Active Film & Theater Posts
How To: Make prop glass out of sugar
Don't use real glass as a prop and end up cutting or hurting yourself. Prop glass made out of sugar looks just like the real thing, and won't end in a bloody mess. You will need two cups of water, three and a half cups of sugar, one cup white corn syrup, and one fourth teaspoon cream of tartar. Watch this video special effects tutorial and learn how to make prop sugar glass.
How To: Best light your webcam video
Anthony and Ian of Smosh, and Logitech, provide you with some simple tips on how to best light your webcam video shoot. Just don't get caught with your pants down...
How To: Build a double bladed Darth Maul lightsaber using hardware store parts for $15
Darth Maul and his double lightsaber were by far the coolest part of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. If you've got some DIY knowhow and want a costume / prop lightsaber that will stand out from the pack, watch this video to learn how to make a Darth Maul double lightsaber out of hardware store parts for $15.
How To: Build a cable mounted camera rig for overhead shots
Filming can get REALLY expensive, especially if you're just out of film school and starting on your first major short. It requires not only a camera, but a crane for swooping panoramic shots, a mounted camera rig for overhead shots, lens filters, and moving ground camera mounts, among other things.
How To: Write Your First Script
Hello! My latest interest is screenwriting. I would like to share a few hints I find quite useful. I am a newbie, so the following post will not be taken from the treasury of many years of experience. Just plain facts,.. Thanks for reading! Step 1: In the Beginning
How To: Make an effective treatment for your documentary film
An effective treatment is your first step to getting a job and funding for your documentary. This is a written document used to describe your film and why you want to make it. This video gives you some good tips on how to make an effective treatment for your project.
Your Brain on Music: How to Turn an MRI Scan into a Music Video
Ever wonder what your brain looks like while you're singing? No? Neither had I, but as this music video for the song "Better Man Than He" by SiVU (aka James Page) will show you, the answer is "pretty cool."
How To: Make claws by folding pieces of paper
Claws make a very cool costume piece for all sorts of costumes, from Wolverine to werewolves to whatever sort of freeform clawed monster you can conceive. This video will show you how to make some cool finger-claws (not Wolverine-style) out of paper. They are surprisingly intimidating given that they are made out of paper, and will go a long way towards creating whatever creature costume you're working on.
How To: Jump over a car with film effects & tricks
In this tutorial, we learn how to jump over a car with film effects & tricks. First, you will take a long shot of someone pretending like they are jumping over a car, make sure they add in excitement. After this, you will take a long shot of a car driving over in the same area. Now, load your clips and add in the image of the person jumping with the image of the car. After this, use the magic tool to add them both in the same scene, then you will have a great film effect that makes it look li...
How To: Use a Light Meter for Correct Film and Video Lighting
Know a little bit about film lighting, but can't quite grasp the concept of using light meters to measure light for proper exposure? You can't rely on your video camera to accurately capture what you see, so you need light meters to properly and accurately capture what you have created on set.
How To: Film Using DSLR at Low Light
Filming in low light is not easy, its tricky and challenging, but if you know the proper ways to set your DSLR camera even if you have the most ordinary lenses you can still capture great videos with less noise. So here are some settings and samples in Filming with your DSLR in Low light.
How To: Datamosh or combine two videos to create digital art
Datamoshing is a cool new art form that takes uses digital videos to create original artistic works by combining them together using software. It takes advantage of the way that digital video is encoded to make one video appear to dance across and destroy the other video is a very psychedelic way. If you use a Mac, all you need are videos and two programs, which you can get in one .zip here. The programs are FFmpegX and Avidemux. If you have a PC, you'll need to use VirtualDub instead of FFmp...
How To: Set up the presets on your Canon 7D for filming video
Your Canon 7D camera can film in video as well as take still photographs, however, the settings will be different. To get the best picture quality possible, here is how you can set up your camera's presets when filming in live action.
How To: Build a Metal Gauntlet
Here's an in-depth video on how to make a functional gauntlet with simple hand tools. You can make it with metal like the video shows, or even just cardboard if it's for a costume. You can download the template and written instructions for this gauntlet over at my website for five bucks. Otherwise, you can just watch the video to follow along—or to inspire your own version.
How To: Use the RED ONE camera - basics
There are some essentials you need to know when shooting with the Red One camera, here we go over start/stop, SD card, AV connector board, back focus, and installing PL lens.
How To: Connect the Red Drive to the RED ONE camera
Learn the hard drive basics of the Red One camera. Mount and boot up the Red Drive.
How To: Craft the aluminum wire armiture for a stop motion monster
Remember how when you were a kid you used to make bedsheet tents and act out Godzilla scenes with your toys, pretending to put on a movie? You can totally do that for a living - though, admittedly, you're going to have to step up your puppets a notch.
How To: Make a documentary film step-by-step
In this Film & Theater video tutorial you will learn how to make a documentary film step-by-step. The various steps involved in making a documentary are defining the documentary, stylizing the genre, shooting and finally editing. A documentary is a movie that documents reality. It is based on real life situations or people. The three most sub genres are the observational documentary, the expository documentary and the participatory documentary. The different styles can be sit-down interviews ...
How To: Make the repulsor arm prop from Iron Man
Iron Man, and to a lesser extent it's sequel, represent the best of the new comic-book-movie boom and have rejuvenated the popularity of one of Marvel's most interesting characters. Do you want to make a Tony Stark costume, or dress someone you know in one for a film or party? This video will show you how to make one of the coolest and most important parts of the Iron Man ensemble: the repulsor arm ray gun.
How To: Build an inexpensive camera dolly
Looking to create slow moving and motion shots with your camera on a stable surface on a low budget? Try building your own skater dolly! In this video you will learn the entire process of building your own inexpensive dolly that will allow you to create fantastic motion shots.
