ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Creative Futures 2013 - Documentary Production for TV & Home Video hosted by David Robinson a Skype Q&A with Anthony Masi

MasiMedia LLC began in 2006 by Anthony Masi, his vision was to produce innovative content for film, television, and DVD in all genres.  Although only a new company MasiMedia already has developed a strong foundation and has a good future ahead of it.  In the 7 years since it began they have worked with National Cinemedia, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Starz Entertainment, The Shout Factory, Paranormal Pictures, and Camelot Films to name a few.

“The company continually strives to work with talented directors, writers and producers to bring impactful and visionary projects to life.”

MasiMedia pioneers a new kind of documentary for the DVD market, a retrospective epic for major horror franchises, their first two projects “His name was Jason: 30 years of Friday the 13th” and “Halloween: 25 years of Terror” have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in over ten different countries.

When I read the programme schedule and found we were having the opportunity to have a Skype Q&A with Anthony Masi I was really pleased, although I am not a major horror fan, his reputation of creating quality documentary films was something I was very much aware of.  David Robinson (Sessional Lecturer in Creative Media) has been friends with Anthony Masi for a number of years, so it seemed fitting that he was a host for the session.

Anthony started by talking about “His name was Jason: 30 years of Friday the 13th” a celebration of the film “Friday the 13th” series.  During the making of this documentary they spoke to between 80 and 90 people about the 12 movie range of the series.  The ensured they spoke to people who worked on the films to discover how they defined the horror genre of the films and how they created the basic template for the slasher genre.

Anthony then went on to explain how he got involved in the media business, in 2002 he worked at a convention for horror, as he has always been a horror enthusiast or as they are termed “Horror Junkies”.  It was at this convention that he came up with the idea of creating Horror Expo’s.

Anthony talked in depth about “Halloween: 25 years of Terror”, made to celebrate 25 years of the film Halloween (1978) written by John Carpenter.  Halloween is about a psychotic murderer institutionalised since childhood for the murder of his sister, he escapes and stalks a teenage girl and her friends whilst his doctor chases him through the streets.  It was released at the Chicago International Film Festival in October 1978 and has a huge following amongst horror fans as a great Horror film and is classed as the first slasher genre film.  Anthony explained how he decided to plan and set up a convention to celebrate the 25th Anniversary, as they had released the 8th film for the 24th Anniversary but had nothing planned for the 25th.  Anthony got as many as the actors, writers and producers to come to the convention, and his film crew recorded the convention, recording interviews with the various actors and crew members but also the attending public.  MasiMedia then set about reviewing all the footage taken and retrospectively discussed how “Halloween” had shaped the horror genre.  The executive producer of Friday 13th told this in interview that without the success of Halloween, Jason and the Hockey mask would not have been born.

Anthony found himself editing the footage and enjoying it so much that he then he founded MasiMedia.  MasiMedia then went on to create a feature length documentary of the extremely successful Halloween film to celebrate its 25th anniversary, the DVD includes over four hours of bonus features.  Anthony through editing had rediscovered his creative spark, and realised that MasiMedia was the future.  Anthony quickly found support for his company as following their next documentary on “Friday the 13th” they signed a local bookstore called Dark Delicacies, which was renowned for specialising in DVD’s and books for the horror genre.  Anchor Bay Entertainment who were also fans of Horror quickly became fans of horror documentaries and gave financial support to the making of Friday the 13th documentary, following the success of the “Halloween” documentary.

Anthony went on to explain that finding the funding to create films is one of the hardest parts especially when you are new in the industry.  Although historically actors do not get paid for appearing in documentaries as they technically aren’t working but just talking about their work, this is changing as the fascination with the film industry is causing more documentaries to be made.

Using film clips is documentaries is not cheap, as you have to pay the production company for use of the clip (8 minutes costs approx $80.000) even though by making a documentary about an iconic film will raise its profile and bring more revenue for the production company, they still charge the documentary maker.  Anthony then went on to explain that this isn’t the only cost, you have to get waivers from all the actors in the scenes granting their authority for the clip to be used, and if the clip has music in it, you also have to get the licence to play the music on the clip.  Anthony said it is due to these added expenses that clips in documentaries are kept to a minimum and are often played without the sound.  You Tube doesn’t have the same legal requirements, as Anthony went on to explain there you can use clips with no legal paperwork of fees cause you are not profiting from making a You Tube documentary.

As a first timer or someone new to the industry it is very difficult to get doors to open, Anthony recommends you use something popular as the fan base and following it has will help open doors for you.
When making a documentary you need to create the right balance between serious moments, funny moments as it is very easy to become academic with the information rather than interesting.  The way to approach each documentary is to create as a unique experience, the approach of tone needs to reflect the subject matter, what works for one will not work for all.

