Several people found our last article about free online video production courses very helpful. We wanted to share some similar resources for photographers to use too. That's what we're going to look at today with this blog article!

Like video production, photography is also an art. It's easy to take a photo these days, but taking a GREAT photo requires some talent and skill. Today, we're going to share some free online certificate courses that will teach you more about photography and photo editing!

Regardless of your level of experience with photography, taking a course can help you improve your knowledge and refresh your understanding of various skills. Nobody ever "knows it all" when it comes to creative pursuits such as photography.  There's always new ways to be creative, optimize your workflow, or improve your work.

Here are some free online photography courses that we recommend. These courses are all hosted through the online learning platform, Alison. All of these courses offer the option to get a certificate of completion for the course once you've successfully completed it and passed any required exams.

We hope you find these free online photography courses useful! We'll update this article with more courses in the future, so be sure to check back here occasionally. Let us know if there are any other free online certificate courses covering photography that you know of and we might add them here!

If you are interested in videography too, be sure to also check out our blog post about free online video production certificate courses if you haven't already.

Video production is an art. Like all artforms, you never truly finish learning and improving your video production skills. There's always room to improve and learn something new!

​That's why today, we're going to show you some free online video production courses you can take to improve and sharpen your videography knowledge. You can also get a certificate for each course you pass which can be added to your resume!

As we stated above, you never really "know it all" when it comes to video production and filmmaking. Taking an online course might help you discover one or two new tricks to use if nothing else.

If you're new to video production, absorbing all of the knowledge you can will be very helpful to you. These courses will give you a solid understanding of the video production process. You will likely be in the process of getting your camera and first set of video production gear, which can be expensive. Taking free online videography courses will let you save some money while also improving your skill and knowledge.

All of the free online courses we mention in this article offer you the option of getting a certificate of completion upon successfully passing the course. Having a certificate is a way to demonstrate proof of your knowledge in a topic to others. You can add the certificate to your videographer portfolio, professional resume and/or LinkedIn profile too.

Here are some free online video production certificate courses that we recommend. These courses are all hosted through the online learning platform, Alison.

We hope you find these free online video production courses useful in your videography career! Let us know if there are any other free online certificate courses covering video production that you know of and we might just add them here!

We have added a blog post about photography courses too! If you're also interested in photography, be sure to check out our article about free online photography certificate courses if you haven't read it yet.

Presets for Adobe Premiere Pro can help you save a lot of time when editing your footage. They allow you to quickly add an effect or a set of effects with specific parameters. You can find new presets for Adobe Premiere Pro all over the internet. Some website offer free Premiere Pro presets you can download and use at no cost. There are also presets you'll have to purchase in order to use. But whether they are free or paid, new presets won't be any help for you until they are accessible in Premiere.

So what's the best way to install new Premiere Pro presets once you download them? There's actually a couple of ways to do it, but today we're going to show you the easiest way to install new presets in Adobe Premiere Pro!

There are lots of places online where you can download new presets for Premiere Pro. A quick Google search should bring you to a number of sites with entire online stores where you can buy Premiere Pro presets and other editing assets. You can also find a lot of places where you can download free presets too! We offer several free presets for Adobe Premiere Pro in our website's free creative resources section.

After you download a preset or preset pack, it will often come in a ZIP archive file. You will need to extract it from the ZIP file. Remember the location you extract the preset file to. You'll need to navigate to it later.

One of the easiest ways to install new presets in Adobe Premiere Pro is by using the import option through the effects panel. Here's a step-by-step walkthrough with pictures showing you how to import new presets once you have downloaded them and extracted the presets if they are in a ZIP file. 

Click on the panel options icon in the upper right corner of the effects panel, then click the "Import Presets" option. This will open a file explorer window.

Navigate to the location where the Premiere Pro preset file was saved and/or extracted to. Then select and open the preset file.

And that's it! Once you've done this process correctly, the new preset will be imported into Premiere Pro. You'll be able to find it in the "Presets" bin under the "Effects" panel. It will be saved there, so you'll be able to find it each time you open Premiere in the future too.

Please note that if Premiere crashes during the same session you imported new presets in, you may have to import them again. That's why it is a good idea to go ahead and restart Premiere Pro right after you finish importing all of your presets.

We hope this walkthrough has been helpful for you. Now why don't you go download some of our free Premiere Pro presets and try it out for yourself!

People often ask us about what kind of production equipment we use on our films and photo projects. We actually started out on nothing more than an iPhone and used a towel closet for a sound studio. We have been building ShadowCast Studios ever since then and now have an extensive collection of production equipment at our disposal. The key to building a studio is to continuously reinvest in yourself and your work. This is how we've grown over the past several years.

​Today we are going to take a look at the main production cameras we're using on our projects as of 2022. This won't include all of our gear, but it will show you the cameras that are fundamental to our projects and used regularly on our shoots. These are the workhorses of our projects.

The Canon C100 Mark II cinema camera was our second camera which we upgraded to after using the Canon 60D, which was our original setup, for about a year or so after we first started our studio. Despite being limited to full HD 1080 resolution recording, the Canon C100 Mark II continues to be an outstanding camera and a workhorse on many of our video production projects to this day.

Unlike a DSLR, the C100 MKII  is made specifically for video and only video. It offer many valuable video-related features which few, if any, DSLRs provide. It provide a number of audio options for you to work with ranging from built-in camera mics to external XLR phantom powered inputs with manual gain controls. The channels can record independently from two separate sources which gives you a lot more flexibility in post-production. The full-frame sensor captures 4K video, which is down-scaled to 1080p in-camera. Dual SD card slots means that you can record simultaneously to two cards or in relay, so that recording is automatically switched to the second card when the first is full.

