High-Flying Footage, Music, and Video Elements Whether it’s soaring above New York City or flying over a vast forest, aerial shots can be striking additions to any video project. As establishing shots, they’re ideal — they effortlessly introduce location, and they look great doing it

Aputure’s latest LED light is wildly practical, surprisingly affordable, and extremely effective. All images via No Film School. Aputure’s announcement of the COB 300D is big news for video production houses and DPs alike. The single-source LED is their biggest yet, at three time

Need to recreate distant locations on the cheap? Use these quick and easy production tips. It’s not always possible to go gallivanting around the world to film in different locations, nor may you have the budget to dress your set in authentic British furniture if you’re shooting 3,000 miles

Every professional video production relies on a shot list. Here’s why you should too. Years ago, when I first started directing, I remember being annoyed by assistant directors and producers who wanted to see a shot list. I thought, Isn’t what we’re going to shoot obvious from our sto

Virtual Reality was big at NAB 2017. Let’s check out some of the latest news and biggest announcements in VR. The lights of NAB 2017 may have dimmed, but the future of virtual reality is looking bright as ever. In addition to developments from some familiar brands like Facebook and Go

YouTube will no longer support annotations in new videos, so what’s next in video promotion? Cover photo via Shutterstock. YouTube has completely changed how videographers share their work. Rewind twelve years, and websites that featured a showreel video were usually slow to load, unre

Here are 5 ways to boost the production value of your video shots on a DIY budget. One of the most valuable online resources for filmmakers and video producers is Ryan Connolly’s YouTube channel and production juggernaut, Film Riot. Film Riot provides actionable content on filmmaking

Another NAB is in the books. We recap the biggest gear and software announcements and check out the new toys. We pulled all the headlines for you. Here is the all-encompassing best of NAB 2017, where you will find everything on new cameras, lenses, software, lighting, audio, gear, accessorie

Bring life to your video production with these techniques for recording animals. Cover image courtesy of the author. Early in my second unit career, I worked on films where animals played prominent roles. The second unit typically photographs the scenes that feature animal actors for several

Need an easy way to work with FLAC files in Premiere Pro? Use this simple technique. Several years back, I competed in a 48-hour online editing contest, and I had to work with 30gb of FLAC files. Perfect: the lossless format with fantastic sound quality. However, Premiere Pro doesn’t support

An effective set starts with the right language. Learn these industry terms to maximize your shoots. Cover image from The Way Back (Newmarket Films). “We’re losing the light!” Welcome to the time-honored, mad scramble of a shoot as the sun begins to set. We’ve all been there; som

How do you make your film stand out at festivals? Consider the advice of these filmmakers on why they shot their feature in black and white. All images via Pepper Island Films and DIFF. Almost like a rite of passage, famous filmmakers have found themselves drawn to shooting films in black an

From capturing software tutorials to sharing workflow information, screen capture software is a must-have for any online creative. Ten years ago, you needed a video capture card to do anything remotely similar to what screen capture software can do today. I’ve tried and tested different prog

Want to improve your cinematography and video production? Learn from industry leaders in these free online interviews. There are a dozen great pay-per-view filmmaking classes on the internet. There’s the Masterclass series with legendary creatives such as Werner Herzog, Aaron Sorkin,

The director of Free Fire used the mega-popular Minecraft to pre-visualize his ’70s-throwback, shoot-em-up classic. Ben Wheatley knows how to work with an extremely tight schedule and budget. And he knows how to take advantage of tools like Minecraft to do it. His recent film Free Fir

Need mobile lighting on a DIY-budget? These tips will help you get the most out of your moving night shots. Set lighting, for the most part, is stationary. However, when an actor is moving, especially at night, lighting is a different ballgame. For example, say your script calls for a chara

GoPro’s new Fusion spherical camera records VR video at an impressive 5.2K resolution. All images via GoPro. Oh, GoPro, what will you come out with next to stay relevant? The brand’s latest NAB announcement features their new “Fusion” camera, which boasts 5.2K resolut

These camera movements revolutionized the art of filmmaking. While it may be something most filmmakers take for granted, the concept of camera movement is really the apex of centuries of image-capturing technology. Movement, whether it is from a stationary location or freely across three-di

The Ronin 2 three-axis stabilizer is more powerful, more versatile, and easier to use. Here’s the scoop on DJI’s tough new gimbal. Drone lords DJI launched their NAB 2017 business with the announcement of the Ronin 2, a machine that Paul Pan, DJI Senior Product Manager, calls &#

Teradek introduces Serv, an iOS monitoring solution for directors everywhere. One of the problems with an on-set monitor during a production is how crowded the space gets — as well as the lack of control you have while reviewing your footage on location. Teradek is here to make your life a