Episodes

Production  Resources

What do I need?

Equipment:

• Honestly; your existing camera or old smartphone (with case) is more than fine to start with and learn! The story, editing, sound, and color-grading work is where most of a video's production value comes from. A nice new camera is the last piece of that puzzle!

• Ultracompact:  GoPro Hero 9 Black, case, and tray

• Medium:  Panasonic GH5 or GH5S

• Expert Advice: B&H Photo Video - Live Chat - support a local NYC business. They have great selection and customer service. 

Editing software:

• DaVinci Resolve  (Linux, macOS, Windows: Free  /  Studio: $295 , includes speed controller)

  • Free training: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/training 

• KdenLive (Linux & Windows; free & open-source)

  • Free training:    [Kdenlive for Beginners (2021) ]      [Toolbox Tutorials]       [Arkengheist Tutorials]

  • Extra Plugins and transitions: https://store.kde.org/browse/cat/333/order/latest/ 

  • [User Manual]      [Community Wiki]

• iMovie (macOS, Free)

  • Free training: https://support.apple.com/imovie 

• LumaFusion: start your editing on the road, and finish at home: can export to Final Cut / XML. ($20, iPad & iPhone)

Virtual Workstation:

• Shadow Virtual PC: allows anyone to remotely access a private virtual workstation-grade cloud-hosted editing and gaming system. Perfect for anyone with an older or budget PC who wants to try out video editing and production before committing to a new computer. Also great for photogrammetry and intense 3D modelling. ($12/mo, all platforms)

File Synchronization:

• Syncthing - Mac/PC/Linux; peer-to-peer (P2P+E2EE+FLOSS) secure sync.  Free. Used for team collab, ingest servers, and cloud gateways. Not for backup. 

  • • iOS/iPhone/iPad: use Möbius Sync to connect and sync with Syncthing shares

• MEGA - encrypted open-source sync, chat, & videoconferencing.  $~12/mo/pp for 2TB, expands to 16TB. Pick this one if you're unsure.

• Frame.io - video feedback and collaboration for editors. Allows people to watch dailies and leave feedback for editors and color graders. Free for basic service. For paid users, also a good place to archive/backup assets. 

Collaboration:

• Parsec - ultra-low latency remote control and screenshare, Windows-only. Free.

• iMessage Screen Share - ultra-low latency remote control and screenshare, macOS-only. Free.

• RealVNC - low latency remote control and screenshare, Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Free for 5 devices.

• CryptPad - Open-source encrypted cloud-documents, scripting, spreadsheets, and whiteboard. Rapidly becoming new industry standard. Free. Can also self-host on your own server if you're technically inclined.

Graphics:

• Glimpse - free & open-source photo editing

  • Free training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMw779t57-k 

• Darktable - free & open-source photo library and RAW developer

  • User guide: https://www.darktable.org/usermanual/en/overview/ 

• Inkscape - free & open-source vector drawing (logos)

  • Free training: https://inkscape.org/learn/tutorials/ 

• Krita - free & open-source raster drawing (sketches)

  • Free training: https://docs.krita.org/en/ 

• Blender - free & open-source 3D Modelling (an entire hobby on its own!)

  • Free training: https://www.blender.org/support/tutorials/ 

Utilities and Miscellaneous:

• Shutter Encoder - free & open-source video transcoder and transmuxxer. Great for standardizing editing and publishing formats. [FAQ] [Documentation] [Source]

  • Handbrake Encoder - alternate;  fully-signed binary for macOS users, available for Windows, Linux, Mac

• Linux Multimedia Applications List - Arch Wiki concatenation of all multimedia utilities compatible with Linux builds

• Focalboard - an open-source, self-hosted webapp alternative to collaborative trackers like Trello, Notion, and Asana. [HowTo] [Source]

• Nativefier - many any webpage a PWA app for desktop use

• Coolers - Color theory and palette inspiration 

Where's the best place for NYC-area photo/videographers to hang?

New York Underwater Photographic Society

Case Study:  What strengths can good video bring to a narrative?