Proper Audio Syncing

I know I haven't posted for a long long time, but I've got a 1001 things on my hand, so please bear with me.
Anyways, I'm gonna talk about how you would typically get better audio for a low budget and how you would retrieve that audio and make it sound good.

I would imagine that you dont have access to a camera with a microphone(line in) input jack. If you dont then you have other ways of getting audio by means of using other devices as well. These would include, but not limited to :

 1)Any smartphone
 2) Old audio recorder(the ones used for meetings,etc)
 3) USB player stick(usually have mic inputs, could be bought for cheap)
 4) Any Music player with mic capability.

For Every device and its way of retrieving its recorded audio files to the computer. If its a smartphone then you could easily retrieve it directly through its accompanied software or if you have a micro SD card in the phone itself you could record into it and then retrieve them easily by a usb adapter or whatev.
Music players and small mp3 players from china do come with mic inputs and everything recorded should land on the memory card itself or on the built in memory of the device itself.

What you would usually do when filming something, is to start recording audio shortly before filming your shot or your scene; you better leave it recording the entire scene if space is not an issue and your scene is short. Place it or mount it near your camera, you could do a small rig from some PVC pipes attached to your camera with a nail bolted towards from the tripod mount hole of the cam and having the pipes extending sideways.

So, once you've got your recordings it's time to EQ(Equalize) them, you could use free or paid software, but both would get you good results.
There are are Parametric EQ's that have several bands that are situated in different places(frequencies), and there are 3 band simple EQ's that mainly control the Highs, Mids , and Lows. You should probably lower the mids along with some of the lows(bass).
What you want to accomplish here is to remove the "muddiness" from your recordings and if there is some noise too you could remove them by using a de-noiser from any audio software package of your liking(eg: FL studio).

Then render out the EQ'd audio and import them into after effects or premier or any video editor of your liking. Sync the audio by exposing the waveforms and matching them up. You could use both microphones of the camera and recorder if u want stereo sound but you would have to EQ both of them and make sure that the quality matches up well.

12 Golden Rules of Cinematography

Yesterday, I enrolled in a Directing workshop that would hopefully provide me with any missing elements that I would need in directing my films. It was not more than a precautionary course that I enrolled in just to make sure I knew everything about filming. And no, I'm not going to brag that I know everything or almost everything in cinematography, because I don't...

Anyways, I just wanted to give you some things we spoke about in the session yesterday. As it was our first session, we talked about:

• Types of lenses and it's affect on the scene or the shot you are shooting.
• Types of shots and their terminology (eg: close ups, long shots, wide shots, etc)
• The 12 Golden Rules of cinematography

-Here are some of the 12 Golden Rules:

1)Cutting of long, un-important scenes to simpler shots that would tell the story in the same way.

2) Emphasizing a scene or an event-can be accomplished trough several techniques(eg: slow-motion, repetition of the same shots with different angles within the same scene, etc)

3)The Rule of thirds(you might say that this rule applies only to photography, but it isn't) The rule of third implies that there should be a balanced number of elements in your shot, or at least try to make your shot as balanced as you can. This involves dividing your shot into thirds, hence the name rule of thirds.
4) Imagine an equator-like line when you shoot people in the same room for example, and prevent the audience or viewer noticing transitions when cutting.
5) Try to use angles that would show a bit of depth when shooting two or more actors engaging in a conversation. You shouldn't shoot behind a character all the time when he's speaking to another character. Don't be like sticky white glue, instead try transitioning the position of the camera just enough to provide a visual feedback of some of the space between the actors.
6) Lighting: A- Key Light B- Fill Light C- Back Light
7) Composition of your scene. Make a well balanced composition with paying attention to what the viewer should focus on instead of distracting him/her with unnecessary details.
8) Clean entrances and exits of your characters.
9) The Main construction of a scene and how the camera should move accordingly.

The last rule states that if you have perfected a rule, you are then eligible to break it and do whatever you like based on it.

And as a director you should also be wary of the scenario/scripts as knowing them will give you a better shot of making everything better. Rehearsing or "pre-performing" a shot or scene before the actual shoot is a plus as well. This would make you more acquainted with the location of shooting and would grant you the ability to brainstorm perfect angle spots during the shoot itself instead of constantly thinking where would you start off.

