All Columns
Video Editing : Format King
In attics, basements and closets everywhere, there are piles of tapes waiting for the ambitious video editor to give them new life.
10 Keys To Success In The Wedding Video Business
A guide to becoming successful in the wedding video business written by those in the trenches. Part of a series on how to make money making video.
10 Steps to the Best Video for Worship
Shooting within the confines of a live event can try the patience of Job. But pulling it off is heavenly joy.
11 Tips for Location Scouting
Selecting the right location is the first step on the road to a successful shoot.
2001 Video Products in Review
An introduction to this special issue of Videomaker magazine.
31 Reasons To Edit
Not convinced that editing is for you? Here are 31 reasons to get off the fence and start editing today.
5 Steps to Great Video Production
Every successful shoot starts with a good plan.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Encoding for the Web
Learn how to take your video file from your hard drive, create a streaming media file and then post it to a Web site.
A Word from Our Announcer: On-Camera Speaking Tips
Everyone on TV, from newsreaders to ad spokespersons to documentary narrators, practices the craft of speaking on-camera. Talking to an audience from the TV screen takes a special kind of skill--a skill that isn't too hard to master, as you're about to see.
Analog to Digital Converters
How to Convert analog to digital video using an external A/D converter or DV camcorders as analog to video converters.
Anatomy of a Vidiot
The Anatomy of a Vidiot - It's good to laugh at ourselves once in awhile. We hope you enjoy this good-natured poke at the Vidiot in all of us.
Audio
Audio Compression Shootout
MP3 is now a distribution standard. iTunes has sold over a billion compressed audio tracks in AAC format. DVDs, Blu-ray Discs and digital TV all use audio compression.
Audio
Choosing a Microphone
C'mon! Pick a mic.. any mic! Right!? Wrong! From pickup patterns to wired or wireless, there's a confusing array of mics to choose from. Let's narrow your focus a bit. We've all heard them - videos that sounded like the mic was under a box in the next room.
Audio
Surround Mixing Secrets
Surround Mixing Secrets... Nearly every motion picture, DVD and many TV shows are mixed in surround sound. Even sporting events use the technology to place the viewer inside the arena.
Audio
Using Your Field Mixer
Field mixers are a great way to add power, flexibility and quality to your location audio recordings. Maybe you've recently bought a field mixer or are considering one of the models in this month's Buyer's Guide.
Audio
Boom Op 101
The boom mic is the go-to microphone of choice for most television shows, documentaries and major motion pictures.
Audio
Dual-System Sound
When you need to sync many mic sources into your video or want to boost the audio you're already collecting, you might want to look at dual-system sound.
Audio
Microphone Tech Specs
Buying a microphone can be an ordeal. You have to balance features and price, and part of that is having to wade through the many technical specifications.
Audio Advice
Many video editing programs include a feature that allows you to adjust audio volume continuously throughout a clip. Premiere calls these rubber bands and they are very simple to use.
Audio advice: Analog to Digital Conversion
How to convert analog to digital.
Audio Advice: Digital Audio Basics
What digital audio is, and how it's going to change what we actually hear when we play back our video masterpieces.
Audio Advice: Hidden Microphone
The art of recording audio in a manner inconspicuous to the viewer. In other words, you're hiding the microphone from the "eye" of the viewfinder.
Audio Advice: The Right Tool for the Job
Using an off-board mic is a big step for many video producers but just using any old mic is not good enough. For the best sound, use the best mic for the situation.
Audio Advice: Traveling Sounds
Probably the most important audio tool in your kit, normalizing analyzes the audio in a video clip and boosts the volume so the peaks are at maximum volume.
Audio Advice: Videotaping Conversations
Tips for to improve conversation audio in your video
Audio for Video Production: Balanced Vs. Unbalanced
Overview of balanced vs.Unbalanced signals with ways to adapt a balanced audio signal to an unbalanced camera input when recording audio for video production.
Audio For Video: How To Mix Stereo
How to mix in extra sounds in your videos. Audio for video isn't just dialog and music. Sometimes we enhance the production with sound effects and other noises.
Audio: 10 Voiceover Tips
Voiceovers are the mainstays of advertising, instruction and promotional videos, television programs and feature films.
Audio: Automatic Gain Control a.k.a. The AGC Conspiracy
In 1983 Engineers, designers, and marketing people discuss an evil plot to take over consumer media with a hidden camera feature called Automatic Gain Control.
Audio: Getting To Know Your On Camera Audio
Did you know your on camera audio may include several tools? Depending on your make and model, these extra goodies may be hiding somewhere.
Audio: Hearing... Visually!
Some audio recorded may be sounds you want, others might not. There are magical visual maps of the sounds you hear that allow you to remove and control all that noise.
Audio: It's a Noisy World
Unless you're sitting in the middle of a soundproof room, the sounds of distant traffic noise, construction and aircraft are everywhere.
Audio: It's Foley Time
Imagine the sounds of a good Western without the sound effects of horses, gunshots, bar scenes and a fist fight. Your soundscape is just as important as your visualscape.
Audio: Make Your Own Mic Blimp
Owning the latest state-of-the-art video equipment is very cool, but making your own gear can sometimes be a lot more fun. Let's DIY it this month with Audio Accessories. A microphone
Audio: Mixing Audio for Video
Tips on how to set up your video editing software tools to achieve the best work flow for adding, cleaning and mixing audio for your video...
Audio: Mixing for Mood
Imagine your favorite movie or TV show without the music. It just doesn't work, does it? What would a Batman movie be without the dark, brooding score? Where would Napoleon Dynamite be without its quirky soundtrack? The selection, timing and mixing of music are critical...
Audio: Plosives and Sibilance
Using a combination of talent and recording techniques, along with some post-production tricks, you can create a clean, professional vocal recording.
Audio: Sound Control
Compression makes vocals easier to hear and volumes more consistent and brings out sounds that might get lost in a complicated mix.
Audio: Squeezing Sound
With all the buzz about Internet video, YouTube and video sharing in general, it would be easy to forget about audio on the Internet.
Author Your Own Director's Cut on DVD
Making video for DVD isn't like producing for VHS. It's a whole new ball game!
Automatic Dialog Replacement
Ever wonder about the Hollywood magic to making the dialog you hear onscreen come out crystal clear? They use a little trick called ADR.
Back-pocket Video Production
Almost anyone can pull a video production out of his or her figurative back-pocket. We'll show you how to do it with a camcorder, some props from your neighborhood, a little imagination, and some videotape.
Basic Training: 11 Steps to Add Some Spice to Your Video
Give some pizzazz to your videos with a few simple techniques.
Basic Training: 35mm Lens Adaptors for Video
Why on earth would you want to put a 35mm camera lens on your video camera? It's already got a perfectly good lens on it. One word - bokeh. bokeh is a Japanese word that has no English equivalent - it means...
Basic Training: 7 Ways to Involve the Kids
Children love to make videos, all they need is the impetus and opportunity. So take the camera out of the closet on a lazy Sunday and say
Basic Training: A Checklist To Find The Best Digital Video Camcorder For You
Thinking about getting a new camcorder? Here are 10 points to consider while searching for the best digital video camcorder to suit your needs and budget.
Basic Training: Breaking it Down
Not all tripods are created equal... One techie breaks them down to explain what each part does, and what to hunt for when you're ready to stand on three legs... or one.
Basic Training: Buttons, More Buttons
Some camcorders have a plethora of buttons, others are menu-driven. Many name a button control one thing, and others call it something else. It's time for the button game.
Basic Training: Camera Magic
All the tricks and techniques of in-camera effects that take your ho-hum video from the ordinary to the brilliant with these savvy shooter's tips.
Basic Training: Camera Movement Techniques - Tilt, Pan, Zoom, Pedestal, Dolly and Truck
Learn to develop a variety of basic camera movement techniques to move your audience when the scene calls for a tilt, pan, zoom, pedestal ,dolly, or truck.
Basic Training: Composition 101: Part 1
What makes great art great? Composition. In this first of two parts, we'll reveal some of the secret tricks of composition that the Masters use
Basic Training: Composition 102: Part 2
Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but a great photo is due to well-executed and thought-out composition. Take your seats, it's time for the Advanced Class in Composing.
Basic Training: Composition Tips for 16:9
Shooting for widescreen doesn't mean just shooting wider. It's how to creatively get your entire subject in frame and what will be lost if viewed on a 4:3 aspect ratio TV.
Basic Training: Controlling Exposure
Most of the time, you can't just point-and-shoot for great video design; sometimes you need to control the light going into your camcorder to get better pictures.
Basic Training: Dive In! The Water's Fine!
There's something about water that fascinates us. We're drawn to it, for travel, food, and entertainment.
Basic Training: Editing 101
"Leave it on the cutting room floor" is an old film phrase signifying to edit out stuff you don't need. It's a good reminder to cut down your piece for a tighter final project.
Basic Training: Focus on Focus
There's more to getting your camera in focus than meets the eye. But what is focus?
Basic Training: Format Terminology
Once, there was VHS and there was... VHS. Now with AVCHD, DVCAM, Mini DV and more, recording choices are mind boggling. Let's decipher the alphabet soup. It used to be that home entertainment formats changed very slowly. Phonograph records spun merrily at 78rpm...
Basic Training: Gearing Up for Battle
Before you grab your gear and hop on your trusty steed, you need advance preparation to successfully ride off into battle.
Basic Training: In Decent Exposure
In a digital video camera there is no physical shutter, but, because there is a body of understanding about how film cameras work, we still call the electrical signal "shutter speed."
Basic Training: Keep it Clean
Make that camcorder last until the next format change with these simple ways to prolong its life and proper operation.
Basic Training: Lenses - The Long and Short
Wide-angle and telephoto lenses render images differently from the way we naturally see things. Skilled videographers can exploit these differences to create effective shots.
Basic Training: Looking for Light
Shooting in a low light setting is more than just turning down the lights or opening your camcorder's aperture. You can't take low light shooting lightly.
Basic Training: Making a Better Baby Video
Making an effective baby video rests very heavily upon knowing your audience. Here's a four-point strategy will keep everyone happy: Shoot, archive, edit, edit.
Basic Training: Move It!
When you want a moving shot, you have all kinds of options, including a few that you might not have thought of before.
Basic Training: Nine Digital Cinematography Tips
So you know about medium shots, wide shots, closeups and even extreme closeups. But why do your videos still lack that special zing?
Basic Training: Practice Makes Perfect
Artists, athletes and entertainers all know that the best way to become the best at what you do is to practice as often as you can. Why shouldn't video producers do the same?
Basic Training: Recording Good Audio for Video
If they can't understand your audio, they'll walk out. Learn to get the best audio for video. How to select the right mics & sync external recorders.
Basic Training: Seeing the Rule of Thirds
Some photographers and videographers have a Natural Eye that composes shots and scenes all around them, even when they aren't holding a camera. You know you have The Eye when you start composing scenes everywhere you go. Eventually you'll compose using the Rule of Thirds...
Basic Training: Shoot to Show or to Edit
"Shoot to Show" and "Shoot to Edit" are two different styles requiring different methods of planning. No one knows these techniques better than a run-and-gun News Photographer.
Basic Training: Shoot Yourself!
If you visit a Hollywood film production, or sit through its credits, you know it takes busloads of people to get the production in the can. But what if you don't have access to busloads of people?
Basic Training: Shooting an Interview
It might not be 60 Minutes, (more like 15 minutes!) but if you want to make your interviews shine like Ed Bradley's on CBS, read on!
Basic Training: Shooting on the Go
Videographers rely heavily on tripods to get smooth, steady and level images. While essential, they can be a hassle when there's no time for setup.
Basic Training: Shooting the Four Seasons
"Neither Rain nor Sleet nor Dark of Night..." will keep the dedicated videographer from capturing the essence of the seasons... and you can too, with these tips from the pros.
Basic Training: Shot Lingo
Tips to define the shot you want, and the language to create it.
Basic Training: Stage It!
Look, Ma!! I'm famous! The stage exists for one reason:
Basic Training: Super Vacation Videos
Oh, no! Not the vacation videos! It's time to teach your family amp; friends how to make interesting, entertaining and watchable summer vacation videos.
Basic Training: Take Your 8mm Film to Digital
Make sure your priceless family treasures don't get left behind. Here are some tips to turn your twentieth century celluloid into twenty-first century ones and zeros.
Basic Training: The (Alien) Sky's the Limit!
Your color creation palette is limited only to the imagination when you understand how
to use the simple video filters in your editing software.
Basic Training: The 9 Classic Camera Moves
Camera moves can make your project look super professional or incredibly amateurish depending on how well you use them.
Basic Training: The Low Down on Low Camera Angles
Getting the low-down (perspective, that is) on changing your camera angle changes the mood of the story. Here are some ways to alter the emotional impact of your videos.
Basic Training: The Rules of the Grid
Knowing the technical workings of your camera is half the battle of shooting a good video. Understanding good composition can really give your work some pizazz.
Basic Training: Three-Point Lighting 101
Lighting can be extremely complicated. Some movie and TV shoots use dozens of lights to assure proper scene lighting. Here's a primer to help dispel the mystery.
Basic Training: Tricks for J and L Cuts
Editing is an art, offering you hundreds of choices of cuts in every 30-frame second. The subtle J- and L-cuts are two of the most powerful, yet simple, transitions of all.
Basic Training: Video Lighting Basics - Three-Point Lighting
Making sure your the lighting in your video looks good all comes down to video lighting basics. The best place to start is with three-point lighting.
Basic Training: What were you THINKING?!
Have you ever wanted to wrestle a camcorder away from Uncle Buck while at a
Basic Training: Winning with Composition
When one shot flows into another seemingly seamlessly, you've got the makings of good shot composition.
Basic Training: YouTube - Step by Step
Everybody's jumping on the YouTube bandwagon, from cats and kids to vacation travelers and pros. It's fun and it's easy. Here are some quick tips to getting started.
Basic Training: Zing Your Images
Bored by your video camera's limitations? Wish you had a wider lens, longer zoom or could connect your camcorder to a telescope or microscope? Try looking at lens adapters!
Basic Training
About Face!
Many video cameras now seem to include face detection capabilities. But what exactly is face detection? Our primer explains how it works and how it might stump you, too. The story of face recognition technology begins back in 2005, when Nikon released the Coolpix 5900….
Basic Training
Basic Sound for Video
People seem to forget that capturing events requires capturing video and audio. You need to balance the best way to capture video versus the best way to collect sound.
Basic Training
Cutting on Action
One of the advantages of living at the end of 100 years of motion picture editing is that we have access to the collected wisdom of many film and television editors.
Basic Training
Focus More on Focus
Unlike color balance or underexposure, which you can fiddle in post, you get only one shot at getting your focus right. Focus isn't everything, but it's close. Of all the things that impact the effectiveness of your shot, focus is at the very top of the list.
Basic Training
Intro to White Balance
Why would we want to concentrate on white when we shoot in color? Because incandescent, fluorescent and sunlight differ a lot, proving that white isn't always white.
Basic Video Editing
So you've got a camera and you've gone out and shot some video with it. Sooner or later you're going to want to understand how to do Basic Video Editing.
Becoming a Professional Video Editor
Part 1: Growth, your tools and your space. Step 1: Clean up your act! If video editors desk is a home-office catch-all, the video editor is not using space effectively or time efficiently.
Biography Videos: New Application for Home Video
Personal biography videos are becoming a successful niche service for videographers.
Branding With Bugs
See that little ID icon in the bottom corner of your TV screen? That's called a "bug". It used to be, only network news shows used bugs. Now everyone is using them, and you can too.
Broaden Your Video Horizons
How high-speed broadband Internet is changing the course of digital video.
Budgeting Time
How long will it take? Calculate your time investment before you start with these planning tips.
Build a Guerrilla Sound Booth
You've got the makings of a great audio production booth, right in your own home.
Cable TV: Leased Access
How to lease airtime from cable TV to broadcast your message.
Camcorder Battery Tips
How to make sure your battery is still alive when your ready to make that critical shot.
Camcorder Care
Nine Tips to Keep Your Camcorder as Fresh as a New Baby.
Camcorder Danger: Risks People Take for the Camera
The dangers of putting a camcorder on a person who would put themselves or others at risk to show off.
Camcorder lighting: On-Camera Lights
How to make the most of an on-board lamp.
Camcorder lighting: On-Camera Lights
Whether you're trying to improve an otherwise impossibly dark shot or add a little pop to an adequately lit scene, an on-camera light is a critical tool.
Camera Work: As Easy as A/B Roll
As Easy as A/B Roll
Camera Work: Buttons, Blasted Buttons
Buttons, Blasted Buttons
Camera Work: Camcorder TLC
Camcorder TLC
Camera Work: Et Cetera, Et Cetera
Et Cetera, Et Cetera
Camera Work: Learn from the Pros
Learn from the Pros
Camera Work: Letting in Some Light
Letting in Some Light
Camera Work: On with the Show!
On with the Show!
Camera Work: People
People
Camera Work: Shot Language
Shot Language
Camera Work: Shots and Scenes
Shots and Scenes
Camera Work: Simple Camcorder Editing
Simple Camcorder Editing
Camera Work: Smooth Moves
Smooth Moves
Camera Work: Video Space
Video Space
Camera Work: What's Your Angle
What's Your Angle
Casting Shadows with Cookies: A Recipe for Success
Create unique visual effects with homemade cookies and gobos.
