If you've watched the TV series "Grimm," you may be curious how the mythological creatures from Grimm's fairy tales make it onto screen. Bent Image Lab, the production company behind the cg creations of the show, explains their process of transforming characters into creatures and adding a fantastical element to each episode.
In the last several years camera development has taken huge strides in giving photographic capabilities of stills to video. Non film makers now have the capability of taking cinematic quality video without needing to upgrade from their dslr. In this video, Untitled Film Works unpacks the continual merging of stills and video.
To shrink the hobbits in "Lord of the Rings" was not a simple feat for Peter Jackson, it took a lot of set crafting and perspective tricks. Instead of going through those extra hoops for the recently released "The Hobbit," Peter and his team took a different composite approach to the process of resizing the actors. Our friends at Popular Mechanics detailed how the results were achieved.
For one of the most epic trailer sequences of the year, youtuber Genrocks compiled over 100 films into one sequence. Although the movies range into every genre, the sequence flows amazingly well from one scene to the next. For a list of all the movies and music used in the compilation, click here.
We've featured several creative uses of projection mapping here on Fstoppers before, used for both commercial photo shoots or just visual appeal. There is something captivating about incorporating dynamic imagery into a set. Formative is a company that adapts projection mapping set ups for any auditorium. Regardless of who the speaker is, this would make any conference or event quite engaging.
I've been a fan of all of the Lord of the Rings movies and am very much looking forward to the release of The Hobbit this December. I always knew that a lot of work went into the film industry beyond the actors and cameras, but after seeing this behind the scenes of the upcoming Hobbit movie, it makes me realize how extensive the work is after all the filming is said and done.
If you've been looking to upgrade your video set up and get some higher quality audio, take a peek at the holiday savings for the TASCAM DR-40 4-Track Portable Digital Recorder. B&H is offering the fantastic price of $139 plus a $15 rebate. Although online ordering is unavailable till tomorrow afternoon, you can still stick it your cart for later. Amazon is also offering a deal, though not nearly as enticing.
Everyone knows "that" guy or girl who should have stuck with a point and shoot when picking out their camera. From the gear head to the overly enthusiastic "artist," Youtubers DSLRnoidea have a little fun with the type of people who really weren't meant to own a dslr.
If you're a fan of setting up bird feeders and watching the adorable little animals swoop into your back yard, you might want to look into this new piece of equipment designed by Bryson Lovett. Instead of hunting down your favorite avian wildlife at 200 mm, this little contraption allows you to view and photograph the birds up close and personal without invading their space.
It takes a lot of patience to put together an extended time-lapse work; I have great admiration for anyone who actually finishes one. "Existence" is a time-lapse project which Michael Shainblum worked hard on for four months. The scenes he picks are meant to contrast the two sides of life, the busy metropolis that many of us live in and the beauty in nature that can be seen when we step outside our city boundaries.
Good special effects are the ones you don't really realize were "special." They are the moments that give you that sense of awe without dragging you away from being caught in the moment. Fuel VFX specializes in creating special effects for a wide range of movies, some of which you've most likely seen this year.
I'm always a fan of watching talented humans. Parkour is one of those activities which I'll never be good at, but am amazed to watch. HeliPOV had the same idea and decided that parkour group 3RUN should be shown off to the rest of us. The HeliPOV team was kind enough to film the groups jumps and dives using their multicopter. Not only does this clip show off some fun acrobatics, but it also gives a sense of what kind of shots a multicopter can pull off.
Short films are regular projects for Andres Overgaard. Instead of doing his normal work, for one of his most recent projects, Andres decided to take out the Canon 550D/Rebel t2i and test out his Tamron 18-270 mm shooting some video. All shots were hand held with some work done later in post. While the cinematography does show some of the quality shots you can get with the body and lens combo, make sure you stick around for the ending, it's worth it.
A good car chase has heroes, villians, jumps, crashes, helicopters and more. Youtube master Freddie Wong manages to capture the best elements of an epic car chase but does it on a small scale. By using RC cars, Freddie and his crew are able to set up the scene and retake as many times as they want. Check out the final video below.
There are a few ways to photograph motocross in action, but one of the best is to use a high powered strobe. For his latest shoot in NamJi, South Korea, Manchul Kim takes a couple of strobes to the track and sees how close he can get to the action. Since motorcycles can be dangerous and all flying by you, it's a good idea to strap on a remote trigger to your camera and step out of the way.
In a creative and fun spec commercial, Ross Ching uses a really cool Popsicle stick trick and creatively applies it to a fun story. As he describes, Popsicle sticks can fit together in a certain way so that when triggered, a chain reaction occurs down the line at 35 mph. To capture this process, he used the Phantom Miro shooting at 1000 fps.
To put a little twist on filming one of Nissan's most recent car commercials, the crew involved shot everything on a miniature scale by using a few different RC vehicles. Check out how the team tried to preserve some of the standard elements that you might see in a car commercial. The group gets quite creative in building customized camera mounts to keep the best angles.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to the US last week but it appears that his entire delegation didn't return to Iran. Ahmadinejad's photographer is reported to have filed the paperwork to seek asylum and remain in the United States. According to U.S law, once you've filed for asylum, you can legally remain within the country until a decision is made.
As a wedding photographer, there's a certain amount of pressure to get all the "key moment" shots throughout the day. Make sure you get the kiss, dances, tosses, cutting, etc... The list adds up quickly. Despite good preparation, dependable equipment, and anticipation of events, every now and then you're probably going to miss one of these shots.
We've seen behind the scenes videos of how projection mapping can be used artistically and commercially. Tobias Bjorkgren takes on a slightly different angle and applies the concept to his latest fashion shoot. The use of projection allows him to stand his models in front of varying scenes without having to leave the studio. To see the final images, check out his blog. What do you think of the effect?
