1 Stock Footage Clip is Taking a Day Trip

The "driving" force (pun intended) for this clip was a request by a YouTube visitor, asking if I had any driving time lapses that took place during the daytime.  I actually never really thought about doing one up until now, you don't really see too many of them out there... and I now know why.  They are HARD to get.

I initially had to wait for good weather conditions.  The next part was mounting my camera somewhere that would move naturally with the car and not shift or have the potential to shift while driving.  I ended up using a magic arm with a clamp to mount my T2i to my rear view mirror upside down.  I then flipped the image in post.  Those 2 testing points made up the first few failed attempts.

The dynamic range between the really bright sky and the detail in the road and cars was also an issue, especially when you try to drag your shutter for almost half a second in order to get some much desired motion blur.  This meant I had 2 ND filters stacked on the front of my camera (a ND 2.1 and a ND 1.8).  I had to cut a lot of light out to keep my iris wide open to reduce the "strobe" effect that presents itself when doing time lapses on a DSLR.  When you shoot with the iris closed even a little bit,  there is a slight chance you will get an inconsistency in exposure between two shots.

This was actually my 8th attempt at getting something I felt was useable.  Many times, the light couldn't be cut back enough or the cars (which are the main subjects) were too dark when I tried to expose the sky.  I am going to do a LOT more testing to see if I can get something I am REALLY proud of, but I do like this one and felt it might be useful to some of you.  Hope this helps in your projects!

You can preview and download the clips by clicking "read more" below.  Happy Downloading!

As always, please e-mail, like us or share this on facebook, tweet, google plus, pinterest or do whatever you can to spread the word about this site. Thanks!

This video was shot using a Canon EOS Rebel T2i and a Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Lens

1 Stock Footage Clip Bursts Your Bubble

Had some fun the other day with my kids' bubble gun.  I used what I had learned following around mosquitoes (which honestly I am still working on to hopefully have something usable to upload) and decided to try a slow motion tracking shot of a soap bubble.  It was quite frustrating, but with the very thin depth of field I was working with, I am happy to have something that is at least in focus most of the time.  The raw clip had my reflection in the middle, so with some creative matte work, feathering and blurring, I was successful in removing it.

You can preview and download the clips by clicking "read more" below.  Happy Downloading!

As always, please e-mail, like us or share this on facebook, tweet, google plus, pinterest or do whatever you can to spread the word about this site. Thanks!

These videos were shot using the Sony NEX-FS700 and a Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Lens

1 Stock Footage Clip Walks into my Parlour

I've spend a couple of mornings these past few weeks in a small wooded/park area, with the few minutes I have in-between dropping my kids off at daycare and starting my full time job, challenging myself to some high-speed macro shooting with my FS700 and Sigma 24mm Macro lens.  My goal was to get clips of some male mosquitoes (since they are abundant here and they don't bite) flying around dreamily in slow motion. I usually walk away without any usable footage but a game plan for something new to try the next day.   The razor-thin depth of field when shooting macro made following around a very small bug, that flies VERY fast, quite a feat.  I took a break from chasing them around when I noticed this spider in a web lit very well by the rising sun.  Amazingly, in between hitting record and the camera actually beginning the record, one of the mosquitoes flew into the web!!!  It was an incredible thing to catch, considering I was already set up to shoot/expose at 240fps.  I was also channeling my inner J.J. Abrams with that lens flare popping into the shot.  Hope you can use it!!!

Fun side project: In your NLE, take the video clip and speed it up 10x to see the real speed in which this whole thing happened.


You can preview and download the clips by clicking "read more" below.  Happy Downloading!

As always, please e-mail, like us or share this on facebook, tweet, google plus, pinterest or do whatever you can to spread the word about this site. Thanks!

These videos were shot using the Sony NEX-FS700 and a Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Lens

3 Stock Footage Clips Take a Leak

One of the more popular tools in an editor's toolkit nowadays is the "Light Leak".  The idea is to simulate the old style "imperfect" capture of footage on film when light would sneak in between the lens camera or through the film door (if it has been worn down).  It is now a popular effect and is used as a storytelling device/visual cue to simulate flashbacks, or even act as a transition.  Usually these files are imported into your NLE and put over another clip and blended using an "overlay" effect.  Previously, I released a clip that was kind of like a light leak, but thought I should have some practical ones for people to use as well.

I created these by leaving the lens off of my T2i and tested out different lighting setups hitting the bare sensor (risky I know!!!).

There are three different types below.  The "Hard Edge" clip helps simulate a shifted or poorly threaded film frame during playback.  The "Fast Motion" clip would be helpful as a accompaniment to a whip pan or really any other type of transition.  The "Soft Focus" clip is what you would typically consider your most common leak, gently filling parts of the frame with light.  Hopefully you will be able to find good uses or at least one of these.



 You can preview and download the clips by clicking "read more" below.  Happy Downloading!

As always, please e-mail, like us or share this on facebook, tweet, google plus, pinterest or do whatever you can to spread the word about this site. Thanks!

These videos were shot using a Canon EOS Rebel T2i

5 Stock Footage Clips Spill the Beans

 A few days ago, I posted a question on our Facebook and Twitter pages asking people to complete this phrase:

Post by Beachfront B-Roll: Free HD Stock Footage.

Only one person at the time of this posting had replied and he said "Coffee Beans".  In all honesty, I've had that one on my "to-do" list for quite some time and this was the kick in the butt I needed to get up and just do it.  I shot it a couple of times trying different pour speeds and thought I'd include the variety for you.  My personal favorite is the one that is left justified.  For those of you who read these posts often, you'll know I am a big fan of including negative space.

PS - For those of you interested, the beans are being poured into a giant wooden bowl which helped keep the action in one place.  It was shot with my trusty F&V R-300 ring light as the primary/only source and I used my Sigma 24mm Macro lens at a f1.3 (thanks to my Metabones Speedbooster lens adapter) to get the very shallow depth of field.

PPS - Also, for those coffee aficionados, the beans I used was an organic, fair trade, Honduran coffee from Trader Joe's.   Please don't judge me on that one way or another..   :)



 You can preview and download the clips by clicking "read more" below.  Happy Downloading!

As always, please e-mail, like us or share this on facebook, tweet, google plus, pinterest or do whatever you can to spread the word about this site. Thanks!

These videos were shot using the Sony NEX-FS700 and a Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Lens