EASY DIY AUTOCUE/TELEPROMPTER

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.

How to Bleep out Bad Language and Swearing on your videos with ANYvideo editor.

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!

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If you like this stuff, then why not subscribe to Meejah's Youtube channel - It's free!

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Watermarking with Windows Movie Maker - The Easy Way.

Watermarking on video. - In case you don't know what "Watermarking" a video means, it is the addition of a name, or a channel identification logo to a video. It is usually quite small  and unintrusive - frequently semi-transparent - and more often as not, lives in one of the corners of the screen, where it remains for the entire length of the video.

What's it's point? - Well it's not just an excercise in vanity, a "Look what I made" statement. It's actually a security measure. The internet is replete with "bad'uns" who are happy to download videos they have taken a liking to from places like Youtube and then re-upload them elsewhere as their own work. This is of course ruined if the true owner of the video has their name or channel indelibly marked into the very fabric of the video.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of nascent video-makers use Windows Movie Maker as their video editor of choice and being a somewhat basic program, has no facility for producing true video watermarks - So does this mean that WMM users will just have to do without Watermarking.

Actually, No. Because although standard watermarking as we know it cannot be produced by WMM, we can nevertheless produce something mightily similar by tweaking the "Titles" options. It's quick, It's easy and It WORKS, and you can find out how by checking out this video:

Compose your videos like a Pro

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.

Make a Pro Video Intro with WMM

Do you find the standard titling options in Windows Movie Maker (WMM) a bit Mnnahhh...? Do you long for something with a bit more gravitas that will bestow an aura  of high technology jiggery-pokery?

Alas, we all know that this kind of intro requires high octane (and costly) programs like "After effects". There is no way you could even come close to producing such video eye-candy by using something as basic as the free editor "Windows Movie Maker" 

Well,  my friends you have been informed. Impressively cool intros can indeed be created using nothing more complicated that your free copy of WWM.

Fancy having a go at making some cool pro-looking intros? This tutorial will show you how. It's easier than you think and loads of fun.So if all you've got to edit on is Windows Movie Maker (WMM) here is the tutorial you have been waiting for.

Instant Cheap 'n Easy DIY Camera Rig

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.

Zero cost camera stabiliser that you can carry in your pocket.

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.

Easy Gun-muzzle flash effects with Windows Movie Maker (WMM).

One of the most desired special effects among  video makers is the gun or muzzle flash effect. This effect turns a mediocre clip of a gun accompanied by a bang sound effect into something that looks real and deadly and believable.

Usually, to produce such effects you would have to utilise top-end video editors or specialist programs like Adobe's Aftereffects, which are not only complicated, but also very expensive to buy.

So what if you want to produce gun-flash effects for your own video, but all you have to edit on is a very basic video editor like Windows movie maker - Is it even possible with such kit?

Well, you will be happy to know that yes, it is possible, and it's not even all that complicated once you know how. The video below shows how simple the technique is. It may be simple, but the finished result is surprisingly effective.

You will need the use of a photo editing program, but this is no problem because the photo editor I use in the tutorial is absolutely free. It's called Paint.net. It's a useful bit of kit to have anyway, and it won't cost you a bean. You can download a copy from:
http://download.cnet.com/Paint-NET/3000-2192_4-10338146.html?
Just be sure to untick any boxes offering free browser toolbars etc. (Uless you specificall want 'em that is)

OK, 'nuff said - Here's the video.

Zero budget Audio hack.

I'll be honest with you - My video camera is a cheap one - VERY cheap! and the audio produced by it is not the best in the world - In fact it's a bit rubbish.  Living on the edge of Penury as I do, the purchase of a better camera is not an option, so I was forced to find another solution to the problem.

The solution of this problem (which involved the use of my mobile phone), produced really excellent results, and had some wonderful side-benefits that using the mic. in the camera simply couldn't compete with. I now routinely record all my audio seperately using this technique.


One of the benefits is being able to pick up perfect audio at any distance from the camera without the need for radio-mics, field recorders or boom poles.

In this video, I show how to use the technique - It really is simple, requires only a mobile phone and some gaffer tape, and produces excellent results. Check it out in the video below.

BTW. I routinely post any music, or sound effects used in the videos to my website at www.meejah.co.uk They are all licence-free so help yourself if you need them.

Easy animation FX

I was checking through my Youtube video messages the other day (as you do) and came across one that referred to a video I had made some time ago. The video was about how you can make videos with even minimal equipment and as an example of what can be done, I had included a clip of a very simple stop-motion animation that I had made with my grandchildren, and depicted a wooden toy train running down a wooden track and colliding with a wooden bridge creating a big explosion.

The message sender wanted to know how I had created the animated explosion - was it difficult? Well, in fact, creating simple special effects with stop-motion animations is actually very easy. Stop-motion animations are basically a sequence of still images (usually taken with a digital still camera), that are strung together to create the impression of movement.

Because they are still images, it is a simple matter to individually open them in a photo-editor, and literally paint the effects you require directly onto the photos, and this was exactly how I created the explosions in the video. Working through the images one-by-one I painted a blast, followed by a cloud of steam, then smoke, which eventually dispersed into nothing. When run together, they gave a pretty good impression of a cartoon-like explosion.

In the video, I also give a basic overview of how to make a stop-motion animated video. It is incredibly easy (if a little time-consuming), to do. If all you have is a digital still camera, and Windows Movie maker, then you have all you need to begin making your own Youtube videos - Why not give it a try?

Inventive video makers

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.

Check it out:

Happy new year! - How to make things Appear and Disappear in your movies

Happy new year one and all.
As you may know, The Meejah Youtube Channel is a pretty young channel, and the whole idea is to provide ideas and guidance for new video makers, showing them how to make the best best videos possible even if they have minimal equipment and cash.

This latest video goes back to basics, and shows how to pull off one of the easiest, and yet one of the most used and versatile video effects - The disappearing (or appearing) effect. This effect is a staple of TV and the Movies - you will have seen it thousands of times over the years.  This effect is really incredibly easy to pull off. It requires no special equipment and yet there is no end to the fun you can have with it.

Once you have got your head around how it works, you can let your imagination run riot, but use it with care. Most people, when they discover how easy it is to do, go a bit mad at first, and use it in everything they make - whether it is appropriate or not. lol.

I know that many of you will already know how this works - It's so simple that many people discover the principal by accident whilst editing their videos - But we all have to start somewhere, and there are many newbies out there for whom all this editing stuff is a black art, and a simple, effective technique like this is just what they are looking for, so this is for them.

Another free music file added to the Meejah collection

Another free (licence free) music file has been added to the collection. It's called "The Gathering", is in the "Trance" style and is 2 m 15 s in duration.

There are ten music files in the collection at the moment. All the music is licence free, "Youtube safe" and is ideal for use in your videos (Youtube or otherwise), and other media projects.

The whole collection of music can be found at the Meejah website  www.meejah.co.uk  just click on the tab entitled "Music", and help your self.

I am now working on the second Meejah video, which will show (those not in the know), where to find, and how to use Windows Movie Maker (WMM), the free video editor that comes with windows.

See you there.