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I am absolutely geeking out about Screencastify giving users of its FREE plan the ability to export their screencasts as GIFs! For years, people have asked me how they can make GIFs like the ones that I make, but for free. I've always had multiple tools to mention depending on the person's goal and the tech that they're using (Mac, PC or Chromebook). But now I finally have 1 response that I can give to almost
You can export GIFs in the FREE Screencastify plan now!
I'm so excited to share with you about this. In the post below, you'll see an #EduGIF about how to do this followed by that you can use this in your school or classroom!!

View a Pausable version of this #EduGIF here.

1. Duh, #EduGIFs!

I've made more than a 100 #EduGIFs over the years! Just spend some time searching through my site and you'll see bite-sized EduGIFs that teach you how to do a bunch of things with edtech. Now you can make your own similar EduGIFs with Screencastify!

2. Solving Math Problems!

Want your students to know how to do a whole slew of math problems, but don't have time for a full lesson or for them to watch videos about all of them? Have each student create an #EduGIF where they use the Screencastify pen tools or a tool with drawing options (Google Keep, Google Jamboard, Chrome Canvas, Keynote...) to create a GIF of how to solve 1 specific problem! If you then put them all into one place like Google Docs, Google Slides or a website, then your students can see all of them!

3. Turn Work on Paper into GIFs

Don't have touchscreen devices? That's okay! A few years ago, I created this post about using webcams to create videos where students explained how to do math problems or other content processes. I like the idea of doing videos so that they can explain what they're doing, but there'd be value in doing this with GIFs as well!

4. Differentiation

Some students might need support doing #15 on that one assignment and others might not. In person instructions or support would be preferred, but in blended learning, you may have different students ready for those instructions at different times. Why not add an #EduGIF that's there when kids are ready for it? Videos add a personal touch, but an #EduGIF is quicker to make!

5. Instructions in a HyperDoc

Whether built in Google Docs, Slides, Drawings or even in Microsoft Word, Wakelet or elsewhere, HyperDocs are dependent on students viewing information and procedures digitally and at different times. What better way to do that than with a quick #EduGIF!?

6. Showing Concepts Quickly

Want to show how to correct comma usage in Langauge Arts or conjugate a verb in Español? Want to show how fault lines cause earthquakes or the locations of the battles in the American Civil War? You could record these processes or animations with Screencastify, export them as GIFs and show them to your students!

The Amoeba Sisters site has a great collection of GIFs that explain scientific processes. What if you or your students created them yourselves!?

7. Sharing Simple Processes with Parents

Need all parents to know how to access students' grades, add money to their kids' lunch accounts or access beginning of the year forms? You could create and share a video, but then you've got to hope that they'll click play. Another option would be to show this process in an EduGIF and embed it wherever they're likely to look (on the webpage, in the principal's email update). It'll auto-play and they won't be able to miss it!

8. #StopMotionSlides

I've blogged, EduGIF'ed and presented a lot about #StopMotionSlides ( here, here, here and more). Whenever I talk about them, I share the process of using TallTweets.com or its premium counterpart Creator Studio to turn those slides into GIF animations. I still love both of those tools, but sometimes it makes sense to not introduce another tool into our classrooms, especially if its just for one time. And, if your kiddos already use Screencastify, why not use it for this too?

9. Webcam GIFs for Reactions

Many teachers love using the andThenIWasLike.co website to have students create short GIFs to show their reactions to a reading, a lesson, a historical event or an experiment. Check out the section titled "Animated Thank You Cards" in this post by Tony Vincent for some examples and an overview. The problem with andThenIWasLike is that the word short in the phrase short GIFs is an understatement. The site is super easy to use, but the GIFs are capped to 3 seconds in length! Use Webcam mode in Screencastify to create GIF creations that are as long as you'd like!

10. GIF Vocab!

Meredith Akers wrote a great blog post about using GIFs to "define" vocabulary. She also mentions Sam Carpenter who started using the hashtag #GIFVocab on Twitter to share examples. In Meredith and Sam's examples, the students are typically using existing GIFs found online, but with a tool like Screencastify they can make their own! They could either be something on screen, something they record with their webcam or both!

11. Show What Happened in an Experiment or Demonstration

Want to spice up lab reports? Have students record what happens with their webcam and then turn it into a GIF! Check out ngssphenomena.com for some examples of what this might look like. ( you may need to scroll down to see GIFs, some of the content are just still pictures)

12. In Physical Education Class

Want to show the appropriate form for that stretch? Or the appropriate technique for shooting a basketball? Students could use Screencastify in Webcam mode to create GIFs of these key processes! Then the teacher could show them to the class and narrate what's happening while the GIF loops!

13. Text Message Conversations!

I used to love the Google Docs Story Builder. It was a tool that let you create little animations of two or more people (or characters) collaborating in a Google Doc. I loved recommending it for classroom uses ( imagine a collaborative Google Doc between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr!). You can see examples in this blog post. It was a fun tool to use in the classroom, but then . . . Google took it down a few years ago 😔. So now we can do a similar process by recording while the fake conversations or collaborations take place and then exporting them as GIFs! You can do this by recording in a Google Doc, in a Hangouts Chat or on a site like iFakeTextMessage.com that could actually make it look like a real text message thread.

14. A Novel Replacement for Reading Logs

Did you get pun there? 😬 In this blog post on MiddleWeb, Megan Kelly suggests the possibility of having students create GIFs to demonstrate that they've completed their summer reading. Regardless of how you feel about requiring students to prove that they've "done their reading," you've got to admit that creating GIFs is better than filling out logs with parent initials!

15. Spice Up Your Feedback!

Students love a teacher that shows their personality and creates rapport with them! What if, instead of just saying "good job" in your comments, you include a GIF of yourself giving them a thumbs up and a big cheesy grin! (See #8 above)

16. Differentiate Your Screencasts

While many people love the EduGIFs that I share, there are also many people who would really love for them to be videos. So, now, when I create an EduGIF, I also upload it to YouTube as a video so that they can speed it up, slow it down or pause it. I call these "Pausable #EduGIFs." I could also add narration if I'd like to.

You could do the same with Screencastify! Record once, export twice (once as a GIF and once as a video)!

17. Showing a Drawing Process

If your students use touchscreen Chromebooks, they could record themselves drawing in one of the apps or sites mentioned above and export it as a GIF!

18. Silent Screencasts for Presentations

When showing short tech tips in a presentation or lesson, you previously had 2 options for how to show them:

1. Do it live during the session. This is nice because it's authentic, but it can also be inefficient as it may take you longer.

2. Record a video of the process to show to the group. This is likely more efficient than doing it live.

We now have a 3rd option! Record that same screencast as in (2) above, but instead of exporting it as a video, export it as an EduGIF so that it can be popped right into the slide and loop over and over again until your audience or class has processed all of it.

19. Step-by-Step Instructions to Show to the Class

Need students to submit their work in Google Classroom or share a Google Doc with you before class starts? Why not put an #EduGIF on your screen as they enter the classroom!?

What other ideas do you have?
Which one is your favorite?
Do you have any examples to share?
COMMENT BELOW!

