During a power outage at my apartment this year, I watched movies on my MacBook Pro instead of on my television. While I had no complaints about the screen size, I did have an issue with how low the audio coming from my speakers was. External speakers would help, but I don't w ...more
Does TikTok scare you? Trust me, I get it. It's a strange, unfamiliar place to those of us not accustomed to its ways, populated by teenagers and college students with their own subcultures, memes, and humor. But here's the thing: TikTok has something for everyone, you include ...more
As Facebook, Apple, Samsung, and others offer augmented reality selfie effects and content that challenge its platform, Snapchat has continued to innovate with its augmented reality capabilities. The latest example, released to the app's Carousel on Monday, is a Lens that rea ...more
When we talk about augmenting our reality, we often first think about vision instead of our other senses—but there's more to an immersive experience than what you see. One inventor figured out how to utilize sound and touch to create a simple, upgraded version of laser tag tha ...more
While Snapchat had a head start in making augmented camera effects popular on smartphones, Facebook has spent the past few years in hot pursuit, with no less than three apps offering mobile AR experiences, plus its Portal hardware lineup of smart home devices. Facebook's late ...more
While music may not technically be a "universe language," it is the one language listened to by all. There are over 1,500 music genres today—rap, classical, rock, jazz, trap, hip-hop, house, new wave, vaperwave, charred death, nintendocore... and the list goes on. And if you'r ...more
Former soccer star and current celebrity David Beckham has the augmented reality abilities of Facebook and Instagram as allies in the effort to eradicate malaria from the world. The "Malaria Must Die So Millions Can Live" campaign launched earlier this year with Beckham as it ...more
Two years ago, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the F8 Developers Conference keynote with augmented reality and the introduction of Facebook's AR camera platform, now known as Spark AR. Since then, Facebook has faced an avalanche of controversy on its appro ...more
When Android 5.0 rolls out to the Nexus 5, several changes and new features will come along with it. The over-the-air update is already rolling out, and if you don't want to wait, you can get it right now. We've pored through the massive changelog—which includes over 700 Nexu ...more
There's a known issue affecting some Nexus 5 users where the speaker volume is fairly low. This could be attributed to a manufacturing defect, which you could possibly fix with a hot needle, but if your built-in speakers and headphones seem muted, don't take your Nexus apart j ...more
When you were younger, you probably had your parents bugging you not to have your cassette player headphones up too loud. For all you younger readers out there, it was probably a CD player. The even younger readers likely had an iPod or other MP3 player. Either way, your paren ...more
When you hear a "ding" on your phone, chances are it's a new notification for Facebook Messenger, and it could be a fairly painful sound depending on how loud your volume's set. Thankfully, you aren't stuck with this singular alert option, so if you're unhappy with both this s ...more
One of the only downsides to the Pixel XL is that Google's flagship phone does not have stereo speakers. But if Android's awesome development community has taught us anything over the years, it's that limitations like these can be bypassed with some creative software tinkering ...more
A new software update for iPhone and iPad fixes a major Apple Books issue that upset users when iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 were first released last September. If you've fled Apple Books because of that blunder, it's safe to return. With iOS 16.0 and iPadOS 16.0, the Apple Books app ...more
Adding additional photos to a movie project in iMovie for iPhone is relatively simple, but incorporating more videos to your timeline is a little bit more involved, only because there's more that you can do. Unlike with photos, you can trim the length of new videos, select the ...more
Mobile gaming still isn't on par with video game consoles or PCs, but we've come a long way from Snake. Modern games running on the latest smartphones boast downright impressive graphics—even more so when you consider how compact the system has to be in order to fit in people' ...more
One of the most popular usages of modern-day smartphones is listening to music. It doesn't matter if you download or stream your tunes, you are part of a massive group of users who do exactly the same. While statistics are a bit foggy on how many smartphones users download mus ...more
The Snapdragon version of the Galaxy Note 20 and 20 Ultra — the one sold in the US — can't be rooted. Without root, the level of customization is limited. Such a large group of Android users shouldn't miss out on mods, and they don't have to. A number of third-party and Samsu ...more
Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to add sound effects to movies in iMovie '09. iLife '09, the software suite from Apple, is the easiest way to organize, view and publish digital content, like pictures, movies, music, and webpages. iPhoto makes manag ...more
The shrink ray as always been one of the oddest and least-useful sci-fi guns, but alien invaders seem to love them and so we'll keep seeing them. If you want to use a shrink ray in a film you're working on, watch this video. It will teach you how to first make a generic ray / ...more
David Taub explains how to get the same tone as Slash from Guns N Roses on an electric guitar. Part 1 of 2 - How to Sound like Slash from Guns N Roses. Part 2 of 2 - How to Sound like Slash from Guns N Roses.
