- So today we're trying out different camera hacks
that we see on TikTok or Instagram.
Here, I'll do one right here.
Slow motion.
(grunting noises)
So, okay, do the water thing.
(gibberish sounds)
(whistling sounds)
Do one where you like push me away.
And I go, whoa, ready?
And go.
Whoa.
How do you think that's going to look?
- Like poopy.
Actually it might look cool.
Let's let's review the footage.
(dramatic music)
- Whoa.
All right, so here's the one that I'm most interested in,
is can you take a droplet of water and turn this lens
into a macro lens?
You think this is going to work Sam?
- [Sam] I'm gonna be hopeful, I'm gonna say yes.
- I think you're putting it on the wrong lens.
- [Sam] God dang it.
- All right, so we got a little dribble of water on there.
Okay. Does it work?
- [Sam] Okay, I'm gonna put my eye in there.
- Oh, whoa.
- [Sam] Is it working?
- Yeah, come closer.
Honestly, I didn't think it was gonna work,
but it actually works pretty good.
So this is how macro you can get without any water.
And then with water, look at that.
That's crazy.
Are you surprised at all?
- Yeah, well, I haven't seen the footage.
But I'm sure as soon as I do, I'll be like, whoa.
- The only downside is that you really have
to shoot upwards.
You turn it in any other direction,
it's just gonna roll off.
You definitely lose a lot of clarity,
but it's kind of a cool effect honestly.
So this is off to a good start,
experiment number one, success.
Now everyone seems to be putting Vaseline on their lens.
So we pulled out our least expensive lens.
This lens actually isn't terrible for the price.
I think you could get it for like, just over 40 bucks.
And check it out.
See, not terrible for 40 bucks, right?
But anyways, we're gonna go ahead and put Vaseline on it.
So I guess I'm going to take this, ah, it's all warm
and mushy and this feels so wrong.
Putting it around the edges.
All right, here we go.
Let's see.
It just looks like crap now.
And the center doesn't even look clear?
Like I left the opening in the center,
but it doesn't even come across.
It just all looks blurry now.
But people do for sure do this though.
So maybe I just put way too much on.
Is that what's going on?
It looks like crap, ew.
- Or do you think it's just too bright out here,
that it's just glaring?
- I cleaned off a lot of it.
Now it only looks a little bit smut.
I guess it does have a little bit of this dreamy look.
So for whatever reason out there, it looked like trash,
but in here it looks awesome actually.
I'm enjoying this.
- Oh, snap, it actually looks pretty cool.
- It does, doesn't it?
- It looks like a seventies music video.
- And it's in slow-mo so we can make a cool little sequence.
Ready and
♪ All my friends are going different places ♪
♪ Moving on and turning new pages ♪
♪ I don't want to close this chapter ♪
♪ Even as time moves faster ♪
♪ Old cities, old faces ♪
♪ Old memories still changing ♪
- Now I think one of the coolest things I keep seeing,
is taking a telephoto lens like this
and putting stuff in the foreground.
So let's start off with clear piece of packaging tape
and some marker.
And put this in front of the lens
while we tell you about our sponsor, Logitech,
who I'm actually very excited about.
I've used a lot of computers over the last few years,
but the mouse
- The Master 2S.
- That's that's the good stuff right there.
All right, should we get the sponsorship segment started?
- Yeah.
- Get your tape.
- Ever wish your iPad was more
like a transforming anime robot?
Boom.
Utilize the backstand and the keyboard.
And now you can type at blazing fast speeds.
- Yeah and actually the reason why I love this is
because while I'm using getting in tablet mode like this,
I can tuck away the keyboard back here, magnetically,
rotate it on to here, or just leave this on my desk
if I don't need it.
- With its comfortable back lit keyboard combined
with a set of Mac key shortcuts and precision touch pad.
The Combo Touch is so efficient
that you'll finish your work
even before you realize you started.