Published by

Jake Miller

Jake is a Google for Education Certified Trainer and is the Lead Technology Integration Specialist for Brady Middle School in Ohio's Orange City Schools. In the past he taught STEM, Science & Math in Stow-Munroe Falls, Ohio, where he was also a leader in the district's Technology Leadership Team and a co-advisor for the middle school's STEM Club. He has been an educator since 2003. His Bachelor's Degree is in middle-level education (math/science) from the University of Akron and his Master's Degree is in Instructional Technology from Kent State University. He has enjoyed providing more than 100 professional development opportunities at conferences and school districts across the state of Ohio. He is very involved in Twitter (@JakeMillerTech) and provides regular pointers for educators with his #GAFETip tweets. View all posts by Jake Miller

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Awesome Classroom Uses of #EduGIFs Created with Screencastify

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I am absolutely geeking out about Screencastify giving users of its FREE plan the ability to export their screencasts as GIFs! For years, people have asked me how they can make GIFs like the ones that I make, but for free.

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Think about light size, position and colour

Avoid big contrasts: use reflectors to fill shadows

Set the exposure manually if you're shooting in difficult light

Getting the light right when you film is much better than trying to improve badly lit footage when you edit.

When you shoot a film as separate shots, it's important to make sure that the lighting in a scene is consistent. If the lighting style and colour is too different, the shots may look as if they were filmed in different locations.

Cameras and light

With any camera, the images will be better if there's enough light, it's in the right place, and it's not too contrasty. But bigger cameras like DSLRs are usually better at handling low light or very contrasty light. It's best to set the exposure manually if possible, rather than relying on automatic exposure.

Light size

Small or hard lights, like bare bulbs or direct sun, cast harsh shadows. You'll usually need to soften them with a diffuser, or fill them - reduce the shadows - with another light or a reflector.

Big, soft lights - like a cloudy sky, or the light reflected off a white wall - give very even lighting and soft shadows but don't have much atmosphere. This kind of light is the easiest to use. It's good for scenes with a lot of detail and group shots.

Medium-sized lights - like the light from a window, or a Chinese paper lantern - give a nice balance. They're big enough to be reasonably soft but small enough to be atmospheric.

Light position

Light from directly in front is flat and characterless and can dazzle people you're filming - but it may be the only usable option if you're using a basic camera that can't handle much contrast.

Three-quarter light - from a 45 degree angle in front of the subject, and above - is the normal place to put the main key light in traditional lighting setups. It gives the image depth.

Light from the side can be really atmospheric but is trickier to work with. Shooting against a dark background, you'll get a moody low-key effect. You'll probably have to adjust the exposure to avoid making the skin tones too bright.

Lighting from below makes people look scary.

You should usually avoid shooting into the light unless you're aiming for a silhouette effect.

Rim light - from a light behind the subject, but out of shot - can be atmospheric and is a good way to make the edge of the subject stand out from the background.

Avoid big contrasts

It's better to have shots that are a bit too flat rather than too contrasty. Phone cameras and compact cameras are particularly bad at handling scenes with low light or high contrast.

If you can adjust the contrast in your camera, turn it down. Turn down the colour saturation (intensity) as well. You can always boost these when you edit the film; it's much harder to reduce them.

Some cameras give you the option of filming in special flat or 'log' modes, which are useful for managing contrast. This footage looks dull straight out of the camera, but is easier to correct at the editing stage.

Three point lighting

Three point lighting is the traditional way to light a movie scene: a main key light, a fill light to reduce the shadows, and a rim light to make the subject stand out from the background. Use the arrows on the interactive image below to see the effect as you add extra lights.

You start with a main key light. It' s usually in front of the subject but to one side (and slightly above). Putting it to the side helps to give depth or 'modelling', showing the shape of the face. How far round you put the light is important: if it's from almost in front, you'll have flat, bright high-key lighting. Move it further to the side for dramatic low-key lighting with heavy shadows.

To control shadows, you add a fill light on the other side. Normally it should be about half as bright as the key light. For high-key lighting, make it almost as strong as the key light; for low-key lighting turn it down. (You can use a reflector instead of a fill light.)

Then you add a third rim light (or 'backlight'). It's behind the subject, but out of shot, to make the edges of the subject stand out from the background.

Extra lights

You can also add a fourth light on the background, and a small catchlight or 'obie' to put a reflection in the person's eyes.

Carrying three film lights around can be a drag, but if you understand the principles of three point lighting you can use natural light and reflectors to get the same effect. You could use a window as a key light, with a folding reflector, white wall, or a sheet of styrofoam instead of a fill light.

Reflectors, diffusers and flags

There are several ways to improve light, whether natural or artificial. Reflectors let you fill in shadows; diffusers make lights 'bigger' and softer. You can also block the light and deepen the shadows using black card or flags.

One of the most useful bits of kit you can buy is a folding five-in-one reflector. These are great value: they include a diffuser and a zip-on cover with white, silver and gold reflectors and a black side to intensify shadows. Alternatively, you could use kitchen foil glued to card, or white styrofoam insulating board.

Outdoors

Using daylight is easiest on a day with even cloud cover: you can shoot in any direction and get reasonable shots.

Sunlight is trickier as it can cast harsh shadows and dazzle your subject. For a subtler effect, use it as rim light (behind the subject, out of shot) as in the shot above.

Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven was shot almost entirely in golden hour light.

Low sunlight is tricky to work with but it can be very atmospheric: many films are shot in the rich golden hour light just after dawn or before dusk.

Indoors

You can boost the light from ordinary ceiling lights and table lamps (what filmmakers call practicals) by fitting them with brighter bulbs. Use energy-saving bulbs to get brighter light without overheating. If you can afford it, buy special bulbs with good colour rendition. Manufacturers use a scale called CRI to measure this: you want a CRI of 90 or more.

You could bounce a powerful light, like a builders' work lamp, off a reflector, a white wall or the ceiling. You can also use work lamps to shoot low-key (sidelit) closeups. Or you could buy a set of film lights. Halogen film lights get very hot; LED arrays use less energy and run cooler.

Chinese paper lanterns fitted with bright low-energy bulbs are an affordable way to get manageable, atmospheric lighting. You can also buy tougher Chinese balls designed specially for film lighting.

With any lights, be careful about overheating and the dangers of breaking glass, toppling stands and trailing cables. Don't use LED lights without diffusers as they can cause eye damage.

Exposure

Most cameras automatically adjust for different amounts of light. Automatic exposure works pretty well for average scenes. If your scene isn't average - if it has lots of light or dark areas in it, or you're shooting into the light - you may need to increase or reduce the automatic setting by using exposure compensation.

You should try and get the exposure right when you're filming, but it's more important to avoid overexposure - it's harder to correct this when you edit. If you aren't sure about the exposure, you should underexpose slightly.

Pay attention to skin tones as the audience will notice if these look wrong. Make sure you don't have large areas of completely white highlights. Some cameras show you when this is happening with a 'zebra stripe' pattern.

For better control (if your camera allows it) set the exposure manually. The simplest way to do this is by shooting test shots and adjusting the exposure until it looks right. You can also measure the light with an 18% grey card, which the 'average' scene colour which cameras expose for. Hold it in front of your lens, filling the frame and you'll get the correct exposure. You could also use a separate light meter. There's more about exposure here.

Colour balance

If you walk outside on a sunny day, and then come into a room lit by ordinary house lights, your eyes will quickly adjust to the difference in colour and you may not even notice it. If you try and shoot the same things with a camera they may look very different.

Most cameras use automatic white balance to adjust to different colours of light. This is OK but not usually as good as setting it yourself.

Some cameras have settings for different kinds of light, eg daylight, cloudy or indoors.
Some cameras let you choose the colour temperature, which is a standard way of measuring the colour of a light.

To be really precise, you can set the colour balance manually (in the same way as checking the manual exposure) by using an 18% grey card or a sheet of white paper.

