To put it simply, a matte box is the square thing that you see on the end of movie/video cameras. They have three uses.
1. It prevents lens flare
Unless you want it in your shot, a matte box is designed to cut out lens flare. Usually, a matte box will have adjustable fins on the top and sides. This is its main purpose.
2. It holds filters
More expensive matte boxes allow you to slot filters, like neutral density filters, in front of your lens. This allows you to replace filters faster than the ones that screw directly onto your lenses. Obviously this doesn't really work well if you're using a zoom lens that extends in and out since the matte box is usually fixed to rails beneath the camera.
3. It looks pro
You put a matte box in front of your camera and it automatically looks 100% cooler. Yeah, I know this isn't a proper reason for having one but it does make a DSLR look less like a photography camera and more like a proper movie camera. Image is everything and you should do everything you can to disguise your DSLR when you take it to a video shoot.
Showing posts with label Miscellaneous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miscellaneous. Show all posts
Friday, 3 July 2015
8 ways to make money as a filmmaker or videographer
As an independent filmmaker, making money and funding your films can be a challenge. You might have to get a job that you don't like to save up or you might be lucky enough to get funding off someone. Either way, there are a number of ways you can make some cash so I wrote this guide to help you out.
1. Make videos for other people
This should be fairly obvious but you need to spend a bit of time networking and making contacts. The good thing is, once you get the ball rolling and you end up producing high quality content for people, they're likely to recommend you and soon enough, you've got your own video production business. You've got the equipment, you just need the work. Start with shooting wedding videos for family members or friends. You might not be interested in making wedding videos but you get to put into practice all you know about cinematography and editing. People spend a lot of money on weddings and they want their special day preserved forever. Plus, with many guests, weddings are a perfect place to network and make new contacts. You never know who you might meet and what opportunities they could have waiting for you. Don't restrict yourself to wedding videos either. Music videos, artists and bands are a perfect way to make money shooting video. Videos are a great way for musicians to get noticed and many are willing to hire someone to shoot a video for them. Many music videos have a narrative which means they're basically short films and provide you with an opportunity to be creative.
2. Edit videos for other people
You might be the sort of person who prefers editing to going out and shooting. If that's the case, why not offer your services as an editor? There could be people out there who shoot so much video on a regular basis that they have very little time to sit down and edit. They might be earning enough money from their shoots to allow them to hire someone else to do the editing for them. You can then spends hours in the comfort of your own home doing something creative and film related. If you're good enough, you might be hired by the same person again or even get recommended. Also, with services like Dropbox and WeTransfer, you might not even have to travel to collect footage. Your client simply uploads their raw files, you download, you edit and then you upload it for them to download.
3. Take photos for other people
While at University, the DSLR revolution happened. Loads of people (including me) bought DSLRs and lenses but used them for filmmaking and video production instead of photography. I've mentioned in the past the reasons why (interchangeable lenses, large sensor, shallow depth of field etc). The thing is, the same principles for cinematography (composition, lighting etc) can be applied to photography. Many people from my film course at university ended up taking up photography and offered their services as a photographer as well as videographer. You've got a DSLR, you can do both! From my experience, there are more opportunities for taking photographs than there are for creating videos. Shooting video then spending hours editing it can be stressful. Taking pictures and then working on them a bit in Photoshop can be easier and you might actually prefer it. It's just a suggestion but I recommend becoming a photographer if you have a DSLR and currently use it for filmmaking/videos.
4. Make videos for YouTube
Let's face it. YouTube has changed things for filmmakers. Thanks to the internet, many people have become famous and their work has more chance of getting noticed. There are plenty of YouTubers out there with hundreds of thousands and even millions of subscribers. With so many views per video, these people have started to make a living through AdSense. Unfortunately, it will be a struggle and it requires a lot of work and dedication. It might be years before you get regular money and it might never happen. Still, you only have to look at popular vloggers and their videos to become optimistic and imagine one day being in the same situation. It's all about regular content. Just create lots of original videos. If you've got the video production skills and are capable of creating high quality content but you're not getting regular work then do it! You've got nothing to lose but a lot to gain. Start with creating and uploading at least one video per week. After a few months, if you start getting more subscribers or loads of views, try increasing your uploads to two videos per week. I've seen videos with a million or so views but very few subscribers on the channel. Even if you don't get the subscribers you hoped for, you're still getting revenue for each and every view. You're only limited by your imagination. Create vlogs, short films, product reviews or even tutorials. Be inspired. Learn from successful YouTubers and see what attracts millions of viewers.
