The Meejah Channel - For anyone and everyone who would like to make videos and become a Youtube sensation. All the tips, tricks and wrinkles showing you how to make and publish your own videos with little-to-no budget or equipment (and even how to make money at it!).
The Ghost Effect is a staple of movie making and remains impressive despite being one of the easiest to create. In this tutorial you will see not only how to use Sony Vegas Pro to create the Ghost effect but also how to add some echo enhancement to the sound track for extra spookiness.
This really is an exceptionally simple effect to pull off and yet most satisfying to observe. Once you have understood how the effect works you will no doubt see endless possibilities for plenty of other similar effects that can be produced simply by tweaking the basic technique.
So, delay no further, Watch the video and try it for yourself - and you may find yourself creating Ghosts just for the fun of it :)
When doing a piece to camera, you can save yourself a lot of time, grief and video footage (not to mention the neccessity of learning lines), by using an autocue/teleprompter. "But aren't they massively expensive"? I hear you cry! Well professional ones certainly are, but if you own a smartphone or tablet computer, then there are apps available that will turn your device into something very similar to an autocue/teleprompter. If when using these apps, you place your device just above the camera lens, the it is very difficult for your audience to detect that you are looking at the device and not at the camera. The problem, of course is, how do you get your device to hover in that sweet-spot above your camera lens?
This video will show you an easy an inexpensive solution to that problem. Build one yourself and never again be lost for words in front of a camera.
I'll be honest with you - Windows LIVE Movie Maker is not my favourite beast. The Old Movie Maker at least looked a bit like a real Video editor and had a timeline. The new one does have editing abilities but is nowhere near as flexible or intuitive as it's ancestor. Having said that, Windows LIVE Movie Maker is the only editor that some people have. After all. if you want to try your hand at video editing, you are not going to shell out hundreds on a program that you may decide not to use after all - you are going to try it out on something that's available, and hopefully, free!For anyone who runs Windows, then the free and available option is going to take the form of Windows Live Movie Maker. One of the most popular videos on the Meejah Channel is How to make a Pro Intro with Windows Movie Maker which was a tutorial using the Original Windows Movie Maker but it has prompted a torrent of messages asking for a tutorial showing how to do this with the LIVE version. I ignored the situation for a long time hoping it would go away, but it looks like it never will, so I have finally taken the bull by the horns and produced the video they were all asking for. It's a complete how-to, from sourcing your background clips, through editing them on Windows LIVE Movie Maker, and finally rendering into a Video. Hope you enjoy it.
My original intention was to demonstrate a "ghetto filmmaking" technique known as a "bag cam", which is a very simply constructed camera stabilizer using basic easily-available materials which is particularly useful for producing a "Dog's eye" point of view. The basic idea consists of placing the camera into a platic bag (with a hole cut for the lens). This places the camera close to the ground and the pendulum effect of the bag produces a stabilizing effect. Well I tried it - and it was rubbish! The camera flopped about in the bag, which was much too light and blew about in even mild breezes and the bag material itself rustled like crazy ruining any attempt to record audio through the on-camera mic. There was obviously room for improvement, and the "Bag cam" as it stood was not fit for purpose, so I had a think, came up with an idea, grabbed some everyday household stuff and created a new improved "Doggie Cam" It's easy to make, effective and solves most of the problems presented by the unsuccessful "Bag Cam". Check out how to make one yourself in the video below. It's great fun and won't cost you anything.
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Photography lighting kits, as a rule, tend to be on the expensive side, but if you are planning to do any sort of decent indor video shooting, good light is pretty much essential. I have seen a number of lighting tutorial videos hailing from the USA which suggest using, as a cheap lighting solution, a clamp light which is common and inexpensive over there. Over here in the UK however, those lamps are difficult to find and not that cheap either. I had been using a simple bulb in a bulb-holder and attached to a bit of flex & a plug as a light source. It did indeed provide light, but was non-directable, difficult to mount and fragile. I decided that it was time to do something about it, and after a bit of thinking, I came up with a solution. The solution was a lamp that was cheap, easy to make, directable, robust and easy to mount virtually anywhere. The basic Idea is easy to scale up and can be used for making much more powerful lights simply by using a bigger container and more lamps. Very little skill is needed to make them and I'm sure that these lamps would have their uses for straight photography lighting as well, so if you are looking for some cheap camera lighting, why not try them out for yourself.
