Drones are being used in so many creative ways these days that I can’t even keep up with all of the beautiful and exciting footage being shared daily. Some things do catch my attention more than others, however. Like drones being used as precision weapons to take out bikers, instead of filming said incredible footage.
Those who have never been on a glacier may not realize how big a crevasse can be and how dangerous falling into one is. Last December, Jamie Mullner while skiing in Zermatt discovered it all within a few seconds when he tripped and ended up at the bottom of a crevasse. He wasn’t injured, but happened to have his GoPro on and documented the accident. The video is quite impressive but also surprising!
Machine learning is an incredibly powerful thing. Damien Henry, a technical program manager at Google, took advantage of this, feeding a machine learning algorithm a single image and asking it to generate an hour-long video of approximately 100,000 frames by predicting the next frame based on the previous one. The result is gorgeous to watch.
A widescreen aspect? A certain kind of lighting? Maybe shallow depth of field? What do you think makes for a cinematic look? In this piece from CookeOpticsTV, a few professional cinematographers were asked this very question, and while their answers are not the same, they all provide some thoughtful perspective on the topic, and perhaps agree that it's not just one thing that makes for a cinematic look.
In this episode of #BehindtheGlass, Albert Ayzenberg sits down with Cinematographer David Klein on the set of "Homeland" to discuss preparation, video gear, and what it's like to join in on an Emmy Award-winning show already in full swing. There's a lot of great insight here on what goes on behind the scenes of filming for television.
Whether it's a style or a genre, film noir has that signature high contrast look we've seen in many old black and white films. Modern filmmakers also adopted that style of lighting and post-processing in their drama and thriller movies. In this video you'll go behind the scenes of how to achieve that film noir look in camera.
I saw the first minute of this video on Instagram and walked away from it thinking to myself, wow. The flying in this video was very good, the choice of lenses stood out, and it was filmed in some rather tough lighting conditions. I went back to the video on Instagram, found out who made it, and watched the full thing on Vimeo. While I was watching it again, I realized that this video was way different from what I had expected it to be. At first it began with straight forward camera movements along with flights through some tight spaces/buildings that would require a really good pilot. After a few clips of that, the movements began to get very unique and had me wondering what they were doing to achieve these looks.
Drone footage is everywhere nowadays and it probably makes you want to buy one! However, not everyone can justify the price of a good unit. So how about a device that costs less than $60 and can take advantage of your GoPro? Looking at Nicolas Vuignier’s latest creation it seems to be quite fun and it could even replace a drone in some applications even though it’s not as practical.
As you probably know, Fstoppers has recently switched over our video system from Nikon D750s to Panasonic GH5s. The GH5 is absolutely perfect for our style of shooting and I really don't have much to complain about... Except the lenses. Why do they cost so much?
If you're a professional photographer you need to be seriously looking at the medium of video as a skill that should be in your repertoire. Making the change isn't as hard or scary as you may think.
I am a fan of good music. We all are. What I like even more is when a music video is directed to the music I like in a creative way that leaves me questioning how it was done, and how I can use the same tricks in my editing if at all possible.
In case you haven't heard prior to this article of this series, a few years ago, Pennzoil started a brilliant marketing plan to release a series of videos showcasing a car being driven to its absolute limits in a seemingly real-world environment (for the most part), and they are pedal-to-the-metal hardcore action movies from beginning to end. If you're a car guy like me they even give you goosebumps and get your heart pumping. Just a few weeks ago, while I was on my way back from Sweden, Pennzoil dropped their newest addition to the series with a short film dubbed "The Last Viper," and it's an action-packed thrill ride from beginning to end.
Anyone that has dabbled in the world of color grading knows it's a complicated art and science that can require a certain level of dedication and obsession to really get that perfect look to your videos and work. In order to do that with as little strain on you and your psyche as possible, there are a few things that you can do that will definitely aid in your work, but none are as valuable as setting yourself up with a dedicated monitor for your grading work. While setting up a fully rigged coloring studio is not a trivial expense, thanks to Aram K, you can learn how to create your own setup on a budget and still get accurate results.
Simple differences in the quality of light on a face can have a significant impact on how a person is perceived. I'm always a sucker for seeing how those different looks are achieved, and the team from The Lighting Channel has put together a video that demonstrates 10 different lighting looks on a face, along with the moods they create.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been given the opportunity to try out one of the widest Micro 4/3 lenses out there, the Venus LAOWA 7.5mm f/2.0. After testing it for some time, I'd like to share some of my thoughts on how it performed and what I liked and didn't like about it.
