Hot Film & Theater Posts
How To: Make things disappear in a video
A short video on how to make things disappear by using a simple editing trick.
How To: Make your own custom fit vampire fangs at home
You can make your own vampire fangs at home! Or any type of creature fang, really. You'll need to make a mold of your teeth first, which you can do easily by biting into non-toxic clay. Then you can use craft acrylic to mold the fangs to fit your teeth.
How To: Build a camera jib crane
In this DIY video, we show you how we built our camera crane. This was all done with a table saw, drill and hack saw.
How To: Make eyes for clay animation puppets
This tutorial teaches you how to modify delrin balls using a pin vice and 1mm drill bits. The end result is a really nice set of eyes that you can insert in your clay puppet for animation.
How To: Make a fake pregnancy belly prop on a budget
If you're a filmmaker on a budget and you've got some farce up your sleeve, this video is for you. Watch Indy Mogul's Backyard FX explain how to build a really realistic looking latex pregnancy belly, so that your romantic comedy can grow!
How To: Make a fake cast
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a fake cast. You will need: thin cardboard, old sock, duct tape, white toilet paper, and paint. First, place the sock over your arm and then cut two holes on the front of the hand and the thumb. Then duct tape the cardboard around your hand and arm and fold the bottom of the sock on. Now make paste on the cardboard and start to layer on the toilet paper to the paste and cardboard. Next, use scissors to make a cut in the cast. Then make paste on the edges...
How To: Make a dramatic spotlight from a household lamp
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to make a guerilla spotlight using household items. Users will simply need a cardboard cylinder and a light source. Te materials used in this video were a toilet paper roll, piece of aluminum, gaff tape and a lamp. Begin by cutting a couple of 90 degrees slots in the middle of the foil, slide in the tube ad secure it with tape. It should be a bit longer than the tube. Now wrap it around the light source. This video will benefit those viewers who produ...
Make edible prop bodily fluids: poop, vomit, snot, and blood
The human body is full of different kinds of fluids, most of which are either gross or dangerous to remove from a person for use in one of your films. Fortunately, most of them are pretty easy to replicate using household materials. This video will show you how to make edible prop fake blood, feces, vomit, and snot. They all look great, are safe, and will make you movie much more realistic.
How To: Make a sailor fuku, school uniform for cosplaying
Watch this step by step costume making tutorial to learn how to make a cool Japanese sailor styled school uniform. This video is suitable for numerous characters like Sailormoon, Suzumiya Haruhi, Azumanga, and more. This how to video is great for costume designers, cosplayers, and anime enthusiats.
How To: Create a spring loaded hidden arm blade from Assassin's Creed for your movie
Sure you can go and make something cheap and unauthentic with a cardboard blade, or, you can REALLY live your dream of being Ezio, or Altair, by checking out this awesome video from IndyMogul on how to make a spring loaded hidden arm blade that will ALL of your friends squealing in jealousy!
How To: Shoot and edit a cool dance effect
Adam from Chemical Reaction wants to show you a little movie magic. This video tutorial will show you how to shoot and edit a cool dance effect for your homemade film. You will see how to position the camera, set up the scene, shoot it twice (once with your legs dancing and once with you standing still), and then edit it in your favorite editing program to make it look like you're dancing without the top half of your body moving.
How To: Change Your Voice from Male to Female
This sequence of instructional videos provides a near comprehensive lesson on how you can change your voice from that of a male to that of a female. This video series is aimed at aiding transgender individuals, but is also useful for people who want to learn to do really great voice exercises and impersonations.
How To: Make the quick-draw sleeve gun from "Taxi Driver"
This video tutorial from IndyMogul shows you how to make the quick-draw sleeve gun from "Taxi Driver".
How To: Make cheap lighting & barn doors
Check out this instructional lighting video that explains how to make cheap barn doors for your lights. For this project, you will need a total of 4 hinges, 12 nuts and bults, a screwdriver, cardboard, scissors, and a lighting fixture. This is a simple guerrilla filmmaking tutorial on how to design your own barn doors. A great addition to any low-budget filmmaker's lighting kit.
