If you're at all interested in cinema or filmmaking, you undoubtedly have watched Alfred Hitchcock's work. Its influence continues to this day. This great video breaks down just what it is about his films that makes them so enduring and compelling.
Most of us use it every single day for one reason or another. Whether it’s searching for inspiring images or it's a part of our pursuit for the best priced and most highly reviewed camera equipment, Google has changed the way we access information and will shape the future of education by streamlining the search for data - but where is all of this data kept?
People who pursue creative endeavors have to endure a seemingly endless barrage of static from those telling them they can't. This video is for them.
Like many photographers during the digital revolution, the idea of being able to capture high-quality video with my stills camera has always been enticing. Filmmaking is a different way to tell a story entirely, because of the addition of context. While a still photograph can certainly be moving, influential, and captivating, a motion picture allows for the beginning, middle, and end of a story to be shown in a constant visual style.
You might remember the team from Cinetics from their original product, CineSkates. Well, they're back at it, this time with a big update to their motorized slider system that they're calling "LYNX." We try to avoid promoting Kickstarters when possible, but I've had the chance to play with a pre-production unit of the LYNX system and have been blown away.
All films start with a small seed. An idea. It’s something we as filmmakers all have in common — we want to turn a thought into something tangible, a place where we can meet someone and share a thought. These ideas change with the season, but there’s always something there. It’s what makes us filmmakers.
Moving from photography to video can be like trying to learn Spanish when you speak French: the similarities are undeniable, but each is its own distinct language. These six quick tips will ease the transition and give you a good basis to begin shooting.
A few weeks ago I shared some insight on using shotgun microphones for documentary style interview productions. This week, I’ve got a companion video that explores techniques for using lavalier mics, the standard go-to mic for most interview scenarios.
Whether you're working on limited time, limited budget, or you just want to expand your arsenal of filmmaking tricks, these five quick tips will give you some great workarounds and techniques for achieving better results more efficiently.
Motorized camera sliders can really improve the quality of your videos and time-lapses, but they're also rather expensive. With a little bit of savvy, however, you can build your own relatively cheaply and in just a few hours by following this great tutorial.
RØDE is bringing back its popular short film competition, My RØDE Reel, for its fourth year, with a larger prize pool and more chances to win. With amazing prizes from over 20 of the biggest companies in the industry and talented judges like Philip Bloom, this competition has quickly become one of if not the largest for short films.
Looping videos without any noticeable sign of a start or end adds so much production value to your work. The cool thing is this technique only requires Photoshop and is so simple you'll be kicking yourself for not knowing how.
Portraying subjective experience with a device that captures an objective representation often requires the addition of certain elements or a certain savvy to manipulate the perspective of the viewer. Here are ten great examples of subjectivity in film.
Math isn't all nerdery and monotonous tedium with the abstract; it explains real phenomenon and cool effects, such as this seemingly magic helicopter.
Video is a beast of an undertaking. Every element: pacing, storytelling, lighting, etc. must be working in top form to achieve a truly successful result. Here are five quick and free ways to improve your video work.
So you're interested in filming video with your DSLR. I don't blame you, I 100 percent prefer to shoot video over stills. I came across this super creative YouTuber, and in nine minutes, not only will you learn about the basics of shooting video, but you'll also save money by not spending it at an art school like I did. You're welcome.
Canon has developed a 2/3" sensor with a global shutter and high dynamic range, helping to pave the way toward future generations of video cameras.
Camera movements go beyond creating enticing shots that draw the viewer in on novelty alone. Carefully engineered and executed movements can evoke emotions and give away details that surpass the information given by dialogue and scenery alone. Check out these five amazing examples of camera movement in film.
Wildlife films have dramatically improved over the last few years. We can now use image stabilization and smaller camera rigs to get closer and make the visual experience more cinematic. These techniques are perfected by the wildlife film producers and help create stories to show the world like we've never seen it before.
On Sunday night, "Moonlight," Director Barry Jenkins' beautiful film about the coming-of-age of a young man dealing with issues of race and poverty, while simultaneously discovering his own relationship to sexuality, won the ultimate prize, the Best Picture trophy at the Academy Awards. LensCulture just posted a lengthy interview with the film's talented cinematographer, James Laxton. Here is a bit of what he had to say.
The Panasonic GH5 is due for release in late March, and it seems Panasonic was so happy with its product pre-release that the company has loaned plenty of bodies to influencers to publish preview footage. Every day, new preview clips pop up online, but none as comprehensive as this one by the team at Camerahoarders.
