Posts in Filming
What Frame Rate & Shutter Speed to Shoot Videos At (DVG 004)

If you shoot a video in an automatic mode, like Aperture priority, you can get some fairly unnatural looking video. 

It won't look smooth. Movement will look jittery and jumpy. And when your videos don't look like real life, the viewer will be distracted from the message you're trying to deliver. 

That's why you'll want to shoot in manual mode to pick the proper shutter speed and frame rate to get the best looking video possible.

In this episode I discuss what to set those at and how they effect what your video looks like. 

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Blame Good Taste (Why Artists Don't Make Enough)

You see it everywhere. You look at it and cringe. Your friends just don't understand.

  • "Can you believe they used Papyrus for the font on that logo?"
  • "Who could drink that cheap beer? It's gross."
  • "You put sugar in your coffee?"
  • "Really? Who wears socks with sandals?"

Taste. Some people have it and some people don't.

In this post I'll discuss what you should do about what you make when it doesn't live up to your tastes, what my taste has hindered me from accomplishing, and what to do if you don't have good taste and want to develop it.

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Which Camera Lens Should I Buy?

One of the most common gear questions I get from people is: "What camera should I buy?" Honestly, this is the wrong question to ask.

What usually matters more than the camera is the lens that you attach to it.

A great lens can increase the quality of the image, create a nice blurred "bokeh" background effect, and completely change the mood of a given video or picture if used differently.

In this post I'm going to help you answer:

  • Should I get a zoom or fixed lens?
  • Which focal length should I get?
  • How low of an aperture do I need?
  • How much I should spend?
  • What specific DLSR lens should I buy?
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Shoot Better Videos of Yourself (#NMX Talk)

About a month ago I had the pleasure of speaking and leading a 75-minute workshop at New Media Expo in Las Vegas all about DIY video.

In it I had on hand a bunch of the actual gear I use to shoot videos and cover proper lighting, recording great audio, where to frame yourself in camera, how to deliver a written script without a teleprompter, how to get a "blurred background", and more.

Watch the full video here.

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How to Record HD Skype Calls & Interviews

(Above is one of the 15 video tutorials & case studies from my upcoming book: DIY Video Guide. If you can't see it, watch it on YouTube.)

Doing interviews over Skype seems like all the rage these days. It can be an incredibly easy to use tool when all you need is audio, but getting good video out of Skype can be a pain in the rear.

In this video I walkthrough how to record high quality Skype calls and interviews.

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