Do you know where your shadow is? If you don't, it might be time to crack open SketchUp, download The Sketchup Show episode #42 and work along with Mike as he demonstrates how to harness the power of shadows and location in SketchUp. It's one thing to build a model in SketchUp, but it's just as important to show it off with lights and shadows. See how in this tutorial.
Create a nighttime chorus of insect sounds by modifying a solar yard light! You'll need some components, and the circuit board is not for the timid. It's pretty complicated with resistors, capacitors, thermistors, amplifiers, and some transformers. If you can manage all of this soldering work, then you will have one hell of a cricket show!
Ah, the alluring glow of the LED light. Whether you're looking to create a bit of romantic (albeit extremely geeky) ambiance, or you just want to have some extra emergency lighting around the house, a set of mini LED candles is a great thing to have. They also happen to be quick, easy, and cheap to make yourself. In this video, executive editor Mike Haney demonstrates how to do it.
Laser Tag is using lasers and projectors to tag buildings with light! This is a joint project between Graffiti Research Lab and Make Magazine's Bre Pettis. Tag with lights. It's reversible and non-destructive.
Mousey the junk bot is a light sensing robot made out of an old computer mouse. Bre Pettis of Make Magazine goes over how the pieces are installed and talks about some mistakes that he wishes he could have avoided. This project requires a drill, a dremel, and soldering skills.
After Effects 6.5 shipped with many Cycore Effects one being the Light Sweep effect for fast and effective light gleams. In this video tutorial, DMN’s Stephen Schleicher walks you through the process of using the effect for your project.
If you like to use your Nikon Coolpix S200 outdoors or in dirty places, you may have encountered this problem. If dirt, sand, or other particles get in your lens they can prevent it from opening, and thus prevent you from taking pictures. Watch this video for a guide to cleaning the lens and repairing the problem.
The bump attack is one of the most effective means that professionals use to open locked doors, but the Schalge Primus lock has been long thought to be immune to these attacks. No longer. Watch this video to find out how to bump attack a Primus and also prevent a bump attack on your own locks using anti-bump pins.
In this video, we learn how to cheat on a test or exam with a light. To do this, you're going to need a small hand held black light and a pen that writes in white. After you have these materials, you will write out the answers and information that you need onto a blank piece of paper with the pen. After you have everything written out, shine the small black light onto the paper. Now you should be able to see the writing as clear as day! Use this on a test and nobody will know you have all the...
Lime scale is one of the three most common types of dirt to afflict your shower. It is hard to get rid of and prevent, but not impossible, and this video will teach you chow chemicals and hard work can keep your shower beautiful.
Sometimes we don't realize that some of our most common tasks are actually a major risk for our bodies, and before you know it, you have some sort of injury, like tendonitis. This video will give you the tips that you'll need to help you prevent some of the most common workplace injuries.
This clip offers easy-to-follow instructions on how to adjust your Facebook privacy settings to prevent your friends (and others) from checking you into locations through of Facebook's Places feature. For more information, and to see how to turn off Places yourself, watch this helpful video guide.
If you're having a hard time using any of the ranges or the oven on your stove, it may be because of the pilot light. This is an important part of the appliance that allows it to work correctly. No pilot light, then you'll have a hard time cooking anything.
Ramps are great for allowing car owners to get underneath their vehicle to perform regular maintenance. But for some, their car bumpers tend to get damaged and cause scratches.
In this tutorial, we learn how to prevent the car from starting to test out the starter. The most simple way to do this is to open the hood of the car up and find the fuse locations from the owner's manual. Pull the fuses out and when you try to start the car, it will crank but it will not be able to start. You can use this to test out the battery and test the starter. When finished, remember to replace the fuses back into the car just how you removed them, then restart your car to make sure ...
In this tutorial, we learn how to check the engine light. The check engine light comes on when the engine control module recognizes that your car emissions are not running properly. All of the systems work together with sensors to make sure everything is running correctly. Some problems can be severe while some won't affect the way to car drives at all. When you take your car into a mechanic shop, they will hook it up to a computer which will pin point what the area the problem is in. So make...