CD/DVD Duplication Services versus Home-Use Duplicators
A guide to which DVD mass-production option works best for you. You've burned a master disc of your pièce de résistance and are ready to ship it all over. Just one problem: you have only one disc, and burning hundreds by yourself isn't feasible. Or is it? Both duplication services and home-use duplicators create the same outcome, so which one should you go with? This article will arm you with the information you need to choose the option that works best for you, so you can tackle your next big project with ease.
Charity Video
For aspiring video producers, it's always hard to find some interesting subject matter. Are you looking for an audience?
Choosing an Audio Mixer
Tips for choosing the best audio mixer.
Church Video: Lights, Camera, Worship
You'll never walk alone: a pragmatic guide to worship video from those who have gone before.
Communication: The Foundation of Production
The most important thing a director has to do is communicate.
Computer Editing: 5 Phases of Editing
Conquer editing in five major phases: organizing, assembling, enhancing, synthesizing and archiving.
Computer Editing: A Transition Style Sheet
Fade, dissolve, wipe, flip, spin and more. A checklist for innovative transitions.
Computer Editing: Applying Speed Effects in Post
Spectacular speed effects using your nonlinear editing program.
Computer Editing: Basic Compositing
In a field as rapidly changing as video production, few "buzzwords" generate more interest than "compositing."
Computer Editing: Breaking the Two-Gig Barrier
Digital video editors can conquer the 2-gigabyte file size dilemma. Here's how.
Computer Editing: Clip Trimming Made Easy
Cut the time you spend editing by trimming your clips before you import.
Computer Editing: Color Tweaking
Digital-video tools built into today's editing computers allow videographers to manipulate on-screen color.
Computer Editing: Common Editing Problems
You've got problems? We've got solutions. Tips for troubleshooting common editing software problems.
Computer Editing: Editing Approaches
Part I: When Pictures Drive Sound. Sometimes what you see determines the pace of your edit.
Computer Editing: Editing Audio First
Sometimes sound comes first.
Computer Editing: Film Effects
Post-production tips and tricks to make your video look like film.
Computer Editing: Getting Started in Computer Editing
There's more to editing than knowing which buttons to press.
Computer Editing: Go with the Flow -- Editing for Continuity
Paying attention to the continuity can help you communicate clearly with your audience.
Computer Editing: Introduction to Computer Animation
Today's powerful animation software can help you create dazzling animation productions.
Computer Editing: Keying, Alpha Channels and Mattes
Dive into the wonderful world of compositing and enter a world without creative limits.
Computer Editing: Let's Talk Titles
Find out everything you need to know to make great titles for all your video productions.
Computer Editing: Log and Capture Concepts
Plan ahead by sorting and numbering your video clips in an organized way.
Computer Editing: Making Moving Titles
Making moving titles is easy with today's video editing software.
Computer Editing: Making the Most of Bad Footage
Practical editing tips to help you turn terrible footage into terrific video.
Computer Editing: Multi-Camera Editing
Here are some helpful hints for editing multi-camera footage into a finished production.
Computer Editing: Saying a Lot With a Little
Use titles and graphics to grab your viewer's attention.
Computer Editing: Shooting for a Specific Audience
Tailor your shows for the people who will watch them.
Computer Editing: Six Transgressions of the Edit Suite: An Editor's Tale
Gather round ye acolytes of seamless editing. Today's scroll concerns a subject near and dear to all who believe in the power of the smooth program.
Computer Editing: Special Effect Video Filters
Take advantage of your video editor's special effects filters, just don't overdo it.
Computer Editing: Split Man
Learn how and when to use split edits to add meaning, depth and interest to your video productions.
Computer Editing: Tailoring Edits to Specific Viewers
How to tailor your programs to suit the likes and dislikes of your target audience.
Computer Editing: The ABCs of NLEs
Video editing, as a whole, is greater than the sum of its parts.
Computer Editing: The Language of Editing
Learn the language of editing and edit like the pros.
Computer Editing: Video Filter Effects
Applying electronic filters in post-production can cure many of your footage's ailments.
Computer Editing: Watch Your Language!
Knowing what messages your video's transitions send goes a long way in helping you choose the right effect.
Computer Editing: Which Comes First, the A or the V?
Editing when the picture drives the soundtrack.
Computer Video Editing: What's the Best Approach?
To beginning editors it may seem that visuals are the determining factor in making edit decisions. The truth is that editing is often a process of matching visuals to essential audio.
Computer Video Glossary
A guide to computer-video terms that every video editor needs to know.
Copy Protection
Protecting your work can lead to some confusing red tape. Use these tips from two copyright attorneys to help you cut through it.
Copyright: Legal Issues You Need to Know
Get permission or face the music.
Desktop Video: Bundles of Joy
Bundles of Joy
Desktop Video: Computer-generated Video
Computer-generated Video
Desktop Video: Digital Nonlinear Editing
To begin nonlinear editing, you'll need some way to digitize your video and audio clips.On the PC, locate an Intel Smart Video Recorder Pro (or the Creative Labs Video Blaster RT300).
Desktop Video: Digitize It
Digitize It
Desktop Video: DTV Switchers and SEGs
DTV Switchers and SEGs
Desktop Video: Linear vs. nonlinear Video
Linear vs. nonlinear Video
Desktop Video: Logging Tapes
Logging Tapes
Desktop Video: Shooting Video for Multimedia
Shooting Video for Multimedia
Desktop Video: Singing the NTSC Red-green Blues
Singing the NTSC Red-green Blues
Desktop Video: The Mac Platform
The Mac Platform
Desktop Video: The PC Platform
The PC Platform
Desktop Video: Tips for Terrific Titles
Tips for Terrific Titles
Desktop Video: Titles and Graphics
Titles and Graphics
Digital Audio Sampling
Since digital audio only has a couple of major mathematical aspects, it won't be a stretch to cover it in one article. We'll try to keep the math to a minimum.
Digital Video Editing: The Grammar of Editing
Bad Grammar can lead to a bad impression. Learn the grammar of editing to avoid common mistakes.
Digital Video Lighting : Enhance Video with Light & Color
Tinted gels, correct white balance, and correct Lighting for digital video can make the different between professional and amateur quality.
Directing
Small Crew Directing
Someday, you may have to hire, beg, borrow or coerce some people to join you on your video adventure. Keep it friendly, stick with a plan and you - and they - will enjoy the trek.
Directing for the Screen
Learn how to apply four major directing tools: point of view, composition, perspective and movement.
Directing to Edit
By anticipating your editor's needs and shooting footage to fulfill them, you can help create a better program--and a happier editor.
Directing: Decoding the Video Crew
As a one-man-band, you wear many hats, but when your production gets bigger, you have to share the load. But who ya gonna call? Get ready for the name game, it's "Crew Call" time!
Directing: Directing Documentaries
Documentaries are about real people in real places doing real things. Documentaries were the first films ever made.
Directing: Documentary Interview Tips
The key to a good documentary interview is to listen. Maintain eye contact with your subject. Do not look down at your notes or settle for generalizations.
Directing: Dual-Role Directing
Multitasking when you are directing is not easy but sometimes necessary. Here are a few suggestions.
Directing: Recruiting Talent
One of the most difficult, important and rewarding things a director has to do is find, recruit and work with talent.
Directing: Set Time Management
Dashing out the door with camcorder in hand, but no plan, can cost you. Time is money. In video production, this is perhaps more true than in any other profession.
Directing: Storyboarding
Similar to a plot map used by archeologists, a storyboard is the best way to illustrate staging positions and camera angles for talent and crew. Remember the days when you would sit back and enjoy a good comic book? Or maybe now you cruise through the graphic novel section...
Directing: Tips for Directing Non-Professionals
Lights. Camera. Action. You hope. Directing professional talent isn't easy, but they usually know their jobs. Non-actors require a different set of skills.
Directing: What you need to start a videography business
The mindset and video equipment you will need to start a videography business and make money with videos as a professional videographer.
Directing
Directing Children
Directing children for your video can try your patience, as they are easily distracted, need plenty of visual instruction and communicate differently from adults.
Directing
The Director and the DP
As a solo artist, what happens when you land a gig with a budget for crew? Your most important relationship will be with your Director of Photography.
Director's Chair: Back to Film School
Watching films is a classroom in itself, yet you really have to have the right tools to become a critical viewer. All good directors are students of film. They devour film, looking at the way their peers chose to present the script - their shot choice, transitions, music and form.
Director's Chair: Directing a Fall
Physical comedy has been a hallmark of the film industry since the early days of the silent film.
Director's Chair: Everyday Masterpieces
December - a time of cold and perhaps snow. A few weeks of quiet time before the onrush of the holiday season.
Director's Chair: Just What Should I Wear?
Scrutinize the wardrobes on TV and in the movies, and you'll see most of the clothing worn by the actors will blend well with each other. This isn't an accident.
Director's Chair: Maintaining Continuity
Even in blockbuster movies, continuity errors happen, and eagle-eyed viewers love to find the mistakes.
Director's Chair: Planning Your Shoot
There is an old saying in the business world that goes, "Poor prior planning leads to particularly poor programs." This is especially true in the video industry.
Director's Chair: Screen Direction
Screen direction is perhaps one of the most confusing yet easily remedied problems in directing a video production.
Director's Chair: Secrets of Storytelling
"And Toto, Too?" Say any classic movie line, and everyone knows not only the movie you're referring to, but also which scene and the character who spoke it.
Director's Chair: Who's in Charge Here?
You don't need puffy pants and a megaphone to be an assertive, successful director. But you do need to take control.
Distribution
Profit On Demand
Distribution
HD Online Convergence
HD Online: We have the technology. We can build faster internet connections, with better delivery service than ever before. Better, stronger, faster. The convergence of lower-cost HD prosumer camcorders, faster internet connections and improved content delivery...
Distribution
Stellar Video, Just Smaller
Tiny viewers are everywhere, allowing you to show a video from the palm of your hand. Learn how to creatively shrink movies and launch your career the micro way.
Distribution
Taking It to the Screen
Getting your hard work shown on a big screen is a dream of many video producers, but it really can be done. The name of the technique in question: four-walling.
Distribution
Video Blogging and Podcasting
Video is all over the place on the web nowadays, and nobody wants to get left behind. But how do you add video to a website, and, more importantly, why should you?
Distribution: Best Online Video Sites
Videomaker readers want top quality! So, read on to discover the best online video sharing sites to display and promote your next video masterpiece.
Distribution: Building an Audience Online
A blog is simply a web log, or diary, that one shares with others. But when users were finally able to add video to these blogs, a viral phenomenon was born. People watched more than 10 billion videos online last year. Shouldn't some of those people be watching your stuff?
Distribution: Compressing the Goods
Everybody's doing it. Whether it's for private e-mail to friends, or mass distribution, here are a few basics and then some for compressing video for the Web.
Distribution: Distributing the Goods
From YouTube to those that pay, video-sharing sites have risen from the obscure to dominate internet users' online experience. Which one is best for your video?
Distribution: Medium Cool: Launching Your Own Video Blog
Blog is simply a web log, or diary, that one shares with others. But when users were finally able to add video to these blogs, a viral phenomena was born. In the fall of 2001, text-based weblogs began to grow exponentially in popularity, followed a few years …
Distribution: Online Social Networking For Video Producers
As social networking sites continue to grow, videographers who create plans for promoting their videos using online social networking will benefit.
Distribution: P2P Video Sharing
Peer-to-Peer Distribution now includes P2P video sharing. This technology has come a long way since the infamous Napster popularized illegal music sharing.
Distribution: Preparing to Format Video for the Internet
With so many potential targets for delivering your video, it becomes rather exhausting to plan how many different types of video formats to export from your timeline.
Distribution: Stock Footage Wanted!
The market for stock footage is booming. Videographers can now make money by offering stock video clips to online stock footage libraries...
Distribution: Web Video for Beginners
Video is all over the place on the web nowadays, and nobody wants to get left behind. But how do you add video to a website, and, more importantly, why should you?
Distribution
Finding Your Target Market
The internet has turned traditional business models upside down. This includes the market relationship between sellers and buyers.
Distro Bistro
You've finally got that masterpiece in the can, now what?
Do-it-Yourself Hoop Windscreen
Step-by-step instructions on how to build an inexpensive narration windscreen
Dual System Sound From Hollywood To Home Video Editing
Duel System Sound used to be reserved for major production studios. Today you can get this professional sound. Here are some home video editing tips for using DSS.
Edit Points: A History of Videotape Editing
A History of Videotape Editing
Edit Points: A Sound Investment
A Sound Investment
Edit Points: Add Spice with Special Effects
Add Spice with Special Effects
Edit Points: Choosing and Using Edit Controllers
Choosing and Using Edit Controllers
Edit Points: Edit Types
Edit Types
Edit Points: Editing Bureaus: Visions for Rent
Editing Bureaus: Visions for Rent
Edit Points: Editing VCRs
Editing VCRs
Edit Points: Flash Titler
Flash Titler
Edit Points: Linear vs. Nonlinear Editing
Linear vs. Nonlinear Editing
Edit Points: Moving to Time Code
Moving to Time Code
Edit Points: Picking a Protocol
Picking a Protocol
Edit Points: The Big Picture
The Big Picture
Edit Points: The Importance of Calibration
The Importance of Calibration
Edit Points: When You Don't Have a Controller
When You Don't Have a Controller
Edit Suite: Aesthetics of Editing
Editing is an important part of making video. But the best edits are those that the audience doesn't even notice.
Edit Suite: An Off-line On-line Outline
Editing at home on your PC can save you time and money, but there are limitations.
Edit Suite: Analog vs. Digital Editing
Clarity shines on the murky confusion surrounding the two types of signals.
Edit Suite: Bare-bones Editing: Simple Editing Without a Controller
If you want to edit your videos but you don't want to set up an editing system, here's a simple solution.
Edit Suite: Behold the Humble Cut
No video transition is so simple and inexpensive as the cut. And none is so powerful.
Edit Suite: Choosing a Titler
A titler will do more than just put text on the screen--it can also give your productions a more professional look.
Edit Suite: Choosing an Edit Controller
Now that you've taped several hours of weddings, birthdays, and other precious moments, it's time to make them watchable.
Edit Suite: Continuity
Continuity is the job of both the director and the editor.
Edit Suite: Continuity Boot Camp
How to put an end to the often comical - and always embarrassing - continuity error.
Edit Suite: Deck Control, Once Over Lightly
If you plan to buy an editing system or improve your current one, it pays to understand edit protocols.
Edit Suite: Editing Cameras
Editing equipment is becoming smaller, less cumbersome and, in some cases, consolidated within the camcorder itself.
Edit Suite: Editing Digital Audio
Nonlinear audio empowers our soundtrack.
Edit Suite: Editing Picture to Sound
By carefully matching picture and sound, you can make an otherwise boring video come alive.
Edit Suite: Editing Video Events
Stuck shooting an event from just one vantage point? Not to worry, as an editor, you have an array of tricks to help create entertaining video anyway.
Edit Suite: Editing: Linear or Nonlinear?
Don't confuse linear and nonlinear editing with analog and digital formats.
Edit Suite: Fearless Compositing
Don't be intimidated, compositing is easier than you might think.
Edit Suite: Five Types of Continuity
Even Hollywood movies can suffer gaps in continuity. Learn what to do to keep continuity throughout your video.
Edit Suite: Fresh Ideas for Titles
Let's jump beyond the basics and consider titles as a creative component of your shows.
Edit Suite: Getting the Most From an Edit Bureau
Got a one-time video project to edit? Why spend a fortune buying editing equipment when you can rent it?
Edit Suite: How to Use Time Code
Contrary to what you might think, time code’s frame accuracy makes it easier and faster to edit video.
Edit Suite: It's About Time: How To Control Pacing
Make your videos more interesting by
manipulating time.
Edit Suite: Learn to Log and Love It
Time spent logging tapes is surely time well spent.
Edit Suite: Linear Editing: Ten Tips for Success
A handful of helpful hints for tape-to-tape editors.
Edit Suite: Make it Snappy
Create vibrant videos using the appropriate tempo to keep your audience interested and asking for more.
Edit Suite: Making a Video Album
Turn your home videos into family keepsakes.
Edit Suite: Master Editors
One of the best ways to learn when and where to edit is to imitate those who have done it brilliantly.
Edit Suite: Nonlinear Editing: 10 Tips for Success
Helpful advice for nonlinear project management.
Edit Suite: Once Upon a Time: The History of Videotape Editing
One look at where we've come from will make you appreciate how far we've come
Edit Suite: Pesky Edit Blemishes
Attention to detail pays off in the end.
Edit Suite: Plan for Better Editing
A stitch in time saves nine. An edit plan saves time.
Edit Suite: Play It Again!
Don't just use that shot once. Here are some sneaky reasons to recycle footage.
Edit Suite: Real is in the Eye of the Beholder
The creative editor can suggest impossible realities to a believing audience.
