
Filmmakers and enthusiasts are a persecuted bunch of people. If the stories are true, we're frequently harassed for innocent and entirely reasonable filming. These stories always feature a misinformed officer to raise interest. And always accompanied by a raft of outraged comments. In my experience, this is far from the truth. In fact I seem to have the opposite problem. People are just too nice. My shots are normally ruined by polite people stopping or apologising. Clearly I'm just not the videographer
Sooner or later you'll get a negative critique. Unless you hide your work away, someone will have something negative to say about your work. And it will hurt. How dare they? After all, everyone else gives you nothing but love.
Asking for a critique can be painful, particularly on forums where diplomacy and tact are rarely in abundance. But the tough love of a video review will help expose unseen weaknesses in your technique, technical ability and other skills. Receiving feedback is
If there's been one constant in my ten years of running this site, it's been the question, "what's the best camera". (And you can tell we're not as trendy as those DSLR sites, as we rarely get asked what's the best lens.) I can see the logic behind the question. After all, camera's aren't cheap and you'll want to get the best value. But it exposes that age old misconception: you need good gear to get great video.The real question you should be asking isn't what's the best, but "how
Perhaps I'm imagining it, but I'm sure amateur videographers used to be more, well, amateur. It seems everyone's a filmmaker these days. Take a visit to one of the many DSLR forums and you'll find a talking shop of DoPs and guerrilla filmmakers. Where have all the amateurs gone?
Technology has changed dramatically in the ten years I've run this site. It's not just that cameras are more affordable, or that software is easier to use. it's all the other social interaction changes. Hobbyists
Every now and again I venture into YouTube world. I've never understood why YouTube exists and my casual trips onto its pages never really provide an answer. Take a look at the top 10 videos and you'll see a stream of badly filmed videos with no real interest (other than the type of interest generated by people doing "crazy shit"). Dig deeper and you find more.
But every visit, there's something I see more of. Ads. Wait 2 seconds to skip. Wait 5 seconds to skip. (Bizarrely,