Color is a fundamental element of design and visual storytelling. Traditionally, artists use it to set the mood for their work, the tone of their voice, and to carry a theme in their craft. In the world of video, color grading is an art form all its own. In the not so distant past, the post-producti

The world of video editing is no stranger to the appeal of drag and drop functionality. One might think that such ease of use would lead to greater efficiency, but a trigger-happy mouse finger isn’t always the quickest way to get things done. Many novice editors are first taught how to edit vi

Chroma subsampling involves the compressing of color information in video footage, to reduce the overall storage size and bitrate of video files. It’s a method used across multiple video codecs, and how much compression happens is often expressed as a set of numbers such as 4:2:2. Instead of servin

Have you ever finished the final cut of a video, burned it to Blu-ray or DVD and watched it on a big screen only to see a problem that sent you right back to your editing software? Maybe the color looked washed out or part of a title was off-screen? Using a preview monitor enables you to see these p

We recently published an article on shooting in black and white, but that was really a beginners primer to black and white. To achieve truly great black and white shots, there’s one more step you need to do in post production to add polish. [image:blog_post:33958]The simple fact is that even t

Visual aesthetics ride the roller coaster journey of trends. Currently the process of making video look like miniature toys is a popular look, and why not? Called tilt-shift photography, this stylized look takes real world footage and turns it into a visual toy box. Expansive landscapes and steel be

If the average video producer made a list of the key elements for a great project, the list would probably start with capturing great images, and hopefully include getting good audio, having great content, and maybe even getting good performances from talent. However, you're probably not likely

The world of video editing is no stranger to the appeal of drag and drop functionality. One might think that such ease of use would lead to greater efficiency, but a trigger-happy mouse finger isn’t always the quickest way to get things done. Many novice editors are first taught how to ed

We all make mistakes sometimes. Occasionally we make “unconscious” errors because we’re simply unaware that they’re there. At one time or another we have all experienced “button shift,” that fashion faux pas where you put on your jacket with the buttons and holes

The video world is changing. Heck, it has changed. Not so long ago, if you saw something unbelievable on TV while you were out in public, you would have jumped up and turned away from the nearly-square image, dug in your pockets for change and ran for the payphone to call a friend. Nowadays, you can

It happens in every videographer’s life – you didn't save your editing files and now need to make changes. For instance, a customer mailed you footage of her kid playing by the pool. She wants it delivered on DVD and YouTube. A few days later, after mailing the material back, the i

If brackets, terminals, shoulders, and bowls sound like hardware, something you find at airports, a part of your body, and something you eat your morning cereal out of, then you've probably never thought too much about the elements that make up a good font. Using fonts effectively isn't so

For video and film post-production, things were pretty stagnant for decades. In video you edited linearly, tape-to-tape from one deck to another. In film, you cut pieces of celluloid and taped them together to create edits. Currently, most editors have to upgrade their hardware and software on avera

If you’ve ever added music to a video soundtrack you know it rarely fits. The music is either too short or too long. If the video must fit the music, this usually means you have to cut out content you like or add filler you don’t like. Of course, you could just cut the music at the end,

This is the right time for the video editor. A few years ago, it really looked like all that consumers wanted to do was to shoot cute little clips of kittens and post them directly to YouTube, without all the fuss and bother of transferring to a computer for manual editing. But it turns out that we

As I've progressed through my career in video production, I've had the benefit of some great mentors. Every technique I use is a combination of something I've seen someone else do, something I've read, or something I luckily stumbled upon. Working in a fast-paced, deadline driven

Horror movies have no season, but Halloween tends to bring out the most releases and with them often come in-film special effects created on a big Hollywood budget. But you can make many horror movie effects on your own without breaking your piggy bank. Here are just a few tricks, for more see our s

During this time when affordable technology is tripped up by a suppressed economy, it’s difficult for many video enthusiasts to acquire the equipment necessary to create a video masterpiece. What are video producers to do when they cannot afford to develop a full-blown editing environment, aft

It's not every day you get to visit with someone who's responsible for bringing comic book heroes to life. On a phone call with one of Hollywood's biggest stars you've likely never heard of, Videomaker sat down and talked shopped with Jeffrey Ford, who boasts credentials like Cap

In a nutshell How you connect shots together is as important as what is in those shotsCuts, dissolves, fades and wipes are all explicitly used because they all communicate different ideas to the audienceThe best way to determine how to use video transitions is to watch content similar to what yo