Mastering the Film Color Palette: Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro movies are known for their lush fantasy landscapes, sense of creeping dread, and unmatched use of color. His self-confessed primary influences are obvious once you know how to look for them.Comic books, manga, horror movies, and his native Mexican culture all combine to create a director who is not afraid to stuff every frame with as much color as he can. It takes a truly skilled artist to balance this riot of color without overloading the senses.But not only does he keep everything in balance, he uses it to tell the story of his film. Learn how Guillermo…

The Best Drone Footage: A Closer Look with the DJI Mavic Air

The most recent drone from DJI Mavic is the Air. It’s lightweight, (mildly) affordable, and produces some incredible footage. This post gives a brief overview of the DJI Mavic Air, its capabilities, and a list of our favorite footage. Let’s take a look.Continue reading The Best Drone Footage: A Closer Look with the DJI Mavic Air

How to Clean Camera Sensors: What to Consider to Avoid Damage

Cleaning camera sensors isn’t challenging, it just requires meticulousness and the know-how to do it safely, so you don’t damage your camera. And it’s easy to damage your camera when the sensor is wide open. Dust and other particles are flying around you all day, everyday, and the last thing you want to do is leave your sensor open for too long or too often. This article will show you how to clean camera sensors in a simple and safe way. Let’s get into it.Continue reading How to Clean Camera Sensors: What to Consider to Avoid Damage

Cinematic Film Techniques to Make On-Screen Texting Actually Look Good

Itext. You text. My grandmother who still thinks Reagan is president texts. But most tv shows and movies shy away from it. Having your characters pull out their phone puts seems to go against the key foundations of cinematics. But it doesn’t have to. Taking tips from Tony Zhou’s video essay, we’ll cover three cinematic techniques to get your characters texting cinematically. Showing texts doesn’t have to be as hard as working. Continue reading Cinematic Film Techniques to Make On-Screen Texting Actually Look Good

The Best Music Videos & Trends for Creatives

Albert Einstein said, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”Music of course is a powerful device. It has the ability to entertain, inspire and even heal. But with the mainstream introduction of music videos 37 years ago, music’s influence was suddenly elevated to the visual realm. The best music videos are important artistic tools, and ideal marketing devices for branded content. In this post,  we’re going to examine the top music video trends creatives are looking…

Mastering the Christmas Movie: Home Alone

Okay, is there anyone who doesn’t choke up when little Zuzu Bailey says, “Everytime a bell rings, an angel gets its wings,” at the the end of It’s a Wonderful Life? The best Christmas movies vary in style and tone, but they tend to possess certain thematic elements such as forgiveness, charity and devotion. A film from the modern era that truly embodies these themes is Home Alone. In this post, we examine how Home Alone stands out amongst Christmas films due to its sound design, production design and cinematography.Continue reading Mastering the Christmas Movie: Home Alone

Mastering the Color Palette: Zack Snyder

Zack Snyder movies are full of bold color choices. Sometimes this is the color grade, sometimes this is the production design. What drives these decisions, and how can you apply them to your own films?In this post, we'll take you into our analysis on Zack Snyder movies like The Watchmen, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, 300, and more to illustrate how color can be a superpower in the hands of the right director. We also give you a FREE color in film Ebook with 50+ examples from movies.Continue reading Mastering the Color Palette: Zack Snyder

How to Write and Shoot Action Scenes Like Kingsman

Is the hero going to clear the chasm? Will evil triumph over good? Do I have enough popcorn? Great action sequences glue us to our seats. Containing many memorable action scenes, Kingsman: The Secret Service functions as a James Bond parody, putting spin on classic action sequences that easily could have been trite.Continue reading How to Write and Shoot Action Scenes Like Kingsman

The Pixar Storytelling Formula: An Inside Look

  When you hear Pixar, you probably think about 3D Animation. Well, honestly, I bet you think about a little bouncing lamp squishing a letter, but hey, same thing really. While Pixar has been setting the standards of 3D Animation, it’s nothing compared to the deep, meaningful story in each and every Pixar film. The Pixar storytelling formula is real and we're going to tell you all about it. Continue reading The Pixar Storytelling Formula: An Inside Look