Snippets from Universal film School’s 60 min training film on technical directing involving understanding of screen directions, framing, action axis, triple take technique, continuity and fight choreography.
These guys know what they’re talking about, so before you pick up some bad habbits, make notes and listen to what they have to say. In this video you will learn some of the main fundementals of Film Directing and visual story telling.
Here’s a quick peak at some behind the scenes stunt rigging. I’m sure this will give you an insight into how many of your favourite special fx scenes are created.
Ex-Pro 5 -in- 1 Photographic Light Reflector - 32″ Silver, Gold, Black, White & Translucent. £17.99.
It’s amazing just how much using a reflector can help improve the quality of your films. Although it helps to have an extra pair of hands, whilst you’re busy getting the shot, using a reflector is a great way to involve others such as passers by or clients. It’s a fun thing to do relatively simple to re-direct the sunlight onto the subject, and interesting for anybody to watch. Using a reflector adds a greater vibe to the production, especially to on lookers or impressing the client. It doesn’t have to be just for interviews, depending on the reflect screen being used, they can help to light whole scenes, enhance lighting on products or for displaying dramatic shadows or light streaks onto walls and backgrounds.
Click on the pictures above to purchase.
He’s a very quick video to show you just how easy it is to do.
Don’t forget to watch in HD!
All consumer camera’s these days use Automatic focussing. You press record, and without you knowing the camera focusses. Simple. The camera has been designed to focus on the object that is centrally aligned in the frame. With this comes an image where nearly everything in the frame is in focus, your audience will then be less able to judge distance between objects (Known as depth.) This suites most family’s or tourists who’s main concern is capturing happy memories. But what If you wanted to get a bit creative, and focus on specific areas leaving others out of focus? Well to achieve this you would need a camera that has manual focu
s settings.
“How do I know if the subject I’m filming is in focus?”
One quick way to manually focus is to zoom in on your subject until you cant zoom in anymore. Then use the manual focus settings until your subject is nice and clear. Zoom back out and you’re ready to go. If the distance changes between you (the camera) and your subject then you will have to re-focus!
”This seems like a lot of pointless work when the camera can do it automatically? “
Manual focus gives you more control over your whole shot, it allows you to tell stories as you focus from one object to another. As well as looking more professional, manual focus adds depth to your footage creating a mood and sense of distance.
“What is pulling focus?”
Pulling focus is when you focus from one object to another.
Top Tip Video #1 - How a professional changes shots using manual focus.
In this video shot by Sim Warren there are some examples of pulling focus, using a specialist 35mm DOF adapter.
Canon HV20 with DOF adapter. from Edit Crunch on Vimeo.
What you need:
8 Rollerblade wheels (With bearings)
2 X 8ft pvc pipe.
6 x 1ft plank of MDF
8 1/4″ bolts at 3 1/2″ long.
8 1/4″ washers
16 1/4″ fender washers
16 1/4 nuts.
1 X cheap old tripod.
When building your track and dolly, it’s important that you come up with your own design. A design that works well with the way you film, depending on your equipment, budget and filming style. This design was created for its mobility and ease of use. More traditional designs require a large dolly which you’ll find the camera operator and tripod will need to stand on. You will then find that the camera operator needs a track grip (an extra person) to pull them along. If your looking to film a tr
acking shot that runs through a hole in a wall, or a gap in a fence, then this design is ideal. Similarly if your trying to film a track elevation where the track is supported on a wall on one side, and the otherside is on the floor. You simply adjust the tilt level on the tripod head and roll the dolly up and down the slanted track. This design is light, It’s about 1ft wide and not even 2ft high.
Both of the 8ft PVC pipes were cut into 2 peices. 1ft and 7ft peices. The 1ft peices were used for the frame system which holds the wheels. The remaining 7ft peice is used for the track.
When drilling holes for the wheels in the 1ft frame system, think of cutting holes in pipe at 4 o clock and 8 oclock. This will change depending on the size of piping used and size of wheels so do experiment placing the wheels as a guide before drilling. You will need to double up using 2 bolts and washers on the ends of the wheel axels to secure the wheels in place and to keep them steady.
The reason for the staggered, step like blocks of wood is so the tripod handle can move and rotate without hitting the dolly support. A problem that I do have with this dolly is having used a cheap £20 tripod, it impacts the panning ability whilst tracking, so for this reason I’ve ruled out panning with this head. I plan my tracking shots from begining to end to ensure everything is capture in one movement. If you have a few more pennies to spend, I do recommend purchasing a slightly more expensive tripod to 
combine both pan and tracking movements.
As I rollerblade, I have lots of rollerblade wheels and bearings. So this was at no cost for me, however if your looking to buy some cheap wheels for a dolly such as this I would recommend visiting/calling www.skatewarehouse.co.uk or 08707 651 707. If you let them know that you found them through The Edit Crunch these guys will be happy to sort you a great deal.
Overall the time spent on this Dolly was around 3-4 hours, having spent an estimated £50 in total.
Please note, this isn’t a step by step guide, therefore if you need anything answering please leave us a message on the forums and we’ll be happy to help out.
DIY - Track & Dolly from Edit Crunch on Vimeo.
Tilting the camera off axis, isn’t a safe idea if your filming a traditional way. Perhaps you’re filming an interview or for a TV show, then a tilt might look like the camera operator couldn’t be botherd to level the tripod. However if you’re seeking a unique style or looking to add some creativity to your shots then try tilting your camera.
WHY?
Well, take a look at the first example below of the black bollards near the Thames in London. As the railing disappears into the distance, it creates a line of perspective that we can use to our advantage. There is no right or wrong way to tilt, let yourself be the judge depending on your subject.
It’s important that you don’t “over tilt” your work, it’s best to keep this style to a specific shot and it will have a larger impact if only used once or twice. If you tilt too often, it could become very “samey”.
We hope these examples help to inspire.
Adobe After Effects is one of the worlds best most affordable compositing and visual fx software packages available on the market. Here is an Introduction tutorial we wanted to share showing some of the basic features of the Adobe AE interface. If you have any questions related to this video, do let us know via the forums.
One of the most incredible adverts ever made. This is NOT CGI - over 600 hundred takes and months and months of work.
The RODE VideoMic is a professional grade shotgun microphone. Based on the latest ‘Film industry’ technology, the VideoMic is designed specifically for use with high quality Digital Video Cameras.The microphone exhibits low noise and an unusually wide bandwidth for its size. It is ultra lightweight, yet rugged due to it’s ABS construction. The VideoMic is powered by a standard 9V battery and offers a Low Battery LED status indicator and a switchable high pass filter to reduce unwanted low frequency rumble.The VideoMic attaches to any Camcorder that has the standard camera-shoe fitting and utilizes a stereo mini jack for audio output.Features* Studio recording quality* Condenser microphone* 9V battery powered* Integrated shock mounting* Two step High-Pass Filter - Flat or 80Hz* Three step PAD - 0, -10, -20dB* Rugged reinforced ABS construction* Windshield included* 3.5mm mini-jack output* Integrated cold shoe mount, 1/4 inch and 3/8 inch thread .
