Special Effects

How to Build a Falling Snow Rig (and Actually Light It So It Reads on Camera)
Video Tutorials

How to Build a Falling Snow Rig (and Actually Light It So It Reads on Camera)

Every few winters, a client asks for falling snow in a shot. The first time it happened to me, it was July, we were on a stage in Culver City, and the brief said “cozy winter scene.” I’ve been in commercial photography long enough to know that “we’ll fix it in post” is rarely the right answer for something as kinetic as falling snow. You need the real thing, or something close enough that the camera believes it.

Candy Glass, Rim Lights, and a Couch Against a White Wall: What This Stunt Technique Taught Me About Scene Lighting
Video Tutorials

Candy Glass, Rim Lights, and a Couch Against a White Wall: What This Stunt Technique Taught Me About Scene Lighting

There are tutorials that teach you a technique, and then there are tutorials that accidentally teach you three techniques while pretending to teach you one. In this The Slanted Lens tutorial by JP Morgan, the stated subject is how to make breakaway candy glass, the kind Hollywood prop departments have been fabricating since the early days of film. But if you pay attention past the candy thermometer and the corn syrup, there’s a complete multi-light scene setup buried in the second half, and that’s the part I keep coming back to.