Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
In their new short film series Masters, Frame.io asked the world’s master filmmakers: “Why do you do, what you do?” In the first episode of this inspiring series, award-winning director Mark Toia shares his experience that will motivate you if you ever feel you’re creating art in vain.
Toia came a long way from a steelworker to an appreciated and paid artist. A teacher once told him that art doesn’t pay… But he couldn’t have been more wrong.
Procrastination, lack of focus, distractions, too much sleep… They’re not friends of a creative person, but each of us is facing them from time to time. They make you less productive and efficient, but there are ways to beat them and raise productivity. Jakob Owens of TheBuffNerds shares seven simple, but effective tips for all you filmmakers out there to help you become more productive and get to work. And although Jakob places a focus on filmmaking, photographers will find these tips useful, too.
Vintage manual lenses can give you splendid results in both photography and filmmaking. There are some real gems among them, with exquisite sharpness or crazy bokeh. Filmmaker Brandon Li likes to use a couple of vintage lenses for his videos, and he shares four of his favorite ones and the reasons why he loves using them.
Most of the creatives have those ideas that keep stuck in their head and just won’t go away. Some of them are pretty crazy, they sound cool, but you don’t know if they would actually work. Filmmaker Max Joseph had an idea like this, and he shares how he turned it into a finished project although it didn’t seem possible.
Max wanted to use the dividers in the middle of a highway, cover them in art and film them as he drives by, so they turn into an animation. The project seemed impossible at first for many reasons. But with some brainstorming, adapting, help from friends and lots of trial and error – he did it and created an inspiring in-camera animation.
Cinemagraphs seem to be more and more popular among photographers. If you like this type of artwork, this video will be a real treat for you. Filmmaker Erick Flores Garnelo has made a short film created almost entirely of cinemagraphs. It doesn’t only demonstrate Erick’s talent and skill. It has such a special atmosphere that it will make you feel like you are somewhere else.
In the sea of Craigslist ads or eBay auctions, you need to find a way to stand out if you want to get noticed and reach a good price. This is exactly what filmmaker Max Lanman did: he filmed a full-scale commercial for his girlfriend’s 1996 Honda Accord. And he did such a good job, that he got an offer 68x times higher than the car’s actual value.
If you have decided to start making films, there is a list of items you need to have before you get started. Darious Britt shares a list of 12 things you absolutely need to get before you start shooting videos and films.
If you are transitioning from photography to video, you already have some of these items. As for the others, you might need an upgrade to your gear or buy new stuff, so you can make the recording, storage, and editing possible. Darious suggests some budget-friendly solutions, so you don’t have to save up for years to start making your first film. For us with a smaller budget, it sounds pretty encouraging.
We all make mistakes, and that’s okay – it’s one of the ways to learn and grow. However, it costs you less time, money and energy to learn from someone else’s mistakes, and Jordy Vandeput from Cinecom.net kindly lets you learn from his. He shares five biggest mistakes he made as a filmmaking beginner, so you can avoid them and be more successful in from the very beginning. What’s more, most of them are applicable to photography as well, and even to whatever you do.
Ryan Connolly of Film Riot recently gave us an example of a neat-looking video shot on a smartphone. Of course, if you’re limited only to the smartphone, it’s possible to shoot a movie, but there are certain challenges you’ll need to face.
In this video, Ryan gives you a few suggestions for improving your smartphone moviemaking with some additional accessories. They won’t only make the footage quality better, but they’ll make the shooting easier and less frustrating.
“Gear doesn’t matter.” You may agree with this statement or not, but it’s definitely the case if you have a good idea and an engaging story to tell with your photos or films. Sure, expensive gear can make the job easier, but what if you don’t have a high budget? Well, in that case – just shoot with what you have in your pockets – a smartphone.
Ryan Connolly of Film Riot gives you some guidelines how to shoot a high-quality video using nothing but your smartphone camera. He gives his own example of a very file-looking sketch he filmed with an iPhone, along with the advantages and challenges you’ll have with this approach.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
Find my work on My website or follow me on Facebook or My page