So, before you go and shoot your short film you should make sure that everything connects. For instance, make sure your actor looks like the character that he is going to portray or at least being as close as possible to the look wanted from the character. Make sure that all the visual and aural elements connect together well.
You should make sure that the shot's composition matches with the actor's emotions or acting(eg : light, DOF, crop-age. etc ). Be engaged with your actors in every way you can think of, get friendly with them and start what they call a workshop. You should discuss what every shot looks like and ask him/her what postures are you most comfortable and put their answers in mind while shooting . Don't make the mistake of choosing the wrong kind of actor, because, unfortunately, that happens a lot here were i live and it makes everything turn out to be bad eventually.

Designing a game

    A game should really define what you would really do if you were given a chance to live a fictional life. Think of all the things you wanted as a child, even if they were weird or simple. And actually you might come up with a block-buster game.
1) Determine what your game is about and what genre it would most fit in.
2) Get some scrap paper and start drawing some concept art. Even if you're not an artist, just draw everything you would dream of that would fit in your game. Start thinking about the overall them of the game.
3) Plan how would you develop your game. And what things or programs would you use to develop the your game .
4)Gather your friends' opinions, Do some R & D(Research & development) and use the internet as it's meant to be used. Never give up even if the goal seems to be too far.
5) If you have settled on a program or two that would help you develop the game, learn them and get acquainted with them.
6) Get creative! Define your objects; get your concept art and start modelling based upon what you drew. If you don't know how to model then leave everything alone and start learning how to model. you'll get the hang of it, it's pretty easy if you think about it. But make sure you've got all the basics so you wouldn't frustrate yourself in the process.
7) It's not necessary to model first. If you're a programmer kind of guy then settle to getting the dynamics of the game right then apply the models or have a friend who is knowledgeable about graphics to help you in the process, if not all. Use simple building blocks in your game(eg: primitives) till you get to the modelling part.

A note to all the lazies out there, there is no excuse to stop doing what you are capable off If you've successfully done at least one step of the above, then i see no reason why could be incapable of going further.
It's not hard, it just needs some of your time and perseverance.

Improvising

The sole title of this post is not nearly a mistake, nor a coincidence. What i'm wanting to emphasize is the importance of improvising; not only in film-making or game designing, but in your life as well. As i stated before in one of my posts, that there are surely guidelines, or a scripture to follow when you're doing a certain activity.

 But this doesn't deter you from the fact that if you find yourself stuck in a particular something, you have the choice of making up your own mind or decision in that matter. Anyways, I would like to present to you a couple of examples in which I have been a victim of guidelines ( a victim of my own brain,actually).

1- When I was learning after effects, I never knew that there were adjustment layers, so I had to Color correct every object in the scene as well as the original footage, I didn't even know(at the time) that you could copy effects and paste them to other objects as well .But what I really did is that I messed about in after effects after some time and I found out that i can copy and paste effects (I was happy as a bird, a hummingbird to be exact) .  So in short, it was a long night...

2- There was this other case that was related to cinematography; in which image/video stabilization was a pit for me, a really deep one. Anyhow, I resorted to using my brother's bike as a dolly. and later on i used a combination of a DIY stab. rig and the same bike.

So yeah, not much but you get the overall idea.

Since the title of this post is "Improvising", I would like to note that to accomplish something you want in a film or a game, you would need a satisfactional amount of smaller elements in your scene or level. That's where this simple phrase " Some of each makes you a peach". Hence, the peach here is your goal or the wanted result or effect. Let us be honest here, how many of you out there are tired of the fact that there is a humongous amount  of vfx artists that do their effects in a vague manner(I'm not saying that i'm perfect or anything). But at least try to make your footage or elements used in your shot look like the real thing. Resort to techniques no one have ever thought of before, even if you have to go big and use a bit of your budget. What really matters is the final result. I'm of course speaking here to those of you who has the budget to do a project and can't accomplish the aforementioned things.
For example you want a realistic fire effect, you have 2 ways to go:

• Use or create a cg fire element( a bit limiting and time-consuming)
  
• Get out your pyrotechnical-ish side and get yourself some firewood and a some gasoline(BE CAREFUL!!) Light 'em up, but make sure you've got everything under control, firstly and lastly!
  Lay your lit materials in front of a green screen and try for heaven's sake getting an HD camera or just borrow one  for a change . And if you have a microphone you can record the firey noises as a bonus.
  Make sure you have a friend with you at the time of filming so if anything goes wrong you would have someone to aid you).
• Film it and key all unnecessary things in after effects (you might need to do some manual rotoscop-ing work)
  

Don't complain if you find everything to be hard at first. That's just how it is, but it's really fun if you do it safely.

