Posts categorized ‘Resources’
May 21 09
Link Dump: More Articles & Case Studies
This week I’ve got a few goodies to put out there, including a few case studies I’ve found and been saving up, some insightful articles about internet-based distribution, and a few odds and ends, as always. So, without any more ado, here we go…
May 14 09
Link Dump: Web Shows & Eclectic
Yes, my link dumps are almost all eclectic, but there’s more than just web show type stuff in this one, but nothing I could categorize under one name that fit it all nicely. Anyway… it’s a pretty light dump this week, but there’s some good stuff in here, I promise. I’ll dispense with the usual sell-you-on-my-post type stuff this time and simply get to it…
May 07 09
Link Dump: Articles & Thoughts
This week’s link dump post is a bit more article-based, with little to no free stuff or tutorials in the mix. I know, a more heady load, but it’s good for ya! Get those gears workin’ and thinkin’ and maybe something sweet-ass and original will come out of ‘em. Anyway, it’s basically a roundup from the usual sources, a few announcements, some cool case studies, and some food for thought for those of you of the filmmaking persuasion but not in the ‘I-need-to-know-this-effect-now’ category, go ahead and read past the jump. You other lot, check back at a few previous posts an’ git yer learnin’ there. Otherwise, on we go…
Apr 30 09
Link Dump: Eclectic Edition
Well, here’s the finale in those “tons-of-stuff” brags I’ve been making the last few posts. There’s a bit of a mix in here, but mostly the usual categories of free stuff and tutorials, with a few random ones thrown in at the end just for the sake of it. Enjoy, and see you next week!
Gimme the goodies…
Apr 23 09
Link Dump: Tutorial Edition
As promised, here’s a pretty mondo list of tutorial and resource sites for your educational pleasure. I’ve organized the list, just like last week’s, into what made the most sense at the time. If you’ve got additions, suggestions, objections, or anything else, definitely feel free to comment on the post and let me know about more knowledge available for free on the ‘net. Yess…knowledge….
Apr 16 09
Link Dump: Free Stuff Edition
First off, welcome to the new blog! Yes, I know it’s awesome. I’m proud to say it’s my whole site collection hosted on one domain, inter-linked, organized and consolidated. Awesome. So now…on to the link dump.
I’ve got a massve…and I mean massive collection of links ready for ya. So massive, in fact, that I’m breaking it up into a multi-part series, because frankly, opening tons of links at once won’t be fun for you, and copying and pasting and reviewing what all of them are won’t be so fun for me. Not all at once, anyway. So next week, Link Dump: Tutorial Edition. But let’s get started with part 1.
Oct 25 08
Link Dump: Eclectic
Alright, here’s a pretty scattered entry, and I’m sorry for it being late, but I’ve gotten home at midnight the last 2-3 nights in a row and haven’t been in much of a mood for more than sleep by that time, so here’s the entry, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Gimme the goodies…
Oct 16 08
Link DUMP #2
Alright guys…another pretty massive list of links for your researching and learning pleasure. That being said…I’ll get started. Gimme the goodies…
Oct 10 08
Link DUMP
Alrighty…sorry for the late post, but I think I’ll make up for it this time. I’ve got a whopper of a list tonight…tons of stuff I’ve been discovering over the past two weeks. So I’m not going to intro…here they are: Gimme the goodies…
Oct 02 08
Link Dump: Tracking
Alrighty…firstly, sorry for the no-Showcase-Sunday, it was a really late and full weekend of getting work done for presenting our final reel project idea to our teachers, so there was no time and no energy left by Sunday night…and really not much more at the moment. But, I have collected quite a few links this time, so hopefully it makes up for it. Here we go… Gimme the goodies…
Sep 25 08
Link Dump: Rigs
Alright, well I haven’t collected any links that are new to me, but I started digging through my collection I’ve amassed over the years doing research for the project, and came across a few things that will be helpful. We’re not actually building rigs for the shoot, but it was a thought in the beginning, so naturally I got excited about it. So, here’s what I’ve got to offer right now, feel free to leave additions and whatnot in the comments. Gimme the goodies…
