Waiting 2B Scene

Tag: How to

  • Article: Stills Photographer Intro to Video (RED)

    Continuing my series of resource links, today I want to share a great article that was published a while back by those in the RED Universe. Really, there’s no surprises here as the title says it all: it is an introduction to video production for those of you who are photographers. Granted, many of you may know this stuff. Nevertheless, if you are just starting to play around with the video functionality on your DSLR – or you have never really dug into the kind of background information that can make your videos a little better – then this article is a must. I hope you find it useful.

    “This article gives an overview of the key differences in order to make the “cinephotography” transition as straightforward as possible…”

  • How To: 20 Premiere Tips in 20 Minutes (Jeff Greenberg)

    Continuing with my new series of resource links – from video essays, to cinematographer interviews, how-to tips and the like – today I want share an informative how-to video clip presented by Jeff Greenberg on behalf of Future Media Concepts – and as the title suggests, today’s how-to is for the proud Adobe Premiere Pro users.

    I understand that many of us will know these tips and tricks – nevertheless you might be surprised to find one or two gems that may have forgotten about. Or better yet, you will learn something altogether new – such as having the capacity to adjust the gain on an entire bin of music. That was news to me!

    I will warn you though: while the content is definitely informative, the presentation of the how-to is somewhat dry. If you can handle that – then jump on in to some of this Premiere Pro trickery with the rest of us!

  • Can’t I Just Shoot Them?

    The last thing most amateurs consider when making a video (or taking photos for that matter) is the planning. And if it does cross their mind, they might still miss the weight of its importance. Today I want to highlight this vital area of production.

    The truth is that a good plan is important; and is perhaps one of the most difficult things to master. Most people just pick up a camera – whether it’s for video or for photography – and shoot happy snaps. In the book, Top Travel Photo Tips from Ten Pro Photographers, photographer Michael Doven notes that, “If you plan a photo session in advance, no matter where you travel, you’ll shoot images you’ll be proud of nearly every time.” Honestly, lots of energy should be spent on getting this right. Spud Hilton at the blog SFGate wrote that, “Digital cameras are a double-edged sword. Not so long ago, each time you released the shutter, it cost you at least 50 cents in film and processing. Now it costs next to nothing — and that’s exactly how much effort most people put into taking a photo.” This is true for videography as much as it is for photography, with stats showing 72 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute!

    If you want your work to be seen, then let me encourage you to consider this: the first thing that really separates the amateurs from the pros is that amateurs will simply point and shoot, whereas the pros will plan and shoot. Sure, sometimes we won’t have time to prepare as the action begins unexpectedly and we just have to go for it.  As far as possible, though, we plan as we go. It can’t be stressed enough: planning is everything.

    So how do we start planning? Well, we’ll look at that over the next couple of blog entries by exploring the two key components that every photographer and videographer ought to be well acquainted with: the “Shoot Plan” and the “Shot Plan.”

    Oblivion Production Photo

    (Production still – with final insert – from the film Oblivion. This single cliff-top scene took a 60-person crew to shoot. You can’t shoot with 60 people unless you have a plan!)