Does your computer become a total sloth every time you try to edit a project? There’s nothing worse than a slow computer, especially if you’re trying to edit a video project. There are many different reasons why your computer may be suffering performance issues while running an editing program, but…
3 Tips on Shooting More Cinematic Drone Footage
Shooting from the sky? Here’s how to make your shots more cinematic. If you’re flying a drone, you’ve already got one of the best vantage points a low-budget filmmaker can have (and one that wasn’t within our price point until a few years ago), but how do you take advantage…
10 Tips for Shooting Underwater Video
Tips you Need to Know when Shooting and Editing Video Some may be familiar to those of you who started off shooting still photography; others address issues unique to video. Hopefully these 10 tips will help you get started, but remember that the best way to get better at shooting…
How to Set Audio Levels for Video
Bad sound can easily ruin good footage. Use these tips when it comes time to set audio levels for video and film projects. As a filmmaker and videographer you probably spend a lot of time trying to get the most beautiful shot possible on set. Then when you sit down to edit…
Shutter Speed vs. Shutter Angle
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between the way a video camera calculates shutter (fractions of a second) and the way a film camera calculates shutter (in degrees)? If so, then this article is just for you. Here’s what you need to know… Default Exposure Time –…
Behind the scenes of a cinematic short film shot entirely on iPhone X
Less than a week after release, the iPhone X is being quickly put through its paces by photo and video professionals eager to explore the new capabilities afforded by its new camera system. We’ve already seen the camera put head to head with a Panasonic GH5, and photography experts…
7 Handheld Shots That Will Help Make Your Film Look More Cinematic
A gimbal isn’t much use if you don’t know what to do with it. In this episode of 4 Minute Film School, Aputure’s Ted Sim talks with Casey McBeath, a professional gimbal operator, about seven basic camera moves you can do with your gimbal to make your shots look more…
Moving Lights At Night on An Indie Budget
Need mobile lighting on a DIY-budget? These tips will help you get the most out of your moving night shots. Cover image via American Hustle (Atlas Entertainment). Set lighting, for the most part, is stationary. However, when an actor is moving, especially at night, lighting is a different ballgame. For example,…
5 Techniques That Create Depth & Make Your Cinematography More Dynamic
How do you create depth when you’re working with a two-dimensional medium? One of the first things you learn about when studying cinematography is composition, and one of the first things you learn about composition is basic aesthetic theory: symmetry vs. asymmetry, energy, color, weight, vertices, etc. Then, somewhere near…
3 Keys of Cinematography from DP Ryan Booth
Ryan Booth, who recently worked as the DP for director (and fearless leader of Film Riot) Ryan Connolly’s film U.F.Oh Yeah, answered a bunch of questions from fans on Twitter about what being a DP is like — everything from what kinds of lights he uses to how to work…