Video

Upcoming workshops at NAB.

I’m very happy to announce that I’ll be speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in April.

NAB has been held since 1991 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and this is my 12th year in a row speaking at the show!

A couple of years ago NAB had 103,000 attendees from 161 countries and more than 1,806 exhibitors. In other words, it is HUGE.

CONFIRMED EVENTS

The Future of Storytelling
Saturday, April 6, 2019
5:15-6:30pm | Social Media & Streaming Video Track

This session covers a variety of software applications and digital platforms, as well as new approaches to present multimedia content.

Direct link on NAB’s website


The 1 Person Crew Approach
Monday, April 8, 2019
2:00-3:15pm | Production Track

This session provides valuable insights on planning, shooting, and producing video projects, while working with very small crews and shoestring budgets.

Direct link on NAB’s website
More info about the 1 Person Crew approach

The 1 Person Crew approach, in action.

Production for Small Crews and Budgets
Wednesday, April 10, 2019:
2:00-3:15pm | Production Track

Attendees are exposed to a wide variety of pre-production aspects including scripts, storyboard, and location scouting apps, and key questions to ask clients.

Direct link on NAB’s website
Pre-Production Course on Lynda.com
Post-Production Course on Lynda.com

Behind the scenes shot by students at a recent filmmaking workshop in Europe.

Video

Photo & 4K Video Workflow on the Road – Adobe Premiere Pro.

On previous tutorials we covered how I use Adobe Bridge to batch rename all my stills and video assets and Adobe Lightroom to handle all my photos. Today we cover how I use Adobe Premiere Pro to create proxies and cut 4K footage on a laptop.

 


Video

Photo & 4K Video Workflow on the Road. Adobe Lightroom.

My previous tutorial covered how I use Adobe Bridge to batch rename all my stills and video assets.  On this second tutorial we cover how to use Adobe Lightroom to very quickly and easily import, manage and edit all your stills.

 


Video

Camera Movement for Video Productions on Lynda.com

Filmmaking is a medium defined by motion: not only the action that occurs within a frame, but also movement of the camera itself. It’s the ability to employ camera movement that separates new videographers from the pros. In this course, we cover the importance of camera movement and the benefits of integrating it into your video productions. The lessons are explained through a series of examples that compare static shots to their dynamic counterparts, showing exactly how camera movement contributes to each scene, whether it’s increasing drama, following action, directing viewers’ attention, revealing key details, or simply transitioning between shots in a sequence.

Topics included on this course:

  • Exploring the different types of camera motion
  • Panning and tilting
  • Zooming
  • Racking
  • Tracking on sliders vs. dollies
  • Stabilizing camera movement
  • Working with cranes, jibs, and mounts
  • Choosing the right camera for motion

The complete course is currently available on Lynda.com.  If you aren’t a Lynda.com subscriber, feel free to use my link for 10 days of unlimited access.

EduardoAngel_CameraMovement_Promo01_850

 

Photography

Portraits: Natural and Flash.

The photographer’s best tool is light. It is used to mold, define, describe and set the mood of a portrait, so knowing how to recognize the light or control it, is of ultimate importance to the artist. I’m both a natural light, or Portraits Unplugged, kind of photographer, and also have a lot of experience with using studio strobes or portable flash, which gives me huge control. Knowing how and when to use artificial vs natural can be a challenge. I just recently photographed Ceasar deSilva in Dubai, a young, smart executive originally from Chicago, for his modeling portfolio. I scouted several locations in the afternoon with the help of my good friend, Issa Al Kindy, and we found a construction site across the river from downtown Dubai. In other images we utilized the Burj Khalifa in the background, but for this set of images I was intrigued by the construction fence that was falling down at one end. By the time Ceasar arrived, the late afternoon light had already faded in the haze. Nothing wrong with it, the light is still beautiful, and I posed him and shot with the Fuji XT 1 with the 56mm f 1.2 lens wide open for the smallest depth of field. Only his eye is sharp and the bokeh of the fence just rocks.

