Black Box Films

Movember Day 1

Mark & Matt — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:38:51 +0000

It’s November 1st and you know what that means. Mustaches. Mustaches everywhere. Do your part and help raise awareness for Prostate Cancer by growing a mustache. Or if you’re a female or unable to grow a mustache please donate at movember.com. I started growing my beard about a month ago because I wanted to enjoy the entire month of November with a rad mustache.

Upload & Embed with Viddler

Matt — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:40:01 +0000

Viddler recently launched a landing page for new users signing up for the first time. The main focus of the page is this “Upload and Embed” video which gives users a quick guide to uploading and embedding their first video.

The Meatpacking District

Matt — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:58:46 +0000

We headed to NYC yesterday to film another Viddler Spotlight with Eight Communications. Viddler Spotlight is an ongoing series in which Viddler users share their experiences using the platform. Eight Communications had an awesome studio located in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan. Take a look at some of the stills below.

Unwritten Rules of Online Video

Matt — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:33:29 +0000

There are a few basic unwritten rules with online video that should be avoided at your own peril. If you want to keep the attention of your viewer and make the most out of that attention take a quick peep at the video below. This is a really complex subject and we’ll being looking at it more in depth in the future but this is a great starting point. The video’s part of a new web series I just launched with Viddler called Viddler Academy.

Why Most Wedding Videographers Suck

Mark & Matt — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:25:14 +0000

Most wedding videographers suck. Even those who have great quality videos can change the complete dynamic and energy of a wedding. It’s hard to dance like no one is watching when there is a bright light in your face. Technology has changed but there are still some who refuse to catch up.

There used to be a big technological gap between photographers and videographers. Photographers have had the flash, which has gone unchanged over the years. Videographers have long had the camera light, which can be one of the most intrusive aspects of filming. How do you capture natural moments by shining a light in someones face? Well, technology has changed. There are cameras that produce amazing images in low light and post production tools that can fix poor lighting conditions. Do us all a favor and turn of the lights!

Have you had any memorable experiences with a wedding videographer?

Geek Post: Getting the Most Out of Your Slider

Mark & Matt — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:52:17 +0000

For a long time I have been using a home made dolly to achieve some simple (but REALLY COOL) shots. I wanted something a little more practical for run-and-gun shoots and in tight quarters. The DP Slider was a no brainer for my needs. If you’re looking for a more affordable option there are plenty of tutorials online to build your own. I got lazy this time around

I test of the slider and got some pretty cool results. Since the track is only a few feet you really need to use the foreground to your advantage. If you set up your slider in the middle of a field your not going to get much out of it. In fact you may not notice the camera is even moving. However, if you put a subject a few feet from the camera and slide past their face you will have a much more dynamic shot. You’ll be taking full advantage of the technology.

This is what the slider looks like.

Fabspeed Production Outtakes

Mark & Matt — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:42:04 +0000

We had fun shooting interviews with Fabspeed last week. Immediately after the shoot the team started asking me when they could see some of the outtakes. Apparently they really enjoy laughing at each others expense. A more official outtake video will be uploaded shortly.

Adding Fake Snow in After Effects

Mark & Matt — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:40:15 +0000

After Effects has some really effective built-in tools to add artificial snow or rain. I played around with some of these effects in our latest project and got some pretty cool results. You might notice in this sped up version of the process that I created some masks. This was to create some depth with snow falling both in front and behind the main subject. It worked well enough.

What do you think? Do you have any links to better ways of add simulated precipitation!?

Leaps Lacrosse

Mark & Matt — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:22:43 +0000

John and Eric of LEAPS Lacrosse have started a nice movement in Philadelphia and it seems that their success has continued lately. Expanding out of their home city, the guys brought some lacrosse knowledge to Linden New Jersey.

The last video that we shot with LEAPS got picked up by the popular lacrosse blog Lacrosse Playground. They have a great story to tell so it wasn’t very hard to get the message across.

http://www.lacrosseplayground.com/post/leaps-lacrosse-is-more-than-inspiring/23602/

Sweet Freedom

Mark & Matt — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:21:30 +0000

Not too long ago we bumped into Philadelphia’s only vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, egg-free, soy-free, corn-free, peanut-free, and refined-sugar-free bakery (You get all that in one breath?). The owners at Sweet Freedom had recently received a phone call from the producers at Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. They were interested in having them on the show but needed to see a video of them in their element. With only 24 hours to produce the video we took the challenge, sacrificed sleep, and turned the video around just in time.

A couple months later Allison and Heather made it on the show! And while they didn’t win the competition, their cupcakes still rock!