Remember that if you have set the white balance manually, you'll need to change it when you go somewhere with different lighting - it's easy to forget.

Try to make sure that all the light in the scene is the same kind. If you mix light sources - eg daylight from a window and fluorescent light in the room - it'll be impossible to get them both right.
Buying lights See also Using colour
I teach all kinds of people to make films. I provide training for businesses, arts organisations, nonprofits and education. I've worked on film education projects with Apple Education, the British Film Institute, Film Education, Film: 21st Century Literacy and many more. My publications include Making Movies Make Sense and Editshots.

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Filmmaking: Using Light in Your Movie - Learn about film

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Think about light size, position and colour Avoid big contrasts: use reflectors to fill shadows Set the exposure manually if you're shooting in difficult light Getting the light right when you film is much better than trying to improve badly lit footage when you edit.

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A simple tool for creating stop motion animation sequences using a webcam.

Animation sequences can be saved to a video file in the widely-supported webm format.  Previously-saved videos can be loaded into the app and extended.

New in version 0.11: by popular request, you can now add a soundtrack to your animation.

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A simple tool for creating stop motion animation sequences using a webcam.

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Short documentary films, most under 10 minutes, and related discussion questions.

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How to Create an Animated GIF on Brush Ninja (Video)

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List of changes
Version 6.3.1

1. The program interface redesigned with black, white and other theme skins and buttons.

2. The timeline reworked with options to minimize it and detach from the scene.

3. LUTs effect added to color grading tools.

4. The video preview made available right on the scene.

5. The ability to import and process 120 fps footage has been added.

6. Automatic alignment in relation to other scene objects while dragging objects on the scene implemented.

7. Minor improvements and bug fixes:

Version 6.1.0

1. The '360 to 2D' option added to 'Video effects' that allows users to preview and edit 360° videos.

2. The '3D to 2D' option added to 'Video effects' that allows users to preview and edit 3D videos.

3. 'Transition effects' templates made available for editing.

4. Background templates for Halloween, Christmas and other special occasions made available for download from VSDC Store.

5. A format of the timeline settings modified with three modes of saving the scale available.

6. New group operations to make objects the same width and height added.

7. An option to save a scene together with its output resources introduced.

8. New parameters added and minor enhancements made to Audio Spectrum.

9. Minor bugs fixed:

Version 5.8.9

1. Audio Spectrum effect added with more than 400 presets making a soundtrack visual.

2. DeLogo effect added to the Filters section with blurring and pixelate presets.

3. 'Quick filters' templates made available for editing.

4. 'Pack project' feature added with an option to save and transfer a project file and all its input (raw) resources to another computer.

5. Timeline styles made available for changing in the Settings.

6. A number of errors fixed:

Version 5.8.7

Two audio noise reduction filters added:

Work with charts and diagrams enhanced:

New hotkeys for adding all kinds of objects from video and sound to lines and shapes introduced.

Arabic symbols (ligatures) support added.

UI adapted for 4K displays.

New minor options added:

Bugs and errors fixed:
Version 5.8.5

1. Free shape tool added with options to draw objects using linear and spline paths.

2. Audio Equalizer added for working with Audio effects.

3. New deinterlacing methods added: top, bottom, top linear, bottom linear, prioridad superior/inferior de fusión, blending bottom priority. Old methods optimized.

4. Audio mix option optimized.

5. New minor options added:

Bugs fixed:
Version 5.8

1. A 64-bit version released with a coding/decoding speed boost: in case with H265 codec, it will double the export speed and in case with other codecs, the increase rate will reach 20%.

2. Simplified Chinese added to the interface languages.

3. New text outline settings added: contour and dash styles.

4. Bugs and errors fixed:

Version 5.7.8

Voice recording features added:

Voice over - a new embedded audio recording option allowing for adding voice commentary right to a VSDC project at required parts of the movie.

Voice Recorder - a separate utility for audio recording added to the 'Tools' tab.

Text processing enhancements implemented:

The memory optimization improvement carried out increases the app performance stability and prevents it from crashes while working even with large size video files.
Version 5.7.7

Operations optimization:

New visual and special effects added:

New tools and features:

Minor improvements and bug fixes:
Version 5.7.5

Easy export to social networks with three new options in the 'Export project' - 'Web' tab:

New blending modes for compositing operations added: Grain-merge, Grain-extract, Dodge, burn and Divide.

The Flip effect has been enhanced and made a separate tool on the quick access panel.

Program memory optimized.

Minor bugs fixed in: Clipping, registration, background removal.
Version 5.7.0

A number of visual effects and blur filters expanded and enhanced:

Gradient and Pattern parameters added to the Brush tool of the Shape objects, which allows for advanced multiple color correction.

WebM added to supported input/output formats.

Deinterlacing option with Middle and Blending methods added.

The app's performance optimized by adding a support for AVX2 processors.

A number of minor bugs fixed:
Version 5.5.0 Version 5.1.2

Enhanced text editing:

support for all common letter types and fonts, various character encoding

more flexible text introduction - users can enter a text right on the editor's stage in an automatically adjustable block

ability to set properties for each character separately

H265/HEVC hardware acceleration

Interface localization into Spanish

Version 5.0.1 Version 4.0.1

Filters, decoders and coders were optimized. Performance of many codecs, for example H264, was increased by more than 50%. We added a new opportunity to set zooming quality when working with images as well as to launch multiprocessing and separate coding, decoding, recording and reading processes for faster performance.

APNG and GIF formats were added. The both formats enable to create videos with semi-transparence effect so that one can implement animation effects on web-sites. Quality of coded image was significantly enhanced due to dithering effect.

We added compression option for SWF and GIF files which enables to significantly reduce their size.

Audio format FLAC was added to enable work with audio materials without any loss of quality.

We added support of 2K and 4K video as well as the opportunity to open files with H265/HEVC codec and Iphone Live Photos.

Information about an author of a video, a publisher, copyright info and other data can now be recorded directly to the resulting video file.

Enhanced usability of the Editor:

the program saves current format and profile during exportation;

we added the opportunity to set not only the argument value, but also the time period during which the parameter will take this value;

new additional settings were implemented.

The following errors were corrected:

several languages didn't support subtitles;

animation object improved: number of images which could be open at once is no more limited;

auto titling error was corrected: a resulting file was automatically titled using incorrect symbols thus making project export impossible;

duplicate error was corrected: use of threads made the application finish its work incorrectly;

welcome page error in local versions: we included a welcome page with all recent updates;

Italian translation was improved.

Version 3.3.5

A new object has been added: a chart that allows you to build diagrams. A large number of various kinds of diagrams are supported, including 3D diagrams: Bar, Stacked Bar, Point, Bubble, Line, Scatter Line, Fast Line, Step Line, Spline, Area, Spline Area, Stacked Area, Stacked Spline Area, Range Bar, Gantt, Pie, Pie 3D, Torus 3D, Radar Point, Radar Line, Radar Area, Radar Spline, Radar Spline Area, Funnel, Pyramid, Pyramid 3D, High Low, Candle Stick.
Key features of the diagram:

You can change displayed data sets and their values, which allows you to create dynamic diagrams that change over time

Create several graphs in a single diagram or various diagrams (combined by context)

Import and export data to and from Excel

The diagram's appearance is customizable - the chart itself, the axes of the coordinates (including user axes), legends, names of graphs and axes, layout lines, markers on axes, and other elements

Completely fine-tune the color schemes used to create graphs, or use preset color schemes

Effects have been added that allow you to change the tempo, speed, and pitch of the sounds being played, or play them in reverse. As a result, you can now play audio when reversing or rewinding videos.

