The Most Affordable RAW Cinema Camera
Filmmaking, Production Kayla Klein Filmmaking, Production Kayla Klein

The Most Affordable RAW Cinema Camera

You may be asking yourself why is Stream Semester still talking about a mid-tier camera from 2012? We are going to let you in on one of the best-kept cinematography secrets of the last few years. The Canon EOS M, with the latest version of Magic Lantern, transforms this unassuming little camera into a fully capable cinema camera. It is on par with the Black Magic Pocket Cinema cameras in many regards with a little know-how. The best part is that you can get this camera for under $200.

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How To Find Your Niche In Filmmaking
Filmmaking Guest Contributor Filmmaking Guest Contributor

How To Find Your Niche In Filmmaking

Armed with that knowledge, I entered the world of entrepreneurship at the tender age of 24 with a fancy camera, some basic shooting skills, and a lot of unearned bravadoes. One of the first things my father – a fractional CFO with more than a few years of experience – told me was that if I was going to be successful I needed to find a niche.

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What You Need In Your Portfolio To Get Into Film School
Filmmaking Kreativ Alchemy Filmmaking Kreativ Alchemy

What You Need In Your Portfolio To Get Into Film School

University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts only accepts roughly 3% of applicants into the program. So, we took a look at their application requirements to give you a list of what the most prestigious schools expect from their film school applicants. If you create your portfolio around the best, you’ll be prepared for any other application.

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5 Camera Tips For Beginner Filmmakers
Filmmaking, Teaching Resources, Production Guest Contributor Filmmaking, Teaching Resources, Production Guest Contributor

5 Camera Tips For Beginner Filmmakers

The number one thing I found out from throughout my experience in video production is that many beginners don't take advantage of their youth to get better at their craft. If you know at a young age that you want to be a filmmaker, I think that you should honestly start as soon as possible. At that note, you may not have an outlet on where to start with your brand new equipment. By writing this article, I hope to help someone with their first steps on the right path to success in camerawork.

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How To Name Your Files To Streamline Your Video Project
Teaching Resources, Filmmaking, Production Guest Contributor Teaching Resources, Filmmaking, Production Guest Contributor

How To Name Your Files To Streamline Your Video Project

Are you looking for a suitable method of tracking projects for grading and archiving?  Here is a standard of practice I developed for our students about ten years ago that drastically improved our workflow process.  With hundreds of projects, shows, and events being produced each year, we needed a better system in place, and it had to start with project naming.

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Veteran Documentary - The Best Production Project
Filmmaking, Teaching Resources, Production Guest Contributor Filmmaking, Teaching Resources, Production Guest Contributor

Veteran Documentary - The Best Production Project

You get to do so many great projects with students when you run a video productions and broadcast journalism program.  News packages highlight some of the exciting things happening in your school and community, music videos bring out everyone's creative side, short films generate some unique narratives, and live sports provide a rush that is hard to beat.  We have all of these forms of production going on at Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio, in what we call our NCtv Media program, and it makes for an excellent comprehensive education.

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What Student Filmmakers Can Learn From Watching Horror Films
Filmmaking Guest Contributor Filmmaking Guest Contributor

What Student Filmmakers Can Learn From Watching Horror Films

As a starting filmmaker, horror is a scary genre to get right (pun intended). In this article, I am listing five movies that are great to introduce yourself to the horror/thriller genre. These five movies combine storytelling, aesthetics, and filmmaking in order to complement the horror genre. I’m also not trying to spoil anything about these films, so I apologize in advance if my comments are vague in this article.

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How To Make the Fake Blood From The Evil Dead!</em>
Filmmaking, Teaching Resources, Production Kreativ Alchemy Filmmaking, Teaching Resources, Production Kreativ Alchemy

How To Make the Fake Blood From The Evil Dead!

The Evil Dead is one of the best horror films of the 20th century. It is iconic, campy, and filled with blood. The 1981 American supernatural classic was written and directed by Sam Raimi and it stars the most famous B movie actor of all time --Bruce Campbell. If you are interested in making a short horror movie this is a great place to start. Bruce Campbell spills it all and shows us how to make his infamous fake blood that actually shows up well on camera.

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Keeping Track of Camera Gear for Your Video Classes
Filmmaking, Teaching Resources Guest Contributor Filmmaking, Teaching Resources Guest Contributor

Keeping Track of Camera Gear for Your Video Classes

During my first year of teaching, I sent a camera back to Sony for repair. When it was shipped back to the school, it was delivered to the main office. The principal called me to let me know it had arrived. I said I would send a student down to pick it up and bring it back to the studio. The principal replied, “Are you sure you trust a student to do that?” True story.

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Must-Have Affordable Camera  Gear for Beginners
Teaching Resources, Filmmaking, Production Guest Contributor Teaching Resources, Filmmaking, Production Guest Contributor

Must-Have Affordable Camera Gear for Beginners

The hardest thing about being a student filmmaker is not having the gear you need to start working on your craft. You are so eager to get started, but you don’t have anything to do so. Maybe you have the advantage of using your school’s gear for your projects, but you finally decide it’s time to start investing in your own because you don’t want to borrow anymore.

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The Truth About Documentary Filmmaking
Filmmaking, Production Guest Contributor Filmmaking, Production Guest Contributor

The Truth About Documentary Filmmaking

In partnership with the Arizona Community Foundation, the Cronkite School launched a special year-long project to cover the rise of youth suicides in Arizona, including exploring the underlying causes and looking for possible solutions. The class is led by David Ariosto, an author and journalist who has managed, produced, and written for National Geographic, Time Magazine, NPR, Reuters, CNN, and Al Jazeera America — needless to say, I landed a pretty decent gig.

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Free Video Editing Software for Students&nbsp;
Teaching Resources, Filmmaking, Production Kreativ Alchemy Teaching Resources, Filmmaking, Production Kreativ Alchemy

Free Video Editing Software for Students 

While your school computers might have the same video editing software like the pros, students don’t have the same access at home. Some students don’t even have computers. But that shouldn’t stop you from editing your films and newscasts remotely. We gathered our favorite free video editing programs for your computers and phones.

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Veteran’s Day Documentary - Part 3 - Ken Burns
Filmmaking Guest Contributor Filmmaking Guest Contributor

Veteran’s Day Documentary - Part 3 - Ken Burns

To say that Ken Burns is a hero to me would be an understatement. Just take a look at his collection of documentaries over the years, and you will see that he is probably one of the most significant historical filmmakers of all time. Getting his attention just a few years after we started producing documentaries at our school was a career highlight for me and a pretty unforgettable teaching moment for our students.

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