Oh, I nearly forgot: If you dont know how to use Mattes in after effects, I suggest looking for a tutorial on mattes. Whether they are luma mattes or alpha mattes, they both are really really really important and you'll find out why if you didnt already find it out to be so. Luma mattes are layers that changes the transparency of the original layer according to the brightness or "whiteness" of it. Just experiment and you'll get the hang of it.

If you need anything regarding VFX or game design or even if you want to have a normal chat just contact me @ nja.4rtist@live.com

Great Resources to help you with Mastering VFX

I know that it's been a long time since I last posted something, but I was a bit busy doing some personal work. In the mean time, i would re-emphasize the importance of being self-taught. I hope you have been doing some digging(not physical digging, ofc) and whatnot in the past couple of days, because I have got a couple of really awesome resources that would help ease your frustration in dealing with VFX.

A pretty useful Handbook called "The Core Skills of VFX"; In my opinion it's a masterpiece of written material that will surely & positively help beginners or intermediates in editing or compositing. It has it all,: from basic techniques of visual editing to finishing off your CG work with the "cherry on top". Alright, enough  talk, here is the link(just right click and save as...) :

• http://www.creativeskillset.org/uploads/pdf/asset_16673.pdf?2

I know it's pretty tempting to look at all the eye-catching imagery in it, but we're not done yet!

Once you've got that, go to videocopilot website and make an account(if u want). There are amazing tutorials there for after effects, and is hosted by yours truly, VFX Guru Andrew Kramer ) He also gets into other applications (3ds max, fumefx, etc)  & and even makes tutorials for them.

Ok, and that's that. I really apologize for not doing any actual tutorials for anything, but the simple matter is this; time is a really scarce resource for me(nowadays, that is...).

So till next time, cya!

Creating your own Sound Effects

So i guess you've been wondering, why can't I make my own sound effects instead of downloading them? Also, why should I be obligated to go through the whole licensing issues and whatnot.

Never worry again. If you don't have a microphone, go get one now! For now, it doesn't matter which kind of microphone you buy, just buy one. Preferably, you should buy one with a windsheild (i know that cheap ones dont count as windsheilds, but they do their job). If you cant find a microphone with a windsheild, then buy the windsheild seperately.  The 2nd one will do, but you might need to get an extension cord

Also if you don't have a studio or you don't have a friend who owns one, chances are that you will not be able to use a big microphone because of impedance issues(the mic needs an amplifier to work).

Now that you've got your microphone, you should start thinking of what noises or sound effects you might want. You can start by making noises by your mouth, and yes, i did say mouth. Believe it or not, your mouth is a sound effects machine. If you are skeptical about such a point(as well you should be), then i will recommend that you not only record noises you made with sound effects, but to also play with them.
I recommend using one of several audio mixing programs:

• Mixcraft
• Audacity
• FL studio
• Cool Edit (Pro)

The reason that I stated fl studio is because it does have built-in mixing and layering capabilities. All of which are starred in the aforementioned applications. Pick one of the stated applications and start learning it. I recommend using FL studio because it would teach you most of the stuff that you would need in creating soundtracks or music for your film, so it's like taking out two birds with one stone. 

To get started you might imitate the sounds of guts flying around by making nasty sounds with your mouth(The sort of noises that you used to make when you were a kid). And you might do some grunts or shout noises if you want. The point here is that you can do a lot of things with your mouth, but you just need to experiment and improv.

The next step is to try making some gun noises or explosions. What you can do is get some random firecrackers and start blowing them off near your mic(just make sure that there aren't any wind/unwanted noises while you're recording). To create a huge explosion, you might record a firework and then layer it with other firework noises and slow it down a bit in the end.

Yeah, sure that the sound effects you might create using such a microphone wouldn't have top-notch quality, but it's a great way to start if you want to get through the licensing issues and creating the sound effects you specifically need.

