Videography

I'm a big admirer of Lindsay Adler and her work, and I spoke to her recently regarding her most valuable career mistake. As you can imagine, my ears pricked up when I heard Lindsay was doing a walkthrough of how she conducts a fashion shoot from preparation all the way through to post-production. 

If you find water calming, this is for you. "4K Fjordlapse Norway" explores the country's beautiful fjords formed in glaciated valleys, showing off their elegant and tranquil nature. 

"Vorticity" is a local measure of the tendency of a fluid to rotate. It serves as the perfect title for this six-minute time-lapse that was 20,000 miles and 60,000 frames in the making. 

For years, I enjoyed cinematography and photography as almost non-overlapping magisteria. I was fully aware that they played by many of the same rules, but I didn't entertain the idea of extracting elements of cinematography and inserting them into my images until much later.  

[UPDATE] The winners have been announced! Check out the winners page to see some incredible video editing.

I shot and edited a narrative film in the last month. It was a first for me. I had this scene in my mind of a person burying a suitcase or bag in the woods, like it’s something he or she wanted to hide or get away from. I had a second idea about a guy walking down a long passage way and knocking on a door with no one opening for him.

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has joined forces with Instagram to create the TIFFXINSTAGRAM Shorts Festival, and their team of judges will be choosing 30 shorts to be featured on TIFF's website and Instagram channel August 8-17. 

Ok, the last time I truly attempted skateboarding, I was 14 years old, and I dislocated my right shoulder (still have a beautiful, giant scar). Regardless of my lack of knowledge of the sport, or anyone's for that matter, I think we can all agree that this video of Skater Rodney Mullen shot by photographer extraordinaire Steven Sebring is just cool as hell.  

Even though technology has come a long way, you have to have some kind of lighting in order to film.

Over the past few weeks I have been touting the Sony a6300's video performance. This past week I decided to take the camera to the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course to film a track day. Oddly I ended up not using the auto focus, as the fences were proving to be a challenge with adapted EF mount Sigma lenses.

The Internet and mass proliferation of capable devices has allowed almost anyone to broadcast live video. Many have taken advantage of it in the form of things like Periscope and Facebook Live, using it to broadcast behind the scenes footage and discuss trending topics, but Explore has used it for a rather neat purpose. 

Photography changes year after year, but it's a gradual evolution. However, one area of photography that has been accelerating faster than the others has to be time-lapses. The videos have been getting longer, the shots more dynamic where a dolly is more common, and the quality is getting to the point of staggering.

You know what they say: behind every good tooth brushing there is a cat being shaved with a hair trimmer. Or at least that’s how the world works in “The Foley Artist,” a short film by Feast Films. This funny take on the relationship between video and audio shows some creative sound production techniques that are just a little bit out there. But hey, you do what you gotta do. 

In case you missed it, recently, The Mill introduced The Blackbird, a remarkable piece of technology that can morph into almost any vehicle you desire in post. Not to be outdone, Blackburrow Creative has made the Millbird, an aerial version of the device, which promises "phenomenally average" results. The demonstration video is phenomenally funny.  

I remember, way back when I first started trying my hand at portrait photography, the cold realization that I didn't really know how to direct a shoot. I wasn't horrible at it, but I lacked confidence due to a lack of experience and I made a mental note to work on it. It's now years later and I'm still working on it and I will keep working on it until I stop picking up a camera.

In case you spent your holiday weekend grilling food with friends or hanging out on a boat to celebrate America's Birthday, you may have missed that Canon lowered the retail price on two of their hottest video cameras for professionals: the Canon C300 Mark II and the Canon C100 Mark II. 

The full name of this video is "Idiot continues to take daily self-portrait for 16 yrs despite better projects, longer projects, more popular projects, his face," and it's massively entertaining. JK Keller spent over 5,000 days taking photos of himself, and the result is fascinating. 

Today, video is everywhere. Whether it be an iPhone shooting super-slow-motion footage, or a RED Weapon eating away at hard drive space in 8K resolution, capable cameras are available to almost everyone who wants them. And while we can’t all shoot on RED, it’s possible to get amazing production quality out of consumer-level cameras.

I have a lot of respect for photographers who solely focus on beauty imagery. It’s definitely a skillset that I’ve been honing over the past few years, but ultimately one that I’ve come to develop an appreciation for. However, beauty photography does not have to be terribly difficult.

Bummed about the end of season six of "Game of Thrones"? This will help. "Fairytale Castles" takes you on an aerial tour of some of Europe's majestic real-life castles and the stunning scenery that surrounds them.  

Adobe has released Premiere Pro CC 2015.3. The new welcomed features are something I haven’t yet seen implemented in any other NLE. If you use Premiere, here is a look at what’s new, and if you’re not a subscriber, this might make you consider switching. 

NASA, along with the Houston Cinema Arts Society, is presenting Cinespace, a short film competition with $26,000 in cash prizes up for grabs. This competition offers filmmakers the opportunity to make use of 50 years worth of NASA archive footage in their short film submissions. 

In their latest video, Film Riot's Frontman/Director Ryan Connolly comes to my backyard (Vancouver, BC) to film a truly epic bar brawl short. This entire series of videos is extremely useful when it comes to learning what it takes to film a quality short. The "Uncut Behind the Scenes" video is seriously my favorite of the bunch as you

In this moving film, Italian Pianist and Composer Ludovico Einaudi performs his piece, “Elegy for the Arctic," while on a floating platform in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The moving and haunting film and music are augmented all the more by a fortuitously timed moment that captures everything Einaudi is trying to convey. 