The editing of interviews can be extremely time consuming, each actor, producer etc will often record between 30 and 45 minutes of interview about a chosen film, if you have 90 interviewees for a 90 minute documentary this means you are using less than 1 minute of 45 minute interview, and you can create a documentary that is solely interview after interview you need to break it up with location footage, film clips etc.  Although Anthony did confirm you can use some of the extra footage by creating a Bonus DVD.

Anthony then returned to explain more fully how he really got started in the horror documentary business., yes he did co-ordinate and run a Halloween expo in 2002 for the 25th anniversary but the story really started in 1998, when Anthony started a horror fan website cause he was so avidly into horror.  Anthony explained he used to photograph his horror collection and upload to the website (started caused he initially wanted to learn about HTML web programming) and was soon completing a blog daily, horror fans sent n horror stories they had wrote and soon the fan site was getting popular, so when Anthony announced on the website that he was organising a Halloween convention the tickets sales were soon taking off, and he was delighted and amazed to watch his PayPal account increasing daily, this in turn funded the convention.

Anthony for the convention wrote to the producers of Halloween and asked them to attend, when they accepted this again increased sales as he published it on his website, but the interesting twist was that when the producers saw what was happening they were so impressed they hired Anthony to run their websites and create documentaries for them to use as advertising in the cinema and on television.  Anthony concluded this part by saying Halloween has been an amazing experience for him and it has opened a lot of doors.

Anthony recommended that to make your dream a reality keep knocking on doors, don’t give up, you need a passion for it, it can’t be just a job, and you must really want to do it.  So if you are interested in making documentaries find a project or film that is popular and has a large following as this will help you to get funding and open doors for you.

Anthony confirmed his documentaries are available on DVD and Blue Ray (available on Amazon and other places), but consider a digital potential as with the advent of media via internet, Anthony sees DVD’s etc becoming a thing of the past.  Anthony did have a bad experience with You Tube, when he launched “His name was Jason: 30 years of Friday the 13th” it quickly became the number one pirated films, and quickly had over 150,000 illegal downloads on You Tube, but he was happy to say that’s been resolved however it is a growing concern for any film maker.  Anthony just wishes that the people who download the illegal copy understand what they are doing to the film industry and how they will make people leave the industry and soon films like this won’t be made.

Anthony then passed on his Tips & Tricks for interviewing actors for documentaries.  If possible set them up to occur on the same day, set them to start on the hour, this way you can hire a makeup artist to ensure the actor looks their best (all actors want to look good and sound good).  It enables you to have continuance for your films, with lighting and sound etc.  Anthony just reminded us to beware when he used his Canon 70D, the camera didn’t enjoy working all day and kept threatening to overheat, so try to work with two cameras then you won’t incur this problem.  You might only want a 5 minute interview with the actor but remember no actor wants to only work for 5 minutes so plan to record at least 30 minutes, ask the actor to include the question you ask in their answer (i.e. “How did you get started in the film industry?” becomes “I started in the film industry by….”) this will be beneficial when you come to edit cause you then won’t need to include the questions in the documentary.  Anthony also stressed the importance of asking an actor to talk slower, this normally gives them chance to think of their answers and prevents the unnecessary umm’s and arrr’s which causes you editing problems as the actor invariably moves when saying them.

I really enjoyed this session, as it was great to hear how he had started in the industry, the problems he incurred and overcame, but also the fact that you really felt he wanted to pass on his knowledge to help others get into the industry.   Anthony’s Tips & Tricks and discussions on funding I found really useful as they were from his own experiences, but gave us a practical insight into recording and creating documentaries.

I appreciated the opportunity to hear from Anthony even though he didn’t leave America, to me we benefited from modern technology by having a Skype Q&A and actually felt I got more from the session as we were able to ask questions.

www.masimedia.net

ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Creative Futures - Working as a Freelance Photographic Artist by Alison McLean

I was really pleased when I read the programme schedule and discovered Alison was coming back to do a second session this year.  At last year’s Creative Futures, she was one of the speakers that I found I left the session with a wealth of knowledge and a drive to establish my business.  Alison had provided a very practical session, sharing with us the pitfalls and successes of establishing herself as a freelance photographer, and you got a real feeling that she was there to help and encourage not to brag about her achievements.

Alison started off this session, by informing us of everything she had been through since we saw her last year.  One of the things that soon became evident as the session progressed was she shared how as a freelance photographer working majority of the time alone, how difficult it is to stay motivated.  Alison had found the real solution was by networking, attending workshops, joining groups/clubs to meet like minded people who can keep you focused and motivated.