Tripod Tip + DIY'ing

Yeah, sure that the tripod is used to make stable, stationary shots used in opening scenes, cutaways, etc. But it doesn't matter which tripod you've bought, as long as it's more than a meter and a half in length, you can do a lot of things with it. For example, you can do short dolly shots with it by raising one of it's legs and rotating the tripod using the other two legs, but while you rotate the tripod, you should use the handle to counteract to the unwanted rotation. It gives a pretty convincing result, and it ain't bad(as it's free) If u didn't understand what i have just written, then this simple illustration should hopefully will :

Remember: you can always experiment with a lot of stuff; depending on your tripod and what kind of features it has, you can experiment with them to get what you want and more out of em.

There are a great deal of DIY gadgets you can make by yourself; just check out instructables.com and search for camera related stuff (rigs, dollies, etc) They tell you how to make everything step by step and what materials you require, so even if you dont get what materials do they need, just print out he materials page and give it to your local hardware store employee (he should understand it if he knows english). If no, then google translate is your sole companion.

Making a successful game

Every day, there are a lot of games out there that we can agree that have huge GOTY Potential. And we all have different tastes and likes in a game, also ideas that seem perfect fot those certain games. But there are things we must consider, or never overlook. Of course, it's not necessary to add all of these, but these are qualities that simply can affect the game in a positive way. These things, obviously will impact the player. 

1- Emotional Characters

In every game that gave you an impact, there was always a character that merged with you and have strong feelings for that character. Whether it may be a friend of the main character or relative, this character always seems to be the one to make you laugh, cry, etc. And after a few moments through this character's life, your emotions seem to change. This character usually gets you more into the game more than the main character. Most of the time.

2-Variety of Choices & Weapons

Games that gives you large amount of choices, usually are one of the best games. Why? It gives the player more freedom rather than giving him a story that it's already Linear, or that has little choices. With a huge variety of choices, the outcomes can be different, and make the player get more interested in another playthrough. With many different choices, comes different stories. Plus with different Unique Weapons, the player's experience will obviously change.

3- Opening his world

Games with big maps usually are those that give players more freedom to explore it. With many awesome Landmarks and Missions, the player feels that a whole new world is there for him. Although the player can get lost, he will find his way out eventually. And to fix the whole lost problem, developers should give the player a map of the area, that is accurate. But when huge places like the map above are created to explore, there's no telling what could lurk in every corner. This builds up the Player's suspense and curiosity.

4- Need for Multiplayer?

Let's face it, the Online Multiplayer usually boosts up more than 15% of the Replay Value of a Game. While others play with friends, others want to take out the rest of the world. There are great Single Player games out there that has no need for a Multiplayer, but adding one expands it's audience to buy the game. While a lot of Gamers don't like the Online Community of some games, we cannot deny the fact that thanks to this, the game is one of the most sold games out there.

5- Customization

Giving the ability to create their own character, obviously will want him to experience his story. While in other games you cannot customize your character, they usually have one or more of the things listed above this. But when you give players the ability to create their hero, it's like watching the life if his son. This boosts up their morale and their will to finish the game.

6- A Story they will never forget

More than 60% of the players that buy a game, it's for the Story. If the game's story is bad, they won't bother playing it again. If it's good, they either want more or keep playing the story. Just like TV Shows and Movies, there has to be a story that attracts their attention. Otherwise, no one will watch.

7- Awesome Dynamics & Gameplay

I'm not gonna lie. Gamers like awesome Dynamic Effects and Gameplay. This will increase the Replay Value more than you think. While I love blowing up some melons in Resident Evil 4, the gameplay is just peachy. 

All of the things displayed above combined makes up for #8

8- A reason to play

You can't give a player nothing and expect him to play the game. You must obviously give him more than one reason to play the game. While games have their Online MP modes, others have their SP modes. But each thing has their Reason to Play. While each game has their own reason, it attracts their Target Audience, no matter how you look at it.

But most importantly, All of the things above this will boost up #9

9- Replay Value

Replay Value is extremely Important in a game. A game without Replay Value usually is because there's nothing to do, nothing good or not a lot of things you could do. When you mix everything all together, it will boost up the Replay Value and give it a huge potential for GOTY. 

Mohamed Gamal,

Color Correction + New Video

Color correction / grading is a common term used in the film industry and is know to everybody who has come across filming or photography. Basically it's improving the look or bringing out specific colors in a shot or scene. It isn't about making the shot look fancy; no, it should also attract the viewer to what the director/cameraman wants & also to set a specific mood. Examples are written below...

