Videography

Hollywood's latest A.I. thriller, "Ex Machina," promised to take viewers on a fascinating and thrilling philosophical, ethical, and human journey. The Turing test, man's domination over machine, artifically intelligent machines' potential and perhaps inevitable self-awareness and domination over man, and an eccentric Silicon Valley-like billionaire-type leading the helm... how could this not be a great film? More on that later, but to make all of this happen, director Alex Garland and VFX supervisor Andrew Whitehurst had to create a robot that would connect so well with audiences that we would treat it as any other human character.

A few months ago I got an email from Rhino Camera Gear asking if I would like to beta test their new slider. I didn't really know anything about this product and I quickly forgot about it until it showed up at our office a few days ago. I had no idea that this would be one of the most impressive products I've tested in years.

As we all know, even the most stunning visuals require an equally amazing and unique soundtrack to bring the audience's emotions to their full potential. Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer Christopher Boyles from Skywalker Sound discusses his work and the burden of creating original sounds for "Avengers: Age of Ultron" that will stand the test of time.

The guys over at Alpine Labs have announced a new Kickstarter campaign to fund their follow-up time-lapse motion control system, the Radian 2. Packed with the same features as the Radian, this new version adds a wireless preview of your time-lapse and complete control of your camera via USB allowing you to change camera settings like aperture, shutter speed, and ISO while shooting. But one of the most welcomed features is the ability to pair the Radian 2 with select sliders adding motorized slide movements to your time-lapse making Radian a complete motion control time-lapse platform.

In this episode of National Geographic’s fantastic series "Exposure," you go behind the scenes with street and portrait photographer Wayne Lawrence who describes photographing the “real Detroit.” Lawrence describes the challenge of shooting such a diverse city, one that includes familiar, comfortable suburbs and rundown, abandoned spaces.

This month I'll be traveling to 5 European cities with Vincent Laforet to shoot and edit video for him as part of Project AIR, his new night aerial stills project. We have been working hard to offer something pretty unique – a totally free, direct first hand social event open to anyone who is interested in photography, video or the creative process, where we can share skills, technique and project support for your own projects as a result of what we’ve learnt with AIR. If you live in London, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris or Venice, we are throwing the doors open to you all.

Gnarly Bay, the guys who brought you “Rambo Day,” are back with a compelling story aptly titled “The Important Places." The story follows lifestyle and adventure photographer Forest Woodward who sets out to reunite with his father and a sense of youth after unearthing a poem. I will not give away more, as the story needs to be watched to be truly understood and appreciated.

With May 4 behind us, it brings us one day closer to the release of the upcoming "Star Wars" sequels later this year. Whether you are a fan of the series or not, it's going to be one of the biggest releases in history. In preparation for the launch, Annie Leibovitz had the chance to fly out to the set to photograph some of the original cast as well as the new members joining the franchise for Vanity Fair. Here is a behind-the-scenes look.

We all knew that this day would come and it may change the way we look at cinematography forever. It is pretty amazing to think that this entire feature length movie was created on nothing more than a humble iPhone.

I was reading this extract on Reuters earlier and was blown away. It is fantastic to see how creatively camera apps are being used for the peoples' benefit for once, especially in the wake of the Walter Scott case.

Learning how to light your subjects with one light is easy. Learning how to light a subject in a variety of ways using one light and one modifier requires a bit of creativity. When you're using one light, each inch you move your modifier ultimately affects your scene. Lighting at that point becomes very purposeful.

GoPro today announced it has plans to acquire the virtual reality software company Kolor. The France based company develops tools for spherical 360-degree videos and panoramas. With the rise in VR technology hardware like the Oculus Rift, purchased by Facebook in 2014 for $2 Billion, it's easy to see what GoPro has planned for their acquisition.

