How Multi Is Your Hyphenate? Measuring Success In Production

Success is measured differently than it was 10 years ago. Today, it’s all about the skills.

Dan Brockett

In video and film production in 2017, success is measured differently than it was 10 years ago. Our business can be cruel—I know several colleagues who are quite skilled in various facets of production, but these colleagues have chosen to leave or have been forced to leave the business, not because they weren’t good at what they do, but because... Read more

iPhone X Video Tip From PhotoJoseph

Exploring the perfect format for creating iPhone X videos

PhotoJoseph

If you have an iPhone X, you know that regular 16:9 videos don’t fill the screen unless you pinch in, but then you end up cropping the top and bottom off the video. Plus, there’s that notch…. So, I set out to create a video that would fill the iPhone X 19.5:9 aspect ratio screen perfectly, and even do something fun with the notch! Check out the... Read more

Multilayer Dissolves

Pay attention to layers during transitions

Michael Guncheon

A few posts ago I talked about paying attention when you fade to black at the end of a show, specifically when you work with more than one layer. I mentioned that if you don’t take care in how you fade, the top layer(s) will become transparent as the fade moves through the transition. How you accomplish multilayer dissolves in the middle of a program... Read more

Lighting The Night With Lume Cubes

Watch some impressive stunts set against beautiful backdrops in Switzerland.

By Staff

I had mixed feelings while watching this video: mostly awe combined with sheer terror. It showcases some impressive stunts set against beautiful backdrops in Switzerland. But the really cool part is that it demonstrates using pocket-sized Lume Cubes to light scenes at night. They’re attached to surfboards, skateboards, bungee jumpers, paragliders,... Read more

Data Storage: Where Nothing Can Possibly Go “Worng”

Some hard drive “bad habits” can put your data in danger

By Michael Guncheon

Data storage is boring. Sorry, LaCie. It’s much more exciting to talk about the latest drone or camera or plug-in. But, in reality, you really do want the process of storing all that important footage to be boring, because if it gets exciting, that’s when you get into trouble. Bare Drives Many people use bare drives as external drives. These are... Read more

The Basics of Color Grading With DaVinci Resolve 14

A crash course in using Blackmagic's powerful, updated video editing tool

By Staff

After Blackmagic announced the latest edition of Resolve at NAB 2017, we had cameraman, editor, and producer Brian Hallett explain how he uses the video editing tool. Hallett walked us through using LUTs/Log, processing raw data, color correction and exporting. Since Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve 14 offers such incredibly powerful editing... Read more

The Resolution War

How far will we go in pursuit of the ultimate camera resolution?

Dan Brockett

A disturbing trend has set into our business over the past few years. For lack of a better term, let’s call it “The Resolution War.” Just perhaps a decade ago, we finally made the long, painful and possibly necessary jump from standard-definition cameras to HD cameras, and along with them, the entire video infrastructure. Looking back at material... Read more

Michael Rubenstein On Shooting 4K

An advertising photographer and video director on why he shoots 4K for HD delivery

By Staff

The September/October issue of HDVideoPro is on newsstands for a couple more weeks, and in it, you’ll find an interview with advertising photographer and video director Michael Rubenstein. (Look for our full interview with Michael, on the HDVP website soon.) Trained as a photojournalist, Rubenstein is constantly evolving and challenging himself creatively... Read more

Dissolves: A Fade Worse Than Death

Understanding how to use dissolve transitions with layers

Michael Guncheon

I came up with my groan-inducing editing pun, “That’s a fade worse than death,” years ago, after a particularly long and frustrating edit session. I was working on a fairly simple 30-second television spot in a room with an edit committee. Account people, copywriters, art directors and a creative director all filled every available space in the... Read more

What’s That Noise? The Art of Making Sound

A look at the reproduction of sound effects for film and video

By Staff

Sound is an important part of any production, but it’s also one that viewers often take for granted. From horse hooves and cracking ice to weather, foley artists get creative in the studio to bring various sounds to life. This video, The Magic of Making Sound, is an interesting look at Jack Foley (who the technique is named after) and the reproduction... Read more

Lighting Setups: Changing It Up

Shifting your lighting from procedural to artistic

Dan Brockett

In a way, it doesn’t matter if you’re a cinematographer, gaffer, still photographer or one-man band video shooter. Something we all share in common is facing a “blank slate” as far as our lighting setups. While it’s nice to have the luxury of pre-production, location scouts and time to make lighting plots and resources, often, we’re booked... Read more

Slating On Thin Ice

A shooting slate, manual or electronic, can save your bacon back in the editing room

Chris X Carroll

Actor James C. Burns clowns around on the set of Courier X, which you can tell by looking at the slate. Perhaps the most useful movie-making tool after your black beret is the slate. Even when you visualize movies made a hundred years ago, you can still picture that big clapper, snapping down to signify the beginning of a take. They were actually made... Read more