Tips

Make a UPM Kit

During my first semester in the Film School we had a Production Management class. In it we were required to create a UPM kit. Shopping for these items brought back grade school memories. Here's what we had to pickup: One portable file box or satchel - the UPM kit One...

5 Examples to Turn Photos to Movies that are Not the Ken Burns Effect

5 Examples to Turn Photos to Movies that are Not the Ken Burns Effect

While not usually a problem for fiction films (unless it's a stylistic choice), most documentaries find the only visual media available for some parts of the film are still photos. The most common method that comes to mind to add movement to still photos is the Ken...

Getting all those Kickstarter rewards out with Shyp

Though we live in a digital world, for anyone that’s run a Kickstarter campaign, the reality of manufacturing and shipping is a frustrating, hair pulling event. Obviously if your campaign is for a product this is to be expected, but I’m specifically focusing on films...

GH4’s Faux Pre-Roll Recording Mode

A month or so ago Panasonic released a firmware update to the GH4. The biggest feature that got a lot of buzz was a 1:1 shooting ratio, enabling better use of anamorphic lenses. But there was another interesting feature listed that caught my eye. Way down at the...

The GH4 RAW Enigma & 4K Footage of an Owl Eating a Fish

GH4 arrived on Friday. I took it out to Big Cypress National Preserve to give it a spin and play with the Panasonic 100-300mm 4-5.6 lens I rented. This isn't a camera review post but overall the camera was great. I shot a lot of stills and some 4K video. Below you can...

Double Barrel Interview Rig

A MacGyver 3-D rig? No. I adapted this hack from a post on the NY Times Lens blog from photographer Doug Mills. It lets me get a wide and close-up shot simultaneously while doing one man band interviews. I simply mount my GH2/GH3 directly on top of my Sony EX1. I keep...

5 Filmmaking Tools That Kick Ass and Save Money

You want to get a top notch DSLR kit. What comes to mind when you need to buy and build this kit? Canon 5D or 7D, Zoom H4n recorder, Zacuto rig. What if I told you all of these (and more) have less expensive alternatives that provide an equal if not better user...