Alison started by telling us about a workshop she attended by Simon Roberts and run through Redeye.  Simon Roberts is a leading independent politician photographer, whose work you might have seen in the last general election.  He recently travelled round Russia on the top of a minibus photographing the locals with a large format camera, and this is his latest series. (http://simoncroberts.com)

Alison has also attended a weekend workshop with Roger Ballen, Roger does very bizarre photographs, and they can be very dark as they are more on a mental level then a photograph of a simple thing.  He recently made a music video entitled “I fink you Freaky” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uee_mcxvrw)

Alison then stressed that she doesn’t work for Redeye, but that the support and networking via their various events and workshops has really made such a great difference to what she does as a photographer.  As I discovered at Creative Futures last year, Redeye is a non profit organisation, it’s the broad picture of photography, they are a resource for photographers providing networking and advice, information, portfolio sessions, lectures, workshops, symposia, debates, as well as running bigger projects like – Lightbox, Look festival, National photography symposium, they provide details of ethics & good practice, and how to volunteer and contribute to local events.  Alison confirmed she had attended (and helped) at the Last Lightbox 2 in 2012 and said it was extremely beneficial as it gives a good boost to any photographic career.  It is a week of networking and workshops that brings photographers from all over the country together, where many continue to collaborate after it had finished, and many attendees go on to have exhibitions of their work in some very well known galleries.  Alison recommended that we all bear it in mind and consider attending when Redeye runs the next one in 2014.

www.redeye.org.uk 

Alison then went on to stress that as a freelance photographer working alone, you can easily get bored, go crazy and find yourself constantly on Facebook!!! Meeting like minded people is vital and it was with this in mind that she joined her local camera club in Mold, granted she said they seem to either photograph butterflies or trains, but as well they have a wealth of knowledge and do not get bored taking about ISO’s and exposure rates.   Alison found it gave her the opportunity to try new things or try a different perspective, and they have even managed to get her to be the Press officer so they must enjoy her company too.

www.moldcameraclub.org.uk

Alison has also founded the Glasfryn Artist Group (GAP) which is a group of multidiscipline artists that meet once a month, bringing local artists together to discuss their work, share tips and receive feedback from fellow artists.  Their membership covers Fine Art to Graphic Designers to Photographers, Alison confirmed any form of art was acceptable, and this was a great way to share knowledge and create collaborations.

One of the people who inspired Alison was Dr John Darwell a lecturer at Cumbria University, and an international photographer.  John said to Alison “It is no longer enough for a photograph to be of something it has to be about something”.   Alison then went on to say in the world today everyone is a photographer and can take nice photographs, she wanted her photographs to stand out, to either have a them or convey a strong emotion, to make her photographs different form everyone else’s.  She then went on to say when she left Glyndwr University she took photographs of anything and everything, John caused her to ask herself “What type of photographer am I?”  Alison then went on to explain she printed out her best photographs and looked to see which related to each other (had a theme) and made this her focus.

Alison says her Flickr account has over a thousand photographs on it, but whenever she now produces a portfolio she aims to use approximately 20 photographs, but always includes details of her Flickr account if a potential client wants to view more of her work then they can, by this her portfolio is dramatic and eye catching and leaves the client wanting more not wishing there was less.

Alison then went on to recap over part of last year’s session, by reminding us how important your website is.   She recommended a few website providers www.carbonmade.com, www.cargocollective.com and www.one.com.  Alison reminded us of the importance of checking spelling (www.ghotit.com can check this for you), if possible to get a graphic designer to work with you on your website design.  Alison suggested getting a friend to navigate through your website with no prompting from you, to see how easily they can access the information.  Alison said to try using key phrases in your written work so the website search engines will pick up your website on searches.  Alison again reiterated what she had said last year, ensure you keep your website updated, and consider including a blog, videos, run competitions, recommend other like minded sites.

With the current world of media, keeping on top of your facebook, twitter and blogs can be a time consuming, and prevent you from doing what you enjoy best – taking photographs.  Alison therefore recommended a useful site she had found called Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com) they enable to connect all your social networks, and you can make one post and they will update all your connections, you can also programme it to update at specific times when you know your potential clients or watchers are most likely to be online.

Alison then went on to discuss business cards, she is still recommending Moo cards (www.moo.com) as the best provider for quality cards that can be tailored to your personal needs at reasonable cost.  Alison said she knows someone who had a business card created that resembled a Polaroid, another that had theirs printed on metal tags for a key ring.  A business card does not have to be credit card size, it can be different, this has its advantages as well as its disadvantages, but Alison felt it makes more impact to stand out.

