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Original raw Star Wars footage highlights the impact of good sound design – Also, Han totally shot first

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We’ve posted before about the massive amount of work that went into the creation of Star Wars and how the movie was basically saved from disaster in the edit. And there has been plenty of content made over the years covering how some of the crazy sound effects in the Star Wars universe were created, like the iconic light sabre.

One thing not often shown, though, is how scenes compare with their original sound vs the final production sound – well, except for Darth Vader voiced by David Prowse’s before James Earl Jones was dubbed on top. Here, though, we see the original dailies from the Cantina bar scene from Star Wars: A New Hope, and you really realise just how much difference sound design makes.

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YouTube finally appears to be helping small content creators with new “Explore” feature

Getting started on YouTube these days is a struggle for most people. There are so many new YouTubers putting out a lot of really great content that just never gets seen by any significant amount of people. And it’s not really their fault. YouTube doesn’t make it easy for new YouTubers to figure out how to get their content seen, and its algorithm typically favours those who already have a huge audience.

But that looks like it might be about to change as YouTube starts to roll out the “Explore” feature. It was originally released as a test to just 1% of iOS users last July, but now TechCrunch reports that it’s being pushed out to more users across iOS and Android device, and even to the desktop.

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Artlist plans to reinvent the stock footage game with new Artgrid service offering up to 8K RAW video

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When you can’t shoot it yourself, finding footage to add a little something to your video can be difficult or expensive. Popular royalty-free music subscription service, Artlist, is looking to change that, though. They want to apply the same model they use for their music to stock video footage with their new service launching in Spring, Artgrid.

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This dog films skateboarders better than I ever will

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If there’s one thing I know about skateboarders, it’s that they’ll go to great lengths to film themselves pulling off tricks. But finding a camera operator to follow you around all the time isn’t easy. At least, not for most people.

For London based illustrator, designer and skateboarder, Rob Mathieson, the solution is simple. Strap a camera to his Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Ladies and gentleman, meet Fatman the Dog, camera op extraordinaire. And it’s one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen.

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The Obsbot Tail uses an AI powered camera to produce perfect selfie videos

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The concept of a camera that can follow a subject all by itself isn’t a new idea. Well, I say all by “itself”, the camera was usually paired with some kind of “homing device” on the wearer to tell the camera in which direction to point. But the Obsbot Tail needs no homing device. It uses AI tracking to follow a subject automatically, even if visual line of sight is broken.

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Five tips for making green screen shots more realistic

Green screen shots can look stunning, or they can be hilariously bad. I’m sure you want to create the former ones, and Ryan Connolly of Film Riot will help you with that. In this video, he shares five essential tips that will make green screen shots more realistic and believable.

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Sony’s XEVC 12-bit 8K RAW video codec may be coming to the A7SIII

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After a recent leak over new 8K full frame Sony sensors, as well as the spec sheet for one of them, now we’re seeing information about Sony’s new “XEVC” codec, which offers 8K 12-Bit RAW 24fps video at up to 240Mbps and 1080p 10-Bit video up to 240 frames per second.

Leaked through both Sony Alpha Rumors and EOSHD, the XEVC codec seems to be based around H.265 (HEVC) Version 2. It supports Bayer RAW encoding, 8K and 4K resolution at bitrates low enough for even today’s current SD cards. You might not even need UHS-II.

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This surreal video turns Iceland into another dimension

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When I look at photos and videos of Iceland, they often remind me of another planet. In his short film Anomaly, German filmmaker Jacco Kliesch made Iceland look like another dimension. While this beautiful country sure looks incredible in photos and videos, this video brought it to a whole new level.

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Here are four ideas to make your gimbal shots more creative

If you’re using your DSLR or smartphone to shoot videos, you probably use a gimbal for all kinds of shots. In this video, COOPH gives you four fun ideas for using the gimbal in your videos. They will add creativity to your shots and help you tell the story better.

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