The Arriflex S is a high grade, professional quality 16mm camera. It can shoot steady, consistent film footage. This tutorial shows you how to properly load your film into the camera and a few other tips for getting the most out of your equipment.
An effective treatment is your first step to getting a job and funding for your documentary. This is a written document used to describe your film and why you want to make it. This video gives you some good tips on how to make an effective treatment for your project.
CGI and live action shots get together in almost every big-budget Hollywood movie these days, but combining them in one shot can be challenging for the uninitiated. This video will teach you all about using CGI in live action films, including the use of 3D Studio Max, Blender, and other software to do the animation, rendering, compositing, and other digital steps to making great CGI-live action integration happen.
Spooky fog-emitting items like coffins and cauldrons are iconic parts of many haunted houses, but are terribly expensive to buy premade. If you're got some DIY know-how, watch this video for a guide to building a coffin fog chiller for your fog machine yourself for a Halloween display, horror film effect, or just because you like foggy coffins. This thing is a BEAST, it will cover your whole lawn if fog by itself.
The Predator is a classic Sci-Fi and horror film monster, and quite possibly one of the coolest. (There will be no debating Aliens vs. Predator in these comments! :) ) If you're looking to make a costume for your indie film, or for going out for Halloween, check out this awesome video on how to make a very convincing looking Predator costume on the cheap!
Take a look at a single film shot, from start to finish, and watch this tutorial which teaches you some in-depth advanced compositing and special effects to use on your film clips and movies. This tutorial is aimed at users of Eyreon Fusion video editing and sfx software.
If you remember in the Hangover, there was an incredibly funny scene where the guys were stuck getting out of going to prison by helping the officers demonstrate a police tazer in front of a group of kids on a school field trip. If you've ever wanted to make your own prop police tazer for one of your films, check out this hilarious and informative video! In it, you will learn how to create your own police tazer!
In this Film & Theater video tutorial you will learn how to make a documentary film step-by-step. The various steps involved in making a documentary are defining the documentary, stylizing the genre, shooting and finally editing. A documentary is a movie that documents reality. It is based on real life situations or people. The three most sub genres are the observational documentary, the expository documentary and the participatory documentary. The different styles can be sit-down interviews ...
If you have a set of windows in your home that are always facing the sun, then that can be a problem. Not only can it damage any furniture that may be in the way, but it can raise the tempature in your room causing you to use more energy to cool it down.
Acting auditions are stressful, and are different depending on what type of project you are trying out for. In this tutorial, get tips from working actors on how to audition for a film or TV show. Learn how to work the camera, emote, and read your lines the way casting directors want you to. Follow these tips and break a leg! See you on the silver screen!
In this video, learn how cine film was transferred in the days before modern telecine machines. This demonstration shows a vintage Sony VC-20 multiplexer transferring home movie footage.
Home security is as important as having a job. You have to protect your family and your valuables. If you can't afford a high tech security system, then maybe a fake security camera will do the trick. This security camera dud is also a cheap alternative for a film prop. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to build a fake cardboard security camera.
Try out this science experiment... watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a simple rocket with film canisters. This is purely educational, and demonstrates the reaction of an Alka-Seltzer tablet, toilet paper, and water. If you don't have Alka-Seltzer, you can substitute it with baking soda, then substitute the water with vinegar.
Ian Beckman of Azerothian Super Villains fame introduces the third installment of How 2 Machinima. This series of tutorials is aimed to introduce both the fundamentals and advanced techniques of WoW machinima-making. Use Adobe Premiere to model machinima and create proper machinima or video game films. Change the lighting to diffused, specular or ambient lighting.
Does your low-budget film need an explosion, a fireball explosion? This video tutorial shows how to build a simple cremora (fireball) and safely use it. There are many filming techniques, you'll have to figure them out on your own though.
The dolly zoom shot is also known as the Vertigo Effect in filming. It's that dizzying, slightly unstable camera effect you see in shows like "Glee" and sometimes "The Office." It creates audience confusion, thus forcing them to keep watching in interest.
A light meter can prove to be an invaluable tool on any film set, allowing you to quickly and efficiently set lights and know the correct exposure values of those lights. Light meters were initially designed for still photographers and cinematographers can easily calibrate them to a given film stock speed for shooting film. But what about today’s digital cinematographer? I’m glad you asked. In this video tutorial you'll see how you can use a light meter to quickly and efficiently light a scen...
Indy Mogul's Backyard FX series has another great video for making high quality props and special effects. In this installment, you'll learn how to make a destructible wall, perfect for the big action sequence in your next low budget film project.
Secondary color correction is used mostly to adjust the skin tones of people in your film. This tutorial show you how Apple Color lets you quickly and easily adjust the skin tones of the actors and actresses in your film project.
Time lapse is a dynamic filming technique, and can be even more interesting if the camera is moving while it films. You can achieve this effect by using the Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly, MX2 DollyShield and Pentax K7, and this tutorial shows you how.
Having a clip filmed at 25p can sometimes make the footage look jerky, which can distract the viewer from the content of your film. This tutorial shows you how to convert a 25p clip to 50p or 25i using Adobe After Effects.
