Time lapse videos can be used to distort a sense of time around your subject, which makes them very useful special effects in documentaries. By using time lapse, you can show the transition from sunrise to sunset in just a few seconds, or slow down a drop of water hitting a table. The tools in Adobe Premiere can be used to create this effect, and the following tutorial shows you how to take your raw footage and turn it into a time lapse shot.
Learn to create the popular dubstep "talking wobble bass" sound using Operator and Ableton Live. Dubspot Instructor and Ableton Certified Trainer Michael Hatsis aka !banginclude explains how to create this popular sound. By combining settings on Operators with the Ableton Live device Redux effect, this video takes you through the process and shows you how it's done.
Mentalism and card magic work great together, as the trick that you will learn how to do in this video so eloquently demonstrates. It's called the Deck Divination Effect, and this video will show you the trick and then exactly how to do it for your next close-up magic show.
The greenscreen has allowed filmmakers to take us to worlds they never could have otherwise, but they can ruin a movie when used poorly. Watch this video for a guide to picking a screen, lighting it, and getting a good key for it using Final Cut Pro or After Effects.
The shrink ray as always been one of the oddest and least-useful sci-fi guns, but alien invaders seem to love them and so we'll keep seeing them. If you want to use a shrink ray in a film you're working on, watch this video. It will teach you how to first make a generic ray / laser gun, and then how to make an object shrink in After Effects.
Dance lead synth tracks with oscillator sync (osc sync) effects have powered some of the biggest pop hits of recent years, notably "Sandstorm" by Darude and "Poker Face" by Lady GaGa. In this video you'll learn how to use osc sync and other effects create a dance pop synth lead in Reason 4.
The iconic rap songs that Dr. Dre produced in the early 1990's were the best party rap songs of all time, and many were lead by a high-pitched synth melody that became the hallmark of Dre tunes. Watch this video to learn how to make a similar synth lead effect in Reason.
Film Noir, or black film, is a type of film that can easily be attributed to classics such as the Humphery Boggart films of old (Maltese Falcon, King of the Underworld, ect.). If you're looking on how to create the effect yourself without a big budget, check out this video! John Hess gives you some basic tips to creating the effect with lighting and more!
In this clip, you'll learn a simple technique for generating a pitch sweep within Logic Pro or Express. For more information, including a complete demonstration and detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started using this effect in your own Logic projects, watch this free video Logic tutorial.
With this thorough guide, you'll learn how to color correct footage in After Effects of Photoshop using the Curves tool. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular motion graphics and compositing software or a seasoned video professional just looking to better acquaint yourself with the program and its various features and filters, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, watch this free video guide.
Miranda from Mass Effect 2 is one of the sexiest femme fatales to show up on the game scene in a while. If you find yourself wanting to translate her icy good looks onto your real face, watch this video. It will show you how to create a makeup look inspired by the character. Now all you have to do is work on your Afrikaans accent and you're good!
In this tutorial, we learn how to create ink drop and spread effects. You will need: coffee filters, fish tank, dropper, black ink, water, and a bowl. Next, pour water into your fish tank, then pour your ink into the dropper. After this, add in water into the bowl and place the coffee filter in it to soak it, then place it on a flat surface. For the first effect, drop the ink into your water and see what it looks like when you drop it into the tank, getting this on tape and using the proper l...
Munch's The Scream is one of the world's most famous paintings, and at least since it was painted people have had a fascination with images of larger-than-life mouths screaming. This video will show you how to use Photoshop to create some cool screaming face effects, like making the mouth huge and distorted or even making it cover the entire face! The effects are cool and easy, so try it!
Gambit is one of the coolest X-Men, and his kinetic energy powers are awesomely powerful. If you want to depict them using special effects in a film, this video will show you how to do it using three free pieces of digital editing software:
Virtual cameras enable you to add all sorts of cool effects to your animations by making it seem like they were filmed with a camera that could move and focus. This video will show you where to acquire and how to use the vcam software plugin for Flash CS4 to create all of the aforementioned effects and more! This can also be useful for video games.
In this clip, learn how to create an ultra cool Sin City/Max Payne comic book effect using Photoshop. This in depth tutorial will cover every basic step and show you how easy it is to make a great looking piece of art on your computer.
Remember those cartoons from when you were a kid? Where the big character would suddenly be able to hide completely behind something ridiculous like a pole or a thin tree? Well, in this tutorial, learn how to create this Looney Toons type transition using After Effects. This is a super neat form of editing that will add a fun, cartoonish effect to your filmmaking.
See how to create an iPhone-style slide-to-open effect in Adobe Flash CS4. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular Flash-development platform or a seasoned web developer 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 Flash developer's guide.
This video tutorial for Adobe Premiere CS4 for beginners demonstrates how to add some simple effects to your videos using this powerful video editing program. Included are how to add alpha glow to a video, how to select a keyframe, and how to make videos move from side to side.
Into abstract art? Have Photoshop and a little spare time? This video demonstrates how to create a neat motion-streaking effect. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular image editing software or simply looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial from TutVids. For more information, including step-by-step instructions on how to recreate this effect for yourself, watch this graphic designer's guide. Download the photo used in this tutorial rig...