In After Effects you mainly use an adjustment layer that is overlayed over the original content. And that adjustment layer would, traditionally, contain several color "tempering" effects. You can increase the Brightness/Contrast, tint, levels, etc of the layer to match your needs. All you have to do is to keep experimenting with different presets.

For instance, if you want to set a calm mood to your video, you should apply a blueish tint and play with some leveling . And if you're color correcting an action short, you should intensify the colors(also add a brownish tint), but don't over-do it so the content wont loose it's level of quality/ be too distracting. I concur that the above screenshot may show a little being overdone, but it was made to prove a point.
Don't over-do color correction; hence, you can ruin your film and could possibly make it too distracting to view in some of the shots.

Me and a couple of friends made our first live action film! its not that we don't do short films, its because its our first time of doing a "live action" vid. We did numerous videos before but we had no time to either finish it or upload it on the interwebs. Anyways, the short feature was shot with a really simple digital camera in really low quality, so the color grading was a bit tedious to me.

Anyways, here is the video:

If it doesn't show up then here's its link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqGaME4yf-s

Getting your Assets Together

Once you have learned how to use after effects, you should gather assets that would be vital to the kind of film(s) you are making.
For visual elements (2D) you might check out Detonation Films, they have several pages with stuff that are totally free to use. They mainly do(as you have guessed from the name) explosion, smoke, and fire footage(and more still) their free stuff is suitable for use in starter films.
Also, there are two more sources for free footage if you need any:

• http://alpha.publicvideos.org/
• http://beachfrontprod.blogspot.com/

I'm in no way endorsing the aforementioned sites.
You might find that some of their elements are not keyed properly, or don't have transparent backgrounds(alpha). If you do, then tint the background with a specific color, and then key that color with keylight in after effects, I'll soon post a tutorial on how to do all of this basic stuff.

Whether it's visual or aural elements you are going to incorporate into your film, you should be wary of licensing and copyright issues first. Don't just go and download anything that might seem to be free. Always check the license attributed to that file. Here is a list of Main Creative Commons Licenses:

• Public Domain Dedication (Totally free for use, remixing, etc)
• Attribution Non-Commercial (You Must attribute the work to the author, and u cant use this commercially, suitable for projects, practice ,etc)
• Attribution-ShareAlike(You can use the work in a commercial way, as long as u credit the author)

These are the Main Licenses, u can check the rest on here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

And if you're not experienced with editing sounds or creating soundtracks, then don't worry. You can get free sounds and use them in your project if you want. Two great sites that allow you to do so are:

• http://freemusicarchive.org/curator/CCcommunity/
• http://www.freesound.org/

You have to sign up first, but this site is really good for what it is. But dont forget when you download something, always check if the attributed license would fit your needs or not.

A Film Maker's Approach

Doesnt matter how much of a budget you have assigned to your upcoming film or short feature. But what matters most is the way of filming and the techniques involved in both the filming & post-editing processes.


First of all, your short should be based on a creative idea or two. Go for a brainstorming session with nothing but a paper & pen in front of you. Also, reach for the skies, literally! Go with your ideas to your furthest imaginations and fantasies. If u catch an idea, start thinking of better ways to improve it. Think to yourself, for instance : "What if said character was resurrected from the world of the dead ? ". Of course such a thing would, most of the time, change your story-line completely. Keep thinking with ifs and hows and whys... If that makes sense.

Also , you should make your story-line as simple as possible, and you should try to keep the number of actors down. This would ensure simplicity and would give you more time to think about other important aspects of your short film.

So you've got your idea, Good for you! Now its time to implement it. Start thinking of it this way: Is it better to enter in the middle of the plot and then layout the beginning or climax later on? Or should you start off with a calm beginning and then escalate everything quickly? There are endless options; see what you go with easier and use it to your advantage.

Organize your shots by drawing "page breaks" or lines. Prematurely decide which angle would you like to shoot the shot with. Don't worry if you cant do this step properly, it all comes into play when you actually start shooting. Draw the positions of your character(s) as well as the camera's. If there is a lot of moving in one shot, indicate them with arrows .
A not-so-good example of how a shot block should look like:

MC: Main character
BC:Bad Character
In the above shot, the BC is shooting at the MC while he's moving through cover. Also, the camera is following the poor MC in a sideways fashion. Feel free to interpret this as a kid's puzzle-piece :D...

