Inspiration, news, tips, and trends for filmmakers, designers, and other creatives — Dissolve Ideas Blog

Searching for Stock: Tips From An Expert In House Researcher

Searching for stock clips and photos can be a tedious process. You can spend minutes, hours, sometimes even days looking for the perfect shot to fit your needs. It’s time for you to spend more time creating and less time searching with these tips from one of our expert in-house researchers. How To Identify Good […] Read more

August 6, 2019
Guest Post: 4 Visual Effects Tips to Add to Your Filmmaking Toolbox

Tristan Olson is the executive producer at Venture, a Video Production Company based in Denver, Colorado. Fix it in post. The term has become synonymous with the ability of the editor or post-production professional to clean up problems that arise on set. Be it cleaning up blemishes on actors or sets, fixing flubbed lines, or […] Read more

July 15, 2019
Guest Post: Are You Filmmaking on a Budget? Here’s How to Make the Most Out of Your Stock Footage

When you’re just starting out as an independent filmmaker or even a video creator, you’ll often find yourself working with a limited budget that never stretches nearly as far as you thought it was going to. This, coupled with limited access to professional video recording equipment can often lead to feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.Believe it […] Read more

June 11, 2019
Meet John Fedele

Midwest-based in the USA, I’ve been a full-time photographer for about 15 years, specializing in lifestyle advertising content. Before that, I was shooting as a hobbyist when people began to notice my work and I landed some of my first paying jobs. I always had the goal of shooting advertising, so I’ve pretty much worked […] Read more

May 14, 2019
Guest Post: Editing Tips for Music Videos

Tristan Olson is the executive producer at Venture, a Denver Video Production Company. Music videos are synonymous with stylized visuals and fast-cut editing. But, for the video production pros in charge of directing and editing them, the task can seem quite daunting — both as a creative and logistical challenge. There are creative and stylistic […] Read more

May 7, 2019
Content-Aware Fill tutorial

Make Dissolve footage even better with Content-Aware Fill Ever found a stock footage clip that was almost perfect? A killer skyline view, with one gloomy cloud rolling through. Or an iconic tourism mecca ruined by, well, tourists. Help is here.Content-Aware Fill is a new feature in Adobe After Effects that makes it easy to erase unwanted […] Read more

May 2, 2019
Meet Ryan Blaske

Keep your eyes open and your camera ready My name is Ryan Blaske and I’m a full-time freelance videographer from the American Midwest. Growing up in the Midwest, there are not always as many opportunities as you might find in the big city — so we tend to make our own opportunities and work with […] Read more

March 29, 2019
Meet Guy Bauer

Guy Bauer is the protagonist behind Guy Bauer Productions: a Chicago-based studio — and Dissolve contributor — that dedicates its days to producing branded content, brand anthems, mini-documentaries, and commercials. We asked Guy to share some insight about his work, his gear, and his philosophy. What’s your favourite kind of work? What’s your favourite thing […] Read more

March 20, 2019
Video spec cheat sheet

How long? What resolution? How many fps? Get the video specs for the big social media channels in one spot. This spot. Read more

March 15, 2019
How to create a Doodle Dissolve transition with RoughAnimator

We challenged ourselves to find a way to use color to transition between two totally different clips. By connecting the clips with doodles, the end result is a powerful and playful visual. By drawing on the actual video with a pencil the transition became all about the creative approach to the connection – resulting […] Read more

February 6, 2019
7 Filmmaking Trends We Spotted at Sundance 2019

Our Art Director Sara Jean Hughes shares some filmmaking trends she spotted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival last week. Films About Adolescence After Eighth Grade swept awards season following its Sundance debut in 2018, there were many films this year that chronicled the nature of growing up. These included Big Time Adolescence, Share, […] Read more

February 5, 2019
Contributor guest post; Meet Gene Sung

Hello, my name is Gene and I’m an LA-based DP and Director. Dissolve very kindly let me write a blog post on some of my projects, so here it is. The first clip above is my Demo Reel, I DP’d pretty much all of it and directed a fair bit. Of course, like many […] Read more

February 5, 2019
Becoming a Filmmaker; BumbleBee Production Exclusive Contributor Spotlight

Kirill, Kseniia, and David are the fresh, experimental creatives behind BumbleBee Production Exclusive. A collective of artists based out of Russia, with work exclusive to Dissolve. Universally handy, all three “usually do everything” from shooting to production, social media, and business development. The artists do it all while traveling Europe together capturing amazing footage with […] Read more

November 15, 2018
Get Vertical Ready with Dissolve

We all know that vertical footage is on the rise, accelerating to keep up with growing demand and increased smartphone use. As mobile phones become ubiquitous, we’re constantly using them (you may even be reading this on one) to capture and share content online and with each other. Since we hold our phones vertically 94% […] Read more

July 11, 2018
Achieving the MMUUULLTTIIPPLLY effect in Adobe® After Effects™

In our latest showreel, we experimented with multiplying subjects moving together, or in sequence. As we explored this idea, we ran into a variety of common problems. From masking; separating out our subjects to multiply with clean lines and minimal background noise, to selecting our clips. We pushed our Motion Designer, Petr, to the edge […] Read more

May 25, 2018
Meet Derek Armstrong McNeill

Derek McNeill has been telling visual stories most of his life. The Seattlite first honed his eye working as a photographer in the US Air Force, then worked in advertising art direction and design. He now divides his time shooting his own documentary projects and stock footage. “After carrying around a camera kit for years, telling visual […] Read more

February 2, 2018
Meet The New Park

As a freelance director working in Montreal for over 10 years, Ian Cameron, aka The New Park, has worked with some of the biggest names in music. Read more

October 5, 2017
See more clips from the same shoot

It’s now a breeze to find more clips from the same shoot. Read more

August 4, 2017
Clips you can relate to

Compelling faces and everyday places. See the latest clips in our exclusive Dissolve Filmmaker collection. Read more

June 13, 2017
How to use color in film

Color plays a huge role in a film. Here’s how to use color theory to help tell your story, shape characters, and evoke emotion. Read more

May 26, 2017

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