Edit Suite: Shaping Performance through Editing
Simple tricks for editing complicated dialogue.
Edit Suite: TBC Trivia
Answers to common questions about one of video's least-understood tools.
Edit Suite: Test Your Monitor Knowledge
TVs, video monitors and computer monitors may look similar, but savvy videomakers know how they differ, and how to use them.
Edit Suite: The Direct Approach
Editing begins as soon as the camera rolls.
Edit Suite: The Heart of Your Edit Suite: Editing Decks
Just what is it that sets an Edit Deck apart from just any old VCR?
Edit Suite: The Ins and Outs of Edit Controllers
Recording footage with your camcorder is one thing; turning it into a watchable video is another. Consider an edit controller.
Edit Suite: The Language of Transitions
The classical use of transitions, though not flashy, can be a powerful means to communicate.
Edit Suite: The Language of Video Editing
The content of your video is important, but so is the way you put it together.
Edit Suite: The Mysteries of Screen Direction
The basic rules for screen direction are deceptively simple.
Edit Suite: The Power of Suggestion
How can you achieve a big-budget look for your video with a no-budget budget?
Edit Suite: The Power of the Cut
The simplest transition effect may also be the most powerful.
Edit Suite: Titles the Old-Fashioned Way
Titles don't have to be fancy to be effective.
Edit Suite: Transition Tricks
Here's how to put transitions to work in your video productions.
Edit Suite: Using Your Computer for Linear Editing
While nonlinear editing systems seem to be all the rage, computer-controlled linear editing is tried, true and affordable.
Edit Suite: Warp Speed: Conquering Space and Time
Through judicious editing, we exercise our omnipotence over the little worlds we create on screen.
Edit Suite: What Is Editing?
Create a video program by adding, sequencing and enhancing your camcorder
footage.
Edit Suite: You're Entitled!
Creative titling is a fun and easy way to add spice and character to your videos.
Edit The Plan: Part 3 of Production Planning
Planning for post-production will re-focus your vision of the program you want and then help you create it with the material you've got.
Editing
Color Correction 101
A few simple steps can save an improperly-shot scene or improve one that is less than brilliant.
Editing
Color Correction 201
Ever want to enhance a washed-out sky or push the color on a less-than-vibrant hill of grass? How did they do that black-and-white/color effect in Sin City or Pleasantville?
Editing
Editing On The Set
As video producers transition into the 21st century, we have an opportunity that no other filmmakers or mediamakers have had in the past: we can edit on the set.
Editing
Scoping Out Your Video
Many editing software programs offer a variety of colorful scopes to help enhance the hue, color, and brilliance, among other editing tweaks. But how do they work?
Editing
Simple Compositing
Everyone loves to be awed by movie magic, and you can bedazzle your audience using our simple compositing tips that reveal the Secret of See Through Layers. Compositing is omnipresent. It would be nearly impossible to watch a Hollywood film or an hour of television….
Editing Digital Audio
The secret ingredient that all the pros agree must be added to each of your video recipes if you want to cook up an outstanding program.
Editing Dirty Little Tricks
Editors are dirty little tricksters. Yes, we pull all sorts of illusions behind our viewers' backs. Some people might even say all editing is a "trick."
Editing Video Clips To Remove Unwanted Objects
The most common offender is the tip of a shotgun mic that has dipped into the shot from above. We also might see the edge of a light stand or a barndoor
Editing:
Fix It in Post
If a director, cinematographer, producer or uncle of the movie studio mogul tells you, "no worries... we'll fix it in post," tell them, "well, sure, we can... but it'll cost you."
Editing: Audio for Video - Using Radio Edit Techniques
One strategy for editing is to do a "radio" edit. Focusing you cuts and the assembly of your timeline on the dialog places the content of the story.
Editing: Best Media Storage Practices
Do you remember that feeling of panic when a critical file became lost? With good media storage habits a potential tragedy is only a short delay.
Editing: Desktop Editing FAQ
If video editing is anything, it's a fast-moving target.
Editing: Digital Spaghetti
An edit bay that can live with the residents of your house.
Editing: Editing from Start to Finish, Part 1 of 4
This is the first part of a planned 4-part introduction to video editing. Part 1: Prep, Log and Capture.
Editing: Editing from Start to Finish, Part 2 of 4
A Four Part Videomaker Series. Part 2: Get Editing! Cut, Trim and Pace.
Editing: Editing from Start to Finish, Part 4 of 4
A Four Part Videomaker Series. Part 4: Sweeten It!
Editing: Editing tips
The Dissolve: A Winning Edit
Editing: Fool Proof Collaboration for Online Video Producers
Smart producers are using online video collaboration to get fast feedback from their clients and to make adjustments without needing to meet the client.
Editing: Get Organized!
"Beauty from order springs."--William King, Art of Cookery
Editing: Intermediate Codec Transcoding
As CPUs get faster, machines are able to utilize more RAM and editing software gets more efficient, the need for intermediate codecs for editing HDV may fall away.
Editing: It's the Pace, Ace!
Program pacing is a neglected art that may be more important than you think.
Editing: Layering Video
Creating composite effects.
Editing: Making Moving Titles
Create basic motion graphics with your editor's timeline.
Editing: Media Management
A well-organized post-production workflow can help save you time and money. Media management, the process of keeping your media assets accounted for in a system that makes sense, is key in getting projects done on time. Editors each have their own preferences on how to...
Editing: Motivation
It's a bird... it's a plane... it's ... the motivated edit? It's a powerful editing technique, but to execute it well, you must consider the final edit when you plan the first shot.
Editing: Multicam Video Editing Tips
To determine whether or not you need to use multicam video editing features, there are some considerations worth making.
Editing: Polished Work
From rough cut to finished product, you want to deliver the goods as cleanly as possible. Here are the Seven Steps to Creating an Excellent Polished Work.
Editing: Screen Capturing for Everyone
Companies need promotional & instructional videos created for their software applications, web applications, web stores & other computer-platform products.
Editing: Sofa Film Schools
How to turn your sofa into a film school. The best film school is as close as your living room. Watch the best filmmakers do what they do best-make films.
Editing: Use of Stills in Video
Dropping a still photo in your video isn't too hard, but making it flow well takes a special eye. Adding movement to stills is a technique that the masters have perfected. Movies, film, cinema, video - these are all, more or less, names for the same thing: motion pictures.
Editing: Using Stock Footage
Stock footage can save you both time and money.
Editing: What Did You Say?
Understanding the hidden meanings of transition effects.
Editor's Letter: Making video is a lot easier than it used to be
Sitting in front of a computer that is configured for video editing is a wonderful experience and now it’s easier than ever.
Editor's Letter: So you want to learn how to make video with your computer?
Making high quality video is easier than ever before.
Editor's View
Looking for Gear? It's All in Here...
Fan Films
Star Wars Continues with Fan Film Fans
Fan Films on the Web
It doesn't cost millions of dollars to creat a blockbuster, only a camcorder and a desire to play Jedi.
FCC Laws and Wireless Mics
How old is your wireless mic system? Are you aware it might be deemed inoperable, even illegal by new FCC rules? DTV is changing how we can use wireless signals.
Finding Light for Video
Don't have enough light? All is not lost-since we need light to see. There's lots of it around, finding light for video is easier than you think.
Finding Talent for Videos
A handy guide to finding, auditioning and hiring the best performers for your next production.
From Shot Lists to Storyboards
Organizing your project before you shoot can save you time during the edit stage.
Getting Started: A New Perspective
Use creative camera angles to improve your videos.
Getting Started: Altering Space and Time with Video
The space-time continuum used to be the sole domain of science-fiction writers.Today it is the playground of the videographer.
Getting Started: Artistic Vision
Ten simple camera techniques can give your videos an "artistic" look.
Getting Started: Audience Appreciation: Be Kind to Your Viewers
Four questions you should ask yourself before you hit that red record button.
Getting Started: Auto vs. Manual
If better-looking video is your goal, maybe it's time you took control.
Getting Started: Avoiding Common Camcorder Mistakes
Five ways to keep from shooting yourself in the foot.
Getting Started: Camcorder Maintenance
Common sense and TLC will keep your camcorder in tip-top shape at all times.
Getting Started: Camera Move Aesthetics
Carefully chosen camera moves contribute immensely to the aesthetic quality of your video.
Getting Started: Cause and In-camera Effect
In the right circumstances, a good in-camera effect is just what the doctor ordered.
Getting Started: Choosing Your Camcorder
What's the best camcorder you can buy? It depends on what you need, what you want, and how much you can spend.
Getting Started: Composition: A Work of Video Art
Attention to framing will make any video more interesting.
Getting Started: Connecting Editing Equipment
Making the right connections isn't just smart, it's a neccessity.
Getting Started: Copy Stand Shooting
It's the best way to shoot art, photos and small objects in extreme closeup.
Getting Started: Creative Camcorder Supports
There's no excuse for shaky shots.
Getting Started: Creative Camcorder Work
By creatively positioning your camcorder, you can elicit a wide range of emotional responses from your audience.
Getting Started: Do You Copy?
Transferring photos to video is easy with the right tools and a little know-how.
Getting Started: Don't Get Fooled Again: The Power of Manual Control
Put yourself in control of your camcorder's automatic features.
Getting Started: Easy Editing the Two-Finger Way
Edit your footage with a camcorder, a TV and a VCR.
Getting Started: Focal Techniques
Making focus work to your advantage is a key part of producing good video.
Getting Started: Handheld Camera Techniques
Steady camera shots without a tripod can be easy if you practice these simple tips.
Getting Started: High Concept, Low Sweat
Organization can mean the difference between a confusing series of clips and a compelling, satisfying video. All it takes is a little forethought and a little planning.
Getting Started: How to Avoid Common Camcorder Mistakes
By avoiding the most common camcorder mistakes, you can come closer to video perfection.
Getting Started: In-Camera Edit Control
Put an edit controller inside a camcorder and what do you have? A video Swiss Army knife.
Getting Started: In-Camera Editing
In-camera editing is video production without the safety net.
Getting Started: Keep on Trucking
Camera moves that will help you make better videos.
Getting Started: Lens Techniques
Your camcorder's eye - the lens - can create come interesting focal effects.
Getting Started: Lenses: Long and Short, Wide and Tight
Harness the power of the zoom lens for maximum visual impact.
Getting Started: Manual Controls
Sometimes it pays to be a control freak
Getting Started: Saving Family Classics: Film-to-Video Transfer
Do-it-yourself film-to-video is easy and allows you to add a personal touch to your classic footage.
Getting Started: Shooting on Sunny Days
When shooting outdoors, you should maintain control of the most important video component: light.
Getting Started: Shooting to Edit vs. Editing In-Camera
The difference between shooting to edit and editing in-camera is like shooting with a safety net or flying by the seat of your pants.
Getting Started: Sideline Video: Shooting Sports
Videotaping sports events can be just as challenging as the games themselves. Here's a few hints to help you hit a home run with your viewers.
Getting Started: Slide to Video Transfer Tips
Transferring slides to video can be a very simple process.
Getting Started: Space, Time and Videotape
The camcorder allows you to warp time to your advantage.
Getting Started: The Boring Parts Cut Out
When you show your videos, does your audience cry "Mercy, mercy! Or "More, more!"? Some simple editing could make the difference.
Getting Started: The Case of the Missing Controls
Automatic point-and-shoot camcorders are convenient, but manual control of certain functions can do your videos a world of good.
Getting Started: The Great Balloon Video-A Case Study
If you're short on video equipment and expertise, go long on planning. It'll help your video take off.
Getting Started: The Joy of Sets
With your imagination, a few inexpensive props and some clever framing, you can defy reality
Getting Started: The Seven Deadly Camera Sins
Follow these easy guidelines for video you'll be proud of.
Getting Started: The Top 10 Reasons Nobody Likes to Watch Your Videos
Keeping your audience awake for the final credits is easy when you avoid these basic video hazards.
Getting Started: The [Record] Head of Class
How to select the best video equipment for your school's production needs without breaking your budget, and how to use it wthout straining your skills.
Getting Started: Tripod Techniques
Take a closer look at that most indispensible of video tools - the tripod.
Getting Started: Using Light
Light is the most essential element in videomaking. Here's how to make the best use of it.
Getting Started: Video Composition
Good shot composition is at the heart of attractive video.
Getting Started: Video Time Travel
Video is a time machine. Learn to control it, and you can really have some fun.
Getting Started: Videotape Storage
Take care of your videotapes and they'll reward you.
Getting Started: Visual Composition
You don't have to be George Gershwin to be a great composer. Just carefully arrange your video scenes, and you'll achieve visual harmony.
Getting Started: What's Holding Things Up?
Tripods are simple but essential videomaking tools. Unfortunately, they're often overlooked.
Getting Started: Writing Video Letters
If you have trouble using written words to relate a story or to describe an experience, try using your camcorder.
Getting Started: Your Camcorder's Buttons
What do all those buttons do, anyway?
Getting Started: ZOOM!!
Used skillfully, your camcorder’s zoom lens can set you apart as a savvy shooter.
Glidecam X-10/HD-4000 Reviewed
The value of X-10/HD-4000 as a professional camcorder stabilization system is hard to beat.
Green Screen Lighting
Virtual green screen sets are no longer just for the privileged Hollywood bigwigs.
Hangin' with the Oscar Nominees
A Videomaker Special Report
Hiding a Lavalier Mic
Hiding a lavalier mic is tricky business. You want the highest quality sound without actually seeing the microphone.
Holiday Gift Guide: Four Tips for Stuffing Video Stockings
Don’t know what to give? Here are some gift ideas that every videographer will love.
Hollywood's Secrets Revealed: Special Effects in the Movies
Look inside the creation of some of special effects in the movies.
Home Video Hints
Move It! Camera Move Aesthetics. Pan and tilt are common camera moves.
Home Video Hints: A Videographer's Family Vacation
Make sure you have all the mobile video equipment you need when you head out on the road.
Home Video Hints: Baby, It's Cold Outside!
Keep your camcorder safe in cold, wet winter weather.
Home Video Hints: Camcorder Battery Care
Take Charge! Don’t miss your best shot of the day to a dead battery.
Home Video Hints: Camera Moves
Pivots, pans, tilts and zooms--learn to generate camera moves that work for you.
Home Video Hints: Camera Sinners, Repent!
An in-depth look at seven suspect shots you should avoid when shooting your footage.
Home Video Hints: Common Camcorder Mistakes
Learn to avoid some of the most common mistakes made by camcorder users.
Home Video Hints: Common Shooting Mistakes
Avoid these 10 mistakes to shoot like a pro.
Home Video Hints: Composing Your Shots
Shooting great looking video can be as simple as solving a few problems with composition.
Home Video Hints: Composition the Easy Way
Good composition requires more than just a high-quality camcorder and some nice scenery. There are rules.
Home Video Hints: Digital Editing for Free
You may already have everything you need to start editing. Here's an easy, three-step guide on how to start.
Home Video Hints: Easy-to-make Labels
Simple labels for your videos and DVDs.
Home Video Hints: Editing 101: School's in Session
For novice and intermediate editors, here are some tips to consider as you move towards editing perfection.
Home Video Hints: Editing for Absolute Beginners
Your TV and VCR are all that you need to start editing.
Home Video Hints: Four Essential Audio Elements
What you hear is as important as what you see.
Home Video Hints: Get Those Tapes in Shape
Limbering up your tapes by blacking, fast forwarding and pre-labeling them can save you headaches.
Home Video Hints: Holiday Videos that Rock!
A quick and easy recipe for capturing family memories.
Home Video Hints: Home Video Distribution
There are more options for getting your video seen than ever before.
Home Video Hints: How to Use Available Light
Available light can be all you need if you patiently think through your options and wisely exploit the location.
Home Video Hints: I've Got This Great Footage...
You have dozens of tapes and hundreds of scenes and shots. Organization isn't just nice, it's a necessity.
Home Video Hints: In-Camera Effects
Shoot and edit your own transition effects.
Home Video Hints: Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
Nasty winter weather is no reason to put your camcorder into hibernation.
Home Video Hints: Make Your Move
Put the
Home Video Hints: New Rules for Video Vacations
How to travel safe in the New World Order.
Home Video Hints: Plan for Success
A little planning goes a long way in making a successful video project.
Home Video Hints: Planning Production: Part I
Even productions for the home hobbyist can benefit from pre-production planning.
Home Video Hints: Production Planning: Taking Your Act on the Road
Cover the essentials for smooth shooting.
Home Video Hints: Pushing the Right Buttons
The presence and location of manual camcorder settings play an important role in video production.
Home Video Hints: Pushing Your Buttons
Don't let your new camcorder be overwhelming. Learn the button basics.
Home Video Hints: Ready or Not!
Camcorder users, like good Scouts, should always be prepared.
Home Video Hints: Sharp Shootin'
Suggestions to help you record better-looking video every time you shoot.
Home Video Hints: Shoot to Show
Tips for in-camera editing.
Home Video Hints: Shoot Video With the Editor In Mind
Make the editing job easier by keeping the editing process in mind when shooting your video.
Home Video Hints: Shooting Steady
Steady your shots withh these handy tips.