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to light-scribe with a Nimbie BB11 disc burner. This device is an auto disc loading system that allows the user to light-scribe multiple disc without manually inserting them one-by-one. Simply load the disc into the machine with the labels faced down. On your desktop, double-click on the Q-Q-Box icon to start the program. Start up the labeling function, select a desires image and quantity up to 100. Then click on Print. The machine will then product l...
Your XBox 360 is a big part of you life. Probably about as big as your significant other. Make it your own by giving it some sweet case mods! This video will show you how to cut a window into the side of your console, install blue LED lights in it, and paint it. If you are one of those lucky XBox 360 owners whose real friends come see them sometimes, they will surely be impressed by this impressive mod.
If you are constantly taking your clothes out of the washer and finding them to be wrinkled, it's an easy fix. There are a couple of troubleshooting tips that will help make sure that your clothes come out nice and wrinkle-free.
If diagnosed and detected early, throat cancer can be treated and most people can go on to live normal and healthy lives. In this video, you'll learn about detecting the symptoms of throat cancer, and learn all about preventing it and fighting it. Watch this video and it could save your life or the life of a loved one.
This video aimed at electricians, is designed to help employers and employees what is required in the standard that is applied for the control of energy during maintenance and servicing of equipment and machinery. Employers are required by law to develop proper lockout safety procedures and provide proper protection materials and safety training. This video is highly important for any electrician, apprentice or journeyman, because it will help prevent injury… or even death.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA, is a bacterial staph
There's nothing worse than when you're driving to work or to the grocery store and all of a sudden, the check engine light comes on. This is one of the most dreadful lights that a car possesses. Not only does it signify that there's something wrong with your car, but it may also be a sign that if int's not taken care of properly, your car can be further damaged by it. So in this tutorial, you'll learn some basic reasons for why and what the check engine light means. Good luck!
You will see a great way to light and set up a blue/green screen for your next video. There are a lot of tips that will come in handy if you want to film on a blue/green screen and don't want to pay outrageous fees to do so. The key in setting up is to block out all outside sources of light so you have just the desired amount of lighting coming just from your own sources and also setting up the screen and stretching it out as tight as possible so you won't see any creases or snags in the mate...
Magic is a wonderful thing. But so is science. So, which category does this mystifying candle trick fall in? Perhaps both.
In this video from the ID Theft Center, learn exactly what identity theft is and how to prevent it from happening to you. Identity theft can happen to anyone - young, old, living, dead - thieves do not discriminate. This helpful video will tell you exactly what to look out for and how to avoid scams. Your host will explain how identity thieves operate and how to cut them off at the pass.
Identity theft typically occurs when someone uses your personal information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers or account information to perform various misdeeds, and you are left to clean up the mess.
A common problem when shooting in low-light situations is that even if you open your lens to its lowest f-stop number, you're left with an image that's far too dark. One obvious remedy is to add more light. But what if you don't have more lights available to you? That's where the gain increase switch comes in. This free video cinematographer's guide will show you how to use digital gain settings to amplify available light to get better shots in less-than-ideal environments.
This a video tutorial that is showing its audience how to mix liquid glow stick colors in order to make a white light. The first step is to gather your supplies. To complete this scientific experiment you will need to get a few different glow sticks, preferably red, blue, and green. The next step is to turn all of your glow sticks on. The third step is to cut open the glow sticks and add them to separate cups. Next you can mix the green and the blue light together. Then finally add the red li...
This video demonstrates how to install trailer lights on your boat's trailer. In order to determine what size replacement kit you will need, you must figure out the width of the trailier at the widest point. First, remove the old lights. Use a large slotted screwdriver to remove the cover. Don't forget to wear eye protection. Next, use vice grips and a wrench to remove the exposed stud. Using a wire brush, remove the salt and loose corrossion. Then grease the threads of the studs. You are now...