Networking is of vital importance to a freelance photographer, the need to make contacts, to ensure you sell yourself not just your photography.  As Alison was saying this I was very much aware of the importance of this, the recent job I got for creating two films for Luke & Becky (see blog) came from me being myself, showing an interest rather than selling my photography.  Alison then went on to say how having something that makes you stand out at a networking event can be advantageous as it can be a conversation starter, like wearing a large Homer Simpson badge (or maybe a Top Hat).  Alison had found that in this respect going to events and workshops with Redeye had been extremely beneficial to her.

Alison recommended a couple of other websites she had found useful – Artists Network (www.artistsnetwork.com) they produce a monthly online magazine for artists and are focussed on improving conditions for artists (pay scales etc) also by subscribing to their magazine you qualify for free Public liability insurance with them.  This brought Alison on to the subject of Insurance and one thing she encountered when she first started out was that not all insurance companies cover for 24 hours a day, when she had found that was reasonable and provided comprehensive cover was Policy Bee (www.policybee.co.uk) as most event photography takes place late into the evenings.

Once again this session with Alison had been extremely beneficial and informative, it was great to hear about her last year, her achievements, her exhibitions, the workshops she had attended, but also the hardships of endeavouring to stay motivated when working solo, the importance of networking and socializing with like minded people to help keep the enthusiasm and motivation, the ability to learn and share you own knowledge.  I again appreciated the practical information she provided and the developments on some aspects from last year’s session.  With my time at university coming to a close, I hope that with the extra time I will be able to attend events and workshops, to have the ability to maybe commit to a local camera club and to develop my photographic and filming skills even further.

(Photographs courtesy of www.thephotofoundry.carbonmade.com)

ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Reflection on Creative Futures 2013

Since Creative Futures last year it feels like I have hardly stopped, between working on university assignments and undertaking Film and Photography jobs for AndrewsProject, I couldn’t believe we were at this time of the year again, and more importantly I was in my final year.  Creative Futures is designed to improve understanding and knowledge of future career opportunities within the various creative industries, to provide a detailed insight into the various aspects of being self employed, whilst giving you the tools to help to improve self confidence and manage your chosen career path.

With the end of my time at university fast approaching I decided that my aim for this Creative Futures was to further gain knowledge and insight into setting up my own film and photography business.  When we got the programme schedule I was extremely pleased to see a session by Alison McLean entitled “Working as a Freelance Photographic Artist”, I had thoroughly enjoyed Alison’s session last year entitled “Life in the Afterworld…as a freelance Artist (Photography) where Alison had covered the practicalities encountered in setting up your business and making it successful, as I had found it very beneficial as she passed on the knowledge she had gained.

I was also looking forward to the session entitled “Documentary Production for TV & Home Video” this would be hosted by David Robinson with a Skype Q&A with Anthony Masi, owner of MasiMedia LLC.  As I found these two sessions extremely beneficial I have decided to write these up separately.

My hope for Creative Futures 2013 as I detailed in my conclusion last year was to have the opportunity to hear from people not directly connected to Glyndwr University or associated with it, more of a focus on a career in film.  The biggest hope I had for this year is to hear more on the practicalities of the journeys then the achievements people have achieved, maybe it is the film maker in me that believes the journey is more important than the end credits.

Creative Futures 2013, started off with an introduction by Stuart Cunningham (Academic Leader for Creative Industries, Media & Performance), he welcomed us with his “wrestling” styled entrance to the theme of Edge from WWE to lighten the mood and then introduced the speakers for the opening session “What’s current in Creative Industries?”  The guest speakers were Sarah Mair Gates who is the Wales Manager for Creative and Cultural skills, and a representative from Creative Skillset Cymru, which works with employers to identify their business needs and then shapes policies, funding and learning provision for their benefit.

Although this was the opening session and was supposed to be interesting and relevant, I found like last year with the diversity of the art college, that this session failed to inspire me, and left me hoping that the future sessions would be more relevant.

The next session by Professor Paul Haywood entitled “Painting over the Cracks” detailed how he as a university lecturer at University of Salford, balances life as a lecturer with life as a fine artist.  Although I could appreciate where he was coming from I found, that it was aimed at Fine Artists or artists which planned on teaching whilst continuing their artistic work.   Sadly, as photographer I don’t envisage me having this problem, as even if I chose to teach on photography I could still continue developing my photographic skills.

The last session I attended on the opening day of Creative Futures was “Business Start up Support” by Liz Wallens (sadly Judith Alexander who was supposed to be the main speaker was ill).  Liz who had to step up as the lead speaker works at Wrexham County Borough Council Economic Development department as a business advisor.

