HDSLR – Page 6 – Journeys of a Hybrid

January 31, 2011

Being Authentic

There are certain words and phrases that tend to become over used just because they seem to express the idea so well. Ironically, the word authentic is becoming over used now in our culture and in a weird way is on the brink of becoming a contradiction to what it means. So, I cautiously use the word “authentic” in the real sense to say – be who you are meant to be. Be authentic.

When I returned from my round the world adventure this past Fall after completing the shooting aspect of a personal project, I discovered that people were responding to me in a different way. Perhaps they sensed there was something inside of me that they wanted to connect with. It’s a very difficult thing to explain but I think what they were sensing, was my contentment. I was content and feeling a sense of “satisfaction” because I was following “my purpose”, both personally and creatively and in the process I was discovering many other people, all over the world, who were doing the same.

On the outside what may have seemed like just a very long, exotic “trip”, was really more of a journey. It was a journey that I had begun a long time ago when I became an explorer, through my eyes and through my camera. I use the word explorer in a literal and figurative sense. Throughout my life, in my never-ending nomadic need to explore the world and its peoples, I was finding my own vision and how I “saw” and I was sharing that with others.

Ethan G. Salwen expressed it beautifully in a recent post on his After Capture blog:

“We always say that learning photography is really learning to see, and this is true. But we tend to express this sentiment in relation to a very limited sense of seeing — the visual sense. Older photographers seem to continue to learn to see on a much deeper level, in terms of what it is to be a working artist and, most important, how this relates to their continual growth and satisfaction as an individual.”

I think Ethan nailed it by talking about “learning and seeing on a much deeper level and how this brings growth and satisfaction as an individual.” I use the words “ being on purpose” to describe “satisfaction” within oneself. I believe that as creative individuals, when we begin to find meaning in who we are and how that fits into the world, it will shine through our work. Some use the word “vision” to describe that certain something that they see in someone’s creative work. Maybe that’s what was in the back of my mind when I came up with the title of my project and film, Opening Our Eyes.

In a way, I use my “eyes” and my camera to do what I do best – to share and connect with others. When I travel, it is not to assimilate with a culture, but rather to learn and exchange our cultural uniqueness, embrace that and share it with others. When I’m being authentic and true to myself, that happens in a magical way. When someone tells me that I’m the “real deal”, that is one of the highest compliments they can give me.

I think Susana Esmoris, one of the subjects of my documentary said it best. “Live life intensely. Wear the color that you want in life. Dance what you want to dance.”

January 11, 2011

SB3 – Get Inspired

If you haven’t registered for the ASMP Strictly Business 3 conference yet, I would highly suggest that you do so. They will be held in three locations starting next week: January 21-23 in Los Angeles; February 25-27 in Philadelphia; and April 1-3 in Chicago.

There’s an incredible line up of speakers presenting workshops on pricing, estimating, copyright, workflow, strategic career planning, successful portfolios and branding and video production. I’ll be presenting two workshops: “Thinking in Motion” and “Shooting Video with the DSLR”.

Branding expert Colleen Wainwright will deliver her keynote “Making People Love You Madly: Selling Yourself in a Postmodern Marketplace”. Tom Kennedy, whom I’ve know since his days at the National Geographic Magazine will give a keynote “Learning New Skills for the Changing Media Landscape”.

This conference series is meant for everyone, not just photographers who are beginning their careers. In fact, I think that photographers who have been in business for many years will benefit equally, if not more than a shooter who is new to the business.

I have been in business for over 30 years and I have found that one of the most dangerous things that can happen to a creative person, is for them to become complacent, especially in a business like photography. It’s even more deadly to become complacent these days in our fast changing world of technology. We not only need to stay current with our skills, we need to keep our vision fresh.

When I got into video and motion more than a decade ago, I was looking for something to excite me. I felt that even though my business was successful and that I had accomplished many of my creative goals, the spark was getting dim inside me and at times I felt like I was reinventing the wheel. So, I set out on a learning curve and have been soaking up information ever since.