Home Video Hints: Shooting to Edit - 5 Tips for Success
Learn to shoot video with the mind of an editor and your editing will be faster, easier and a lot more fun.
Home Video Hints: Shooting Under Cover
Admit it. There are plenty of times you want to shoot inconspicuously. Here's how.
Home Video Hints: Simple Steps for Camcorder Care
Keeping your video equipment in tip-top shape can save you big bucks down the road.
Home Video Hints: Steady as She Goes!
Practical advice to help you shoot smooth, steady footage with or without a stabilizing device.
Home Video Hints: Telling a Simple Story
Making a story movie is easy, as long as you follow a few simple guidelines.
Home Video Hints: Ten Tips for Great Travel Video
Be prepared: how to take inventory of your home before disaster strikes.
Home Video Hints: The Seven Golden Composition Rules
Good video composition doesn't require years of artistic training. Fluency in some basic axioms will suffice.
Home Video Hints: The Three C's of Shooting to Edit
While shooting video, consider the edit that lies ahead. Keep coverage, continuity and cutability in mind.
Home Video Hints: Thinking Like an Editor
In order to call yourself a professional videographer you need equipment, clients and a good reputation.
Home Video Hints: Titling Tips
Identifying and resolving basic problems behind ineffective video titles.
Home Video Hints: Using a Built-in Camera Light
Small, portable and battery powered, a video light can save your shots in more ways than you may know.
Home Video Hints: Video for the Ho-Ho-Holidays
We have some tips and ideas to improve your inevitable assortment of holiday video clips.
Home Video Hints: Video on CD -- You Can Do it Too!
Follow a reader through the process of creating a VCD
Home Video Hints: Videotaping Children
Make compelling home videos, not just boring, uninspired raw footage.
Home Video Hints: Watch Your Language!
The world of transitions speaks a language we all understand--whether you realize it or not.
Home Video Hints: What's Your Angle?
Creative camera angles can improve the look of your home videos.
Homemade Sound Effects With Big-Budget Impact
Don't buy sound effects, make your own! We'll show you how to create realistic sound effects using Hollywood style tricks to fool the ear.
Homemade Sound Effects: You Won't Believe Your Ears
Bring the sound of Hollywood to your videos with tips and tricks of the Foley trade.
How Many Cameras?
How can a videographer who only has one camcorder and no control room hope to produce a slick and professional-looking video? Find out how in this article about clever editing techniquesfor making one camera look like many.
How Much Directing should be included in a video script?
An accusation often aimed at video script writers is the charge of directing on paper. In the strictest production worlds writers write and directors direct.
How Relationships Play a Role in Making Video
Videomaker's role is changing from teaching people how to make video to fostering a community to empower mass collaboration over the Internet.
How to Edit Videos Like the Pros: Beyond the Basics.
How to Edit Videos Part 2: What makes the difference between basic editing and actual professional editing?
How to Make a Documentary - Part 1
Few other communication forms have the power to reveal a unique perspective, capture imagination and even motivate change. In this 3-part series on how to make a documentary, you'll discover how you can move your story from dream to distribution.
How to Make a Documentary Part II
Considered an art form by many, documentary video production has its own special challenges and rewards. In this second of three parts on how to make a documentary, we'll explore how to plan your approach, find your subject and begin the process of bringing your vision to fruition.
How to Make a Movie: Low Budget, Big Bang
One of the most exciting things that has happened to moviemaking lately is that consumer products have approached the level of professional gear.
How To Make a Slow Motion Video Clip
Slow motion is when the playback of a video clip appears to be slower than the natural speed of the events. This illusion can be done in several ways.
How to Make a Storyboard and Shot List
A bit of pre-planning can save you time and money.
How to Transfer 8mm, 16mm, 35mm or 65mm Film to Video Tape or DVD
A look at do it your self and professional options to transfer your classic 16mm film (or any other type of film) to video or DVD.
How to Use a Camcorder: Buttons and Contols
Learn how to use the common camera buttons and controls on camcorders.
How to Use a Camcorder: Keeping Your Image Steady
Ways to steady your camcorder. Use an external viewfinder to keep your hard forehead from touching the camera.
How To Video Record Live Events
From taping little Jenny's Holiday Pageant, or the big annual production at your church, live video recording of events is plentiful. Here's how to capture it all.
If You're Looking For More Info About The AVCHD Codec, Read This!
AVCHD codec? No - not really. AVCHD is a data format, but many people think it's a codec. AVCHD is an acronym for the Advanced Video Codec High Definition format.
Illuminations: Applying 3-Point Lighting
Some folks consider it a tired cliche, but it's important to know how to set 3-point lighting, so you can work within or without this classic lighting style.
Illuminations: Casting Shadows
When you think about lighting, you probably think about your lights and where to place them. But what about the shadows?
Illuminations: Color Temperature Strategies
Coloring your video world with light is more than just turning on a few lamps and setting a good white balance - light is often a mixed bag.
Illuminations: Controlling the Color of Light
From yellow to blue, soft to harsh, indoor or out, the "color" of the scene changes with your light setup, and can influence the mood of your video.
Illuminations: Diffusion for Contrast Control
Instead of filling outdoor shadows with reflectors, try controlling highlights by diffusing them.
Illuminations: Get Creative with Cookies!
It's time to get interactive with Videomaker and make your own cookies. No baking necessary, and the only "ingredient" is your imagination.
Illuminations: In the Mood
In lighting, the most important aesthetic quality is mood: the feeling communicated by the lighting design.
Illuminations: Lighting Safety
Setting up, working with and tearing down studio lighting equipment can be some of the most dangerous tasks of your video production.
Illuminations: Lights for Different Jobs
You can't tell the players without a scorecard, so here's the roster for video lights and what they do.
Illuminations: Lights in Motion
Natural lights sparkle, shimmer, flutter, flare, glimmer, gleam, revolve, reflect and radiate. Here's some tips to dazzle your viewers with lively photoplays.
Illuminations: Mopping up Spills
Excluding light where you don't want it is as important as painting it where you do.
Illuminations: Moving Targets
In lighting a subject in motion, focus on the important points in the movement path.
Illuminations: On-Camera Lighting
Lights mounted on camcorders are fairly crude and often frustrating; but there are times when you just gotta have 'em.
Illuminations: One Light Wonder
Sometimes you only have one available light. Other times, you chose to use one light for effect. It's not what, but how you use it that makes your video shine.
Illuminations: One-Light to Cover them All
Budget and creative lighting are just a couple reasons why you'd want to shoot with only one lighting instrument.
Illuminations: Pulling the Plug
In order to light that night scene in the field a mile from your house, you'll need a couple hundred 50-foot extension cords, or some other AC power alternatives.
Illuminations: Reflecting on Reflectors
No money for more lights? No problem! Here are sure-fire, no-power solutions to making your subject shine.
Illuminations: Specialty Lighting
Lighting can make or break the mood of your video. If you wish to evoke suspense, tension or romance, then traditional three-point lighting isn't enough.
Illuminations: Tabletop Lighting
Whether you're shooting a documentary, creating a scrapbook or shooting an object for a commercial - you will find a need for tabletop lighting techniques.
Illuminations: Why Three-Point Lighting?
Conventional three-instrument lighting makes more sense when you understand the reasons behind this classic method.
Impress the Judges: How to Succeed in Video Contests
Helpful hints for contest hopefuls.
Instant Script Kit - The Basics of Scriptwriting for Video
Learn how to tell a great story with these scriptwriting building blocks.
Intro to Genres
If you see visions of your first Indie Film, or you're just having fun with the kids, making movies can be fun. Whether it's a Thriller, a Western, a Comedy or a Romance, they all have one thing in common: they follow a specific Genre.
It's All in the Approach: Creative Approaches for Video Productions
There are a variety of ways to format your videos. Documentary, interview, expert presenter and full script are some options to consider for your next production.
Jargon
Computer Video Editing Terms
Jargon: Audio Acquisition Terms
Audio Acquisition Terms
Jargon: Camcorder Glossary
Camcorder Glossary
Jargon: Camcorder Terms
Camcorder Terms
Jargon: Computer Video Editing Terms
Computer Video Editing Terms
Jargon: Glossary of Audio Terms
Glossary of Audio Terms
Jargon: Glossary of Audio Terms
Glossary of Audio Terms
Jargon: Glossary of Camcorder Terms
Glossary of Camcorder Terms
Jargon: Glossary of Editing Terms
Glossary of Editing Terms
Jargon: Glossary of Microphone Terms
Glossary of Microphone Terms
Jargon: Glossary of Shooting Terms
Glossary of Shooting Terms
Jargon: Glossary of Video Production Terms
Glossary of Video Production Terms
Jargon: Lighting Terms
Lighting Terms
Jargon: Shooting Terms
Shooting Terms
Jargon: Video Acronyms and Abbreviations
Video Acronyms and Abbreviations
Jargon: Video Editing Terms
Essential video vocabulary terms.
Jargon: Web Terms
Web Terms
Jargon: Web Video Glossary
Web Video Glossary
Jargon: Web Video Glossary
Web Video Glossary
Laptop Prompters
Learn how to prepare your laptop computer to perform as a script-prompter.
Leased Access / Public Access
How to find the right people to be in your next video.
Light Source: A Dose of Reality
Lighting, like sound, can be used to create a false reality for your audience.
Light Source: Accessorize Your Lighting Kit
Assemble your lighting kit smartly and concisely, and you'll be ready for unforseen on-location light glitches.
Light Source: Advanced Techniques for Lighting Faces
Light placement can have a dramatic impact on the faces you light.
Light Source: Build Your Own Lighting Kit
Assemble a three-light kit for $100; a complete outfit for less than $200.
Light Source: Color Correcting with Gels
How to use color-correcting gels to fine tune your lighting.
Light Source: Controlling Light
Seize control over your lighting with accessories such as flags, barndoors and snoots.
Light Source: Crafting the Key Light
Good lighting begins with a single lamp.
Light Source: Creating Mood with a Single Light
You don't need a whole light kit to give a single character their mood.
Light Source: Guerrilla Lighting: Professional Tools from Builders Depot
Assemble your own lighting kit--at one-fifth the cost.
Light Source: Hang 'Em High! Location Rigging
Supporting lights on location takes patience, ingenuity, and gaffer tape.
Light Source: Hard Light, Soft Light
Through spots or soft lights can be used to create theatrical or natural lighting styles, they're often most effective when employed together.
Light Source: In the Mood? Creating Mood with Light
One scene, many moods. Let the lighting do the work.
Light Source: Is it Real or Just Good Lighting?
With these techniques you can light scenes so they look as natural as the real world.
Light Source: Lassoing Light
Learn how to use gels and filters to get great light quality in every situation.
Light Source: Light Choice
There are many different types of lights, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Light Source: Lighting Backgrounds
Well-lit backgrounds don't just support your talent; they send subtle yet powerful messages to your audience.
Light Source: Lighting Faces
Faces present a special kind of lighting challenge to the videographer.
Light Source: Lighting Faces
Basic three-point lighting techniques provide practical solutions to common lighting challenges.
Light Source: Lighting for Chromakey
Lighting is one of the most important aspects of bringing realism to your chromakey scene.
Light Source: Lighting for Compositing
Good lighting is the key to chromakey.
Light Source: Lighting for Mood
Lighting to achieve a certain mood is easy if you work with three basic elements: key, contrast and color.
Light Source: Lighting for the Internet
Simple lighting makes cleaner, more natural images, while reducing production hassles.
Light Source: Lighting Moving Targets
A few lights can cover a lot of action -- if you know how to use them.
Light Source: Lighting Multiple Subjects
It's easy to light two people at once, whether with one light or eight.
Light Source: Lighting Portraits
As with still photography, the goal of a video portrait is to make your subject look as good as possible.
Light Source: Lighting with Hardware Store Tools
Your local hardware store is a valuable source for video lighting tools and accessories.
Light Source: Lighting Women/Lighting Men
The rugged and the glam.
Light Source: Lighting Your Backgrounds
Always keep your backgrounds in mind when you set up your video shots.
Light Source: Mop Up That Spill!
There's no need to cry over spilled light, just follow this simple advice.
Light Source: News-style Lighting
Tips to help you create great lighting for your news set. Strategies for anchors, sports and the weather.
Light Source: On Location with Gaffer Tom
FROM: gaffertom@barndoor.com
TO: goldilocks@beanbagstate.edu
SUBJECT: Is
TO: goldilocks@beanbagstate.edu
SUBJECT: Is
Light Source: One Location, Five Different Looks
Even in a small office studio, you can attain a variety of looks and moods for your video.
Light Source: Reflecting Light
Reflectors are perhaps the most versatile, inexpensive and widely-used lighting instruments.
Light Source: Reflecting Light
Dramatic lighting can make the difference between an ordinary production and a great production.
Light Source: Reflecting Light
Don't let imposing lighting conditions get you down, reflect that light to your advantage.
Light Source: Sound and Light Shows
With lighting, you can create spectacular elements with little or no budget.
Light Source: The Color of Light
Knowing the physical differences between outdoor, indoor and mixed lighting conditions will help your videos.
Light Source: The Illusion of Diffusion
Diffusion is a technique that every videographer should know.
Light Source: The Key to Changing Moods
As important as set design and costumes, light positioning and intensity are integral scene setters.
Light Source: The Power of the Sun
Tap into free and available solar energy to cast a new and dramatic light on your productions.
Light Source: The Power of Three-point Lighting
Use three-point lighting to set the mood, time of day and dramatic intensity of your productions.
Light Source: The Wedding (Not) in the Woods: Part 2
FROM: gaffertom@barndoor.com
TO: goldilocks@beanbagstate.edu
SUBJECT: Flower children wedding plan B
TO: goldilocks@beanbagstate.edu
SUBJECT: Flower children wedding plan B
Light Source: The Wedding in the Woods - Part 1
The best-laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley.
Light Source: Three-Point Lighting Designs
For individual subjects, nothing beats the tried-and-true combo of key, fill and back lights. Classic three-point lighting (key, fill and back light) is sometimes dismissed as "yearbook lighting." True, it can look hokey in story videos, but whenever you have a narrator, a spokesperson, an interviewee or anyone who stays in one place and talks, three-point lighting is bullet proof.
Light Source: Three-point Lighting for Multiple Talent
Make your light kit do double duty for your next interview.
Light Source: Three-Point Lighting in the Real World
It's not just a theory: check out these pragmatic three-point lighting tips in action.
Light Source: Using a Camera-Mounted Light
The on-camera light can be a great tool, if you know how to use it.
Light Source: Using Diffusion
Diffusion is invaluable for softening harsh light and creating natural-looking lighting designs.
Light Source: Using Reflectors Like a Pro
Reflectors are cheap and easy -- just how we like 'em.
Light Source: Working with Mixed Lighting
Mixed lighting isn't necessarily a disaster. Here are some pragmatic solutions for your next location shoot.
Lighting
Lighting Greenscreens
Many editing software programs now have easy-to-execute chromakey effects, but, to get your scene looking good, you need to plan first and light it right. You have the greenscreen, the right editing software, and a great idea... but how do you make your subject look real?
Lighting
Lighting Gels
You're ready with 3-point lighting or a soft-light and mood setting. But ... hum... what's missing? How about some red and blue on that dull white scene?
Lighting
Lighting Technology
Since the introduction of the tungsten-halogen bulb in the early 60s, lighting technology has changed little except in the fixture styles that use the quartz lamp.
Lighting Buyer's Guide
...and there was light.
Lighting Car Interiors
Did you ever notice that in the movies we never have a problem seeing a person's features while he's driving down the road? Even at night?
Lighting Interviews
A basic 3 point lighting setup is a good place to start when lighting one person. Here are some tips on lighting interviews using 3 points that also include a 2nd person.
Lighting Terms
Glossary of lighting terms used by videographers.
Lighting Your Video: Back to the Hardware Store?
Lighting accessories can be as easy to make as a trip to the local hardware store.
Lighting: Lighting Products for Video Ads
Learning to light products for video starts with learning how to "see" light and how it reacts to subjects. Light is to photography as paint is to an artist.
Lighting: Making Video In Low Light Conditions
Steps you can take to ensure your video quality is as good as it can be when faced with the challenge of making digital video in low light conditions.
Lighting: Night Lighting
Winter is waning, the snows are beginning to melt in the northern states and the sun is sticking around a little longer. However, the night still rules!
Lighting: Outdoor Cinematography
There is nothing quite like lovely, outdoor cinematography. Bringing it to the screen requires that you to retool your perfect vision to serve the eye of the camera.
Lighting: The Eye Light
With a twinkle in his eye, your actor can win the damsel and convince the audience of his good intentions. Creating that twinkle is all in the art of lighting. Twinkle, twinkle little star. With the crisp winter air, we can see the stars brightly shining in the heavens.
Lighting: Using Practicals
Lighting a scene using everyday lamps realistically is a skill that earns Hollywood gaffers top dollars. Here are some tips to using practicals in your next video.
Lighting
Lighting Film Noir Style
November. The days are getting shorter, the air is crisp and the mood is dark and forlorn. These are the perfect ingredients for film noir shooting.
Make-up for Video
Practical make-up tips that you can apply in 10 minutes or less.
