In video production, knowing how to use a green screen is an essential skill for any producer. It is an irreplaceable tool and can give you a lot of creative freedom in post-production. But in my book, knowing when to use a green screen is just as important as knowing how.

There are so many resources on how to shoot green screen for your project. Forums and blogs are filled with tips and tricks and best practices. In my experience, clients and producers seem to view green screen as a magic tool that makes a shoot easy, and avoid the hassle of being on location. However,  if you’ve had some experience trying to achieve high-end results with green screen, you’ve no doubt been frustrated with the process.

If you find yourself needing a shot of an actor hanging off the edge of a skyscraper, then green screen is probably going to be the most economical, and safest option. Often times, however, I’ve been asked to shoot green screen for scenes when a park, a news set, or a nondescript background was needed.

While green screen may appear to be a simpler option, often times I find that by the time I set up all the lighting properly, and spent the time in post-production to get the key and background correct, my time would have been much better spent researching and securing the right location. Good green screen work takes a lot of forethought and post-production time, and if not done properly, can easily bring down the production value of your entire project.

For interviews or a spokesperson, using a white or black background is a simple way to give you some of the options a green screen shot offers, without the time-consuming task of keying and precise lighting. Some simple editing can allow for graphics and other assets to be placed alongside your talent. I’ve always found white and black backgrounds to be easy to work with, while continuing to keep the production value high without a huge time investment.

So the next time you’re considering breaking out the green screen, consider your options carefully, and make the choice that will result in the highest production value you can achieve.

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 repeat performance because you forgot to prepare right. Naturally, you need to be on your A-game for any event videography job, be it a birthday party, a sports game or even a political speech. One of the best ways to make sure that you’re catching all the action that you need is to use multiple cameras. And we’ve got just the tool to help you do that, a brand new free report titled Multi-Camera Shooting for Event Videography!

Using multiple cameras lets you make sure that you capture all the action. Even if you get distracted by one thing, your spare cameras will save your neck… if you set them up right to catch what you need! This latest free report from Videomaker explains what you need to do to make sure that you use multiple cameras effectively.

What can you do to make sure you don’t miss the most important parts of the event? Multiple cameras are a great way to get all the angles, but, remember, a camera is only a piece of equipment. That means it’s only as good as the person using it. What good are multiple expensive cameras if you don’t know the first thing about using them all at once? We’ll give you the skinny so that you can juggle two or even three cameras like a professional. This report includes:

Learn:

• Why Multi-Camera Shoots?
• Camera Placement in Multi-Cam Shooting
• Using Rehearsals for Perfect Placement
• Going To Multiple Performances
• The Blair Witch Effect
• The Camera: A Scene’s Invisible Player
• Using Three Cameras When You’re Alone

Download Videomaker’s latest free report, Multi-Camera Shooting for Event Videography, to get more helpful tips about juggling multiple cameras when you’re on a tight deadline. We asked a professional event videographer with extensive concert-shooting experience to share some of his expertise, including a look at the so-called “Blair Witch” effect of event videography.  We think you’ll find some new tricks here that will help you on your path to improved video. Check it out!

Another Videomaker workshop is under way this weekend and this small group will get lots of one-on-one training. This weekend’s offerings are the Basic Production Workshop and the Intensive Lighting Workshop.

Attendees often come from all over the world come to beautiful Chico, California for fun and extensive training for 3 days at the Videomaker Headquarters. (What we like to call VMHQ for fun)

The Basics of Video Production workshop attendees spend the entire 3 days shooting a short film from start to finish, taking the beginning videographer into several areas of production including pre-planning, audio delivery, shooting, post production and lighting with hands on instruction from the Videomaker staff and certified instructors.

Workshop attendees use our equipment and team up with others in the class, sharing roles from Director, Shooter, Lighting Gaffer, etc. This weekend’s workshop attendees will be working with Canon XL2s  and 1D Mark IV, Sony’s NEX VG-20, Adobe CS5 editing suite on HP EliteBook 8760w workstations , and lights, mics and accessories from Videssence, LitePanels, iKan, Manfrotto, Marshall Electronics, Sennheiser, Azden, and much much more.

The Intensive Lighting class will learn the basic 3-point lighting setup, of course, but also more intense specialty lighting techniques like lighting for greenscreen, lighting products, day-for-night tricks, using reflectors, gels and DIY setups, working with Magic Hour and specialty lighting for people.

We started doing a Show-n-Tell session a while back and it’s been a great hit. We have all this gear that many of our attendees read about but often never get a chance to see in person.  Unless you live in a major metropolitan area with brick-and-mortar production gear stores like B&H Photo, you can’t find most of our specialized equipment at your average electronic store. Attendees get to see products we’ve reviewed and take notes and pictures and get a hands-on feel of some specialty gear they’d like to find more about like under-water housing, suction-cup car mounts, and all sorts of lights, mics and stabilizers.

If you want to learn more about Video Production, you definitely need to check out the Videomaker Workshops! We have another workshop coming up in a few weeks in June, and, as always, space is limited.

This workshop also covers the Basic of Production and offers and Intensive Editing workshop running concurrently. [meaning you can’t take both at the same time.]

