Sure, Russian Arm systems are amazing, and we’d all love to use one, but if you don’t have the budget for one, just build your own car-side camera mount. So, if the tutorial for my previous car camera rig for the hood, roof, or trunk didn’t send you screaming in fear of sma

Is your machine struggling to play back media in DaVinci Resolve at the correct frame rate? If so, you may need to use optimized media. There may come a time when you’re editing on a sub-par laptop, or editing with RAW files, and you’ll see the frame rate counter in the top left

True audio professionals always have a few equipment tricks up their sleeves. Luckily, they don’t always have to be expensive. One thing I’ve always loved about film production is the ingenuity involved — and the interesting uses of common household items to solve common filmmaki

Each iteration of Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve has become more efficient than the last. In 15, it’s the shared node that makes the difference. Shared nodes are a new feature in Resolve 15 that allow colorists to share individual nodes across multiple clips, allowing for si

Documentaries, as a form of journalism, often cover important, serious topics. But is this all that the genre is capable of? It can seem like documentary filmmaking solely focuses on serious issues or topics. While most of the documentaries that saw recent success have covered international

If you work on an editing project long enough, you can lose your edge in the details. Find out how you can stay sharp all the way to the end. When you’ve been working on a project for a while, it can become difficult to maintain an objective perspective on what you’re doing. What

What does “Dual Native ISO” mean, what does it do for your shots, and why would its acceptance in the film and video industries matter? Every few years, we see a new craze in the camera world. 24p, HD, Raw, 4K, and beyond — to name just a few from the last decade. I normally try

Opacity blend modes are among the most mysterious features in Adobe Premiere Pro CC. So, what do they actually do, and why are they in those groups? In this article, we’re to look at just what, exactly, each blend mode does. I’ll quickly take you through each category and each mo

You don’t need an expensive lighting set up to get a cinematic look. Here are some simple tips to make dramatic lighting with household practicals. A common misconception among aspiring or soon-to-be filmmakers is that you need a lot of huge, expensive lights to really pull of a professional

Blackmagic Design has created the Swiss Army knife of cameras, and here are the definitive reasons why you should be using it. Think of the URSA Mini Pro 4.6k as the popular kid at school. It will fit into nearly any production situation, whether it’s documentary, breaking news, featu

There is nothing worse than losing footage. However, if you’re vigilant and know what to watch for, you can still save a corrupted card. In this article, we’ll cover some basics about what causes corrupted footage, how to spot it, what to do when you spot it, and how to give you

Super sharp footage is great when you need it, and not so great when you don’t. Here’s how to soften it — during production and in post. There’s no denying the speed at which camera technology is progressing. A few years ago, the technology we have in our hands now (at the price

Anamorphic lenses yield arguably the most inherently cinematic images. Now, thanks to Atlas Lens Co. and others, they’re becoming more accessible. Shooting anamorphic is kind of a rite of passage, it seems, for most aspiring cinematographers. It’s an entirely different approach t

RAW footage wasn’t a video production option until a little more than a decade ago. Let’s take a look at how the industry got to where it is today. Most productions take the ability to shoot and work with RAW footage for granted. Many people forget that RAW wasn’t even a

Being the director and the DP of your next film may sound like the perfect way to control your budget and your creative vision, but is it really? There are many instances when combining the roles of director and DP has worked out wonderfully for filmmakers, sometimes resulting in career-def

Exciting developments are unfolding in the world of RAW video that can change the way we make films. So what if you’re just getting started? Big things are happening in the world of RAW video. Apple seems set to upend the production world yet again with its new ProRes RAW. This ushers

Production insurance does more than simply protect your equipment on a shoot — it can improve your entire film or video project. I always assumed that getting production insurance would require sitting in an insurance agent’s office and explaining the script before anxiously waiting f

Edits are cuts in the “reality” of a film or television show, so they should be jarring. So why don’t we really notice them? Bertolt Brecht is a well-known playwright and director of the early twentieth century. The Brechtian approach to theater alienated the audience to re

In which we chat with filmmaker and producer Toby Halbrooks about producing A Ghost Story, Never Goin’ Back, and The Old Man & the Gun. At a recent packed-house screening of Never Goin’ Back at the Oak Cliff Film Festival in Dallas, Texas, Toby Halbrooks looked at home darting across th

Learn what gear professional digital imaging technicians keep in their kits, and check out some affordable ideas for your own. The role of the Digital Imaging Technician is equal measures creative and technical. In this article, we will dig through some of the gear professional DITs bring t