Rent a Movie Theater for Your Film: Rights, DCP and Costs
By Matteo Martignago, founder of Artistic Hive. Renting a theater for your own film is different from booking a private showing of a movie in the theater’s catalog. For a U.S. filmmaker, start by confirming that the venue accepts guest-supplied content, then agree the screening rights, delivery format, technical test and event terms before inviting […]
How to Rasterize in Photoshop and Fix Greyed-Out Layers
By Matteo Martignago, cinematographer and photographer. To rasterize a layer in Photoshop, right-click it in the Layers panel and choose Rasterize Layer (for type, choose Rasterize Type), or use the menu at Layer > Rasterize. This converts the layer’s editable vector or text data into fixed pixels so you can paint, erase, and run filters […]
How to Turn Off Burst Mode on iPhone
By Matteo Martignago, cinematographer and colorist. Updated November 2026: tested on iOS 26.5 and checked against Apple’s iOS 27 guide. There is no single button that will turn off burst mode on an iPhone, so most guides that promise one are wrong. Burst is a way of pressing the shutter, plus one setting, not an […]
Lighting Headshots: How to Create Flattering Portrait Lighting
The key to taking great headshots is all about the lighting. With the right lighting setup, you can create professional, flattering portraits that make your subjects look their very best. In this article, we’ll cover some of the most common and effective lighting setups for headshots so you can learn how to beautifully photograph your […]
Mushroom Photography: Ground-Level Light, Focus and Habitat
By Matteo Martignago, founder of Artistic Hive. For stronger mushroom photographs, get close to the subject’s level, choose a clean viewpoint and look at how light reaches the cap, stem and surrounding habitat. You can begin with a phone or a close-focusing lens; extreme magnification is only necessary when tiny detail is the aim. Make […]
How to Make a Short Film: A First-Project Workflow
By Matteo Martignago, founder of Artistic Hive. For a first short film, choose a story you can finish with the locations, people and time you actually have. A one-location scene with a clear change is a useful starting exercise. The goal is a complete, understandable film with usable sound and a verified delivery file. Download […]
EF vs RF Lens: Canon’s Lens Mounts Head to Head
Canon shook up the photography world when they announced the EOS R system and new RF lens mount in 2018. This bold move aimed directly at the exploding mirrorless camera market. It left many photographers with a big question: Should they stick with tried-and-true EF lenses or embrace the new RF system? In this detailed […]
How Many Legs Does a Tripod Have?
By Matteo Martignago, cinematographer and colorist. Updated July 2026. A tripod has three legs. Three is the minimum number of legs needed for a stable base, because any three points always rest on one flat plane, so a tripod stays steady on uneven ground where a four-legged stand would rock. The name says so too: […]
AI Focus vs AI Servo: Choosing Canon Autofocus Modes
By Matteo Martignago, founder of Artistic Hive. Use One-Shot for a subject that stays at the same distance and continuous Servo focusing for a subject whose distance changes. AI Focus, where the camera offers it, automatically switches between those behaviors. It is not another name for subject recognition. Subject Starting choice Check Still subject at […]
How to Use a Green Screen: Capture, Matte and Cleanup
By Matteo Martignago, founder of Artistic Hive. A green-screen workflow uses the background color to help separate the subject, then composites that subject over another image. Good capture makes the separation easier. Keying software cannot reliably recover every hair, transparent object or heavily blurred edge from poor footage. Plan subject and background separately Light the […]