If you take the June class or are considering the September class, come early for our popular Thursday Night Market event in Downtown Chico  is a weekly fun spring-to-fall event that’s like an outdoor Farmer’s Market combined with a “Small Town Main Street” feel that includes music, food, craft fair and kiddie activities. Mainstreet America doesn’t get better than this!

Below is the schedule for the rest of 2012 – Hope to see you soon!

June 1-3, 2012
The Basics of Video Production
Intensive Editing

September 14-16, 2012
The Basics of Video Production
Intensive Lighting

October 12-14, 2012
The Basics of Video Production
Advanced Shooting

December 7-9, 2012
The Basics of Video Production
Intensive Editing

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, of using different types of shots to build a compelling world inside your movie. Anyone can set a camera on a tripod and hit record, but the artistry of cinematography comes in controlling what the viewer sees (or doesn’t see) and how the image is presented. Film is a visual medium, and the best-shot films are ones where you can tell what’s going on without hearing any of the dialogue. This report will show you how you can use effective camera angles and shot variation to make your movie come to life even when your actors aren’t saying a word.

We wanted to make sure that we gave you the best info on this important topic, so we made sure to find a real expert in the field. This latest free report from Videomaker is written by an independent video director from Los Angeles. Tim Heiderich has written and directed Internet video series like “Assignment: Unexplained” and “Rescue 411,” as well as one of my personal favorite parodies “Normal Activity.” (Be sure to check it out after you’ve downloaded your report!)

With some basic knowledge of composition and scene construction, you can plan scenes using this visual language. Learn how different shots work together to form a clear, cohesive narrative and how to compose each shot in a way that is visually pleasing for the viewer. Understanding these simple rules will help make your films more thrilling and engaging.

Download your free report “Cinematography Techniques: The Different Types of Shots in Film.”

Anyone can point a video camera at something and press record. However, creating quality videos requires an understanding of basic video production concepts. This time, Videomaker takes video production back to the basics with the newest addition to our webinar training series: Basic Video Production.

Whether you’re interested in video production for your business or interested in improving your home movies and personal projects, our comprehensive Basic Video Production webinar will teach you the techniques needed to get a jump start on making better video. You will learn basic techniques such as shot composition, camera moves and controls, microphone and audio techniques, as well as lighting setups and techniques.

Following the webinar, all registrants will receive a copy of our special report “Handheld Shooting”. In addition to valuable information and a free special report, the Basic Video Production Webinar will also include a live Q&A segment; our team answering your questions. The Basic Video Production Webinar starts at 11:00 AM (PST) on Wednesday, Jan. 11, so be sure to sign up soon!

Not interested in Basic Video Production? Videomaker’s Webinar Training Series provides a wide variety of webinars that cover topics including Advanced Editing, Documentary Production, Lighting for Video, Advanced Shooting, Audio for Video, and much more.

On-line sources for video content of all sorts, from artistic to instructional to experimental, are multiplying at a dizzying pace. Video collaboration, particularly collaboration “in the cloud,” is a quickly maturing concept.  And behind these sites for online video collaboration is the basic motivation for film makers and graphic artists to find new muses and wider audiences. Clearly there is no shortage of inspiration for those of us who are as passionate about video as we are about music, art, science, technology, and more. One of my favorite sources for such inspiration is the exceptional TED.com.

TED talks have been around for a long time now and many of us are in the habit of regularly visiting TED.com to check out the latest on-line releases. On a recent web surfing excursion to TED, I came across an extraordinary piece featuring an exhilarating example of collaborative on-line video editing. (Videomaker has blogged on this topic recently: see Daniel Bruns’ excellent blog posted August 8^th on the phenomenon of leveraging HTML5 for music video production by bands like OK Go, Arcade Fire, and Danger Mouse.) Some of you are likely very familiar with Aaron Koblin’s work. Koblin’s TED talk, “Artfully Envisioning Our Humanity” posted this past May is a marvel.  If you haven’t already, you really need to check out Koblin’s TED talk.

Koblin has built an online environment wherein artists and videographers can contribute to a collaborative video featuring the late Johnny Cash’s final recording Aint No Grave (Can Hold My Body Down). It’s an astute choice, not only because this is a wonderful version of this song about living on through one’s legacy. Cash has been missed by many of us since his death in 2003. Koblin’s choice of Aint No Grave is also astute because there is no “holding down” the creativity of the still image contributors building a video and embracing Koblin’s site and his vision. As more and more images are added to the montage, it is clear that this site is tapping into both profound reverence for the artist (Johnny Cash) and into an enthusiasm for collaboration in video. The very nature of this project means that there is really never an “end-product” or a finished video, but rather iterative experiences that change with nearly every viewing, as long as the contributions keep coming and the video keeps evolving. Collaborative endeavors such as these inspire us to return again and again, to both add to and to admire the outcome. If you haven’t already, you really should check it out. (Visit The Johnny Cash Project.)

Many video producers toil to perfect their craft in simple DIY studios at home, or in temporary rented space, or simply out in the world with their camcorder in their hand. Unless you’re working closely with a cadre of fellow practitioners of the video craft (which luckily, many of you are), the work of video is usually less an act of collaboration and more often a solitary enterprise. You often shoot alone, edit alone, and release your video alone, hoping to capture a wider audience as your videos catch on via YouTube or Vimeo or elsewhere. But projects such as Aaron Koblin’s remind us that we can do amazingly creative things when we work together.