» Posts Tagged ‘tutorials’
Two Interview Lighting Tutorials That'll Kick Your Footage Up a Notch
So you’re getting ready to interview that expert for your short documentary, and you want to review your interview lighting technique. Or maybe you’re just looking for an introduction to lighting in general — where do you look? Check out these two interview lighting tutorials — not only are they a great review of the basics, but they each do a great job of illustrating just how every light can help shape the subject and tone of your footage: More »
This site has covered light meters in the past (here and here), but this video by Ryan E. Walters is too good not to share. In the video, Ryan elucidates very well how and why to use a light meter (his pick: the Sekonic L-758C). People pay good money for tutorials of this caliber, so thanks to Ryan for sharing this video for free. Very helpful stuff for DPs: More »
Explore the Underwater Realm is an in-progress series of films that are getting a lot of attention in the filmmaking community, and for good reason. Not only are they making a series of ambitious underwater shorts, they’ve been releasing extremely helpful video tutorials during their Kickstarter campaign as well. I backed their project, and after watching these tutorials and checking out these rewards, I suspect many of you will want to follow suit! Seriously — the tutorials here are incredibly helpful. This is a guest post by director David M Reynolds.
I don’t know about you guys – but I don’t spend a lot of time looking for ways to give my money away. That said, it’s not difficult to squeeze cash out of me – all you have to do is show me something that is going to make my filmmaking better. More »
Free 15-part Training on Color Grading in Final Cut Pro X
Denver Riddle from Color Grading Central has released a free 15-part tutorial on color correction in Final Cut Pro X. Apple’s controversial NLE reboot introduces a number of new features and interface elements, chief of which is the Color Board, seen in the following tutorial. Hit the full link below for all 15 parts, which in addition to streaming for free are available as downloads for $49. More »
Video tutorial site video2brain has published a free tutorial on optimizing your PC/Mac system for running After Effects and Premiere Pro CS5.5 (currently 50% off as part of Production Premium). Click on the image for the full 14-part video tutorial: More »
Video learning site Izzy Video has created a 2.5 hour Final Cut Pro X online training course — and released it for free. Many of the tutorials at Izzy’s site are normally part of a paid membership, but you can go watch this one in its 26-part entirety, without charge. I haven’t done a tutorial on nonlinear video editing since 1998, when I first learned how to edit on a Media 100. But when I booted up Final Cut Pro X this week, I was lost. I couldn’t even drag a clip onto the timeline because the behavior was completely new. So much thanks to Izzy for posting. More »
Did you know you can change the shape of your bokeh by cutting out paper shapes and placing them over your lens? Maybe you did. I didn’t, though, and found out about this simple trick from DANIELS (the guys who brought us this music video), in their mini-video for “Who Do You Love” by Sue Scrofa. Hearts, shapes, letters, entire words: you can make your background highlights appear in the shape of anything you can cut out with scissors. More »
This is the second in a series of guest posts by filmmaker Raafi Rivero.
“What’s my motivation?” This clichéd line that you hear from people making fun of actors has obfuscated its utility. In film school a professor of mine referred to every beat in the script as an action. There are physical actions (he picks up a sword) and verbal actions (“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die”). Each action in a good script has a significance. In rehearsal and in prepping your actors, be sure to go over scenes beat-by-beat, if necessary, to make sure everyone understands the scene. Why a character does one thing and not another: their (yes) motivation is what will inform how the actor internalizes the action. More »
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 »
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
Since we’re on the topic of backyard effects with that Russian Transformers clip, let’s take a look at the technique of integrating 3D objects with live action footage. The technique of placing a 3D object into a previously filmed scene (known as matchmoving) requires sophisticated camera tracking generally reserved for high-end effects packages, but Aetuts+ has a tutorial for doing it with a free After Effects plugin called Voodoo Camera Tracker. I’ve only done 2D tracking myself (to erase people and other background elements in The West Side), but if you’re interested in integrating your own 3D transformers (or something more original, perhaps?) into a live scene, here’s a tutorial for you: More »
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 »
The Digital Cinema Society’s website is a bit outdated, but there are a number of free video workshops that may be worth checking out if you’re interested in topics such as “PL Cine Lenses — What Cinematographers Want and Need to Know” or “HD DSLRs for Cinematography.” The links are non-embeddable Quicktimes, but there are a number of ultra-qualified presenters including reps from ARRI, Redrock, Sennheiser, Schneider, Zeiss, and more. More »
More free After Effects tutorials: rotoscoping, tracking, expressions
In addition to Video Copilot’s free After Effects tutorials, here’s a set of free AE tutorials from Mack Dadd Productions. Note that some of these are dated, but many of the techniques still apply; I would think the Video Copilot series is a good starting point, and these could fill in any gaps. A sampling: More »
Stu Z: Looks awesome! I've put down for 2! Hands-On With the 2.5K Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera
samDEE: Unfortunately, it doesn't matter that real writers don't read Syd Field, b… Charlie Kaufman Gives 70-Minute Screenwriting Lecture
Jason: I had no idea that an article focused on internet movie distribution would… Three Steps For 21st-Century Independent Filmmaking Success
Randolph Sellars: Andy Shipsides is a fantastic resource for anyone shooting with large sens… Want a Specific Look with Your FS100? Try These New Scene Files from AbelC…
Shaun: Fantastic lecture. Since finding it a few days ago I've already listened t… Charlie Kaufman Gives 70-Minute Screenwriting Lecture