Setting up a chroma key backdrop contains various steps/ the support system and muslin consists of various parts like the support stands, shrink lamps and the muslin. Place the two stands 12 feet apart and attach 4 clamps to vertical section of each stand. Snap the crossbars together in a proper way and insert the muslin into the respective end of the crossbar and put the crossbar on the stands with the green end of the muslin facing out. The muslin should be attached using the clamp. And ens...
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to sharpen photos in Adobe Photoshop CS3. Begin by opening the image in the program and duplicate the image layer. To duplicate, press the control and J button. With that images, go to Filter, choose Other and select High Pass. The images will now be covered entirely of gray. It is recommended to set the radius as 5-6 pixels and then press OK. Change the layer blending mode to overlay, soft light, hard light, vivid light or linear light. This video wi...
This video demonstrates the process for drawing prospective shadows using a light source. Start with the shadow vanishing point which is directly below the light source on the horizon line. Draw lines from the shadow vanishing point to the front three corners of your box. Next draw lines from your light source to the top three corners of your box. Where the shadow lines intersect, that area defines the shadow area and can be filled in for shadows. The shadows, of course, will line up with you...
This video is from the Dummies video series. The video will describe the process of replacing a standard light switch with a dimmer switch. First you must pick a dimmer switch that has the capacity to control the light fixture you would like to dim. Add up the wattages of all light bulbs in the fixture and make sure it is less than the rated capacity of your dimmer switch. Next turn off the power to the existing switch from the breaker panel and test with a voltage meter. You will then remove...
This video tutorial shows you the ins and outs of the keyless remote system on the new 2010 Toyota 4Runner. One of the remote controls that the system offer is to lock and unlock your doors. The locking will be signaled by the lights flashing. The unlock button if hit once will unlock your front doors and show two flashes of the lights. If you hit the unlock button twice within three seconds the lights will flash four times and it will unlock all of your doors. Finally it is installed with a ...
This video instructs the watcher on how to use the flash of a Vivitar to add light to photos taken outside if a little extra light is needed. Turn the camera on AV mode, choose an ISO setting like 100 or 200, then take a reading, either off the sky or an object. Then use the Vivitar to match up to that setting. Then position your camera off to the side to add a directional light to give the photo detail and kick. Follow the directions in this video to learn a new technique to give your outdoo...
In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial the instructor shows how to turn on headlights of cars realistically. To do this open the image of a car in your Photoshop software. Now select the dodge tool and choose a brush size that you want to apply. Now click on the head lights of the car a few times using the dodge tool to make it appear as if the lights are turned on. Now after doing this it appears as if the original lights were turned on and never looks like it was edited. This video explains how t...
A dimmer switch lighting system in your home can offer a relaxing midpoint to the standard on-off option and even cut down on energy costs. This video tutorial by Lowe’s shows how to install a single pole dimmer switch in your home lighting system. Depending on the total wattage of the lights to be controlled you’ll need to install a compatible dimmer switch. Before replacing the actual switch plate, check the power with a circuit tester to insure that the power is off.
You use a bike rack that extends from floor to ceiling. Pick where you want to put your picture and place the bike rack there. Adjust the bike rack so that it is at the level you want the picture. Then take a clamp light and clamp it to the pole of the bike rack. If the light slips on the pole, you can wrap some duct tape on the pole to create a surface that the light will stay on. Point the light toward where the back of the picture is going to be. If the picture you want to hang does not ha...
There are a lot of things out there in the design world that people have seen and liked, but didn't know how to make. LIke vector lights. Watch this Illustrator video tutorial to take a look at those cool glowing, color changing, fading, bright, neon-like, fanning spread of glowing colors. Maybe there's no specific name for them, but for now, refer to them as 3D Light Ribs. You can use these in photographs, illustrations, composites, print work, web design, and maybe even a logo or two! You w...