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Back Issues:

July 2008 Table of Contents

Feature Stories

Tutorial - Getting That Film Look

by Brian Peterson
Shooting video to look like film

Coming of Age... Videotape Decks Enter Their Golden Years

by James DeRuvo
In the days of olde, a videotape deck was an important member of your video editing arsenal. Believe it or not, it is still an essential tool for many editing situations.

Alakazam! The Magic Bag of Tricks

by Michael Reff
Just like every good magician has a bag of tricks, so should every great videographer.

Editing Software Buyer's Guide 2008

by Heath McKnight
Finding the right tool to edit your masterpieces

The Divine Proportion
Balancing the Golden Rule

by James Williams
Nature created it; visual artists follow it. Using aesthetically-pleasing framing creatively draws your viewer into your shot composition.

Choosing Your Direction: Progressive or Interlaced

by Michael Reff
A great director once asked, "To Interlace or not to Interlace? That is the Question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to capture slings and arrows of sporting events clearly, or to make beautiful film-like pictures against a sea of blur..."

Columns

Distribution
Finding Your Target Market

by Peter Biesterfeld
The internet has turned traditional business models upside down. This includes the market relationship between sellers and buyers.

Lighting
Lighting Gels

by Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D.
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?

Viewfinder

by Matthew York
Footage

Save As:
15 Quick Tips to Videotaping Fireworks

by Jennifer O'Rourke
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.

Editing:
Fix It in Post

by Morgan Paar
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."

Audio
Boom Op 101

by Hal Robertson
The boom mic is the go-to microphone of choice for most television shows, documentaries and major motion pictures.

Test Bench

Departments

In box

by The Editors
readers' letters

New Gear

by Charles Fulton
hot off the presses

June 2008 Table of Contents

Feature Stories

Tutorial:
The Compression Connection

by Brian Peterson
How to Give Your Audio That Pro Sound

The Wedding Biz

by Brent Holland
A guide to starting awedding video business.

Don't be Square about Framing

by Michael Reff
Art - to many people this word conjures up visions of long dimly-lit hallways, filled with soft murmuring whispers, echoing between some very square, very frumpy patrons, shuffling the catacombs of a dusty old museum. Small groups of stiffs standing and staring at a boring, motionless, flat-framed piece of work for hours, discussing how exciting the art is and how much movement it has. Why doesn't this happen when I show my video, you might ask? What could possibly be so exciting about a static image, anyway? It just sits there. For an image to be exciting, it has to move! Right? Things need to be constantly changing and adjusting. Pictures flying in and out, angles adjusting and tilting, edits happening left and right. There is nothing still about our art. Or is there?

Camcorder Review:
Sony HDR-SR12 Camcorder

by Greg Robinson
Sony Hits the Mark

Stock Footage 101
Buyer's Guide

by Brent Holland
With the ever increasing demand for quality and quick turn-around time, stock footage is fast becoming not just a simple convenience but rather a downright necessity.

Camcorder Buyer's Guide
Shooting With Style

by Heath McKnight
Feature-Rich Camcorders

Creating Shadows

by Brian Peterson
Dramatic Lighting without Fear (Or, How I Learned to Love the Dark)

Columns

Viewfinder

by Matthew York
How Easy Can It Get?

Basic Training: Tricks for J and L Cuts

by Kyle Cassidy
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.

Distribution: Web Video for Beginners

by Mike VanHelder
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?

Directing: Set Time Management

by Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D
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.

What's Legal: Producers Rights.

by Mark Levy and Gina Gullace
Private Lives: Who is protected... the producer or the citizen? It depends.

Audio: Hearing... Visually!

by Hal Robertson
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.

Test Bench

Departments

In Box

by The Editors
readers' letters

Quick Focus

by Jennifer O'Rourke

New Gear

by Charles Fulton
hot off the presses

May 2008 Table of Contents

Feature Stories

Producer Profile: Oscar Documentary Magic

by Jennifer O'Rourke
An Inspiration for the Documentarian in All of Us

Distribution: Public Access Television

by Randy Hansen
How to produce video productions with someone else's gear and get them broadcast - for free!

Tutorial: DVD Motion Menus

by Brian Brodeur
Some simpler DVD authoring programs have auto-everything, and all you have to do is "click...click...click" to make a finished project. But there's a real beauty in DVD motion menu making, and this month's tutorial is all about how you can take control of your program and make your DVD menus come to life.

eNews Exclusive
Guerilla Subterranean Videography: Caving Video for the Daring

by Mike Stoll
Besides being an amateur videographer, I also enjoy exploring caves. Combining these two hobbies can be a bit tricky. Needless to say, lighting conditions are a challenge when shooting underground, since caves are pitch-black.

eNews Exclusive
Discovering Your Muse

by Stephen Smith
Was The Thinker thinking about the effects of free trade or wondering how to enrich his next project with amazing storytelling and killer graphics? Finding inspiration for our creations can be difficult at times; most of us have good days and bad ones. So how is it that some always seem to have a concept coming from somewhere, as if they have a personal muse? This article focuses on the places where you can discover yours.

