Category: Videos

How to EASILY remove dust spots from your videos in Premiere Pro & After Effects

Most of my ideas for tutorials come from struggles that I have experienced while learning how to edit videos. I’ll be needing to know how to do something, there’s no video or tutorial readily available, and I’ll eventually end up figuring it out on my own.

Take this tutorial for example: back in 2013 I was really getting into timelapses, shooting them all over Texas and around the country. In the process of shooting these though, I realized that my camera sensor had a lot of dust spots on it that I hadn’t noticed while filming 1080p video, but were definitely obvious in a 4K timelapse. Unlike Photoshop or Lightroom though, editing video involves moving pictures, so you can’t just clone or healing brush some dust away, because it will be immediately obvious when you hit play.

Thankfully after a lot of research, I found a tutorial on the Magic Timelapses Blog written by a guy (I think his name is Michael) back in 2010. In it, he detailed how he used After Effects to quickly and easily remove dust and sensor spots from any video. I was completely mindblown and proceeded to use this technique for years.

More recently, as I’ve been creating more video tutorials, reviews, and other helpful videos for filmmakers, I realized that this method of removing dust and sensor spots from videos is now even more necessary. With 4K video and mirrorless cameras, it is no longer a question of if you will get a dust spot, but when. My goal with this tutorial is to save you a ton of time, headache, and stress, and to show you how to quickly and easily remove dust and sensor spots using Premiere Pro. And if you have a lot of dust spots, I show you how to do it even quicker in After Effects.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this tutorial, wedding filmmaking, or creating videos in general, please feel free to get in touch.

Tutorial

A beautiful thing to behold | Oceanside wedding in Corpus Christi, Texas

My wife Rachel has a lot of early college memories that she shared with our friend Zac over the years they spent at Texas A&M. They had a small group of friends that would get Chinese food every Thursday night at the same restaurant. He also played a key role in Rachel’s only speeding ticket, which she received while driving to meet him so he could sign a birthday card.

For me though, I didn’t meet Zac or Rachel until 2010 at a movie and smoothie party. There, I was introduced to them for the first time. Soon after, I joined the same student group they were members of – Aggie Artists. I have many memories of Zac playing the guitar, me filming something, and eventually me filming Zac playing the guitar.

Jump ahead a few years, and Rachel and I were married. Zac and Lindsey wouldn’t meet for a few more years, when at a church event in November of 2015 they were randomly assigned seats next to one another. After their first conversation, everyone knew (except for them) that there was a connection. Their relationship moved fast, but after meeting each others families they knew that somehow they “fit.”A few months of planning later, and we were there as they exchanged vows amid seaside breezes, soaring seagulls, and close friends and family.

These are two of the most loving and compassionate people that we know. When they invited us to attend their wedding rehearsal dinner, we were treated to hours of kind words spoken about them by their friends and family. The memories we have shared with Zac and now Lindsey, make us very excited for our future friendship with them as man and wife. If you’re getting married too, we would love to talk about filming your wedding.

Cars, Dogs, and Each Other | An intimate Texas wedding teaser

Wedding filmmaking is, like all creative endeavors, a process that will never be perfected. Looking back at my work from two years ago, I see how far I have improved, and I am sure that when I look back on my current films in two years, I’ll see more growth as well. With that creative growth has come the desire to tell more intimate stories; stories that go beyond just a single wedding day and that encompass more about who a couple is, how they fell in love, their dreams, desires, and heart. Doing this though, requires couples that will open up, be honest, and share both the highs and the lows of their relationship.

Marie and Drew embodied all of those things. A two day wedding, complete with warm sunshine, bright lighting, wicked fast go-karts, peaceful hikes, and a ceremony lit only by the moon and fire, wasn’t just about the fun things they enjoy doing; it was also completely and unabashedly them. Their wedding, on their terms, about their love, told through tearful letters, long glances, and cliff-side vows.

Rachel and I are so thankful that they shared not only their wedding day, but a part of their lives with us. We would love it if you shared a part of your life with us too. If you’re getting married, please get in touch. – Matt

A wedding filmmaker’s review of the DJI Mavic Pro

It’s no secret that I love drones. Ever since I flew my friend Taylor’s Phantom 2 back in early 2014 (back when DJI had no app and video was recorded with a GoPro), I knew that I would be buying a lot of these flying cameras in the years to come.

What started with a Phantom 2 of my own, recently expanded to a Mavic Pro, and now a Phantom 4 Pro. My wife says I may have a problem. I say I may have a fleet. Can I call it a fleet? I like how that sounds: Matt’s fleet of drones.

With the advent of the FAA releasing their Part 107 certification for commercial drone pilots last year, there are thousands of new licensed drone pilots taking the knowledge test and wondering which drone they should invest in. There are also thousands of reviews of the new DJI Mavic Pro out there, but none of them have answered the two primary questions I feel that professional filmmakers are asking: Is the Mavic Pro good enough for commercial filmmaking? And: If I already own a drone such as a Phantom or Inspire, should I invest in a Mavic Pro as well?

In this review video, I will answer those two questions! As well as tell you:

The very best places to buy your Mavic Pro! and how to avoid having to use DJI’s sketchy repair service.
How the Mavic drone being tiny is actually an incredibly useful feature for filmmakers.
If the image quality of the Mavic Pro is good enough for commercial use (spoiler: yes, it definitely is).
5 ways to maximize the image quality of the Mavic Pro!

Incidentally, I took the FAA’s Part 107 test, passed, and made a video about how I studied, so if you are considering taking the test as well, I hope my video helps you.

Here’s my gear list with all the places to buy the Mavic + Accessories.

I am also now offering one-on-one personal filmmaker consulting! Wanna talk about cameras, lighting, or booking clients? Let’s do it!

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this review, please feel free to leave one below, or get in touch.

How To Film Incredible Dancing Footage In Your Wedding Films!

There are some things that you can learn by reading books and manuals, but some only come through years of experience. In my wedding tutorial vlogs, I attempt to distill all my years of knowledge into easy to understand tips and tutorials to give you a “shortcut” so you can improve quicker. My goal with these tutorials is to not only tell you how I do something, but why I do it.

To date, some of my favorite videos tutorials to create have been “A Wedding Filmmaker’s Guide to Posing The Couple,” and my “Establishing Shots: Why they are important and how to film them!” I only wish I had more things like this when I was starting out.

Today, in the same vein as those favorite tutorials I bring you a new one, all about how I film dancing at a wedding reception. In it, I cover four key tips that should help your improve your footage of people dancing during a wedding reception. The open dance floor doesn’t have to be boring or intimidating! It can be a lot of fun, I promise.

In this video I cover:

How to interact with the couple, wedding coordinator, and DJ when preparing to film the dancing at the reception.
A way to light the dance floor and make it look incredible even when there’s awful venue lighting.
My go-to technique to get more energetic dancing shots that show how much fun the wedding guests were having.
The exact way I shoot to make editing dancing footage super easy in post (it’s almost editing itself!)

If any of that interests you, I would highly recommend checking out the video.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave one below or get in touch.

Get the lights, stands, and dimmer I talked about in the video on my Kit page.

Check out the wedding films I used in this video:

You can check out the rest of the gear I use for filmmaking at my Gear Page.

I am also now offering one-on-one personal filmmaker consulting! Wanna talk about cameras, lighting, or booking clients? Let’s do it!