Active Film & Theater Posts
How To: Make your own rolling camera dolly for cheap
This tutorial shows you how you can cheaply and easily construct a rolling camera dolly for less than you'd have to spend to buy it from the manufacturer - this one only costs about $120. It rolls as smoothly as a professional dolly!
News: The History of Life (On Acid)
After enjoying the sweet, yummy holiday cheer of the world's beginnings explained with cookie dough, enter Cyriak Harris' delightfully nightmarish acid trip alternative: "The abridged story of life on earth, as told through the medium of walking fingers." Previously, How Did He Do That?
News: Paper Gun Bloodbath
WonderHowTo loves paper artillery. More sophisticated in construction than Box Wars, plus tense on-camera drama to boot, Cardboard Warfare is a tight homage to the paper gun. Not completely sold on the acting, but I'm really digging the mise-en-scène. Says creator Clinton Jones, aka, pwnisher:
How To: View Golden Globe Nominee Inception Via Code
Inception may not be the lead contender for the 68th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best movies and television from 2010, but Christopher Nolan's film still collected four nominations— Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.
How To: Build the latex skin of a stop motion monster
Without teeny little clay sculptures, you'd have no stop motion movies. While you can purchase a plethora of premade monsters to star in what you believe is the next "Godzilla," you can save some hard-earned money by making these monsters yourself.
How To: Add skin and paint to a stop motion puppet
Are you a fan of those old-school animated stop-motion movies? You can make your own easily, and the best way to get started is to make some durable, bendable puppets.
How To: Pad the body of 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.
News: I AM IRON BABY
French Canadian filmmaker Patrick Boivin's Iron Man parody, featuring his own baby daughter, is absolutely impeccably done. The special effects look FANTASTIC.
News: 144 Hours of Spray Paint Explosions Compressed Into 4 Minutes
Artist Pahnl Whatnow has breathed life into spray paint with his trippy amoeba-esque animated images. Whatnow created his "Aerosol Amoeba" by dripping spray paint on acetate for a total of 144 hours, and then condensed the motion down to four minutes.
News: What Happens When You Put a High-Speed Camera on a High-Speed Train?
Remember "Bullet Time" from The Matrix? Well, you ain't seen nothing till you've seen "Bullet-Train Time"!
How To: Make a claymore land mine prop out of cardboard and papier-mache
The claymore is one of the most insidious weapons ever devised, responsibile for millions of limbs lost in the Vietnam War. This video will show you how to make a much safer prop version out of cardboard and papier-mache to use in a film that still looks quite realistic.
How To: Build a Far Cry 2 grenade launcher prop with cardboard and clay
Far Cry 2 set the bar for video game graphics when it came out, and it's grenade launcher is one of the best-looking in games. This video will teach you how to bring the grenade launcher into reality by making a replica out of cardboard and clay, perfect for a film or costume.
How To: Make day into night, normal things giant, and high falls for films
Three disparate but useful indie filmmaking techniques, one video. One stop shopping just in time for the holidays. This video will teach you how to make day into night with editing, normal things giant with filming, and make actors fall from high places without hurting themselves unduly.
How To: Use CGI in a live action film
CGI and live action shots get together in almost every big-budget Hollywood movie these days, but combining them in one shot can be challenging for the uninitiated. This video will teach you all about using CGI in live action films, including the use of 3D Studio Max, Blender, and other software to do the animation, rendering, compositing, and other digital steps to making great CGI-live action integration happen.
How to Do film preproduction: budgeting, script breakdowns, and casting calls
Pre-production is a much less complex process for an indie film than a big-budget one that needs stars and permits and such, but it's still vital to shooting a good film in a timely fashion. This video will walk you through Ryan from Film Riot's entire pre-production process, including script breakdowns, free casting calls, budgeting, getting a crew and locations.
How To: Light and key a greenscreen with either Final Cut Pro or After Effects
The greenscreen has allowed filmmakers to take us to worlds they never could have otherwise, but they can ruin a movie when used poorly. Watch this video for a guide to picking a screen, lighting it, and getting a good key for it using Final Cut Pro or After Effects.
How To: Shoot someone's head off, use a jib and dolly together, and make a light ring
Three awesome film special effects, one video. Ryan at Film Riot sure knows how to make one-stop shopping filmmaking tutorials. This video will show you how to shoot someone's head off, use a jib and dolly together to get more dynamic shots, and also how to make a great cheap light ring.
How To: Motion track, make a prop sniper scope, and dunk someone in a toilet for film
If you like to learn filmmaking techniques from internet videos fast, then you've found the holy grail right here. This video will teach you how to do four different effects, including text motion tracked to your shots, motion tracking, make a prop sniper scope, and how to dunk someone's head in a toilet. Bonus points if you can use them all in the same film.
How To: Run over an actor's head or bury them alive with special effects for film
Running over someone's head or burying them alive so that they can rise from the grave are dangerous, and not worth using in filmmaking generally speaking. But yay, there are special effects! Watch this video for a guide to running over someone's head with a car or burying them alive for your film using After Effects and some fun props.
How To: Do professional quality Voldemort from Harry Potter makeup
Voldemort, the seemingly unstoppable antagonist of the Harry Potter series played so compellingly by Ralph Fiennes in the films, is one of the best villains in the history of fantasy. If you want to scare the bejezzus out of some children this Halloween or pay homage to Harry Potter in a film, watch this video to learn how to recreate the Voldemort look without makeup and prosthetics.
