Have you ever wanted to shoot aerial photos or video but thought that the cost would be too high? Well Tom Guilmette just did something that Patrick and I were considering doing in one of our upcoming Fstoppers originals. I'm glad he did it first though because now I realize our plan wouldn't work. For some reason I thought a single helium balloon would be enough to lift a GoPro...
Every now and then we come across a behind the scenes video that falls somewhere between the scope of photo/video production and computer graphics/animation. As creative artists, we need to be able to pull from a library of visual inspiration regardless of its original context.
I was just informed that there is a behind the scenes video on how the Doritos 360 Degree video was created. If you found that last post as interesting as I did, you will appreciate watching how they filmed it. What's going to be tough about shooting 360 video is that everything has to be done in one take.
It's pretty hard for someone to come into the film and video industry and make a huge splash but that's exactly what the Dutch company Yellowbird has done. They are using a camera very similar to what Google uses on its Streetview cars to produce not only 360 degree photographs but for the first time 360 degree interactive video!
Yes, this is an ad for Cinevate's Pegasus Carbon but this is worth watching. If you are into video, this ad gives some fantastic information about getting moving shots. The Pegasus isn't cheap at $900 but it is one of the best sliders money can buy for a DSLR.
Cinevate's Pegasus Carbon, DSLR Camera Slider from Cinevate on Vimeo.
This video was released earlier this year but I really loved watching it so I figured you would too. It's a pretty clever way to advertise a product like waterproof shoes and would have make for an excellent commercial concept for an advertising ad. Click the full post to view a BTS video about this crazy new sport called Liquid Mountaineering.
I'm starting to realize how many of our readers enjoy the mix of sports cars, photography, and behind the scenes so this one is for you. I'm really not sure what is going on here but what happens at the very end is pretty remarkable! I wish the audio was a little cleaner but I'm sure if you are into drifting fast cars you probably can't hear anyways!
Dave Dugdale has been an Fstoppers reader for a while now but I had not come across his own useful site Learning DSLR Video until yesterday. He left a comment on one of our videos and I clicked on his site to check it out (yes we actually check out our reader's sites). When I saw one of his videos I immediately emailed him and asked if he would teach me how to colorkey footage in Premiere.
This video is already a year old but that doesn't mean it's not worth posting again. I was really impressed with the cinematography work and the amazing detail in the composition...and then I realized it was all completely fake! That's right, Alex Roman doesn't create that horrible Transformers CGI; his computer graphic designs are true works of art.
From reading the posts over at the Fstoppers Forum, I've found that a lot of our readers enjoy taking photographs at motorsport drifting events. So if you enjoy fast cars and adrenaline you are going to love the commercial Audi created for their new 2010 R8 V10 sports car.
Fstoppers reader Marcin from Poland sent me an email with one of the coolest BTS videos I've seen in a while. If you were like me, you might not have heard of Batelco before. Batelco is a major telecommunications company based out of Bahrain.
When I see videos like the one below on TV I usually pay no attention. My initial thought is that some guy on a computer made it. It isn't until I see the BTS that I really appreciate what goes into these creative works of art.
Zon "Criatividade" from Nuno Rocha on Vimeo.
Making-of ZON criatividade from Nuno Rocha on Vimeo.
I wish I had more info on this but all I know is that a guy named "Ben" made this electric dolly. With an automated dolly, you can create moving time lapse footage. You can view more pictures of his creation here.
DIY Dolly from Ben on Vimeo.
Adam Boozer is an amazingly talented videographer right here in Charleston, SC. His company Jewell and Ginnie has been making a big splash with very cinematic video here in the low country and throughout the southeast. Last night Adam emailed us a BTS video he created on how he sets up his camera for these incredible aerial shots.
It's to easy to do things in post these days. If you can think it, someone can do it on a computer. To stand out, we are beginning to see a trend in TV commercials where directors do it "the old fashion way". So far on Fstoppers we have posted BTSVs for Old Spice, Lexus, Nissan, and Levi's commercials.
One of our forum members recently posted this and I am so glad that he did. Arev Manoukian create "Nuit Blanche" about 9 months ago and I am shocked that I had never seen it. This may very well be my favorite short film of all time. View the incredible finished product below and then the BTS below that.
Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.
If you have ever been in front of the camera you know how difficult it can be to remember your thoughts and speak them as naturally as you do in normal conversation. But what you may not know is most news personalities you see on television are actually cheating! Check out this behind the scenes video on how newscasters use autocues to present the news both clearly and accurately.
Moving time lapse videos are becoming more and more popular these days. Check out the video below to see Patryk Kizny take the DriveCam Slider for a test.
Autumn. A short timelapse film from Patryk Kizny on Vimeo.
Some of you may not remember this but as a very young kid with HBO in the house, I remember always being amazed watching this intro. Now I think movies on HBO just start with the parental ratings and nothing more. So next time you are thinking of making a cool intro for your business in after effects, remember how much harder it actually could be!
The newest promo video for the incredible GoPro HD camera has me wanting to get out of the house and do something exciting! We are big supports of what Gopro is doing and can't speak highly enough of these little cameras. If you enjoy adding a unique perspective to your own videos or want a small time lapse camera, you can't go wrong with these...well unless you destroy them :)
This music video created by Oren Lavie was a huge viral sensation back in Jan of 2009. I never knew there was a behind the scenes video showing the production of this clever project until fstopper reader Topshot posted this in the fstoppersforum. What's great about these videos is not so much the photography but the overall creativity with just one camera angle.
If you like building stuff then you may want to view the video below. If you are like me, and you would rather just buy something that works perfectly out of the box, then I would highly suggest buying the IndiSlider. Its only $99 and it works great!
DIY Inexpensive Camera Slider from J.G. Pasterjak on Vimeo.
Warning: If you think using Photoshop is cheating then you should probably just ignore this post! I just saw the most amazing video demonstration of a new video editing software called MovieReshape. Basically it's like an automated Photoshop liquify tool for video.
Let's get one thing straight; I hate Transformers. I actually thought Transformers 2 was so bad that I walked out on the movie and since my friend actually wanted to continue watching it (and he had the car) I walked home 3 miles in the middle of the night... That's a true story.
Here's a little video that needs no behind the scenes. All you need to do is find a cool subject and take multiple pictures a day for 3 years. My favorite part is that this whole thing was shot on a Pentax ;)
3 Years At The Same Place (english version) from Ramon on Vimeo.
Tom Guilmette is a professional camera operator for broadcast sports and definitely one of our favorite guys to feature here on Fstoppers (search his name for some other posts on him). So with all the excitement that Major League Baseball brings this time of year I thought it would be appropriate to give you a backstage peek at how guys like Tom work to bring the game into your home.
Remember Dentsu London? They were the guys that did the iPad video that we posted a few days ago. Well they just released their new project and I am blown away. These guys were hired by Canon to create a commercial for their Pixma printers. They decided to shoot splashing ink in ultra slomo.
Canon Pixma: Bringing colour to life from Dentsu London on Vimeo.
StillMotion is back again and this time they are showing us different stabilization options. Personally I am a huge fan of the Steadicam Merlin but it's not cheap.
an intro to EOS stabilizers // canon cinema caravan from stillmotion on Vimeo.
I remember when I was first playing around with my first SLR camera and someone explained to me the concept of painting with light over the course of a long exposure. Well the guys over at Dentsu London have decided to make light painting extremely complex by creating a sort of stop motion animation with ipads displaying different shapes.
Nokia chose to do something pretty cool for their newest commercial. They decided to create the smallest stop motion video and record the entire thing with their new phone. Check out the BTS below and the finished product below that.
Bob Poole is a DP (Director of Photography for you still shooters) who often works for National Geographic. While filming researcher Jake Wall who is studying the migration of African elephants, Bob and his team came across one of the most amazing things I've ever seen capture on video.
TV commercials are a big business these days. As the production budgets grow, the creativity grows as well. Check out all of the work that went into this new Brother Printers ad. I tried to find the full commercial but I couldn't. If you happen to find it please post it in the comments below.
The Making Of Brother Ambition 141% from Ronan Pollock on Vimeo.
Now before you decide that you aren't interested in wedding videography let me say that StillMotion's work is unlike anything you have ever seen before. If you are a fan of flim and story telling then you will be blown away by what this team is capable of creating out of totally candid moments. Watch the informative video and their last 2 wedding trailers below.