It also offers Canon's C-log color profile which allows you to record a very flat image so you have more room to work with it when color correcting and grading in post. You can apply a LUT to the preview in-camera, which won't be recorded, but gives you an idea of what your log profile footage will look like once corrected. This is also very useful for when you have clients on-set watching over your shoulder.

​Another great feature the C100 MKII offers is the angle setting. Film professionals used to using cinema cameras will likely be more familiar with angle as opposed to exposure. Basically, angle is a cinema version of exposure. You can select to use exposure/shutter speed settings if you prefer, but we prefer using the angle setting. The great part about using angle instead of shutter speed is that you can always insure that you exposure is exactly double your frame rate by simply setting the angle to 180 degrees. As long as the angle is 180 degrees, your exposure will be exactly double the frame rate.

​The reason for having your exposure double your frame rate is that this gives you the most realistic motion blur in your footage. So if your frame rate is 24 fps, ideally you should set your shutter speed to 48. Most cameras don't offer a setting of 48 though, so you'd have to settle for 50. However, angle simplifies this process by simply letting you set the angle to 180 degrees, giving you perfect exposure at any frame rate.

The Canon 5D Mark IV is our primary DSLR camera and we use it for both photography and video productions. It can capture up to 4K resolution video footage at a max frame rate of 30fps, 1080 Full HD resolution footage at up to 60fps, and 720 HD up to 120fps. It is a much lighter camera than the C100 Mark II; so the 5D Mark IV is typically the camera we prefer to use on our motorized 3-axis gimbal stabilizer or other handheld stabilization systems where weight can be an issue.

There are two file storage card options on the Canon 5D Mk IV. It has a standard SD card slot and a CFast card slot. A CFast card is a memory card which offers high write speeds. You need this extra speed when recording the large 4K video files. Most standard SD cards can't write files fast enough to keep up with the 4K footage recording. If your card is too slow, the buffer will fill up and the camera will automatically stop recording. Using a CFast card when recording in 4K will help prevent that from happening.

 This is also a great still photography camera, producing 6744 x 4502 RAW image files. The camera has built-in intervalometer functions in the settings. This lets you set it to automatically take still a photo repeatedly at a set interval you select. It makes shooting a timelapse very easy and convenient.

Like the C100 Mk II, the 5D Mk IV is equipped with Canon's dual-pixel auto focus system and can auto focus during video recording. Newer versions of the 5D Mark IV come with Canon's C-Log color space option which is really helpful for giving your footage that cinematic look in post-production through color correction. If you purchased one that was made before the addition of the C-Log feature, you can send your 5D Mark IV to Canon and have it installed for a small fee plus the shipping costs.

The GoPro HERO 10 may be small in size, but it offers very big capabilities. It can capture video in resolutions up to 5.3K and can record 60 frames per second (fps) at max resolution. This means you can capture slow motion 5.3K video. At 4K resolution, it can record 120fps slow motion. Resolutions below 4K have the option to record slow motion video at 240fps. That's about 8 times slower than real life when played back at 24fps in post-production.

If you had an early-generation GoPro camera and weren't impressed by it's performance, newer models like the HERO 10 will change your mind. With the right settings, this camera can produce very beautiful and cinematic shots. We regularly use it in production alongside cameras like our 5D MKIV and C100 MKII.

​GoPros are traditionally action cameras and they have all the functionality you would expect from one. This includes video stabilization. The HERO 10 offers GoPro's unique "Hypersmooth 4.0" stabilization system. It does an outstanding job of stabilizing even the shakiest shots. GoPros are also known for being very rugged cameras. The HERO 10 is no acceptation. It is waterproof, dust-proof, and shock resistant. It will also automatically switch between microphones to compensate for wind noise. This feature can be bypassed if desired though, or you can set the camera save raw audio files.

The HERO 10 is able to accept external attachments, such as a microphone attachment, extended battery, and a light attachment. We don't use any of these on ours at this time. It is nice to have the ability to if needed though.

This is the latest addition to our studio as of the time of writing this article. The DJI Mavic 3 CINE is a very powerful camera drone. It films in resolutions up to 5.1K. In slow-motion mode, it can capture 4K video at 120fps. A recent update added the ability to film up to 200fps in 1920x1080 resolution.

The Mavic 3 CINE also features DJI's D-Log color profile for flat recording. Though even in the normal profile, this drone captures colors very accurately. Footage can be recorded to a mirco SD card or directly to a 1TB SSD drive built into the drone itself.

The primary reason for having a built-in SSD drive is to support one of the highlight features of the Mavic 3 CINE. That feature is RAW video recording in ProRes format. Having the ability to film RAW video will be a huge plus for any filmmaker or videographer. Recording footage in RAW format will create huge files though, with even a few minutes worth of footage being close to or above 100 gigabytes. Therefore, it's best to spilt your footage into shorter takes if you plan on filming in RAW.

​If you prefer to keep the file size smaller, you can also record high quality footage with HVEC or H.264 encoding.

​Photos can be shot in RAW and JPEG format on the Mavic 3. It includes several photo modes. We make great use of the auto exposure bracketing (AEB) mode for shooting HDR photos. You can also use a timed photo mode to capture timelapses, or shoot them as hyperlapses under the video settings. It can also shoot various panoramic shots and stitch them together for you automatically. 