5. Hire your equipment out
If you're serious about filmmaking, you've probably got loads of equipment in storage just sitting there, collecting dust. If you're not getting regular work, what's the point of just leaving it all there? It could still earn you money even if you're not the one using it. This is also why networking is important. You might own certain pieces of equipment that one of your contacts requires for a job. If they're not prepared to buy their own, why not offer to lend it to them for a reasonable price? You're effectively earning money for doing nothing. Just be warned, you might want to start with hiring equipment out to friends and people you know. Unless you have insurance that covers the hiring out of equipment, you might end up losing money if someone breaks or loses it. However, there are companies (such as All Out Hire ) that provide a service for those who want to hire their equipment out and this includes insurance cover. If you're happy with sitting back while someone else uses your equipment then fine but chances are there'll be times when they want to hire you as well.
6. Sell your equipment
Okay, you might not want to do this but sometimes you really need to stop and think. Is the £500 lens that sits on my shelf for 90% of the year really worth keeping? Am I likely to get much more use out of it? Will the price depreciate by next year? If you're asking yourself these questions then why not sell it? You probably won't get what you paid for it but is it really worth keeping if you hardly use it? What seemed like a good investment a few years back might have been a bad decision. Sell now and get more money for it than you'll end up getting if you leave it any longer.
7. Crowdfunding
Remember earlier in this post when I talked about the power of the internet? It's not just YouTube but popular crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo exist to help people like you raise money for projects and that includes film projects. It's no guarantee but it's still worth a shot. You simply create a campaign for your project, set a target, offer incentives/rewards for each pledge and if you're lucky, you might end up raising thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pounds/dollars etc. Take the movie "Kung Fury" for example. Originally, the goal was to raise $200,000 but the Kickstarter campaign ended up raising $600,000! That's three times the target amount! Just think, that could happen to you. If you've got a great idea but very little money to make it happen, you might as well.
8. Enter competitions
Again, there's no guarantee of making money out of this but you should be constantly making films if you want to get noticed. Competitions are great for getting exposure plus there's the chance that you might win a cash prize. With the internet there's no excuse. The competition can be anywhere in the world but you can still enter it. Even if you get no money out of it, you've at least produced something original. You can then do what I suggested above and upload it to your YouTube channel.
1. Make videos for other people
This should be fairly obvious but you need to spend a bit of time networking and making contacts. The good thing is, once you get the ball rolling and you end up producing high quality content for people, they're likely to recommend you and soon enough, you've got your own video production business. You've got the equipment, you just need the work. Start with shooting wedding videos for family members or friends. You might not be interested in making wedding videos but you get to put into practice all you know about cinematography and editing. People spend a lot of money on weddings and they want their special day preserved forever. Plus, with many guests, weddings are a perfect place to network and make new contacts. You never know who you might meet and what opportunities they could have waiting for you. Don't restrict yourself to wedding videos either. Music videos, artists and bands are a perfect way to make money shooting video. Videos are a great way for musicians to get noticed and many are willing to hire someone to shoot a video for them. Many music videos have a narrative which means they're basically short films and provide you with an opportunity to be creative.
2. Edit videos for other people
You might be the sort of person who prefers editing to going out and shooting. If that's the case, why not offer your services as an editor? There could be people out there who shoot so much video on a regular basis that they have very little time to sit down and edit. They might be earning enough money from their shoots to allow them to hire someone else to do the editing for them. You can then spends hours in the comfort of your own home doing something creative and film related. If you're good enough, you might be hired by the same person again or even get recommended. Also, with services like Dropbox and WeTransfer, you might not even have to travel to collect footage. Your client simply uploads their raw files, you download, you edit and then you upload it for them to download.
