NoFilmSchool » howto

More Methods of Removing Stuck Pixels from Video Footage

Ryan Koo — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:16:48 +0000

I’ve posted some ways to remove hot pixels from video footage in Final Cut Pro, Vegas, and Aperture in the past. But you can never have too many options! So for anyone dealing with those pesky stuck/hot/dead pixels that are so prevalent with HDSLRs, here are a couple more ways to remove them in post-production using Final Cut Pro — the old version, that is. (more…)

The Director’s Chair – An Introduction

Raafi — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:38:32 +0000

This is the first in a series of guest posts by filmmaker Raafi Rivero.

In this series of posts I intend to address a topic which is both critical and sorely overlooked in the current crop of filmmaking blogs: how to, you know, direct. (more…)

How to Get 1000FPS Slow-Mo in Final Cut Studio (No Extra Plugins Required)

Ryan Koo — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:36:38 +0000

The go-to slow motion plugin in many an editor’s toolbox is RE:Vision Effects’ Twixtor. Twixtor can often stretch a shot originally filmed at 30 or 60 frames per second into Matrix-like levels of slowness. However, the enterprising guys at Crumblepop have come up with a way of achieving this same effect using the Optical Flow filter that ships as part of Apple Motion. Here it is in action: (more…)

Vimeo Launches Free Video School

Ryan Koo — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:02:56 +0000

Vimeo has announced a new addition to their site, and it’s a great one: Vimeo Video School. It’s just what you would imagine: a host of good how-to videos organized in one place, free to watch (as is everything on Vimeo). VVS should be a great place to go to learn the basics of shooting and editing; here’s what they’ve got at launch. (more…)

Free HDSLR Workshop with Shane Hurlbut, ASC

Ryan Koo — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 23:06:37 +0000

DP Shane Hurlbut is a treasure trove of useful information about HDSLRs, as few Hollywood DPs have embraced the DSLR revolution with as much fervor (or online presence) as Shane. He will be presenting a free webinar on Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 12 p.m. EST (9 a.m. PST) — yes, it’s short notice, but the workshop may be archived; ~~if it is, I will update this post with~~ the link to the video is here. Here’s Shane talking about his work with The Bandito Brothers on Act of Valor: (more…)

How to Create Time-Lapse Dolly HDR Shots

Ryan Koo — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:14:34 +0000

Dynamic Perception has some interesting-looking micro-dolly/controller combos for sale, and they’ve demonstrated how to create moving, time-lapse, HDR videos using auto exposure bracketing on a Pentax K7. It’s not something you’ll need to do everyday, but if you ever need to create this very specialized shot, here’s how. (more…)

How to Shoot with Dual System Sound on a Canon DSLR

Ryan Koo — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:47:11 +0000

Daniel Plym shoots for the online entertainment mag Buzzine, and as a result he shoots a lot of red carpet interviews — on a DSLR. He’s responsible for both video and audio as a one man operation, and he manages to shoot dual-system without an audio guy. Here, he breaks down how he’s able to do this via the combination of a 5D Mark II, Sennheiser wireless mic, Zoom H4n, and the Pluraleyes plugin for Final Cut Pro. His tutorial is clear and concise — perfect if you’re not yet shooting dual-system but are thinking about doing so: (more…)

Everything You Need to Know to Color Correct (in Colorista II)

Ryan Koo — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:22:53 +0000

Stu Maschwitz’s tutorial on color correction is one of the most-clicked links on this site, month after month. His very helpful tutorial was recorded for the cross-platform plugin Magic Bullet Colorista I, but the techniques he demonstrated applied to color correction in general. Now, however, Colorista II is available, and the amount of control the $299 plugin gives you is staggering. When it comes to software, however, a lot of people will sell you a product and then try to sell you training for that product — but here’s over an hour of free color correction tutorials from Stu. This is great stuff for an unbeatable price. (more…)

How to Remove Horizontal Banding Artifacts from DSLR Footage

Ryan Koo — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:33:17 +0000

Caleb Pike has posted a video at DSLR Video Shooter for removing horizontal banding artifacts from DSLR footage using Final Cut Pro’s “Limit Effect” tool. This technique should only come as a last resort, however, as the best offense is a good defense: shoot at 1/50 shutter speed in most European countries (or anywhere 50Hz electricity and/or PAL video is standard), and 1/60 in the US and other NTSC locales, and you should be fine. (more…)

How to Save $700 on a DSLR

Ryan Koo — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:03:32 +0000

Yes, you can save $700 on a DSLR. Here’s how.

