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 are a great example of what indie video creators can accomplish, making great entertainment on a shoestring budget.

Like a lot of video creators, Kevin fell in love with the movies at a young age and started making movies when he was in sixth grade.  His earlier films starred family members, friends and neighbors, though he sometimes had difficulty keeping his non-professional cast interested.  He founded The Movie President after becoming friends with Chris Hart, another NKU student with the same passion for movie making.  Together, they’ve created a string of short horror flicks, quirky comedies and Star Wars tributes.  He’s now pursuing a film school education with the intention of starting a career in movies.

“Over the last year, I have learned a lot of crucial lessons while producing short videos,” says Kevin. ” The most important lesson, however, is one that would seem obvious, but applies to every single shoot that I do: Anything that CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong.  I’ve experienced everything from actors bailing at the last minute and locations becoming suddenly unavailable to extreme weather changes and cameras breaking.  As cliche as this sounds, I’ve found the best mindset to have in this field is to hope for the best and plan for the worst.”

Among Kevin’s most interesting videos are the “Tales of Terror,” a series of short horror projects.  We don’t see many young video creators tackling creepy subjects, so these immediately grabbed our interest — from the story of a man trapped on a psychotic game show in  “Deathtrap” to the campy cannibal feast that is “Hungry for those Good Things.”

“The biggest challenge in making short horror films for YouTube is the issue of keeping the content appropriate for most ages,” says Kevin.  “When it comes to horror, it is sometimes difficult to avoid violence, blood/gore, and disturbing dialogue.  For the most part, the videos I have made are suitable for most audiences, but occasionally I will have some negative feedback and controversy attributed to the content.  The line between entertainment and offending someone is often blurred in this genre, but I am a strong believer in taking risks.  If you don’t put yourself out there and try new things, you won’t get very far.”

But we also wanted to call special attention to Kevin’s short action comedy, “Finger Wars.”  You remember when you were a kid and you would pretend your finger was a gun? What if it really was?  This goofy romp takes that idea to its (illogical) extreme. With quick, tight cuts to increase the tension and a frenetic action-flick soundtrack, we were really impressed at how well this video managed to straddle the line between gritty action and absurdist comedy. But what really makes it are the special effects.  We’ve demonstrated some easy techniques for adding gunshots to your videos and you can see the results of similar special effects in this movie.   The comedy wouldn’t work in this case without some top notch special effects (and accompanying gun shot sound effects) to heighten the realism.  Luckily, they’ve got plenty. Check out the sequel to see even more finger wars – with bigger explosions!

Kevin and Chris are currently in pre-production for a spoof exploitation trailer called “Priests with an Attitude”.  Written by Chris Hart, it’s the story of two priests who take the law into their own hands as the last line of defense against the villains of a crumbling town. The pair are also at work shooting more Tales of Terror videos, a series of parody consumer reports, and possibly a prequel to “Modern Jedi: Episode II – A Dark Force.”  Learn more and watch some of their videos at The Movie President on YouTube.

You can see more of Kevin’s short films at The Movie President on YouTube. You can also find The Movie President on Twitter @MoviePresident and Facebook at www.facebook.com/themoviepresident.

With the aid of green screens and special effects, even the most impossible scenarios can be a believable part of your video. Videomaker’s Green Screen and Special Effects Webinar will teach you how to make the most of green screen and special effects illusion techniques – even with a limited budget.

In addition to valuable information and a free special report, this event will also include live Q&A; our team answering your questions. Videomaker’s Green Screen and Special Effects Webinar starts at 11:00 AM (PST) on Wednesday, Jan. 25, so be sure to sign up soon!

For years, Videomaker has been offering training events to help our readers improve upon their video production skills. From expos to workshops, our training events have always focused on teaching quality courses in a manner that is easy to understand. 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.

With the aid of green screens and special effects, even the most impossible scenarios can be a believable part of your video. Videomaker’s Green Screen and Special Effects Webinar will teach you how to make the most of green screen and special effects illusion techniques – even with a limited budget.

In addition to valuable information and a free special report, this event will also include live Q&A; our team answering your questions. Videomaker’s Green Screen and Special Effects Webinar starts at 11:00 AM (PST) on Wednesday, November 16, so be sure to sign up soon!

For years, Videomaker has been offering training events to help our readers improve upon their video production skills. From expos to workshops, our training events have always focused on teaching quality courses in a manner that is easy to understand. 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.

Videomaker’s Green Screen and Special Effects Webinar will teach you how to make the most of green screen and special effects illusion techniques – even with a limited budget.  One of the greatest things about making movies is being able to create any reality you choose. With the aid of green screens and special effects, even the most impossible scenarios can be a believable part of your video.

Following the presentation, all registrants will receive a copy of our special report The Keys to Chromakey.  In addition to valuable information and a free special report, there will be a live Q&A segment; our team answering your questions. This webinar is tomorrow — Wednesday, July 20th at 11:00 AM (PST) — so be sure to sign up soon!

Not interested in this topic? 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.

One of the greatest things about making movies is being able to create any reality you choose. With the aid of green screens and special effects, even the most impossible scenarios can be a believable part of your video. Videomaker’s Green Screen and Special Effects Webinar will teach you how to make the most of green screen and special effects illusion techniques – even with a limited budget.

In addition to valuable information, our Green Screen and Special Effects webinar will also include a live Q&A segment; our team answering your questions. Videomaker’s Green Screen and Special Effects Webinar starts at 11:00 AM (Wednesday, October 13^th), so be sure to sign up soon!

Not interested in green screen or special effects? 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.

M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film, The Last Airbender, has had people squealing with excitement ever since the first teasers were released. Apparently, “Air, Water, Earth, and Fire” is all it takes to make a summer blockbuster these days…that, and possibly some of the best special effects to date, thanks the folks at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).

There’s no doubt that the team at ILM is at the top of their game and have been for quite some time. With movies like Transformers and Avatar under their belts, it’s hard to imagine an effect that they can’t make look amazing. However, unlike robots in disguise and the fantasyland of the Navi, successfully recreating the basic elements (air, water, earth and fire) requires more than just imagination, it requires a high-level of realism. Luckily, the creative minds at ILM knew exactly where to look for inspiration.

According to io9.com, the designers referenced YouTube for videos of water balloons bursting in slow motion. However, in order to perfect the look of floating water, the team turned to a NASA video showing how water acts in zero gravity. By studying these videos they were able to mimic the characteristics of water while adding their own twist on it.

The team also used video references for creating their fire effects. However, when viewing videos of flames, it became apparent that real fire looked more unrealistic than CG fire. In the end, they found a video of the Burning Man festival’s grand event, in which a wooden effigy is torched. It was a great example of having complete control over a typically unbridled element.

After much research, the designers at ILM were able to recreate distinct features of the elements we find all around us, while making the elements “bend” to their will. All it took was some time, dedication and a little help from YouTube.

The Last Airbender hits theaters July 1, 2010.