The keyboard doesn't need to be charged or paired,
you know, things we all hate doing,
like going to cousin Larry's birthday.
You know Larry, potato salad isn't a main course.
You know that, right?
And we're your guests.
We're not supposed to be taking confetti out of your pool,
that's your job.
And seriously, Shirley Temples?
- Dylan, can we get back on the script please.
We've heard it enough times about Larry.
I don't need it, this again. - Yeah, yeah.
- With its professional look and protective case,
Combo Touch is more satisfying
than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
with the crust cut off.
It's like a cheat code to your life,
making things unfairly easy, but infinitely better.
- And cut.
Thanks again for Logitech for sponsoring this episode.
If you have a fancy new iPad, definitely go check them out,
like down there in the description.
And how cool did this fishing wire look?
This might be one of my favorites actually.
So yeah, here's a little piece of fishing wire.
And when I bring it right up against the lens,
right now, we're at a wide angle, but if we go tighter
and I do the same thing,
then it starts to get a little bit wider.
See that?
And I can decide where to position it in the frame.
And also if I turn the fishing wire this way,
then the streaks kind of go more vertical.
We also tried it with what dental floss.
- Yeah, did not, nope. - Did not work.
(both laughing)
- [Sam] But it's important to floss guys once a day.
- That is true.
After I started flossing regularly,
I stopped getting cavities.
That's where all the cavities come from, the cracks.
I thought this tape effect was really cool,
adding that gradient, but you could also add a gradient
like this pretty easily in post.
And the CD one only really works
when you're really in tight.
We're at a 35 now, but we probably need to be
at least a 50 to get the effect to really sell.
But that's how you kind of create
that little bit of reflection.
That was kind of cool.
I also know people have those prisms that you put right
in front of the lens and it creates those cool.
I didn't even, we might have to do a part two
and try that out.
One effect I thought would be really cool,
is if someone throws something right at the lens
and it explodes right in front of the camera.
So we went and picked up a sheet of plexiglass.
(wiggle noise)
- [Dylan] You having fun there?
- Yeah.
- So let's check it out.
Let's try to keep this nice and clean.
Now I've tried shooting through plexiglass before.
The tough part is reflections.
We are definitely getting some reflection.
So to get rid of that,
what we should do is get some Duvetyn
or any sort of like blackout material
and then wrap this and put it behind us
like the old school photographers
who would go under that little sheet.
That's what we would need to do.
But yeah, we don't have any Duvetyn right now,
but let's go ahead and start off
with throwing a tomato.
(upbeat rock music)
(laughing)
- Dylan, didn't you used to play baseball and football?
- Yeah when I played baseball,
I hit the batter a couple of times.
- As we saw, I'm the one that's the athletic one.
(upbeat rock music)
- Whoa. (laughing)
- Wait, where'd you throw it?
- Glad I'm not the only one then,
I was afraid I'd be the only one to miss.
So I'm totally cool with that.
- I swear, you're throwing it from two feet away.
(upbeat rock music)
- Okay this balloon is too strong.
- I keep getting the juice in my face.
- [Sam] You okay, Dylan?
Oh yeah it's all over you.
- Occupational hazard.
- And of course we're funding another one
of your guys' project for the Potato Farm.
- All right Dylan, who's the winner for this episode?
- It is Deon Upshaw of Highland, California.
Deon says, "I am a visually impaired person
who has always wanted to shoot a vlog style project,
documenting some of the challenges that are faced
when traveling to new locations as a blind person
and helping the non-blind,
get a better look into the world of someone who suffers
from visual impairment issues.
Even those of us who travel with an assistant
or a seeing-eye dog face challenges that are new
and somewhat complicated from those
who don't require the assistance that we need.
For example, imagine learning
and enjoying a new environment when going on vacation.
Let me tell you that it is definitely an adventure
from day to day, but at the same time,
finding ways to enjoy yourself in a world
that is primarily created for the sighted
is an adventure and a good time waiting to happen."