3. Take photos for other people
While at University, the DSLR revolution happened. Loads of people (including me) bought DSLRs and lenses but used them for filmmaking and video production instead of photography. I've mentioned in the past the reasons why (interchangeable lenses, large sensor, shallow depth of field etc). The thing is, the same principles for cinematography (composition, lighting etc) can be applied to photography. Many people from my film course at university ended up taking up photography and offered their services as a photographer as well as videographer. You've got a DSLR, you can do both! From my experience, there are more opportunities for taking photographs than there are for creating videos. Shooting video then spending hours editing it can be stressful. Taking pictures and then working on them a bit in Photoshop can be easier and you might actually prefer it. It's just a suggestion but I recommend becoming a photographer if you have a DSLR and currently use it for filmmaking/videos.
4. Make videos for YouTube
Let's face it. YouTube has changed things for filmmakers. Thanks to the internet, many people have become famous and their work has more chance of getting noticed. There are plenty of YouTubers out there with hundreds of thousands and even millions of subscribers. With so many views per video, these people have started to make a living through AdSense. Unfortunately, it will be a struggle and it requires a lot of work and dedication. It might be years before you get regular money and it might never happen. Still, you only have to look at popular vloggers and their videos to become optimistic and imagine one day being in the same situation. It's all about regular content. Just create lots of original videos. If you've got the video production skills and are capable of creating high quality content but you're not getting regular work then do it! You've got nothing to lose but a lot to gain. Start with creating and uploading at least one video per week. After a few months, if you start getting more subscribers or loads of views, try increasing your uploads to two videos per week. I've seen videos with a million or so views but very few subscribers on the channel. Even if you don't get the subscribers you hoped for, you're still getting revenue for each and every view. You're only limited by your imagination. Create vlogs, short films, product reviews or even tutorials. Be inspired. Learn from successful YouTubers and see what attracts millions of viewers.
5. Hire your equipment out
If you're serious about filmmaking, you've probably got loads of equipment in storage just sitting there, collecting dust. If you're not getting regular work, what's the point of just leaving it all there? It could still earn you money even if you're not the one using it. This is also why networking is important. You might own certain pieces of equipment that one of your contacts requires for a job. If they're not prepared to buy their own, why not offer to lend it to them for a reasonable price? You're effectively earning money for doing nothing. Just be warned, you might want to start with hiring equipment out to friends and people you know. Unless you have insurance that covers the hiring out of equipment, you might end up losing money if someone breaks or loses it. However, there are companies (such as All Out Hire ) that provide a service for those who want to hire their equipment out and this includes insurance cover. If you're happy with sitting back while someone else uses your equipment then fine but chances are there'll be times when they want to hire you as well.
6. Sell your equipment
Okay, you might not want to do this but sometimes you really need to stop and think. Is the £500 lens that sits on my shelf for 90% of the year really worth keeping? Am I likely to get much more use out of it? Will the price depreciate by next year? If you're asking yourself these questions then why not sell it? You probably won't get what you paid for it but is it really worth keeping if you hardly use it? What seemed like a good investment a few years back might have been a bad decision. Sell now and get more money for it than you'll end up getting if you leave it any longer.
7. Crowdfunding
Remember earlier in this post when I talked about the power of the internet? It's not just YouTube but popular crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo exist to help people like you raise money for projects and that includes film projects. It's no guarantee but it's still worth a shot. You simply create a campaign for your project, set a target, offer incentives/rewards for each pledge and if you're lucky, you might end up raising thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pounds/dollars etc. Take the movie "Kung Fury" for example. Originally, the goal was to raise $200,000 but the Kickstarter campaign ended up raising $600,000! That's three times the target amount! Just think, that could happen to you. If you've got a great idea but very little money to make it happen, you might as well.
8. Enter competitions
Again, there's no guarantee of making money out of this but you should be constantly making films if you want to get noticed. Competitions are great for getting exposure plus there's the chance that you might win a cash prize. With the internet there's no excuse. The competition can be anywhere in the world but you can still enter it. Even if you get no money out of it, you've at least produced something original. You can then do what I suggested above and upload it to your YouTube channel.
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
New Phone
This post has nothing to do with film but it's sort of related. I realised 2 months ago that my humble Samsung d500 was outdated and I just could not keep up with the modern world. I needed a phone with more connection ability. So, I decided to upgrade and it was a very big jump. I had my Samsung d500 for 7 years and I noticed an advert for the Samsung Galaxy Ace smartphone in the newspaper. So, I got myself down to the phone shop and bought a Samsung Galaxy Ace on contract.