I love to learn and I have found that the more I wonder and grow, the better off I am creatively and the more successful I am in business. I’ve also found that networking and collaborating with my peers has opened my eyes to all sorts of possibilities that I never knew existed. I think that’s what makes the SB3 conference so powerful – the sharing of information with our peers. You don’t get that from online learning.

We live in a time where anything is possible. Come to SB3 in LA, Philadelphia and Chicago and be prepared to be inspired.

January 6, 2011January 6, 2011

Crowd Funding and What I’ve Learned

There’s a scene at the end of my favorite holiday movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”

250px-It's_A_Wonderful_Life — It's a Wonderful Life

where George Bailey, a character played by Jimmy Stewart is surrounded by his friends as they come to his aid and bail him out of his financial shortcomings, caused by his crazy Uncle Billy. I’ve seen this film at least a dozen times and ok – I admit it – I cry every time George Bailey’s little girl opens a book that mysteriously appears under the Christmas tree with the inscription “No man is a failure who has friends”.

I felt like George Bailey today when I saw the email from Kickstarter telling me that my daughter’s and my film project, Opening Our Eyes had been officially funded. We actually exceeded our goal of $7500 and raised just over $10,000! What a feeling – what a triumph and all possible because of our “friends”. Through crowd funding – our friends had helped us reach our goal and made our film a reality.

This would not have been possible just two years ago. But, Kickstarter and other crowd funding sites like it, provide other options for artists and entrepreneurs who are seeking funds to make their creative ideas come to life. Many times these ideas might not fit within the confines of what a traditional bank would finance, but there are some great ideas that have a chance now of becoming a reality – and we all benefit by that.

Here are some things that I have learned through the process of getting our film funded on Kickstarter.

•    You have to do the work. Once you launch your project page on Kickstarter, you need to let potential backers know about it, using social media or email blasts or word of mouth. Just like getting traffic to your website, you can’t expect people to stumble upon your project and fund it.
•    You have to make it fun. Have fun with the “rewards” that you offer your backers, and on Kickstarter every project must have rewards. People love to give, but they also love to feel like they are part of something or that they have helped to make something happen. If a backer contributed to my project at the $500 reward level, they will receive an Associate Producer credit in the film and on the project’s website, along with DVD’s of the film when it’s completed, as well as a signed print and an e-book from the project’s journey.
•    Keep your financial goal realistic. Look at other projects that are similar to yours and see what the “market will bear”. See what has been successful and ask yourself why. Remember that if you ask for too much money and don’t meet 100% of your goal by the time the funding period is over for your project, then you won’t receive anything. Only projects that are successfully funded at 100%, will receive funds.
•    Use social media and email blasts with common sense – don’t be obnoxious. If you do send emails – don’t send an email again to someone who has already backed your project. Ask people to share your project link on social media but don’t overdo it.
•    Post updates on your project to keep your backers and potential backers informed. Use visuals if you have them, both on your page site as well as in your updates. Photographs and videos really give a project presence and are a must have. You want to stand out from the crowd.
•    There is no such thing as a pledge too small. They say the average pledge on Kickstarter is around $25 and I can attest to that. Out of our 161 backers – 69 had made pledges of $25. It all adds up. And every time someone backs your project there is also the opportunity that they may share it with someone they know who may in turn make a contribution.
•    Be grateful and appreciative. I made it a point to send each and every one of my backers a personal thank you note.
•    Have faith – because anything is truly possible these days.

December 28, 2010December 28, 2010

Don’t Become a Photo”saur”

A lot of people tell me that I’m way ahead of things since I got into video/motion over ten years ago. Most still photographers weren’t even thinking about video ten years ago. Neither was I. Nor did I have a crystal ball. But I am a visual communicator and that means that I am always looking for the best way to communicate the message or tell the story. And twelve years ago, it became possible and affordable for me to deliver the message with another medium. Not instead of still photography but in addition to it.