These are the primary production cameras we're using right now in 2022! We'll post new blogs as we upgrade and get new cameras over the future years. If you'd like to know about more of our equipment, such as what motion control or stabilization systems we use, let us know in the comments!

If you're interested in any of these cameras, check them out at the links provided for each one. If you decide to purchase any of them, you'll be helping to support our work, because we'll receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Thanks for reading! We encourage you to check out more of our blog posts for additional production tips, advice, and lessons! See some of our related posts below.

Stock content is in high demand these days. Many marketing agencies, businesses, bloggers, influencers, social media users, and other people trying to stand out online use stock material in their promotional content. Having appealing visual content is a vital part of capturing attention in today's fast paced, modern age. Not everyone has the ability, equipment, skill, and/or time to produce the content they need from scratch. The quality of the images or footage is also a major factor giving stock content it's appeal.

For someone with no equipment or photo/video skill, it is far more cost-effective to license stock content than to buy a camera, trying to figure out how it works, buying editing software, and then attempting to produce the content themselves. Also, people like marketers, web designers, etc. deal with a wide variety of content and large numbers of projects for different clients. Stock content is critical to their work because they often require stuff you can't just step out of your door and snap a picture or shoot a video of, like footage from the summit of Mount Everest for example. 

​We have been producing stock for a few years now. This article is going to introduce you to stock production and help you get started selling your own stock content to earn money doing what you love!    

​​There are a number of different stock media websites that you can sign up to sell with. You have to find the right sign-up page first though. 

​When you search for a stock content website, the top results are usually consumer-facing links, such as customer sign up pages. You need to find the "contributor" sign-up page. Check the website's footer (section at the bottom of each page on a website) for links labeled "Become a Contributor" or something similar. You can also look for the contributor page directly by searching "[STOCK WEBSITE NAME HERE] contributor sign up" on Google or other search engines.

If all else fails, contact them and ask if they are accepting new contributors, and if they are, how can you apply or sign up to become one.

​​Different sites have different application processes you must pass through to become a contributor. This is done for quality control purposes to ensure that only professional content is being submitted. Stock websites aren't interested in teens submitting their selfies, they want quality content that sells.

​The application and approval process usually involves submitting a few samples of your best content. Read the site's content requirements detailing the standards which submitted content must meet and what content is not permitted (we'll talk more about this later on), then submit your work.

If you pass the entry application, you will be accepted as a contributor. If you aren't accepted on your first try, don't be discouraged. Most sites will give you the reason why you weren't accepted. Use this feedback to improve your skills and try again when you feel your work is ready.

The review of your application submissions won't be the last review you'll need to pass. It is only the first of many quality reviews you'll undergo as a stock contributor. Once you're accepted as a contributor, all content submissions must be reviewed for quality control and compliance before it can go on sale.

Now you have a general idea what the process of becoming a contributor will be like. You're ready to select the platforms you want to sell your content on and sign up for your first stock content contributor account. Let's talk about some popular and reputable platforms you can get started with.

Adobe Stock is another great platform to become a stock contributor on. Contributors with their platform also get a free Adobe Portfolio account. You can select content from your contributions, as well as other work, to be displayed on a fully customizable portfolio site.

One of our favorite things about Adobe Stock is that uploaded content which you haven't finished processing and keywording isn't removed after a specific amount of time. It remains in your uploads tab until you are ready to submit it for review. The keywording system is also pretty easy to use.

Alamy has a strict quality control process for contributors, but if you can meet their content requirements, it is a great platform to sell your content with! Alamy is another one of the first platforms we started contributing on. They use a quality control ranking process to incentivize contributors to submit only the highest quality content. The QC ranking is determined by how many of your submissions are accepted vs. rejected. Contributors with higher QC rankings get their submissions reviewed faster than those with low QC rankings.

​Alamy also gives you the option to mark individual submissions as exclusive to their platform. Only mark a submission as exclusive if you aren't going to submit that particular content to any other platform though, because Alamy will pursue it as unauthorized use if exclusive content is detected on other platforms. 

Be aware that there are a small number of sites which require you to have a regular customer membership subscription in order to become a contributor. If you're wanting to make money selling stock content, we strongly recommend avoiding sites like that. To put it simply, our advice is avoid any sites that require you to pay to become a contributor.

Sites which do that are usually lesser-known, less popular platforms. You will likely lose more money than you make as a contributor having to pay to contribute. Those sites basically let anyone willing to pay for a membership become a contributor. Submissions go through little, if any quality control (QC) reviews. The site becomes swamped with sub-par content.

​The owners of the sketchy sites aren't as concerned with offering quality content since adding a new contributor is another recurring membership payment they receive. Your content has to be REALLY bad or outright illegal to get rejected as a contributor. When you do manage to get a sell, you can be certain the site will still take a cut of it which is often just as much, if not more than that of stock sites which don't require contributors to have paid memberships.

​Popular, reputable stock content sites, such as Shutterstock, do not require you to pay to be a contributor. They only make money if the content on their site sells. This gives them the incentive to focus on providing quality content from professional contributors. These are the kind of sites you want to become a contributor for.

Each stock website will have its own quality control and technical requirements. A link to an explanation of them is often provided on the upload page or in the contributor FAQ. You should take some time to study these requirements for each site you apply to contribute for.

Some sites have stricter requirements than others. This can seem like a lot to keep track of at first, but you will find that these requirements and standards will actually have the side-effect of helping you become better at your art.