- All right, so congratulations Deon.
We're gonna go ahead and send you funding
so you can make that project happen.
We're excited to see it and let's do one more effect here.
(upbeat rock music)
- Here you have my work of art.
- [Gene] A true artist here.
We're blessed to be in his presence, Dylan.
- [Dylan] It's very exquisite.
- Sam.
Boom.
- What are you doing?
- Hopefully recording.
I don't even know if this is going to work.
It's going to give this like turning effect and slow motion.
That's going to look cool.
Gene, hop on and be next to it.
(upbeat music)
- It's an 11 minute out of focus clip.
Okay, do we try to make it in focus?
(upbeat music)
- [Sam] It's a little bit more in focus,
but it looks kind of cool.
No, it's just, it's not working it.
This does not work.
- I mean, I'm still not sure what you were expecting
out of this.
Like this is exactly what I was expecting.
(Sam laughing)
- I saw somebody do it with a car wheel
and it looked cooler.
- If it was synchronized with something else
that was spinning at the same speed,
then it probably looked pretty cool.
- Then it has to be like centered right in the center, too.
- Yeah.
Let's go ahead and just move on to the next thing,
which is lunch.
- Yes lunch.
Actually, I am really hungry.
- Okay, so people are always making mirrors
look really cool.
I have to figure out how to do this.
All right.
And there is Dylan.
I dunno, this is creative.
Hey, Dylan you're trapped in a little snow globe.
- Oh no.
- I think in the other photos I saw,
it was stuck in the sand.
So maybe we can go over there.
All right, I think this is the type of shot that I saw.
I think it's interesting.
Like it looks kind of cool, right?
- [Sam] I think it's better for like a still,
but not so great for a video.
- Yeah, I think if you had the right shot,
that effect could be really, really cool.
I think we just need a little bit more time
to figure that shot out, but we also have styrofoam.
Not styrofoam.
- [Sam] Saran wrap?
- Saran wrap.
Oh no, Dylan, watch out.
You're going to get caught by the
- I think it's cool. - Dylan, aw, dude.
- This is the saran wrap in front of lens thing.
I don't know.
It looks so cool when the TikTokers do it
and then I'll do it.
And it's just like, blah.
I think I need to just surround the edges.
I mean, with the right context and the right scene,
you know, you could use an effect like this,
but Dylan, how are you feeling?
You look like you're in pain.
- The eternal pain of existence.
(guys laughing)
- Dylan, you only want to tell the audience
about what happened to your foot when we were playing
that kicking game?
- I hit the metal part of the thing.
And just last couple of hours,
just right there sucks right now.
And when we walked over here such a far distance, too.
- Well that was actually a really fun video to do.
Should we do a part two?
There's still a lot of other hacks that we should do.
- Oh yeah dude.
- Let us know in the comments if you have a camera hack
that we should try.
Out of all the hacks we did,
which one are you guys' favorite?
- Throwing stuff at the plexiglass was the funnest.
- It was definitely fun.
And I think if we were to redo that,
which I think we should do in a part two of this,
we could do it really well.
I think the flames were all right,
but I think were to take a sparkler and put it right
in front of the camera, that'd be really cool.
I think a lot of these effects are also better suited
for photography - Yeah.
rather than the video, but still it's good to experiment.
I think the first one we did,
the water droplet was maybe the most surprising.
- Yeah. I did not think that was gonna work.
- But at the same time, I don't think I would ever do that.
It's just not practical.
Like you could just get that macro tube thing
that you put between the lens and the camera
and it turns any lens into a macro.
So you might as well just do that.
I think one I might actually find myself using
at some point or another is the fishing wire thing.
I thought it was actually pretty cool.
We'll wrap this up with Dylan, giving you a piece of advice.
- Remember if you turn an M&M upside down,
it doesn't mean it's a W, it's was still an M,
which means that no matter how much you try to hide
from yourself, you're still who you always are.
And accept that and love it.
(calm music)