Horror Movie Effects

The greenscreen has allowed filmmakers to take us to worlds they never could have otherwise, but they can ruin a movie when used poorly. Watch this video for a guide to picking a screen, lighting it, and getting a good key for it using Final Cut Pro or After Effects.

A green screen lets you add any sort of background to your movie in post-production. Part of a successful green screen shot is properly lighting your set so you can easily add the special effects later. Teach your camera crew these tips for your next film!

Embrace the current retro revival in fashion and design by creating this cool midcentury-chic poster. You can create this psychedelic wavy pattern for a band poster, a movie, or just as a piece of art to hang up on your wall. This Adobe Illustrator tutorial utilizes vectors h ...more

This is a great horror makeup tutorial that you can use to make it look like a bolt has been shoved through your cheek. This tutorial uses the Cinema Secrets makeup, especially the Injury makeup palette and special effects blood.

In this 2 part video tutorial, Eran Stern shows you the first step to create a retro design title animation for a fictional sci-fi movie. In Part 2, CreativeCOW leader, Eran Stern takes the next step in the science fiction classic and finalizes the promo by projecting graphic ...more

Freddy's Alive! No, it's not the next part of the Nightmare On Elm Street series, it's the new remake coming out in a theater near you. And in celebration of the return of "A Nightmare On Elm Street", starring Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger, Indy Mogul's BFX made this gr ...more

How to make Jedi force jump effects as seen in the Star Wars movies for your own films using Effects Lab and Windows Movie Maker. Part 1 of 2 - How to Create force jump effects for your movies. Part 2 of 2 - How to Create force jump effects for your movies.

Bill Myers shows you the quick and easy way to create chromakey and green screen effects with Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

Have Sony Vegas, but don't know all that it can do, like masking? Well, this video tutorial about masking in Vegas Pro 9 will get you started in movie visual effects. As in the video, you can give an illusion that there is a real tank in your backyard with masking. See how to ...more

This will come in handy for all you budding horror movie producers. CGI just isn't the same in comparison. Make fake glowing eyes and guts. Click through to watch this video on tricklife.com

Turn your sink into a scene from a horror movie and prank someone by rigging the faucet with food coloring to turn water blood red as it comes out. Use this as inspiration for one of your April Fools Day pranks!

For those of you not in the tack horror movie loop, "Army of Darkness" was a comedy horror flick which came out in 1993 that featured not so scary zombies and your typical aggregation of gnarly looking undead. While the movie itself was a bit of a snore, the prop guys did prod ...more

What every indie filmmaker needs is a little program called After Effects. After effects does wonders for any film requiring a little special effects that would normally be too expensive to make "real". Like this glowing eye effect. See how to make an eye glowing effect in Ado ...more

A great special effect for any film or movie is the space warp effect, like this bleach bypass effect. It's a little tricky to make, but once you know, fairly simple. Learn how to create a bleach bypass effect in Sony Vegas. ConnersTutorials is all about showing you how to ma ...more

One thing you need to know in particular about Sony Vegas is rendering. If you don't know how to render, you're not going to make a good film or video. So watch this and see how to render video in Sony Vegas. ConnersTutorials is all about showing you how to make quality, chea ...more

There aren't a lot of Boris Red tutorials out there, so make sure you watch this one on motion tracking. Learn four-corner pin tracking in Boris Red, which is a great compositing and effects program (plug-in) for Sony Vegas. See how to create a fisheye look in Sony Vegas Pro 9 ...more

Creating a curved video look, also known as the fisheye look, is one of the easiest camera tricks possible, and can also be done with your editing software. It's commonly used in skateboarding videos, but be done for any low budget indie film. See how to create a fisheye look ...more

If you own Sony Vegas, a good editing technique to learn is tracking motion. Track motion is the ability to rotate, scale, and skew an object in 3D perspective. This is great for making intros, titles, animated pictures in your homemade videos and much, much more. See how to t ...more

Let's learn how to create some cool special effects in iMovie HD. In this video tutorial you will learn how to make night vision, old time movie, and stormy effects. The effects are really cool and easy to do too! Create special effects in iMovie HD. Click through to watch thi ...more

It's one of the most iconic horror movie villians of all time. He has killed many people throughout time and people automatically think of him when they hear the theme music. His name is Michael Myers and he's coming to a piece of paper near you! In this tutorial, you'll find ...more

Get your Halloween on zombie-style! Watch this ThreadBanger video tutorial to see how to apply zombie makeup and make zombie clothes. Becoming undead is perfect for Halloween parties, but you can't do it without a little help. Get a makeup tutorial from the creators of Zombie ...more

See how to add sound effects and music to your Windows Movie Maker movie.

