Mike Rosen

We’ve often talked about documentary video on this site and the one thing that we’ve stressed time and again is that a documentary topic does not need to be “big” to be good . Many readers look at documentaries like Ken Burns’ Civil War and assume that all documentaries need to be similarly epic sagas. But sometimes smaller [...]

Event videography can be a scary undertaking. Because, unlike almost any other sort of videography, you only have one shot to get it right. There’s no way that a couple is going to agree to restage their entire wedding just because you messed up a shot, and likewise no band is going to put on a [...]

On April 20, long-time Videomaker community member Grinner Hester was shooting the third qualifying session of Summit Racing Top Sportsman at the 2012 ADRL Spring Drags III at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee.  Things seemed pretty normal until 21-year-old Lizzy Musi lost control of her car. And, well, just see for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Qgu0WVt0XUo It’s almost impossible to [...]

This week, we have another exciting video tidbit from the Videomaker community. Videomaker’s Facebook friend Tim Heiderich is the brains behind the brand new Internet serial Assignment: Unexplained , an irreverent  satire of paranormal reality television series like Ghost Hunters or Paranormal Cops . Goth/frat boy Chase Nightblood (Nate Scholz) has assembled a not-so-crack team of investigators to help him unravel [...]

We always like to call attention to dedicated creative people who are making big things with video, who can do more with less.  That’s why we were so excited to see the video work of The Movie President .  The Movie President is the brainchild of Kevin A. Millward, a film student at Northern Kentucky University.  Kevin’s movies [...]

How do successful viral videos like the dramatic prairie dog, Nyan cat, and OK GO do it? Learn how to make a viral video with a free report from Videomaker Magazine, How to Make a Viral Video: 11 Tips to Create a YouTube Sensation . Every videographer dreams that their work will go viral, that they will shoot something that so [...]

What’s Your Video Style? Take this quiz for fun and see what style of video best suits your personality. Agree or disagree with your results? Tell us why below! 1) What’s your Favorite thing about putting together a video? A) I like working in a nice quiet studio, where I can devote all my attention to my work. [...]

Videomaker has released a free guide to setting up your own green screen, How to Make a DIY Green Screen: Backgrounds and Software for Green Screen . This useful report is a one-stop guide to materials, software, backgrounds, and everything else that you need to create a do-it-yourself green screen in your own home. Green screens offer a [...]

When we find an interesting video project, we like to point it out to our readers. Videomaker’s Facebook friend Charlie Essers (@PushEject) recently shared a corporate video he made to help promote a new craft beer brewery in Los Angeles.  I thought this was a great example of the effective use of B-roll , so I wanted to [...]

We’re always interested i n stories of up-and-coming indie movie projects.  One such project that caught our eye was  Sledgehammer, an Aliens-inspired science fiction film about a group of space marines marooned on a distant planet full of hostile monsters. The design of the monster was what really did it for me. The concept art, by 3D artist [...]

Last week we looked at one new tool for tidying up your videos in post-production .  The Fix it in Post DVD is Videomaker’s answer to the eternal question, “Oh no, this footage is messed up! What do I do now?”  We like to think that the Fix it in Post DVD will help answer any post-production mess that [...]

You know why filmmakers and videographers always say ” We’ll fix it in post “? Because there are some problems that you can’t avoid no matter how many years of experience you have behind the camera. You probably met these unwelcome guests the first time that you shot any video footage. And maybe you shrugged your shoulders [...]

If you’ve been shooting for any length of time, you’re already familiar with the basics of lighting. You’ve heard enough about the classic three-point lighting set-up to last a lifetime. But while good lighting is easy with a little bit of knowledge, GREAT lighting takes a lot more preparation. Videomaker has an essential video training toolto [...]

Want to learn how good cinematography can elevate your video project to the professional level? Videomaker has asked a professional video director to share the tips and techniques that an aspiring video director or cinematographer needs to understand in our latest free report “ Cinematography Techniques: The Different Types of Shots in Film .” Cinematography is the art of visual storytelling, [...]

Many would-be documentarians get trapped into thinking that only sweeping, epic topics are acceptable fodder for documentaries .  They just get stuck in that Ken Burns’ Civil War mode of thinking.  We’ve written quite a few times that doesn’t have to be the case, that you can find the thread of a good documentary story in even seemingly [...]

A wedding videographer is always conscious that a couple’s wedding is one of the most important days in their lives, so he knows that they will choose a form and venue with a special meaning for them.   Some couples hold them in unusual locations — not just in parks or gardens, but even stores like T.J [...]

Last week, we looked at what fair use ISN’T .  So now let’s look at what it is. Basically, fair use depends on a few factors, most importantly (1) the amount of material you copy from the original work,  (2) your purpose in using that material, (3) the nature of the work that you’re copying, and (4) the effect [...]

We frequently get questions from video cr eators about the rules for making use of other creators’ work in their own projects. If a piece of art was created so long ago that its copyright has expired and it’s since fallen into the public domain, you’re free to make use of it any way that you want. [...]

So you want to make a documentary ? We’ve all heard that before.  Just as we know that all the greatest writers are supposedly too busy hanging out in coffee shops and bemoaning the difficulties of writing to actually write, all the greatest documentarians are too busy worrying about where to start to actually, well, start.  When [...]