Although I attended this lecture as I thought it would be beneficial for me, as I wished to gain as much knowledge for making AndrewsProject a business success, I found the session only covered information I had learnt at last year’s Creative Futures session by Charli Dickenson.

The second day started with me attending a session by Alan Wright, this was called “Live Events… Fun AND Work”.  Alan is the owner and founder of Cascade Productions Intl, who have undertaken work for various famous clients, and Alan showed a selection of clips his company had produced for these clients, including a promotional video for London 2012 Olympic Games.

A couple of interesting points he made was thinking outside the box, for the launch night of the “Call of Duty” instead of hosting the conventional launch party, they fitted the room out with sofas and tables and ordered take out to fit with the gaming community feel for a night with a new game.  He also told us about a launch night that involved a firework display where they hired a glass topped marquee so the guests could watch the fireworks (set to Bohemian Rhapsody) in the indoor warmth.  This demonstrated to me that sometimes it’s not just creating the reason for events but ensuring the event is memorable and stands out in people’s memories.

This session really brought home to me the importance of staying relevant in the current constantly changing world of media.  As more and more people have access to multimedia via internet, facebook, twitter and mobile phones, it is very important that you aim to stay relevant and memorable in the film and photography industry.

www.cascadeproductions.co.uk

The next session I attended was “Creating Futures Creatively” by Neil Dunsire, as I felt with Neil’s background of working as Director of TAPE Community Music & Film Ltd, his insight into film could be beneficial to me, especially with my work in the Collective.  Neil detailed various events he had been involved in, where his filming was promoting local community businesses and social events.  Although it was interesting to listen to, I sadly don’t feel like I got a lot out of this session, as the information wasn’t practically based but more a case of this is what we have done not how we achieved it.

www.tapemusicandfilm.co.uk

So in conclusion, I felt this year’s Creative Futures had limitations on its usefulness, as the business start up sessions had unfortunately repeated last year’s information.  Although I had enjoyed hearing the next session by Alison McLean (see separate blog) and had enjoyed learning about MasiMedia (see separate blog) I didn’t really feel like I had gained a lot from this year’s sessions.

Whilst I was really glad to see a more balanced focus on filming to photography and the use of external speakers not directly linked to Glyndwr University or exStudents, I especially appreciate with the current financial economy that funds are tight, I was surprised that Creative Futures hadn't made greater use of the interview by Skype Q&A sessions.  I found this session by Anthony Masi  very useful, and appreciated the opportunity to ask questions even though he wasn't in the room.

Something I would have liked to see, especially as I am interested in the commercial film industry, would have been a practical walk through of what a production company looks for in a showreel, what they expect to see, what type of things get their attention, what paperwork needs to be included.  As I have researched this in the hope of gaining knowledge to make a successful showreel, I would have appreciated a Q&A session with a production company.  This kind of practical advice would be extremely helpful especially to the the third years which are looking to set out into the commercial world in the very near future.

Upon reflection I feel I had benefited more from last year’s Creative Futures but could this be in part that the information I had learnt last year, I was already putting into practice, and therefore this year’s sessions were what I was already doing rather than inspiring me to start.  As detailed in my blog “Luke & Becky’s Election Videos” I was undertaking client’s work whilst attending Creative Futures.  I must stress this did not impact on the sessions I attended as I scheduled the recordings round the sessions I wanted to attend, but what it did highlight to me, was that Creative Futures last year had stressed to me the importance of networking and creating your business, in effect with the filming projects I was undertaking for Luke & Becky, I was actually doing this, promoting my business, making contacts and establishing my business.

Overall I feel Creative Futures is a good idea, but with the diversity of the various art courses, and the different needs within the various years, maybe a slightly different approach needs to be considered, to have the ability for more Q&A sessions especially for the third years, who have started to act on previous years information but might have discovered a question they need answering or a problem they aren’t sure how to resolve, this could be the help they need.  Creative Futures last year did equip me really well to follow my chosen career path of film and photography, sadly this year didn’t seem as benefical.

ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Ffresh

It was announced in February last year that Ffresh 2013 Film Festival would be hosted by Glyndŵr University.  Then at Creative Futures 2012 in March, I had the opportunity to attend a session by Berwyn Rolands who had established Ffresh, the Student Moving Image Festival of Wales, the Wales Screen Commission, and the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales (in partnership with the National Library of Wales) whilst he was Chief Executive of Sgrîn Cymru Wales.  With this background of information, I was looking forward to Ffresh coming to Glyndwr University, although I hadn’t submitted any films into the festival I was still interested to see what I could learn but also the contacts and networking I could achieve whilst at this festival.

