Archive for category Tutorials

Monday Roundup: The Worst Ever

Mar 22

Posted by Adam in Roundups | No Comments

A short time after we started and named this blog, we realized there is another site called DiY Filmmaking Sucks, so we’re getting an inferiority complex every time we open up Google Reader:

Google Reader DiY Filmmaking

Yes, we put our own blog into Google Reader, okay?

Anyways, the good folks at DiY Filmmaking sucks posted something that caught my eye: YouTube rentals. You can read all about it there and get a link to the application page (as well as a link to the private Beta Dynamo, which is doing something similar but more customizable), but the gist is you can offer rentals of your film on YouTube.

First reaction: this…is…awesome.

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5 Great Free Online Tools For Your Film’s Website

Mar 16

Posted by Adam in Tutorials, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The thing that makes the web awesome is the diversity. Every website you visit is different. Think of how boring things would be if every site was one template with different content. Hint: it would suck.

But there’s also a concept that programmers use that is applicable here. It’s called DRY – Don’t Repeat Yourself. It basically means don’t re-invent the wheel. Creating a new and cool design for your site isn’t re-inventing the wheel, it’s inventing something that is unique and valuable.

So what is reinventing the wheel? That would be trying to recreate things that are done better elsewhere. For example, why create your own image gallery when you can use a free service like Flickr? Why host your own video when you can use one of the multitudes of hosting services out there? There are hundreds of coders out there working on making things you can use awesome, and in some cases you just can’t compete with that.

The idea is simple: make unique what should be made unique, and plug in other services to save time, effort, and money.

Let’s take a look at 10 things you free services we recommend for your film site.

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Monday Roundup: #$(U#!

Mar 16

Posted by Adam in Roundups | No Comments

Okay, so the Monday Roundup is a little late today. The DiY Filmmaking bloggers have been hard at work on some other cool projects (related to film, yes), and also working on the UPCOMING DIY FILMMAKING PODCAST!

It’s going to be cool. You gotta believe me.

But first, let’s take a look at some cool things from the DiY (and beyond) world happening around the web.

That Dude Who Swears From the RV Video Had a Documentary Made About Him

Remember this guy?

Someone made a documentary about him, for real. And it got picked up by a distributor. The good folks at the Documentary Blog have got the scoop.

If that doesn’t prove you can find documentary subjects in the strangest of places, then I don’t know what does.

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The Web for Filmmakers Part 2: Tools To Create Your Site

Mar 10

Posted by Adam in Tutorials, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

This article picks up where Part 1 left off.

You’ve got your domain and your hosting: now what?

Well, you need to build a site.

For me, there are really only two ways to do this: the down and dirty in the code way, and the design and export way. Which way you choose really depends on what your level of skill is with PHP and MySQL. If you have no clue what either of those mean, then you should start at the no coding skills required section.

Alright, let’s get started!

Rapidweaver

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Monday Roundup: Cool Stuff

Mar 8

Posted by Adam in Roundups | No Comments

Monday – hello. Hope you’re having a good one.

We’re going to start doing some Monday roundups of our favorite cool stuff from around the web having to do with DiY filmmaking, and DiY inspiration. Let’s do it!

LEGO Film is a Thing

Make’s post about this reminded me that LEGO movies – excuse me, LEGO Brick Movies – are a thing. Check out Make’s recap for some cool ones (or below). There is even an online community dedicated to this – Brickfilm.

I used to love making LEGO movies as a kid, and now thinking about it, I realize that there are a few benefits.

  • Sets are cheap
  • Actors don’t complain
  • Actors heads are removable

You can’t go wrong!

There are actually HUNDREDS of these online and they can get pretty sophisticated. Check out some stuff by Squashed Cat Productions for some nice use of focus panes and smooth animation:

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Professional Contribution: Make-Up for DiY Filmmaking

Mar 7

Posted by DiY Filmmaking in Equipment, Expendables, Tutorials | 2 Comments

In an attempt to provide you with a wide variety of do-it-yourself filmmaking information, we here at DiY Filmmaking will often try to convince professionals in various filmmaking fields to write an article that will somehow teach you how to do things as good as them. Make-up artist Valerie Stanley is the first person to attempt this nearly impossible task. After you read her post, check out her website.

Filmmakers Guide to Web Basics: Part 1

Mar 6

Posted by Adam in Tutorials | 1 Comment

These days, DiY filmmakers can’t really get by with just knowing the ins and outs of filmmaking – they also have to know a little about promotion as well. Where is promotion going on these days? The web of course, and your short or feature should definitely have a website to go along with it for promotional purposes. At the very least so that people can see it (if you put it up there), and at the most as a tool to sell or promote it for film festivals.

This is DiY filmmaking though, where you are going to do it yourself – so what happens if you don’t know a tech wiz and you don’t know what you’re doing? You’ve gotta learn how to do it yourself, that’s what.

So we’re writing a multi-part series on the basics of the web so you avoid some common pitfalls and fool the other guys into thinking you have a full-time web developer.

Part I is on basics, so let’s go!

Nerd

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Get a Smooth Pan on Your Crappy Tripod

Mar 3

Posted by Adam in Tutorials | 1 Comment

If you have a crappy tripod, you know that it is really difficult to get a smooth pan out of it, because the head isn’t that well-made.

This trick comes via BWMM on Twitter, and it’s pretty cool in a super low-tech kind of way. Check out the videos for all the details.

One thing to note is that you should have the panning mechanism pretty tightened up so there is some resistance to work with when panning.

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Shooting a Film Without a Video Camera

Mar 3

Posted by Doug in Tutorials | 1 Comment

Our team of filmmakers here at DiY Filmmaking all agree that telling a good story is always the best way to make a quality film. So, even though we try to offer you tools and tricks on how to better tell your story, the truth remains that if you have a story that is worth telling, people will want to hear it regardless of your production value.

If you feel like you have a story that is good enough to keep people interested, you shouldn’t let a lack of equipment prevent you from telling it. While not everyone has, or can afford, a quality video camera these days, pretty much everyone with a face has a digital camera. And with digital image quality always improving, the possibilities for a film shot on a still camera are limitless.

The Effective DIY Four Person Crew

Mar 1

Posted by Adam in Tutorials | No Comments

Okay, so you’ve got some people that are going to be working on your production, and you’ve got some shoots scheduled. Great.

Sometimes, though, DiY filmmakers are so concerned about what is going to be shot and how, that they forget to think about how the shoot is going to actually run. On a big-budget production, there are people who have specific jobs to do – and even people who just manage this sort of thing – but you’ve only got a handful of people.

The worst thing to do would be to just have everyone doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that. A production need a division of labor, but how are you going to divide the work of 30 people into the size of your crew? We’ve broken it down below to show you how to divide things up to keep a DiY production moving smoothly on the day of the shoot.

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The internet is chock full of how to guides for doing pretty much anything you can think of to make films on a budget. DiY Filmmaking is a blog that brings you the best and the worst of all that, plus great tips, tutorials, and guides of our own.

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