Videography

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.

How did technology make "Planet Earth" so much more cinematic? If we go back to how it was done back in the day and compare it to the technology we have today, it's quite a leap. Back in the day 35mm was the broadcast standard. The 35mm cameras were bulky and heavy, they were perfect for studio and not for the shots that they needed. In the filming circles and the BBC insiders saw 16mm film as being for amateurs. But, thanks to David Attenborough first taking his 16mm camera out to shoot abroad and coming back with footage of animals never filmed before, it changed opinions. This made the program that later became one of the best wildlife documentaries of all time.

Being a filmmaker gives you a lot of power to manipulate the emotions of the viewer. This can be achieved in several ways. Peter McKinnon shows examples of the same clips edited with various techniques to evoke entirely different moods.

Audio is arguably the most important facet of any film or video production. There is a saying that goes: “Audio is 70% of what you see,” which means that sound makes up more of the experience than the visuals do. So while we may spend a lot of time planning for what our shot looks like, it’s even more important that we mic it properly for the best audio recording possible.

As many of you I'm sure, I have boxes full of various grip gear: magic arms, C-clamps, A-clamps, ball heads, Studs, and more. I love grip gear. I absolutely love the versatility and functionality each piece has both in its dedicated uses or how you can always come up with new and imaginative ways to solve any problem. There are a ton of items out there made specifically for photography and cinematography but some of my favorite lesser-known grip supports are Ram Mounts. Cheesycam.com seems to feel the same way in one of their newest videos.

A French photographer who runs various experiments for his YouTube channel collaborated with one of his peers in order to create a DIY UV lighting setup to expose what our skin looks like when different, everyday cosmetics are applied.

The imminent release of the Panasonic GH5 has caused quite a stir within indie filmmaking circles with it's powerful array of video recording tools built in, notably 10-bit 4:2:2 4k recording. Sadly, Panasonic will once again activate the V-Log L color profile recording capabilities as an additional purchase. So is it worth the additional cost?

We as photographers capture light. It's the fastest thing we know in space and time, and we try make it still to enjoy and share with others. It's the one thing we as photographers use every time we press the shutter button. To change from looking at photography for inspiration we can follow Chase Jarvis's advice and look at a Swedish Furniture design company IKEA to show us how they think about and use light, and about how we use it and how we don't.

If you are a shooter or video producer, you know that there are many things that go into creating great video. Sure, using the right gear is key. Composition and lighting are key. But after the video is shot, shot selection, pacing, and color correction have to be considered for the edit. Then there are graphics. Titles, lower thirds, transitions, and the like have to be designed and animated. There are tons of parts that go into making one complete, great-looking video. And it’s hard to master every aspect of video production – not to mention the fact that time and budget constraints make things even harder.

Camera sliders are often one of the first accessories that independent filmmakers purchase, just after a tripod and microphone. The simplicity in their design and valuable ability to create subtle motion instantly add production value. Cinevate recently updated its Duzi slider to its fourth version, and I got a chance to review one this past week.

DSLR Guide, created by Simon Cade, is one of my go-to resources for all things film and cinema. With almost a half-million subscribers and over 21 million views, his channel is an awesome resource for anyone interested in becoming a film maker, particularly those who are DIY-savvy or on a budget.

There are two types of motions in video that look similar, but are accomplished in different ways, each having a unique effect on the audience. One of them incorporates moving the camera on a track. The other uses the optical zoom of the lens. In this video tutorial you will learn what's the difference between those techniques and when to use them.

Shooting a beauty video is not quite the same as shooting beauty portraits. While in still photography there is a single frame, in video you can use the power of the moving image to tell a superior story. Here are three cool techniques that help to create this beauty video clip all in camera.

I've always had this issue with regards to the sound design of video and how to actually get something that is usable for the video you are working on. It's either getting audio from a stock library, having a friend compose something, or making it yourself. And the latter is really very time-consuming, and I'd rather focus on the stuff I enjoy and am good at, like shooting photos or video. Once I watched the latest video by Film Riot, it seems like the problem of finding audio might be over.

If you've ever dabbled in time-lapse photography, you know what an incredible amount of effort goes into making a very short video. From the prep work, to setup, shooting, and editing, you're often looking at a couple of hours for a few seconds worth of video. Well, Morten Rustad invests a bit more time than that: roughly 20,000 kms traveled, 200,000 photos on 20 terabytes of hard drives, and two years of time invested. The result is an incredible seven-minute video that puts Norway's beauty on full display.

Have you ever seen those amazing shots that show a subject holding its place in the frame while the background falls away or becomes extremely compressed? This is called a "dolly-zoom," and you've likely seen an example in films such as "Jaws" and "Goodfellas." While we don't typically use a dolly-zoom when filming interviews, we can learn a lot from studying what happens to an image at different focal lengths. In this video and article, I'll discuss the visual effects created when choosing a wide versus telephoto lens for documentary-style interview productions.

"'Sellout' is a term invented by jealous quitters." Casey Neistat isn't mincing words in his latest vlog, and I have to say: I agree with everything he said.

Have you experienced watching 30-second clips that felt long and boring, while some 10-minute videos seemed engaging and interesting? It's not always about the length of the footage. It's about how you tell the story.

Filmmaker Walter Stoehr just released his newest project, "Horrible Prospects." It's a timely short with all that is going on in our world; with a new president in the U.S., there is much that is unknown for the future. But what goes bump in the night is actually more scary than you might think.

YLE, a Finnish Broadcasting company, were on a mission to attract a younger audience. They needed to make a change to their strategy and get some new programs produced. They knew these shows had to tell stories that were going to speak to a younger audience. Stories that would captivate the senses - and get people excited about the outdoors, to travel and explore.