Group operations have been improved - the order in which assets are selected in the editor during group operations is now tracked.

All application settings are now grouped together in the same place, which has made it possible to simply controlling the application and add additional functions such as auto-save and backup.

The interface has been improved: the menus have been expanded and unified, and new menus have been added.

Version 3.3.0

The way sprites are drawn has been improved. You can now combine drawing objects on a sprite with effects applied to the sprite.

The editor is now easier to use:

a function has been added that allows you to turn an object into a sprite

the menus have been improved and now have greater functionality

you can now split a video into two separate objects: audio and video

the visual editor for parameters has been improved:

in the editor you can now display any object parameters in the background, as well as switch quickly between the parameters you want to edit. This makes it easier to edit parameters that are mutually dependent

you can now adjust the scale of parameters on a parameter value bar, which allows you to set the values of parameters more precisely

You can now regulate volume by entering a percentage of the maximum potential volume. The regulating effect can apply to outgoing content as well as content that already has audio filters applied to it.

The Threshold effect has been significantly improved. The effect now has various modes and works with the alpha channel

The Reducing Bits effect has been added, which allows you to reduce the number of colors in the object being displayed

The Special effects group now has a TV Effects subgroup:

AgingTV: the colors look washed-out, and there are scratches, dust, and cracks. The default effects from the "Old Film" group have also been improved

Broken TV: this effect emulates a TV with a shaky picture

Random Dot Stereo TV: this effect emulates a TV with stereo interference

Noise TV: this effect emulates TV interference (noise)

Italian and Japanese have been added

Version 3.2.0 Version 3.1.0 Version 3.0.0
All parameters that used to be changed linearly can now change their values along a curve:

Added a parameter modification editor.

Added curve templates to the parameter modification editor.

The new version features an all-new principle of managing object/effect parameters. These parameters could previously have a constant value only or change linearly from the start of an effect till its completion. From now on, they can change randomly in the course of an effect.In many cases, it helps remove unnecessary objects from the timeline, increase the usability and reduce the time needed for creating a project.

Besides, parameters can now change their values not just linearly, but along a curve as well, which will help create more complex and beautiful effects.

This means that starting from this version, the editor became completely non-linear.
Version 2.3.1

Fixed a bug that could result in the duration of a video or audio object being set incorrectly after removing certain fragments from them.
Version 2.3.0

The editor now features 3 new tools:
- a video converter that has its own set of profiles (conversion settings) that is different from those of the editor and is optimized for converting files from one format to another;
- a disc burning tool. You can now not only burn projects created in the editor, but use the tool for general purposes;
- a video download tool - allows you to grab videos from various video services.

Improved wizard:
- added the support of batch file processing;
- improved thumbnail visualization (thumbnails now show the effects applied to images);
- added a possibility to apply effect templates to files (so-called "quick styles")

Improved the work of color correction filters by 40% thanks to optimization for new processors, and the work of the image resize function: the speed of the cubic and supersampling methods for resize effect has been increased by 300-400% using new algorithms; also added a resize method based on Lanczos resampling;

Optimized memory management;

Added multi-threading support to the scene creation process - the preview of complex scenes is now smoother on CPU's with 2 and more cores, and conversion speed can be up to 50-100% higher on CPU's with 4+ cores;

Added the following filters: AutoGamma (automatic gamma correction), AutoGammaInv (restores the original gamma values after the use of the AutoGamma filter), Median (median filter), DeNoise (noise reduction based on the Wiener filter - applies adaptive filtering to images containing uniform noise).

Version 2.2.2 Version 2.2.0 Version 2.1.9 Version 2.1.8

Added a possibility to apply filters in the Wizard;

Added a possibility to edit objects in the Wizard;

Improved the usability of the Wizard;

Increased the speed of export for some project configurations;

Lowered memory requirements for very large projects;

Reworked the timeline - added more control elements;

Added animated GIF support;

Added a possibility to associate project files with an application;

Fixed minor bugs.

Version 2.1.5 Version 2.1.1 Version 2.0.1
The update features a number of filters and sound effects. Added 4 groups of sound effects:

This version supports automatic creation of a project backup after every recording and monitoring of the integrity of the most recently saved project copy, allowing the user to roll back to it when necessary.

end faq

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Download Free Video Editor: best software for video editing.

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Version 6.3.1 The program interface redesigned with black, white and other theme skins and buttons. The timeline reworked with options to minimize it and detach from the scene. LUTs effect added to color grading tools. The video preview made available right on the scene. The ability to import and process 120 fps footage has been added.

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Download OpenShot Video Editor 3.1.1 - now with improved stability and quality-of-life improvements! Highlights & Features: Fixes and Improvements to Tracker and Object Detection effects (fix propert...
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Download OpenShot Video Editor 3.1 - now with 400+ video profiles, improved features, bug fixes, and faster performance! Highlights & Features: Free & Open-Source Video Editor Improved Profiles (400+...
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OpenShot Video Editor | Free, Open, and Award-Winning Video Editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows!

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OpenShot is an award-winning free and open-source video editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Create videos with exciting video effects, titles, audio tracks, and animations.

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DaVinci Resolve 18

DaVinci Resolve 18

Professional Editing, Color, Effects and Audio Post!

DaVinci Resolve is the world's only solution that combines editing, color correction, visual effects, motion graphics and audio post production all in one software tool! Its elegant, modern interface is fast to learn and easy for new users, yet powerful for professionals. DaVinci Resolve lets you work faster and at a higher quality because you don't have to learn multiple apps or switch software for different tasks. That means you can work with camera original quality images throughout the entire process. It's like having your own post production studio in a single app! Best of all, by learning DaVinci Resolve, you're learning how to use the exact same tools used by Hollywood professionals!

Hollywood's #1 Post Solution

High end professionals working on feature films and television shows use DaVinci Resolve more than any other solution! That's because it's known for incredible quality and creative tools that are light years beyond the competition. You get DaVinci's Emmy™ award winning image technology with 32‑bit float processing, patented YRGB color science and a massive wide gamut color space for the latest HDR workflows. You also get the legendary quality of Fairlight audio processing for the best sound in the industry! With DaVinci Resolve, you get the same tools professional colorists, editors, VFX artists and sound engineers use every day to finish your favorite films and streaming television shows!

What's New in DaVinci Resolve 18.5

All In One Solution for Post Production

DaVinci Resolve is divided into "pages", each of which gives you a dedicated workspace and tools for a specific task. Editing is done on the cut and edit pages, visual effects and motion graphics on the Fusion page, color correction on the color page, audio on the Fairlight page, and media organization and output on the media and deliver pages. All it takes is a single click to switch between tasks!

Cut

Designed for editors to turn around work fast!

Color

Hollywood's favorite color corrector!

Fusion

Cinematic quality visual effects and motion graphics!

Fairlight

Professional tools designed for audio post production.

Media and Delivery

Incredibly wide format support, finishing and mastering!

The DaVinci Neural Engine uses state of the art deep neural networks and machine learning, along with artificial intelligence to power features such as facial recognition, object detection, smart reframing, speed warp retiming, super scale up‑scaling, auto color and color matching and more! The DaVinci Neural Engine is entirely cross platform, using the latest GPU innovations for AI and deep learning to provide unparalleled performance and quality. The DaVinci Neural Engine provides simple tools to solve complex, repetitive and time consuming problems. For example, it enables facial recognition to sort and organize clips into bins based on people in the shot, to reframe shots and more.