The natural beauty contained within Enrique Pacheco’s latest time-lapse video “Reflections from Uyuni” is striking and remarkable. During South America’s rainy season, Pacheco journeyed through the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, down to the Bolivian desert capturing surreal landscapes of these flooded lands. Fstoppers is happy to share the Spanish cinematographer’s insight as to what the experience was like shooting in such surreal locations.

The guys over at Resource Magazine really outdid themselves with this one. Their spring 2015 issue featured a really awesome shoot by photographer Natalie Brasington and two of the stars from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz. In this video we see the photographer work with these two exceptional actresses / comedians to come up with some genuinely funny work.

Emilie Tournevache and Jason Greer go head-to-head again in the main challenge of "Photo Throwdown" Montreal. This time the pair are commissioned by a local brewery to shoot one of the fan favorite beers for an upcoming ad.

Vincent Laforet's latest AIR series blankets the City of Angels with a farewell series of shots before the project will head to Europe for the first time starting mid-May. As Laforet continues shifting cities (from the previously covered New York City, Las Vegas, and San Francisco projects), his aesthetic slowly changes in response to the varying challenges and differences between shooting each city. Fstoppers caught up with Laforet to discuss the ever-present surprises in shooting AIR and its transformation as it grows into a larger project supported by G-Technology and pre-orders for Laforet's "AIR" book.

With budget options for aerial video becoming more affordable, while the quality and abilities of the cameras they host getting better, I knew it was only a matter or time until I got my hands on such a system. Even though I was a little skeptical from the onset, I’m pleased to say that the DJI Inspire is a phenomenal drone/quadcopter unit for adding dramatic footage to video or still projects, even for first time users.

The creative genius that is Casey Neistat, for me, is next to none. The pure drive and passion this man has for what he does brings inspiration and motivation to my career and even my daily life. Late last week, Neistat decided to up and create his own viral video around the launch of the Apple Watch, and this is how he did it!

Director Matthew Rycroft continues to knock out fun and informative videos for the Cooperative of Photography. The COOPH's latest offering, shot with the help of photographers Anastasia Ehlakova & Julia Gebhardt, demonstrates some simple photo techniques. Levitation, free lensing, light stenciling, instant collages, colored lights, broken mirrors and hula hoops. Give them a try.

Fitness blogger Cassey Ho has released a rather wonderful short video where she Photoshops her body in real time to appease all the hateful body shaming comments she receives on her blog, Blogilates. It is a powerful look into how we as a society perpetuate this impossible beauty standard and the impact that software such as Photoshop has on what we perceive to be beautiful in todays day and age.

Michigan-based photographer Vincent Brady spent five weeks in Iceland living out the back of a rental car to capture the ethereal footage found in his latest 360-degree time-lapse project “Aurora Panoramas Acoustic Borealis.” The video depicts Iceland in its full fantastic glory, with brightly colored auroras floating above fairytale landscapes. Set to an original mellow acoustic tune by long-time friend Brandon McCoy, this video makes for the perfect 4-minute weekend getaway.

We've covered the pros and cons of color grading many times before on Fstoppers, though when it comes to big-budget movies like "Man of Steel" do you think its overall tone can decide whether it's a financial success? The guys at VideoLab have created a side-by-side comparison of what the latest Superman would look like if it was done the original way, in full saturated color rather than the darker, more gritty version we know today.

For the "Preservation" project, widely acclaimed Los Angeles-based photographer Blake Little covered a variety of models in 4,500 pounds of honey. You read that right. The idea for this shoot was originally inspired by a previous session where he depicted a man as a bear eating honey. He was startled by the way that the honey gave the appearance that the man was "preserved in amber" and by how it can "distort and amplify forms."

Polish cinematographer Maciej Tomków’s “Treasures of Zakynthos” is a beautiful, award-winning time-lapse that highlights the titled Greek island. Going far beyond only filming for the final project, Tomków also took the time and care to create incredibly well-done behind-the-scenes videos that give a true sense of what production is like shooting epic time-lapses. If you’re passionate about photography or videography, you’re going to love these "Behind the Time-lapse" creations.