Makeup and Wardrobe
Practical tips and basic guidelines to follow that will help your talent look their best on tape.
Making Cents
Turn time and tape into treasure.
Making Documentary Videos: The Interview
How to use Cinéma Vérité techniques to make compelling documentaries
Manic
Mechanisms
Marketing & Distributing Your Video
Part 1 - Letting the World Know
Marketing & Distributing Your Video Part 2 - Finding Buyers & Making Money
With more opportunities than ever for videos to achieve true distribution, independent producers are able to find audiences and revenues for their projects that were not available as recently as a year ago.
Master Video Storytelling With The Hollywood Look
Anyone can achieve the Hollywood Look using subtle techniques. With this article, you'll learn what these techniques are and how to use them to create video classics.
Meet-Up Idea: Have An On-line Video Review At A Local Cafe
Many cafes, restaurants and community centers offer different forms of entertainment throughout the week. Why not have an On-Line Video Review?
Mini Camcorders Vs Professional Size Camcorders
Camcorders have always been getting smaller. The first consumer-level equipment that was used to record video was too big. The first video cameras did not have the ability to record.
Movie and Video Production Planning Part 2
Part 2 of a 3 part series on movie and video production planning.
Moving Performances
Learn how to set the stage so that your subjects behave naturally in front of the camera.
New Titles
- Indie Film/Video Legal Documents, 2nd Edition
- Total Training for What's New in Adobe Premiere Pro 2
- Final Cut Pro Advanced Techniques
New Titles
reviews
New Ways For A Professional Wedding Videographer To Make A Buck
Weddings are the first thing that people think about when pondering profits from video, but are there other ways a professional videographer can cash in on events?
Nine No-plan Video Ideas
You’ve got your gear, you’re ready to shoot but out of ideas. Don’t panic, here are nine sure-fire video productions that you can shoot right now.
Old New Borrowed Blue: Excuses to Use Your Camcorder
Can't find inspiration? These no-plan video ideas are guaranteed to put the zing back into your zoom. Choose an idea or subject that interests you - and go shoot it!
On Ramp: Access Your Community
Access Your Community
On Ramp: Broadcast Television
Broadcast Television
On Ramp: Digital Video Discs
Digital Video Discs
On Ramp: Exploring Cable Opportunities
Don't forget cable TV as a legitimate outlet for your video wares.
On Ramp: Low-power Television
Low-power Television
On Ramp: New Technologies, New Outlets
Emerging technolgies promise new distribution outlets for videomakers.
On Ramp: Opportunities on Satellite
Opportunities on Satellite
On Ramp: Put MPEGs on your Home Page
Got a web page? Got a camcorder? Here's how to put your video clips on the Web.
On Ramp: Streaming Video: The Whole World Is Watching
Streaming Video is cheaper and easier to produce than you may expect.
On Ramp: The Internet and the MBONE
The Internet and the MBONE
On Ramp: VHS Distribution
VHS Distribution
Pain Free Video Editing
Even the best of us run into dilemmas when we edit videos. These getting started tips will make sure your entry to video editing is as smooth as possible.
Pause: A Plea for the First
A Plea for the First
Pause: Art Science
Is video an art or a science?
Pause: Bards and the Anti-bard
Bards and the Anti-bard
Pause: Battery Memory, Battery Laziness
Got a sleepy NiCd battery? Join the club.
Pause: Ben and Sheila Got Married
When you come to consider the impact video has on life -- it gives you pause.
Pause: Beyond Those Ugly Video Moments
Beyond Those Ugly Video Moments
Pause: Bored on the 4th of July?
It's the little things in life that make video worth shooting.
Pause: Deconstructing AE
Deconstructing AE
Pause: Eye, Mouth, Hand
Eye, Mouth, Hand
Pause: Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Pause: Future Schlock
Your battery's memory may be better than your own.
Pause: George and Harry, Bill and Sadie
The secret of a good marriage is communication, especially for videographers.
Pause: Getting Digital
Converting a computer system for nonlinear editing is not for the faint of heart.
Pause: Getting Under the Skin
Beauty is only skin deep. Can video go deeper?
Pause: Hail to Thee Blithe Amateur
One man's insult is another man's praise.
Pause: High Phi
High Phi
Pause: Inside Out
Inside Out
Pause: It's Your Life
Some of the best stories are the small stories we live every day.
Pause: Least Favorite Video Things
Great hobby or not, videomaking has its share of irritating aspects.
Pause: LIP Service
Pause: possibilities of live broadcasting
Pause: Music to Our Eyes
We're not talking music videos here; we're talking visual music.
Pause: Other People II
Other People II
Pause: Overcoming CAS
Overcoming CAS
Pause: Play Video
As a colored board is a focus for Monopoly [TM], a camcorder can be a focus for party games.
Pause: Press Principles
Press Principles
Pause: Propaganda
Propaganda: do you make it? Should you?
Pause: Snow
Snow
Pause: That's Video with a "You"
When you show your videos, you're revealing a part of yourself to your audience. Don't let selfish videos threaten a good relationship.
Pause: The Long Distance Video Guy
The Long Distance Video Guy
Pause: The Video You Don't Shoot Could be Your Own
You don't need original footage to make a video--just some simple editing equipment and an active imagination.
Pause: To Read or to Watch
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but it's no match for the lens.
Pause: To See Ourselves
To See Ourselves
Pause: Video Democracy or Rosy Glasses?
Do we want video democracy or only to replace one video totalitarianism with another?
Pause: Video is Other People
Video is Other People
Pause: Video Voyeurism
Let's sneak a look at video voyeurs.
Pause: Vince Needs Friends
Vince Codac, an unlucky, would-be nonlinear editor, needs your help.
Pause: Vince Saves It
There are two ways to find a house. The first is to carry the house with you...
Pause: Vince's Way Home
The further misadventures of a would-be nonlinear editor.
Pause: Watch the Ads, Watch Video
Watch the Ads, Watch Video
Pause: What You Want
Results of a Videomaker opinion poll.
PBS & ITVS: Fertile Soil for Independent Videographers
From Production to Programming, PBS and ITVS offer unique opportunities for videographers. Learn how to create, format and submit video for PBS and ITVS.
Peer To Peer File Sharing
Peer to Peer Could be the answer to your Video Distribution Questions.
Personal Video Distribution
Uncle Al's Ab Workout, Mike Jones' Kickin' Karate and The Beach Babe Experiment are just three of the hundreds of successfully marketed low-budget videos available on the market today.
Plan the Shoot: Part 1 of Production Planning
Meticulous planning will enable you to shoot the program you developed and then edit the show you shot.
Popular Video Formats, Players and Distribution Methods
A look at some popular video formats, viewing platforms and distribution methods to help you figure out how best to get your video from a camcorder to your audience.
Post Production Video Editing Tips
Tips on how to use fix problems in post production with editing software, plugins and a little time. So you can say -Don't worry, well fix it in post.
Prevent Video Equipment Theft
How not to be a target for people stealing your gear.
Producer Profile
behind the lens
Christion Schnobb - Dolly Grip, Screenwriter, Independent Producer
Producer PROFILE: behind the lens
Sandymontana: A newbie company in the land of giants. Meet Sandymontana, a youthful media production company with lots of hearth... ahem... heart. This Portland, Oregon-based group is getting cozy with their newest addition: a vintage fireplace complete with fake logs...
Producer Profile: Behind the Lens
Viral Video Phenomenon: Kip Kay
Producer PROFILE: behind the lens
How to use video to sell Real Estate Profitably. According to the National Association of Realtors, more than 82% of home buyers begin their search...
Producer Profile
Danny Sayson - Wedding Videographer
An award-winning wedding producer shares some tips on making wedding videos.
Producer Update
Kip Kay Hits the Six-Figure Mark!
An update on how a web producer became Metacafe's top earner in just 16 months.
Producing Your Own Vidcast for Video Sharing
Part One - Planning
Video Sharing with the World. A guide to posting your video online.
Producing Your Own Vidcast for Video Sharing
Part Two - Production
Podcasting, vidcasting, vodcasting or whatever you call it, the Internet
Producing Your Own Vidcast for Video Sharing
Part 3: Editing and Distribution
In the last two issues we told you how to set up and shoot your vidcast. In part three, we're looking at how to edit and get that vidcast to the masses.
Production Power
Learn how to use Microsoft Office to improve your productions.
Profile: Campus Research 101
College tours on video help students choose the right school.
Profile: Chief Kanim Video Club: No Kidding Around
Organizing and running a video club at school is no easy task, but it can be a great benefit to the students and the community.
Profile: Gabriel Campisi and
Gabriel Campisi and
Profile: Hank Austin and Flightline
Hank Austin and Flightline
Profile: Kathryn Stroomer's Video Career
Kathryn Stroomer's Video Career
Profile: Look! Up in the Sky: It's Video Man!
A hobbyist merges freefall and video
into a thrilling career.
Profile: Rusty Paul and the Guitar Greats
Rusty Paul and the Guitar Greats
Profile: Sara Pellegrino and the Superior Seniors
There's no such thing as "over the hill" when it comes to making video.
Profitmaker: A Client in Need is a Client Indeed
A videographer's guide to the care and feeding of clients.
Profitmaker: Budget for Profit
Estimating the cost of a video for a client is a tricky but necessary part of doing business. Here's how to do it right.
Profitmaker: Give Yourself a Promotion
If your business develops a good reputation, spread it around. You can use it to help your business grow.
Profitmaker: Hire Learning
Take care when selecting an employee to be sure you get the best person for your business.
Profitmaker: Howdy, Partner
You're judged by the company you keep. And in business, your success or failure could depend on it.
Profitmaker: Making History
Family or company history videos may be a lucrative, untapped market in your area.
Profitmaker: Marketing Your Video
To sell directly, or to distribute? That is the question.
Profitmaker: Money From Your Brain
You can turn your ideas into money. But if you don't protect your ideas with copyrights, so can anyone else.
Profitmaker: Moving Forward
There are only two directions your video business can go - forward or backward.
Profitmaker: Oh, Grow Up.
If your video business is growing, it's healthy. But prepare yourself for some growing pains.
Profitmaker: Planning Your Advertising
Advertising isn't optional for the growing video business--it's a must. Here's how to plan an effective ad strategy.
Profitmaker: Portrait of a Family
Say goodbye to
Profitmaker: Risky Business
Owning a business is like walking a tightrope. It can be scary, but it's easier to do if you've got a safety net below you.
Profitmaker: Shooting on Location
Wherever you go, there you are. But are you prepared?
Profitmaker: Sponsor Point
This episode of
Profitmaker: Target Practice
You create the best videos around. But how do you sell your services? By zeroing in on your target market.
Profitmaker: Videotaping Depositions
With the right gear and the right attitude, you can tap into the lucrative deposition videomaking market.
Projected Titles: Creative Tips for Video Titling
Creating unique and interesting title effects for your video doesn't have to be difficult or expensive.
Projects That Pay: Making Memories: Video Yearbooks for Fun and Profit
Whether for fun or profit, capturing school events on video can be rewarding.
Projects That Pay: Memorial Videos: Gone but Not Forgotten
Memories on video can be treasures
for future generations.
Projects That Pay: Personal Histories: Video for Future Generations
Video histories can be a unique and profitable way to record life's precious moments.
Projects That Pay: Spare-Time Shooting: Making Hobbies Pay Off
Make some spare change shooting leisure-time activities.
Projects That Pay: Video Resumes
Help your clients rise above the rest.
Public Access/Cable TV
Getting access to public access.
Public Access: Produce Your Own TV Show
How to get started producing a public access television show.
Putting a Camcorder in the Hands of Children
Get your children out from in front of a TV and behind a camcorder.
Reader Profile
"It all started the first time I saw a video camera-my sister's 5th birthday; the folks who organized the party told us they'd bring one along, and we got to see ourselves on a TV screen. For years I was fascinated..."
Reader Profile
Video creation is sometimes a singular business, but video producers are a social lot. Our curiosity about our readers has inspired us to create this new column to introduce you to your fellow video producers.
Reader Profile
Video creation is sometimes a singular business, but video producers are a social lot. Our curiosity about our readers has inspired us to create this column to introduce you to your fellow video producers.
Reader Profile - Lisa McCormick
Video creation is sometimes a singular business, but video producers are a social lot. Our curiosity about our readers has inspired us to create this column to introduce you to your fellow video producers.
Reader Profile: Brian Martin
"An avid Videomaker reader since I was 13 years old (20 years ago!), I'm lucky enough to make a living with video. For 10 years, I have taught high school video production ..."
Reader Profile: Henry Tenby
"I hail from Vancouver, Canada, and have been an avid airline fan since my childhood. I started as a hobby taking Kodachrome slides of airliners in the 80s..."
Reader Profile
Daniel Hart, Budding Cinematographer
Video creation is sometimes a singular business, but video producers are a social lot. Our curiosity about our readers has inspired us to create this new column to introduce you to your fellow video producers.
Real-time Sound Effects: The Foley Way
Match homemade sound effects to screen image using these time-tested Foley techniques.
Recruiting Talent
Quality talent means more than just a quality performance. It may mean the difference between a one-hour shoot and a four-hour marathon.
Rewind
A Decade and a Half in the Making: Videomaker's Fifteenth Anniversary
Rewind: 10 Years Ago in Videomaker
Check out these video "antiques" to appreciate what's available now.
Rewind: Four From the Videomaker Vault
They seemed like good ideas at the time
Save As:
15 Quick Tips to Videotaping Fireworks
Shooting great firework footage is more than pointing the camera into the sky. The less light you have, the harder it is to focus or capture an image that isn't underexposed or overly grainy. Throw in a fireworks scene that changes from dark to light within nanoseconds, and your camera will need a lot of help from its human counterpart. Let's start with the gear, then go to the technical, setup and finally the techniques.
Save As: MPEG-2 Encoding Tips for DVD Authors
MPEG-2 Encoding Tips for DVD Authors
Secrets of Video Training: We Betray the Instructional Designer's Guild
Developing a training video is a straightforward process--if you know the techniques of professional instructional designers.
Serverless Streaming: The Best of Both Worlds
Find out about new technology that will do away with the streaming server software that Web video is dependent on today.
Shaping Actor Performances
Many actors, like pieces of clay, need to be molded and prodded into perfect form. Your job as director is to recognize actor shortcomings and decide what kind of intervention is necessary.
Share the Dream: Documentary Distribution and Sales --Part III
Part 3 of a three part series on how to fund, make, and promote your documentary.
Shooting for the (very) Small Screen
How to make and put videos on your PDA.
Six Streaming Video Questions with Mark Cuban of Broadcast.com
Your video on the Internet. Just how realistic is it? Find out what this industry insider predicts.
Sound Advice
Learning to Listen
Sound Advice: Mics for All Occasions
All mics are NOT created equal; you have do your research to find which mic best suits your needs. Let's take a look at a few needs to mic people, places and things.
Sound Advice: 10 Tips for Better Audio Gathering
Make your list and check it twice.
Sound Advice: A Listening Ear
Finding and buying the perfect pair of headphones.
Sound Advice: A Little Balance
A quick overview of the differences between balanced and unbalanced audio, along with the benefits of using balanced audio.
Sound Advice: AGC Coping Skills
Learning to live with built-in audio controls.
Sound Advice: Announcing... You?
Commercials, movie trailers, product and training videos all have one thing in common -- they often need a voiceover.
Sound Advice: Audio - Get it Right From the Start
10 tools and strategies you can use to caputer great sound on every shot.
Sound Advice: Audio for Interviews
Good interviews require good audio. Here are some practical tips to help you get great sound.
Sound Advice: Audio for Video - Post Production
Consider these 10 audio editing tips to supplement your videos with excellent sound.
Sound Advice: Audio Illusions
Who says seeing is believing? With sound effects, hearing is believing.
Sound Advice: Audio in the Digital World
Today's video editing software provides all the audio post-production tools you need--let it work for you.
Sound Advice: Audio Isolation
In order to ensure the quality of your audio, grab a pair of headphones and put them to good use. Better audio awaits you.
Sound Advice: Audio Mixing: The Perfect Blend
Find the perfect mix of audio elements for your video.
Sound Advice: Audio on an Even Keel
A guide to keeping your audio levels consistent throughout your videos.
Sound Advice: Auditorium Audio
Learn how to tackle the challenge of recording audio in a large room.
Sound Advice: Bits and Bytes
Understanding the language of digital audio.
Sound Advice: Bump it Up a Notch
Using segues and bumper music will give your productions a professional touch.
Sound Advice: Can You Hear Me Now?
A few simple tricks to find the best way to record and edit your narrator.
Sound Advice: Captured in Time
Getting audio cleanly from the camcorder to the computer is key to your production.
Sound Advice: Cut the Cord
A good wired microphone is perfect for reliable high quality audio, but sometimes the wires get in the way.
Sound Advice: Digital Audio Effects
Spice up your audio soundtrack with some nifty special effects.
Sound Advice: Digital Audio Secrets Revealed!
When it comes to audio in our videos, most of us just plug in a microphone and hit the record button.
Sound Advice: Doin' the Bump
Using bumper music and segues in your productions.
Sound Advice: Editing Audio for Video
Use a variety of editing techniques to maximize the quality of your video sound.