My desire to explore video and motion at the time, wasn’t coming from a “tool” point of view. It was coming from a cultural one. When I think about it, I wasn’t fascinated by the technology – I was fascinated by what people were doing with the technology. Fast forward a decade later and I’m just wowed by where all this has gone. Our culture has changed dramatically in the last ten years because of technology. And while that is still “fascinating” and like creative adrenalin, it’s also a game changer in how it has affected the business of photography.

Don’t get me wrong and think that my message is to tell you to get into video or multimedia so as not to become a photo”saur” and become extinct. That’s not what I’m saying. What I am saying is that the cultural psyche has changed. Take notice and adapt. That doesn’t just mean, change the subject matter you shoot or how you shoot it to stay “fresh”. And it doesn’t mean to buy a video camera or a hybrid and start shooting motion. Those are probably good ideas but probably not going to be what keeps you in business.

The old days aren’t coming back. The ways of doing business have changed. Technology is democratizing when it’s placed in everyone’s hands. Understand that. Know that your clients understand that. So, think past the tool and technique and focus more on who you are and what you can bring to your customers to stay relevant. Some thoughts to ponder:

• Who are you? (why do your customers come to you and not your competition?)
• What services do you offer your client? If you don’t offer video and your client needs to look elsewhere – you’ve lost an opportunity.
• Are you still a one-man band? I don’t mean you need a large staff but have you considered setting up a virtual company when you need it with editors, sound people etc.?
• Do you continue to learn?
• Are you still using a dated business model ? Consider different licensing strategies for new media.
• Do you utilize social media?
• Are you noticing who’s “coming up” – the new talent? Do you try to see them through your customer’s eyes.
• Are you interested in other things besides photography?
• Are you willing to take risks? Creatively and otherwise.
• Ask yourself the question – how would I have approached this if I was just starting out?
• Think of solutions – then look at those decisions at a total 180.

Learn. Grow. Adapt.

Don’t become a photo”saur” and become extinct.

December 20, 2010

Listen Up – Audio is Everything

Audio is everything in video. I can’t stress this enough. Most times “capturing audio” is a skill that still photographers don’t have. If your job is on the line – my suggestion is hire a good sound guy. If you’re doing a personal project and want to learn more about getting good sound, here are some tips.

• Don’t use the camera’s internal microphones, except for reference.
• Never use “auto” when recording audio. Turn off the AGC (automatic gain control) on the DSLR cameras.
• Get your microphones in close. For b-roll situations, you can get away with a shotgun mic mounted on the camera. But microphones mounted on cameras can pick up camera noises.
• Use a good wind screen or dead cat when outside. Even if you’re inside, on a windy day, with windows open, you can pick up wind noise.
• Use a good set of headphones. Over the ear is best but earbuds can be used in a pinch. Your audio meters tell you that you’re getting sound, but not if the sound is any good.
• Use shotgun microphones for your interviews. Get them in close to your subject – no more than 1-3 feet away.
• Lav microphones, attached to lapels can be used wired or wirelessly. Be careful with your positioning to avoid unnecessary noise from hair or jewelry.
• Go wired whenever you can. Resort to wireless solution if wired isn’t possible.
• Use an omni-directional or cardiod microphone when you are in more acontrolled situation and you want your sound coming from more directions.
• Don’t cross your audio cords with your electrical cords. This causes a hum that you will detect if you are wearing headphones.

Pay attention to audio. Start letting your ears do more of the work. Every room and situation has its own sound. Listen up.

December 13, 2010

Editing Tips for Multimedia and Video

A few days ago, I wrote a blog about “having a point” – or telling a story when you create multimedia pieces. Of course you have to have an overall idea and focus to start with, but below are some editing tips on how to make it come together in the editing room.