Sound Keys is a keyframe generator plug-in for Adobe After Effects. Learn how to visually select parts of an audio track and convert that audio into keyframes. TrapCode Sound Keys After Effects plugin is great for audio-intensive animations. See how to use it in this tutorial. ...more
Sounds and sound effects are important to add to any animation project in Adobe Flash CS3. This tutorial shows you how to add sounds and sound effects to your animation library or your project's timeline. You can also use Flash to discover the properties of your chosen sound f ...more
If you need some sound effects for your upcoming film, you better watch this video! After principle photography in production, you have to get into the editing process in post-porduction, which leads to sound department for ADR, Foley, Sound Effects and Sound Design. If you ca ...more
Adding sound effects is a great way to add meaning and punch to your movies. In this tutorial you'll learn how to use sound effects in iMovie.
Ben and Paul show how the addition of horror sound effects can make an otherwise normal scene utterly creepy ...more
This tutorial explains how to record sound effects for a movie you are making.
Learn to add sound effects and audio controls to Sony Movie with this video. 1. First, go to your audio track in Sony Movie Studio. Under voice (on the left) click the effects button. 2. You can use the 3 included or click the plus in the upper right corner. 3. You can use any ...more
In this After Effects you'll learn how to make a muzzle flash. If you want, you can do his other tutorial to follow through with the mirror smashing, but it's not necessary.
Need some help figuring out how to use POW on your Apple iPhone? This video tutorial presents an overview of the app's essential features. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started using POW on your own Apple iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 or i ...more
Learn how to make your electric guitar sound like a church bell or a banjo.
The right music can add interest and flow to any video. Learn how to add this essential production element to your videos with Windows Movie Maker.
Just recently, Snapchat decided to implement a feature that it had long been lacking—the ability to play music and record a video at the same time. For those of us that are jailbroken, we've had this feature for some time, but now that everyone has the ability, how should you ...more
Modern Warfare 2 Look Ma Two Hands Trophy Guide Video. The Akimbo weapons in two hands and the trophy associates the guide during rushing in bomb squad and the gun has 10 rounds after that press and hold a control key for a new automatic weapon. The Akimbo hand guns really pre ...more
WonderHowTo loves paper artillery. More sophisticated in construction than Box Wars, plus tense on-camera drama to boot, Cardboard Warfare is a tight homage to the paper gun. Not completely sold on the acting, but I'm really digging the mise-en-scène. Says creator Clinton Jone ...more
Portal has been one of the most critically acclaimed and universally loved games of the last few years, and there's plenty of fan art to prove it. From building a Portal gun, to a gravity defying Companion Cube, and even installing Portal onto a graphing calculator, fans have ...more
Collodion—it's one of those things that you probably never heard of before, but have actually come across many times in life. It's used for all kinds of applications, from photography to special effects, and it even has a few medical uses. So, what exactly is collodion? Photo ...more
Phone specs get better and better each year, and multiplayer mobile games are right there with them. Instead of playing solo, jump into some real-time gameplay with co-op and player vs. player modes, and battle friends, family, and strangers from around the world. But which mu ...more
I've tried my hand in the past at defining Steampunk, but as anyone else who has made a similar attempt will tell you, there's a significant backlash from the community against working to create a real definition of what Steampunk is. That may sound ridiculous to some, but it' ...more
For as long as I've loved SCRABBLE, I can't believe I've never come across this before. "CRAZIEST" - A short story by Liz Dubelman about words and numbers as a religion (think Pi), about SCRABBLE being the oracle, about her quest for the "triple-triple". This spoke words to m ...more
What happens when a entrepeneur/theme park creator and special effects artist/magician team up? You get a team crazy enough to create the first true virtual reality theme park (sorry, Six Flags). They only have a single experience so far, but it's already taken a giant leap be ...more
Contrary to popular belief, augmented reality apps have been available for a while now. I remember using the Layar app (still available for iOS and Android) to explore nearby businesses and landmarks with varying success via an early-generation Android handset. It would be ha ...more