Many of the common requirements are pretty simple- minimum image file size, minimum number of megapixels, etc. Logos and other trademarked/rights-managed content in your photos/footage is a big no-no in most cases unless you have a signed release form or if it is uploaded as editorial only content.

We don't do editorial stock content, but it's basically content that is for news and media use only. Editorial stock has a whole list of its own requirements. Unlike regular stock content, editorial stock is not allowed to be edited. Only original, unaltered shots may be submitted as editorial stock content. This requirement exists to provide the media with true-to-life content. Sites will have a separate list of requirements for editorial content. You can usually find them in the same help pages as the regular stock requirements.

​​You should always avoid getting any identifying information in your shots. Information such as phone numbers, URLs, addresses, serial numbers, license plate numbers, private info, etc. will likely be rejected regardless of release forms being submitted. Anything like that should be removed or covered up before capturing the shot. If that isn't possible, you will need to remove it in post-production.

Some platforms don't mine if you use blurs to conceal faces, logos, etc that are in your shot. Others require them to be completely removed from the shot and the removal must be clean. They will reject it if they can see where something has been removed, so your masking must blend seamlessly into the shot. Check your platform's rules to see what's acceptable.

​Other requirements usually include technical aspects such as noise/grain, exposure, black point, focus, etc. Remember that every stock content platform is different. The specific rules and requirements will vary from platform to platform. Review the submission guidelines in-depth for every stock content site you contribute to.

When checking your content during post-production, be sure to check it with the view scale set to 100%. Your content will be reviewed at 100% when submitted. You may miss something if you're not checking at this same scale.

Logos which may seem unreadable at first can become very obvious once you zoom in. Noise and artifacts in your shot can become a lot more apparent at 100% too.

Some sites will also have criteria for aesthetic and commercial value requirements. These requirements focus on the appeal of the content; is it something that has potential to sell? Sites with these kinds of requirements won't accept content that is deemed visually unpleasing, boring, lacking demand, or any other reason they think it wouldn't sell.

Out-of-focus rejections are among the most common reasons listed for content not passing a review. They can often be the most frustrating too. Reviewers will frequently mistake images with selective focus on a subject as an out-of-focus shot.

One tip to help reduce out-of-focus (OOF) rejections is to include "selective focus" in the descriptive text of the image when tagging your submissions. For example: "Selective focus shot of a bird in a tree." This will only help if you are using selective focus on a subject. If the focus is totally off, it will still be rejected. 

Footage-Specific Requirements
Footage submissions have some additional requirements. Most stock content platforms require footage to be between a minimum and maximum duration. The common duration criteria is a minimum of 5 seconds and a maximum of 60 seconds.

Sites will often have a list of preferred technical specs for footage. These are specifications which they prefer footage submissions to have but are not required. The preferred specs are usually what they have found to sell best, so it is advisable to follow preferred guidelines as much as possible in order to make your footage more attractive to potential customers.

If and when your content does get rejected, don't feel defeated. Even the best contributors get rejections from time to time. Most sites will give you a reason for the rejection. Use this as a learning opportunity to improve your craft. If the issue is fixable, you can fix it and resubmit your content.

There are some reviewers that are pickier than others, especially when it comes to criteria such as noise/grain and focus. Friction between contributors and reviewers is part of selling stock content. Submissions are assigned to reviewers randomly on most platforms, so sometimes you'll just get unlucky. We've had entire submission sets be rejected one day, resubmitted the next day without making any changes, and it all passed review.

​Some platforms are pickier than others as well. A submission may be rejected on one platform, but then get approved on another. Again, don't let a rejection discourage you. Use the feedback you get on rejected submissions to improve your skills going forward.  ​

As a GENERAL rule, most stock content websites allow you to sell content that you're already selling on other platforms.

​There are some which give you the option to mark individual content as "exclusive" to their platform. This grants a bonus to the exclusive files, but you are expected to sell those files only on their platform. Selling "exclusive" content on other sites can cause some headaches if you're caught.

Some high-end stock content sites do require submitted content to be exclusive to their site only. But those platforms are in a league of their own and VERY difficult to be accepted as a contributor with.

Most regular stock sites won't require exclusivity. You should check the contributor guidelines or contact the site's contributor support if you're uncertain. There should be a section where the site states what rights you are granting them by submitting. If it is "nonexclusive" then you should be fine to sell elsewhere unless additional terms state otherwise.

The amount of money you make on each sale varies. It is determined by a number of different factors and each platform has their own pay scale. You'll get a percentage of each sale your content makes. The amount of the sale is determined by the type of license the customer selects. Stock content sites will have their percentages listed in their contributor information section.

Some sites have a ranking system for contributors. The more sales your content gets, the higher your rank becomes. Each new rank increases the percentage you receive from each sale. Rank 1 might be 10% of each sale, rank 2 might be 15%, and so on.

Stock video footage increases in price based on the resolution the customer purchases as well. It is worthwhile to shoot in the highest resolution your camera provides so that you can have higher resolution options for customers to select. 4K footage may sell for around $70 or more. This will net you several dollars in one sale, which is significant compared to the common $0.10 - $0.25 received from most single image sales.

Usually, your account's unpaid earnings balance must reach a minimum payout threshold before it can be released. The threshold varies based on which site you're selling on and your selected payout method.

Some sites automatically start a transfer when your earnings reach the payout threshold. Contributor earnings are released on a pay schedule of the stock media site's choosing. When you reach the minimum threshold, all earnings you've accumulated are sent on the next payout day.