Real iPods are as quite common, but still so expensive that there are times, especially for films and pranks, where you may want to do something to one that will break it and necessitate buying another. You can't afford that can you? This video will teach you how to make a prop iPod out of common DIY materials.
In this tutorial, we learn how to jump over a car with film effects & tricks. First, you will take a long shot of someone pretending like they are jumping over a car, make sure they add in excitement. After this, you will take a long shot of a car driving over in the same area. Now, load your clips and add in the image of the person jumping with the image of the car. After this, use the magic tool to add them both in the same scene, then you will have a great film effect that makes it look li...
Want to create your own camera? The simplest one that you can create is a pinhole camera which can be constructed from everyday household items.
In this video, we learn how to write a song for film or television with Brad Hatfield. When you collaborate with other people, you will be invited into a new network of people. The web of people will keep expanding to help you learn new skills and how to write different songs. Try to understand what works for both you and the artist so you don't get emotionally involved. When you write songs for film or television, you will want to listen to feedback and give each other direction on how you w...
Umbrella lights are the surest sign of a photo shoot in progress, and allow you to create all sorts of clean well-lit looks for photographing people especially. This video will show you how to use them in film to create a glamorous look often used in music videos.
In this clip, learn how to use the Polaroid frames included in Vintage Film for Looks. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular raster graphics editor or a seasoned designer looking to better acquaint yourself with the new features and functions of the latest iteration of the application, you're sure to benefit from this free software tutorial. For more information, watch this video guide.
This video tutorial belongs to the Film & Theater category which is going to show you how to build a light diffuser to improve your film lighting. Joe Richardson explains how to do this. You will need four pieces of pine wood 1" x 2" x 8 feet long, framing nails, duct tape and light cloth material. Cut the wood at the edges at a 45 degree angle and lay them out on ground to make the frame and hammer in the framing nails. Now spread the cloth over the frame and start stapling it. Pull the clot...
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to do a liquid nitrogen experiment. The materials required for this experiment are liquid nitrogen and film canisters. This task is very easy, fast and simple to do. Begin by pouring the liquid nitrogen into the film canisters. Then quickly place the film canister lids on. The liquid nitrogen will eventually become a boiling gas and expand about 700 times. Because of the expanding, the pressure will build in the canisters and result in popping lids. T...
The Matrix had all sorts of stunning visual effects that have become standards in film since its release in 1999. This video will teach you how to create just one of them, the film's iconic titles, using the Adobe Premiere Pro editing suite.
It's odd how something that filmmakers fought for so long to get rid of, blurriness in their film, is now so sought after by new filmmakers who wish they still had it. This video will teach those new digital filmmakers how to diffuse images using track and color mattes. If your film needs to look lower-quality, the tips in this video should be very helpful to you.
When it comes to filming a great movie, having a great creative vision is just as important as more practical aspects of cinema, like how to employ film editing programs for the perfect widescreen shot or a camera jamb arm for stunning overhead shots.
Applying a restrictive film on your storm door is a smart and great energy saving method. During the long summer months, if any sunlight hits your storm door, it can not only damage the look of your door, but cause your home to become much hotter than you need it to be.
Heath Ledgers iconic portrayal of The Joker in the film The Dark Knight has made him a Hollywood legend, shoving Jack Nicholson Joker straight out of posterity. This video will teach you how to do your makeup to look like his scary makeup from the film. The end result looks really good, and is sure to intimidate your friends on Halloween or at whatever other costume soiree you wear this to.
Remember film? With Adobe Illustrator, it's easy to make an old-timey film strip icon perfect for a video application. This clip will show you how it's done. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular vector graphics editor program or a seasoned graphic arts professional looking to better acquaint yourself with the new features and functions of this particular iteration of the application, you're sure to benefit from this free software tutorial. For more information, watch this designer's guide.
This tutorial covers some of the basics of dramatic filmmaking. A drama is a film that is character-driven, using the characters' emotional responses to situations to move the story along. Epic and historical dramas put their characters in historical events. Crime dramas are set within the rules and boundaries of reality, but do not have to be linked with any historical event. These films utilize suspense and action to push the characters through the story. Biopics are motion picture biograph...
Step 1: Film yourself in the first position which you want your audience to see. Step 2: Film yourself in the second position you want your audience to see.
You got a hold of some old vintage "sound transferring thing" on eBay... If it's a Goko, you're in luck. In this video, learn the basic functions of a Goko TC-20 Super 8mm sound film transfer machine.
If you're into animation, you can't pass this up... see how to widen a LEGO mini-figure's arm motion for brickfilms. Brickfilms are animated films using LEGO, Mega Bloks, or other plastic construction building block toys. Most are stop motion, but some brickfilms are even made with CGI, traditional animation and live action.
If you plan to do a voice-over on a video, there are a few ways to get that big studio sound in your amateur film without the big studio usage fees. This episode of Jim Shorts gives you a look inside Jim Shorts, at how I do some voice-over work, and how you can do the same thing for next to nothing.