With my involvement in the Collective, it soon became apparent that my time at Ffresh would be different to how I envisioned.  The Collective had been approached by Mike Corcoran (The Guild, Glyndwr University) to have a stand in the main foyer for the three days of Ffresh.  With the added fact that I was representing the University at a Photography Workshop in Llandudno on the Thursday, it seemed my time in sessions at Ffresh would be extremely limited.  After speaking to my lecturers, they confirmed that what they wanted was for each student to reflect upon their time at Ffresh, to establish contacts and develop potential working relationships, to improve your knowledge of the industry and to improve your networking skills.  Being on the Collective stand would certainly meet these criteria in a way I hadn’t expected.

At the Collective meeting, prior to Ffresh I was allocated the challenge of creating the film showreel, as one of my interests in the Collective is filming, I wanted to portray the filming especially in a favourable light at the Fresh stand.  Although others at our meeting were happy to use the Wifi connection on campus to run our “You Tube” films (www.youtube.com/feed/UCN7pt2-xqtiV8o7Ec5wGNXQ).  I wanted the showreel to look more professional.  So with this in mind and with the help of Paul Lowndes and some of the other members of the Collective we reviewed the previous films to see which showcased the Collective’s work best.  We chose the best and I then undertook the editing, a simple job of putting the selected films back to back, ensuring the sound was unified and then placing our logo and contact email constantly across the bottom of the screen throughout the showreel.

Through the course of that first day, I met a lot of people and initially was out of my comfort zone, by having to talk to people I had never met, and potentially sell the work the Collective undertakes, to answer questions asked, but as the day progressed I found myself enjoying the experience.  I found I enjoyed talking about film and photography, but more importantly getting to know people and hear their views and opinions.  It was one of these conversations of getting to know the visitor, and joining the “Film Club Presents…” that actually resulted in me being approached for a filming job shortly afterwards.

ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Competition - Wrexham Connect Photography Competition

Wrexham Connect is a quarterly magazine produced by Wrexham Council for people who live and work in Wrexham County Borough.  When I saw a copy of the Wrexham Connect, Spring 2013 edition I saw they advertised a Photography Competition they were running.

Although the Photography Competition seemed a bit vague in the details, and it appeared that any photographs I submitted would not be acknowledged to AndrewsProject, this caused me initially to dismiss it and not enter.

After a few days, the Photography Competition crossed my mind again, and although I appreciated the apparent lack of public acknowledgement of my work, and that my photographs could be used in Connect and on the council’s website without any financial reward.  I thought it would give me the opportunity to see if the landscape, environmental photographs I took were commercially suitable.

 I decided to submit two of the photographs I had taken for my Summer 2011 assignment of Industrial Photographs.   As I felt these gave a different view of Wrexham and whilst reflected the Industrial aspect of the community didn’t actually advertise a specific company, as I had ensured no company logos were visible whilst photographing the industrial estate.

The other photographs I submitted were of St Mary’s Church in Regent Street, once when I had finished late at University, I had walked past the church when it was floodlit for the evening, and I couldn’t believe the transformation this made to church.  So soon after I brought my camera to university and delayed my departure to enable me to capture this effect.  So these were the other photographs I submitted to the Photography Competition.

Then on the 8th April 2013, I received an email from Wrexham Connect where they confirmed one of my photographs will be included in the Summer Edition of Wrexham Connect and may also appear on their website.  They also requested the details I wished to appear with my photograph, so although I had decided to enter this competition to see whether my photographs were commercial with no guarantee of publicity, it appears I will be acknowledged for the photographs I have taken.  I can’t wait for the next publication of Wrexham Connect to be produced in June 2013 to see my photograph in print.

ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Exhibition – Open Studios 7th February 2013

Although we didn’t get much notice about this Exhibition, and were initially told we could only display our work from our ARD602 – Negotiated Studies 1 module, which for me was difficult as my work for this module was a Pre-Production folder for the Film Hacked which I have wrote and plan to produce as my ARD603 Negotiated Studies 2.

It wasn’t till the Wednesday that I got told I could exhibit my work from last year, with this limited notice and the onset of a bad cold/stomach bug, I was only able to submit two images which I still had on my Mac Laptop, these were from semester’s two module ARD507 Creative Media Directions.  The photographs from Modern Master – My take on Dogs playing poker, and from Photo essay/editorial – Castell Coch Magazine article.

It is thanks to friends, peers and staff that my work eventually got to be displayed in the Exhibition, although gratefully I can confirm not only did they get my photographs, printed, mounted and displayed, they also kept me up to date as things progressed, and even asked me to confirm what I wanted detailed on my name plaque under my work before producing it and displaying it.  I decided to go with my official email address that I have set up for my future business and to have the details of my business Facebook page so interested parties had the ability to view some of my other works.