Works with 3rd Party Plug‑Ins and Storage

With all the different workflows and systems available, you need a post production solution that's compatible and open enough to handle anything! DaVinci Resolve can be used with any type of storage ranging from direct attached hard drives to NAS and SAN systems. You can extend DaVinci Resolve with third party Open FX and audio plugins, or add third party title and motion graphics templates. New workflow integration and encoding APIs let developers integrate workflow and asset management systems with DaVinci Resolve. Plus, it works with all major file formats and post production software, making it easy to move files between DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Media Composer, and Premiere Pro.

Download DaVinci Resolve Free!

The best creative tools shouldn't be limited to Hollywood. That's why there's a free version of DaVinci Resolve, so you can learn how to use the same tools that professional Hollywood artists use. DaVinci Resolve is designed to inspire creativity so you can focus on doing your best work. Once you learn the software and start using it for more work, you can purchase DaVinci Resolve Studio which adds tons of additional effects, 3D and more. Adding an editor keyboard, color control panel, or audio console lets you work even faster because you can use both hands at the same time, allowing you to be more creative and do things that are impossible with a mouse!

DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve is the world's only all in one solution for editing, color, VFX, motion graphics and audio! The free version works with virtually all 8‑bit video formats at up to 60fps in resolutions as high as Ultra HD 3840 x 2160. The free version includes multi-user collaboration and HDR grading!

Free Download Now

DaVinci Resolve Studio

Includes everything in the free version plus the DaVinci Neural Engine, dozens of additional Resolve FX, temporal and spatial noise reduction, stereoscopic 3D, film grain, optical blur and mist effects, and more. It also supports 10‑bit video at up to 120 frames per second and resolutions beyond 4K.

Buy Online Now £255

Software

DaVinci Resolve 18

Hollywood's most popular solution for editing, visual effects, motion graphics, color correction and audio post production, all in a single software tool for Mac, Windows and Linux!

Free

DaVinci Resolve Studio 18

The most powerful DaVinci Resolve adds DaVinci Neural Engine for automatic AI region tracking, stereoscopic tools, more Resolve FX filters, more Fairlight FX audio plugins and advanced HDR grading.

£255

Editor Keyboards

DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor

Includes large search dial in a design that includes only the specific keys needed for editing. Includes Bluetooth with battery for wireless use so it's more portable than a full sized keyboard!

£345

DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard

Full sized traditional QWERTY editor keyboard in a premium metal design. Featuring a metal search dial with clutch, plus extra edit, trim and timecode keys. Can be installed inset for flush mounting.

£505

Color Panels

DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel

Low profile panel features 3 high resolution trackballs and 12 precision machined knobs to access the primary color correction tools. Includes buttons for common features and workspace navigation.

£725

DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel

This model includes the features of the micro panel model plus two LCDs with menus and buttons for switching tools, adding color corrector nodes, applying secondary grades and using Power Windows.

£1,799

DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel

Designed in collaboration with professional Hollywood colorists, the DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel features a massive number of controls for direct access to every DaVinci color correction feature.

£23,785

Fairlight Audio Consoles

Fairlight Desktop Console

Portable audio control surface includes 12 premium touch sensitive flying faders, channel LCDs for advanced processing, automation and transport controls plus HDMI for an external graphics display.

£2,655

Fairlight Desktop Audio Editor

Get incredibly fast audio editing for sound engineers working on tight deadlines! Includes LCD screen, touch sensitive control knobs, built in search dial and full keyboard with multi function keys.

£3,879

Fairlight Advanced Consoles

Used by Hollywood and broadcasters, these large consoles make it easy to mix large projects with a massive number of channels and tracks. Modular design allows customizing 2, 3, 4, or 5 bay consoles!

From £18,595

Fairlight Studio Console Bundles

Fairlight Studio Console Individual Modules

Fairlight Studio Console Unpopulated Chassis

Accessories For Custom Furniture

Fairlight Audio Interfaces

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Professional video editing, color correction, visual effects and audio post production all in a single application. Free and paid versions for Mac, Windows and Linux.

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We're not colouring software with a bit of editing; we're not air-brushing software with a bit of video stuff. Lightworks is for editing.
#WeAreEditing

You want your video on YouTube, click the YouTube logo, you want it cinema ready, click the cinema button. It's simple. It's pro.
Edit & go...

When every camera, every phone, and everybody can shoot video, there are no rules with file types... there are loads, and we love them all!

Lightworks Pro Monthly

Best for newbies and anyone who needs to be able to easily cut & edit video clips together.

Easily unsubscribe at any time

Lightworks Pro Yearly

Best for YouTubers, gamers and anyone who wants to do more more than cut clips together.

Go Yearly: Get 2 Months Free
and the Boris Grafitti effects plugin

Lightworks Pro Outright

Best for broadcasters and film makers or anyone who wants to be one. Hollywood-level editing.

Includes both the Boris Grafitti
and Boris FX effects plugins

Lightworks Pro Monthly

Best for newbies and anyone who needs to be able to easily cut & edit video clips together.

Easily unsubscribe at any time

Lightworks Pro Yearly

Best for YouTubers, gamers and anyone who wants to do more more than cut clips together.

Go Yearly: Get 2 Months Free
and the Boris Grafitti effects plugin

Lightworks Pro Outright

Best for broadcasters and film makers or anyone who wants to be one. Hollywood-level editing.

Includes both the Boris Grafitti
and Boris FX effects plugins

Lightworks Pro Monthly

Best for newbies and anyone who needs to be able to easily cut & edit video clips together.

Easily unsubscribe at any time

Lightworks Pro Yearly

Best for YouTubers, gamers and anyone who wants to do more more than cut clips together.

Go Yearly: Get 2 Months Free
and the Boris Grafitti effects plugin

Lightworks Pro Outright

Best for broadcasters and film makers or anyone who wants to be one. Hollywood-level editing.

Includes both the Boris Grafitti
and Boris FX effects plugins

Too much awesomeness!!!!!! How do you guys do it?!?!

Lightworks NLE is a masterpiece.

I love Lightworks, the best, the fastest, the best NLE in the market.

Works like a charm on Linux!

Best Video Editor ever! 💪. Support is amazing.

I really love Lightworks. I compared it with other editors, but nothing comes close to the focus and lightness.

"I have an almost evangelical enthusiasm for Lightworks. I've edited with all the other systems, so I can say - from experience - that Lightworks is a far superior editing tool."

"I have tried the obvious alternatives to Lightworks and know all the disadvantages. I wouldn't be interested in working on a film if they told me I couldn't edit on Lightworks."

"Lightworks has always been an editing tool that happened to be a computer, and not a computer that's an editor. You never have to worry about tech getting in the way of the creative."

Get started with our Free Plan

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Lightworks - LWKS - Video Editing Software

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We're not colouring software with a bit of editing; we're not air-brushing software with a bit of video stuff. Lightworks is for editing.#WeAreEditing You want your video on YouTube, click the YouTube logo, you want it cinema ready, click the cinema button. It's simple. It's pro.Edit & go...

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How many times have you noticed your own face in a webcam video, chat, or interview, and been distracted by how unflattering the shot is?