Last time we ran a behind the scenes video on music we got a great response. So today I thought I'd share a video emailed to us in the same vein. In the commercial world, the biggest challenge is finding something unique that no one has seen before or at least something that will stick into the viewers mind.
Okay this is just a little bit of weekend fun. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I always loved classic music videos. I didn't know it at the time, but Wayne Isham was one of my favorite directors. He did all the Bon Jovi videos, Metallica's Enter Sandman, worked with Motley Crue, Michael Jackson, Ricky Martin, 'N Sync, and Keith Urban.
Nissan has a new commercial out that is pretty clever. Whether you believe in global warming or not you probably still lust after a car that uses less gas and doesn't require half a Benjamin at the gas pump. The idea Nissan had for their new car the Leaf was to follow a polar bear around as he travels across the US trying to track down the owner of the new electric car.
Nikon just announced a bunch of new gear and one of the new cameras is the new ">D7000. While I'm personally a little disappointed in it's lack of 720 60fps the camera does finally put 1080 video into a moderate Nikon body. All my wishful thinking aside, Chase Jarvis was approached by Nikon to shoot a short video showcasing the new video feature.
The guys over at Soviet Montage have created a video getting a lot of buzz in the last day or so. Regardless if this is the first true HDR video or not, it's most definitely the first of its kind coming off a Canon 5D MKII. Check out this short video they created with two DSLRs (one over exposed and the other underexposed); it's definitely an interesting look.
I just stumbled upon this amazing skateboard video moments ago. As I was watching it I thought, "man I wish I could put this on FS but I'm sure there isn't any BTS". I was pleasantly surprised to find that the second half of the video is all BTS footage. Enjoy!
"LAKAIROMANIA" from Marc Ritzema on Vimeo.
We have all heard about and seen footage from the Phantom camera. This thing can shoot amazing slomo at 1050fps at 1080p. I, however, have never actually seen the camera itself before. Tom takes us through a quick tutorial, because we will probably never get to touch one ourselves. Is anyone else shocked by the terrible navigation on this camera?
If you have ever watched an action movie or fantasy movie, you have probably heard people taking about how anything can be done with CGI. But how many times have you stopped to consider what was actually real and what was computer graphics?
Sometimes videos don't require a BTS because although they are a unique idea, they don't necessarily have to be complicated. Danny writes "Everyone has experienced fireworks. It is truly a magical sight. I set out to capture them, not as we know them normally, but in a way that many of you may not have seen them before.
I was one of the few people on the planet that actually wasn't a huge fan of Avatar but I did love the special effects. James and his team had to create new technology to produce the most successful movie of all time. Check out his camera setup below.
Game Trailers - E3 2011 - Gadget Pr0n
I am a huge fan of the technology behind movie special effects. Here is a quick look behind the scenes of the movie John Adams. It's amazing what is possible these days.
You may not be one of the 1% of Americans who owns a Visa Black card but that does not mean you cannot enjoy their marketing. This video was sent in by Grant Lankford and features Curt Morgan and his team at Brain Farm as they work on the current ad campaign for the Visa Black Card.
Today we have not one but THREE behind the scenes videos for the latest Victoria's Secret television ad Incredible. The first one shows the scope of the production from the perspective of the models. You can also see how well these new bras fit and why they are so incredible.
Tom Guilmette has been creating a bunch of interesting videos recently, this being no exception. Check out his new toy below.
Kessler Shuttle Pod Dolly System Tutorial - Oracle Controller and ElektraDRIVE Motor from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.
We have posted Tom's work before. Here is a little behind the scenes of how he actually does it.
Behind the Scenes: Timelapse Crane from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.
The guys over at Stillmotion have been a huge source of inspiration to us at Fstoppers. If you haven't checked out their vimeo channel, head over there and be prepared to watch hundreds of well shot wedding videos. They have also released a really informative video on how to use different microphones for your video projects and BTS videos.
Filming in 3D is still relatively new to videographers. So when Jeremy Hart and professional driver David Coulthard decided to film the world fastest 3D film featuring the Mercedes SLS AMG flying down the road, they had to design and test shots that had never been filmed before.