Digital SLRs are known for their high image quality, but what about audio? This panel discussion shows you how you can set up your shots and equipment to ensure you get the best possible audio for your next film project.
Three disparate but useful indie filmmaking techniques, one video. One stop shopping just in time for the holidays. This video will teach you how to make day into night with editing, normal things giant with filming, and make actors fall from high places without hurting themselves unduly.
Three awesome film special effects, one video. Ryan at Film Riot sure knows how to make one-stop shopping filmmaking tutorials. This video will show you how to shoot someone's head off, use a jib and dolly together to get more dynamic shots, and also how to make a great cheap light ring.
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.
If you like to learn filmmaking techniques from internet videos fast, then you've found the holy grail right here. This video will teach you how to do four different effects, including text motion tracked to your shots, motion tracking, make a prop sniper scope, and how to dunk someone's head in a toilet. Bonus points if you can use them all in the same film.
Running over someone's head or burying them alive so that they can rise from the grave are dangerous, and not worth using in filmmaking generally speaking. But yay, there are special effects! Watch this video for a guide to running over someone's head with a car or burying them alive for your film using After Effects and some fun props.
Mystique was quite the sexy character in the recent X-Men films, decked out only in blue latex for much of the films. If you aren't afraid of a little blue on you skin, watch this video to learn how to create a perfect Mystique costume with makeup.
When making your film, you want to make sure that the cameras that you're using, and the pictures and footage that you're taking, have the right exposure. Exposure can make or break your film as far as quality of the footage being presented! In this video you will get a tutorial on how to get the perfect exposure for your footage!
Have you ever wondered how all of the blood and dust that flies from wounds and bullet holes in Hollywood films gets shot through the air so convincingly? The answer is a pneumatic dust system. This video will show you how to make one yourself for almost no money, allowing you to achieve all sorts of cool special effects without any expensive digital technology.
This video is a 2-for-1 special. It will teach you how to make not one, but TWO cool props for a film or costume. They are, in no particular order, a gas mask / ventilator and a laser pistol. Both look very cool, require some materials and carpentry skills, and are sure to make your next sci-fi film much more realistic and enjoyable to watch.
Super heros' secret identities are their most guarded secrets. Many choose to protect them with masks, but how to make your mask if you're a new superhero or a filmmaker trying to simulate a super hero? This video will show you how to make your own cheap superhero mask at home, which will be a great prop for your next film or Halloween costume.
If you've ever played through Valve's amazing first-person puzzle game Portal, you probably have dreams and nightmares about orange and blue portals appearing in the walls around you. Do you want to recreate the effect in a film? This video will show you how to create your very own colored wall portals on film using After Effects.
The film Jumper may not have been critically acclaimed, but few can argue with how awesome the special effects that allowed the characters to teleport at will are. They looked great and were applied with great aplomb. This video will show you how to mimic that effect in After Effects, allowing you to make your own teleportation-happy films. I bet you can make one better than Jumper!
Kevin Hnatiuk (the Digital Dad) shows you how to convert your old Super 8 film reels to DVD, easily at home. Knatiuk goes over how to get started, what you need, and what to expect when digitaizing your super 8mm movies.
Watch this video tutorial from the Polish Guy to see how to polish an Andersen Door Handle using Simichrome. In this demonstration we use Simichrome to polish an Andersen Perma-Shield Frenchwood hinged patio door’s brass entrance handle. The tutorial includes a detailed work instructions and best practices.
This is a great tutorial on how to use Sensor-Film to clean a DSLR camera's sensor. You won't believe how easy it is and how clean the sensor gets. Everyone should do this for clear and pristine photos.
Make sure and watch this episode as we tackle another heavily requested effect... making someone look blown in half! Jam packed with cheap special effects, Frisbee fun, and a Test Film guest directed by Maniacal Rage!
This is an Indiana Jones special that shows you how to make your very own crystal skull. You can't miss this episode! Erik dressed as professor Indy, test film by Waverly Films, and much more!
Erik from Indy Mogul teaches you how to build a miniature space ship for your films for under $20. Also covered, are using green screen to create background effects for your UFO film.
You can take a piece of completely modern digital footage and give it an aged, antique feel! You will need the Aged Film plugin for Adobe After Effects, which lets you create the sepia tone and flickering, variable speed look of antique film clips.
In this video, we learn to heat shrink a rear window tint. First, prep your window using soapy water. Next, rinse with car with a soapy cloth and spread on the lather. After this, let it dry and cut the film around the pattern. Next, create an anchor by dampening in an 'h' shape. Next, lay the window film down with the liner side up. Anchor the film onto the window along the 'h' shape. Make sure your fingers are vertical, then heat the film until the lines react. Then, smooth on with the hand...
In the digital age, old fashioned film processing and developing may seem outmoded and obsolete. However, for professional and aspiring professional photographer who want o make classic-looking prints, this is far from the case. This three-part video describes how to do tray processing yourself for large-format sheets. It breaks down the equipment you will need, the advantages and disadvantages, and of course how to go about processing you own film sheets. The dark room is back!