Maybe you're just a silhouette, lurking in front of a light source. Maybe you're way too bright. Maybe it's an unfortunate camera angle (straight up the nostrils).
You've got two options to solve this problem:

1. Place duct tape over that part of your screen until the interview is over, so you can pretend it's all gravy.

2. Make yourself look good, so you can stop worrying about your appearance and focus on what you're saying.

By default, webcams aren't exactly flattering, but with a few tricks, you can significantly improve how you look.

In Chris's video, he walks through some quick tips for looking your best in a webcam:

Ideally, you want the lens of your webcam to be level with your eyeline (or even slightly above it). Chances are, you've got a stack of books around, or even an old box - place your laptop on top, make some adjustments, and you should be good to go!

Position yourself about an arm's length away from the screen, and make sure you leave a bit of space between the top of your hair and the top of the frame. In the video world, this space is called "headroom."

If you have an obvious light source near you (like a window), be sure to always keep it in front of you, not behind you. When introducing yourself to a new client, it's best if you don't look like a mysterious shadow with no eyes. But seriously, light is a beautiful thing. Use it to your advantage.

If you don't have a window, or if you're shooting at night, don't just rely on the overhead lights in your office. If you happen to have an external monitor, place it right behind your laptop, and use it as a light source - a white background or zooming in on a white image will work best.

This one seems intuitive, but it's easy to forget. Offices can get messy, and sometimes your coworkers leave old food behind. Don't distract your audience with clutter in the frame. A quick cleanup can do wonders.

Audio can be tricky, especially if you've got an open office plan, but try your best to distance yourself from any background noise. If you truly can't escape the brouhaha, then plug in some headphones with a built-in microphone. With the mic closer to your mouth, your voice should cut through the noise more clearly.

Making a video voicemail for a sales lead? Explaining a concept to a customer? Presenting a new idea to your team? Go beyond your average webcam video. Integrate footage of your screen, trim and transition your video to your heart's content, customize its look, and share it - all within minutes. All with Soapbox by Wistia.

Record, edit, and share impressive videos in minutes, using nothing but your laptop. Install the free Chrome extension, and clean up your act!

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How many times have you noticed your own face in a webcam video, chat, or interview, and been distracted by how unflattering the shot is? Maybe you're just a silhouette, lurking in front of a light source. Maybe you're way too bright. Maybe it's an unfortunate camera angle (straight up the nostrils).

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Apple has come a long way since introducing video recording with the iPhone 3Gs. The newest iPhones can shoot stunning 4K footage, but if you just pull your iPhone out of your pocket and hit record, you won't take full advantage of everything this powerful camera can do.

The following are some quick tips for getting the most out of your iPhone's camera.

The newest iPhones have built-in optical image stabilization, which makes shooting decent handheld footage fairly easy. But no matter how steady your hands are, nothing beats using a good old-fashioned tripod.

Our favorite iPhone tripod adapter is the Joby GripTight, which is around $20. It's barely big enough to hold the iPhone 7 Plus, but it does work.

If you are stuck shooting handheld, here are some tips to help you stabilize your shot:

Keep the phone close to your body.

Rest your elbows on a nearby object.

Use your body to absorb bounces and shakes.

Unless you have the dual-lens iPhone 7 Plus, avoid the temptation to use the iPhone's built-in camera zoom. Since the lens isn't zooming optically, you're just enlarging the picture digitally, which means you will quickly enter the world of unsightly pixelation.

If you want to get a closer-up shot of your subject, move the phone closer until you find the perfect shot!

Your iPhone footage will look best when you shoot with lots of light. If you're shooting indoors, adding supplemental lighting will go a long way.

The built-in camera flash on the new iPhone will never compare to using off-camera lights. You can use professional video lights in a bunch of different ways. The Westcott Ice Lights are some of our favorite versatile lights, but if you're on a budget, you can also hack together a decent lighting kit from Home Depot for under $100.

If you can't get your hands on any studio lights, but you're still shooting indoors, position yourself facing a window and use the sun.

The iPhone will automatically focus and expose your shot. This can be a great function for quick photos, but when you're shooting a video of one person talking to the camera, it can really complicate things. The iPhone tends to keep adjusting and refocusing, which can lead to jittery-looking footage.

That's why we recommend using the exposure focus lock. This will help to keep the focus and exposure constant throughout your shot.

A general rule for clear audio is to get your microphone as close to your subject as possible.

When you're shooting video with an iPhone, it's best to position a second iPhone directly above the subject's head to record clean audio. Creating a simple voice memo will do the trick!

Another option is to use an external microphone. You can plug a powered mic, like the Sennheiser ME66, into an XLR microphone adapter, and it'll send the audio from the microphone directly into your iPhone.

Pro Tip: Clap once at the beginning of each take to create a reference point for syncing the good sound from the voice memo with the bad sound from the video recording.

You can get some amazing shots with the iPhone's built-in slow-mo, but make sure the choice to slow down the action is motivated. A shot of someone skiing will probably be great in slowmo. A shot of someone typing on their computer, on the other hand, might not be so interesting.

In the camera settings, you can choose to shoot 120 frames-per-second at 1080p resolution or 240 frames-per-second at a reduced resolution of 720p.

Time-lapses are a cool way to showcase a bustling work environment or event. Here are some handy tips for capturing a seamless time-lapse video:

Put your phone on a tripod.

Lock the focus and exposure for smooth and natural lighting changes.

Put your phone in airplane mode before you hit record.

There are some pretty cool editing apps available for the iPhone, but they still don't beat editing on your computer. When you finish shooting, plug your phone in, offload your footage, and import your videos into your editor of choice.

If you've never edited a video before, there's never been a better time to start. The iPhone's camera combined with some minor editing can unlock some serious potential. Plus, free tools like iMovie have made editing easier for everyone.

If you thought you needed to go out and buy a DSLR to make a video, think again! Sometimes, the best camera is the one you have with you.

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The iPhone has an amazing video camera, but just clicking record may not result in quality footage. Watch our tutorial, shot entirely with an iPhone 7, and learn how to produce professional-looking video. Got additional suggestions for shooting with an iPhone? Have advice about shooting with other smartphones?

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Background music plays a wicked important role in your video. It's a powerful way to drive the video forward and create emotion around your message. However, choosing the right track for your video can get tricky. Here are some tips that can help you pick the perfect song for your video project.

How do you want your audience to feel when they watch your video? Should they be excited about your new product launch? Warm and fuzzy from your customer testimonial? On the verge of laughing from your candid in-office culture clip? All of these feelings have styles of music that will help evoke a specific emotion.

Music licensing libraries like Marmoset and Tunefruit have emotional based meta-tags on their tracks like "empowering," "playful" and "peaceful." This feature is super helpful for finding a background track that elevates the emotional message of your video.

A great way to shop for songs is to split your screen up and try some out! In one window play your video without music. In another, test out some songs. This will help you find a match made in heaven.

Most pop songs you hear on the radio have a pretty standard structure consisting of 4-5 parts (verse, pre-chorus, chorus, another verse, another chorus, bridge, and a massive double chorus to bring it home!). While you might pick a pop song that is stylistically and emotionally the right fit for your video, the transitions will probably not jive with your video's narrative structure.

We recommend looping (repeating) sections of the song to better fit the flow of your video. When it comes to background music, you can repeat things more than you think. Don't be afraid to loop the verse, cut the bridge, cut the last chorus, etc.

If you're looking for an organic-sounding song with acoustic instruments like acoustic guitar, piano, or indie rock drums, make sure you find a track that has the real thing. Although some high end samples sound amazing, digital versions of acoustic instruments often make a recording (and ultimately your video) feel corny and dated.

