There are few problems in videomaking life that cannot be solved by a suitable application of explosives.
Explosions can add drama, excitement, impact and humor to productions. A good bang can sustain or resolve suspense. And nothing makes a visual statement quite like blowing some object to smithereens.Apple Scrap
I once...
Working Towards the Perfect Fit
Making the whole greater than the sum of its parts is a fundamental aspect of videomaking.
Making the whole greater than the whole fits, too.
0ne night, after a long but pleasant day of shooting, a member of the production crew and I went out for a...
Every time you point your camera you make choices: how much of the scene to include; using a still shot or movement involving pan, flit, tracking, or zoom; angle and position; length.
These are the same decisions that occupy the minds and time of filmmakers like Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese,...
Many video viewers wouldn't recognize jump cut or bad edit if it bit them on the bottom. Everybody, however, notices bad audio. They might not know that it is, but they know that something is definitely wrong.
For this reason, videomakers should always edit with their ears before editing with...
Invite friends and relatives to see your latest home movie and count on a generous outpouring of stammered feeble excuses designed to keep them at a safe distance. If the assumed victimes are already trapped, simply threaten to bring forth your vacation video-then watch your guests scurry like...
Scenery and staging for economical videomaking, impressive results.
When we watch a TV program or film we have an impression of total reality. We seem to be there where the action is, seeing everything as it's happening. We don't give a single thought to the mechanics of the...
The director of a Very Important Shoot looks out over the location of her latest scene. She's just completed what seems to be the best take so far-and yet, something's still not right.
Should she shoot it again? The sun's setting, the clock's ticking, the budget's rising. She makes the...
Have camcorder sales increased since the film sex, lies and videotape became last season's sleeper smash hit? Or hove a significant number of video buffs been writing and taping own X-rated videos for years and keeping quiet about it?
Participating with a current partner in a favorite pastime, privately, in...
If the director is the leader of the orchestra, the cameraman is the first violinist. The director may be able to inspire his shooting crew to produce an Academy Award-winner, but he can't make "music" alone. He must rely on the cameraman, with his camera violin.
I'll be so bold...
The same story given to these master directors would be filmed in a different and quite distinctive way by each.
"Little Red Riding Hood" directed by Alfred Hitchcock would be very different from the same story directed by John Ford. (Just imagine what Steven Spielberg would do with it!)
If you're...
