Stereo 3D Video Production with GoPro

Whether you love it or hate it, 3D Stereography is here for awhile. And if you’re totally into it like I am, you quickly realize that there are few turnkey workflows out there to capture and process 3D Stereo video that’s easy to setup, shoot and edit Stereo pairs. Sure, there are a lot of high-end (expensive to rent) systems for two cameras to shoot, software to sync/mux the footage and rigs you can build to edit it, but GoPro has brought it together with a fun and easy-to-use system that anyone can use.

Basic Lighting Setups for Green Screen

There’s more to lighting your green screen than just sticking some green fabric up on a wall behind your talent and hoping for the best! Planning ahead and choosing the right setup for the shot you’re hoping to get is a key factor in determining what kind of lighting setup you’re going to require. Will it be in a studio? On-location? Indoors or outdoors? Full-length with walk-ons or just a talking head? Will your actors be making contact with the screen? These are all questions covered in this video lesson from my Green Screen Workshop series - this is a FREE video lesson, so enjoy!

Book Review: “The DSLR Filmmaker’s Handbook: Real-World Production Techniques”

There’s little more popular these days than being a budding Indie filmmaker slinging a 5D MkII over your shoulder and firing off hours of footage that you can then spend months editing to make your masterpiece come alive! The biggest problem is that MOST folks entering this endeavor are totally clueless about the process or where to even start - thus making every mistake in the book in the process. The DSLR Filmmaker’s Handbook: Real World Production Techniques (Sybex ISBN 978-0-470-87660-2) aims to help you get started with not only the basics of using the gear, but also the film-making production process in a visual overview - PLUS some very cool tips & tricks.

Green Screen Lighting on the Cheap!

Before you go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a cheap light kit online or through a catalog, consider the option of making your own portable, durable and ultimately flexible low-voltage lighting kits. You’ll not only have more control over how much light you want to put on your background and your subject, but also how much you want to spend!

Slo-Mo with the GoPro HD Hero2

By now we’ve seen hundreds of really amazing videos with a GoPro strapped to someone’s helmet, snowboard, jumpsuit, surfboard or bike - but I wanted to explore the capabilities of the GoPro HD Hero2 shooting at 120fps in a stationary and tabletop setting and let the action happen around it… in Slo Mo!

Choosing the Right Green Screen Materials

Okay, you’ve seen the green screen “Kits” that come with some cheap lights, stands and a green screen cloth backdrop… or someone tells you to just go down to Home Depot and get a couple gallons of their “greenest” paint - a couple hundred bucks and you’re good to go, right? WRONG! A setup like that will be of little use if you’re seriously trying to get a decent matte. Without the right green screen materials, even the best lighting and camera won’t help you.

The entire green screen process is a careful balance of color & light - a very narrow spectrum of colored light that reflects back through the lens and is easily matted (or “keyed”) out with sophisticated software.

The GoPro HD Hero2: A Real-World Wide-Angle View

Anticipation…

Last weekend I had a great time taking the new GoPro HD Hero2 for a spin and running it through its paces. This compact sports camera may be small in features but it is certainly HUGE on fun and opens your mind to a multitude of creative ways it can be used. Note that I’ve not used the original HD Hero and I have nothing to compare this experience to, other than what I’ve read and heard from colleagues about their joys and frustrations in the past. But what I can share with you is my experience with the new HD Hero2 - from the excitement of opening up the box to the enjoyment of washing off the mud.

(If you’re looking for the technical specs and my overview of pros/cons, then please see the last page of this review)

An Illuminating Discussion

It started as a simple-enough email question from writer Kevin P. McAuliffe to the rest of the PVC crew:

I’m looking for a good, low cost basic lighting kit.  3 lights (Key, Fill and Back), stands, etc.  I have no idea who would be considered “good”, as “For God sakes Jim, I’m an editor, not a lighting director!”

What followed was a flood of very useful advice on lighting equipment - as well as its applications, from outdoor shots to greenscreen. Rather than keep the replies private, we decided to share the wealth with our PVC readers. (Note: We’ve added replies from Steve Hullfish, Alex Lindsay, and Art Adams since this article was first posted.)

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