Sound Advice: Editing Narration
Digital audio editing for perfect voiceovers.
Sound Advice: EQ Demystified
Have you ever wished the dialog in your video were a little less muddy? How about that music track that needs a smidgen more zing to make it cut through the mix?
Sound Advice: Gaining Control of Your Volume
Once upon a time, a rookie videographer decided to strike out on his own. Here's his story.
Sound Advice: Going for a Loop with Music
Music creation software is a simple and affordable way to create completely customized royalty-free music.
Sound Advice: Headphones for the Videographer
A good pair of headphones are a great addition to your video toolkit.
Sound Advice: Hiding Microphones
Sometimes microphones should be heard and not seen.
Sound Advice: Hooking Up
The best microphones and mixers in the world aren’t much use if you can’t get the pristine audio into your camera.
Sound Advice: Internet Audio Bargains
When it comes to upping the quality of your audio, what's a cash-strapped producer to do? The entry point for any audio hardware or software seems to be around $400.
Sound Advice: Interview Audio
Tools and techniques to create high quality audio for your interviews.
Sound Advice: Kissing Tape Goodbye
Recording production audio in your computer.
Sound Advice: Live-performance Audio
Achieving crisp, high-quality sound to compliment your live concert video merely takes a little planning.
Sound Advice: Living a Balanced Life
Making the most of balanced audio cables and connections.
Sound Advice: Make Your Own Sound Effects
Use video tools to record and edit your own unique sound effects.
Sound Advice: Makin' Music
Custom soundtracks for your video projects.
Sound Advice: Managing Digital Music
How to select, time, process and transition music in your videos.
Sound Advice: Matchmaker
The audio world is full of connectors. Big, small, short and long, these essential items have vexed video producers for years.
Sound Advice: Microphone Matrix
Mixing multiple audio sources for live video.
Sound Advice: Mix it Right
Mixing audio correctly is a true art form, as well as a necessary skill to have in your video production toolbox. After all, sound is half the experience of a video production.
Sound Advice: Mix it Up!
Using multiple microphones in your video production.
Sound Advice: Mixing Multiple Mikes
Combine our tips and your own initiative to make great multi-mike recordings.
Sound Advice: Natural Sound to the Rescue
Two minutes of extra work on the set or in the field can save you hours of headache in the edit bay. You just need to remember to do it.
Sound Advice: Ninja Sound
Choosing the best microphone for your next video shoot.
Sound Advice: Outdoor Audio
Learning to deal with the elements as you shoot video.
Sound Advice: Phased & Confused
After countless hours of careful acquisition and editing, you go to play your finished work on a television set and part of your audio is gone. What happened?
Sound Advice: Quiet on the Set
Keeping the unwanted
Sound Advice: Random Noises
Creating and editing your own foley sounds.
Sound Advice: Recording and Editing Narration
High-quality narration can be an invaluable asset to your video projects.
Sound Advice: Recording Performances
Conquering the unique challenges of recording performance audio.
Sound Advice: Recording Sound Effects
Movies with true organic sounds, imagined futuristic electronic audio, and even the everyday noises around us, aren't complete without good sound effects.
Sound Advice: Rip It Good
When a good song comes along, you must rip it... A guide to extracting tracks from your audio CDs (of material that you're entitled to use) for your video projects.
Sound Advice: Room Without a View
Anyone who has ever struggled to record a clean voice over appreciates the importance of a dedicated recording space.
Sound Advice: Seeing Sounds
Think back to high school science for a moment. Remember how we were taught that sound waves were invisible and could only be heard and felt?
Sound Advice: Setting the Mood
Producers have a myriad of choices to manipulate the viewer via the ear. Style, ability to alter the score and your budget will dictate which option or options work best for your project.
Sound Advice: Slick Tricks
Don't just edit it, improve it - with slick sound editing tricks to make your audio come alive.
Sound Advice: Sound All Around
Adding surround sound to your videos with Dolby Digital.
Sound Advice: Soundboards Needed
An audio mixer is an essential tool for live multi-mike productions and linear edit bays.
Sound Advice: Sounding it Out(doors)
Helpful solutions to common outdoor audio problems.
Sound Advice: Speaking Tips
Twelve tips for recording the spoken word.
Sound Advice: Spice It Up A Notch
Essential post-production audio tricks.
Sound Advice: Stereo Mix-O-Phonic Sound
Planning and creating stereo sound for your productions.
Sound Advice: Stereo Recording Techniques
If superior sound is what you're after, several stereo audio plans of attack exist for your video project.
Sound Advice: Surround on the Cheap - Part 1
There are many techniques to creating proper surround sound projects, but you don't have to invest your mortgage on a full-blown surround system to achieve them.
Sound Advice: Surround on the Cheap - Part 2
Last month, we made the pitch for upgrading to surround sound. This month, we'll take raw materials and craft them into a complete DVD sound environment
Sound Advice: The Art of the Remix
DJs aren't the only people who want to blend the music from song to song for the dance floor; anyone can enhance a song with just a little bit of remixing knowledge.
Sound Advice: The Microphone of Choice
From handheld to boom, wired to wireless, and battery operated to phantom powered, there's a plethora of mics available, how do you know which mic is the right mic for you?
Sound Advice: The Music Chopping Block
Cutting out the bad and combining the best ingredients to create a meal go far beyond the flavors of the individual elements. In audio and video, we call this editing.
Sound Advice: The Natural Approach
Waves crashing, seagulls screaming, kids laughing... all elements of natural sound that enhances every story and boosts the impact of your video.
Sound Advice: The Sounds of the Holidays
From festive feasts to memorable moments, sound matters on holiday videos! These audio tips can help you make the most of the magiv of your cherished celebrations.
Sound Advice: The Sweet Spot
Get the most out of your microphones by identifying and taking advantage of their best potential performance.
Sound Advice: Tune your Room
Tune your Room
Sound Advice: Unconventional Audio
Recording the few and far between.
Sound Advice: Understanding Acoustics
There's a world of difference between what your ears hear and what your microphone picks up.
Sound Advice: Understanding Acoustics
Room acoustics affect the sound of your recordings--both good and bad.
Sound Advice: Voiceover Techniques
There are many tricks of the trade you can use to perfect your video voiceovers.
Sound Advice: We'll Fix It in Post
In audio post-production, you can conquer most audio dilemmas that may come your way.
Sound Advice: Working the Room
Getting a handle on acoustics during your shoot.
Sound Reasoning: All About Audiotape Recorders
All About Audiotape Recorders
Sound Reasoning: Audio Tracks and Editing
Audio Tracks and Editing
Sound Reasoning: Balancing Art
Balancing Art
Sound Reasoning: Better Audio from Your Built-in Mike
Better Audio from Your Built-in Mike
Sound Reasoning: Equally Important: The Equalizer
Equally Important: The Equalizer
Sound Reasoning: Headphone Lessons
Headphone Lessons
Sound Reasoning: Interview Audio
Interview Audio
Sound Reasoning: Lavalier Lessons
Lavalier Lessons
Sound Reasoning: Making Connections
Making Connections
Sound Reasoning: Recording Stereo Sound
Recording Stereo Sound
Sound Reasoning: Sweet Sound of Matrimony
Sweet Sound of Matrimony
Sound Reasoning: Techniques to Improve Your Audio
Techniques to Improve Your Audio
Sound Reasoning: The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Sound Reasoning: The Mixer Method
The Mixer Method
Sound Reasoning: Working with Acoustics
Working with Acoustics
Sound Track: "I Do"
Here are answers to 10 common questions about capturing clean, clear audio at
weddings.
Sound Track: 10 Tips for Better Sound
10 easy ways to improve the sound of your next video.
Sound Track: 10 Tips for Nonlinear Sound
Better results from your digital audio editor.
Sound Track: A Dozen Audio Post-production Tips
Twelve ways to improve your audio after you shoot.
Sound Track: A Perfect Connection
Like water flowing through proper plumbing, your audio signals need good cables and connections to carry them from place to place.
Sound Track: An Introduction to Microphonicus Videus
A brief discourse on the behavioral patterns of the common video microphone.
Sound Track: Audio Dubbing
Thanks to the modern miracle of audio dubbing, you can make changes or add new sound to your videotape.
Sound Track: Audio Mixers
More than just a box with knobs and pretty lights, a mixer is the heart of any audio-for-video system.
Sound Track: Audio-torium
How to get good audio from auditoriums, gyms and other sound-hostile environments.
Sound Track: Big Mikes
Get professional-quality audio with a studio microphone.
Sound Track: Building a Better Soundtrack
It's easy to build-up your soundtrack with music and special effects.
Sound Track: Digital Sources for Superior Sound Tracks
Improve your video's audio with new digital sources.
Sound Track: Do-it-yourself Music
Need original music? Make your own!
Sound Track: Ear Monitors
Don't think much about audio monitoring during shooting or editing? Maybe it's time to listen up.
Sound Track: External Miking
How a mobile mike can make your audio come alive.
Sound Track: Hearing is Believing
What your viewers hear can be just as real as what they see.
Sound Track: Interview Audio
There's more to recording good interviews than meets the ear.
Sound Track: Interview Audio
When it comes to video interviews, audio is king.
Sound Track: Location Audio Preparedness
Location audio - indoors and out - has its own set of problems to prepare for.
Sound Track: Makin' Tracks
When it comes to audio and video dubbing, where - and how - a format stores its audio tracks makes a world of difference.
Sound Track: Microphone Types
Everything you need to know to choose the right mike for any shooting situation.
Sound Track: Miking Basics
There's more to choosing and using microphones than meets the ear. Here are some basic principles of miking for video.
Sound Track: Mix it Up
Combine multiple sound sources for a more powerful soundtrack.
Sound Track: Mood Music
How to use music to mold your viewers' emotions.
Sound Track: Multi-track Audio for Video
A multi-track recorder may be the key to more professional-sounding videos.
Sound Track: Narration Sensation
Make your videos sit up and speak with crisp, intelligible narration.
Sound Track: Old-fashioned Audio
You don't need a nonlinear editing system to turn out great-sounding videos.
Sound Track: Out There
Recording clean audio outside has its challenges. With these questions answered, however, you'll learn there's nothing to fear out there.
Sound Track: Pull the Plug
How to unplug those mike cables and get the most from your wireless microphone system.
Sound Track: Putting Your Audio on the Right Track
Make the most of your editing software's audio tracks.
Sound Track: Seven Studies in Superlative Sound
Simple tips for better sound from common shooting situations.
Sound Track: Smooth Talker
Thirteen tips for smooth, professional-sounding narration.
Sound Track: Sound Bounces
When sound bounces uncontrolled in an enclosed space, it can come back to haunt you. Here’s how to control it.
Sound Track: Sounds of the Wild
How to get crisp, clean audio from the biggest sound-stage of all - the great outdoors.
Sound Track: Speaking of Specs
Specifications capture the essence of equipment performance. Understanding them will make you a savvy shopper.
Sound Track: Stereo Miking
How two mikes and a little know-how can open up a whole new panorama of sound in your videos.
Sound Track: Stereo Miking
Looking for ways to enhance your sound track? Consider adding depth and richness with stereo miking techniques.
Sound Track: Studio Sound
Be it back bedroom or empty warehouse, your studio can sound as good as it looks.
Sound Track: Ten Common Audio Mistakes
We've identified ten audio foibles that keep most video productions from sounding as good as they could.
Sound Track: Ten Wireless Tips
Ten simple tips for maximizing wireless mike performance.
Sound Track: The Audio Mixer: It's No Contest
The story of one man, one woman and an audio mixer.
Sound Track: The Auto-gain Migraine
Is your camcorder's auto-gain circuit giving you headaches? Here are someremedies.
Sound Track: The Balancing Act
A balanced signal is the cleanest way to get audio from point A to point B. Any questions?
Sound Track: The Built-in Mike
Answers to some common questions about the built-in mike.
Sound Track: The Copyright Riddle
There's a whole lot of confusion surrounding copyrights and the use of music in videos. Here are straight answers to the most common questions.
Sound Track: The Direct Connection
Tapping into an existing audio mixer often results in a clearer audio track.
Sound Track: The Equalizer
EQ: two letters that can mean a lot to the sound of your videos.
Sound Track: The Invisible Mike
Sometimes, mikes should be heard and not seen.
Sound Track: The Whole Truth
When it comes to monitoring your video's soundtrack during editing, you want speakers that tell you the whole truth.
Sound Track: To Wire or Not to Wire?
Knowing when to cut the cord is not always easy.
Sound Track: Top 10 Audio Crimes
Keep your recording clean by avoiding these common audio crimes.
Sound Track: Use Your Head(phones)
The best way to avoid audio disaster is to listen while you record.
Special Effects: 7 Sizzling Cool Camera FXs!
Low cost camera tricks to create amazing illusions for your viewers.
Special Effects: Looking Through the Eyes of a Hit Man
How to give viewers the impression they are looking through binoculars, telescope, or the sights of a stalker.
Special Effects: The Fox Network Look
How to use the Fox Network editing techniques to captivate your viewers.
Special Effects: The Invisible Man
Whether you realize it or not, you are familiar with chromakey technology. It's what TV news channels use to place weather people in front of a variety of computer-generated weather maps.
Special F/X: (Don't) Burn, Baby, Burn
Make your video sizzle without sending it up in smoke.
Special F/X: (Sort of) Via Satellite
The secret to staging remote interviews
without a network television budget.
Special F/X: Gravity Schmavity
A video illusion that will have you climbing the walls.
Special F/X: In Your Face!
All you need to create this drippy, gooey lens effect is a pane of clear glass or plastic.
Special F/X: Rain Drops Keep Fallin …
You can turn any day into a rainy day with this easy effect.
Special F/X: The Fast-mo/Slo-mo Combo
Spice up your video with this quick and easy TV-style time-warping effect.
Special F/X: Two's A Crowd
Turn any room into a crowded restaurant.
Squish: Shooting for Streaming
How to make compression-friendly videos.
Standing Sets for (Practically) Nothing
Do-it-yourself blueprints to build four low-tech, low-effort and low-cost video sets.
Starting a Video Production Business
Advice on how to go from Amateur to Pro
State of Imaging
Imaging sensors, the heart of any camera, have evolved quite a bit in recent years.
Stealth Directing: Getting the Most out of Real People
When directing amateurs, you use different techniques than when working with pros.
Streaming Slideshows for the Net
Sharing images with friends, family and even strangers around the world is cheap and easy on the World Wide Web.
Streaming Video
Streaming video is a real-time Internet video distribution solution.
Take 5
Having Fun with Swish Pans
Take 5: 5 Considerations for Event Video
5 Considerations for Event Video
Take 5: 5 Steps to More Profit from Video
Make your time behind the camcorder more profitable.
Take 5: 5 Tips for Travelling with your Gear
On business or on vacation, here's how to ensure your gear makes the roundtrip.
Take 5: Class in Session
5 Tips for Videotaping in Schools
It's that time of year when students return to the classroom with fresh shiny faces, new schedules and a plethora of activities to fill their calendars from now until June. Here's a few tips to get you ready to hit the books, too.
Take 5: Five Essential Items for Your Camera Bag
Five Essential Items for Your Camera Bag
Take 5: Five Quick-n-Dirty Composite Effects
Use transitions to create these easy effects on almost any editing system.
Take 5: Five Steps to Smoother Skin
Make your on-camera talent look their best by following these five simple steps.
Take 5: Five Tips for Better Bluescreens
Five Tips for Better Bluescreens
Take 5: Five Tips for Better Interviews
Five Tips for Better Interviews
Take 5: Five Tips for Creative Camcorder Techniques
Don't just point and shoot. Add interest to your shots with these creative camera ideas.
Take 5: Five Tips for In-Camera Transitions
Five Tips for In-Camera Transitions
Take 5: Five Tips for Shooting to Edit
Five Tips for Shooting to Edit
Take 5: Five Tips for Streaming Video
Five Tips for Streaming Video
Take 5: Five Tips for Tape Storage
How do you preserve your videos over the long haul? Here are five tips.
Take 5: Five Tips to a Simple Film Effect
Five tips to a simple film effect.
Take 5: Five Video No-No's
A short list of things to leave out of your videos.
Take 5: Super-Human Editing Tips
Super-Human Editing Tips
Take 5: Tips for Titling
Tips for Titling
Take Five: Five Tips for "Borrowing" Video
Pump up your home video with Hollywood's help.
Take Five: Five Tips for Handheld Camerawork
The best way to shoot steady shots is to use a tripod. Perhaps you don't have a tripod. Maybe you have one, but left it at home. Maybe your subject matter simply doesn't lend itself to shooting from a stationary position. Whatever the case, these five tips will help...
Take Five: Five Tips for Wonderful Wildlife Video
Tips on shooting videos in the wild.
Take Five: Tips for Tape Care
Five tips for storing videotapes and preserving your precious footage.
Television Transmission Formats
How television transmission formats are used to bring video from the TV station to the television in your living room.
Ten Rules for Great Hi8
Get the most from this video format by working around its limitations. Follow these basic tips for editing, tape transportation and storage, and you'll get top mileage from Hi8.