Ever fancied zapping people (filmically speaking) with a laser? Perhaps this is just the effect you need to put the fininshing touches to your own no-budget Sci-fi short but the ability to produce such an effect is beyond you? After all, this stuff isn't easy. Hollywood spend gazillions of dollars on special effects like these. Producing such a feat requires high-end editors and an encyclopaedic knowledge of specialist programs like Adobe's After Effects doesn't it? Well usually, yes but there is a simple technique you can use to pull off a pretty respectable laser-zap effect with minimal tools and skills. You can emulate the classic Star Trek style Laser/Phaser zap with surprisingly little in the way of fancy editors. In fact, this Classic effect can be created on virually any video editor - even the most basic ones. If your editor can do simple cuts, fades and screen grabs (and they nearly all can) - Then you can do this. Check out the video to find out how.
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If you like this sort of stuff, then why not subscribe to Meejah's Youtube channel - It's free!
I get an awful lot of messages from people asking about where they can get hold of copyright free music and sound effects for use in their video productions. Which is understandable because appropriate sound effects and music can add a whole new dimension to a video. The reason they need licence-free music is because they know that the use of unauthorised music in their videos could lead to their video being pulled by Youtube for copyright infringement. What's more, they could be laying themselves open to a legal challenge from the music's owners. It seems that it is not generally known that Youtube have a library of copyright-free music and sound effects that are available for free download by anyone with a Youtube account. These downloads are all absolutely safe to use in all Youtube videos (and indeed, any other videos for that matter). So this video shows you exacly how to go about accessing these great freebies - Courtesy of Youtube. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.
Ever had a great bit of video that you really wanted to upload, but were too embarrased to show because it contained swearing, cursing or bad language? Well now you can use that golden footage - dig out those clips, because in this video tutorial you can find out how to "Bleep" out those naughty words and make your video suitable for everyone, not just Builders and Sailors. It's remarkably easy to do and the technique can be used on pretty much ANY video editor - Including basic ones. If you can split your clip then you can use this method. To prove the point that the technique can be used on any video editor, the demonstration in this video is performed on Windows Movie Maker - So C'mon - don't just sit there, get %@%! Bleeping!
Ever thought that your video and photographic compsitions were lacking that certain "something"? Wondered why your snaps never looked quite as good as some of the pro shots you have seen? So what is the secret to composing pleasing shots with your camera or camcorder - Is it something which requires an artist's eye and years of training? Well, actually, the secret of composition rest in the application of a very simple rule - more a guideline really - called "The Rule of Thirds". It's actually a very simple technique that was discovered hundreds of years ago by the great artists of old and continues to be used by artists, photographers and cinematographers to this day. The technique is simple to learn, yet very effective. Adopt this technique and you should get successful results 90% of the time.Check out the video and you'll see what i mean.
One of the most useful things that you can do with a video editor is to add narration to your video. In fact if you want to make a documentary of any sort, it's pretty much vital. Windows Movie Maker is a great little program for what it is - and the price is right (Free). But sophisticated it is not. It offers only one Audio/Music track which usually means having to choose between having background music or a voiceover. With a little bit of cheating however, you CAN have both and although Windows Movie Maker does not allow you to gently fade between different volume levels, this too, can be done by cheating. So if you want to know how to use Windows Movie Maker to remove an annoying sound-track, add some nice music, a narration AND drop the background music level whilst the narrator is speaking, then this video is for you - Check it out.