How To: Build your suit of DIY Master Chief armor from Halo
Master Chief, the star of the Halo franchise before it's most recent iterations, is one of the most recognizable and beloved protagonists in gaming history, and that's without players ever actually seeing his body through his inconic and intimidating armor. If you want to dress up as Master Chief for a Halloween costume, film, or other purpose, watch this video to learn how to make your own DIY Master Chief armor for cheap.
How To: Make a fake cardboard iPod prop for a film, costume, or prank
Real iPods are as quite common, but still so expensive that there are times, especially for films and pranks, where you may want to do something to one that will break it and necessitate buying another. You can't afford that can you? This video will teach you how to make a prop iPod out of common DIY materials.
How To: Make your own cute and trendy vest without a sewing machine or pattern
This cute no sew pattern for a vest takes about an hour and a half to make. Choose a relatively heavy and durable fabric for this project, especially if you want to keep warm during the cold winter and fall season.
How To: Make yourself look like a sexy Volturi vampire
This is perfect for when you want to show your love for the Volturi vampire clan or the Twilight series! Do your makeup in a spooky, gothic style and make yourself look like a sparkly Volturi vampire. Don't forget the accessories!
How To: Light your movie with inexpensive lighting alternatives
If you're trying to film on a budget, this tutorial is perfect for you. Instead of spending money on expensive professional lighting equipment, you can use these inexpensive alternatives (like using tin foil as a reflector or a shower curtain as a diffuser).
How To: Avoid common mistakes when working with a green screen
Some film makers fall into a few pitfalls when working with a green screen. This video lists a few common problems, such as having your talent wear costumes in similar color keys or using uneven lighting, and how to avoid them completely.
How To: Build a cyclorama wall out of concrete and drywall
A cyclorama wall will have a seamless connection between the all the various pieces of the wall, including where it meets the floor. This tutorial shows you how to build your own cyclorama wall using concrete, drywall and white paint.
How To: Incorporate Google SketchUp into your indie movie planning
Google SketchUp is a free 3-D drafting program that can be quite useful for film makers. Use Google SketchUp to create models of your sets so you can pick the absolute best angles when shooting the scenes for your next film.
How To: Make your own replica of the wands from the Harry Potter movies
Make a wand that looks like it just came straight from Olivander's shop - or, at least, directly off the set of the Harry Potter movies! This tutorial shows you how to make your own light up Harry Potter style wand.
How To: Make a camera mount on your car for under ten dollars
Not only does this camera mount take less than five minutes to make, you can do it for less than ten dollars. Mount a camera to your car for greater versatility in how and what you film for your next project!
How To: Make a functional alien egg and a ceiling mounted radial dolly
This one is a twofer! The first part of the tutorial shows you how to make a fully functional alien egg out of papier mache and carpet foam. The second tutorial shows you how to make a ceiling mounted radial dolly.
How To: Install and set up the Birger Mount for the RED ONE
DreamWelder Productions presents this video tutorial from their show Info Tech, hosted by Jay A. Kelley. They take an exciting new look into new equipment for the film and television industry, showing you the best gear for your movies and shows.
How To: Build a DIY reverse flow coffin fog chiller for Halloween or a film
Spooky fog-emitting items like coffins and cauldrons are iconic parts of many haunted houses, but are terribly expensive to buy premade. If you're got some DIY know-how, watch this video for a guide to building a coffin fog chiller for your fog machine yourself for a Halloween display, horror film effect, or just because you like foggy coffins. This thing is a BEAST, it will cover your whole lawn if fog by itself.
How To: Make DIY fog fluid for a fog machine
If you are an avid party-thrower, moviemaker, or are involved in some other activity that involved you frequently using fog machines, you're probably sick of paying for the fluid to make them work. No more! Watch this video for a guide to making your own cheap DIY fog machine juice / fluid at home.
News: World's Tiniest Film Shot with a 50x Cell Phone Microscope
Shot with a Nokia N8 cell phone equipped with a 50x CellScope microscope, Dot is the world’s smallest stop motion animated film. Created by the makers of the Wallace & Gromit series, the figures were made with a 3D printer, each hand-painted with the aid of a microscope. Watch as the heroine hops from scene to scene, Mario style: Via PopSci:
News: Steamy Make Out Sessions in Clay (& More Disturbing Delights)
If you're not familiar with the animations of Jan Švankmajer, you're in for quite a trip. The Czech artist and filmmaker is known for his metaphorical, captivatingly surreal stop-motion and claymation films, and is God to many (including talents such as Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam and the Brothers Quay).
HowTo: Make a DSLR Helmet Cam
Modernhuman of WonderHowTo's Canon EOS 7D World posts a simple HowTo for making your own DSLR Helmet Cam for approximately $150 in parts:
How To: Freak out your family this Thanksgiving with a chest burst SFX
Have a tendency to eat so much at Thanksgiving dinner that you worry you might burst? Using the same SFX for the chest-bursting alien in the movie Alien, you can create that exact, stomach popping effect! Freak out your family this holiday season!
How To: Create anaglyph 3D with two cameras and After Effects
Ben Slotover and Paul Elliott, aka Blunt Productions, shows how to make your own cheap 3D film. You'll need a straight flash bracket, two camera mounting screws, and of course - two cameras. Then use Adobe After Effects to merge the two videos together so you can get out those 3D glasses and enjoy.
How To: Direct actors to their best performances as a director
Directing an actor in such a way that they can deliver the best performance possible is the most important work of the stage and screen director. If you're just getting started and need some tips, watch this video for some basic rules to follow on coaching actors.