The Kindness of Strangers: Working with Amateur Cast & Crew
Practical strategies for keeping your paid and unpaid volunteers happy under a rigorous schedule.
The Origins of Streaming Video
How the railroad led to the creation of streaming video.
The Secret to Set Success? Location, Location, Location!
Create realistic sets in the real world using these six tips.
The Web: Little Screen, Big Opportunities, Part II
The Web may be your ticket to the big time. Explore the opportunities that wait for you on the Web.
The Year's Video Products in Review
The magazine in your hands is a tool to help you make sound buying decisions.
Tilt! Using the Frame for Special Effects
By creatively using the edge of the frame, you can produce all sorts of trick video photography.
Time Lapse Video
Last issue we talked about the powers of the slo-mo effect. This month we'll talk about using the wonders of manipulating time, with time lapse video.
Time Remapping
Changing the speed of a shot is easy... but, unless you're looking for a Keystone Cops effect, to control that shot takes more than just accelerating or slowing it down.
Timeline: Archiving Bliss
If you make a video you're proud of, you will undoubtedly need it again someday in the future. Take our word on this.
Timeline: Cookin' with Keyframes
Cookin' with Keyframes
Timeline: Ripple-n-Roll, Slip-n-Slide
The basic editing tools are sometimes the most difficult to understand... here's a look at four of the most powerful techniques in your editing software's toolkit.
Timeline: The Reel Deal
Landing that dream job may come down to less than three minutes - or even thirty seconds - of what you put together in the ever-so-important demo reel.
Timeline: Time Control
As editors, we are in control of the time universe. We can stretch it, shorten it, and even change Fate by manipulatiing time.
Timeline: Uncommon Exports
From YouTube on the Internet to iPods and cell phones, you can find video everywhere. But getting it TO these devices can be tricky.
Tips for Lower Third Titles
The best way to identify your Spokesperson in your video is by using a lower third byline. Creating them is more than just making a title, they identify a brand and style.
Titling for Under a Buck
You don't need to shell out major dollars on expensive character generators to achieve those desired titles. We'll show you three cheap titles you can make in minutes, without breaking the bank.
Tutorial
Rotoscoping: fix goofs, change virtual sets, or make your hero fly
How to fix on-set goofs, change virtual sets, or make your action heroes fly through the air amidst gunfire, snowflakes, or magic dust. Rotoscoping is one of my favorite things in Visual FX. I know that sounds crazy, but the results of rotoscoping can be so rewarding.
Tutorial: Transitioning Naturally
Every blockbuster movie has hundreds or even thousands of edits, yet the viewer often is unaware of the cut. Why? In many cases, the change is very subtle, using a technique which is often known as a Natural Transition.
TV vs. Web Advertising
Can you still make money in advertising? Yes, but maybe not in the way you might think. The potential for video advertising is unlimited. Here are some ideas to get started.
Tweaks
The next version of Windows promises to use all of the capabilities that your hardware can provide.
Tweaks - Performance Tips
Performance Tips
Tweaks: performance tips
Do you remember the last time you defragmented your hard drives? If you're running Windows, you should... if you haven't defragged in a while, read on.
Up The Creek Without A Filter
Transform common household items into perfect camcorder lens filters.
Using Fill for Key
3 point lighting has become the mainstay of video lighting. But if you want to add a bit of dramatic lighting, consider moving the fill to the key side, and see what you get.
Video 2 Go
With more than 1 million videos being sold on iTunes in less than 20 days after its video launch, video industries prepare for a probable revolution similar to the one that rocked the music world five years ago.
Video Alters Space and Time
Whether you know it or not, you have the power to shape time and space when you make video.
Video and Photography Light Reflectors
An overview of video and photography light reflectors and their uses in both indoor and outdoor video production.
Video Bag Essentials
Indispensable accessories for the camera bag of a well-equipped videographer.
Video Business Ideas: The Local Fashion Show
Make money by advertising local merchants on local ad networks.
Video Cable Guide: Video Cable and Connector Types
HDMI, Component, composite. RCA, BNC, XLR A primer on connector video cable types and the differences between them.
Video Distribution: Special Delivery
Ways to get your video seen. Special interest video producers sell their tapes to mail order companies who then mail the tape to the viewers.
Video Editing : A Titillating Tickler on Titling
Quick, open your titler, choose a trendy font and color, then type some words and position it on the screen; done. But there is more, much more, to titles than this.
Video Editing : Better Composites in 8 Layers
Though more of an art than a science, there are a handful of tried and true techniques in compositing that can help convey your message.
Video Editing : Color Me Perfect
To celebrate 100 years of color imaging, from hand painted frames to video formats, let's take a closer look at what color means to video producers in post.
Video Editing : Coloring for Style
Think of your fondest memories: the orange setting sun on your vacation, the green cactus and red earth on your last desert hike, the blue of a loved one's eyes.
Video Editing : DVD Menu Authoring
How to keep that freshly burned DVD from moonlighting as a coffee-table coaster.
Video Editing : Family Time: Cutting the Album
Leave the emotions at the door, and let the long shots fall to the edit room floor, and you'll create a family album masterpiece that even strangers will admire.
Video Editing : Feel the Power!
Make your PowerPoint-style meeting slideshows sing, by creating presentations that include video elements.
Video Editing : HDV Editing Dos and Don'ts
Is HDV really the next big thing? In potential for greatness, perhaps. In
Video Editing : HDV Editing!
Feel the video world shaking? The first rumblings of the HDV shake-up are going to change the footings under the video production industry in the coming years.
Video Editing : Logging Software, Evolved
A critical part of the process is having some kind of timecode linked to all of the frames that are captured by your camera.
Video Editing : Make Room for Data
How to sequence files, audio files, graphics, and all manner of other digital work files populating your virtual folders or scattered around your desktop.
Video Editing : Making the Most from Outtakes
(gales of laughter erupt on the set.) CUT! Somebody PLEASE help Jimmy untangle the rope from his foot, re-stack all those bottles of motor oil and, somebody wash off the cat... again.
Video Editing : Manipulating Time
Tempis Fugit. If you're not up on conversational Latin, that's
Video Editing : MPEG-4 Mysteries Revealed
Is your head drowning in acronyms such as MPEG-4, MPEG-2, H.264, 3GPP and the like? Well, we're going to throw you an MPEG-4 life ring and see if we can get you back in the boat.
Video Editing : Multicam Editing
The Golden Age of live TV mastered the multi-cam technique, but for many of us, editing a multi can be a nightmare. Not anymore!
Video Editing : Saving Time: Editing Tapeless
It's about Time... The
Video Editing : The 3-Ring 3D Title Circus!
And in the center ring: the amazing, the gigantic, the most impressive typography known to mankind... Ladies and Gentlemen! Feast your eyes on 3D titles!
Video Editing : The Ghosts of Edits yet to Be
Time to dim the lights and tell ghost stories. Our Editorial Department demonstrates some techniques on putting some spook into your videos.
Video Editing : The Kindest Cut of All
In the beginning, there was the cut. The usual editing conventions dictate that most of your transitions should be cuts. Let's step away from the transitions palette for a while.
Video Editing : The Last Piece of the Puzzle
Even if you're blissfully happy with the features in your current editing software, sooner or later you're going to find yourself wishing that it did--well, just a little bit more.
Video Editing : The Right Caliber
You know you have needed one for some time. Well, the time has come. You've gone long enough without that necessary tool for serious content creation: the production monitor.
Video Editing : Tips for Editing Montages
When random pictures come together to create a single compelling collection.
Video Editing : To DVD or not to DVD?
Okay, we're now officially smack dab in the middle of the era of the
Video Editing : To Page Curl or to Cut?
Sure, your editing program has 999 transitions--but nowhere in the licensing agreement did you oblige yourself to use each and every one of them.
Video Editing : Using Still Photos in Video
The Civil War not only changed American history forever, but it changed the future world of video editing.
Video Editing from Start to Finish, Part 3 of 4
A Four Part Videomaker Series. Part 3: Graphic It! Making the effects that are oh so cool!
Video Editing Tutorial
Editing aesthetics are tough to describe. They involve using a little bit of everything at your disposal to create a believable viewing experience.
Video Editing Vs. Film Editing
Advantages of video editing over film editing.
Video Editing Without Software
Do your video editing directly, tape to tape, without the use of a computer.
Video Editing: Bright Ideas
Controlling video brightness in your editing system.
Video Editing: Composites: The Key to Success
The best way to create effective video composites is to understand video effects.
Video Editing: Fear and Logging in Your Editor
Log your shots today to save edit time tomorrow and your well-organized project will thank you in the end.
Video Editing: Go with the Flow
Ever been hypnotized? A well-edited movie does exactly that, and it's not a bad thing. It captures the imagination in a way that virtually takes over the brain.
Video Editing: Inserting Movie Credits
How to use a titler to insert cool movie credits into your video.
Video Editing: Put Your Best Signal Forward
Simple tweaking of the video signal can make a big difference in the quality of your video image
Video Editing: Superb Superimpositions
Combining and manipulating multiple pictures, titles or special effects into a single, composite image.
Video Editing: Welcome to Splitsville, Baby!
The split edit is one of the simplest and most powerful edits you should have in your toolbox.
Video Editing: What is Multicam Editing?
Shooting performances or group discussions is difficult using one video camera, but it can be a nightmare with several cameras and without good planning.
Video Editing: What Makes DVDs Go 'Round
Tips for authoring DVD menus.
Video Editing: Why Moms Don't Edit
Dealing with the frustrations of hooking up editing equipment.
Video Entrepreneur: A Modest Proposal
A Modest Proposal
Video Entrepreneur: A Word From Your Sponsor
A Word From Your Sponsor
Video Entrepreneur: Ad-vice
Ad-vice
Video Entrepreneur: Any Portfolio in a Storm
Any Portfolio in a Storm
Video Entrepreneur: Data's All, Folks
Data's All, Folks
Video Entrepreneur: Find Your Financing
Find Your Financing
Video Entrepreneur: Keeping Customers Happy
Keeping Customers Happy
Video Entrepreneur: News Opportunities
News Opportunities
Video Entrepreneur: Programs to the People
Programs to the People
Video Entrepreneur: The Care of Feeding of Clients
The Care of Feeding of Clients
Video Entrepreneur: Video Franchises
Video Franchises
Video Equipment Reviews
News and reviews of video equipment and software.
Video For Beginners: What Comes Before "Video For Dummies" ?
Here at Videomaker, we have been publishing articles and teaching video for beginners since 1986. Many people are time-deficient, so they must learn quickly.
Video for Educators
Teaching in today's world is more than the three R's... or computer use, for that fact. Video is now used for school newscasts, to interest kids about history or inspire budding video producers.
Video Formats for Cell Phones
From fast down-n-dirty video to YouTube, to samples of your work to a producer, cell phone video is everywhere. Here are tips to getting that footage from here...to there.
Video Genres
Program types and why they matter.
Video Lighting
Working with moving subjects and multiple cams.
Video Lighting: 3 Point Lighting: A Handyman's Guide
Special tips to make your lighting projects safer and more effective.
Video Lighting: Guerilla Lighting
A quick visit to the hardware store will provide most of your guerrilla lighting needs.
Video Lighting: High Definition Lighting
We are entering a new era of video production. Our hard work will show in all its HD glory and our sloppy mistakes will glare in HD horror. But light can help us.
Video Magic on the Rostrum and Tabletop
Learn how to capture small, stationary objects on tabletop sets.
Video on CD-R
DVD may be all the rage, but there is a nearly universal distribution path that has been around for quite a while now.
Video Out: Creating Video on CDs
Creating video for compact discs is an easy and useful way to distribute your videos.
Video Out: Eleven Easy Steps to Streaming
Experience the thrill of publishing your video on the Web.
Video Out: Make Your Own CD-ROM Videos
Making video CDs is easier than you might think.
Video Out: MPEG-2s for Me and You
DVD authoring is easier to get into than ever before.
Video Out: Read Me My Rights!
Learn how to protect your intellectual property with this do-it-yourself Web video copyright guide.
Video Out: Search Engines
Getting your Web site listed on search engines could be your key to Web-video success.
Video Out: Serve it Up: A Guide to Streaming Video Servers
Interested in mass distribution of your videos? Check out your alternatives for getting your videos up and streaming over the Internet.
Video Out: Take a Look at Leased Access Cable
A unique opportunity to produce and broadcast your own cable TV show for love or for money.
Video Out: The Low-down on Download-and-play
The "old-fashioned" way may still be the best way for Internet video distribution.
Video Out: The WebCam Phenomenon
WebCams are the rage on the Internet. Learn what they are and how to set up your own live WebCam show.
Video Out: The Wonderful World of WebCams
Check out these five easy steps to rigging your own live WebCam and connect yourself to the world.
Video Out: VHS: Still the King of the Hill
While Internet video and DVDs are sexy and new, most people still rely on VHS when it is time to deliver a video.
Video Out: Video E-mail: Not Just for Geeks Anymore
E-mailing video clips is easier than you might think.
Video Out: Virtual Video Festivals and Contests
Want people to see your work? Online contests may be exactly what you never knew you've always wanted.
Video Production in the Field: Five tips for Wet Weather
Five Tips for Wet Weather Shooting
Video Production Scheduling
You might know what you want to shoot, but how long will it take to do it? Here is how to create a simple shooting schedule so you'll have the answer.
Video Production Services: Advice for Startups
Video Production Services Startup Advice
Video Production Tips
Many of the little things that you learn from from a lifetime of planning, directing, editing and producing videos can easily be applied to life as a whole.
Video Production: Take a Hike
Step one is to decide whether you' re building your program in the camera as you go or whether you're creating raw material for editing later.
Video Screenings for Fun and Fame
Five steps to hosting your own mini-festival.
Video Sharing Sites Technical Specifications
Technical specifications and links to top video sharing sites. This list includes YouTube, Bilp TV, Bright Cove, Current TV, iStockphoto, iTunes, Live Video, MetaCafe, Myspace TV, Revver, Veoh and Vimo.
Video Terms: Camcorder Glossary
Common terms used by video professionals
Video Warm-ups
Practice makes perfect. Try these simple exercises that all videographers can use to improve their shooting skills.
Videocraft: Dollys and Trucks and Pans, Oh My!
Every camcorder user should have a dolly. No, not Raggedy Ann, the kind that lets you wheel things around.
Videocraft: I've Been Framed (Properly)!
This handy template will help you compose shots with greater impact.
Videocrafts: Don't Knock It (Over)
Solve a lightweight light problem with homemade heavyweights.
Videocrafts: Get Ready, Get Set
Make your own studio-style backdrop in less than one hour.
Videocrafts: Homemade Shade
Improve your outdoor lighting for less than $10.
Videocrafts: It's a Grand Old Flag
It's a Grand Old Flag
Videocrafts: Spread a Little Light
Make this useful light umbrella with tape and tinfoil.
Videocrafts: The Shadow Meets the Green (or Blue) Lantern
Spice up backgrounds with this easy-to-make shadow-shaping template.
Videography 101: Videotaping Live Events.
Switch to a second camera set on a safe shot with a standalone switcher.
Videography Business: Making Money With Video
How to move from video hobbyist to video professional
Videotaping Sporting Events
Football, baseball, hockey, tennis. Swimming, cycling, running and lacrosse. Sports shooting is an art unto itself, and every sport has shooting hurdles to jump.
Viewfinder
Video or Text?
Viewfinder
Why Are You Compelled To Create?
Viewfinder
How May We Best Serve You?
Viewfinder
Micro Short Videos
Viewfinder
Excessive Handiness
Viewfinder
How Are We Different?
Viewfinder
Why are Docs so Compelling?
Viewfinder
Video Sharing Surprise - The explosion of video sharing on the Internet has taken everyone by surprise. In comScore's May 2007 Video Metrix report, the research company revealed that nearly 75 percent of U.S. Internet users watched an average of 158 minutes of online video...
Viewfinder
Join Us!
Viewfinder
Schadenfreude Redux
Viewfinder
A Humble Honor
Viewfinder
The Word Film
Viewfinder
How Easy Can It Get?
Viewfinder
Footage
Viewfinder
A Few Years Down the Road
The world of video is moving swiftly through two unprecedented changes. The first change is our encoding system. Most people are not familiar with encoding systems, but they have been viewing an encoded analog video signal whenever they've watched TV, a videotape or often a DVD.
Viewfinder
Long-Form Sharing
Long-form video sharing + network attached storage = a new TV channel. Veoh.com was the first video-sharing site to feature long-form videos (>10 minutes), but when YouTube embraced long-form video, it was big news for people making video. Another development has been happening slowly, so it hardly appears as a blip on the news radar. It's about couches and TV sets.
Viewfinder
Stories
When we create video, we are telling stories, and this is the essence of the craft. With all of the complexities of video production, it is easy for the focus to shift away from storytelling. We often pay too much attention to equipment, technique or crewmembers, while neglecting the story.
Viewfinder
The Line Between Editorial and Advertising
Between Editorial and Advertising: Magazine publishing is an abstract business. The subscription price is less than the print and delivery costs. Profits from single-copy sales are offset by the fact that most of the magazines in newsstands and bookstores go unsold and are shredded.
