Blackmagic Design have brought new functionality to the URSA Mini Pro, their flagship camera. Keeping up with the times, users will now be able to download an app in order to control the camera. The best part? They’re letting the public create their own custom versions.
Jakob Owens is a visual director based out of Los Angeles, California. He directs music videos, commercials, short films, and manages his YouTube channel TheBuffNerds. Ever since discovering Owens through YouTube, I have used his channel as a constant source of industry information and inspiration. In his newest video, he announces his recent acquisition of the 6K RED Dragon and while explaining the purchase he gives insight on how he justified this milestone purchase.
We all have an idea of how a non-linear editor works. You drag the files into the timeline, and move them around to create the interesting video you are intending to produce. But, if you're like me, setting up the project and to make sure no files go missing or aren't imported correctly can be a problem, especially if no one ever showed you how to do this. So I've put together a short way I do it, and then I've included a video to show how you can do it for a short film and how to sync audio. It's a video production starting kit.
There is a great abundance of Star Wars fan films and honestly I don't like most of them. Some of them have too fake fight scenes, some are too long, and some are way heavier on VFX. Most of the time it's all about showing the result from a "how to make a light saber in Premiere" tutorial. But this short film is different and I liked it.
J-Cuts can be described as having the sound enter the scene before the scene appears visually, or it can be used to play out a scene where the audio is used after the shot has ended. They're used in TV and movies, and they're a professional element that sets you and your style apart from those who just cut scenes together. This enables you to get a nice flow in your video, and it all blends and layers to make it more interesting and give your work more power.
"Glow" is a creative new music video from Toronto-based cinematographer Jonah Haber. Using a glow-in-the-dark background similar to what is often called a shadow wall, Haber captures the dancer's movements as a series of shadows frozen in time.
If you've got a drone, you know that it opens up a near-infinite number of new possibilities, but with those also come a unique set of challenges. This quick and helpful video will show you six tips to get more cinematic looking aerial footage.
Shooting high-quality video has never been easier and cheaper than it is today. Most digital cameras offer at least high definition 1080p quality and considering the applications of video from a business standpoint, it seems foolish not to offer this service as part of your photography business.
Have you ever wondered where those amazing air-to-air shots you see in airline marketing videos and the like come from? Go behind the scenes of Wolfe Air Aviation's marketing work with Air Canada for their new livery on the Boeing 787-9 and one of the coolest photoshoots you'll ever see.
So many photographers have recently been dipping their toes in the world of video. You can edit photos like a pro, but maybe you just can't seem to figure out video editing; it's very complex – like an onion, so many layers – and now you have to deal with sound design! If you've used presets for your photo editing, then you should definitely consider plugins for your video editing. Red Giant sent us a copy of their recently updated Universe 2.1. Jump on in and see what it's all about.
You may not realize it, but your brain is waging a battle against itself every time you watch a film. Every film is its own universe with its own laws, and how those laws compare to those outside that universe determine how your brain interacts with the film and evaluates it against reality. But if you're making your own work, it might be worth stepping outside the norms.
We know, we know: gear doesn't matter, except when it matters. I'm not here to rehash that debate. Rather, this is just a great film that shows off what you can accomplish even with a $50 lens and some know-how.
A lot of people own drones this day in age and a lot of us use them for different things. I use my drone for photography and videography, whereas other people use them for agriculture, inspections, FPV Racing and so on. This video is very interesting because it is a taste of behind the scenes for an FPV/Videography mix and is very well done.
Successful video editing is a confluence of creative vision, technical skills, and practical problem solving, so it's no wonder that it takes a lot of dedication and practice to become skilled at it. To help you jumpstart that process, here are five skills you need to have to be a successful video editor.
With every job or concept we go to shoot, our gear that we take with us is constantly changing. We take our full lighting setup for a day in the studio then we turnaround and pack a separate bag to go shoot in the mountains for that perfect sunset. The gear we take with us is on a constantly turning roundabout between our bags and kits. Through all the madness there does seem to be a few items that are consistently put into every setup. It’s those pieces of gear that work in all scenarios that are invaluable to us and how we work. These are the five items that I won’t leave the house without regardless of what’s on the agenda.
In this detailed series of articles and videos from Matt Porwoll at AbelCine called "Behind the Lens", viewers will get a chance to compare specs and review footage captured using a number of popular zoom lenses. From the nearly $30,000 Fujinon Cabrio 19-90mm to a modest Canon 17-55mm, find out what Matt discovers about each of the lenses he reviews. This is the first video in the series, that covers the Fujinon MK 18-55mm Zoom.
B-roll is important stuff. It keeps your viewer's experience from becoming stagnant, and it can be used to explain or elaborate on the main footage. It's entirely its own art to shoot, and this helpful tutorial will give you great tips to get more and better b-roll footage for your video work.