Although I am pleased that I was one of the few that managed to exhibit at this show, I am disappointed that we weren’t given more time to prepare, and that due to illness I wasn’t able to be hands on in the preparation.  I would have liked to do a better display and really showcase my Photography, I would have also liked the opportunity to develop my exhibition skills especially as the Final Degree Art Show is fast approaching.

ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Outside Client Work – Luke & Becky’s Election Videos

Following a conversation at Ffresh with Becky Cheeseman, Luke Murphy and Becky approached me to record a music video and a campaign video for their upcoming election campaign.  Luke is running for President in the Student Guild and Becky is running for Vice President.  Although I was stood on the Collective stand at Ffresh when I met Becky, they requested that I as AndrewsProject undertook this job even though they knew I was part of the Collective, as it was my skills they were interested in, as they had seen some of my previous work and felt I had shown a personal interest in them, they wanted my personal touch, as they were also aware that some of the other election candidates had already approached the Collective and they didn’t want a conflict of interest.

I arranged a meeting with them both, and Luke filled me in on an idea he had for their music video.  He wanted to do a film backed by the Black Eyed Peas hit song Where is the Love.   The only downside to making this music video was that the background music was copyrighted and therefore I was fully aware I would be unable to use this in my showreel, or reference it in any way once I had left university.  I did confirm with Luke and Becky how they stood with the use of a copyrighted song for an election music video, and they confirmed that providing once it was finished editing it clearly displayed the Glyndwr Student election details, and was clearly advertised via Facebook and You Tube as an election video then the use of a copyright song was permitted.

Luke then went on to explain that as election candidates they had both been given the Student Guild Rules for Election campaigns, this included certain areas of the University campus that were not allowed to be used as campaign areas, where the candidates were not allowed to actively recruit followers, and therefore their behaviour could not even cause students to ask what they were doing.  Luke and Becky both confirmed that they were fully aware of these areas and would ensure we would not breach any areas whilst recording the videos.

Luke wanted the video to show him and Becky in effect campaigning round the university campus.  Luke had various ideas for the different shots he wanted included in the video, some which were random but some which linked to the lyrics in the song.

With the fact that both Luke and Becky had lectures and various commitments, whilst I had a more flexible schedule, Becky agreed to create the filming schedule for the various shots for when Luke and her were available for recording and to coordinate any extras they needed as well, (they both have friends which are supporting them in their campaign).  Recording this film came at an interesting time for me as I was also attending Creative Futures 2013, and it really illustrated to me the benefit of networking and building up your business.

As the turnaround from initial discussions with Luke & Becky to uploading the completed film to You Tube was a matter of days, it really gave me a great opportunity to work under tight deadlines, as in addition to the Music video Luke & Becky also asked me to film and create a campaign video expressing some of their manifesto promises, not forgetting I was filming these films between attending sessions at Creative Futures 2013.

Luke & Becky really loved the music video I created, and appreciated the work I had put in for them, I enjoyed the challenge of creating a music video for a client, as it enabled me to use my artistic film and editing talents whilst having to ensure it met a client’s approval.

The Campaign Film was a different type of challenge, as Luke is part of the Rugby club, he wanted to film in the football/rugby stadium and on the hockey pitch.  We struggled with the weather, as the sun kept shining then hiding behind the clouds  which caused trouble with continuance for close ups, then later we struggled with the wind on the hockey pitch, which made the sound recordings extremely difficult although I did use it to effect in the film as a humour point.

Luke & Becky between them had written the script, and they had based it on a brainstorming style, of making it feel like the watcher was part of a discussion, having some moments which look at current trends (like Harlem Shake) but deciding these were too cheesy and had been done by others, it also had some comedy moments, as Luke and Becky discuss what needs to be in a campaign video.  It was interesting to create a film where someone else had a creative input, although I have worked on group film projects for previous university assignments, this was technically me working for the clients where they had the overall say.  Luke & Becky did listen to my suggestions and even implemented a few of them to improve the film, but I did feel the difference in producing a film that would meet a client’s approval, and in this case was my sole responsibility.

Both Luke & Becky seemed very happy with the finished results of both the films, and I am pleased to report that Luke will be the President of the Student Guild next year after clearly winning the election, sadly Becky will not be his vice president as she came second, losing by only one vote.

“The videos were spectacular and we both keep getting compliments on them- we made a great team, but your creative guidance was essential to the success of Team Glyndwr” written by Becky Cheeseman on behalf of Luke & herself regarding the two films.

ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Outside Client Work - Photography Workshops

Recently I was given the opportunity to twice represent Glyndwr University at photography workshops.  The first workshop was at Dinas Bran with 6th Form students, Colin Salisbury (Glyndwr University, Photography Technician) ran the workshop with initially me in a supporting role.

