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How to recreate the lighting setups for six scenes in Stranger Things 4

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I don’t know about you, but I find movies and TV shows a great source of inspiration. And I don’t mean the story, but the technical side of things. The blocking, the lighting, the editing, the grade, the music used and more all set the tone for what we’re viewing and it’s fascinating to try to reverse engineer and figure out not only how but why they made the decisions they did.

But here, we’re looking at lighting. And specifically, the lighting for certain scenes from Stranger Things 4. Bangkok-based photographer and filmmaker MIXXPST, along with his friend Gift Lee, decided to have a go at recreating some of the scenes from the popular show as they’re both big fans and I while they’re not pixel-perfect replicas of the originals, they illustrate some of the principles very well.

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Five simple but effective camera moves you can make with a power drill

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A power drill isn’t usually on the list when it comes to packing our camera bags to head out on a shoot, but as this video from Luke Edwin shows, a power drill can be an extremely versatile filmmaking tool! Ok, so, maybe “filmmaking tool” is a bit of an exaggeration, especially if you’re using a heavy camera like a tricked-out mirrorless rig in a cage. But they can let you get some pretty unique shots.

Luke shows off five different shots that were created with the assistance of a power tool and some DIY rigs. Some are designed for smaller cameras like action cameras, 360 cameras or specifically the teeny tiny Insta360 GO 2 (review here), but a couple of these tricks can be used with larger camera systems, too!

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SmallRig releases yet another matte box system – 5th time lucky?

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Regular as clockwork lately, SmallRig has announced yet another new Matte Box. What makes this one different from the SmallRig 3575 Mini Matte Box Lite, the 2660 Lightweight Matte Box, the 3196 Mini Matte Box or the 3680 Mini Matte Box Pro exactly? Well, this one’s modular. It’s the SmallRig 3556 Modular Matte Box, and it comes in a bunch of different kits depending on your needs.

Thread adapters are available to mount it to 67mm, 72mm, 77mm or 82mm lenses as well as the option to mount it to standard 15mm rods. This matte box also offers the ability to drop in the new SmallRig Variable ND Filter Kit that lets you adjust the strength without having to touch the filter itself – you can even motorise it!

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Five tips to get the best video results from low budget 8-bit cameras

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We all have to start somewhere and for those who wish to learn how to shoot video, that usually means some pretty low-budget (and often old) equipment. Those newcomers are often teased on social media for not having the latest and greatest gear and made to feel bad about what they own, but don’t let those types of people get to you. You can do some great stuff with some very inexpensive equipment!

Sure, the older and low-budget gear may have some limitations that more expensive or newer gear might not, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get the shot. You just maybe have to work a little harder for it. And in this video, Nigel Barros walks us through his five gotcha mistakes that often trip up new filmmakers and how to avoid them to get the best video you can from low-budget cameras.

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Filmmaker makes a hilarious commercial to sell his girlfriend’s broken phone

When you’re trying to sell your used gadgets online, you can increase your chances by adding some good photos and videos of them. But if those gadgets are broken, you’ll really need to go an extra mile to find the buyer.

Berlin-based filmmaker Simon Meyer took that extra step. In an attempt to sell his girlfriend’s broken phone, he filmed an utterly hilarious commercial that I’m sure will put a smile on your face.

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The easy way to fake a ground level FPV drone shot with a handheld 360° action camera

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With drones becoming more difficult or impossible to fly in a lot of locations around the world without expensive permits and hassle, finding ways to create drone-like shots without the use of an actual drone can be a fun challenge. We’ve seen the basic fake drone shots using a small camera and gimbal on the end of a long pole plenty of times by now, but this technique from Luke Edwin looks pretty cool.

In the video, Luke walks us through how he uses the Insta360 ONE X2 – although, the principle should work with pretty much any 360° action camera – to film and create a sequence that looks like it was shot by a nimble FPV drone. It’s a very cool effect and at first glance, very convincing!

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These are the seven rules (guidelines) to cinematic framing and composition

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Composition is always such a hotly debated topic. There are so many “rules” (and sometimes a few that conflict with each other), but unless you want to start getting yourself obsessively wrapped up in those debates, you have to think of them more as guidelines. But they’re guidelines that we often see followed to great effect in many movies, TV shows, and photographs. Do you know why? Well, it’s because they often work.

In this video, Kellan Reck walks us through seven of what he considers to be the most important rules, tips and tricks to get a good cinematic looking shot. And while the video is geared towards filmmaking, much of what is said can be applied to photography, too.

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Deity expands out of microphones with their new timecode generators and smart slate

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Deity Microphones has expanded its product lineup with a couple of interesting new devices. There’s the Deity TC-SL1 digital wireless smart slate and there’s the Deity TC-1 wireless timecode generator – available individually or in packs of three. Multiple TC-1 units can communicate and sync up with each other as well as with the TC-SL1 to help sync multiple different types of cameras.

Both the Deity TC-SL1 and TC-1 feature remote control via Bluetooth through the free smartphone app Sidus Audio. They put out all SMPTE formats and boast less than 1 frame of drift over a 24 hour period. As well as syncing over Bluetooth, there’s also 5-pin Lemo and 1/4″ TRS sockets on the TC-SL1 and 3.5mm TRS on the TC-1 that can take a timecode feed in from somewhere else or feed it out to your camera.

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10 tips for filming miniatures to make them look larger than life to the camera

Miniatures have been a part of filmmaking pretty much since filmmaking began. They’re typically used when building a full-sized set or prop would be impractical or just flat out impossible. Sometimes they’re used to create forced perspective shots to make a miniature look like it’s part of the real world or to be able to blow something up that they couldn’t blow up in real life or to create something that could just never really exist in the real world.

Whatever your reasons for using them, they’re a lot of fun and can be very effective when done right. But how do you do them right? Well, you can start by watching this video from Steve Ramsden where he goes over his top 10 filmmaking tips for filming miniatures to make them look (and act) like they’re a part of the full-sized real world.

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Edelkrone’s JibONE v2 brings improved connectivity and new features for a better user workflow

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Edelkrone has announced its successor to the Edelkrone JibONE, announced in 2020. No, it’s not the JibTWO, it’s the JibONE V2. It offers all of the features of the original. In fact, according to the specs, it’s pretty much identical. It’s the same size, the same weight, has the same mounting options, same load capacity, same camera travel, same speeds, same power inputs and power consumption, same everything.

But it does have some new features, too. It comes with better wireless connectivity with a longer range, improved power management with auto power-off, an information screen with instant feedback for the user to see what it’s doing and can be fully wired when you’re shooting somewhere with a lot of interference. And right now, there’s a $300 launch discount that makes it cheaper than the original.

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