Video Monitors Buyer's Guide

by Randy Hansen
A Closer Look

Video Bag Buyer's Guide

by Randy Hansen
A place to put your stuff, so you can get more stuff

20th Annual Videomaker Short Video Contest Winners

by Videomaker Editors
There are a lot of video contests popping up all over the place, but we are proud to say that Videomaker was one of the first to offer this fun and challenging event.

Columns

Viewfinder

by Matthew York
The Word Film

Basic Training: Three-Point Lighting 101

by Kyle Cassidy
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.

Lighting: Using Practicals

by Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D
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.

Editing: Intermediate Codec Transcoding

by Morgan Paar
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.

Audio: It's a Noisy World

by Hal Robertson
Unless you're sitting in the middle of a soundproof room, the sounds of distant traffic noise, construction and aircraft are everywhere.

Test Bench

Departments

Tech Support

by Mark Montgomery
Your Questions Answered

Quick Focus: Topical News

by Jennifer O'Rourke

New Gear: hot off the presses

by Charles Fulton

April 2008 Table of Contents

Feature Stories

Tutorial: Burning Down The House

by Paul Del Vecchio
In today's films, it seems everywhere you look you see Visual FX. Visual FX are powerful tools when used correctly, but they are often frowned upon when they're used for the wrong reasons.

"In-Depth" Video

by Michael Reff
Hot Tips on Underwater Video Production

Getting Caught Up in Webcams

by Michael Reff
So you're ready to get a new webcam for your computer. You can see yourself doing video chat, streaming live on the web, being the life of the internet party. You'll finally be in the 21st Century. Well, beware: if you just dive in, thinking it's just plug-and-play, you're probably going to get stuck real fast. If you're unlucky, you might even meet some pretty scary things.

Camcorder Supports Buyer's Guide

by Brian Peterson
Nothing screams

Creating Characters

by Brian Peterson
Getting the Most Out of Your Actors or Subjects

Columns

Viewfinder

by Matthew York
How May We Best Serve You?

Basic Training: YouTube - Step by Step

by Kyle Cassidy
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.

Distribution: Distributing the Goods

by Andrew Burke
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?

Directing: Directing Documentaries

by Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D.
Documentaries are about real people in real places doing real things. Documentaries were the first films ever made.

What's Legal: producer's rights

by Mark Levy
How Fair Is Fair? Copyright Law and Fair Use

Editing: Polished Work

by Morgan Paar
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.

Audio: Sound Control

by Hal Robertson
Compression makes vocals easier to hear and volumes more consistent and brings out sounds that might get lost in a complicated mix.

Test Bench

Departments

In Box: reader's letters

by The Editors

Quick Focus

by Jennifer O'Rourke
Topical News

March 2008 Table of Contents

Feature Stories

Distribution: It Could Happen - Festivals

by Peter Biesterfeld
Showtime - Your epic is finally done. The color corrections you meticulously crafted are perfect, and the audio tracks in the edit timeline are speckled with fades and dissolves - evidence of a carefully-blended soundtrack. You click on Save As and rip the project to DVD. It's showtime.

eNews Exclusive: Shut up and Drive! Shooting Video Visions from your Vehicle

by Jennifer O'Rourke
There's nothing like seeing the blur of the asphalt a few inches away while cruising 60 miles-an-hour inside the sidecar of a motorcycle. Or the odd feeling you get of brushing rooftops just a few hundred feet above the earth while gently swaying inside the basket of a hot air balloon. From exotic transports like an open cockpit World War I biplane or an Army Sikorsky helicopter to the ordinary plethora of trucks, cars, vans, motorcycles and boats, I rarely turned down the chance to show viewers what the experience felt like, and learned a thing or two about shooting in moving vehicles along the way.

eNews Exclusive - Profile: A Quiet Evening in a Noisy Town

by Rob Adams
Rob Adams has spent almost twenty years filming in the world's noisiest places as a freelance news and documentary cameraman. Iraq. Afghanistan. Bosnia. Rwanda. On a warm evening in Somalia, with an hour to kill and a bottle of Ethiopian gin, he shares some thoughts on life on the road, keeping kit clean, and the remorseless advance of video technology.

Lessons in Lighting - Lighting Buyer's Guide 2008

by Brian Peterson
Buying lights may not be as exciting as buying a new camcorder, but the impact on your images can be equally significant. In this Buyer's Guide, we'll review the important things you should consider when investing in a lighting package.

Formats and Codecs

by Charles Fulton
There's a lot to think about when choosing formats for acquisition and distribution.

Columns

Tutorial: Transitioning Naturally

by Peter John Ross
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.

Viewfinder

by Matthew York
A Humble Honor

Basic Training: Breaking it Down

by Kyle Cassidy
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.

Lighting: Night Lighting

by Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D.
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!

Editing: Motivation

by Morgan Paar
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.

Audio: 10 Voiceover Tips

by Hal Robertson
Voiceovers are the mainstays of advertising, instruction and promotional videos, television programs and feature films.