I love new stuff. Who doesn't? The only thing I love more than new stuff is new stuff that guarantees to make my life easier in some way. Allow me to introduce you to the Broncolor FT-System Continuous Lights.

Many of us have had the privilege of our first basic office job at one point in our careers. If you have not, you are one of the lucky few. As freelance photographers, we can connect with sitting behind a computer for hours on end. Yet, knowing the frustration that comes with office politics and overall atmosphere in a sea of cubicles is a whole other beast. Here for your viewing pleasure is the greatest GoPro style office job video ever.

Everyone's been there. A friend of a friend asks you to take their family portrait, a cousin wants you to shoot their wedding, a local business would really like some event photos — but nobody has a budget. Working for free is something every working professional gets faced with frequently. In this video Ted Forbes from The Art of Photography talks about the pros and cons of free work.

Zeke Kamm, a veteran filmmaker and creator of the Aviator Camera Gear, has spent the last year creating a series of informational videos designed to give aspiring filmmakers a great educational reference on the gear that is often used. The first two videos have dropped, with more to come.

If you’re a fan of both the “Game of Thrones” series and filmmaking, then today’s your lucky day as HBO has uploaded to the Internet behind-the-scenes footage from the Season 4 finale, “The Children.” This featurette from the Blu-ray boxset shows how the visual effects team came up with the wight’s design for the ambush scene and how they implemented a blend of CGI and live-action to get everything looking right for showtime.

A gut-wrenching mobile video clip depicting South Carolina police officer Michael Slager killing Walter Scott went viral earlier this month. The bystander behind the footage, Feidin Santana, has partnered with celebrity publicity agency Markson Sparks to license the footage, causing a stir among those who claim he's profiting from a death.

If you haven’t seen the stars in the sky in some time, you’re not alone. Thanks to the ever growing amount of light pollution in populated cities’ celestial domes, the heavens above us are becoming harder and harder to see. The Skyglow project aims to, forgive the pun, shed light on the subject. Filmmakers Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinovic shot this short film throughout Los Angeles – imagining the majestic universe just above.

What happens when you take a group of best friends who are all talented photographers and cinematographers and give them a near unlimited budget? The greatest bachelor party of all time. A group of friends decided that they needed to give their best friend a truly epic send off before his wedding.

A professional photographer came forward on Reddit with a real rant about the photography industry. It's causing a stir amongst photographers everywhere - perhaps because he makes some great points! When I read this post I found that I was agreeing with a great deal of what he had to say.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is bringing its attention to the camera world with results that would make even the most die-hard GoPro fan think twice about their next purchase.

Forever losing memory of that dreadful "Daredevil" movie starring Ben Affleck from 2003, we have found a new standard in superhero movies thanks to the partnership of Marvel and Netflix. Finding its place with beautifully shot shows like "House of Cards" and "Peaky Blinders," Netflix adds the masterpiece that is "Daredevil," starring Charlie Cox as the masked vigilante. Each scene matches a tone devoted to the comics, and one stood out as beyond epic making it a must see!

Built on years of experience with creating the film industry's favorite high-resolution digital cinema cameras, RED now brings the Weapon upgrade in 6K variants due out this summer and in an 8K variant due to ship by the end of the year. There's quite a bit of new information to go with this announcement, but for now, we'll go over the main and most important points.

Breaking the fourth wall isn't a new thing. It's been a fundamental technique exercised for the better part of the history of cinema as far back as the early 20th century. Often used to pull the audience into the storyline or even used as a comedic tool to break the awkwardness of a scene, breaking the fourth wall is a subtle reference to the intrinsically voyeuristic nature of cinema.

If you are a videographer or a photographer dabbling in video you know how much of a pain in the ass it can be cutting interview footage with just one camera angle. The feared "jump cut" in an interview can completely ruin the overall production and professionalism of your entire video project. Luckily, Adobe has recently debuted their new Morph Cut tool in Premiere Pro CC to help filmmakers fix this sometimes unavoidable problem.

