Articles written by Mike Wilkinson

[Video] Camera Inception - Making a Canon TV Commercial

by Mike Wilkinson

February 19, 2012

Shooting the guy who’s shooting another guy who is acting like he is shooting an athlete. Should we go one level deeper? Canon Explorer of Light Tyler Stableford was featured by Canon in a commercial called “The Craftsman” for their EOS Digital products. In the full post, check out the behind the scenes video, followed by the final ad. Try not to get caught in limbo.

[Video] Is Your Idea Really Yours? Everything Is A Remix

by Mike Wilkinson

February 17, 2012

This fantastic mini-doc explores the history behind intellectual property, ideas, creativity, and the laws that have been put in to place to control them. If you enjoyed Noam Galai’s Stolen Scream doc, you’ll get a kick out of the commentary provided in this video by Kirby Ferguson. What do you think? Is creativity derivative? Where do you draw the line, if you draw one at all?

[Video] Travel Video Done Right - Exploring Chile And Patagonia

by Mike Wilkinson

February 13, 2012

It takes more than a nice a camera and an amazing landscape to make stunning images. Vimeo user Dana Saint traveled with his girlfriend for 5 weeks and didn’t just capture great footage, but he also wrote a wonderful voiceover to go with it. It starts a bit slow but picks up in the last few minutes, with shots going by so fast I had to re-watch it several times over again.

[Pics] Stop What You're Doing And Look At Dogs Underwater

by Mike Wilkinson

February 10, 2012

Such a simple concept, but executed masterfully by photographer Seth Casteel in this series of images that depicts dogs diving or swimming in water. I love dogs, as I'm sure most of you do, so you definitely want to give these a look. Check out the full post to see some of his amazing captures of man's best friend.

[Video] Behind The Scenes - OK Go's Music Vid "Needing/Getting"

by Mike Wilkinson

February 9, 2012

By now most of you have probably seen OK Go's music video for "Needing/Getting", either during the Superbowl or from the millions of people who circulated it across the web right after. They just released the first in a series of behind the scenes videos that show how they made this awesome ad, check it out!

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[Video] Impressive At High ISO - Ruin Porn Shot On Canon C300

by Mike Wilkinson

February 6, 2012

The Canon C300 can utilize a Gamma Curve called Canon Log to increase it’s usable dynamic range to a remarkable 12 stops (explained in detail here). Kevin Ritchie spent a day at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philly just testing it out, and I think the results are a great real world example of the power of the C300/Log Gamma combination. Shots look clean at 6400 ISO! Is anyone else as excited for this camera as I am?

[Video] Shooting Landscape Photography At Garden Of The Gods

by Mike Wilkinson

February 3, 2012

Photographer Lewis Carlyle at Sun Gallery Photography has been exploring some amazing landscapes and sharing their beauty in his series American Photographic. This video explores Garden of the Gods in Colorado, including info on the challenges of shooting there, as well as a history lesson. What landscape destinations are on your list to visit?

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[Video] Powerful Slow-Mo Video Shot On $500 DSLR

by Mike Wilkinson

January 30, 2012

We’ve featured slow motion videos before, and this one is right up there with the best in terms of it’s motion rendering. Shooting with a $500 Canon 550D/T2i, Sacha Powell put together this powerful video using Twixtor to slow down some of his shots. It really goes to show that you don’t need the most expensive gear to make amazing visuals. You'll want to watch this fullscreen.

[Opinion] The Best Free & Pay Music Websites For Video Editors

by Mike Wilkinson

January 28, 2012

Great music can take a video edit to the next level, but music that doesn’t fit, or is cheesy stock-quality can make even the most awesome video seem like something your uncle put together after a few beers. I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite places to get FREE music for low/no-budget video projects, as well as some pay sites. Check out the list in the full post.

[BTS] 6,878 Hours To Make One Awesome 30 Second Ad

by Mike Wilkinson

January 27, 2012

There’s something to be said for painstakingly creating an entire scene by hand, out of nothing but paper. The thing you say is WOW! British production company Blink, with direction by Joseph Mann, worked with a team of paper artists to create elements for this Peugeot ad. See the full post for the ad as well as a behind the scenes look at all the work put into this awesomely crafted commercial.

[Video] The Photographers Behind Their Iconic Photos

by Mike Wilkinson

January 23, 2012

Photographer Tim Mantoani has been working on a 5-year project called “Behind Photographs”, where he has been capturing the artists that were responsible for some of the iconic images that have shaped our culture. In this video he talks about his process a bit more, and shows the rare 20x24 Polaroid camera he used. Very cool historical piece here, it’s an interesting juxtaposition showing the photo with the photographer.

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[Video] ‘Park Life’ A Doc On Climbing, Life, And Filmmaking

by Mike Wilkinson

January 20, 2012

The filmmakers at Louder Than 11 shot this documentary in Yosemite Valley and have made it freely available for anyone. While most of this visually-rich film shows bouldering, it’s all about the stories of the climbers, including the filmmakers themselves, who talk about balancing their passions for climbing and filmmaking. This has arguably some of the best graphics and editing I’ve seen in a rock climbing video. Shot on an AF100.

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[Video] Adventure Sport Shooter Shares His Gear Secrets

by Mike Wilkinson

January 16, 2012

French outdoorsman Sebastien Montaz-Rosset likes to play in the mountains. He discovered a second passion while there, which was shooting photos and videos. Sebastien has made some amazing pieces, especially for not having any formal training. Check out the videos in the full post to see his unique approach to getting some creative shots for his adventure films.

[Video] The Making Of An Epic Backpacking Documentary

by Mike Wilkinson

January 13, 2012

Why does a group of creative artists take their gear on a 230 mile, 25 day backpacking trip? The Muir Project is why. This team not only creates masterful images in remote places, but they're able to endure rough terrain and heavy packs. Hiking for 25 days with a 75lb pack is crazy, but the images are worth it. For the BTS video and a teaser, check the full post.

[Video] Custom Firmware Enables HDR Video On Canon DSLRs

by Mike Wilkinson

January 9, 2012

The custom firmware developers over at Magic Lantern recently released a new version of their firmware for the Canon 550D, 60D, 500D and 50D which adds an HDR function to video recording. A release for the 5Dm2 is out for beta testing at the moment. The footage looks a little stilted when there is motion, but this is still pretty incredible considering the firmware is free to anyone who wants it! See the technical bts video.

[Video] Nikon D4 Video Features Demonstration (Updated)

by Mike Wilkinson

January 8, 2012

The new Nikon D4 has some amazing capabilities on paper, and by now most people have seen the amazing video by Corey Rich. The video below demonstrates many of the D4's new video features, including using an iPhone or iPad to control the camera, clean HDMI out onto an external recorder, and selecting the crop modes. Nikon really did this one right, but it looks to me as though that the focus tracking makes the aperture breathe, which would make it unusable during recording. See if you can spot where he knocks the camera over by mistake!

Update: Also, check out the full post for a demo of the D4 working with the new WT-5 wireless transmitter and the iPad.

[Gear] Accessories For Better Audio On Your DSLR Video Projects

by Mike Wilkinson

January 6, 2012

Hey there everyone, my name is Mike, and I’m one of the new Fstoppers crew. Today I’m bringing you up to speed on some audio gear you might find useful for your video shoots. Besides using an H4N to record second-system sound, what else can you do to get better audio for your video projects when shooting on a DSLR? This question plagues a number of video shooters I know, sometimes because of budget, or simple the need to keep their kit as small and portable as possible. Click to see the full post here.