Tue, Jul 31, 2012
In this episode we'll show you how to improve your VFX by picking the correct green screen paint. We'll show you what makes for a great chroma green, ways to light a green screen, what is a good chroma key, negatives of processing a good matte by using too much contrast, why noise is important in a green screen and why you want to avoid gloss on your green screen. We then present our findings and recommend a custom green screen paint for you.
Tue, Aug 21, 2012
Sound and audio are essential for the quality of your YouTube video, In this episode they show how to pick-up sound on location, as well as how to adjust sound for specific settings. In this episode we experiment with different sound recording techniques and tools to understand how we can get Hollywood-level sound, maybe without the Hollywood-level budget.
Tue, Sep 11, 2012
Learn how to light your movie scene using a limited budget in this episode of "Weapons of Mass Production." Kevin and John show how to use incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, as well as using work lights from hardware stores to light your scenes by taking a scene and re-shooting it with new lighting.
Tue, Oct 2, 2012
The iPhone 5 has arrived and we have the iPhone 5 camera app review you've been waiting for. In this episode, Kevin and John compare the strengths and weaknesses of the iPhone 5 camera to other prosumer cameras (Nikon DSLR, Hasselblad H4D) including how to get the best resolution, how to get the best focus features, and how to get the best overall image quality for your respective camera. Kevin tries to answer the question: should you get the expensive camera or just use an iPhone and keep the extra thousands of dollars?
Tue, Oct 23, 2012
Want to learn how to best utilize shutter speed, ISO, and aperture for your flash photography? In this episode of "Weapons of Mass Production" Kevin and his crew show you, in an entertaining way, tips and tricks on one of the key elements of cinematography and production, lighting flash photography.
Tue, Nov 13, 2012
In this episode we do a shoot-out of four brands of "professional" lenses to see which is best for your DSLR. What is the best lens to spend your hard-earned cash on? Do the camera-brand lenses from Nikon and Canon outshine the much-cheaper 3rd party kit? To save your sanity when shopping for a lens, we put them head to head.
Tue, Dec 4, 2012
Some people are getting great footage out of an iPhone. How do they do it? Does it pass muster? What tools make it easier? Should I throw away my video camera? In this episode Kevin Good runs the iPhone 5 through the ringer to find out just how good it is.
Tue, Jan 8, 2013
Is the GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition the king of the action cameras? To find out we put it up against an unsuspecting competitor: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4. The TS4 is a rugged camera from their stills line, that now shoots HD video to the venerable AVCHD format. How will it stack up against the market-dominating GoPro? Is all the hypearound the GoPro justified? And most importantly: what should you spend your hard-earned yen on?
Tue, Jan 22, 2013
In Weapons of Mass Production we've looked at the super-cheap strategy of shooting your movies with your phone, and decided that's pretty miserable. But we can't all run out and buy a high-end movie camera,so what's the best camera in that sweet spot in-between? These cameras all run under $1,000 including the tested lenses, and while they're all from the stills line, they have cinematic video capabilities. So we decided to run them through the gauntlet to figure out which one will give the best quality motion pictures.