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The Matte Box IQ is Irix’s take on a lightweight matte box that uses their magnetic filters

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Irix has expanded its product base from just lenses once again. After having already branched out into filters, they’ve now announced the new Irix Matte Box IQ. It’s a small, lightweight matte box designed for filmmakers and video shooters to help control light spill on their lenses. It does have one slight drawback for many filmmakers, though, which might be a deal breaker. It’s only designed to work with Irix’s magnetic filters.

If you’re already an Irix shooter and already own a bunch of Irix’s magnetic filters, then this won’t be a problem. But if you’ve been using industry-standard 4×5.65″ glass filters for video work with other matte boxes, then this one probably won’t be for you. At least, not all the time. It still has some great applications as a secondary matte box for a smaller, portable, lightweight camera rig.

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10 easy ways to make better video footage that won’t cost you anything

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I’m primarily a stills photographer, however, when DSLRs started to get decent video capabilities I started to enjoy dabbling in shooting video. I thought it would be easy, just apply the same principles as photography. I was in for a shock. Turns out, shooting and making compelling videos is a whole different ball game than shooting stills.

In this excellent video from Adorama, filmmaker Aidin Robbins shares his top 10 tips to quickly turn your films from ‘meh’ to ‘yeah’.

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How to collaborate with brands to create your own filmmaking and photography project ideas

As a creative, more specifically as a Photographer/Film Maker, we tend to get gigs all over the city. From big Production to small, low-budget clients, our commute can be taxing, especially with increased gas prices. Electric cars are surfacing, from trucks and sedans to SUVs; you’ll pretty much see electric vehicles at every corner. This is why I purchased a Tesla Model Y; it’s efficient and roomy for all the gears and equipment I own.

The colour options Tesla provides are minimal. Since Green is my favourite colour, I had to figure out how can I acquire this colour. I have two options: get the car professionally painted or have the vehicle wrapped. So this is when my creativity started to develop a concept. We have seen many sports cars getting covered in a specific colour, and most of them have been eye catchy, so we decided to call them wrapped instead.

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Final Destination movie directors fake their own death in bid to win job

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They say that video job interviews are becoming harder and harder to nail these days, but when you have to resort to faking your own death to secure a job perhaps things are going a bit far. But that’s exactly what the directors of the latest instalment of the Final Destination movie franchise ended up doing in order to convince producers they were the people for the job.

Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, are probably best known for their 2018 sci-fi thriller Freaks. It’s been revealed that they have been chosen to direct Final Destination 6, the long-time-coming relaunch of the New Line’s horror franchise. But they certainly went to great lengths to prove their worth in the video pitch.

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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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