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Learn to edit before you shoot to tell a better story

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If you’ve been making films or videos for any length of time, you quickly figure out how important it is to plan in advance. But for things like run & gun style documentary shooting or vlogs, that can be difficult. Even if you have a rough idea of what the day may entail, you never really know for sure until it happens. You’re often just shooting what you see, then trying to figure out how to tell the story in the edit.

But it’s still possible to think on your feet and come up with a story while you’re shooting. As Jordy Vandeput explains in this video, the trick is to figure out what’s going on, and how you want edit it to before you even hit record. Then let this edit in your head guide your shooting.

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These 10 go-to shots will save you when your mind goes blank on set

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When shooting a video, you don’t always know how it will be edited, especially when shooting a documentary. Sometimes, the action happens only once, and you don’t have too much time to think. And when you need to cover an action or a scene, it can happen that your mind can simply go blank. Does it sound familiar? Sareesh Sudhakaran from Wolfcrow shares ten go-to shots he can always rely on when his mind goes blank while shooting. These won’t only help you get the shots you need, but also help you get focused and get back on track.

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These are some methods for creating fake long takes in your movies

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Long takes in movies (whether they’re real or fake) add a feeling of tension and get us involved. In this educative video essay from Fandor, you’ll learn some of the ways how the artificial long takes are created. For all you aspiring filmmakers, this could be a helpful source of ideas. And all of you who simply enjoy watching movies – this shows the “magic” behind those long-lasting scenes that seem to be filmed in one breath.

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Did you know what parfocal and varifocal lenses are?

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Maybe you know that varifocal lenses are designed for stills and SLR cameras, and parfocal are designed for cinema and broadcast. But why would you want a parfocal zoom lens if you can use a varifocal even for the videos? What are the differences, and why does it matter anyway? This video by Vistek gives a great illustration of all this. It doesn’t only tell what the differences between the lenses are, but it gives examples that will make it much clearer to understand.

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Watch a sea lion trying to check what a cameraman tastes like

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Being a photographer or videographer is not easy, as you need to deal with all sorts of challenges and all kinds of people. But animal photographers are among those I admire most. It’s difficult to capture animals and make them do what you want. With them, you almost never know what they will do. Sometimes even the wild animals are sweet, and they come for a cuddle. And other times, they want to see what you taste like. And this is exactly what happened to this cameraman while filming sea lions under water.

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5 creative ways to use monopod and improve your videos

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Do you use a monopod? It’ definitely a useful tool for photographers and filmmakers, and it comes in handy when we can’t use a tripod. Jordy Vandeput from Cinecom gives you a few tips how to make the use of monopod creative in the videos. In his brief tutorial, you will see five ideas to maximize the use of your monopod and make it useful in different kinds of situations.

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The cheapest lighting solution for filmmakers – light, filters and barn doors for $90

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It probably goes without saying, but – professional lighting is expensive. If you are just starting out your filmmaking career, or you’re simply a hobbyist, there’s no need for spending thousands of dollars on professional light. You can do it on a budget with construction lights you can find at any Home Depot.

In this video, you’ll see some tips and tricks how to choose the construction light and put it to the best use. Also, you’ll see some great DIY tips for creating natural color of light and making your own lighting barn doors.

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How iPhone 7 Plus video compares to $50,000 RED Weapon camera

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The battle between iPhone and DSLR photography is never-ending. The iPhone advocates claim that it’s not about the equipment, it’s about the skill. On the other hand, DSLR photographers get mad at iPhone users who call themselves photographers. Although I love my Nikon DSLRs and hate the quality of the photos I make with my phone, I’m gonna have to agree with the iPhone users on this one.

This is precisely what Parker Walbeck tried to prove in his video, where he compared the footage taken with an iPhone with the one taken with a $50,000 camera. The results may surprise you.

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