DVC’s long-awaited EDIUS 6 tutorial is now shipping. For those of you who are regular readers of my columns and blog you will know I’m a huge fan of Grass Valley’s Edius. I have often said it’s the industries best kept secret – so it’s particularly nice to...

The DR-07MKII is an advanced version of the popular, easy to use DR-07 that was one of Tascam’s best-selling products. The new portable offers an adjustable stereo condenser microphone with cardioid pattern that can be moved from an XY configuration for mono compatible recordings and...

I’m a huge fan of Zacuto’s Emmy Award winning ‘Shootout’ videos. They task a group of highly respected Directors of Photography (DOPs), Colourists and Directors to put the latest digital cameras through their paces and specifically compare them to the finest in 35mm film cameras....

The goal in retouching a beauty shot is for it to look real. Especially the skin, which becomes plastic like using almost all the “simple fix” software tools. Of course it helps if you model’s skin is as good as the stunning Lia – despite being only 14 (when most...

This is nothing to do with the blog other than I love London Elektricity and this is Tony’s first new material in 2 years. Love this video...

Sound Recording is one of the fundamental skills that any photographer shooting video will need master. This overview looks at some techniques and products that might prove useful. Sound is the one thing most likely to spoil the work of any wannabe Speilberg. Recording audio is one of those...

Incorporating video production into a still photographic business is relatively simple. While undoubtedly there are many new skills to learn, the ability to spot the moment, set up shots and light them are the basic tools of any still photographer. However if you are going to make any money...

Some upgrades are incremental and some are larger. The latest 2011 MacBook Pro’s have taken quite a power leap over last years models. Faster processors, much improved graphics and even the Thunderbolt i/o. I’m after a small and light laptop and am worried the MacBook Air will...

In amongst the technical information for the launch of the new Canon 600D camera I noticed a feature that could be just the ticket for photographers looking to introduce a video element to their wedding and event coverage. Canon’s new “Video Snapshot technology” allow you...

The beautiful creamy out of focus backgrounds in feature films and other high-budget productions is something most videomakers aspire to. As still photographers we know this is achieved by opening the lens iris. However, there is another factor which affects depth of field: The size of the...

The design of the dSLR has evolved to create the optimum platform for shooting still photographs. It was never intended for shooting video. With the camera far enough away from your face so you can see the LCD it is already awkward to carry let alone focus. The physical handling of the camera...

In camera zooming is an effect – and like any good effect you should use it sparingly. Still camera lenses were not designed to provide in shot zooming. You will find it incredibly difficult to get smooth zooms anyway so try and restrict it to a way of reframing your image without...

The best place to start is searching for GlideTrack on YouTube or Vimeo. You’ll immediately see the kind of effects you can achieve and for £195 it is simply amazing. There’s a small learning curve to using it and one of the best tips is not to include the start and stop of the...