How we all love those sexy slow slider camera shots that we see on the movies and TV. The way that the camera seems to effortlessly and smoothly float past the array of ingredients on your favourite cookery program, the smooth segue of the camera as it displays the dazzling flowers on those gardening programs and the slow considered change of point of view on those sumptuous period dramas. Of course the equipment to carry out this feat of cinematographic splendour - a camera slider - are not cheap bits of kit. But despair not people, you can produce similar sexy smoothness with very little in the way of equipment. In fact you may already have everything you need to do this So check out the video below, This incredibly quick and simple DIY hack will allow you to take those sexy smooth slider shots that you've seen on the movies and TV with virtually nothing in the way of equipment and cost. For something so quick and easy, the results of this DIY slider are remarkably good. Try it yourself.
Do you find that the video that you shoot with your mini-DV cam comes out a bit shakey? That every minor twitch of your hand is transmitted unfailingly to your footage? Well unfortunately that's just the way it is with small cameras. Their small size means that it is difficult to hold them with both hands and the one you are holding it with is invariably close to the lens - a recipe that virtually guarantees shakiness. What you need is a camera rig - a frame-like device that allows you to hold your camera with both hands - and away from the lens. Camera rigs however, (like everything photographic), are not cheap. Well fear not my little ones, because this video shows an easy, and instant way to re-purpose a bit of kit that you may already have, and use it as a camera-rig, quickly and easily, giving your home video clips all the classy looking stability that you know they deserve.
Ever had your video recording ruined by wind-noise that completely obliterated what was said?. It's a common problem with most video cameras especialy those without a mic jack - which means that you are totally reliant on the camera's built-in mic. There are, of course ways around this problem. But it's not always practical or even desireable to cart a separate recording unit and dead cat mic with you when all you want to do is make a quick one-man video up the side of a windy mountain
Although it's a common problem, it's one that can be solved easier than you may think. This video shows how to hack your video camera in seconds to vastly reduce wind-noise. And it's not expensive or time consuming either - this hack costs just pennies and takes just seconds to do. So if you are having trouble with wind-noise, check out the following video. For what the hack costs in terms of time effort & money (i.e. negligible - It's well worth trying.
Have you ever been in the situation where you have been out in the wilds with your video camera, hoping to make a nice little video, but the shots are a little shakey and you wishedthat you had brought something with you to stabilise your video camera, but the prospect of lugging a tripod along for miles meant that you left it behind? (that was a big sentence wasn't it?) Then this could be the answer. An easily constructed and virtually zero-cost camera stabiliser that is so compact that you can carry it about in your pocket. It might not compare with a full blown tripod, but it can certainly vastly reduce the inevitable shakiness that is part and parcel of hand-held shots. And anyway, It's so cheap, easy and effective, that it's certainly worth making and trying out for yourself. I'm guessing that once you have tried it, you'll probably never leave home without it. Check it out in the video below.
As you look around the Internet for information on amateur film making, you realise what an inventive lot amateur film makers are. Often they are working with the minimum of equipment, and a zero budget. These inconvenient facts however, don't seem to get in the way of their productions.
Often, the professional film moguls produce a certain effect, look or style in their movies that is coveted by the independent film maker. When they try to emulate the technique, they often find that it involves a piece of equipment with a price tag that runs into tens of thousands, but does that put them off? No sir!
These hardy souls are quite capable of finding out everything they can about the equipment they need, and back engineering it in a low-cost and low-tech way, that will nevertheless produce the required outcome.
You need only witness the plethora of plans and tutorials on line that can show you how to produce your own stedi-cam or dolly-and-track system for just a few pounds. But the best innovations of all are those that take a piece of equipment that you already own, and with a few tweaks, convert it for a completely different purpose.
Meejahs latest video offering is an example of this inventiveness. It shows how, by using your standard tripod in a slightly different way, you can achieve a similar effect to the smooth gliding shots produced by a camera dolly system.