Other stock content websites may let you request payout when you're ready. The payment threshold still has to be met before payout options are enabled. Once earnings surpass the minimum threshold though, you can request payment anytime at-will. Get paid at the first opportunity, or wait and let a larger sum accumulate for a big payout later.

Don't worry about how long it takes you to reach the payout threshold. There's no requirement or penalty for being below the payout threshold. Your account's unpaid earnings don't expire or anything like that. The payout threshold is just to prevent a storm of transfer requests and micro-payments every time someone has ten cents in their earnings balance.

I hope this information helps you start selling your photos and footage stock media content. As a stock media contributor, it will take a while to see results. Just work on steadily building your content catalog. The more media you have on the site, the more likely you are to get found and have your work generate sales.

That doesn't mean you should rush to get as many shots as you can though. Remember that the content you do contribute needs to be high-quality most of all. Check your shots carefully in the camera and during post-production. Keep adding high-quality images or footage and don't be discouraged when some of your content is rejected. Use that to learn from, improve your work, and become a better creator overall!

Among some of the bigger equipment upgrades we made in the later part of 2019 were the upgrades and modifications to our jib crane. Some of these were called for out of necessity, such as the stronger mounting hardware we installed to accommodate the heavier cameras we now use. Other upgrades increased functionality and ease-of-use, such as a tilt-lock mechanism, a monitor mount, and more.

​However, there were two upgrades we made which really expanded the creative possibilities our jib provides. These two upgrades are gimbal mounting hardware and a motorized pan/tilt head. We often get asked about what types of shots these modifications allow us to produce, what the differences in the two are, how do we decide which one to use, and what our thoughts are about both.

​Today, we'll not only tell, but also show you some samples of the cool camera moves these modifications allow us to capture with our jib crane. We'll also share some of the pros and cons, as well as our own thoughts and opinions of both of them. If you have a jib crane, these upgrades are worth looking into.

An important thing to note is that these two modifications can't be used together at the same time on the jib. I mean, you COULD mount the gimbal on the pan/tilt head and mount the resulting monstrosity on the jib...but....why? If you have both options available to you, you'll need to choose the one that you feel is best for the shot you are trying to produce.

But first, what do we even mean by gimbal or motorized pan/tilt head? If you're not familiar with what one or both of these are, here's pictures of each one mounted on our jib crane.

Later on, we'll look at some of the specific differences in functionality between these two pieces of equipment.

We often get asked for sample footage of shots produced by our jib crane using a gimbal or pan/tilt head. Below you can see some shots produced using both of them. These are by no means the only camera moves which are possible. You can combine any number of different moves to create an incredibly graceful cinematic motion shot using a jib with a gimbal or pan/tilt head. There are an astronomical number of ways to combine all of the movement into epic, eye-candy camera moves.

Think about how many dimensions the camera is moving in all at once. The jib arm itself moves freely in two dimensions (vertical and horizontal axis). It moves through the third dimension (Z axis) in a limited capacity when you raise or lower the jib arm. It brings the camera closer to the subject as the arm becomes parallel with the ground and more distant as the arm approaches its maximum vertical angle. The jib head itself tilts up and down, automatically in sync with the jib arm, or manually using the manual tilt handle. Then you have a motorized 2-axis or 3-axis motion control system mounted on there.

​Creating really epic camera moves with a motion system this complex requires and equal amount of planning and playing around with it. You can plan a shot out in your head an think it's going to be poetry in motion, but then when you actually do it, the moves just don't jive together. Other times you may just be messing around shooting some test shots and you stumble across an sweet move you can't stop re-watching. We usually discover a new move we never thought of before each time we film with this jib system.

Here are just a few examples of some simple jib motion shots we captured using the jib crane with the pan/tilt head and the gimbal.

The video below shows clips captured using the motorized pan/tilt head and clips captured using the gimbal on our jib crane.

As you can see, there are a number of similarities in the shots both the pan/tilt head and gimbal can produce. It can be hard to distinguish between them unless you really know what to look for in the movement of the shots.

The most obvious difference is that the pan/tilt head has a bit more ridged movement than the gimbal, which is to be expected. The gimbal also provides a bit more stability, ironing out slight bumps and wobbles caused from the movement of the crane. Again, this is to be expected since the gimbal actively stabilizes the camera. There are a ton of very unique camera moves you can perform with a set up like this. They all have that signature "jib shot" feeling to them, which I personally find very pleasing visually.

The jib lets you go from high angles to low angles or vice-versa in one smooth motion. It also adds a slight arch to the move. With tools like the gimbal or pan/tilt head, you can add yet another layer of smooth, dynamic motion to your shot. One way to create a cool shot is by countering directions of movement; for example, if you're panning the crane left, pan the camera right at the same speed while keeping a steady track on your subject.

Like we said, there are tons of creative moves you can do with this type of jib setup, but we'll do an in-depth look at those in a future post. Right now, let's look more closely at the differences between these two pieces of equipment. First, you need to know what equipment we're actually using here.

​The feature which makes this gimbal well-suited for use with a jib crane are its dual-operator capabilities. This allows the gimbal to be controlled remotely via a handheld remote controller. It is possible for one person to operate both the jib and gimbal remote alone. However, it is much more effective when one operator controls the jib and a second operator controls the gimbal.

In order to use the Ronin-M with the jib, we purchased a Ronin-M mounting adapter which allows the gimbal to be mounted to other pieces of equipment with standard mounting screws. We also had to get an extension mounting plate for our jib to mount the gimbal far enough away from the head of the crane so that the back has enough clearance to move freely

​Setting up the crane by itself doesn't require any tools. The process takes one person about 5 minutes to complete and be ready to film with it. The additional attachments and equipment we use with our jib crane increase the setup time to 10-15 minutes, but that still isn't very long.