How To: Make a spaceship for your very low budget film
Adam shows you how to make a spaceship for filmmakers on a low budget. You'll need a bunch of thermos bottles, paper cups, and a bunch of other stuff. Just watch, will ya?
How To: Make your very own sugar glass prop for movies
If you and your friends want to make your own movie and need some cool stunts, this next tutorial should help. In the video, you'll find out how to make your very own sugar glass from scratch. This is perfect for breaking over someone's head and can easily be done within a few hours.
How To: Install the Nikon mount on a RED ONE camera
Check out this instructional cinematography video to learn how to install the Nikon mount on a professional RED ONE camera. This is not an official method, but simply one way to do it until RED officially releases its own how to video. If you don't have steady hands, you may want to take more precautions into covering the sensor while you work. This video tutorial does an excellent job of guiding you step by step along the way to better utilize your RED ONE camera.
How To: Make a camcorder stabilizer
If shaky home videos are making your audience seasick, it's time to steady your hand. Watch this video to learn how to make a camcorder stabilizer.
News: Krampus, the Evil Face of Christmas
Meet Krampus, St. Nick's evil companion of traditional Alpine mythology. According to Wikipedia, the freaky tradition was particularly popular with the Austrian Nazi-allied fascists, circa mid-1930s:
How To: Build a "Ghostbusters" Ghost Trap Prop
What's a proton pack without a ghost trap? Useless, that's what. Don't pay megabucks for some fake Ghostbusters costume when you can build your own with household materials.
How To: Hacked Portal Gun Prop Actually Levitates a Companion Cube!
Portal, the popular game from Valve, has been critically acclaimed since its release in 2007. Its unique gameplay and humorous storyline is the reason for its popularity amongst nerds everywhere. This has also spawned a large community in cosplay and prop design. The most popular aspect of the game has to be the awesome portal gun. The gun creates companion portals on almost any surface that allow the player to jump form place to place with ease and also allows you to move heavy objects with ...
How To: Make zombies, knights armor and giant talking heads on the cheap
If you're trying to get in some last minute Halloween costume ideas, or have something that you're looking to do with one of your films involving knights armor, zombies, or giant Jim Henson style talking heads, this video from Indy Mogul might just be what you're looking for! Learn how to make all these costumes and effects on the cheap!
Rewind to 1969: Make DIY Junk Drawer Puppets With Jim Henson
Jim Henson was truly a rare magical talent. Lucky for us, the master is back in brief, for 14 minutes and 54 seconds of instruction on the art of puppet making. All you need are a few common, junk drawer items such as tennis balls, spoons, socks, cardboard tubes, or envelopes.
How To: Speak with a British accent
Interested in having a convincing British dialect? Learn how to speak with a British accent in this free entertainment video series.
How To: Make a time-lapse video with a DSLR and Intervalometer
See how to shoot a time-lapse video using a DSLR and intervalometer. This video tutorial covers everything from settings you should use to making the time-lapse video in QuickTime.
News: Bored with Your Cycle? Turn It into Your Very Own Batpod!
Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy has been one of the most successful film series of all time, so it comes as no surprise that everyone wants their own real-life versions of the Dark Knight's gadgets and vehicles.
Becoming the Dark Knight: 8 DIYers Show Us How to Build Batman's Belongings
The final chapter of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is here, The Dark Knight Rises, and if you're anything like me, it made you want to immediately don a cowl of your own and run around punching criminals. Don't forget though, one of the most awesome aspects of Batman is his never-ending supply of crazy gadgets. Unfortunately for most of us, we don't have a billion dollars, nor Morgan Freeman, so we'll just have to make do with some good old-fashioned DIY tricks. Read on for a rundown of ...
How To: Create a simple axe film prop
Check out this video from Chemical Reaction Tutorials (CRTutorials). If you love filmmaking, prop making, editing and everything else that goes along with making movies, then you'll want to see what Adam has to say about axes.
How To: Create a Dragonball Z Goku teleportation effect
Check out this video from Chemical Reaction Tutorials (CRTutorials). If you love filmmaking, prop making, editing and everything else that goes along with making movies, then you'll want to see what Adam has to say about teleportation.
How To: Create and animate a stop motion LEGO brickfilm
Create and animate a stop motion LEGO brickfilm! Yes, that's right... you can make your very own animated brickfilm, but wait... what exactly is a brickfilm? Brickfilms are animated films using LEGO, Mega Bloks, or other plastic construction building block toys. Most are stop motion, but some brickfilms are even made with CGI, traditional animation and live action.
How To: Make Lego figures fly using stop-motion animation
Stop-motion animation is somewhat out of favor in the digital age, but there will always be a demand for its timeless look. This video will teach you one important technique for making stop-motion animation out of Legos: how to make them fly. Or at least appear to by flying in your movie. It features detailed instructions on what to do in your digital photo editing software on each frame to erase the support structures you've used to elevate your Lego minifigures, leaving you with seamless im...
How To: Make your own Spider Man web shooters
Are you an enormous fan of Spider Man? So much so you wonder what it'd be like to be him and have his capabilities? In this episode of Indy Mogul's Backyard FX, learn how to make your own Spider Man usable web shooters! Use this prop for a low budget film, Halloween costume, or just for fun and take your Spider Man costume to the next level!
How To: Frame and compose a shot for film
What makes a good movie good is that it is both aesthetically pleasing and has an interesting point/plot. This video runs you through how to make it visually effective, stressing how you frame and compose a shot. While the Rule of Thirds is forever a great way to make shots interesting, there are other ways you can set up a shot.