Make your job a little easier by setting presets in After Effects. This will allow you to save time while you add visual effects to your film. Having custom presets makes it much simpler to achieve consistency is your VFX.
The iPad 2 had two cameras built in, put them to use! You can film video with your iPad's camera and then edit it using the iMovie app from Apple's app store. This video will show you how to use iMovie for video editing.
Are you obsessed with bobs now after watching bombshell actress Olivia Wilde donning one (albiet it was a wig) in the futuristic action film "Tron"? If you're serious about taking the plunge into short hairhood, then check out this video for your introduction to cutting and styling an A-line bob.
This tutorial shows you how to create your own monster, from start to finish, out of foam latex. You can use this as a prop in your movie by using stop motion techniques. Get your inspiration for the monster from anywhere!
Start with a Targus Monopod, and then follow along with this tutorial to create a BodyPod - a body harness that will let you 'wear' your camera. This modification costs less than fifteen dollars, and lets you cut down on the gear you'll need when filming.
One of the problems with car mounts for film cameras is avoiding harmonic vibration and keeping your shot steady. This tutorial shows you how to make your own camera mount that will shoot stable, clear footage as the car drives.
You don't need a rotoscope or special lip syncing equipment - you can create the stop motion effect with any digital SLR - even a webcam! All you need to do is add an adapter, as shown in this tutorial.
Interested in making your own tutorials? You'll need some good screen capture software if you want to do a screencast, and one of the best programs for that is Microsoft Expression. This video goes over the basics of the program so you can get the most out of it.
This tutorial shows you how to add some more functionality to the clips on your iMovie films. Create custom title screens by adding logos, transparent images and watermarks to your videos using this versatile and powerful movie editing software for Mac.
This is a great DiY idea for the indie or home film maker. Don't spend hundreds of dollars on a glidetrack, when you can make your own at home for less than twenty dollars. Turn a pair of curtain rods into your new camera glidetrack.
Want to film underwater, but can't afford the expensive professional camera rig? This tutorial shows you how you can construct your own functional underwater camera rig for about sixty dollars. You will need: small ankle weights, threaded seal tape, waterproof sealant, Velcro, a rubber washer, a sheet of plexiglass, PVC pieces, metal ring clamps, hot glue and a dremel.
Many professional videographers record their audio separate from their video. This tutorial shows you the best equipment to make your finished clips and film as professional as possible. Make sure you have a post production program like Final Cut Pro which will allow you to sync up your tracks.
If you're still having problems balancing your camera stabilizer, whether it's a Glidecam, Flycam or other piece of equipement, this tutorial is for you. There are a couple tips you can use to keep your camera steady while you're filming.
This tutorial focuses on framing your shot, especially when you're planning to film an interview. However, this also touches on how you can frame people for the greatest effectiveness in your shot. Be aware of what is both inside and without the frame, as well as headroom.
Don't have a wireless mic or a boom mic? Still want to improve the audio quality of your films? All you need is an inexpensive mp3 recorder, which you can easily tape underneath your clothes, or wherever else you need it to be.
Get a MiniDV Steadycam recently? This is a lightweight, easy to use and portable stabilizer usable with most camcorders on the market today. Set it up quickly, and learn how you can use it to best effects when filming your next project.
Decided after you filmed it that your footage shot in 60p would actually look better as a slow motion shot? Fortunately, you don't have to shoot anything over again - you can just use Adobe After Effects to slow it all down.
Professional quality, high definition video cameras are now getting within the grasp of independent film makers, and this tutorial shows you how you can use the Flip camera, or other small HD cameras, to shoot your own high quality projects.
This is a video of a lecture, and shows any photographer the best way to set up night shots, starting with equipment (lighting is especially important, for obvious reasons) and then moving on to tips and strategies for framing good night shots.
Ever wish you could take your iMovie application on your desktop with you wherever you go? Now, with the iMovie app, you can use your iPhone 4 to edit videos on the go. The possibilities are endless - from making a video postcard to filming a kid's birthday party, you can make instant memories!
Want to port your love of all things Twilight to Sims 3? You can build a replica of the Cullen house as featured in the Twilight film, right in your Sims game! This tutorial shows you exactly how to construct this spacious vampire mansion.
Kiki's Delivery Service is one of Japanese anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's most beloved films and Kiki among his strongest protagonists. If you love Kiki and want to be her for Halloween or a cosplay event, watch this video to learn how to put together an easy but good Kiki costume.