Edit with a purpose. Why are you making the “cut” where you are? Are you cutting on the action? Are you cutting on the beat of the music? What’s the reason behind your cut?
Set a pace or rhythm. Just like writing, where you have pauses in sentences with commas, edit your visuals to your narrative or interview soundbites, cutting after words and phrases.
Use image sequences to transition between different ideas and themes.
Let your images linger on the screen, giving time to breathe between them.
Cut on the beat or against the beat of music. Edit the music and let it become part of your piece, rather than just a background soundtrack.
Adjust the volume of your music – lowering it during interviews and raising it when there is no narrative or dialog.
Use audio fades between music cuts to soften the cut.
Insert room tone between cuts in interview soundbites, making the cuts less apparent.
Use interview footage sparingly – when introducing someone or when someone is expressing emotion on the screen.
Identify interview subject with name and title text in lower third.
Use text that’s easy to read and break it up over many slates. Leave the slate on the screen long enough to read twice.
Always start with your strongest images.
Don’t “move” all your still images – leave some static on the screen.
Don’t use dissolves.
When working with media from DSLR cameras, keep the media in the DCIM folders for logging and transferring into Final Cut Pro with the plug-in. If you have taken your media out of the DCIM folders – then create a new DCIM folder for the purposes of importing the media into FCP.

Remember to keep the story in mind at all times. When you think you have the story laid down in a rough cut – have friends over to watch it. Ask them what the story was. If they don’t know or can’t tell you, then you have more work to do.

December 11, 2010December 11, 2010

“Here’s an Idea – Have a Point”

One of my favorite holiday movies is “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” with Steve Martin and John Candy. There’s a great scene in the movie where Steve Martin loses it and starts a rant directed toward Candy’s character, Del Griffith. Del, is a “nice guy” who talks incessantly. Martin’s character, Neal Page, an uptight ad man, frustrated by the day’s travel mishaps, finally explodes at his travel companion Del after one too many stories and says – “here’s an idea – when you tell a story, have a point!”

Am I the only one who has been oversaturated with multimedia and video pieces that are little more than pretty visuals to music? Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of pieces that I do like, but there are far too many where I get bored and bail mid-way through because there is no point – there is no story.

Worse yet, the audio or music track many times feels like it has no connection to the visuals. It may be a great piece of music and provide pacing for the video, but it doesn’t complement the story. And there are times that the music is the most interesting part about the piece – if you take it away, what do you have? Most likely a pagination of moving and/or still images – like pages in a magazine or prints on a gallery wall. Independent and isolated vignettes with a music track – but no story- just eye candy.

What holds my interest is a story, where all the elements of audio, music, video clips, stills, text and narrative are parts of the whole and each one is integral in telling the story. I don’t think I’m alone in being interested in the story. Humans have enjoyed “the story” since the beginning of time. It doesn’t matter if it’s told verbally in a one on one conversation, in a multimedia piece, or in a major motion picture – a good story is a key ingredient for human interest. We all love a good story.

Personally, there is so much out there to watch these days on any given site that hosts videos, if I’m going to invest time in viewing something – I want it to have a point. If it doesn’t when I get to the end – I feel somehow let down.

I’m sure some of you will disagree with me on these thoughts and many of you may get loads of satisfaction from watching pretty visuals laid down to music and that’s OK. I’ve just had my fill of pretty content splashed before me, becoming a blurred palette in my head.

So, here’s an idea – have a point.

December 3, 2010December 3, 2010

How Do You Tell the Story?

I’ve said it hundreds of times – “the story is everything”, “without a story, you’ve got pretty pictures to a soundtrack”. So, how do you tell a story? How do you do it?

A friend called me the other day, struggling with this very question, of how do you tell the story? He was putting together a multimedia piece and he had captured sound and had taken photos during an event and was about to record an audio interview. I wasn’t sure at first, if he was asking about the mechanics of how to edit a story together in Final Cut– or was he asking me for guidance on how to tell the story? Those are two completely different discussions.

I thought back to when I was just starting to learn video journalism and had taken the Platypus Workshop. We had to tell our commitment or our story idea to an instructor, before we could start executing it. If the idea wasn’t delivered clearly and concisely, we went back to the drawing board to nail down the idea or the focus.