Viewfinder
Tiny Camcorders
The size of camcorders has been shrinking since their inception. The first camcorders were typically shoulder-mounted and much heavier and larger than today's units. People tend to hold heavy things with their arms to their sides, using both hands under the load….
Viewfinder: 15 Years in the Making!
15 Years in the Making!
Viewfinder: 20 Years
20 Years
Viewfinder: A Lost Opportunity
A Lost Opportunity
Viewfinder: A New Path
A New Path
Viewfinder: A New Use for WebCams
A New Use for WebCams
Viewfinder: A New Videomaker
A New Videomaker
Viewfinder: A New Way
A New Way
Viewfinder: A New Way to Share Video
A New Way to Share Video
Viewfinder: A Peek at the Future
A Peek at the Future
Viewfinder: A PMP, Pico Projector, and Speakers Can Send A Teacher Anywhere.
How a portable media player, pico projector, and speakers can be used to send great teachers to classrooms in impoverished areas with no electricity.
Viewfinder: Access Counts
Congress created regulations requiring cable operators to provide access to "all comers."
Viewfinder: Are We There Yet?
Knowing when to say "when" is an important skill in video production.
Viewfinder: AVCHD
AVCHD
Viewfinder: Becoming Smart Explorers
Like Renaissance explorers, Information-Age explorers need a tool to navigate TV's treacherous waters. That tool is Smart TV.
Viewfinder: Beyond Weddings
In truth, we stand now at the brink of a video revolution.
Viewfinder: Camcorder's Face
I have been writing this column named Viewfinder for Videomaker since 1986. I can't recall if I have ever written about the word viewfinder, before today.
Viewfinder: Camcording the Sport
Camcording the Sport
Viewfinder: Caught "In-between"
It's time to get off the fence and make some video.
Viewfinder: Creativity
Creativity
Viewfinder: Delivery
Delivery
Viewfinder: Deriving More Value from Your Video Gear
Deriving More Value from Your Video Gear
Viewfinder: Disappointed
Disappointed
Viewfinder: Do You Know Who You Are?
Do You Know Who You Are?
Viewfinder: Documentary Observations
Documentary Observations
Viewfinder: DVD is Here, or Is It?
DVD is Here, or Is It?
Viewfinder: DVD: More than a Vehicle for Video
DVD: More than a Vehicle for Video
Viewfinder: Editing: Everybody's Doing It
Editing: Everybody's Doing It
Viewfinder: Express Yourself
Camcorders may be easy to use but making good video requires skill and discipline.
Viewfinder: Get in the Game
Get in the Game
Viewfinder: Getting Your Video onto a DVD
Getting Your Video onto a DVD
Viewfinder: Getting Your Video Onto a DVD
Getting Your Video Onto a DVD
Viewfinder: Give Narrating a Try
Give Narrating a Try
Viewfinder: Giving Credit
Giving Credit
Viewfinder: Giving the World Better Video
Giving the World Better Video
Viewfinder: HDTV
HDTV
Viewfinder: HDV - So What Should I Do?
HDV - So What Should I Do?
Viewfinder: Help Wanted: Video Volunteers
Make an investment in the future - teach video.
Viewfinder: Hidden Video Cameras
Hidden Video Cameras
Viewfinder: High-Definition Video Production is a Real Choice
High-Definition Video Production is a Real Choice
Viewfinder: Home Video
Should Videomaker serve those who want to make home video movies or the professional videographer?
Viewfinder: How are TV and Video Different?
How are TV and Video Different?
Viewfinder: How Committed is Your Audience?
How Committed is Your Audience?
Viewfinder: How do You Feel about Making Video?
How do You Feel about Making Video?
Viewfinder: How Long Before the DVD Becomes Obsolete?
How Long Before the DVD Becomes Obsolete?
Viewfinder: How Video Hobbyists Are Born
Video is a perfect accompaniment to many other hobbies.
Viewfinder: How Well Do Digital Still Cameras Capture Video?
Using digital still cameras with a video capture feature... I don't know many camcorder users who don't own a digital still camera...
Viewfinder: I Like Nomenclature
Nonlinear editing is now the norm. It's time for new nomenclature.
Viewfinder: If you are new to making video: Welcome!
If you are new to making video: Welcome!
Viewfinder: Index Vexed
Why is it such a chore to log videotape?
Viewfinder: Iraq Needs More Video Producers
Iraq Needs More Video Producers
Viewfinder: It's Getting Better All the Time
Editing video at home is easier than ever.
Viewfinder: Joy and Pain
Joy and Pain
Viewfinder: Just Do It
Just Do It
Viewfinder: Keeping it Pure
Keeping it Pure
Viewfinder: Making it Big Time
Making it Big Time
Viewfinder: Making Money on Video Investments
Making Money on Video Investments
Viewfinder: Making Video Alone
Wouldn't it be nice if making video presented an opportunity to socialize.
Viewfinder: Making Video in an Economic Downturn
During the Great Depression a higher percentage of the population went to the movies on a weekly basis, compared to times of great prosperity.
Viewfinder: May I Suggest a New Acronym, the VRC?
Move over TV and VCR, an important and popular piece of technology gets its own acronym.
Viewfinder: Media Diversity and You
Media Diversity and You
Viewfinder: Message to a Competent Person that Wants to use Video
Video is a powerful communications tool that requires more discipline than meets the eye.
Viewfinder: Missing Pieces and Parts
Missing Pieces and Parts
Viewfinder: Networking with Other Videographers
Networking with Other Videographers
Viewfinder: New Beginnings: a New Look for a New Year.
New Beginnings: a New Look for a New Year.
Viewfinder: Newt, John and You
Newt, John and You
Viewfinder: Now You Know
Now You Know
Viewfinder: On the Air--or Not
On the Air--or Not
Viewfinder: On the Brink
Something wonderful is going to happen in the home computer market this year.
Viewfinder: On-Camera Talent
On-Camera Talent
Viewfinder: One-minute Video
New technology could spur a revival of an old-fashioned genre.
Viewfinder: Open Access
Open Access
Viewfinder: Our Hope for You
Our Hope for You
Viewfinder: Painting the Electronic Canvas
The combination of video and the Web is creating a medium like none we've seen before.
Viewfinder: Palm-top Video
Palm-top Video
Viewfinder: Paper vs. Electrons
If you are reading this in 2009, you are most likely reading these words as ink on paper, as 60,000 other Videomaker magazine subscribers do. You might be reading this on a web page, as have 300,000 Videomaker.com visitors in a typical month in the last year or so.
Viewfinder: Pay Attention to the Right Things
Video may be the ultimate means of self-expression.
Viewfinder: Power to the (Video) People
Power to the (Video) People
Viewfinder: Privacy Expectations
Privacy Expectations
Viewfinder: Producing More Enjoyable Video
Producing More Enjoyable Video
Viewfinder: Producing Video: A Voice of Freedom
Producing Video: A Voice of Freedom
Viewfinder: Reaching Larger Audiences
Reaching Larger Audiences
Viewfinder: Reflections
Reflections
Viewfinder: Review of Video Technology Predictions in 1995
A reflection upon predictions regarding the futrue of video technology in the May 1995 issue of Videomaker Magazine entitled "Views of the Future".
Viewfinder: Satisfaction Guaranteed
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Viewfinder: Sharing Video Clips
Got clips you'd care to share? Videomaker.com might be the place to share them.
Viewfinder: Shoot with a Happy Face
Shoot with a Happy Face
Viewfinder: Short Wonderings
Humans have always speculated with curiosity on the stars, ocean tides, plants and seasons. Curiosity is not limited to humans. Those of us with pets know how inquisitive cats and dogs can be. Humans have the distinct benefit of recording our observations for future generations.
Viewfinder: Silicon or Paper?
Don’t turn your back on the old technology yet--it still offers many advantages that digital technology can’t provide.
Viewfinder: Slide Shows
Slide Shows
Viewfinder: Smart Mob Screening
I am coining a term as I write this: smart mob screening. The first two words were coined by Howard Rheingold in his book Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution.
Viewfinder: So You're New At This
So You're New At This
Viewfinder: Solving Global Problems with Video
Together, you and your camcorder can change the world.
Viewfinder: Stand Alone Vs The Cell Phone, Mp3, Camera And Camcorder Combo
Will the cellphone+Mp3 player+Camera+Camcorder combination hand held devices harm the market for stand alone camcorders?
Viewfinder: Study the Masters
Learn the language of video from those who came before.
Viewfinder: Style
Style
Viewfinder: Summertime Blues
Summer is a great time to use your camcorder, but there are several important things to consider when shooting during this sultry season.
Viewfinder: Sundance Visions
Sundance Visions
Viewfinder: Technology for Good and for Evil
Technology for Good and for Evil
Viewfinder: Thank You Steve Jobs
Apple's marketing efforts have made video editing part of the mainstream.
Viewfinder: The Confusion Solution
Videomaker will make you a better videomaker.
Viewfinder: The Disciplines of a Storyteller
Spinning a good tale is as important to video as having good gear.
Viewfinder: The Easiest Way to Edit Video
Nonlinear editing the fun and easy way.
Viewfinder: The Future: Boredom-Free Home Video
The Future: Boredom-Free Home Video
Viewfinder: The Goal--Communicate or Tweak?
Some videographers are good equipment operators; some are good communicators. To make good video, you’ve got to be both.
Viewfinder: The History of the Image
The History of the Image
Viewfinder: The Magic TV Window: Anything, Anytime
The Magic TV Window: Anything, Anytime
Viewfinder: The Making of...
Sometimes it's not the destination that's important, but the act of traveling. -- Pubilius Syrus
Viewfinder: The Montage of Emotions
Use music to move your viewers' emotions.
Viewfinder: The Next Killer Ap
The Next Killer Ap
Viewfinder: The Seven Keys to Success in Video
The Seven Keys to Success in Video
Viewfinder: Those Who Can, Do
Producing a TV show has broadened both our perspective and our areas of expertise.
Viewfinder: Time to Upgrade Your Gear
Time to Upgrade Your Gear
Viewfinder: TV Today: What Would the Founders Think?
TV Today: What Would the Founders Think?
Viewfinder: TV: Your Personal Technique Tutor
TV: Your Personal Technique Tutor
Viewfinder: Two Product Concepts
Two Product Concepts
Viewfinder: Two-finger Editing
Editing videotape in the old days was a crude affair, but the same two-finger editing is just as valid today.
Viewfinder: Unexpected Problem
Unexpected Problem
Viewfinder: VHS: A Successful Format
The resilient videotape persists beyond expectations.
Viewfinder: Vidcasting
Vidcasting
Viewfinder: Video and Time
Time management vs. quality control, a true balancing act.
Viewfinder: Video Creators Get Into Politics
Ways in which videos can be used to make a political point.
Viewfinder: Video Helps the World's Poor
Video Helps the World's Poor
Viewfinder: Video in June
The first month of summer is an exciting time for video enthusiasts.
Viewfinder: Video Newsletters
You may soon get video with your newspaper.
Viewfinder: Video Questions to Ponder
Video Questions to Ponder
Viewfinder: Videomaker's Vision
"The rights of the whole can be no more than the sum of the rights of the individuals." - Thomas Jefferson
Viewfinder: Views of the Future
Views of the Future
Viewfinder: We have a new look!
We have a new look!
Viewfinder: We're On the Web
We're On the Web
Viewfinder: Webcams
There are many positive uses a webcams. The Flip Video Spotlight Program aims to distribute 5 million webcams to nonprofit organizations by 2012.
Viewfinder: Webmasters Becoming Videomasters
We welcome a new breed of video producer, Webmasters.
Viewfinder: What Happens when Someone Watches Your Video?
What Happens when Someone Watches Your Video?
Viewfinder: What has never been covered with video?
What has never been covered with video?
Viewfinder: When Text and Images are Not Enough
When Text and Images are Not Enough
Viewfinder: Where Do Ideas Come From?
Cogito, ergo sum…cogito. (I think, therefore I am... I think.)
Viewfinder: While They are Watching
The next time you screen one of your videos, turn your chair around and watch the watchers.
Viewfinder: Who Will Make the Video?
Who Will Make the Video?
Viewfinder: Why Did You Buy Your Camcorder?
The camcorder as therapist.
Viewfinder: Why Did You Buy Your Camcorder?
Why Did You Buy Your Camcorder?
Viewfinder: Why do People Like Stories?
Why do People Like Stories?
Viewfinder: Why More People Should Make Video
If video production is such a wonderful thing, why aren't more people involved in it?
Viewfinder: Why We Like Making Video
Video provides a feeling of accomplishment that's unparalleled by any other medium.
Viewfinder: Why?
Why?
Viewfinder: WITNESS
WITNESS
Viewfinder: You Can Make Better Video
A five step plan for better productions.
Wardrobe & Make-Up
Looking Good: Tips for the Director
Web Hosting
Check out these free Web sites that specialize in hosting your streaming videos.
Wedding Videos: 8 Tips for Success
Before you say
What is Lux?
Manufacturers seem to have different way of defining the word lux. But what is it, and how can you compare your camcorder's "lux level" to that of others?
What's Legal
As video producers, we're often gifted with an intimate look at people, places and events in the world around us... but we're surrounded by legal time-bombs waiting to blow our video apart.
What's Legal
Trademarks and Brands in Your Documentary
The scenario is simple: background music, either live or recorded, is playing while you are videotaping a scene. Now you have sounds protected by copyright in your video clip.
What's Legal
Placing Products in Your Production
Placing Products in Your Production
What's Legal
YouTube: Fair Use Vs Copyright Laws
The most common YouTube Video copyright infringement involves using songs in without permission of the copyright holder that cannot be claimed as "Fair Use".
What's Legal: Can You Copyright A Name?
The Copyright Act states that names, titles, short phrases and expressions cannot be registered in the U.S. Copyright Office. But Wait! Trademark law can cover names!
What's Legal: Producer's Rights
Musical Copyright Tips to navigate murky shark-filled waters
What's Legal: producer's rights
How Fair Is Fair? Copyright Law and Fair Use
What's Legal: producer's rights
You've Been Pirated! How to take down Copyright Infringers with a Copyright Takedown Notice. Your copyrighted work shows up online, but you didn't put it there.
What's Legal: Producers Rights.
Private Lives: Who is protected... the producer or the citizen? It depends.
What's Legal: When Are Background Sounds With A Copyright In Video Clips OK?
The scenario is simple: background music, either live or recorded, is playing while you are videotaping a scene. Now you have sounds protected by copyright in your video clip.
What's Legal
producer's rights
The Public Domain - Unraveling the Confusion of when Copyright claims dissolve. When our country's Founding Fathers adopted the U.S. Constitution, they wanted to make sure that, unlike in England, no person could have an unlimited monopoly over property….
When to Move the Camera
You know the camera moves and names, but that's just half the battle. Here are some answers to WHEN and how to use those moves effectively.
Which Is Best? A Dynamic Microphone or A Condenser Microphone?
The basic differences between dynamic microphones and condenser microphones. Their strengths and weaknesses and where they work best in the video production process.
You TV: Every Person is a Broadcaster in Broadband Land
From home movies to Hollywood blockbusters, your broadband Internet connection is prepared to deliver video.
YouTube Copyright Rights
How your copyright rights are effected by YouTube. An overview of the YouTube terms of service and how your distribution rights are affected when you post videos on YouTube.
Latest Videos
Simple Special FX
We show you how to pull off three simple special effects using just the camera and the subject's reaction to sell the illusion. Learn how to make realistic look …
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Basic Movie SFX
We show you how to pull off two basic special effects using cross dissolves, overlays, cropping and layers. Both the Star Trek effect and the Multiplicity effec … -
Light Saber FX
We show you the step-by-step process of how to pull off the Light Saber special effect. Everything from building the Light Saber to Rotoscoping. -
Creating Design Elements: Ink Spreads and Ink Drops
How to use everyday household items to create ink drop and ink spread visual design elements for titles and graphics.
Video Forums
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Being pressured to go Mac
Feb 9
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Suggestions on best external mic for camcorder
Feb 9
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Getting grainy footage off my Sony HDR-HC1
Feb 9
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Sony Bloggie
Feb 9
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How can i make Trailers like that?
Feb 9
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live performance
Feb 9
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Getting "In To" The Video Industry
Feb 9
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Classified Guidelines - 'Buyer Beware'
Feb 9
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FCC publishes list of illegal wireless mics!
Feb 9
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PE 3.0 Closes Abruptly in Windows 7
Feb 9
Video News Blog
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Canon EOS E1 Video Plug-in for Apple Final Cut Pro
Feb 8
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HDMI Update - 3D is Official!
Feb 4
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MPEG LA extends H.264 Codec Royalty-Free Licensing
Feb 4
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For Members Only: Videomaker Plus
Feb 3
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Don't Model It, Shoot It: Making 3D Models From Photos and Videos
Feb 2
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JVC Adds a New High Definition Memory Camera to Everio Line
Feb 2
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Canon Announces MPEG-2 Full HD File-Based Recording Codec
Feb 2
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Goodbye Miramax
Jan 29
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Making Video: So Easy A Chimp Could Do It
Jan 28
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iPad Released - Steve Wozniak's Opinion
Jan 28
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