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to create a light-saber effect using Adobe Premiere Elements. Begin by adding your video into the program. Then go to the effects and select the lightning effect. Configure the effect settings to the settings provided in the video. Now play the video frame by frame until you see the sword in the video. Then go to the start and end points, and drag the points to the sword. Go 1 frame forward each time and click the split button. Then drag the points to...
Special effects are so cool and so..expensive! In this tutorial, learn how to make a portable green screen for very cool effects for less than 30 bucks. This green screen can move with you so you are ready to shoot no matter where you are! Follow these step by step instructions and you will be practicing your Oscar speech in no time.
Not only does "Andy Field Magic" go about showing the effect in a professional manner, he does so in a personable and thorough demonstration. Agreed, the effect is not magic in essence, but does show off quite the slight of hand. I appreciated that lack of jargon in the demo; the performer visually made sure that you understood what he was doing step by step. It makes for an easier learning environment when you know exactly how the effect is achieved through a slower paced demo. He seems to b...
Learn how to add special lens flare effects to a logo in Pinnacle Studio with this tutorial. You will select the picture to be edited and drag it to the video screen. Select the lens flare effect from the Studio Plus RTFM which is standard with the program, you don't need to purchase any additional effects to create the lens flare. You can preview the effect and change the direction and color of the flare. Once you are happy with how the flare effect looks on your logo, you can save it to a f...
Call of Duty? Nope. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs? Nah. Battlefield: Bad Company? Think again. This isn't any video game on the market, this is your own video game, well… your own video game logo - military-style.
Learn to add sound effects and audio controls to Sony Movie with this video. 1. First, go to your audio track in Sony Movie Studio. Under voice (on the left) click the effects button. 2. You can use the 3 included or click the plus in the upper right corner. 3. You can use any. One is VST. If you want the radio one, then click it and then click OK. 4. You can adjust it as it is playing. Click effect removal and then the plus to try other effects. 5. To get VST effect, go to google and search ...
Check out this video from Chemical Reaction Tutorials (CRTutorials). If you love filmmaking, prop making, editing and everything else that goes along with making movies, then you'll want to see what Adam has to say about lightsabers.
Easily turn your pics into table top style miniatures with this easy to create effect. This takes panarama photographs from afar and fades certain areas creating a toy scene effect. It's magical. Turn cities into model like images that resemble fantasy more than real life. To do this in Photoshop you're going to use the blur tool, layer masks, copies and gradient tools.
Want to mix and scratch like a professional DJ? To be a good DJ you need to understand the concepts of mixing tracks, adding cool effects, and of course you need a good sense of rhythm to line up the beats. This how to video explains how to use the visual FX on the SVM-1000 Pioneer mixer. This video goes through each effect and how to change each effect. Watch this DJ tutorial and you can learn how to use the visual effects like ripple, zoom, blur, distortion, and the block effect on the Pion...
A laser light show is possible to replicate with the diffraction grating effect. Different laser effects can be created using a variety of materials: small motors and diffraction grating pieces, and mirrors. It's possible to create searchlights, crystal balls, spring patterns, a Galvanometer effect, and a spider web. Watch this video circuitry tutorial series and learn how to replicate professional laser show techniques for recreational use at home, or as an accompaniment to music or any pseu...
Watch this instructional science video to observe the Barus effect in action. A dyed solution of POLYOX (polyethylene oxide - it is the stuff used as the lubricant on the strip found in all modern razors) is extruded from a 50 mL syringe. On exit, a marked swelling in the liquid stream several times the diameter of the orifice is observed. The effect is referred to as the Barus Effect, but it also goes by several other names including the Merrington Effect, Die Swell, and Extrudate Swell.
Add style to your Photoshop file with the program's advanced filters and tools. Learn how to use the creative text tools of Photoshop in this Photoshop tutorial from a professional graphic designer.
This week, Indy Mogul, Erik shows how to recreate the effect of someone crawling out of a TV. Just like in that scary movie The Ring. It's actually not expensive, just about $30. You will need scrap wood, poster board, tape, and flat bright green paint. Watch this video film special effects tutorial and learn how to make the effect of someone crawling through a television.
Ben and Paul show how easy and effective it is to cook up some great vomit effects using a strip of blue photographer's paper and a tin of pumpkin. Oh, and Adobe After Effects.
If you've seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, you'll know one of the greatest special effects of the film is where Mola Ram rips the heart out of someone's chest. In this episode of Backyard FX, Erik recreates that effect with the help of his family members. Don't forget to check out our previous episode on how to create a fake heart.
Want to enhance your photography? Check out how to blur water for a dreamy effect in your photographs.
In this Flash video tutorial you learn how to add a metallic glint effect to text in Flash CS3.
Learn how to use the filter effect with a DJ mixer and a CDJ. It's important to explore the full effect of each effect by combining it with other controls. The filter will transition between the bass, mid, and treble or top levels of the music.
Indy Mogul shows you four ways to create movie effects to make yourself look like a giant both with and without a green screen.