New resourse for video producers: StudioBacklot.tv
Videoguys by Gary Bettan
I want to tell you about a really cool website for schools and hobbyists wanting to create awesome videos.
We have been a long-time reseller of Class on Demand and have always considered the quality of the instructors and production values of their training that sets them apart. We have been asking Paul Holtz, Class on Demand’s CEO, for training to target schools and hobbyists who generally don’t use high-end software packages and are learning the techniques of the craft and the specific functionality of the software tools. I was pleasantly surprised, then, when Paul called me to check out a brand new online training site produced by Class on Demand, studiobacklot.tv. I entered the website address while Paul was on the phone and was blown away by the shear amount of content already on a site that launched just five months ago. Paul tells me they add hundreds of new content elements every month so there’s always a reason to come back regularly.
The site is very easy to navigate with clear tabs for the major elements along the top: Training, Gear, Stock and Community. The training section has hundreds of training chapters divided in to short clips which makes watching easy. Finding what you want to watch is simple with their site-wide search engine. Training is broken down by product with, as you might expect from the guru of Pinnacle Studio, plenty of Pinnacle training. But it also has training for Adobe, Apple, Sony and other NLE systems. Even more interesting are the chapters on production techniques like lighting, grip, interview techniques, creating animated logos and many more. Paul has produced some amazing titles breaking down Hollywood-style effects and showing you how to recreate the looks, like the Goldie Hawn “hole-in-the-stomach” effect from Death Becomes Her. He also shows you how to take advantage of action cams like the ReplayXD (which you can buy through the site at a discount in the Gear section) by rigging them to your car and shooting driving scenes with green screen. Amazing stuff!
The Stock tab is probably worth the price of admission on its own. It has dozens of categories and thousands of elements from Ultra HD 4K video stock, to animated lower third graphics and even multi-angle virtual sets. Plus, through the easy navigation, you can see how to use these elements in the training section to produce professional-looking content every time. In the Gear section Studio Backlot reviews software, hardware and everything else, like the Digital Juice Chroma Pop Studio and they pull gear reviews from around the web so you have them all in one place. It’s a great resource if you are considering adding some toys to your production gear or edit suite. Finished a video you’re proud of? Upload it to StudioBacklot and share it with the community. Members can ask questions, share comments and rate videos too.
You can try out StudioBacklot unrestricted for seven days after you sign up – cancel in the first seven days and you’ll never see a charge. If you continue your membership, which most people do according to Paul, and you’ll be charged just $5.99/month or $65.99 for an annual membership, which is a steal for such great content. I’m recommending Studio Backlot to teaching faculty, students, hobbyists and anyone who is trying to learn how to produce professional-looking videos.
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