How To: Create a realistic looking cinema style head shot
In this video, we learn how to create a realistic looking cinema style head shot. First, you will need a cheap toy gun, colored wax, and fake blood to create this. Now, you will need to get some footage of the shooter shooting the gun and flinging fake blood in the persons fake as they shoot. Then, take shots of the other person being taken back by the bullet coming at them. After you get several of these shots, apply the makeup to create a fake gun shot and then mesh all of these together to...
How To: Create a DIY Studio Light Equivalent to 800 Watts at 5000k
This video is going to teach you how to create a DIY studio light that is the equivalent to 800 watts at 5000k
How To: Get the best lighting on your videos with a ring light
Lighting is everything when it comes to creating a good solid video/film. You will see a great example of a ringlight made of 12 lightbulbs arranged in a perfect circle with a cut-out to allow your camera to be in the middle to capture the best light. You will get an idea of just what materials you will need to create your own ring light.
How To: Become Heath's Ledger's Joker with makeup and latex
And... here… we... go! This Halloween you'll be the Joker, the wry character Heath Ledger revitalized in the film "Dark Knight," but how? This video tutorial will teach you all of the little tricks to becoming Heath Ledger's Joker with simple makeup.
How To: Make cheap moving dragon wings controlled by the body
Check out this video tutorial on how to make cheap dragon wings, controlled by body posture. You can do this project for $18 if you use plastic garbage bags and Scotch tape for the membranes. You'll see how to make very light and strong costume wings. How strong? That strong.
How To: Sound Like a Biological Woman When Speaking
In this tutorial, we learn how to sound like a biological woman while speaking. There are many different techniques to help you speak like a woman, including going into falsetto. This isn't about getting the sound, it's about learning how to not speak with resonance. You want to focus your voice up in your throat instead of deep down. You probably haven't used the muscles for this voice, so using falsetto is a great way to practice. You may be able to speak a few minutes and feel yourself fal...
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: Build a replica .30 Caliber Machine Gun prop for sixty dollars
Here's a great Indy Mogul Backyard FX video that will show you how to build a replica of a .30 Caliber Machine Gun, perfect for your war movie. If you need a mounted machine gun prop for the big battle scene in your backyard Saving Private Ryan, watch this clip.
How To: Make a Japanese gi costume for cosplay
Anime and manga are your life, and so is cosplay, so why not watch this video tutorial? This is a step-by-step guide on how to make a Japanese gi top, suitable for characters like Bleach, Kenshin, Inu Yasha, Shinsengumi and many more! You can even use this for your judo and other martial arts. This costume will be the best of the best for cosplay, because it's not only fun, it's art.
How To: Make yourself look very old using basic makeup
In this tutorial, learn how to age yourself for any film or theatre project. This method of aging requires just a few simple makeup products that are cheap and easy to buy, if you don't already own them.
How To: Make an easy, cheap green screen with no posterboard
In this video you learn how to make your own green screen for less than $15 in under an hour. The material for the screen is a green felt-like fabric that can be easily found at a local fabric store or Wal-Mart. The fabric itself is just over 1 yard in width and you will need to buy 2 sheets 3 yards in length for a total of 6 yards at a price of about $2.00 per yard. You will also need a way to join the sheets together. For this, the video recommends a tube of Heat'n'Bond fabric joiner which ...
How To: Film realistic, bloody gun shots
In this tutorial, we learn how to film realistic and bloody gun shots. You will first need to gather up all the materials you need to make this happen. Once you have everything ready, set it all into place. Make sure you have the fake blood placed in the shirt where the person is pointing the gun, and also make sure you have a good actor. After this, use a firecracker to make the sound of a gunshot. As soon as this goes off and the person pulls the fake trigger, have the other person push on ...
