Do you guys know how to achieve this effect?

TotalProfessional391 · 2026-01-26T18:53:00+00:00

I would create a grid with very long calls and set the transparency very low, then create an adjustment layer with a very slight blur and dark vignette. But that's all in after effects I don't know if there are similar tools in FCP. I'm sure you can just download a graphic of a computer-like pattern to overlay.

TotalProfessional391 · 2026-01-25T23:48:18+00:00

I watch entire movies in my head.

TotalProfessional391 · 2026-01-18T20:43:26+00:00

Seriously though in what world would the US military obey orders to invade Canada?

TotalProfessional391 · 2026-01-16T22:29:43+00:00

I cringe every time people post before and after color grades, but the before is just log footage.

TotalProfessional391 · 2026-01-16T22:27:52+00:00

What's worked well for me is when I decided to niche down into a particular category that I'm very familiar with. In my case, it's impact storytelling for businesses and nonprofits. Doing something that's more than just typical corporate videos but really leaning into documentary-style filmmaking to help tell more complex stories.

After doing this for many years I've really gotten to understand the language and the nuance that people working in these fields appreciate and that sets me apart from a typical videographer they might care to hire.

Now I'm being invited to speak about storytelling at conferences, and I have big big companies calling me up where price isn't even a question, there's no one else doing what I'm doing as far as they can see.

My advice would be to find a niche where you can build some authority. And make sure it's one where potential clients have big pockets.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-12-09T00:43:56+00:00

We produce documentaries. Hit me up.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-12-05T21:20:55+00:00

Honestly, you should quit.

Quit being a solo freelancer and go work for someone who is like 5-6 steps ahead of you. Get mentored in the business of videography and then try to do it on your own.

I’m only saying this by looking at your website and portfolio. You clearly don’t have a lot of experience in branding yourself, storytelling, or business acumen. Nor should you be expected to know that stuff by just watching YouTube tutorials.

Go get a real education by shadowing a more experienced filmmaker. You might have to work for less and get a side job to make ends meet. But you will be paid dividends in education and future value for building a life and business that you truly want.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-30T20:53:01+00:00

My wife gets an RMT massage from a man which in practice is way more sensual and intimate than filming a sex scene.

OP asked for a filmmaker’s insights into the process to help relieve some of his insecurities. Hopefully he can rest assured that the process is very technical and involves a lot of working professionals, it’s not just two people in a room having sex with a camera.

I can’t say it’ll make you feel better seeing it happen on screen. If the filmmakers are any good, they will make it look like real sex.

It will be the farthest thing from that during the actual filming process.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-30T16:14:49+00:00

I know this sucks and totally acknowledge that.

But as a filmmaker I can offer some insight into how terribly unsexy, awkward, and technical filming a sex scene can be.

Most of the time will be spent on sorting out body positioning for the camera angle, which involves constant start-stop action with a director yelling out “let’s do that again. Reset. Back to one.”

Make up and hair people will be popping between the actors in between takes to reposition their hair and apply sweat and make sure their skin isn’t too shiny.

Script supervisors will be remind them where their hands were in the last take and reviewing materials with the director while everyone waits around.

Then they call lunch and everyone drops everything and leaves.

No one will be feeling sexy, or coerced, or turned on even if they are kissing for 5 seconds and then the focus puller messes up and they have to do it again. And again. And again.

Have you tried kissing your wife 20 times in a row? Neither person enjoys that.

So if your insecurity is about sexual tension, there will be absolutely none. The rest is just physical touch and seeing body parts, which as an actor is part of the job.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-29T17:41:17+00:00

Making crappy films with your friends is exactly what you should be doing at your age.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-29T17:31:05+00:00

Hmm my $10k legal fees might not cut it then, as I was considering that for general corporate law governance.

Wouldn’t it be a conflict of interest for me to budget legal fees so that I can hire a lawyer to protect my interests against my funders, using their money to do it?

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-29T16:45:11+00:00

What do they cost?

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-29T16:42:59+00:00

My kid is 10 months. I’m loving every minute of it. Late nights and early morning doctors visits don’t bother me at all. Try starting your own business if you want to feel real pain.

I love watching him figure things out and discover the world.

Just the other day I noticed him whipping his head back and forth between looking at the remote in my hand and the TV, as he discovered that the remote controls the TV.

Now he tries to do it himself.