Video cameras' resolution war has already started. So has the frames-per-second race. Current DSLRs shoot high resolution stills and lower resolution video. What if you can have an 8K video camera that captures both raw stills and raw video in 8K? Would you replace your stills camera with it?
Neill Blomkamp directed "District 9" and "Chappie" and now he's released a short film of a dystopian future where aliens have taken over earth and the humans have to fight with whatever they can to survive and before it's too late. It's done in the style you kan expect from Blomkamp, in a way I believe only he can do, and it's got all the action, suspense, and gross details of brain implantation and alien creatures that he's become known for.
I feel like I write a similar article every few months, but this whole theory I have about going and shooting is something that just continues to benefit me day after day. Of course it can be challenging to always go out and shoot or to always even just want to shoot. I know some of us are young, some of us have other jobs, some of us have families or some of us do photography as a hobby...
Adding to your arsenal of camera movements is always a good thing to do. If you just bought your first gimbal, this great tutorial will show you 13 essential movements that will add more visual interest to your work.
How often do you catch yourself procrastinating or just dozing through the latter half of a day? This great short film reminds us to make the most of each day.
With no audio to worry about, and just around four minutes to fill, music video production is one of the most accessible ways for cinematographers and videographers to broaden their creative horizons and be paid. To secure music video work, your prospective client will expect a summary of your idea first, which is known as a “treatment.” This is a guide to what you should include, and how to make your treatments stand out for the crowd.
Have you ever wanted to capture on camera what the naked eye can't see? Derek Muller over at Veritasium has managed to do just that with a basic yet intriguing set-up in his garage.
Have you ever felt that certain photographers and film makers just get the great shots because they get to go to some super locations? Or because they get commissioned by the top brands to have all the best lighting and equipment? A guy called Brandon Li had almost the same experience. He travels to some amazing locations, but decided to make a short film taking place in his hotel room. He sets himself a challenge to make something interesting from a boring space or location to push his creativity and think about ways to make it in to something more appealing.
I'm going to open with a somewhat obvious statement: Women make up roughly 50 percent of the world population. But when it comes to Hollywood, and frankly many other industries, we don't see those numbers reflected. Women In Film, an organization promoting increased roles for women within the entertainment industry, is trying to shed light on this issue through comedy.
When you're first starting in filmmaking, the veritable plethora of techniques, equipment, skills, and the like you have to have can seem like an impossible bunch to conquer. Being younger is yet another challenge. This video gives some helpful tips and advice to younger up and coming filmmakers.
You can't go wrong with the narration of Carl Sagan or Alan Watts when it comes to making a video and showing scenes of the great places such mountain ranges, lakes, beaches, and landscapes we have on this planet. Apple took it upon themselves to use this narration in their latest ad campaign. I am impressed with the quality of the footage. The color, the slow motion shots, and to a degree the dynamic range which handled the situations very well.
Think about some great leaders that you know. Are they kind of an a-hole? Film Director Max Joseph noticed a trend in the industry where it seemed as though the more abrasive and cutthroat someone was, the more successful leader they were. After his own experiences directing a film, he decided to explore this topic and produced an entertaining and insightful documentary about what it takes to get to the top. If you've ever directed a film, video, or photoshoot, there are quite a few nuggets of inspiration in this short that might help you to become a better leader yourself on your next project. Warning, some language is NSFW.
A video camera is a machine that has recording capabilities that captures images through an attached lens. Whether it's your phone, DSLR, film, or a digital cinema camera, that's the basic principle. But wait. You watch a behind-the-scenes footage of a movie and you see a gigantic monstrous camera that has lots of cables and gadgets. If it's the camera body and the lens that do the essential work, why complicate things that much?
Being overcritical of yourself can seriously hold you back in your photographic career. If you listen to those seeds of doubt too much you could end up crippling yourself to a point where you no longer feel able to create work or know what your next move should be. Let's see how three photographers manage to cope with an extreme version of that inner critic while on a photoshoot.
There are several tools out on the market for filmmakers to help improve your video with smoother motion throughout the film. One popular choice is the camera slider. There’s no doubt you have seen a smooth camera motion from the result of a camera slider before. If this is your first time using one, camera slider marker Rhino has released a video with five tips just for you to help you get started.
This video displays basic tips for a person looking to start vlogging or capturing video to showcase their skills. It's aimed at beginners, although there are some great tips for the avid shooter too. How to create a dolly-like effect using only your body, and how long a shot should last to make it something the viewer can actually focus on and absorb is included. It's practical and the video is only two minutes long.
At Monday’s WWDC keynote, Apple announced the latest iteration of the iPad Pro, leading with a 75 second commercial that is as slick as one would expect with any Apple product launch. The iPad Pro will sell by the bucketload no doubt, but “Any Given Wednesday,” directed by Leonardo Dalessandri, is worthy of recognition itself as a supreme piece of commercial filmmaking.