Test Bench

Departments

In box: readers' letters

by The Editors

The festival circuit: 8 Film & Video Festivals

by The Editors
Whether you made a feature-length movie, a short subject, an animated or experimental film; whether it's a narrative, a documentary or a music video, somewhere out there is an outlet for your film. Whatever their size, shape or specialty, the most rewarding festivals go beyond premiere screenings in stylish venues, red carpet parades and glitzy parties. The better festivals enrich the marketplace experience for filmmakers with discussions, demonstrations and panels. There are many more than listed here.

Zoom In: industry news - 2008 CES Wrap-Up

by Editorial Staff
The beginning of the calendar year means taking down the holiday decorations, making goals and resolutions, and the annual pilgrimage to the Consumer Electronics Show. We just got back from the 2008 show, held January 7-10 in Las Vegas, Nevada and offer you a look at a few products that caught our eye.

February 2008 Table of Contents

Feature Stories

eNews Exclusive - Saving Time in Transcribing

by Jeff Novich
An efficient step-by-step approach for news and documentary postproduction.

eNews Exclusive: Is On-Demand Ready for Prime Time?

by George Lawton
Pay-to-watch internet video services like iTunes are starting to take off, providing a valuable new distribution channel. But filmmakers need to proceed cautiously in entering new territory, in order to maximize their own profits in the long run.

eNews Exclusive: VIO POV1, Video Recording System

by Mike Stoll
I've been using helmet camera systems for several years to record my outdoor adventures, mostly cave exploration and whitewater rafting. I recently had the privilege of reviewing the new video system from VIO (Viosport).

The Art of the Cutaway

by Eric Ossohou
While you plan the scene and dialog details for your videos, you need to remember to plan for cutaways as you take that journey down the path to good composition. Shooting seamless and well-planned cutaways can add depth and dimension to your story... and they can save your bacon in editing!

Tutorial: 2.5d Animation

by Mark Wickham
Producing The Polar Classic Animated Music Video

Videomaker 2007 Best Products of the Year

by The Editors
The best consumer video production products of 2007, selected by the editors of Videomaker.

Columns

Basic Training: Controlling Exposure

by Kyle Cassidy
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.

Distribution

by Mike VanHelder
Profit On Demand

Directing: Decoding the Video Crew

by Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D.
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!

Producer Profile: Behind the Lens

by Mike VanHelder
Viral Video Phenomenon: Kip Kay

Time Remapping

by Morgan Paar
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.

Audio: It's Foley Time

by Hal Robertson
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.

Test Bench

Departments

Quick Focus

by Jennifer O'Rourke

January 2008 Table of Contents

Feature Stories

Phoning It In: Generating the Best Possible Telephone Interview Recordings

by Edward B. Driscoll, Jr.
There are many reasons why audio from a telephone might be in a video. In a dramatic production, it lends an impressive verisimilitude. (Recall the audio from all those nail-biting phone calls in the newsroom of Redford and Hoffman's All the President's Men.) In a documentary, the audio from a telephone interview with an author or news source could be the underpinning of all sorts of footage. Or maybe you'd simply like to sync home movies of the good old days with an interview of mom and dad, to post on YouTube.

Scrims, Gels, Flags and Other Lighting Accessories...

by John Devcic
We recently received a letter from Gene of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, asking what a camera flag is. He's referring to an accessory that often comes in a light kit or one that you might make. We often receive letters from readers asking,

Copyright DVDs: To Back Up... or Not Back Up?

by Mark Levy and Jennifer D. Frank
Recently, we received the following question from a reader, and we asked our legal expert, Mark Levy, to respond. It's a good question, and, as legal copyright issues seem to go, a not-so-simple answer.

A Score In Time

by Brian Peterson
All Things Audio: Music Creation Software, Music & SFX Libraries and Audio Editing Software

Hold On!

by Michael Reff
A pro's look at holding your camera

Dynamic Chase Scenes

by Peter John Ross
Introducing an exciting new feature from Videomaker: Interactive tutorials! Every month these articles will link to an on-line training video and clips you can download to recreate the effect or technique. See the end of this story for the link.

Columns

Viewfinder: A New Videomaker

by Matthew York
A New Videomaker

Basic Training: The Rules of the Grid

by Kyle Cassidy
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.

Distribution: Compressing the Goods

by Andrew Burke
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.

What's Legal: Producer's Rights

by Mark Levy
Musical Copyright Tips to navigate murky shark-filled waters

Lighting Car Interiors

by Robert G. Nulph, Ph.D.
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?

Editing: Editing tips

by Morgan Paar
The Dissolve: A Winning Edit

Audio: Squeezing Sound

by Robertson Hal
With all the buzz about Internet video, YouTube and video sharing in general, it would be easy to forget about audio on the Internet.

Test Bench

Departments

In Box: Readers' letters

by The Editors

Tech Support: Your questions answered

by Mark Montgomery
(with help from over 7,000 forum users)

Quick Focus

by Jennifer O'Rourke

New Gear: hot off the presses

by Charles Fulton

In the News | SMX-10 Stereo Microphone | Shoulder-Mount AVCHD Camcorder

by Montgomery
Azden shows off new SMX-10 Stereo Microphone, Panasonic reveals new shoulder-mount AVCHD camcorder, Fabrik announces Pro Series hard drive.
©2008 Videomaker, Inc.