Video News

Gap Tooth Documentary Shows Even Small Stories Can Intrigue

Mike Rosen — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:03:13 PDT

We’ve often talked about documentary video on this site and the one thing that we’ve stressed time and again is that a documentary topic does not need to be “big” to be good. Many readers look at documentaries like Ken Burns’ Civil War and assume that all documentaries need to be similarly epic sagas. But [...]

Car Mounts Photo Shoot, Behind the Scenes at Videomaker

Jennifer O'Rourke — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:40:58 PDT

From car mounts to citizen journalists, shooting video is becoming more mobile and easier to share. This summer Videomaker has several features showing you how to take action and get in the video producing game.

OmniVision Announces 4K Video Sensor for Phones

Mike Wilhelm — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:33:03 PDT

I did not see this coming. Rather, I didn't see this coming so quickly. OmniVision has announced a 16-Megapixel sensors that they claim are capable of capturing 4608 x 3456 at 30 fps or 4k2k (3840 x 2160) at 60 fps (!) for use in still and video cameras as well as high end mobile phones. So far, we haven't heard any news of the chip being incorporated into any specific device, but the fact that it's possible is staggering. This means that in the very near future, the average person can shoot video from their phone that will have enough resolution to be projected onto the big screen without up-scaling!

PENTAX K-30 – Adventure With It

Jackson Wong — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:33:39 PDT

The weather sealing and rubber grip will let you operate the K-30 in the fog of a mountain and would be great for capturing 1080p video and photos.

CTIA 2012 Spotlight Award Winner: Western Digital Socrpio Blue 7mm Hard Drive

Mike Wilhelm — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:35:23 PDT

Our editing tools keep getting smaller and smaller! Trust us, we’re not complaining. That’s why we were so impressed with Western Digital’s new 7mm thin hard drive for Ultrabooks and other super-slim mobile workstations. This HDD comes in 320GB and 500GB varieties, meaning video producers will have tons of space to work on the road before [...]

CTIA 2012 Spotlight Award Winner: Kingston Wi-Drive 64GB

Mike Wilhelm — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:19:26 PDT

When you’re working with lots video, one of the major roadblock can be how much storage you have access to. This problem is compounded when working with mobile devices that often have only a few gigabytes with which to store your data. Enter the Kingston Wi-Drive 64GB. This device feels like it’s tailor made for us. It’s [...]

Video Production Tip: Use Green Screen Wisely

Greg Olson — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:16:50 PDT

In video production, green screen is an essential skill for any video producer. It is an irreplaceable tool and can give you a lot of creative freedom in post-production. But in my book, Knowing when to use a green screen is just as important as knowing how.

CTIA 2012 Spotlight Award Winner: Pop Video Projector

Mike Wilhelm — Mon, 21 May 2012 08:59:33 PDT

This neat little device is a no-brainer for iPhone using video enthusiasts. For $99 you get a pocket sized projector that fits snugly flush with your phone. The Pop Video Projector will give you a 50 inch projected display, or possibly larger in a dark room. It will send a 960×540 image, so better than SD. Considering the [...]

Sony Sends in New Alpha Cameras: the NEX-F3 and SLT-A37

Jackson Wong — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:49:47 PDT

The SLT-A37 has Pixel Super Resolution Technology which should provide two times the focal length without changing lenses...

Event Videography Improved by Using Multiple Cameras

Mike Rosen — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:27:34 PDT

Event videography can be a scary undertaking. Because, unlike almost any other sort of videography, you only have one shot to get it right. There’s no way that a couple is going to agree to restage their entire wedding just because you messed up a shot, and likewise no band is going to put on [...]

Three Adobe CS 6 Features to be Excited About

Mike Wilhelm — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:21:11 PDT

On May 7th Adobe released Creative Suite 6, and it's pretty clear that their eyes are keenly focused on video production. While we're still in the process of writing our review of the software suite, here are a few of the features we're think video producers everywhere will be excited about.

The Fujifilm FinePix XP170 Gives You Freedom to Shoot

Jackson Wong — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:53:53 PDT

Able to go as far as you are is the hallmark of the FinePix XP line, so the XP170 lets you dive into water as deep as 32 feet and survive a six-foot drop.

Video Production Tip: Don’t Forget the Fundamentals

Greg Olson — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:51:40 PDT

I had the pleasure of auditing a portion of the videomaker “basics of video production” workshop a couple weeks ago. There are many basic rules when it comes to video, and there is a wealth of basic knowledge that continues to be the foundation for great production. Though I had been exposed to all of this before, it had been years since I had seen the fundamentals of good video production laid out so methodically. It caused me to really think about the basics again.

Webinar Wednesday: Intermediate Editing Webinar – May 16

editorialstaff — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:55:53 PDT

Our presentation focuses on multi-cam editing, compositing, filters/effects and more; helping you in your quest to make polished and professional-looking video.

Grinner Survives Massive Car Crash in in-your-face-video

Mike Rosen — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:49:48 PDT

On April 20, long-time Videomaker community member Grinner Hester was shooting the third qualifying session of Summit Racing Top Sportsman at the 2012 ADRL Spring Drags III at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee. Things seemed pretty normal until 21-year-old Lizzy Musi lost control of her car. And, well, just see for yourself: It’s almost impossible to [...]

A Brief Look Into Video Editing for Mobile Devices

Guest Blog — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:22:18 PDT

Video making has never been more accessible than in today’s mobile world. Almost every digital device, from music players to smart phones, can shoot video. With the increase in video capture, we have also seen a growth in video editing software, especially for mobile devices. We took a walk around the Internet and found quite a few video editing apps.

CTIA 2012 Spotlight Award Winner: LG Lucid (Video Producer)

Mike Wilhelm — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:36:28 PDT

Finally! A mobile phone manufacturer includes a video editing app pre-installed on the phone! LG’s Lucid will come with an app called “Video Producer” which will allow you combine clips, add styles, select background music, overlay images and text, and, our favorite, TRIM CLIPS! For years, smartphones have had the ability to crop still images naively, [...]

CTIA 2012 Spotlight Award Winner: HTC One X

Mike Wilhelm — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:36:06 PDT

It’s an amazing time we live in where you can buy a mobile phone that’s as powerful as laptops were about five years ago. That’s exactly what we’re seeing with the HTC One X. Of course, high powered super-phones are being released all the time, but we at Videomaker want to make sure companies are being recognized [...]

CTIA 2012 Spotlight Award Winner: Verizon Color

Mike Wilhelm — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:36:42 PDT

While live streaming from a mobile device might not necessarily be a new phenomenon, no one has implemented quite as simple a way of doing it as Color, a new mobile app developed by Lala co-founder Bill Nguyen and Verizon. The app makes streaming video footage from your mobile phone over an LTE connection extremely easy. From the demo we [...]

CTIA 2012 Spotlight Award Winner: Nokia 808 PureView

Mike Wilhelm — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:20:23 PDT

When we heard about Nokia’s 41MP camaera atached to their new 808 PureView phone, we were left scratching our heads. Turns out Nokia is taking the mobile photographer/videographer quite seriously. In addition to the high megapixel count, The 808 PureView features a lens designed under collaboration with Carl Zeiss. Additionally, the phone offers 4x lossless [...]