So you’ve decided to transfer your skills as a photographer to shoot video and have quickly found that some skills, such as composition, transfer well to motion pictures; but some do not, such as color grading. The main issue is that photographers get used to the amount of data in the raw format that can be saved and manipulated in post. In video, the data rates of almost all consumer DSLRs give you limited room to grade video without the image falling apart. Using the tool set of FilmConvert is an incredibly easy and efficient way to get to a cinematic look with almost any DSLR video file.
So you've got a DSLR that records video. You think, "Hey, I can shoot video and make buku bucks." Well guess what? There are fun video toys for you and your DSLR, and I am here to tell you about one of them today: the Elvid FieldVision 7-Inch On-Camera Monitor Version 2.
BBC Click shared a video that gives an in-depth look at the tools used by director Gareth Edwards at ILM London to better show computer graphics supervisor Steve Ellis his desired camera angles and movements throughout "Rogue One." Using just an iPad and an HTC Vive controller, Edwards was able to explore the virtual, computer-generated world to find the best shots, which were then communicated to the VFX team so they new exactly how to guide the virtual camera movements throughout the film.
The majority of the readers of this article who shoot video probably use still lenses. You might ask yourself why you may need different lenses for video while your existing photography ones work just fine. In this article I'd like to show you certain features of the cinema glass that you probably always wanted subconsciously. Maybe after reading this you'll start saving up the money for one.
We've all been there. You were hired for a run-and-gun shoot only to find the location has terrible lighting. Or your shoot is running later into the evening and the sun is going down fast, without any lighting to plug in. The ISO gets cranked up, and your exposure is saved at the expense of adding unwanted noise to your image. This is where noise reduction software becomes useful, and a new product from Red Giant has changed the way it approaches this task with Denoiser III.
Last night was the Academy Awards Ceremony; it's one of the most-watched shows of the year and the pinnacle of award ceremonies for the film industry at large. It's quite a who's who with a red carpet and television cameras all over the place and the people are dressed to the nines in the super-brand fashion designer dresses, flaunted for the world to see. Enter Casey Neistat, a YouTube creator who proposed Samsung make an advert that airs during the ceremony.
The video world is changing. If you thought you'd never be able to have a cinema lens because you couldn't afford it, think again, because Fujifilm just released their Fujinon MK 18-55mm T2.9 zoom glass. It will surprise you with its features and price tag.
This week I was invited to the head office of Rotolight in Pinewood Studios, London to check out one of their flagship products, the Rotolight Neo. This is an LED light that can mount to your camera or can be used off camera using boompoles or light stands. This constant light source that can run off six AA batteries claims to be industry leading in areas such as brightness and color accuracy. But at $399.99, is it a worthy investment?
The Verge has released a video that shows how blockbuster movie makers are using color to show certain moods and to make you feel different ways when watching a scene or movie. There is a science behind why particular colors draw out certain emotions, and they delve into what exactly Hollywood does to get that specific look. Blue and orange are the most used, it's not quite clear why, but they are. According to the video, it might be because it makes the actors pop against the background.
In this simple lighting tutorial, I discuss three different ways to create softly lit and dramatic images with a single reflective umbrella.
After browsing through Vimeo a bit, I was mesmerized by one of the aerial videos I saw. Owning and flying a drone for quite some time myself, I look to create unique aerial photography and smooth aerial video. One thing I have realized is how important location can be, and while being stuck in New Jersey and not traveling too far away, I think I have been abe to capture some pretty cool things around me. After watching this video that Joshua Cowan created, I am absolutely blown away by the content he has created from his trip to Europe. It is videos like this that inspire me to keep flying and looking for new things to create.
One of my goals for this year is to start working on videos again. A few of the projects I have in mind require a microphone to help capture better audio, since we know the built-in mics are not really that great. Jay P. Morgan's latest video from The Slanted Lens hits the web and couldn’t come at a better time for me.
Ted Forbes has done it again. He has a way of stating the obvious in a way that elevates the thought from pedestrian to poignant. Here, he attempts to answer a fan letter about the most important lesson he's learned in photography.
We all know that visual effects have come a long way in recent years, but it’s always worth remembering that the best of the lot are the kind you don’t notice. This video – a wonderful tribute to VFX – is a smart way of showing off exactly what can be done.