One of the hardest, most intimidating parts of making your own Steampunk guns from scratch is the wooden stock of the gun. To be fair, it's probably the hardest part. It requires the most artistry, and is the easiest to mess up. So, I'm going to give you a guide to making you ...more
Silence spreads over these mountains like nothing I've ever felt. If I didn't have Moby blasting in my earphones, there'd probably be no other sounds around. Well, except for someone, Phil probably, murmuring in a nearby tent just low enough to make his words indiscernible. W ...more
One of the coolest aesthetic features of iMessage is its animated message effects. If you're like many users, you might even have discovered them by accident, where wishing your friend a "Happy Birthday!" or congratulating them on a promotion unexpectedly flooded your screen w ...more
Google recently rewrote their search algorithm to make "low-quality sites" disappear from your front page results, putting the emphasis on better, more relevant answers with original content and in-depth information. And now Google has added a new feature to their search syste ...more
SCRABBLE. To some it's just a game, but to me it's life or death. Well, not really, but it feels that way anyway. On a normal weekend, a game becomes much like Jon Thomas' "friendly game of death Scrabble." Video: . When I'm playing a game of SCRABBLE, my friends are not frien ...more
One of the best features of Final Cut Studio is the sound design feature Soundtrack Pro. With it's royalty free professional instrument loops and sound effects, you can easily compose music and edit audio for your indie film, or maybe even a professional movie. Watch this vid ...more
Recording the tortured sounds of a guitar running through three pedals and a dirty amps worth of distortion has been the heart of rock n' roll since Jimi Hendrix at least. In this video you'll learn everything you need to know to record distorted guitar sounds yourself. It dis ...more
If you're a musician in need of some lessons, there's no better way to learn than with MusicRadar's so-called "Tuition" instructions. Although the title tuition is misleading, this video class is anything but costly, because it's free, right here. Whether you're looking for he ...more
Muzzle flashes are basically firing and explosive effects that come out of the pistol or barrel of a gun. These firing effects can be created on Sony Vegas using a masking technique. Watch this video to see how to have fully customizable muzzle flashes using masking tools as ...more
In this tutorial, learn how to create the appearance of text being written with a liquid using Adobe After Effects. This clip will show you how to use CC Glue Gun, Fractal Noise, CC Toner, Turbulent Displace and CC Mr. Mercury effects to create this cool illusion. This video i ...more
Learn how to edit videos in this quick and easy tutorial. Use iMovie in this project to make a 5x5, which is a series of 5-second video clips compiled together into a 25-second video project. This tutorial details the various steps of video editing, including importing footage ...more
Benny Benassi is one of the biggest names in mainstream house music, and his distinctive synth sounds can be heard at clubs the world over. In this video you'll learn how to emulate one of his signature effects using Reason 4. Part 1 of 2 - How to Create a Benny Benassi synth ...more
The time stretch feature on Reason's music-editing software can create some very interesting sounds when you push the program to the limits of what it can do. Slow down or speed up your clips dramatically and get an entirely different sound.
A LOT of movies have featured talking animals. Especially now that the technology is readily available to even low-budget filmmakers to make animals appear to be talking very realistically. If you've wanted to make your own talking-animal film, this video is here to help. It w ...more
Kipkay from Make Magazine shows us how to create a photographic illusion, making things look smaller than they really are with tilt-shift photography. Materials needed include rubber plunger, an oversized lens, a plastic body cap, a single lens (or digital single lens) camera, ...more
One of the best features of Final Cut Studio is the sound design feature Soundtrack Pro. With it's royalty free professional instrument loops and sound effects, you can easily compose music and edit audio for your indie film, or maybe even a professional movie. Watch this vid ...more
to improve the sound quality of the audio from your camcorder or any voiceover tracks you've added, you can apply audio effects.
Adding music to iMovie projects is a great way to create ambiance for your movie. With Garageband, you can create your own music for your movies. You can also add sound effects and enhance the sound recorded with your movie. When you're finished, you can export your movie to s ...more