In this how to video, you will learn how to remove 3M paint protection film, also known as a clear bra. This is used for protecting the front of a vehicle. To remove it, you will need to use a heat gun on the film so that it will peel off. This takes a while to remove, so be patient. The film itself is very useful, as it protects from rock chips and bugs while driving. Note that it is a lot easier to take off during the summer time since the car exterior is already hot. You should not worry a...
This video demonstrates how to draw a caricature of a truck. Begin with a rectangular shape that is slightly bigger at the top and has rounded corners. This will be the grill. Create an inside border. Below the grill, draw a front bumper. At the top corner of the grill draw a rectangle that is divided into two halves and shade the top section of each half. This is the windshield. Draw hatch marks in the center section of the grill. Above either side of the bumper add narrow divided rectangles...
If you live in a hurricane prone area, it is a good idea to protect your windows with security film. This video will teach you how to install hurricane security window film on your own and protect your home and assets.
In this Software video tutorial you will learn how to apply the Film Look effect in Final Cut Pro. This is an advanced technique. This essentially takes a video and makes it look like a film. Select the video clip that you want to work with. Then select the ‘color corrector 3 way’ filter. This is under the ‘Effects’ tab. The key to any color correction is to crush the blacks. So, decrease the blacks with the slider. Then increase the whites as films have higher white level. Depending on the s...
This is a great tutorial for photographing beautiful star trails on a 35mm SLR camera. Because only film has low enough ASA to shoot for such long exposures, this tutorial unfortunately apply to digital SLR's.
This is a great tutorial for playing the song "Lies" from the Irish film "Once" on the accordion. This song, written by Glen Hansard, is a great reinterpretation on the accordion.
Watch this step by step tutorial to learn how to make a paper bird. Fold your paper in half so that it forms a long rectangle. Ensure you really fold down the crease--run your finger or a pencil along the top of the crease. Unfold the paper, turn it 90 degrees and repeat the fold. Your square should be divided into four squares by the creases. Flip the paper over to the other side and fold it into a triangle. Again, make your creases tight. Turn the paper 90 degree and fold again. You should ...
Place slip knot on hook. Hold yarn taut with 2 sets of 2 of fingers placed about 1½” apart, with tail in other hand. Create loop that crosses over bottom of 1st strand with loop toward right side. Fold loop over main strand going past tail. Insert hook below at tail strand. Pull up a loop using main strand for this loop. Pull 2 ends of yarn taut while leaving slip knot on hook. In 1st chain work 1 single crochet. Skip 2 chains; work 1 double crochet in 4thchain. Picot stitch by chaining 3 & a...
Make a cool drinking or water container, or simply a great decorative gourd ornament. But before you can decorate the gourd, you need to make the decorations. Learn how to make Opals and Fantasy Film glass paper for a gourd.
Whether for a boy or a girl, a Pilgrim costume is one of the easiest costumes to make. You Will Need
Are you bent out of shape over damage to your clothes caused by wire hangers? Don’t buy new ones – follow these easy steps to modify hangers you already have. Watch this video to learn how to turn a wire hanger into a cloth one.
Growing a pineapple doesn’t take a lot of skill, but it does take a lot of patience—two to three years worth, to be exact. Learn how to grow your own pineapple at home with this video guide.
Alex Oliver demonstrates how Art Directors and Cinematographers can use the Film & Stage plugin in SketchUp to explore the use of different camera lenses and aspect ratios on location or on a production set. The Film and Stage plug-in is a great way for film makers and directors to pre-visualize shots and scenes in SketchUp, a software you may only have thought useful for architecture and product pre-visualization. Learn how to plan shots and do animatics in this SketchUp tutorial.
Check out this instructional printmaking video that demonstrates how to output your positive film using Adobe Photoshop. This video goes over how to do a one color image and then a two color image. Create a black image on a clear, white background. Learn a few tips when using a toner enhancer on your film. Output your positive film using Photoshop with this printmaking tutorial video.
Many people have trouble loading 120 film into developing reels when they are first starting. In the darkroom, it's tricky business to wind film and load it into a developing tank. Find out what works for you and repeat the process until it becomes second nature. If you are interested in developing your own photographs, you will need to know this process backwards and forwards, using all types of film, reels and developing tanks.
This Final Cut Studio software tutorial shows you a trick on how to achieve The Film Look on your videos. You will need the climatic glow plug-in from River Rock Studios to create this soft film look effect in Final Cut Pro. The final small addition to the film look effect will be creating and adding some grain.
This is a sequence of videos which will provide a stop motion tutorial. It's an amateur one and not expected to be a definitive one. I do encourage others who make stop motion films to also make a few for aspiring film makers and those with some experience such as myself.
Learn with the Michael Downey how to use the Canopus Edius Pro 4 Editing System for film making. Part 1 of 4 - How to Use the Canopus Edius Pro 4 Editing system for films.
