The Simplest Trick for Great Lighting – Bounce Boards Explained
When I first started shooting inside in a controlled environment I thought everything was going to be easy because after all, it was a controlled environment right?
Well not so!
What actually happened was that I started a war between myself and the available light in that controlled environment.
I started with the old three point lighting and that was a pain to get right but eventually got it… “OK”… sorta.
The problem I kept hitting was uneven light both in my backgrounds and especially on faces.
I had a tendency to give my subjects panda eyes and considering I was taking video of my wife, that didn’t go over too well!
Eventually I called in my brother in law who is a cinematographer.
I thought he was going to go all professional on me and insist on the addition of numerous new lights at great expense.
In the end all he did was bring in some large but very cheap pieces of polystyrene foam board, position them correctly and bingo! Job Done!
No new lights and not even professional bounce boards!
Pro Content Creators Advice for YouTube
As I have often mentioned in this weekly roundup of all things video the one constant that applies to YouTube is that it is always changing!
Right now there is debate about long form content versus short form and which one will lead to success.
Of course the reality is that success on YouTube is never going to come down the answer to one question.
There is a multitude of factors that will determine your fate on that platform.
I took a look at this video and can honestly say it is some of the most sane advice I have seen for a while on that subject.
These Myths Don’t Let You Get Views on YouTube – How to Grow Your Channel in 2025
So speaking of YouTube ans as the husband of a somewhat full-time YouTuber I bear certain burdens in my life.
There is a whole range of things I have to do and most of it I am happy to do so!
I like shooting the videos, editing the videos, correcting audio and all of that sort of stuff.
Here’s the thing I really hate doing.
I hate having to do hours of research so that I can convince my wife that the latest “tip,” “trick,” “strategy” or “technique” she heard is a load of rubbish and regardless of where it came from, “No honey, that’s not going to work!”
So in light of that here’s video covering some of the more common silliness that get bandied about as somehow being the answer to your YouTube woes.
Tips on Working with Background Images in PowerDirector
This is a quite basic introduction to working with backgrounds in CyberLink PowerDirector.
The program comes with a bunch of stock backgrounds you can use as well as an A.I. driven background removal tool.
The only caveat being that the A.I. tool needs to have a subject and background that present a reasonable degree of contrast between them to have the tool work well.
You will see in the example that the lady in the video is wearing a dark blue suit jacket and when placed over a background that is predominantly a dark grey, artifacts can enter in.
Otherwise it is a pretty effective tool.
Master Basic Panel of Color for Easy Color Grading
This is a very fast run through the color adjustment settings you can use in Filmora to correct or color grade footage.
It is certainly not all there is to know about color adjustment but it’s a good start to getting an idea of what it all does.
If you are new to color correction or grading then I would suggest watching a tutorial like this to get an idea of where everything is first.
After that go online and look for more advanced tutorials because these days there really is a lot you can do in a program like Filmora.
Finally look for tutorials on using the Scopes.
The beauty of scopes is that they represent the raw values of your footage and take away the danger of your eyes beginning to lie to you about what you are seeing.
DaVinci Resolve for CapCut Users – (Let’s get you started)
So as was predicted a few weeks back CapCut and TikTok have been pretty much blocked into the United States leaving a bunch of people stranded and without editing software.
In response to that Daniel Batal has released a video specifically for CapCut users in the U.S to help them perhaps cross over into the world of DaVinci Resolve.
I guess that the majority of the job at hand for Daniel is to convince everyone it’s not as difficult as it seems!
Let’s face it, when you compare the two there is quite a difference!
So if you have been put into that position then this is certainly worth looking at but on the other hand if you already using Resolve but are still a little at sea then this may be right for you too!
Export CapCut Files Directly to Filmora on both Mobile and Desktop
Just as a follow up to the previous post from Daniel Batal, Filmora have been quick to move on the demise of CapCut in the U.S.
Within the last week they have introduced a new feature that allows you to convert CapCut projects into Filmora projects then continue editing in Filmora.
This means you don’t have to move any files or pretty much do anything really.
Just save the CapCut project as a CapCut project file, navigate to it through Filmora, choose to convert and it all opens up for editing inside Filmora no problem.
How I Made Hollywood-Level Motion GFX in Fusion
Well it’s another week and of course time for another DaVinci Resolve Fusion tutorial from Casey Faris.
I have said it before but really, if you want to take your special effects up a notch then using Fusion and some tutorials from Casey will absolutely get you there!
This week he shows how to make some fancy schmancy motion graphics à la Suicide Squad and it all looks pretty good!
Original post The Friday Roundup – Bounce Boards & YouTube Tips
