Learning Digital Film

Multicamera Editing in Final Cut Pro 6

2010-02-23T08:45:00.000-08:00

As Digital Film students skills advance, they will probably begin to experiment with multiple camera shots to create a more professional video product. While setting up and recording multiple camera angles isn't too difficult, seamlessly editing those angles together to create a visually flawless movie can be quite a challenge. The following sites are excellent resources to help meet that challenge. First watch the tutorial movie and see just how it is done, then follow the step-by-step instructions with your own movie!

How to Multiclip Edit

The Essentials of Multicam Editing in Final Cut Pro

Public Service Announcements (PSAs)

2009-09-29T12:32:00.001-07:00

In the United States a public service announcement (PSA) is defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as "any free announcement that promotes programs, activities or services of federal, state, or local governments, or non-profit organizations, and other announcements that serve community interests." So essentially, any announcement for the benefit of society is a Public Service Announcement. Visit the links below for more information and to see some examples of popular Public Service Announcements.

Wikipedia Entry on Public Service Announcements

MBC: Public Service Announcements

Ad Council Campaigns and PSAs

Remember your PSA can be 30 OR 45 seconds (exactly!) and should use appropriately compelling text, music, dialog, graphics, and animation.

The Rule of Thirds

2009-09-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

As you know, the "Rule of Thirds" mentally creates two horizontal and two vertical lines that trisect an image with four intersecting points. When you place your main subject where the lines intersect, rather than centered in the frame, you have a much more visually interesting picture.

Following the Rule of Thirds can take a bit of practice. The website below gives a great explanation of this composition principle, along with a slide show that illustrates the Rule of Thirds in use.

"The Rule of Thirds"

Mac 101

2009-08-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome new Mac users! This site refers to applications used on the Macintosh computer and OS X exclusively. If you are a Windows user and have little to no experience with Macs the change can be a bit daunting. But never fear; watch this video and see just how easy using a Mac can be!

Switching from Windows to Mac Tutorial

Creativity blocked?

2009-05-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Ideas just not happening? Visit this site and get your imagination flowing again. Here you'll find the full length scripts from thousands of popular movies, free for you to read and be inspired. See firsthand how successful films are created!

The Internet Movie Script Database

Free your mind with "FreeMind!"

2009-03-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

All digital film students can benefit from FreeMind, the free and open source software for organizing thoughts and ideas. Classes use it to create Production Plans for movies, but it can be used for anything in need of "mapping out." :-) Check out the link below to learn more about FreeMind!

FreeMind Mapping Software

T.V. Pilot Programming!

2009-03-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

It's Pilot Season!
During the first four months of the year, U.S. television studios and production companies immerse themselves in the annual rite of spring known as "pilot season." But what exactly IS pilot season? Check out the link below and see what the Museum of Broadcast Communications has to say about this exciting time of year.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications: Pilot Season

Fabulous Commercials!

2009-02-06T14:05:00.000-08:00

A television commercial is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message. Advertisement revenue provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately owned television networks. The vast majority of television advertisements today consist of brief advertising spots, ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes, as well as program-length "infomercials."

Click this link to learn more about television advertising and its history.

Television Advertisement

Click the link below for some great tips on writing effective commercials!

How to Write a Television Commercial

And try these links for some inspiration for your own commercial!

eTrade

Geico

Coca-Cola

Toyota Prius

Mac!

Creating a Treatment

2009-01-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

What is a treatment?

By Benjamin Craig , filmmaking.net

A treatment is a narrative version of the story in script, presented in story format, describing the main action with little or no dialogue. Many writers use treatments as a way of fleshing out their stories in narrative format to map out the flow of the action across the major scenes in the script before they start work on the dialogue. This way the writer can be sure that the story flows correctly before they commence the actually script. Most treatments are no more than 2-5 pages.

For a fun try at your first movie treatment try this link at Bill Myers Online!

Advanced Digital Film Technique

2009-01-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

Students continuing in Digital Film should always work toward advancing their existing skills... and learning brand new ones, too! The professional pre-production software Celtx helps organize storyboards, screenplays, production schedules, etc. Click the links below to learn more about Celtx!

The Feature Tour

The Celtx Wiki -Tutorials

Project Central

Google SketchUp 7 also helps to make professional quality storyboard graphics for use with Celtx. Use the links below to learn more about Google SketchUp 7!

SketchUp Video Tutorials

Self-Paced SketchUp Tutorials

Google 3D Warehouse of SketchUp Models

The SketchUp Blog!

Think you have a brilliant movie idea?

2009-01-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

Test your next Academy Award winning film idea here!

Is it really a brilliant film idea?

Finding good film ideas

Developing good film ideas

The art of storytelling

Screenplay structure

The importance of rewriting

Student Movies

2009-01-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

ListenUp.org
Here you can post media, watch media, and respond to student created media, along with meeting other student filmmakers and exchanging information.

School Tube.com
SchoolTube also provides students and educators a safe and FREE media sharing website.

"Biz Links"

2009-01-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

TRADE JOURNALS AND INDUSTRY NEWS

Studio Monthly
Studio Monthly is full of reviews, tutorials , and tips and shortcuts from the people who designed the gear and software used in filmmaking.

