Here are two ways to quickly prepare your Illustrator files and import them into After Effects for animation. Let’s take a look. Shape layers in After Effects are powerful tools for making compositions, but designers unfamiliar with the software may find them difficult to use. For thos

Filming on the coast and in a forest have some fundamental similarities. However, prepare for a few key differences with these essential tips. I live in a coastal region, and pretty much from the outset of my creative career, my work somehow finds its way to the coast—from short films to mus

This free SFX pack is filled with the sounds of Christmas, from jingle bells to holiday party room tone. These sound effects cover a wide range of sounds you might hear during the holiday season. From distant chatter from a family gathering to the literal sounds of Santa’s “Ho-H

From dramatic backlighting to framing the subject, uncover five secrets for leveling up your videos and portrait photography with backgrounds. One of the main elements of any shot is the background. It can be something as intricate as a bustling city skyline at night, or as simple as a

Household lighting and onboard webcams may work for some home offices, but if you want to stand out in the virtual world, consider these lighting setups. Virtual training and professional development isn’t going away anytime soon. As more companies, schools, and universities are moving

No studio? No problem. Here are ten tips for taking affordable, creative self portraits from inside your home. One of the staples of photography is the self portrait. While Instagram and Facebook has championed the art of the selfie, there are still endless ways to get creative with the ide

Take the plunge into TikTok and Instagram Reels and discover what your brand needs in order to succeed on both platforms. Good news—it’s simpler than you think. When Instagram introduced Instagram Reels a few weeks ago, creative professionals instantly compared Instagram Reels to TikTo

Get better slow motion when filming at 24fps by using optical flow. Check out our tutorial to see some optical flow examples in real videos. Typically, if you want to film in slow motion, you have to use a higher frame rate than the project default. For example, if your project frame rate is

Here are the ten types of shots every filmmaker should be using — and how these shots can help you tell your project’s story. Filmmaking is storytelling. There are endless stories to tell — as well as ways to tell them. As an art form, filmmaking gives us a way to find our voices through ima

A lower third is a fantastic way to display important information to your audience. Here are a few tips for designing superior lower thirds. Unfortunately, many people new to video editing overthink the process and end up with distracting graphics. To help with this problem, we’ve put togeth

Each month, we bring you the top inspirational images in Shutterstock’s collection. Explore new content and beautiful photographs in our September roundup. Our team searches through newly uploaded stock content daily. This roundup showcases new content that we love, uploaded the previous mon

In this video tutorial, check out some of the basic cuts every editor should know before tackling their next video project. Top image via fedota1. To outsiders and beginners, editing is perhaps one of the most misunderstood elements of filmmaking. Many assume that editing is nothing

We sat down with PremiumBeat Signature Series artist Bridget Barkan to learn a little bit about her as an actress, musician, and more. As an actress and singer, PremiumBeat artist Bridget Barkan tells stories. Her incredible combination of pop hits and emotional anthems brings people togethe

Gimbal, slider, crane, tripod… What’s the best camera stabilizer? Let’s explore camera stabilization options, advantages, and disadvantages. What is the best camera stabilization system? Slider, gimbal, tripod? Should it be handheld? Is it a crane, or a jib? There are so many opt

Let’s explore the oft-forgotten but essential elements for an online video project. Try these seven things you should know before you upload. So, you need to make a video, and you’re trying to remember all the details you need to take into account. But, there’s something mi

Maintain an efficient workflow and speed up your video editing by breaking down the process into five distinguishable stages. It’s commonly noted that for many aspects of art, there are no rules. While you could say the same for editing, there’s still a set of practical and theoretical

We’re exploring the efficiency of sending your mirrorless camera footage to your phone to edit on-the-go. Find out when it is—and isn’t—practical. A few years back, with the introduction of Bluetooth in cameras and capture apps on smartphones, it became practical to send pict

Each month we bring you the top inspirational images in Shutterstock’s collection. Explore new content and beautiful photographs in our August roundup. Our team searches through newly uploaded stock content daily. This roundup showcases new content we love that was uploaded the month prior.

Couples thrive on the emotional pull of what they imagine their wedding day will be like. As a wedding photographer, here’s how to make that work. In most areas of the film and video industry, you want to make a demo reel of your best work in an effort to get hired for a gig. The idea

Bring your shots to the next level with these DYI video lighting hacks. From hangers to foil, these household items can help get better lighting results. The issue with film lighting often isn’t so much the purchase of the lights. Instead, it’s getting the additional tools you ne