If you thought Jaden Smith was indeed the "new" Karate Kid, then you probably also loved the music video for the hit song "Never Say Never" by Jaden and pop sensation Justin Bieber. In this video, you'll learn how to do the dane routine from the music video and Karate Kid film, with a full breakdown of the dance.
Minimize loss of quality when you're changing a video from one format to another. This tutorial shows you how to take a film clip in high definition mp4 format and convert it into an avi format with minimal loss of data or quality.
There are a lot of different kinds of lighsabers in the Star Wars films. Almost every character who has one has a different one. Thus, there are many different ways to make a replica lightsaber for Halloween or as a prop. Watch this video to learn how to use two different designs to make your own lightsaber prop out of hardware store materials for about $15.
Has white balance always been a problem in your photographs? Getting the perfect color in your photos is tricky business, even on digital cameras. This video will give you the ultimate information on customizing the white balance and color temperature for your film, video footage and pictures. Ritwika teaches how to obtain accurate color balance using various custom white balance techniques.
Velcro rollers might be synonymous with crazy old ladies in Hollywood films at this point, but they can make your hair look really cute if you know how to use them. Watch this video to learn how you can use old-fashioned velcro rollers to give you hair body and style.
At its default setting, a Flip video camera will not take video in a format compatible with Windows Movie Maker, which makes it difficult if you wanted to turn your film into a clip or slideshow. This tutorial shows you how to convert content taken with a Flip camera to a Windows compatible format!
When you film at home with just a regular camera using the built-in microphone, the quality can be bad to worse at best. If you are looking to improve the sound the best that you can with low budget solutions, check out this video. You will get tips on how to secure your locations and also how to monitor the sound going into your camera.
Cross processing is an old photography technique where the actual film is developed using the 'wrong' chemicals. It can add a unique color variation, like giving your subject green-tinted skin. It's possible to replicate this cross processing technique using Adobe Photoshop, and this tutorial demonstrates how.
If you want to look like the sexy bombshell Megan Fox, then pull out your bag of tricks (makeup bag, that is) and follow along to this makeup tutorial to see how to mimic Megan Fox's super sexy looks. She's definitely one of the hottest actresses in the film industry today, and her makeup looks are in constant request.
There's more to Bollywood than just singing and dancing. There's the makeup, and if you've seen "Umrao Jaan", you know what makeup can do! This makeup tutorial will help you recreate Aishwarya Rai's look in "Umrao Jaan" in the scene where she first reveals her face to the sultan. She looks absolutely gorgeous and her makeup was stunning.
Use gelatine prosthetics and paint techniques to create the ultimate zombie make up look - great for halloween or professional films! It's easy! So easy, in fact, that this clip can present a complete overview of the process in just under six minutes' time. For more information, including step-by-step instructions, watch this video guide.
Shotguns are great for obliterating things that are close to you. Single barrel pump-action shotguns are the one most readily available to most folks, and if you want to depict one in one of your films without buying one or risking injury to your actors, this video will help you. It will show you how to make a prop shotgun out of cardboard and some other tools that looks pretty realistic and will let you shoot with guns without risking shooting anyone.
Syncing the lips of animated characters to dialogue is one of the most painstaking tasks that any animator has to perform, especially when working on the localization of foreign animated films. This video will teach you the basics of how to sync the lips of animated characters in Flash CS4. You need to have a set of mouths already created to make this work, but once you have that this video should be able to help you put them together and create a really professional Flash movie.
Adobe Premiere Pro is one powerful piece of software if you want to make your videos look professional. This video will teach you how to use preset styles with the software to create cool visual effects like those in the movie 300 and others. Download the project file to get the presets, then apply them to your films and see what you get!
Do you feel like your whole paycheck is going towards buying store-brand fake blood from your local prop shop? You must be using a lot of fake blood, because the stuff isn't very expensive. If you want to make your own blood at home, this video will show you how, using only simple household ingredients that you probably already have.
Pleasantville is a town where everything is preserved in a frothy '50s white bread film, forever stuck in time, orthodox, and unchanging. So when certain objects begin acquiring a technicolor sheen, the townspeople went bonkers.
You know those scenes in movies where we see time go by over a single shot? The same image goes from day to night and back again? In this tutorial, learn how to create this great film effect using Final Cut Pro. This video will show you all of the steps you need to know and you will see just how easy it is to do.
In this tutorial, learn how to age yourself for any film or theatre project. This method of aging requires just a few simple makeup products that are cheap and easy to buy, if you don't already own them.