Both of these are awesome additions to any crane! We started with the gimbal first on our crane since we already had the Ronin-M. Then we purchased the Tigertilt head after seeing the amazing shots we could produce with these systems.

If you are looking to get one of these motion control systems for your crane, unless you use a jib everyday on your own, consider going with a gimbal first. You will get more use out of the gimbal because it can be used all the time, even when you aren't using a jib. If you often work alone, using the gimbal remote and jib together is difficult, but very doable with practice.

​Keep the pan/tilt head in mind as well though later down the road, especially for those of you that are typically solo operators. 

The creative possibilities unlocked when you combine one of these motion control systems with your jib are truly amazing. A bit of practice is needed to get the hang of coordinating the movements, but it's well worth it. You'll be able to create one-of-a-kind cinematic motion shots which can't be produced with any other system.

Let us know if you have any questions about our jib or any of the equipment we've discussed today, and let us know what you'd like us to write about next!

​We'll be adding more posts featuring this gear and more in the future so check back with us soon. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with our latest blog posts! Now get out there and create!

As a filmmaker or photographer, you would probably love to sell physical prints or movie posters. A physical print brings your photo or poster to life and makes it a tangible object that people can experience. But producing and selling prints is out of your budget range right?

You may think only the big-name studios can afford to do that and actually make money on it. After all, it's a big risk to invest in inventory unless you know people will buy it. If you order prints, then you have hundreds or thousands of dollars tied up in inventory that may or may not sell. And printing high-quality images in-house is even more expensive unless you already own all the equipment and printers needed. So it's out of the question until you make it big, right?

Actually no, it's not. Today, we're going to show you how you can offer prints, posters, and other products without owning any inventory or investing any money upfront.

Printful is what's known as a print on demand & drop shipping service. This means they print custom designed products as they are ordered from your store. Printful doesn't require upfront payment, minimum orders, or subscription fees. You don't have to invest money buying inventory up front that may or may not sell quickly.

All you have to do is select and design design your products, publish them to your website's store, and wait for orders to come in. Printful automatically produces and ships purchased products to-order for you. It ships directly to the customer.

Printful produces and ships the orders your customers place through your store. This video showcases the high-quality printing process that is used to create a product your customers will love.

The first step to towards selling with Printful is to create an account and set up your store. Creating your account is easy and totally free. If you're like me, you're waiting for the catch to pop up when you hear "free." "They gotta make money somehow," you say. Well, yes they do, but there's no shady catch.

​Let's stop here to address that issue of money. 

How Printful makes Money
Printful really does allow you to sell without any inventory or financial investment upfront. The way that Printful makes their money is by taking a percentage of the sale of each item. This is why they require you to connect a payment account such as PayPal during set up.

The full payment from the customer is sent to you through your store's payment gateway. Printful then bills their cut out of your PayPal or other payment method and you keep the rest! The percentage they take is high yes, but the profit you net in the end is about the same as the profit you'd take home after investing in inventory, except with Printful, you don't have money tied up in up-front inventory costs. Printful allows you to set your own product price and see exactly how much you'll profit from the sale at any given price.

​Printful does make money, but only when you do!

Now that we've cleared that up, you're ready to set up your store in Printful! Follow the checklist at the link below to get your store up and running in minutes and ready to start selling!

Most online e-commerce shop hosts and website platforms integrate seamlessly with Printful. Once integrated, your website's store will automatically sync your published Printful products and new customer orders. If your site doesn't have an integration, you can manually set up your store with their API.
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Your Printful account has a dashboard to monitor your sales and manage your products from. It also has a library where you can organize design files and images. The product editing tool lets you import finished designs and add them to the products. You can add text and clipart in the Printful design editor too after selecting a product. They also offer many other products beyond photo prints and posters. You can sell clothing items, phone cases, mugs, and much more through Printful!​

Once your design is complete, you select a set of custom mock-up product photos which you want to display in your store. Their mock-up photo generator tool creates very good product images! You can download one or more image sets, exclude images which you don't want to use, and select either jpeg or png file format for the images. Then set the price, name the product, add a description and publish your new product.

You can add your logo be printed on all of the packing lists which ship with your products. Printful also offers warehousing services if you already have merch or want to include non-inventory add-in items with the orders fulfilled by Printful. Warehouse products are shipped directly to customers from the warehouse location.

Offline sellers can still sell with Printful even if you don't have a website! Printful has manual ordering options on your dashboard so you can place orders for your products manually.

Printful offers you the ability avoid risking an up-front inventory investment but still sell your choice of physical products, with your designs and your branding, directly on your store. They give you the resources and the freedom to drop new merchandise with each project you do, get your work out into the world, and create memorabilia, no matter your budget.

Your supporters can bring your work into their home, and you don't have to bring boxes of inventory into yours to make it happen. Whether you have a store online already or are looking to start one for your photos, posters, designs and more, Printful is the way to go if you want to avoid the risk of investing your hard-earned money into inventory.

​If you have a design or photography you'd like to sell, it would be worth your time to check them out. Since you have no upfront investment to make, it's risk-free. Why not give it a try? 

Recently, we released a new video for Real Turf Solutions, a landscaping company that has us do all of their production work. In this video, titled Powering through Winter, there was a short shot with a very unique look. We have had some people ask how we achieved the effect which was captured 100% in-camera. We'd love to say that it was a well planed cinematography technique, but we'd be lying. In truth, it was, as many great shot are, created purely by chance.