Let's say you're looking for a song that kind of sounds like Mumford and Sons ... put on your headphones and listen to some Mumford and Sons! Open up "Little Lion Boy" in one window, and your music site in another, then compare and contrast the sonic qualities between the recordings. It won't take long before you can tell the difference between the good, the bad, and the corny.

In a lot of cases, good background music is the music that you didn't even notice. So if someone's talking on screen, don't let the music get in the way.

Watch out for songs that have sonic elements that compete with the human voice. Obviously vocals and group whoa-ing fall into this category, but poppy piano melodies and even whistling are also elements that will compete with the human voice.

This is going to be a lot easier if you have some songs to play with, so Wistia has made a bunch of music tracks available for you to use for free! Each of the songs has very different emotional and sonic qualities. Maybe one of them will work perfectly in your next video, or maybe none of them will. You decide!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Background music plays a wicked important role in your video. It's a powerful way to drive the video forward and create emotion around your message. However, choosing the right track for your video can get tricky. Here are some tips that can help you pick the perfect song for your video project.

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Shooting videos from directly overhead is old news, but thanks to BuzzFeed's video series, "Tasty," many of us have become well-acquainted with this type of shot.

The perspective that this shot offers can breathe life into all sorts of videos, beyond just step-by-step recipe demos. But the overhead shot can be tricky to set up and execute.

In this post, we'll break down three ways that we've successfully captured the overhead video shot at Wistia.

The simplest way to shoot from up above is to raise your tripod sky-high and point it down. It will never point 90 degrees downward, but it'll get you close enough in most cases.

Place the tallest tripod you have as close to the table or surface as possible, and point the tripod head all the way down. If you need a little extra height, bring the tripod legs closer together, or try putting the front two legs on whatever table or surface you're using. At Wistia, we use the Manfrotto MVH500AH fluid head & 755XB tripod combo.

Another way to position a camera directly overhead is to use a combination of a monopod and a boom pole holder.

For this technique, you'll need:

Clip the camera into the monopod, then slip the monopod into the boom pole holder.

Important: Double-check that everything is locked tight, from the camera mount to the grip head. Also, use sandbags to weigh down the boom pole stand, as this rig will be pretty darn top-heavy.

When you're shooting overhead, we've noticed that gravity can cause some zoom lenses to slip and not hold focal length. Because of this, use a fixed lens like a 24mm or 35mm and raise or lower the light stand to get the right framing.

With the camera so high up, it makes it difficult to monitor your shot. So if you have one, an external display will save you some time and energy.

And then there's the mirror rig. This rig is a bit more ambitious, but if you're doing a bunch of overhead shooting, it might be worth the time investment.

The main benefit of the mirror rig is being able to shoot up at the mirror from the ground. From this position, you can easily make camera adjustments or change zoom or focus. In post-production, you can apply a flip effect to correct the image, and you've got yourself an overhead shot!

To build the mirror rig, we modified this $70 wood-frame mirror from Home Depot. To do it yourself, you'll need...

Mirror

2 split ring brackets

2 eye bolts that bolt into the brackets

2" bolts and some extra nuts

Drill

Sturdy c-stand

Sand bags

Drill some holes into the frame and attach the brackets, leaving enough clearance for the c-stand crossbar. Then you can adjust the angle of the mirror by using the eyebolts as set screws.

A word of caution to avoid 7 years of bad luck: Make sure the mirror frame is good and tight, and be sure to use sandbags on the c-stand.

With the mirror overhead, it's all about finding the right height and angle. You'll want to place the mirror above the table at roughly a 45-degree angle to start. A zoom lens is key here, because you can actually grab wide and close-up shots without moving your camera or the rig. This lets you get a variety of different shots from the same angle.

Now your raw footage will be... wait for it... mirrored. But correcting for this this is just a filter away in any video editor.

Maybe you're not making any recipe demos in the near future, but you might want to surprise your viewers with an interesting new vantage point every now and then. When done well, the overhead shot can be a delightful addition to any kind of video.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Shooting videos from directly overhead is old news, but thanks to BuzzFeed's video series, "Tasty," many of us have become well-acquainted with this type of shot. The perspective that this shot offers can breathe life into all sorts of videos, beyond just step-by-step recipe demos.

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Here at Wistia, we like to experiment with all different types of videos, including stop motion videos from time to time. Stop motion is an animation technique that we've used to add quirky visual effects to our videos. We've experimented with this hands-on technique to celebrate the holidays, thank our customers, and even advertise Wistia.

In this guide, we'll be covering a few basic steps for making your next stop motion video or sequence.

Stop motion works with all different subjects - people, cars, umbrellas... anything that can move is fair game. Heck, you can make two bananas walk down a street and do a jig if you want to! At Wistia, we've mainly focused on small-scale handmade stop motion scenes (because they're more manageable), and we've learned a few things along the way about creating a makeshift studio. Read on to learn all of our secrets.

Setting up a stop motion studio

If you aren't planning on building a more permanent stop motion studio in your office, here are a few quick tips to set up your own stop motion studio on the go!

Get yourself a solid table that doesn't have wheels (or if it does, make sure you can lock them in position). This will make sure your setup and shot won't move from frame to frame in your video.

Try to find a room where you can block out all natural light to record video. Light from the sun can change quickly, and the slightest shift (from a cloud or the sun changing position) will be noticeable in your video. If you can find a closet that fits a table and your camera setup, you're in luck. Conference rooms work great too! Your goal is to have flat, even light, just like you would use for a talking head video. A lot of times, one well-placed light with some diffusion will do the trick. You can use softboxes or key lights to achieve this effect, or a clip light can work just as well. Just watch out for any hotspots or reflections.

Seamless paper works great for stop motion videos. We'll usually opt for the 4-foot paper roll as opposed to the 9-foot, since we're working with a smaller video frame. We grab a couple of light stands, a cross bar, and our paper color of choice. Then, we use clips to fasten the paper to the table.

Once you've locked down your table's position, you'll want to do the same with your camera. For a quick stop motion setup, and not a permanent installation, we use just a regular old tripod. Make sure your tripod legs and center column are all locked down, as well as the tripod head. If you've got a sandbag handy, try clipping it to your tripod to add some extra weight.

In order to easily see your stop motion scene, consider using an external display. It can make the whole process more efficient, and you won't have to keep running to the back of your camera each time you move your objects.

We use the line of Small HD 's for our external displays. They plug into your DSLR through HDMI and display what would have shown on your camera's LCD. We'll usually set up our external display on it's own separate little light stand at a nice angle, so it's easy to see the scene without having to touch the camera. If you don't have an external display, a spare TV can work just as well!

If you're investing in stop motion video, get an external camera controller - either wired or wireless. This way, you don't have to touch your camera at all. This is pretty key, especially since any movement in your camera will affect your stop motion animation.

Since stop motion is all pictures, you have complete control over the frame rate and the quality. We'll usually shoot in JPEG instead of RAW for a quicker workflow in post, and set the quality at medium. Most stop motion videos are between 12fps and 24fps (1920x1080). You can decide what style you want to shoot in, so experiment!

Having more frames per second will make for smoother animations, but a lower frame rate can have a neat effect. There's no easy way to plan out how something will animate until you do it. The secret is: the slighter the movement and the more pictures you take, the smoother and longer the animation will be. If you want something to move across the frame, don't do it in 12 pictures - try 24. This way, you can always remove those frames in post if the animation takes too long.

