Love Stories TV: Not Your Old School Wedding Video

Insights from an online video innovator and two Love Stories TV cinematographers

By Jill Waterman

From “Kellie & Jesse” by Samantha Milner The market for wedding videos has undergone a substantial transformation in the past 10 years since the introduction of DSLRs that could record video. Coupled with this media industry change, the technological innovations that have made it possible to stream video content for easy internet viewing and... Read more

What Makes A Cinematic Wedding Video?

Two accomplished wedding videographers weigh in on what’s cinematic in wedding videos

Daniel Brockett

The more time you spend in the videography or cinematography business, the more likely you are to see the word “cinematic” or “cinematic video.” For example, you’ll find it on countless wedding video websites. But it’s a slippery term since it can have different meanings to different people. Some could define it as video that has the appearance... Read more

Black-And-White Filmmaking In A Colorful World

Is the monochrome look relevant in 2020?

By Daniel Brockett

Black and white is a tool that, when used effectively, can set the mood in a film. It can also give projects a visual style and feel that can’t be obtained from shooting color. What’s nice is that it’s easier than ever today to experiment with different monochrome styles or “looks.” “Artsy. Pretentious. Old fashioned. Boring.... Read more

Are You Sure You Want To Move That Camera?

From using Steadicam to gimbals to drones, it has never been more effortless to move our cameras so fluidly, but be sure to consider your moving shot thoughtfully

Dan Brockett

Rhino Slider EVO Pro As someone who has been shooting for a while, I must confess that I get it. The desire to move your camera. Never before in the history of cinema, video, motion-picture image making, whatever you want to call what we do, has it been so relatively effortless to move our cameras so fluidly. For years, the choices we had were pretty... Read more

September/October Preview: Michael Rubenstein

Coming up in the September/October issue, HDVideoPro interviews video director and advertising photographer Michael Rubenstein

HDVP

Michael Rubenstein on location in NYC. Coming up in the September/October issue, HDVideoPro interviews advertising photographer and video director Michael Rubenstein. Whether he’s working alone or with a crew, Rubenstein’s forte is telling stories about real people doing real things. It’s a look advertisers and editorial clients alike are into. Like... Read more

The Case For Shooting RAW

Whether working in film and TV or shooting events and weddings, it all depends on your client and where your work ends up

Dan Brockett

Canon EOS C200 Digital Cinema Camera It all depends on what part of the production world you exist in. Some of us work in the rarified air of creating “cinema,” whether for indie small audiences or huge audiences worldwide. Some of us produce work for television. Many of us only produce work for corporate clients or even weddings and events. Depending... Read more

Jawad Mir: The Art Of The Cinematic Wedding

Creating one-of-a-kind short- and long-form films that tell a story

By Mark Edward Harris / Photography By Jawad Mir

A still from a wedding video produced by Jawad Mir and Film-Style Weddings, “The Secret of Flamenco” The stated goal of videographer Jawad Mir’s Toronto-based company, Film-Style Weddings, is to create not only a memorable film for the participants but to make a complete stranger feel that they were a part of the wedding. Mir often creates supplemental... Read more

Capturing The Best Video Possible

For still shooters stepping into video, a short primer on workflow, including codecs and video compression settings from input to output

By David Alexander Willis

The video imaging chain is complex and getting more complex all the time, yet advances in technology are allowing companies like Sony and Panasonic to squeeze immense editing capabilities into tiny still camera-style bodies. These cameras are able to achieve similar features as much more advanced professional video and filmmaking camera systems because... Read more

Prepping Still Cameras To Work With Video

Getting cameras and their kits to function well in the field can take a bit of work, but these solutions aim to make the process an easier one

By David Alexander Willis

The market for video-capable DSLR and mirrorless cameras has exploded over the last decade, thanks in part to their advanced video functionality and relatively small size. While most photographers can pick up a still camera and start shooting straight out of the box, the videographer needs to spend some time, and effort, to configure most still cameras... Read more

NASA Goes Hollywood

To create authentic effects for Sir Ridley Scott’s The Martian, Territory Studio collaborated with the agency for thrilling results, underscoring this modern-day Robinson Crusoe adventure in space

By Simon Wakelin

For Sir Ridley Scott’s latest space adventure The Martian, Territory Studio teamed up with specialists at NASA to design future user-interface (UI) technology featured extensively in the film. Territory’s Creative Director David Sheldon-Hicks collaborated with Production Designer Arthur Max and Motion Graphics Art Director Felicity Hickson on the... Read more

Outside The Box Tools

Cinematographers discuss the sometimes unorthodox tools that help them on set

By Ian Blair

Cinematographers have access to more sophisticated equipment—everything from the latest digital cameras to a wide variety of lenses and lighting—than ever before. And, yet, many still will use an outside-the-box tool to solve a particular filmmaking problem, and that solution can range from the very latest iPhone app to a simple rubber band. Here,... Read more

The Laws Of Motion

For indie filmmakers, camera movement is now a viable option

By Clint Milby

A still image is the capture of a single moment in time, frozen and devoid of any movement except for what may be implied by its content. When the subject is compelling and when the photographer executes the capture just right, what’s rendered can be just as powerful as any narrative film, thus the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand... Read more