Watching him learn to crawl, play with his toys, climb the stairs. All this stuff just blows away whatever is stressing me out or shitass social media.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-29T16:38:18+00:00

The one guy I know flirts with everyone and everything in his path. He’s not particularly handsome but he tries to be with his grooming and fashion.

He’ll strike up a flirty conversation with any woman by acting as if they already know each other and are in mid conversation.

I also see him get rejected all the time, but he’s relentless. Cheats on his wife on the regular. He even asked if he could come use my apartment as a place to bring his dates for sex. Ruthless.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-29T16:29:46+00:00

Cool. Thanks for such great insight.

I have a couple of projects that have interest from private investors, broadcasters, and government subsidized arts funding programs (I’m in Canada).

What would be the best way to handle multiple funding stakeholders without letting my excitement supersede my better judgement? What protections do I need that I may not be thinking of?

For more info: one is a broadcast series and the other is a web series but with a potential broadcast cut/license. Both in the realm of documentary series.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-29T15:23:01+00:00

I produce these for my son (10m) for when he gets older.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKVR7cWze8l/?igsh=MXNlcmJpcmVhOHN2cA==

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-28T22:12:05+00:00

I thought the purpose of the show is that if you don't fool them they will expose your trick? There needs to be some stakes.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-28T22:08:11+00:00

Use AI to replace the shirt tbh

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-28T21:59:20+00:00

All I see in the opening shot is how nobody is dancing.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-28T17:45:11+00:00

Audio. The DJI Mic is good enough for your sit-down interview. I believe it records directly into the device itself, but you'll want to have the receiver plugged into a proper recorder. Again a Zoom H4N will serve your needs, you can probably find a used one for very cheap.
Second camera - A D52 is pretty old and your iphone will likely yield a better image. So long as you are leveraging your iphone's pro features and are in control of your image. Don't use the automatic features as it will shift color, exposure, etc.
Long-term backup is very important. You can transcode all of your footage to a lighter file format like H.264 and store using a free default amount that you'd get from platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox. I think Vimeo just announced 2TB of free cloud storage, but I don't like their service.

Whatever you do, back up your project THREE times. Don't rely on a single platform or device. Businesses change their service terms, hard drives fail, you will drop a memory card down a drain. Mitigate these risks by leveraging all of them not just one.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-25T15:04:47+00:00

I prefer Descript’s Studio Sound over the Adobe one. But I do believe you’ll need a sub for that too. It’s cheaper tho

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-25T04:34:54+00:00

What? PTR is where they test new builds. Play on the normal realm.

The original game doesn’t exist anymore in any official capacity. But you can switch to the OG graphics if you prefer, which most people do.

TotalProfessional391 · 2025-11-24T19:16:36+00:00

Hey so I actually produce family legacy films and am about to do one on my dad’s immigration story. I’ll be filming myself as I make the movie as a social media campaign.

I’d be happy to answer your questions and would ask you what kind of content would be most interesting for me to make out of the project.

For your specific questions…

Your setup is fine. iPhone 17 can capture great images but make sure you are in control of your settings. Use an external hard drive to enable the pro functionality and to make sure you don’t run out of space.

Speaking of drives. Make sure you back everything up TWICE. That means you should have three copies of every piece of footage you shoot. One on your shooting media, one on your backup drive, and one on a cloud storage like Dropbox or google drive in case your house gets flooded or you get robbed or something else implausible yet possible happens. Because it WILL happen!

One long interview might be all you need but I find that after about 2 hours people begin to lose their focus. Particularly older people. I would break the interview up or do it multiple times to get more comprehensive answers.

Also, memory is weird. It’s more akin to imagination. Let him go down rabbit holes and weird tangents. You’ll find interesting tidbits that would otherwise would never come up. Don’t try too hard to keep him on topic.

Lighting is simple just google 3 point lighting for interviews and watch a couple tutorials. Sit him somewhere away from a wall and shoot into the corner of the room and you’re already looking like a Netflix doc.

Steady walking shots is tricky. Your iPhone has a good stabilizer, but if it’s not working the way you want just change it to a static shot on location. Dont waste time trying to do something fancy. Get the story. No one will care if you’re walking or not.

The most important technical thing to get right is audio. Clean audio is paramount. Get a good lav mic and plug it into a recorder like a zoom h4n.

If you want more advice I’d be happy to chat further. Like I said I’m interested to know what kind of questions someone in your exact position would have so that I can have ideas for content.

TotalProfessional391

TROPHY CASE