How To: Style a synthetic fiber wig with boiling water
One of the drawbacks of synthetic, as opposed to human hair, wigs is that they can be difficult to style. Fortunately, while hair irons may be a no-go for styling synthetic wigs, you can get great results by submerging your wig in a container of boiling water.
How To: Make a Gory Cut-Off Leg Special Effect
Whether it's Halloween or your next gory, homemade horror flick, this cut off leg effect is perfect to scare the crap out of your audience. With cardboard and some poster board, along with a few other household items, this fake cut-off leg is sure to make a scene.
How To: Make Naruto shoes for cosplay
See how easy it is to make your very own Naruto shoes for cosplay! They're cheap, easy to make, and fun! Anime and manga, all the way!
How To: Create fake blood effects
In this tutorial, we learn how to create fake blood effects. The easiest blood formula is to use soap and red food coloring, nothing else. It's the easiest blood to make and looks more realistic than anything else. You can also make blood out of different things if you want to make a more expensive version. Make sure you always add in red food coloring and make it dark to match the color of real blood. The liquid should flow so it looks like real blood. To create blood splatter, you will take...
How To: Make a simple wire armature for a stop motion puppet
Watch this great stop motion animation tutorial to learn how to make a wire armature for a stop motion puppet. Also, learn some tips on adding clay to the armature and animating the puppet.
How To: Make fake heads
To make fake heads you will need Styrofoam head, flesh color spay paint, make-up kit, a wig, glasses, mustaches, fake blood and liquid latex.
How To: Make a dramatic film
This tutorial covers some of the basics of dramatic filmmaking. A drama is a film that is character-driven, using the characters' emotional responses to situations to move the story along. Epic and historical dramas put their characters in historical events. Crime dramas are set within the rules and boundaries of reality, but do not have to be linked with any historical event. These films utilize suspense and action to push the characters through the story. Biopics are motion picture biograph...
How To: Create a ground explosion SFX for your film on a tight budget
Just because you don't have money to blow doesn't mean you can't blow things up. If you're looking to add a Michael Bay quality explosion to your backyard film project, check out this Indy Mogul Backyard FX video. The total cost of everything you need to make this special effect is less than one hundred dollars.
How To: Create an impaled chest effect for your Halloween costume or indie film
For the director on the cheap looking to make a good ol' fashioned zombie horror flick, or any other sort of flick that involves showcasing your characters with large pipes and more impaled through their chests, you may be scratching your head how to create the effect. It's actually easier than you think! All you will need is some pipes, basic tools and some time! In this awesome video you will get a full walkthrough on how to create the effect on a $40 budget!
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.
How To: Keep armature puppet standing without a tiedown
Armatures basically stand up on their own, but while animating, the balance might become uneven and precarious. An easy way to keep the puppet standing is to give the armature large feet. Watch this video animation tutorial and learn how to build an armature puppet that will stay down during the stop motion animation without using a tiedown.
How To: Make an armature out of clay and foil for stopmotion
This video demonstration series shows the process of creating an armature for stop motion animation, claymation specifically, out of aluminum foil and polymer clay. Armatures need to be flexible to withstand the positioning and repositioning required to make stop motion animation, but still secure enough so that the material won't break. For this reason, a tin foil skeleton provides a sound structure to the clay armature. Watch this video animation tutorial and learn how to sculpt an armature...
How To: Build a 3D camera rig for recording and shooting 3D videos and films
This guide goes over the basics of 3D video recording and the mechanics behind it before delving into something a little more specific. The host discusses how to build a rig that allows for adjustments to be easily made to the interaxial distance and convergence of the two cameras.
How To: Make eyes for clay animation puppets
In this tutorial, we learn how to make eyes for clay animation puppets. First, drill a hole inside of a block of wood, then insert a bull so it fits snug inside of the hole. After you have done this, use a drill to make a hole that goes half way down through the pupil. Now, use paint to fill in the hole where the pupil would be at. Push the balls into clay to hold them in place while painting. Make sure the dots you have on both eyes are even. When finished, paint a black circle around them, ...