We've recently covered the knots a photographer and videographer must know. The same guy, Mark Vargo, shows us how to correctly wrap cables, rope, and cords on location. It's something I thought I didn't need to know, but the skills will be very useful when your team has one more look to shoot and the wireless trigger's last battery is done and you need to use a syncing cable.
The past few weeks here in New Jersey and New York have been pretty rainy and not so nice. With that in mind, I came across a video that really caught my attention and had me confused for a good minute or so. For a while I thought I had been out of the loop, when suddenly I realized that this was just another sort of filming "trick" to fool the eye. Relating to my last article, this "video" takes it to another level showing a city we probably all know flooded by water. For me, it was not much of a pleasant sight and if this were to really happen, I can't imagine how much we would all be affected by it.
The Canon ME20F-SH is a unique camera, using a full-frame, 2.2-megapixel sensor to shoot at up to ISO 4,560,000. Marine biologists recently used the camera to film biofluorescent turtles deep beneath the surface.
Sara Dietschy is a professional YouTuber and vlogger based out of New York City. She most famously appeared on the scene over a year ago when she knowingly mocked the one and only Casey Neistat with a hilarious video mimicking his style. Her channel has grown in size and so has her professional expertise in the field for both photographers and videographers alike. Her recent series 'How to Vlog' is a four part series in which she explains how to go through every single step from conception, to editing, all the way to uploading, and finally managing that video online. If you are interested in building a brand online, starting a YouTube page, or beginning your own vlog series this is the place to learn how.
Apple started the WWDC17 event yesterday which is used to introduce the new features to the developer community, for them to use and create new apps with. So here we take a look at what Apple has introduced and what we can expect from our devices in the following months once they launch it.
Captain Disillusion is back again, and this time he's uncovering the various techniques used to create the famous “Tape Measure Tricks” video. How much of it is visual effects?
While preparing for a shoot, whether it’s for film or photo, there usually is a few miscellaneous tools you don’t think of until you needed them. Sometimes they are really basic tools, when you realize you don't have them with you, you end up being disappointed that you didn’t think of it before.
Frame Order is a Netherlands-based animation studio that normally creates cartoons. With their latest short film “Golden Oldies,” the team took on the challenge of pixilation using real people. This stop motion technique blends human actors with animated scenes, and this video is the perfect example of the creative potential and fun that can be had with it.
We’ve all had one of those moments where we were in the middle of watching a video and realized that the pacing just didn’t quite feel right. It’s something that once it catches your attention can ruin the rest of the video for ourselves. Whether it be fast jump cuts to a slow song or vice versa, the pacing of our videos is a highly important variable that can quite easily be overlooked in the video production process.
Just a few days ago we got information on the new Canon C200, a 4K video camera with a number of interesting features including internal raw recording. While people were scoping the new Canon camera and talking about how it fit into the market with BlackMagic and Sony products, there was no mention of Panasonic for good reason – they didn't offer a feature-rich 4K capable camera, with interchangeable lenses, around the $7,500 mark. But coming this fall, that's going to change with the AU-EVA1.
As with every new product, Canon sponsors a number of projects to show the capabilities of their upcoming C200 cinema camera. Indeed, it has great features at its price level, but what is a great camera without a good example how it was used? The perfect film marriage is between a beautiful story, captivating visuals, and audio that ties it altogether. I think we have them all here, including a glimpse of how it was done behind the scenes.
It’s moviemaking 101: make sure the music used in a film is compatible with the emotion that is being conveyed on screen. Today, the official trailer for the upcoming film “Murder on the Orient Express” was released and immediately viewers took note of the peculiarly bad selection of soundtrack. One Reddit user took it upon themselves to show us just how much worse it could have been.
Living by the beach for the past five years or so, I have become more and more intrigued by the ocean and waves. I find myself by the beach a lot, either shooting or flying my drone and paying attention to waves. I'm always interested in bigger waves, cleaner waves, ones with some good color and all. A few months back, I stumbled upon the work of Ray Collins, and oceanscape photographer out in Australia. His photos are stunning and the waves he photographs look so wild compared to the waves out by me in New Jersey.
With the upcoming release of “Off the Tracks,” a documentary that chronicles the seismic shift that Final Cut Pro X introduced to the video industry in 2011, there been some chatter, even here on Fstoppers, about the video editing software’s place in history. I don’t have any qualms about its place in history: Simply put, it deserved better than what it got, which was heaps of shame, blame, and ultimately denial.
The rumor mill was spinning the last few weeks, talking about a new Canon Cinema camera that was on the way, and sure enough, they were right. A new EOS C200 has just appeared on B&H and I’ve got some interesting specs to share on this new beast, as well as a video from Kai at CVP.
It's severe storms season here in the United States, and every year, these monsters of convection showcase both fury and beauty. This stunning time-lapse shows off their awe-inspiring power.