This video tutorial from Magix presents how to burn (S)VCDs and DVDs using Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 application.First you need to group videos you want to burn.If you want to play movies using remote control you have to place chapter markers. You can set markers manually or cho ...more

Dynamite your way to movie success with an explosive bomb. A fake explosive bomb, of course. TNT on a timer is a great movie effect for you action flick. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a prop movie bomb. ParkersTutorials is a DIY filmmaking show for all of you ...more

We all know that movies now-a-days don't use real rocks, but fake rocks for their film sets. Why? Because it's safer, lighter, easier to movie, and you can design them exactly how you want them. So if you need a rock for your indie film project, make it yourself. There's nothi ...more

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, was created in 1981 by Cassandra Peterson. She was the hostess of a local Hollywood horror movie show that became nationally syndicated. Elvira was the first horror host to be nationally syndicated, first person to be broadcast in 3-D on TV, and f ...more

A grenade is the best way to make your indie action war flick more realistic, but anyway you try it, it's not going to be completely "realistic". You need a prop grenade, and you can eerily make it yourself out of cheap household materials. Watch this video tutorial to learn h ...more

A breakaway chair is one of the best pranks, or one of the easiest effects for your indie film project. A breakable chair can be made out of simple household items, and is very cheap. The biggest material needed is cardboard. So basically, you'll make a cardboard chair, that b ...more

A fake brick is a great movie prop for any action film. You can break through brick walls, smash a brick in two, or throw a brick at someone without being charged with murder. The majority of this fake brick is made of foam. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a fak ...more

There are many different effects and filters in Sony Vegas Pro 10, and one of the plug-ins you can use is the "Sony Color Correction" option. Using it, you can edit your video to apply color correction effects to your movie or film.

This video shows you how to create basic chroma key (blue screen) effects in Windows Movie Maker. Requires a mod from http://www.wmmarchive.tk/

Are you still amazed by the special effects used in the movie Matrix? Now you can add similar effects to your video! Watch and see how to use some creative editing in Final Cut Pro to get it done.

It's time to smash that iPhone, but wait… you don't really want to break your iPhone, do you? That's were a fake iPhone prop comes in, perfect for any homemade movie. Just make this, and switch it out with the real one during the anger attack. Watch this video tutorial to lear ...more

It's medieval mayhem and you need a sword prop. Maybe you're larping, or maybe you just need a fake, dull movie prop blade for your action epic. Either way, this is a great weapons build project for a cool replica wooden sword. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to build a ...more

You can't have a werewolf movie without a werewolf, but how do you make one. Well, you should start of small. Try your hands at the wolf claws. To create these furry werewolf claws, you'll need a glove and some other materials. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a ...more

An RPG is a rocket propelled grenade, which is a common tool for enemy combatants in Iraq these days. If you need to have an RPG for your action war movie, then it's best to build your own prop one, since RPG's aren't exactly legal. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to ma ...more

The FN P90. Everybody wants one, but more than likely, you can't get your hands on one, especially if it's illegal in your area. Designed by FN Herstal back in the 80's, the P90 personal defense weapon is the cream of the crop. It's full name, Project 90, specifies a weapon sy ...more

Bring a little bit of super technology into your indie film with a prop robot dog. This is not a real robot dog, but a fake robot dog made from foam core poster board and a few other household materials. Think Lost in Space and The Jetson, only the robot is a dog. Watch this v ...more

Yes, a smashable board of wood. Just what the propmaster called for. A long 2x4 piece of wood prop is perfect for smashing overtop somebody's head during an action scene. The smashable board is easy to make, too. But not as easy as breaking it. Watch this video tutorial to lea ...more

Everybody has that destructive feeling sometimes, when you just want to smash your computer to bits due to a glitch or virus or freeze up. If you're making a film, it's a little more plausible that the computer would actually get smashed, considering it would be a fake prop co ...more

This three part tutorial shows you how to use Photoshop to create Star Wars text and then make it scroll up like in the movie intro using After Effects. Part 1 of 3 - How to Create Star Wars scrolling text in After Effects. Part 2 of 3 - How to Create Star Wars scrolling text ...more

Show off your karate skills by breaking a cinder block in half! Everyone will be amazed when you karate chop that block in two, without getting hurt. But is it real? That's up to you. If you don't want to break your wrist, it's best to make a fake breakaway cinder block. This ...more

Filmmakers beware... or more importantly, cinematographers beware... boring setups and unpleasing camera tricks can ruin a movie. Check out this helpful video tip from Focal Point Technologies on how to use zoom and dolly effects in your film. Whether you're a cinematographer ...more

Adobe Premiere Pro is one powerful piece of software if you want to make your videos look professional. This video will teach you how to use preset styles with the software to create cool visual effects like those in the movie 300 and others. Download the project file to get t ...more

There are plenty of films out there with baseball bats, but if you want your bat to explode on impact, you'll have to make it yourself. A smashable baseball bat is perfect for any gangster flick or sports movie. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a breakable baseba ...more