Create a Laser Blast Effect without After Effects

From the Frugal Filmmaker is this cool technique of how to make a laser blast effect without the use of After Effects.  Instead only a simple video editor like Sony Vegas and GIMP is used for this tutorial.  Check it out:

Give Your Movie a Film Look with After Effects

One of the trickier parts of producing a great movie shot digitally is to make it look more like film.  Here is a series of video tutorials that I have found which hopefully will help you achieve a film look for your next project.

EDITING 101: FAST AND SLOW CUTTING

Here is another great tutorial from filmmaker Peter John Ross on the power of video editing and why you should always get more coverage when shooting a movie.

EDITING TRICKS YOU MUST KNOW

I found some cool video tutorials on video editing that for anyone even remotely interested in making a film should learn and place in their toolkit of skills. These vids are from a filmmaker Peter John Ross and John Whitney's newest flick HORRORS OF WAR.

Sorry there was no way to embed these tutorials, but just go ahead and click on the links and let your noggin absorb some editing know-how.

• Tutorial #1: Cutting on Motion and Crunching Time
• Tutorial #2: L-Cuts aka Split Cut

STUTTERING AND PUTTERING - TOGETHER LIKE MILK AND COOKIES

Tried to import some test footage into my computer but it seems that my PC is too bogged down with software or something. I keep dropping frames every few seconds of footage imported. One dropped frame is okay, three is so-so, but when you have a dozen or more and almost no salvageable footage then you have problems.

Googling for answers is like fishing with a piece of thread and a Cheeto in the middle of a ocean. No matter how close you are, you can never get it right. Everyone on the internetz has one answer or another. It's like people telling you their home remedies for a zit. Everyone has their own ideas, but you never get a straight enough solution.

In my case it can be a piss-poor video card (very possible), too much software (very likely), too much software running in the background, not enough RAM, no extra hard drive space that is dedicated or RAID. The list goes on.

I am kinda-sorta considering getting a Mac with Final Cut installed. Because it seems like whenever someone has problems with a Mac the error can be narrowed down to three or less reasons and not a dozen or more like it does with a PC.

The downside to it all is that for one I am now on a far greater limited budget due to debts owed and all that. So getting a Mac would be like buying a new house. It's a serious investment that I just need time to consider not to mention confer with the wife. So in the meantime I am just left searching the internet for a short term fix.

Stay weird!

THE THREE C'S

It is often said that the three rules you need to keep in mind in making a great film are coverage, coverage, and more coverage. I've reviewed tons of films that could have been viewed at a more higher level if the filmmakers behind them kept that in mind.

Here is a great behind-the-scenes featurette that I found that explains it far better than I could.

MORE GREAT ROSS TUTORIALS

Here are a few more fantastic tutorials or insider tips that we should all learn and know before even attempting to make a flick. Huge thanks to

Sonnyboo.com