How to use After Effects

Ryan Koo — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:48:22 +0000

Adobe After Effects is an incredibly deep compositing program that often flusters first-time users with its myriad panels and switches. It’s not the most intuitive program, and as such I don’t recommend taking the approach I did: banging my head against the wall until it made sense. Instead, why not take advantage of two hours of free training from Video Copilot? This video series came out a while ago (circa CS3), but 99% of it still applies to CS5.

DIY snow and rain effects

Ryan Koo — Mon, 10 May 2010 22:38:07 +0000

My forthcoming (at some point!) project 3rd Rail takes place in a snow-blanketed New York City. From a production standpoint this poses significant problems, perhaps not as challenging as depopulating New York City like we did in The West Side (see also: hanging a guy from a 40-foot lamp post), but while we could use visual effects to overcome those problems in The West Side, snow and rain are more of a special effect that requires a practical approach (or just good luck with the weather). Here are a couple of really cheap methods worth considering if you need snow and rain but don’t have a large budget (or a direct line to God). (more…)

New and improved: The DSLR Cinematography Guide

Ryan Koo — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:00:21 +0000

Once again, I’ve updated and expanded The DSLR Cinematography Guide to the tune of 5,000 words — it’s gone from 10k to 15k. While I’m tossing out numbers: according to Google Analytics, the guide has had 70,000 page views, with an average time spent on the guide of 11 minutes. That’s 770,000 total minutes, or 12,800 hours collectively spent reading the guide! I will take this as a confirmation (in addition to all the comments!) that the guide is helpful to a lot of people. Onto what’s new in this version: (more…)

How to make movies with DSLRs (the DSLR Cinematography Guide is updated)

Ryan Koo — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:00:02 +0000

Thanks to everyone for checking out The DSLR Cinematography Guide, which is up to 20,000 views since launching less than a month ago. While it’s great to get traffic for something, what I’m most impressed by is the average time spent on the page: 12 minutes. This is an eternity by internet standards, where most people click on something, find it’s not for them, and immediately click away. I’m sure many visitors to the guide itself fall into that category, which means the rest of you are spending double or triple that on the page, so I’ll take that as proof it’s helpful. And, of course, thanks to everyone who’s commented on the guide.

Today I made some revisions and posted some new sections to the guide; read on to find out what’s new. (more…)

The DSLR Cinematography Guide is live!

Ryan Koo — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:53:53 +0000

In August I spent a lot of time thinking about DSLRs and their unexpected revolutionizing of moviemaking technology. Most digital cinematographers, I think, expected this sort of price/performance disruption to come at the hands of ex-Oakley founder Jim Jannard’s camera startup, RED. And while RED may still overtake the hybrid still/video market in the years to come, the fact is: the revolution is here, now. And so I spent a bunch of time researching DSLRs and the variety of accoutrements it takes to turn a still camera into something resembling a movie camera. Too much time, in fact; I spent months on forums searching for answers, after which I finally moved out of my apartment, took the money I saved by doing so, and bought a camera package and put it to work. The result of my research and experiences is below, in a tiny font:

The DSLR Cinematography Guide

I hope it’s helpful for anyone interested in making beautiful movies for very little money. (more…)

How to fix a noisy MacBook Pro fan

Ryan Koo — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:25:11 +0000

My three year-old MacBook Pro recently started emitting a constant racket from its left fan (which sounds something like this). Most people will tell you you need a new fan for $50, but I decided to try to fix it instead, and so far (it’s been two weeks nine months), the repair has worked great. As any google or youtube search for “noisy macbook pro fan” produces thousands of results, I hope this saves someone fifty of their hard-earned bucks during this, the winter of our hardships.