I like the phone, especially the touch screen and virtual keyboard. The best part is being able to connect to the internet easily. My previous phone could browse the internet but it was slower than dial-up and cost me a lot of credit. It's also very handy being able to connect to the internet wherever and whenever. The video camera is nothing special (not even HD) but I don't plan on using it much so that's alright. I have problems with the signal sometimes so really that's the only negative point I've got. Overall I'm happy with it (9/10). Chances are, I'll still be using this phone in another 7 years.
I like the phone, especially the touch screen and virtual keyboard. The best part is being able to connect to the internet easily. My previous phone could browse the internet but it was slower than dial-up and cost me a lot of credit. It's also very handy being able to connect to the internet wherever and whenever. The video camera is nothing special (not even HD) but I don't plan on using it much so that's alright. I have problems with the signal sometimes so really that's the only negative point I've got. Overall I'm happy with it (9/10). Chances are, I'll still be using this phone in another 7 years.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Prop guns, effects and the VCRA
Once upon a time you could freely purchase realistic replicas of firearms in the United Kingdom but since 2007 selling was restricted to certain people who qualified for exemption. Thankfully, purchase of replicas for the purpose of film making was preserved and this is what I'm going to write about today. Unfortunately, unless you happen to be a Film Production Company you'll find it very hard to purchase since merely saying "I'm going to use it in a film" isn't enough. So, you're filming the action movie of the year with your friends and suddenly you realise that your script requires an intense fire fight between two rival gangs. You all stand around scratching your heads wondering what to use as guns. Well, fear not because hopefully I can help! We'll start off with the easiest option then work our way up to the hardest.
Ask around:
You'll be surprised because thankfully the Violent Crimes Reduction Act grandfathers replicas bought before the 2007 date. Maybe someone you know owns a few and will lend them to you for the duration of your film shoot.
Make them:
Since film making was stated in the Act as an exemption you could always test your creative side and make replicas out of cardboard or wood. Print a 1:1 scale picture of a gun then use that as a template. You can probably make a few in a day and they should look okay on camera. Unless you're good at arts and craft chances are your gun wont look that realistic up close so try and be clever when you use this method. Have quick camera shots of your actor shooting and hopefully your audience wont notice it's a lump of cardboard.
CGI:
Maybe if you're a wizz at computers you can film your actors "pretending" to hold guns and then create a 3D model on the computer where the firearm should be. Chances are it'll look too fake but it might be worth a shot (sorry, bad pun).
Buy what you can:
Good news is you can still buy non-realistic replicas. These are basically the exact same size but they come in bright happy colours like green, blue and orange. You'll ask "But how can these pass as real on camera??". Well, most editing software has a colour key effect which you can apply to your video clips. Say you've got a bright orange gun and you've just shot an action scene you apply the colour key filter then select orange for removal. And depending on your software, you should be able to desaturate and adjust brightness on the orange areas so the gun then becomes black. This method might be the most cost effective way of putting prop guns into your films. Search for cheap BB guns online and you can buy accurate replicas of modern firearms in bright colours. http://www.justbbguns.co.uk/ is a good place to purchase from.
Pre-1870 designs:
Also, replicas based on a design from before 1870 (not 1970) are allowed to be purchased by anyone which is good news if your film's going to be a western.
Become an air-softer:
Alternatively, join an Airsoft skirmishing site and by running around a forest and getting dirty for a few times a year you'll qualify for VCRA exemption! This means you can purchase as many realistic replicas as you want.
Start a Film Company:
If you don't want to run around a forest and get dirty a few times a year then consider setting yourself up as a film company. This really only makes logical sense if you're serious about filmmaking (Like me). Set up a business account with your bank then visit http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ to register your company. Hire some friends as employees then fill out the necessary paperwork and so on. You might need public liability insurance though so do your research and ask around first. Once you get past the headache of setting up a business you can purchase replica guns online. I suggest buying off http://www.plugfirecapgunsuk.com/ because they stock a large range of blank firing replicas which provide extra realism on set.
(Pictures coming soon)
And now for a bit of advice. If you use anything that looks like a firearm please don't wave it around in public and ensure that everyone around you knows that it's a fake gun. Next post I make will be a tutorial showing you how to add gun effects like smoke, muzzle flashes and shell casings to enhance your action scenes.
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