Since the birth of digital cameras, there has been less need to print your photos. Many of the newer photographers have never printed or even sent their photos to be printed at a lab. Why should you if your audience is all online?
Your phone takes the best pictures, right? That’s why you bought it.
Not so fast, says tech vlogger Marques Brownlee in a YouTube video, where he pits the top five smartphone cameras on the market in a blind test against one another to see which one comes out on top.
The first time I landed in a foreign country at night was when I went to Costa Rica in 2009. I remember being wide awake for the last hour of the flight and looking out the window at the yellow spider webs of city lights as I descended over Central America. Seeing populated places from above at night was new to me; the patterns of the streets, the sprawl of the towns, the promise of life popping up at random amidst the calm of the surrounding darkness all made it one of the most exciting flights I'd ever taken. And that's not even mentioning the stars overhead.
Avid’s Media Composer is, despite all odds, the industry standard for video editing. So if it’s good enough for Star Wars, it’s good enough for you. Luckily, users will now be able to get a dumbed down version for free this year.
The Swiss flash manufacturer, Elinchrom, and the innovative video light maker, Light & Motion, announced today that they are joining forces to bring new game-changing products to the market. The news comes in right after Elinchrom made the Skyport Protocol open to other brands. Thus, it’s no surprise that the new partnership is unveiled along with two new wirelessly controllable video lights.
DJI continues to push the video production industry forward with the drones and camera accessories it has been introducing into the market over the last few years. Just announced at NAB 2017 is a brand new version of their popular gimbal stabilizer, the Ronin 2.
Shooting suspended objects in your images can be done a few different ways, from the use of Photoshop to the simple and effective use of wire or fishing line. My first instinct would be to grab clear fishing line. Not having done any work with fishing line in suspending objects, I would not even have thought about getting brown or even a greenish tint line to use in the set, as Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens packs in his fishing line kit box for various projects and scenes. In this video, he shares all his tips on this approach, including how he decides to use a certain color based on the background.
Surprisingly small changes to the position of your camera can actually make your images much more successful. Ed over at Photos In Color decided to set himself the challenge of trying to make the perfect headshot in studio conditions. While keeping the lighting and the camera distance from the model the same each time, various heights and angles were tested and carefully captured so the differences could be compared.
It’s hard to say how one might react if it were their pricey DJI Inspire drone that was taken out of the sky by an adrenaline-fueled youngster on a hunt for fame and glory. If you’re the team of MadMedia, you simply rock on and include the footage in your latest action-packed video.
One of the most fundamental skills a photographer can have is the ability to separate their subject from the background. It goes beyond just physical distance, however. Good background separation requires control of light, and this great tutorial will show you exactly how to achieve that with a variety of different looks.
One of the disadvantages of GoPro and DSLR video setups is your inability to use them in a broadcast setting. GoPro attempted to address this with their HEROCast system to the tune of $7,500, which is out of the reach of most average consumers. So when the guys behind FREECAST reached out about having us check out their new affordable wireless transmission system, it was a no-brainer to give it a go.
Although you may not be ready to admit it, the iPhone is a professional video camera for many shooters. We use ours with a handheld gimbal at almost every shoot to get super steady moving shots. Feiyu Tech recently sent us their SPG Plus two-handed gimbal, and I tested it out.
When getting into video, filming may not be the biggest issue. Post-production plays a significant role and can be quite overwhelming. There is tons of software out there, and it’s difficult to know which is best for what. Learning how to use these programs is even worse when you are a photographer. The interface looks totally different than what we are used to with Photoshop, Lightroom, or even Capture One. So it’s always nice there are people such as Casey Faris producing comprehensive videos to help us out in getting started. If, like me, you can’t seem to get a perfect grading with Premiere or Final Cut Pro, this crash course on DaVinci Resolve is exactly what you need!
Filmmakers will be pleased to hear that Canon will now be offering the option to upgrade the 5D Mark IV to include Canon Log starting in July. In addition, a new model will be available with the feature pre-installed beginning at the same time.
There are so many options when choosing a camera body, and for most the price tag plays a huge factor. Understanding what your plans are for shooting and what the capabilities of each body can do will help to determine if that hefty price tag if worth saving up for.