StudioDaily.com
Film& Video covers new ideas in creating entertainment by focusing on technique and workflow in the production and finishing of features, TV programming, music videos, and commercials.

DigitalMediaNet
Fabulous information portal to all that is video!

Videomaker
Reviews, video news, and events

INDUSTRY JOB SITES

StudioDaily.com
StudioDaily's Career Center connects you with new employment opportunities.

NewEnglandFilm.com
Here you'll find listings of film jobs and work in the television industry located, for the most part, in the New England area including Boston, Providence, etc.

Online Movie Making Guides

2008-12-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a great, all purpose movie making manual posted at Wiki Books. And because it's a "wiki" it is always growing! Check it out.

Online Movie Making Manual

And look here to learn everything (well almost everything) there is to know about film making!

Film School Online

This is an informative and interactive course in studio and field video production, and a great way to spend some time to "fill in the blanks" in your studies.

InternetCampus.com

Enhance Your Videos with Quality Graphics

2008-10-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

The software listed below should assist you in refining your Individual Projects, and any other projects you may pursue in the field of digital film. They are unique and versatile freeware graphic applications that require only OS X and a desire to learn them. Try them out and see what they can do for YOUR project!

Cosmic Painter

Image Play

Pencil

Seashore

Screen Shot Guide for Final Cut Pro

2008-10-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

This link is an excellent guide to Final Cut Pro use. The tutorials use screen shots for easy understanding!

Final Cut Pro Screenshot Tutorials

The Making of a Television Documentary

2008-09-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

About.com defines a documentary as:
"A work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration."

Watch the videos below to get tips from a working video journalist on making a successful and engaging documentary. Do you recognize any of her techniques?

Tips from the Frontlines: Part I

Tips from the Frontlines: Part II

Tips from the Frontlines: Part III

And take a look at the final product! Can you can recognize the places where she filmed her shots? How did she weave the clips together?

South Central Farm Revisited

Read the Museum of Broadcast Communications article to learn about documentary television through the years.
Museum of Broadcast Communications Article on Documentary Television

Read here to learn more about the "Direct Cinema" style of documentary!
Making Documentary Videos: The Interview

Visit this site and learn about the Journalist Code of Ethics. The Society of Professional Journalists believe the duty of the journalist is to seek truth and provide a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues, and strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility. So always view your work with a critical eye and honest intention!

Journalist Code of Ethics

Copyright

2008-08-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

"As a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner. " - U.S. Copyright Office official definition of copyright infringement.

Read on!

The US Copyright Office
Everything you need to know about copyrights.

CreativeCommons.org
An alternative to the customary copyright. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved."

The following sites offer music and pictures for free use under the Creative Commons copyright.

ccMixter

Oopsound

DMusic

SoundClick

Magnatune

Flickr Pictures (Creative Commons licensing)

Looking for free sound effects? Try this site.

PartnersInRhyme

Still can't find what you need? Try a Creative Commons search!

Start Here!

2008-08-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

The links below should be considered the starting point for understanding film. They provide general basic overviews on covered topics.

GENERAL FILMMAKING INFORMATION

Wikipedia
Here is a general introduction to video genres.

The Moving Image Genre Form Guide
THE MOVING IMAGE GENRE-FORM GUIDE from the Library of Congress is another site to help categorize movies.

Internet Movie Database
The Internet Movie Database glossary has hundreds of filmmaking terms and definitions.

Yahoo!Movies and Film
Yahoo! Directory of Movie and Film links has so many great links covering sooooo many topics!

Motion Picture Studios
These links to major motion picture studio sites show what is happening in the field today.

Great Movie Mistakes!
Even the "great ones" make mistakes. :-)

GENERAL TELEVISION INFORMATION

Yahoo!TV
Yahoo! does very well in compiling great television information links across the web.

FILMMAKING TUTORIALS

iMovie 8
Apple's iMovie 8 has beginning and advanced techniques. iMovie 8 is a great first step into digital film editing and good preparation for Final Cut Pro

iMovie 6
iMovie 6 has more advanced editing capabilities and is great for creating video slide shows for extra credit!

And click here for a downloadable pdf with step-by-step instructions.

Beginning Final Cut Pro
Advanced Final Cut Pro
About.com has basic and advanced Final Cut Pro introductory tutorials.

Final Cut Pro Screenshot Tutorials
Contains an excellent tour of the Final Cut Pro user interface, and many other tutorials that use screenshots to aid understanding.

Atomic Learning Final Cut Pro series
Atomic Learning has free sample tutorials and workshops to help you learn Final Cut Pro. The movies here are short and very informative.

VTC Final Cut Pro 2 Training
VTC made several video tutorials for Final Cut Pro 2.0 freely available for evaluation of their training.

Ripplecast
iTunes Final Cut Pro Tutorial Podcasts by Ripplecast

Ken Stone's Final Cut Pro
Ken Stone's Final Cut Pro tips and tutorials site has great step-by-step instructions and ample screen shots to help understanding.

Apple-Final Cut Studio 2 Tutorials
In depth tutorials of all components of Final Cut Studio 2: Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Compressor, Color, and DVD SP.