Shoot a few pictures before you start any action and a few more after the action ends. This will help with timing, and it might come in handy if you end up needing to insert black space into your edit. Blank frames can also be useful if you want to "pause" the motion at any point in your video.

If you mess up one section of the video, start that section over again. Just like shooting a live-action video, you can do multiple takes!

If production goes well, this process should actually go pretty quickly. Dump all the pictures into a folder and then head into Premiere. With Premiere open, go to File > Import and navigate to the first picture you took.

Select that picture and check "Image Sequence." This will turn all of your pictures into one cohesive timelapse, which is essentially what a stop motion video is. From here, all you need to do is adjust the timing and pacing, add some music (and sound effects), and pat yourself on the back. You did it! Now get out there and starting animating!

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Trevor explains how to set up a DIY stop motion studio, shoot an animation frame by frame, and edit footage efficiently.

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They may look like they take hours of intense work to produce, but timelapses are a great visual effect that can be achieved with minimal effort. And the best ones can transform even the most mundane situations into visually interesting videos.

Our super talented friend Billy Woodward has been lending his skills to the Creative team here at Wistia, so Trevor and I set up some cameras to capture a timelapse of one of his incredibly intricate pumpkin carvings ('tis the season, after all).

The good news is you can pull off the timelapse effect using just about any camera out there. Want to hear more about the cameras we used and how we set them up? Well read on, reader!

Is there anything the iPhone can't do? Well, aside from letting you plug in a pair of headphones... but that's a blog post for a different day.

Of all of the cameras we used, we ended up being most impressed with the results from the iPhone 8. The timelapse feature in iOS doesn't give you much control, but it will leave you with a ready-to-share video as soon as you've finished recording. Here's the raw video of the timelapse we shot on the iPhone:

So what are some tips you should keep in mind when shooting a timelapse video with your iPhone?

Secure the iPhone to a tripod using a mount like the Manfrotto TwistGrip or Joby Grip Tight.

If possible, plug the phone into power - a dead phone isn't going to do you any favors.

Turn on Airplane Mode in case you receive a call or text while recording. The last thing you want is to be forced to start over because your ringtone got in the way.

Lock in the exposure and focus on the subject you're filming.

This may seem obvious, but don't start recording until everything's in place and you're ready to go.

Keep recording for a bit longer at the end of your shot to give you some breathing room at the end of the timelapse.

Even if we preferred using the iPhone 8, the DSLR is still the original timelapse camera. The basic principle here is to set up your camera to take a picture at a particular interval - every second, every minute, every hour... whatever you want! When you combine these images into a video, it will show time passing at a faster rate than with normal video.

Here's the timelapse we shot with our Canon 5D Mark IV:

Some DSLR cameras like the Canon 5D Mark IV or Panasonic GH5 have a built-in intervalometer for creating timelapses. But if your camera doesn't have this feature, you'll need to pick up a manual intervalometer to plug into your camera, like this one that works with the older 5D Mark III.

At the end of your DSLR timelapse, you'll be left with an enormous amount of still images that will need to be combined to make a video. To do this, you can use a variety of different software such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, Premiere, or even the old standby, QuickTime Pro 7.

Some helpful DSLR timelapse hints to take note of before you begin:

Use manual focus.

Shut off the image review to save on battery power.

Turn off any image stabilizer on your lens.

Silence the shutter "beep" so you don't have to put up with any annoying sounds.

To save space on your card, shoot photos as Medium or Large JPEG files, not RAW.

If you have studio lighting conditions, shoot in Full Manual Mode. But if you're shooting outside with varying lighting conditions, shoot in Exposure Priority Mode.

Bonus tip: You can also use a DSLR (or literally any other video camera) to create a timelapse. Just mount the camera on a tripod and hit "record." When you're ready to edit, speed up the video footage to make the timelapse whatever length you want! Just keep in mind that this usually works best for shorter sequences under 20 minutes long.

Every GoPro has a timelapse function built into it. But the newer Hero4, Hero5, and Hero6 models can create timelapse movies without the need to stitch all the photos together, saving you time in the long run.

For our pumpkin carving video, we thought it'd look cool to mount our GoPro on Billy himself with the help of a chest mount. Great concept, right? Turns out this was a horrible, horrible idea.

Lesson learned! The chest mount wasn't a good mounting option for a timelapse (although it actually would've made an awesome B-roll video shot). For our timelapse, we should have mounted it in a secure place to ensure the camera wouldn't move.

Here are 4 other things to consider when using your GoPro in timelapse mode:

Take advantage of the GoPro's small size. Use your creative eye to spot different locations where you can mount your GoPro to pull off interesting angles.

Make sure your battery is fully charged, or plug into USB power if you can.

Photo Timelapse Mode gives you more flexibility to zoom in after the fact, but Video Timelapse Mode is easier and more straightforward.

Use Protune to dial in your settings for less variability in the image.

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Shoot a Striking Timelapse Video with Your iPhone, DSLR, or GoPro

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They may look like they take hours of intense work to produce, but timelapses are a great visual effect that can be achieved with minimal effort. And the best ones can transform even the most mundane situations into visually interesting videos.

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Bad audio can ruin even the best video. Consumers of online video recognize subpar sound almost instantly. Like a typo in an article, loud background noise and fuzzy voices suggest inexperience and distract from your message.

The good news is, there are many ways to improve the audio in your videos. Optimizing your shooting environment and using quality recording devices can go a long way.

The area you shoot in can make a huge difference! The saying "fix it in post" doesn't really apply to audio. It's extremely tough to remove ambient noise from a recording after the fact. Save yourself the aggravation and capture the best possible sounding audio during production.

When you're setting up for your shoot:

Pick a space without loud ambient noises.

Steer clear of air conditioning units, generators, traffic noise, and anything else that creates a hum.

Try to find a shoot location that allows you to control ambient noise.

If you're shooting in your office, make sure you warn the folks in the background that you may need to "pull a Spielberg" and ask them firmly to be quiet!

Deaden room reverberation by taping blankets to the walls. You could also invest in acoustic panels that help remove room reverberation.

A lavalier is a small microphone that clips onto your speaker's shirt. Lavaliers are a great option if your talent is going to be moving around, and there are both wired and wireless versions.

However, lavalier microphones are particularly finicky. Whether or not they'll capture good audio depends on getting the perfect placement. Start by placing the lav about six inches below your talent's chin. Your goal is to make sure that the microphone has a clear path to the mouth.

At Wistia, we are constantly trying to make our production process more simple and less intimidating. That's why we prefer to keep a shotgun mic positioned and ready for action in our studio. With this setup, subjects can jump in and out of the space to shoot videos on the fly.

We love the shotgun mic because it can be hidden outside of the shot (and the talent's field of view), and it makes subjects' voices sound close and clear. It also picks up a bit of ambient noise to provide a nicely balanced soundtrack. We broke down our recording process using a Canon 5D on the blog.

We recognize that there are all sorts of sound solutions out there, and we are excited to keep discovering new ways to record clean, crisp audio tracks.

What's your favorite microphone? Do you have any DIY tricks for dampening noise in your shooting environment? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the Community!

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Bad audio can ruin even the best video. Consumers of online video recognize subpar sound almost instantly. Like a typo in an article, loud background noise and fuzzy voices suggest inexperience and distract from your message. The good news is, there are many ways to improve the audio in your videos.

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Kapwing — Create more content in less time

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HitFilm Express: Free editing & VFX software - fxhome.com

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The most popular free editor & compositor for Mac & PC. Includes over 410 powerful effects & presets.

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