Every story starts out with an idea. Ideas have always come pretty easily to me, usually in spurts. All sorts of environments or activities can trigger ideas.

Seth Godin did a blog about a week ago titled, Where do ideas come from? Here are a couple of my favorites:

Ideas come out of the corner of the eye, or in the shower, when we’re not trying
Ideas come in spurts, until you get frightened. Willie Nelson wrote three of his biggest hits in one week
Ideas occur when dissimilar universes collide
Ideas fear experts, but they adore beginner’s mind. A little awareness is a good thing
Ideas hate conference rooms, particularly conference rooms where there is a history of criticism, personal attacks or boredom

Once I get the idea, I then start focusing it in my head. I play out the movie in my mind. What is the message? Whose message is it – mine? – the client’s? What is the motivation for the piece? A call to action? Once I get a pretty clear idea of what the story is that I’m trying to tell, then I start to put the pieces together. First I gather and capture all the assets that I’ll need, the interviews, b-roll, still photos etc. Then, when it’s time to edit the story, I’ll have a much clearer focus of how I will edit the pieces together to deliver the message.

Right now, I’m editing a feature length documentary, that is made up of ten different stories about ten different people in various corners of the globe. All together, the ten stories are unified by the theme of “the power of the individual in making a difference in the world”. Essentially the idea is, global stories about the power of one. That has been my underlying story from the moment of concept, to shooting it, to editing it all together.

So, how do you tell the story? For me, it’s focusing on the “idea” at all times and editing toward that purpose. There are hundreds of ways to tell the same story, but you need to know what the story is before you can begin to tell it.

November 22, 2010November 22, 2010

New Stuff

I haven’t done a lot of tech talking lately, but a couple of new items have me thinking that way. Here’s some interesting news about products, firmware upgrades and video delivery.

To start with, for all of you who own a Samson H4N Zoom digital recorder, and have been frustrated that you aren’t able to independently change recording levels on inputs 1 and 2 – you now can. Here is a link to the firmware download and instructions.

For all you “big chip” aficionados, Sony just announced the PMW-F3

camera with a 35mm CMOS imager. However, with a price tag around $16,000 for the body and an extra $7000 for a set of three Sony prime lenses, it seems more like a competitor in the RED market, rather than in the DSLR niche.

Should You Be Thinking About Video?

For the past two years I’ve been traveling around the country presenting a seminar called “Should I Be Thinking of Video” for ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers. This seminar had become quite popular with still photographers as interest in video escalated, partly due to the hybrid cameras and partly due to the increased demand for video content for the web and mobile devices. The iPad in particular is a game changer and everyone seems to be keen on either creating video content or buying it.

With this rush to find or produce video, I’ve seen quite of few people attend these seminars because they feel they have to get onboard. A few weeks ago, someone in the audience, who appeared quite annoyed, raised their hand and said, “but you didn’t answer the question – should I be thinking of video”. He went on to say that there was nothing new about video and weren’t there plenty of videographers already out there. I replied that he needed to answer that question himself. I could only provide him with background information about video production but that decision as far as if he should embrace video was for him to make. I also said that yes there were plenty of videographers out there working in traditional markets that have been around for decades. What is new is the increased demand for video because we as a society are moving more toward an electronic means of communication and away from print.

I think the most important point here is that no matter what creative path you may wish to pursue, you need to have a reason for doing it. For me, I started shooting video more than a decade ago because as a storyteller, I felt the need for motion and sound to adequately tell the stories that I wanted to tell. I certainly wasn’t chasing a trend – not that video is a trend. Just like in still photography, it’s not about the tool or the camera, it’s about your vision and if you don’t know why or if you should be shooting video then how can you possibly have a clear vision.

I can probably better answer the question “should you be thinking of video?” this way. If it’s because you have a camera that is also capable of shooting in video mode then then the answer is no – you shouldn’t be thinking of video, because you will be a technician or a button pusher and will compete with every other person who has that same tool. But if you are thinking, seeing and feeling projects and stories that are all about motion and sound, then you’ve answered that question for yourself.