​Now that we have discovered this effect though, we will be looking for new ways to use it in future productions. So what is this effect and how did we do it? We'll show you that in this article.

This is the clip from the video. The effect of interest can be seen in the bottom and left-hand areas of the frame. At first glance, it almost looks like a light leak, but that isn't the case here. First off, let's look at what we were filming with.

This shot was captured using our Canon C100 Mark II with a 135mm Cine prime lens at a 2.2 aperture. The lower your aperture is, the shallower your depth of field will be. This is important in the creation of this effect. We were filming at 60 frames per second so that we could use the footage as slow motion shots. We didn't use any stabilizers in this shot. It was filmed handheld.

​We pulled focus on the worker and continued pulling focus past him. This way, he would come into focus and go slightly out of focus in a smooth flow which would create a visual to match the feel that the music would have at the point in the track where we would be using this shot at. This is obviously a low-angle shot, and it was filmed from ground-level while laying down on a sidewalk.

This shot was filmed in the weeks before Christmas, so the homeowners had Christmas lights out already. This included a string of lights with clear bulbs mounted in the grass along the edges of the sidewalk. One of these bulbs was just a few inches in front of the lens on the left side of the frame. This was intentional, but what wasn't intentional were the tree limbs blowing in the slight breeze and the sunlight reflecting off of the bulb and hitting the lens.

​At an aperture of 2.2, the bulb is barely visible in the shot, but the light bouncing off of it can still be seen. The tree limbs waving lightly in the breeze are out of focus and not visible. One was being refracted through the glass though and therefore was slightly visible, but only its motion can really be seen. When all these things come together, they produce a really cool visual effect in-camera. Add a little color correction and grading, and it is good to go!

Here is an unedited still-frame captured with a higher aperture setting.

This is why keeping your aperture low is critical to achieving this effect. At a high aperture, the depth of field is not shallow enough to hide the bulb and other objects in the shot. You can easily recreate this effect yourself artificially. Post any questions you have in the comments. If you use this effect in a project, be sure to post it as well!

If you're looking for great visual effects for your projects, be sure to check out ProductionCrate! They have tons of ready-to-use cinematic visual and sound effects that you can put into your projects and really add to your production value. They have everything from light leaks to entire military tanks and more, all ready to be placed right into your shot!

If you are interested in seeing the entire video that this effect was featured in, check it out below! Remember to set the video quality to 1080p in the player settings for the best picture quality.

A drone can give you unique and epic shots for your projects. However there are times when using a drone just isn't possible or practical. The area you are filming in might have laws preventing you from using a drone.

​Other places, such as dense woods might make it impossible to fly a drone safely. Then there are events with large crowds where flying a drone presents safety and even legal issues. If you are filming near airports, you will likely be in a no-fly zone for drones. So how can you get smooth overhead shots in these situations? Today we'll look at an alternative to drones which can come in very handy on your projects.

We captured the shots in the video above without using a drone. To do this we used a neat little device we heard about only recently. Using this device, along with some other gear, we've put together a great camera motion system that can be used where drones cannot.

The Wiral LITE can also be useful for more than just overhead shots. You can use it for doing long slider shots across a great distance. You could use it in sport mode for something like getting a smooth profile shot while keeping up with a bicycle or runner, especially on narrow trails where it wouldn't be practical to run along beside them. As with any motion system, you can find tons of creative uses for it when you use your imagination.

The Wiral LITE comes with a swivel head which can be used for mounting the camera of your choice and positioning it to capture your shot. With the 3.3 pound payload it can carry, the Wiral can accommodate lighter DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, in addition to GoPros, 360 cameras, and smartphones.

You might not have a need to pan, tilt, or roll your camera in every situation, but being able to do so while the Wiral is in motion lets you get way more creative with your shots.  With the Wiral by itself, there isn't a way to control the camera remotely. However, with the system we've put together, we are able to remotely control the pan, tilt, and roll of the camera while the Wiral is in motion, as seen in a few shots during the video above. So how can you do this?

Filming a motorcycle with the Wiral mounted with a gimbal.

Smartphone cameras may not give you a wide enough field of view to suit your needs on their own though. This is where a set of smartphone universal lenses can come in handy. We use an inexpensive set of universal smartphone clip-on lenses when we need a different look or field of view in our Wiral shots. You can get more expensive and elaborate smartphone lenses if you want as well.

You can also use the Wiral LITE with a 360 camera which would let you reframe your shot to face any direction in post-production. If you're not familiar with it, 360 footage can be difficult to work with though. Using a gimbal may be the easiest route to take, depending on your personal preference. If you do want to use the Wiral LITE with a 360 camera, we recommend using the GoPro MAX.

The Wiral LITE is a great alternative to a drone for getting smooth overhead motion shots. It may not be able to reach the massive heights a drone can, but it will help you capture shots well above the height you could otherwise reach in situations where using a drone isn't an option. Using your imagination and other accessories like a gimbal, you can find many other creative uses for the Wiral as well.

If you are in the Middle Georgia or surrounding areas, you can rent our Wiral LITE for your productions!

The 15mm rail camera rigs are sometimes described as "Barbie for filmmakers." A rig allows you to add a wide range of equipment to enhance your camera's functionality and make it easier to capture amazing shots.

It provides a more stable platform for filming than can be achieved just by holding the camera directly in your hands, but it still allows some motion which is great for making more intense, dramatic action shots. It gives you a handheld look without excessive jittering and shaking that would distract the audience. When you want to be completely stable, a rig can easily be mounted to a tripod or other support.