We’re all working hard. We all shoot as much as we can — a lot of it for free or little pay. We do our studies or go to work and try our best to stay in shape and take care of ourselves. There are a lot of hard-working people in the world. But most are quite lazy inhabitants of this planet; and odds are that you’re one of them.

We are living in an amazing time for filmmaking and video production. The MoVi was absolutely a gamechanger when it first hit the scene, but DJI's Ronin gave it a run for it's money (actually, a bit less) in the last year. Now, DJI, makers of the Ronin, are releasing an updated version that addresses most users major issue: weight.

Freelance motion graphics designer and London-based art director T Tagholm created this mesmerizing piece with the help of After Effects. I honestly can say what it is about this video that caught my eye but I found myself transfixed in a way that was reminiscent of the time I watched Koyaanisqatsi (the second time, not the first time when I fell asleep). The undeniably hypnotic 'simulacra' is part of a larger project that is still in the works but in the meantime you can check out T Tagholm earlier released piece, 'Plain Sight'.

Civil Engineer, Thomas Berge, is a hobbyist filmmaker from just outside of Stavanger, Norway. He has carefully edited together a ridiculously gorgeous combination of timelapses and hyperlapses of the west coast over the last three years that will have you calling your travel agent to book a flight out his way. It’s a five minute feast for your eyes that you don’t want to miss.

If you've never heard of Casey Neistat then you have probably been living under a rock for the last few years as he has skyrocketed to stardom on YouTube. His fame comes from the creation of videos he posts to the online media source labeling them as "movies" or "films." Over the last two weeks, Neistat has created a new video every single day highlighting his incredibly interesting daily life in New York City. Here are the results as he ventures into the future of filmmaking and vlogging.

Popular unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer DJI has announced the release of the new Phantom 3. With new features like a return to home button, the ability to start recording as well as playback, and exposure control all built in to the controller, the Phantom 3 is packed with a laundry list of new features all aimed at making the flying experience as simple and effortless as possible.

How do you tell a better, stronger, more compelling story through your photos or video work? How do you get booked for the work you want to do? Film makers and story tellers, Jared Levy and Justin Hamilton, will today share some secrets. Their new, beautiful, compelling mini-documentary entitled ‘Updating Philosophies’, helped them realize much of this, and we can all learn from their experiences.

The One Man Crew from Redrock Micro was a treat for small interview productions, whereby a fully automated slider could capture subtle camera moves and add tremendous production value. It wasn't without a few issues though, and for the last few years we had been hearing about a version 2 that would address these. Redrock has finally delivered.

Watch as LA based photographer Dan Marker-Moore shows us how he stitches hundreds of photos together to make one Time Slice image. Dan travelled Hong Kong and Shanghai to shoot the same landscapes at different times of the day. This series of photos were then color corrected in Lightroom before a composite was created in After Effects. By lining up slices of the photographs, that had been offset in time / exposures, the photos create a sense of time-in-motion for each landscape.

Get ready to leave your jaw on the floor. Brain Farm Cinema, the production company that is one of the global leaders for capturing ultra high quality, pioneering action sports and documentary cinematic digital video, has done something no one else has. They have just released this stunning footage showing what happens when you strap a very expensive high speed cinema camera, to a very expensive drone, and fly around trying not to have a $250,000 mishap. The footage is glorious, and is .

GoPro has just released a behind-the-scenes look at how some of the insane stunts were pulled off in the upcoming film "Furious 7." You will see the caravan of support vehicles that was utilized for chase scenes as well as how they sent cars careening from cliffs complete with explosions.

PRO EDU just wrapped a week of shooting video in New Orleans, where they captured content of Dani Diamond teaching his approach and style to natural light portrait photography. This behind the scenes video takes you along for the ride and shows you the locations, models, and gear we got to use, and what it takes to make a video tutorial come to life.