Subscribe by EmailHow to Shoot Video… Now in Korean & Spanish!
How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck is now out in both Korean and Spanish versions. You can also find it in Chinese (two versions), Russian, Polish and Bahasa Indonesian. Japanese coming soon!
Topic: More Video Tips and Tricks
There are No Fish in “The Abyss”
My writing partner and I were arguing about a scene in a new screenplay. It’s a time-travel piece, and he wanted to explain all the technical steps that lead a character to have a conversation with someone from his distant past. …(Read the rest)
Toy Story: Learning to Use Video Tools
Recently I picked up a multi-rotor drone to carry my HD camera. I’m having fun flying my drone, but now my videos feel all the same: running along a straight line, go up and take a 360, fly really low almost …(Read the rest)
The Power of Story Booklet: Free Download!
Talking about “Story” scares people. That’s because screenwriting books are filled with stuff like “three act structure,” “inciting incidents,” “act 2 turns” and “petting the dog.” Let me save you some time: it’s all jargon you don’t need to know. Story …(Read the rest)
Better Call Saul: The Devil is in the Details
There is no better show on television than AMC’s Better Call Saul, from Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, ex of Breaking Bad. All four seasons are spectacular, but if you haven’t watched (or even if you have) it’s worth considering what makes it great. …(Read the rest)
How to Shoot Vacation Video that Won’t Bore People to Death
When I was a kid, the Armbrusters had a slide projector. Which meant that after every vacation they took, we’d troop dutifully to their house for endless carousels of badly-shot Kodachrome slides, narrated live. The slide show always seemed longer than …(Read the rest)
Making Your Video “Ask for the Order” Doesn’t Work
This week a post on my Linked-In feed reminded me that all good video must “ask for the order” and contain a clear “call to action.” This concept was, as far as I can tell, invented by someone in an ad …(Read the rest)
Classroom Video: Free Downloadable Lessons
Are you a teacher? Do you know a teacher? Have you ever had a teacher? If so, read on: It’s the beginning of a new school year. Which means one more year of school projects shot on video, and hours of …(Read the rest)
Tricks to Storify Your Travel Video
I shoot videos and landscapes when I travel overseas. Obviously, I cannot shoot to a script or have much of a plan, since this is an unplanned vacation. How would I construct a story from random scenes in Berlin, Warsaw, Vienna, Budapest, etc? Usually I end …(Read the rest)
Yeah, But is it Any Good? Learning from Mediocre Video
People hate going to the movies with me. It’s not because I talk or text during films, because I religiously don’t do either. It’s what happens after the lights come up. “That was good” says my wife. “I enjoyed it” says …(Read the rest)
The Curse of the Inactive Hero: Lessons from “Ant-Man and the Wasp”
A hero is who your story is about. A mute woman rescuing a monster she loves, a lawyer facing down the bigotry of his 1930s community to save a man’s life, a woman of color who wants to do math for NASA to …(Read the rest)
The True Story of How Tattoos Got Us a Digital Series on Comedy Central
Our new digital series for Comedy Central, Gnarnia went up on Youtube last week. It’s about 4 guys in a heavy metal band who live together behind a used record store in Los Angeles, who’ll do just about anything to avoid growing …(Read the rest)