Categories
Filmmaking articles
- How to make a music video: music video production tips
- Screenplay tips | Three-act structure
- Video lighting tips - Digital cinematography
- F-stops, T-stops, focal length and lens aperture
- Film techniques
- Stanley Kubrick film techniques
- Steven Spielberg film techniques
- How to convert video to the QuickTime format: AVI to mov
- Filmmaking tips
- Lessons from my favorite film directors
- Film editing tips
- RED camera review: my experience with the RED camera
- How to direct
- How to optimize your computer for video editing
- Sound recording tips | How to record great location sound
- YouTube video ideas & tips
- Film lighting tips
- Shoot video with a shallow depth of field
- Camerawork tips: framing, composition, camera movement
- Camera movement: cranes, dollies and Steadicams
- Camera settings: gamma, sharpness, frame rate and shutter speed
- Video color correction: timing/grading
- Non-linear digital video editing tips
- How to make digital video look like film
- How to learn film editing and become a highly competent editor
- Directing non-professional actors
- Film lighting techniques and their effects
- Camerawork tips
- Film festival tips
- Camera movement: equipment, techniques and best practices
- Videography | Digital video tips
- Long lenses vs. wide lenses
- Shooting slow motion with camcorders: frame rates and post-production
- Film sound recording tips
- Production design and your project's color palette
- Screenplay basics
- Technical directing tips
- Role of the 1st assistant director
- Cobra Crane II review
- Why filmmaking needs lights
- Production design: controlling your project's color scheme
- Long uncut master shots in films
- The movie making process: a step-by-step breakdown
- Independent film self-distribution
- How to learn camerawork and develop a strong visual sense
- Independent film distribution tips: a guide for indie filmmakers
- Choosing between the 2.35 and 16:9 / 1.85 aspect ratios
- Zooming and zoom lens tips
- Learning about different focal lengths and the look they produce
- Film continuity
- Character arc
- Film and video competitions: a warning for independent filmmakers
- Tsunami (TMPG) MPEG-2 encoder settings
- How 3D movies work
- Logging takes, finding shots and preparing to edit a film
- Projecting films digitally in theaters (2K and 4K)
- Directing child actors: casting, motivating them and other tips
- Location sound recording, scratch tracks and re-recording dialogue in post-production
- Independent film distribution with CreateSpace
- Film casting tips
- What is HDV?
- Using the word "beat" for pauses in screenplays
- DVD burning guide
- Solving problems creatively when editing a film
- Mixing color temperatures and tweaking color balance
- Film networking
- Directing, shooting and editing projects for the web vs. the big screen
- Learning film direction, screenwriting and film editing
- Shooting aerial B-roll shots on a budget
- Royalty-free production music
- Should the look of a video be achieved by tweaking camera settings or should it be done in post-production?
- Impressive shots to add production value to an abseiling video
- Overcoming writer's block when writing a screenplay: the importance of taking right action
- Teaching screenwriting to young students
Category Archives: Movies
Expert tips on producing your first feature
This post is my write-up of another seminar I attended at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films. This seminar took place on the same day as the one about film publicity. The panel in this seminar was composed by an independent film d
“No publicity really is bad publicity” – Palm Springs International ShortFest
I attended the "No publicity really is bad publicity" seminar at the Palm Springs International Short film Festival and this is a concise write-up of some of the main points made by the publicists who participated. The panel was moderated b
James Cameron’s 3D movie “Avatar”
After a hiatus of more than ten years, James Cameron is finally directing a movie again. There is every indication that James Cameron is up to much more than simply making his next movie; it looks like James Cameron will revolutionize cinema and film
James Cameron’s short film “Xenogenesis”
In the late seventies James Cameron was told by a friend that a consortium of investors was interested in financing a movie for tax-shelter purposes. James Cameron shot a quick 16mm teaser and the investors liked it, giving him a further $20,000 to
Casting directors and independent feature films