We have been using a camera rig for years in many of our productions, and even though we now have motorized gimbals and steadicam systems, we still find our shoulder mounted camera rig very useful in many situations, such as shooting exciting action shots. It also provides a great deal of extra versatility that other supports can't.

A rig is, in our opinion, the best support platform to start out with using, and one you will continue to find use for throughout your production career. We won't cover every accessory you can mount on a rig, but lets look at some key elements of a camera rig that you should remember as you build your own!

You have to decide on a body for your rig first so that you'll have a foundation to build the rest of it on. There are a number of different platforms you can start with. Some rigs come with shoulder mounts and hand grips for enhanced stability while moving.

​If you like to keep your equipment lightweight and compact, you may prefer a simpler design. A camera cage with a handle is a great starting point for a lightweight setup. Keep in mind, if you are using a cinema camera and want to get a cage with your rig, you will need to get a cage big enough to fit it. 

Here are a few examples of rig bodies you can start with:

Notice the 15mm rail systems which each rig includes. You need to be sure that the body of your rig has these rails, or at least mounts for them. The 15mm rail system is a feature that separates rigs from regular grips. The 15mm rail allows you to mount accessories, shoulder supports, and other equipment to the rig.

You can also build a totally custom rig from scratch if you prefer. Start by getting the various lengths of 15mm rails that you need. At a minimum, you'll need to get a camera mounting base to go on the rails so that your camera can be attached to it. If you want, you can also add a shoulder mount and/or hand grips of your choice, along with any other accessories you desire.

A follow-focus is a highly recommended addition to any rig. It allows you to easily pull focus while maintaining a smooth, steady shot. Even if you prefer to keep everything lightweight, a follow-focus will be well worth the extra space it requires. You can get minimalist follow-focus handles, which strap directly to your lens, but we recommend a rail mounted geared follow-focus, or even a motorized follow focus.

The most common follow-focuses are manually operated. There are some motorized ones, but they are usually very expensive and may take some extra practice to learn to operate effectively. We use a manual follow-focus and a motorized follow focus depending on the situation and what type of shot we are going for.

A follow-focus is one of the best improvements you can add to your camera. It will enable you to pull focus on subjects smoothly and quickly, and it will open the door to using creative focus techniques in your filming.

Many lenses built specifically for video/film, like cinema lenses, are manual focus only. With these lenses, a follow-focus is usually a must since trying to pull focus with just your hand will create a shaky shot. 
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Here are some follow-focuses that you might be interested in.

Matte Boxes help cut down on glare and undesired lens flare caused by light sources. Some matte boxes also allow filters to be mounted on them directly rather than on the camera lens itself.

​A matte box isn't the most critical piece of equipment in most situations, but it's great to have one, especially when filming around bright light sources. Higher-quality matte boxes usually are more effective at reducing glare and include professional features such as "doughnuts" which help reduce light-leaks where the lens meets the matte box.

The FOTGA matte box above is an advanced piece of equipment when it comes to matte boxes. We use a FOTGA matte box on our camera rig and it performs great! This is a great choice for professional filmmakers, but if you are just starting out and a beginner with film/video, it may honestly be a bit overkill for your first matte box. It's not hard to use, but it includes some more advanced features you probably don't need yet, such as the 4x4 filter trays.

If you're looking for something more basic just to keep glare off your lens, the Neewer matte box below might be a better selection to suit your needs.  It's also a more lightweight option.

Have you ever thought a shot looked perfect on your camera's screen only to re-watch it on your computer and spot something you couldn't see with your camera's display? The built-in display screens on cameras are too small to give you a good look at your shot. It's easy to miss small details that can make a big difference. This is especially true for shots where you are having to pull focus on different subjects.

Adding an external monitor to your setup will save you lots of headaches and eye strain. It will let you get a more detailed view of your shot so you can catch the little things you might otherwise miss. You can easily attach the monitor to a rig using a 15mm rail mount and swivel arm. The swivel is very important because it allows you to adjust the monitor so that you can see it in any position. Many monitors come with what you need to attach it to your rig. 

Here is  a good starting choice for an external monitor screen. 

​This was the first external monitor we purchased to use with our camera rig. It is still used with some of our cameras to this day. The Feelworld FW-760 also provides additional functions that some cameras may not have on their own, such as focus assist (also called "peaking"), false color, anamorphic modes, and more!

This particular kit comes with pretty much everything you need to get started (except just the 15mm rail adapter to mount it on your rig), including several mounting options, including a magic arm and swivel head shoe mount.

All-in-all, this is a great monitor to use with your camera rig. Click the link above to check it out for yourself! Remember, you'll also need a 15mm rail shoe mount to put it on your rig.

There are more advanced monitors out there as well. You can also get wireless monitors if you prefer not to deal with cables. Wireless monitors are rather expensive, so it also depends on your budget.

If you aren't worried about customizing each part of your rig, you can get pre-built rigs which come with many of the essential components included. This might be a good choice if you just want to get a rig to mess around with as a starting point. You can always customize it more and upgrade parts of it later on as you go.

Here's a good, affordable option to start with.

There are many accessories you can get to customize your camera rig, these are just the main essentials to get you started. The great thing about a rig is you can upgrade parts of it as time goes on and add/remove accessories based on the specific needs of each production you shoot with it.

​We hope that this helps you in building your 15mm rail rig for your camera, and we will continue to update this article as time goes on.