In 1987, Canon made a widely criticized move and introduced the EF mount. This was mostly to create a mount that was easier to build auto focus and stabilization mechanisms into. The EF lenses are among some of the best in the world, so there's no complaint now.

From the company that pioneered the use of virtual car reskinning for video use, comes the newest innovation of film technology.

If you ask many filmmakers, or any video production companies, coming up with video ideas and concepts is not always the easiest thing to do. Especially when you're trying to make a series.

Imagine editing your film and getting to the phase where the production sound needs to be added or perfected. This can be a fun part of editing and getting things together, but it can also be a very time consuming part of the process.

We're conditioned to associate certain colors with thoughts, emotions, or situations, a fact that directors take advantage of constantly. "COLOR PSYCHOLOGY" illustrates just how deep the effects can be.  

As much of a Game of Thrones fan as I am, the scene in Sunday's episode that has had everyone talking, "Battle for Winterfell" or "Battle of the Bastards," resonated with me for two reasons. The first is the same as most people who watched it: the scene was epic — not epic in the way kids these days use the word, but in the sense of it being truly gargantuan and awesome.

SnapDragon is the name of a processor made by Qualcomm. The company just released a short film titled "Lifeline" and a behind-the-scenes video where the Academy Award-winning director, Armando Bo, runs through the plot and how they used a mobile phone to create the timeline and tell the story. 

Storing and transferring data from a shoot is an important, yet often overlooked detail when it comes to on-location projects. When juggling multiple cameras, each with multiple cards, it becomes critically imperative to be 100 percent sure that all of your photos and videos are accounted for. In this video, Jay P. Morgan shares his workflow for wrangling data and making backups. 

Making a film takes many talented people working in varied areas, a fact I've recently come to fully appreciate as they film "Fast and Furious 8" here in Cleveland. The Foley artist is one of the unsung heroes, for if their work is done well, we don't notice it at all. This film is a lovely look inside the world of Foley. 

Capturing dance in a way that shows fidelity to the energy and intricacy of the art form is difficult, but "WHAT I’M DANCING ABOUT: Ian Eastwood" is a dynamic look at the work and philosophies of Choreographer Ian Eastwood that certainly succeeds in that endeavor with its unique filming style.  

South Africa's racial segregation laws and policies of the apartheid era may have ended 22 years ago, but the lingering effects of the forced separation of whites and blacks is getting another look through a photography project called "Unequal Scenes." It is the brainchild of American Photographer Johnny Miller, who now lives in Cape Town.

Time-lapse videos are everywhere nowadays. You can see them in everything from Hollywood blockbusters, to educational documentaries, to that one weird guy's YouTube channel showing the most random things in a time-lapse format. Well done time-lapses should definitely be appreciated as, make no mistake, they are works of art in their own right. 

Now that so many camera manufacturers are building time-lapse functions right into cameras, there are countless time-lapse films floating around the Internet. There are two things that make or break a time-lapse: the visuals and the editing. There's not much else to worry about seeing as time-lapse is so easy to shoot now.

For years I’ve heard people saying, and probably have said myself, that if you chase your dreams, find your passion, and only do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. But do you really have to? Should you? This video provides an interesting counterpoint to that concept. 

If you’re interested in drone photography and video, I’ve compiled a list of people and sites you need to go to for inspiration, tips, tutorials, and insight. Aerial photography has changed with the drone.

It's truly incredible what they can do with film today, especially with the advancement of visual effects and motion graphics. When I first heard they were remaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I was incredibly sad; all those years growing up watching the original live action films featuring the puppets crafted by Jim Henson's.

The first competition in 2014 attracted hundreds of entries from all over the world. Now, the Craft & Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) in Los Angeles and the Farhang Foundation have put out a call for entries for the second, biennial juried exhibition of contemporary photography and video works relating to Iranian culture and heritage.

Video is something I have begun to play with over the last few weeks in the form of a vlog on YouTube, but as you might know it's difficult to gain that organic reach you're used to on social platforms. That doesn't mean its impossible, but by using various other channels to advertise and push them to that new content is key in today's world.

It's not often someone contacts you about chemistry and superheroes, but when someone does, you pay attention. Nikolay of ArtNauka showed me a project they have been working on where they combine a superhero theme with chemical elements and reactions to create a series of striking portraits. 

I'm not prone to hyperbole, so when I say "this is amazing," I mean it. We all know there are some brilliant filmmakers out there, and when they push a new technology to its limits, the results are remarkable. Check out this montage of some of the best of the past year. 

Apple has just uploaded ads which will most likely also be broadcast nationally. They consists of videos that were shot using iPhones. To use the tool to make the videos that advertises the tool is a great way to convey a message. It all enhances and forms part of their ecosystem that is the Apple brand.

Going from A-list celebrity headshots in Hollywood to swimming with sharks in South Africa in 72 hours, photographer Michael Muller seems to balance his commercial work with his personal work quite well. In this behind-the-scenes video, we get to come along with Muller as he attempts to capture a great white shark breaching the water — while being lit by strobes. 

It takes a brave soul to be a cave diver. It's a dangerous extreme sport, but the hidden beauty it uncovers is almost otherworldly. This gorgeous video, shot in Yucatan, showcases all that beauty. 

Is this the camera of the future? Two giants have collaborated to create what could be the dream setup, boasting some incredible specs.  

Why can't YouTube handle snow or confetti? Some videos look great on YouTube, but others look terrible. It could be a cheap camera, but it could also be that the creator doesn’t understand the science behind video compression. 

When it comes to shooting homes, Emile Rafael takes it to the next level. As a real estate photographer and videographer, I see the potential in shooting videos for agents; the only problem is they don't typically want to pay much, and they need things turned around fast.