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Capturing Natural Light in Photographs

One thing that is important for Gorilla film makers and Travel Photographers alike and that is natural light.

In this series from SIlberPhoto, National Geographic photographer Bob Holmes talks about how he gets the best from natural light.

 

Awarded Travel Photographer of the Year 3 times over the last 20 years, Bob has a depth of knowledge some of us can only dream of.  

 


Sit back and enjoy as Bob talks about his travels, his work and how he captured these symbolic images 

 

 

Bob Holmes on Natural Light in Travel Photography

 

 

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Solving Mysteries the “Sherlock” way with Cinematography and Editing

How do you tell your audience what a character is thinking using only visual clues … namely cinematography and editing

 

In this article over at No Film School, Renee explains just how to solve mental problems in a visual medium

Perhaps the quickest way to tell an audience what a character is thinking as they’re solving complicated mysteries of logic is to just tell them;  just slap an internal monologue voice over on the timeline and you’re done. Now, even though I’m like the rest of the world who could listen to Benedict Cumberbatch speak non-stop forever with that “jaguar hiding in a cello” voice of his, that approach to dispensing information isn’t all that interesting cinematically.

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Getting your scifi script off to the right start

A trope is a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression or a significant or recurrent theme; a motif.

Sci-Fi is a wonderful genre, full of story–telling possibilities as endless as the stars themselves. This is true from both a science and fiction standpoint. Far too often however science fiction films rely on the same tried and true methods to keep the audience entertained. This in not necessarily a bad thing, it makes science fiction more accessible to a wider audience. A few years ago science fiction was not as mainstream as it is today. After the success of Star Wars (1977) that all changed

Matt Loggie at raindance talks about the 7 tropes you should use to get your SciFi script off the ground

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The complexities of sub text

Rarely do people actually say what they mean. A woman walks into the living room, says to her husband “I’m upset about what you said last night at dinner.” When does that happen? … Right. Now you’ve got a scene. The image of her pacing during the mundane conversation, biting her nails and playing with her hair will say a lot more than her words: this is about the character.

In this article published over at raindance.org, Baptiste Charles-Aubert talks about the complexities of writing sub text and reviews Writing Subtext, by Dr. Linda Seger is published by Michael Wiese Productions.

 
 Well worth a quick read if you ask me!
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4 Tips for Success on Film Sets

Brenden Shipman provides some useful insight and tips on how to survive on a film set, especially if this is your first time there!

In his article you’ll learn when to express an opinion, how important the right attitude is to getting the job done and how important it is to listen and when to ask questions.

Following these tips is the first step to elevating your status on set. Remember that popularity can go a long way in this business and you never know who has a job waiting for you one day. With experience comes the confidence of a hardened motion picture technician, worry not you will get there!

 

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Using your camera stabilisation feature

Image Stabilization, or IS, is somewhat standard on most newer cameras and lenses and allows you to shoot at slower shutter speeds (usually two settings slower) than you would be able to without it. However, what are its limitations, when should it be used, and in what shooting situations? In this short video from Adorama, photographer David Bergman explains how the image stabilization feature works on your gear, as well as what you should know about turning it on to make your shots more steady.

 

This article over at NoFilmSchool goes into the detail and cover some of the gotchas that you should look out for!

 

 

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Help is at hand to choose the right lens

Finding the right lens for your project just got a whole lot more interesting.

Have you ever looked at a photo and thought, “I want to shoot something like that! What lens did that photographer use?” Well, a new website called What the Lens is aiming to help you choose lenses based on images that you like. Created by photographer Willie C, What the Lens is a tool that allows you to scroll through their library of landscape, macro, wildlife, portrait, and travel photos, choose 20 of your favourites, and then uses its magic to pick a lens based on your preferences

Check out the full article at NoFilmSchool

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6 tips for photographers who want to make films

Though photography and filmmaking are very similar crafts there are definitely inherent technical and artistic differences, and if you’re a photographer looking to get your cinematic feet wet, you might want to learn a few of them. In this video from Mango Street, videographers from White in Revery share some tips on how to make the transition from photographer to filmmaker a little more smooth, as well as what to look out for when capturing moving images. Check out the video and full article over at NoFilmSchool