Home Made Special Effects

If the ice melts quickly, it will dilute the liquor and flavors in your mixed drink. And some drinks are best poured over ice cubes, while others are ideally served with crushed ice. Here's how to use ice to the best effect, no matter what drink you are making. Correctly use i ...more

Time lapse videos can be used to distort a sense of time around your subject, which makes them very useful special effects in documentaries. By using time lapse, you can show the transition from sunrise to sunset in just a few seconds, or slow down a drop of water hitting a ta ...more

Make lightning and generate tens of thousands of volts in your own kitchen at home using ordinary household objects! Mr. G demonstrates the amazing Triboelectric Effect and explains the electron exchange via adhesion and separation that makes it all possible.

Alien invaders are a constant threat, so it is important that filmmakers continue their long tradition of making educational films like Independence Day to ensure that we know what to do when the invasion comes. If you want to make aliens films yourself, watch this video for t ...more

Ever wonder how to create movie magic right in your own home? This video shows you step by step everything you need to know and do to create the green screen effect, from properly setting up your green screen, to lighting it, as well as your subjects for a successful effect. F ...more

Check out the Top Secret Recipe for making the ultimate American hamburger. Twin patties of beef, the special sauce, cheese and just the right bun! Make your burger a Big Mac today! Follow along with Todd Wilbur as he shows you how to make Big Mac at home.

Make sure and watch this episode as we tackle another heavily requested effect... making someone look blown in half! Jam packed with cheap special effects, Frisbee fun, and a Test Film guest directed by Maniacal Rage!

This short video is on how to use your new Eye Mold Kit from Ken Banks. It's simple and easy, and it makes a great looking acrylic eye for any special effect.

This video shows you how to apply a makeup prosthetic made of gelatin that gives a horrific burn and or scar effect. You can easily do this at home for a great effect Part 1 of 2 - How to Apply burn scar makeup SFX to the face. Part 2 of 2 - How to Apply burn scar makeup SFX ...more

Keir MacDonald shows you a cheap technique for making a practical blood-splattering effect for gunshots and other special fx in your films.

In this Photoshop tutorial the instructor shows how to change the dark hair color to blond. To get this accomplished you need to use a couple of very special techniques. First use the selective adjustment layer and select the outline of the hair. Now use the selective color op ...more

If you're making homemade pasta at home, you're not making "homemade" if you're not kneading the dough yourself. That means no pre-made pasta from the store! Forget the rigatoni on the shelf. Forget the penne pasta. Forget the ziti! If you didn't make it and shape it yourself, ...more

Sure, you can buy Rice Krispies or something similar - but making your own puffed rice at home is not too difficult, and is much healthier! This techinque works with any starch. Fully cook your rice, and then dry it out (it usually needs about 24 hours to dry completely). Then ...more

It's a well-known, time-honored interior design rule that putting things under glass makes them look more precious and special. Just like adding a spotlight to feature the soloist in a choir, placing a glass cloche or dome on top of a group of ornaments or a floral arrangement ...more

Berries, berries, berries! That's what you get in the summertime satisfying fruit dessert. It's a fresh berry pudding, full of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. It's unbelievably tasty. Home-cooking is alive and well in a luscious pudding made by the a ...more

There are a lot of videos out there that offer instructions for creating all sorts of fake wounds. Most of them, however, focus on cuts and gashes rather than that other devious and action-packed type of wound: the burn. This three-part video features detailed instructions for ...more

This is a video which shows how to create a suede finish on walls using paint. To do this the right tools are necessary. Use a special suede finish paint and a nine inch specialty roller. Arrow wood merant is used for the color. Tape the ceiling and base boards. Paint the corn ...more

Steal this look: The metallic smoky eye! With the help of Smashbox Cosmetics, this video goes through the step-by-step process of taking this look into your own home and making it your own. Using Smoke Box from Smash Box, a metallic smoky is born that will leave you look sultr ...more

Home security is as important as having a job. You have to protect your family and your valuables. If you can't afford a high tech security system, then maybe a fake security camera will do the trick. This security camera dud is also a cheap alternative for a film prop. Watch ...more

In the Photoshop tutorial, Richard Harrington takes a look at making an alpha channel based upon the luminance in an image. Alpha channels allow you to store transparency in a graphic and transfer that transparency to another non-linear video editing program or compositing app ...more

In this Photoshop tutorial, Richard Harrington explains how to output a DV video signal directly to a SD video monitor from Adobe Photoshop using a digital video converter via firewire and video preview controls. This is a very helpful tool for making adjustments to your color ...more

Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to build songs in GarageBand '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 managing your pho ...more

Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to mix songs in GarageBand '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 managing your photo ...more

Easily turn your pics into table top style miniatures with this easy to create effect. This takes panarama photographs from afar and fades certain areas creating a toy scene effect. It's magical. Turn cities into model like images that resemble fantasy more than real life. To ...more

If you're looking for some natural dog food recipes or homemade dog food, this recipe from the Natural Pet Food Cookbook is a great start. Chef Jason Hill of Chef Tips puts Bandit's Beef Stew to the test, and this dog food recipe was approved with enthusiasm by his family's Sh ...more

Check out this video to learn how to use the paste laminating system and three part mold-making techniques. This is an advanced process that is not for beginners. This process is for working on medium to large projects, this is a labor-saving process for those who need a large ...more

Zabernism. What exactly is it? It's a term that originated in 1912, during an incident involving an overzealous soldier who killed a cobbler for smiling at him is Saverne, a small town in Alsace in north-eastern France. The said event ultimately triggered an intervention from ...more

Runes are special abilities in the game which allow you customize your summoner in League of Legends. Here's how to equip runes and unlock the abilities to accumulate more runes. You can even save rune configurations in your tome and combine them to create special runes! Beco ...more

Some don't like shepherd's pie, but if you love it, try making it at home. This shepherd's pie recipe is sure to be a family favorite. It's not actually a "pie", as in dessert, but a full-blown, hearty meal. This traditional Shepherd's Pie from how2heroes is meant to feed a h ...more

Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to apply photo effects in iPhoto '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 managing your ...more

Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to get started with 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 managing your photo ...more

Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to import video from your camera 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 man ...more

Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to enjoy and organize videos 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 managin ...more

Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to make your favorite video 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 managing ...more

Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to stabilize shaky video 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 managing yo ...more

Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to trim edits between video clips 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 ma ...more