows keyframing and grading of time-lapse sequences in an all RAW file-based workflow, as well as creating day to night time-lapse transitions easily and helping to get rid of annoying flicker effects in your sequence, all in the comfort of Lightroom.
For many of our readers here, their bread and butter is photography. In the past we've talked about why you should be creating BTS videos of your shoots. Or you could be a one man/woman band that has found themselves on a video shoot by themselves with no dedicated sound person. Our friends over at Story & Heart have put out a great new tutorial from their Academy of Storytellers about how to capture and use great natural sounds.
I have mad respect for Swedish independent film outfit Crazy Pictures for their big-budget cinematography skills that are being utilized on a moderately small budget with rigs and labor that are within reach of almost any videographer. They've put together an incredibly informative behind-the-scenes video that covers in detail the massive amount of work that goes into such a short segment of film.
A few weeks ago Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 4, an updated version of the very successful Surface Pro 3. The day after the event they gave me one to test and I'm really enjoying it.
Many people that want to get into filmmaking believe you need to attend film school to have a successful career. Many also believe that by purchasing a Red Epic Camera you will instantly become a filmmaker. Neither are true. After watching Casey Neistat's Guide to Filmmaking video, you learn that gear doesn't matter. Neistat does own expensive gear, such as the Canon 70D and the Canon 5D Mark III, however, he became a successful filmmaker and youtuber with dirt cheap equipment.
Black Diamond Equipment is known for making top-of-the-line outdoors equipment for skiers, snowboarders, and climbers. Recently, they launched their video series BDTV Season 1, which is going to be compromised of short videos about people who they believe embody their core values. These videos are a great examples of storytelling using short video format and deserve further examination. That way you can apply the same learnings to your own video work.
“Star Wars” fans around the world are patiently awaiting the arrival of “Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens” on December 18. That being said, the hype train has been running full steam ahead since the initial trailer for “The Force Awakens” was released almost 10 months ago. Since the release of “A New Hope” in 1977, “Star Wars” has created a fanatical fan base, with an expansive universe and many stories to be told. Fan films have been a part of that universe for many decades now, and they have gotten so big that “Star Wars” has an entire section of their site with awards dedicated to them.
Freelance videomaker and visual artist Julianna Thomas did something unique recently: she shot an entire series of black and white subjects, but in color. As a response to one of her greatest pet peeves, Thomas created "Black & White In Color" as a "personal response to treating black and white as an editing afterthought."
Ryan and Josh Connolly of Film Riot always brings us the coolest do-it-yourself filmmaking and special effects tutorials. In this "rewind" episode (read: old) they show us how to create the killer effect of throwing someone clear across the room. What's doubly cool is how easily this can be done with just a still camera and software that most of us already have (Photoshop and After Effects).
While the original source couldn't be independently confirmed, the studio behind the recently released movie, "Everest," apparently sent BBC a clip of the still unreleased film without audio effects. Instead, throughout the entire otherwise hair-raising scene, the actors speak to each other in a tone seemingly more appropriate for a focus group discussion between amateurs trying to solve a Rubik's cube than for a life-threatening situation climbing Mount Everest.
What do iconic movies like Dr. Stranglove, Alien, Psycho and Star Wars all have in common? They all knew how to create that, "Oh f**k" moment. You know the one I'm talking about. Every thing is fine. All good here. Wait a minute. What's that? BAM! Well Director Joey Scoma of RocketJump Film School shows us how to recreate those nail biting, butt clenching, knee jerking moments using tried and true video editing techniques.
With a concept of traveling back through your childhood and experiencing that care-free, fantasy world of "pure imagination," Permagrin Films has put together an incredible time-lapse music video. In the article below, there's a full behind-the-scenes video and the producers of the film answer a few of my questions in a brief interview.
Creating promotional video content for industrial and corporate clients is an often overlooked, yet very large, part of the market when it comes to the amount of work they can generate for production companies. A few years ago my business was hired to produce such a video, and I (finally) have the behind-the-scenes video completed to show how we put everything together.
Jay P. Morgan and the Slanted Lens have a new video out, this time showing how they are combining a video clip with a motion time-lapse for a music video project. It's a great watch if you've ever wondered how to approach getting this effect, or are still learning the craft of time-lapse shooting.
Transitions in videos are vital; it can enhance the viewing experience or completely pull you out of the element. Many new filmmakers wrestle with creating transitions that aren’t jump cuts or fades.Sometimes they don't even know if they should preplan their transitions or just go with the flow. Story & Heart recently partnered with Vimeo and filmmaker Matty Brown to talk about how he builds his unique transitions.
Normally I don't promote software based on their promo video alone but this video was so compelling I had to share it. The ReelSteady plugin for After Effects appears to be made of pure magic, taking cheap looking footage and making it look like Hollywood CGI.
Do you edit video in Adobe Premiere? Have you customized your keyboard with your favorite tools and shortcuts yet? If not, you're not editing as quickly as you could be. Check out our favorite tools and shortcuts to get the most out of Premiere.
Philadelphia based Director of Photography Mitch Martinez thought the world needed access to more 4K footage for free. So, he collected clips he shot from all over the United States and created a catalog with over 35 different categories of footage on his website just for that. An even cooler aspect of this collection: it's free for commercial use as well.