How many characters you've got? Get your friends to play the roles of your characters. If you cant find anyone who can act, shy, or even refuses to get into the role, then look for more! There should be a friend or two out there who are interested or at least would like to give a little hand. After you have found your actors/actresses, you should tell them the exact date of filming/shooting so that all of you would be able to film it in one go...

Go with friends that help you in at least one of the aspects of film-making, it's much better and would help you in a lot of ways.

Depending on your idea(s), you should be able to film and finish post editing in 2 weeks or less, if you take more, then don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough! :)

PS: I'll post a few tutorials on starting out with building both your virtual  & aural assets to use in the post editing process. I will go over some filming/camera techniques as well.

Setting Yourself Up...

Remember, you dont have to be a professional computer user to be able to use programs such as Adobe's after effects. While it helps to be one, it shouldnt stop you from indulging yourself in the epic world of visual effects. Also, many great visual FX artists nowadays were self-taught. And a lot didnt have the the need to enter a film school or the likes...
If you're intending to pursuit a career in the aforementioned aspects, then you should put in mind that you need to teach yourself AT LEAST THE BASICS.
And nowadays its been made ever-much easier for us by this huge information heap called the internet.
And even if you're not going to pursuit a career in such things, at least inform yourself with info that would definitely help you a lot afterwards, whether in your career or your personal life.
Here is a list of programs that would start you up in a good way:

• Adobe's After effects (CS 6, current version)
• Autodesk 3Ds Max (2012-2013)
• Autodesk Maya  (2011-2013, No noticeable differences)
• Blender ( I stopped using it, for moral reasons :P)

Wait, what!? Now you're saying that I have to learn how to use a complicated 3D program!? 

Yes, but you dont need to right now; You better start up with using after effects then you'll have an incentive to use a 3D program, believe me, u will. 

And here is another tip: Learn Maya! You know why!? Because it really helped me, and whether you are going to use it in designing games or movies, this application gets the best of both worlds! It really pays off and thus i recommend it greatly.
Also, u might want to check out another program called Zbrush that allows you to sculpt models in real-time if you're not handy with modelling ...

Remember there are student versions available for Autodesk products, just create an autodesk an account and choose your educational status. Zbrush is the worth buying if you ask me, saves a lot of hassle.
All of these programs can be learned through watching tutorials, which are available on youtube.
You might also use the online manuals(and no, they're not wordy) of Autodesk Products to aid you in your learning process. Also, Zbrush has a forum or two along with the official website help material.

Don't worry if you are for any reason, you are unable to learn these, you can always settle for one thing; see what you go along with easier(try them) and the use them according to your needs. Learning the basics of after effects now is pretty sufficient, and remember cs 6 has enhanced 3D rendering functions, so you can do a lot more stuff in 3D now(nice, eh?)...

Welcome!

Hey there! This blog will hopefully guide you to the great world of visual effects(CG &2D) & film-making.
Tips and tricks will be given here for starting filmmakers, also Ill show you numerous DIY gadgets that you can build for cheap to aid you in filming. I will explain the various common shots used in filming. And whether you are shooting documentaries or live action films, I'll also show you the techniques suitable for each style of film.
I'll also post basic screenwriting tips and later on I'll hopefully provide you with templates that fit the bill.
Tips and tricks for film-making will be posted here as well...
Remember, Film-making is pretty fun, and you can experiment with endless things, literally!
I wont only focus on film-making, Ill show you how to get yourself shots that would help you in the post editing processes. For instance, if you are starting out with a normal, SD-quality digital camera(and there is nothing wrong with that) then you should not consider using CG or 3D elements within your shots. And also what to do if you want to do night shots or even if your film would be based on a night setting. It all comes into play when you actually start to think & Implement. Sure there are basic guidelines to filming, but you can expand those boundaries with your imagination. If you are just starting up, then you most probably will have some trials & errors along the path of learning. Don't worry, I'll show you exactly how to do these things. And as for buying camera-related equipment, don't! Just not now, you'll be able to build your own and will learn how to use them without having to actually buying them. This method will really help you onwards and it will really pay off later on.What you can buy is a tripod, but don't invest into on heavily as you will need the cash later-on.

Remember, you don't have to enter a film school or a specific course to become a film-maker. No, at all; a LOT of people are self taught. And my job here is to help you with that.
My friend will also post some game-design articles here every now & then in the same blog.
Additionally, I might do a few tutorials every now & then.
Any requests are welcome.

Requests can be sent to : nja.4rtist@live.com