Sep 18 08
Link Dump: Eclectic
Well this one’s another brief and rather scattered one, we’re entering the planning and scheduling of the project now, so I’m thinking about how we’re going to do the practical, on-set effects or complicated shots we’re going to need to pull off. And since I spent my high school years researching that kind of thing, I’m excited that I finally have a use for all that amassed knowledge and inspiration. So, here goes the short list… Gimme the goodies…
Sep 11 08
Link Dump: Storyboarding
Well this one’s going to be very quick, as it’s been the most busy and hectic and honestly frustrating week so far at school and I am exhausted to the point of brain-no-function. So here it goes… Gimme the goodies…
Sep 03 08
Link Dump: Screenwriting
Alright, well, regrettably, this one’s going to be really short. I haven’t actually amassed many links this past week. Somehow I just didn’t look around I guess. I also was catching up on some things I’d posted a while back and still hadn’t gotten around to reading. Nonetheless, I’m posting now, so enjoy what I did find and take advantage of the resources I can provide. This week’s topic is screenwriting. Gimme the goodies…
Aug 28 08
Link Dump: Keying
Alright, this one’s going to be really quick because it’s 11:30 in a series of late nights and early mornings and I’m trying to beat the pre-sleep hunger and save it for morning. So, here goes…
We’ve been doing keying in school a lot recently, so while investigating that, I decided to collect resources and share them with you here tonight (did you notice I’m back on schedule? 
). So, first off, Videomaker.com had an article on The Keys To Chromakey, basically a how-to for greenscreening, covering the basic production theory and offering some suggestions for equipment and tools. The ABCs of Chomakeys also looked good. Also, while searching through the site, I discovered their collection of video tutorials I didn’t know they had. Score!
Moving right along… of course I always check out After Effects tutorials, having some sort of fascination with the application, legally owning it myself, and loving the guys who make the tutorials I’ve found, and so I found this very useful tutorial about light wrapping around your greenscreen subject. Breakdown: basically what happens when you shoot something is light from behind the subject will bend around that subject, leaving little traces of the background on the edges of that subject. You’ll notice it the most in silhouette shots, where the edges seem semi-transparent. During a green/bluescreen shot, this happens just the same as normal, only since you’re keying out the blue/green in post, you often key out the egdes or parts of the subject with those shades of blue/green on them. Which is clearly a problem. This tutorial offers some tips on creating a preset to help you with fixing this problem and creating realistic light wrapping based on the new background image you’ve replaced your blue/greenscreen with. Nice long tip there from me… that one’s free . Following in the After Effects vein, this was just a cool little note I found for Mac users, getting a color picker while inside the AE interface. It sounds like a great help for motion graphics creators. Less for compositing work, but still a useful tool if you’re on a Mac.
Another AE link is this site, its list of tutorials being somewhat cool, the summer-to-winter effect was pretty decent, and their Hand Scanner and Aurora Borealis tutorials were pretty cool too.
Alright… into the more industry-friendly stuff… Shake tutorials. I found a nice trio of Shake keying tutorials using Keylight, which actually also ships with After Effects now, so some of this stuff might be useful there too. I wasn’t watching in that frame of mind though, so I couldn’t say for sure. All three parts are good, the audio’s just really low, so you’ll have to listen carefully with loud speakers (or headphones). Thanks to CreativeCow.net for those.
On the last – but not least – note of this post, is a new episode from Photoshop For Video about saturating reds in images without exceeding broadcast/video limits. Good stuff.
Enjoy the new stuff, and I’ll be back as always on Sunday with some new showcase stuff for you guys. Happy filmmaking and good luck keying. Send in commenst or questions or test footage if you like, I’d love to see something.