Fence natural light_blgpst

The whole scene and Ceasar in his power suit seems to me to require more drama. If the late orange sun was still illuminating his face, I might have stopped there. But I wanted to make it more edgy and define the mood more with directional light and darker shadows. I pulled out my Nikon SB 900 and put it in a 20” Lastolite soft box. Issa did the great honor of being my “voice activated light stand”, and with my direction, fine tuned the direction of the light.

Fence natural light2_blgpst

This now required balancing the background ambient light and the flash. I still wanted to keep the background mostly out of focus, but now I wanted his entire face in focus, not just his eye, so I decided to use f 4. The true background reading was about 1/20 or 1/30, but I chose 1/60 so that the background would go darker, both the sky and the fence. This helped his face to really pop out from the fence. I did a test at 1/125 as well, but then the background was too dark. The shadows on his face are dark, no fill, which adds to the drama. This is a more powerful portrait, as if he is the man in charge, ready to take over kick some butt!

The point? Fine tune your light to match the story of your subject, and don’t settle until you find it!

If you want to learn more about lighting, I’m teaching a workshop next week at the Los Angeles Center of Photography, formerly the Julia Dean Workshop, May 5-9. It’s five days of lighting: two days of studio strobes, one day of portable flash, one day natural light and the last day combining them all. A great experience with studio, models, equipment and plenty of shooting time and feedback.

All my upcoming workshops are listed under “Education” on my website.

Video

One-on-One Live Video Training • Lightroom

Google Helpouts is an online collaboration service that enhances 1-on-1 live video training.

Adobe Lightroom has become the preferred image-management and editing software for pho­tog­ra­phers and artists like you.

Lightroom_Helpouts_850x390

During this helpout I will cus­tomize solu­tions that suit your spe­cific needs, from capture to output.
Learn how to organize photos and videos so they could be easily found, quickly share your images via email, blog or social media platforms and where and how to backup your valuable memories in case something happens. I have used Adobe Lightroom since version 1 and could not imagine my life as a professional photographer without it.

It is easy to get bogged down in tech­ni­cal infor­ma­tion, and it is becom­ing increas­ingly harder to know who to trust. Unlike sales­peo­ple, I do not make com­mis­sions from prod­uct sales. I only endorse systems, com­pa­nies and prod­ucts that I know and respect and that will fit your needs, not mine.

I pro­vide cus­tomized solu­tions and per­son­al­ized train­ing to pho­tog­ra­phers and film­mak­ers like you.
http://bit.ly/EAFE2014

One-on-One Live Video Training • Filmmaking

Google Helpouts is an online collaboration service that enhances 1-on-1 live video training.

It is easy to get bogged down in tech­ni­cal infor­ma­tion, and it is becom­ing increas­ingly harder to know who to trust. Unlike sales­peo­ple, I do not make com­mis­sions from prod­uct sales. I only endorse systems, com­pa­nies and prod­ucts that I know and respect and that will fit your needs, not mine. During my Filmmaking Helpout I will cre­ate solu­tions that suit your spe­cific needs.

Lehman BTS36

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
• My photography clients are requesting more and more video. Can you get me quickly up to speed?
• I’ll be invest­ing in video equipment soon. Could you recommend a list of the most essen­tial items?
• Can you help me plan the bud­get and time needed for an upcom­ing video shoot?

ANSWERS
• Yes.

Here’s $25 on us towards your first Helpout.  Code EDUARDO74R
Book your private session here today!

I pro­vide cus­tomized solu­tions and per­son­al­ized train­ing to pho­tog­ra­phers and film­mak­ers like you.
http://bit.ly/EALR2014

Video

The Importance of Lighting for Video.

A few days ago our very first online course at Lynda.com went live. As is always the case, when we look back at a finished project we find little things here and there that we could have improved or done differently—but I am very proud with what we have here. (more…)

Photography

The original Hall of Fame is in the Bronx.