We had 12 pupils in our group and the knowledge and experience varied across the group for the student with a simple camera to a student with a Nikon D300 camera with 3 different lens.  This range was a benefit because I believe all the students gained something from the experience, the student with the fantastic camera who was envied by the others, was suddenly appreciated for his love of photography.

Although initially, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy teaching school students about photography, I found it interesting and challenging and most importantly rewarding.  It also affirmed just how much about photography I did know.

The only downside is that due to not having permission from the parents to photograph the students, I only have my memories of the day and not photographic evidence of the students enjoying the session.

The second workshop was at Cymru in Llandudno, with a group of 6 students from Year 12.  Sue McGrane and I were undertaking this Photography Session (photographs are courtesy of Sue McGrane).  We had the same group of students for two hours in the morning and again for two hours in the afternoon.  So we had to prepare for four hours of Photography instructions with the same group of students.  We used the worksheets that Sue had prepared for the last one which explained some of the basic photography jargon like ISO and exposure rates, and had prepared some photographic challenges for the students to do too.

Although I was slightly apprehensive about facing the students without Colin (as I still felt like Sue and I were just students too) I was aware that the session I had done with Colin had equipped me well and had proved just how much about photography I really did know.

Our group of six seemed enthusiastic to learn more about photography and were soon listening intently but asking questions as we went through the basics.  Most of the students had brought their own cameras and as in the previous workshop this covered SLR’s to compact flashes.

One of the practical demonstrations we did with the students was the practical use of shutter speed, sadly Sue made me jump up and down, so she could capture me in mid-flight much to the students enjoyment.   Next time I am going to get her to jump!!!

With our students working in groups we covered various aspects of photography from panning shots to locked off to zoom bursting.  One of the challenges we set them was to take a group photograph with one person appearing twice, after slight confusion and some gentle coaching they soon caught on, but just in fairness the photographer student was not allowed to tell the others, till everyone had a turn at being the photographer.  The feedback we got verbally from the students as we progressed through the day was that they really appreciated the practical knowledge we were imparting and were enthusiastic to learn more (they had even come back from lunch early to squeeze extra time out of us).   We were fortunate with the weather in March that we were able to take the students outside in the afternoon to show how natural light affected the photography process, then returned to the much warmer indoors for a Q&A session were we went through various aspects of Photography from the use of lights to composing a shot, to filming live action.

It was really surprising how quickly the time with our students flew, once again I had thoroughly enjoyed sharing my love of photography and seeing the enjoyment on the student faces as they learnt a camera can easily be used even when the automatic settings is switched off.  It was an opportunity I hadn’t expected to represent Glyndwr University, and to teach on photography but it is one that I will treasure and has given me food for thought for the future.

ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Outside Client Work – Bernsey’s Artwork

Earlier this year, I was asked by a friend, if I would photograph her friends’ artwork.  Bernsey Talbot Johnson graduated from Glyndwr University in 2010 with a MA(Hons) in Illustration for Children’s Publishing.

Bernsey’s artwork is unique and individual, so it therefore gave me a challenge to capture the artwork in an original way, as I wanted to steer away from the traditional approach of photographing it against a plain white background, as I felt this would detract from the beauty of the piece.  Bernsey, I am glad to say was happy with the results and has subsequently brought more of her artwork for me to photograph.

I found the challenge of photographing her next pieces intriguing, as these pieces were textile, and I therefore wanted the photographs to capture the contrast and softness but still accurately display the pieces.  I feel I have achieved this, with the use of subtle lighting.  When Bernsey saw these latest photographs she said they looked like you could reach out and touch the fabric.

Due to the success of these two photographic shoots, Bernsey has requested that I photograph further pieces and to help her establish a website to show and sell her pieces on, in the near future.

ARD6504 – Creative Futures 3 Outside Client Work - Elsie’s Baby Photos

Whilst I will not turn down any chance of client work, I am also actively looking to broaden my experience and develop my skills as a photographer.  When a friend of the family had a new grandchild earlier this year, I volunteered to take the opportunity to take some baby photographs for the couple.

The parents wanted the photographs to be taken at home and not in a studio environment, but with some having the look of a traditional studio format.

I found this an interesting challenge as you really have to work with the client, gone is the freedom, to say look this way, or just move your arm down a little.  I found it really called on my skill as a photographer to capture that perfect picture.

Although the parents and family were happy with the photographs, and I am also happy with the results I achieved, I would have liked more time and greater freedom to have tried different poses.  I look forward to the next opportunity I get to develop these skills further.