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Filmmaking & video production: videos Hacker News recommends
Filmmaking craft: cinematography, film editing, directing, screenwriting technique, video essays on how movies are made, camera work, indie filmmaking, film history of techniques. Below: every video in this topic that at least three HN users linked with real commentary, in at least three different months (12 videos, 9 explainers, 7 demos), best-scored first, with the comments on each video page.
- 9 HN recommenders 8 months 2015–2022HN repeatedly recommends it as the clearest explanation of why Chan's fight scenes beat fast-cut Hollywood action.
- 6 HN recommenders 6 months 2024–2026T The Movie Rabbit Hole · explainerStrongly recommended whenever HN discusses CGI, practical effects, or trusting behind-the-scenes footage.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2017–2025HN commenters recommend it as a deeply researched example of film analysis and one of the most educational videos on YouTube.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2017–2026HN points to it as a short, funny look at how cities stand in for other places on screen, and at the film industry's local effects.
- 4 HN recommenders 3 months 2020–2022Recommended as an eye-opening, fast introduction to what Blender can do and a model of a productive workflow.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2015–2025HN recommends it as a short, well-produced and eye-opening piece of film analysis.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2015–2024Recommended as a short, eye-opening piece of film analysis whenever physical or visual comedy is discussed.
- MEETING THE ENEMY A feminist comes to terms with the Men's Rights movement | Cassie Jaye | TEDxMarin4 HN recommenders 3 months 2017–2021HN recommends it as a thoughtful account from a feminist on men's issues and the cost of saying unpopular things.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2013–2024S Stargate Studios · demoHN points to it as a demo of how routinely mundane TV scenes use green screen set replacement, even on TV budgets.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2010–2022HN commenters recommend it as sharp film criticism and a lesson in filmmaking, and cite it when arguing the prequels failed on basics.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2018–2023O Official Wakaliwood · videoHN recommends it as a fun, surprisingly entertaining low-budget film made better by the live-style commentary.
- 3 HN recommenders 2 months 2021–2023HN holds it up as an impressive example of what a tiny team can achieve with Blender.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2019–2025A archivefilms · documentaryHN recommends it as a look at pre-CGI effects work that looks like CGI but was entirely physical.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2017–2023R RocketJump Film School · commentaryUsed as a counterpoint whenever commenters claim CGI always looks fake.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2016–2022HN recommends it as the best short introduction to Kon's editing before watching his films.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2020–2023M MoonEyes Plays · videoHeld up as an iconic, perfectly timed piece of television whenever Burke or Connections comes up.
- 3 HN recommenders 2 months 2014–2025S Samusek TDS · commentaryHN people cite it as a vivid demonstration of how editing shapes perception in documentaries and reality television.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2016–2024M Mark Gray · demoHN commenters recommend it for its slow-motion view of the first seconds of liftoff and cite it when comparing launch pads and engine behavior.
- 3 HN recommenders 2 months 2020–2023I Industrial Light & Magic · documentaryCited as the canonical look at LED-wall virtual production, referenced in threads on game engines in film and CGI.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2024–2025R Red Bull · demoCited in discussions of drone performance and of how drone footage conveys the real speed of an F1 car.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2019–2021R RocketJump · explainerCited as a compact account of how editing shaped the original Star Wars, though one commenter notes a rebuttal video disputes parts of it.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2021–2023I Insider · explainerCited as an explanation of LED virtual production and how it solves green-screen lighting problems.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2021–2026D Danil Krivoruchko · videoShared as a fan-made teaser for Blindsight in threads about the novel or alien intelligence.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2017–2025K Keiichi Matsuda · videoHN cites it as a shorthand for the dystopian risks of ad-driven, ubiquitous AR, usually in critical discussions of advertising and the metaverse.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2021–2026D Dani Connor Wild · interviewLinked in threads about Dune's sound design as a first-hand interview about the squirrel recording.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2011–2024W WebRidesTV · videoCited as an ad worth enjoying and as an example of practical effects so good they were mistaken for CGI.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2015–2018H HappyProductCorp · videoBrought up in threads about isolation, dystopia and busyness as a moving, relevant short film.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2019–2024Cited as evidence that Blender can power feature animation and for its look at a real production process.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2023–2024HN cites it as an example of what a very small crew can make with generative AI tools, while noting how much manual work it still takes.
- cited 3× 0 months 2016–2022G GoPro · videoHN commenters cite it as a striking example of humans doing extremely dangerous, precise things for fun.
- cited 3× 0 months 2019–2022C carykh · demoReferenced as the origin of automatic silence-skipping video editing and as a comparison for similar tools.
- cited 3× 0 months 2014–2023J JR Estares · videoMentioned mostly as a joke or as an example of real stunt work with no wires or tricks.
- cited 3× 0 months 2014–2016B BranitFX · videoCited as a sci-fi vision of editing a world in VR, and a reference point for how VR and world-building tools have caught up.
- cited 6× 0 months 2020–2026Used as a freely licensed sample video for demoing multimedia tools, and as a test file in discussions of video downloading and playback.
- cited 5× 0 months 2022Cited as an example of LED volume virtual production, as used for Star Wars shows, in threads about VFX.
- cited 5× 0 months 2012–2025C cheedogg · videoUsed as the classic example of how easily humans anthropomorphize objects, brought up in AI and advertising threads.
- cited 3× 0 months 2020–2024M MartialArtsFights · videoUsed as a stock example of overly fast cutting and shaky-cam action filmmaking.
- cited 3× 0 months 2020–20253 3GI · comedy videoMentioned as an example of a crowd-made reproduction of a film whose quality varies wildly.
- cited 5× 0 months 2022–2025J Joel Haver · tutorialCited in AI-art and video-stylization threads as an example of a manual, artist-driven alternative to AI tools, and as a demo of EbSynth.
Questions
What is the most recommended filmmaking & video production video on Hacker News?
Jackie Chan - How to Do Action Comedy by Every Frame a Painting: HN repeatedly recommends it as the clearest explanation of why Chan's fight scenes beat fast-cut Hollywood action.
How is this filmmaking & video production list ranked?
By HackerTube's score: the number of distinct months in which an HN comment recommended the video, plus half a point for every month with a strong recommendation. One viral thread counts less than steady recommendations over years.
Where do the videos come from?
From every Hacker News comment between 2007 and 2026 that linked a YouTube video, labeled by an AI model as a recommendation, a citation, a joke or a criticism. The list is published by HackerTube under ODC-By 1.0; this edition adds indexable pages and the comment context.
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.