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College, the original “Hall of Fame” in this country, was designed as part of the construction of an undergraduate college of that university.

Built in a “sweeping semicircular Neo-Classical arc with wings at either end, it provides a panorama across the Harlem River to the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park and beyond to the Palisades. It is a unique and patriotic reminder that this country’s phenomenal growth has been due to the vitality, ingenuity, and intellect of these individuals.”

(more…)

Video

A shelter for the wealthy, a mansion for artists.

 
The Andrew Freed­man Man­sion, a won­der­ful build­ing in the Bronx, was designed specif­i­cally as a retire­ment home for wealthy peo­ple who had lost their for­tunes. “For many years this landmark has existed in a kind of open-but-closed limbo. Its ground floor is almost always full of children, in day care and in a Head Start program. Two elegant ballrooms and a book-filled library above have been maintained for weddings and other events, and for several years the Bronx Museum of the Arts, has offered outdoor film screenings and other cultural programs.”

The clip above is part of a series of 1-minute video vignettes we shot in the Bronx sponsored by a grant from the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and produced by students and faculty at Lehman College.
 
BTS Best of the Bronx_005

Video

The unknown, yet famous, City Island.

Numerous films, television shows, and commercials have been filmed on City Island. Films include Butterfield 8 starring Elizabeth Taylor; Long Day’s Journey (more…)

Video

Expanding our International Workshops.

 
We are hoping to expand our Photography and Filmmaking workshops to Hawaii, Thailand, Nigeria, Kuwait and South America. But first, we would love to hear your feedback.
Please click here if you have time to answer a few simple questions that will help us a LOT.

Thank you in advance.

Island_of_Hawai'i

Video

Our 10 hidden gems of 2012.

 
Earlier this week we shared with you our “Crème de la Crème” of 2012, the 10 most visited articles on this site. Today, we would like to share 10 more articles that we feel should have made our top ten list. As a team of educators, technology consultants, and visual storytellers, we are very proud of these posts as we feel that they are extremely relevant and worth your time. We encourage you to read them, share them with those who might be interested, and respond by starting a conversation below.

Without further ado here they are:

1) How to fix a broken education system. My thoughts.

We believe young students should be learning flexibility, teamwork, accounting, time management, project management, and languages (especially Spanish and Chinese), to be prepared for the future job markets.

Fixing a broken education system.

How to fix a broken education system

2) Notes from the Field.

Check out my personal notes and pre-production techniques for photographers and filmmakers.

My notes.

My Notes from a pre-production plan

 3) Same, but different:  An Intro to Digital Cinema.

We explained the 5 main similarities, and 5 main differences between shooting stills and shooting motion.

Digital Cinema Intro.

An intro to digital frame rates and shutter speeds

Click here to keep reading  (more…)

Video

The Power of Technology in Education.

 
Last week, I watched a repeat of a story from 2011, on how the iPad is unlocking the minds of people with Autism. We encourage everyone to watch it on Youtube here.

Child with tablet learning.

It is incredible to see how the iPad and other smart devices are being integrated into classrooms all over the U.S. to use as new learning tools. Interactive applications such as smart boards, cloud computing and e-learning are now being implemented so that students of all ages can obtain degrees; which is fantastic.

Students are also now equipped with personal laptops, smart phones and tablets. Attaining information and sharing knowledge has never been easier or more fun.

However, the benefit of these devices will bring no guarantee to fixing our seriously broken education system.

Smart apps and devices are being used in tremendous ways that help students interact and build social communication skills (I am not talking about Facebook or Twitter).

Infograph displaying the results of personalized learning.

At the same time, while a lot of students are reaping the benefits, others are not.

Technological innovations are still not available to everyone unfortunately. While the cost of new technology is decreasing every day, schools in poor neighborhoods get about half as much money per student than schools in affluent neighborhoods; school budgets are tied to property taxes.

click to keep reading (more…)