Five things I wish I knew when I started as a videographer....

Five things I wish I knew when I first jumped into the creative videograpy adventure that is my life:

1. It does not matter what camera you use, invest wisely in reliable glass.

Entitled 'F**k with nature and nature f**ks with you', after previewing it appears it loads as a playlist, so please skip down to the bottom! Shot on my first DSLR; Nikon D5000 and 17-50mm F/3.5 -5.6, a uni project.

2. Work for free (yes, it's the only way you'll generate enough video content, but you'll make friends, have a good laugh, experience terrible mistakes and awesome times).

Produced by Adam Plowden Videography, edited by Joe Bannister. Shot on Canon 60D, Tamron 17-50, Canon 50mm F/1.8, Canon 18-135mm

3. Fix it in post doesn't exist, in fact, trying to fix it in post can do more harm than good (at least with low budget DSLR productions like mine still are.. For now..).

I had to return to Sian Williams' house because I had over exposed a shot, and didn't get good enough sound during her interview.. Produced by Adam Plowden Videography, 'Behind The Scenes' uni project and mini web series.

4. Think of the sound and the light, our primary senses for absorbing content.

A quick example video shot for my Manfrotto Takeover seminar showing the use of sound and light in short video drama to add emotion. 5DmkIII, Samyang 35mm, Tamron 24-70

5. Be yourself and create things that inspire you.. IE: Put you in your work. Copying other artists doesn't make you stand out, you can learn from them and implement your flair and style into whatever you do. That way, when you begin to get clients you know they are interested in not just what you make, but the person behind it.

A personal favorite is filming plants and nature, a good excuse to get away from the computer! 'Waterhouse' produced by Adam Plowden Videography.

Bonus tip. It is kind of included as part of No.2: Collaborate and work with others from different mediums; actors, musicians, vfx artists etc. It is how new ideas are generated!

SYNC is HaZ Dulull's new short film, I worked with him as well as DP Adam Batchelor on the production! It is backed by Blackmagic Design, Adobe, HP and more so give some support!!!

I hope these little tips will serve you well, a shout out to Dave Beck at Avenger and John Harris at John Harris Media too I couldn't have done it without you! And Glen and Sam. Much love.

IBC Show 2014 Roundup!

What a week it was! There was no doubts we would be busy filming and editing videos for The IABM to release, but not on the scale we anticipated! Overall, Adam Plowden Videography captured and produced at least 8-10 videos each day, an incredible 6 times more video content delivered in one week than previously in the whole of 2013!

I did include a run-down of my kit choices before I left, but here is a quick summary of my chosen equipment to capture the IBC Show:

Manfrotto 546GB twin leg tripod with a 504HD head (A Cam).

Canon 5D mkIII, Tamron 24-70mm, Sigma 70-200mm, Samyang 14mm, 35mm, 85mm, Canon 100mm L.

Manfrotto 755CX3G tripod with a MVH500AH head (B Cam).

Canon 60D, Tamron 17-50mm, Canon 50mm.

Manfrotto Hydra Arm and super clamp.

Zoom H6, Sennheiser ENG-G3 RxTx kit, Roto-mic.

(This is the kit we took each day to film with!)

I had to have the above tripod gear after testing them out at my Manfrotto Takeover day, I was impressed by the fluidity of the 504 head when using it with telephoto lenses (as you can see above), however for lightweight, portable and quick 'run and gun' filming, the 755CX3G is a cracking go to set of legs. (Pictured above with the ProMediaGear Arc-Slider) and 701HDV head.

My main camera was: Canon 5D mkIII, and I was frequently using the Tamron 24-70 F/2.8 VC and Sigma 70-200 F/2.8 DC OS for 'go to' lenses around the show. They have a stabilizer in the lens, which means that shake and wobble can be eliminated. I also purchased the Canon 100mm F/2.8L macro lens before the trip for detail shots, but I fell in love with it for capturing everything; crisp and beautifully shallow portraits too.

For establishing and wide shots, the Samyang 14mm T/3.1 cine lens came into it's own. On a full frame camera it has a huge wide angle view allowing to capture the biggest of expanses with clarity.

Day 2 - Thursday 11th September - Welcome to IBC

Things are gearing up at the RAI; exhibitors are flooding through the doors, the stands are quickly being finished and the equipment is on display. IBC Show 2014 is getting ready to open its doors to 50,000 broadcasting, media and IT professionals from across the globe. We began filming the exterior the the RAI with visitors entering the venue and registering in the main foyer; the arc slider and 14mm lens create a wonderful moving perspective. After a short explore around hall 10 and 11 we made our way to The IABM Members Lounge to film an exclusive interview with Peter White, CEO of The IABM.

The IABM is a global broadcasting organization, representing nearly 80% of the broadcasting industry. The members have access to an exclusive members lounge, the IABM business conference, design & innovation awards and much more. It was our job to capture the events, conferences and members at IBC to promote and inform others about the successes at the show. For the interview, I used the Canon 5D mkIII, Tamron 24-70mm, the B cam was a Canon 60D with Canon 50mm F/1.8. For a reliable audio source I used the Zoom H6 (multi-channel recorder) with the MS mic attachment, as well as the Sennheiser ENG-G3 wireless mic kit; this was so I could attach a lav mic on the interviewees for clear sound.

Yes, this did mean throughout the week we had different video and audio sources, but Red Giant Pluraleyes aided greatly in syncing up the V&A for editing in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6.

Editing the IBC Intro video with Peter White on my laptop, yes, Windows laptop!

After capturing the buzz and excitement of pre-IBC, we headed back to our hotel to edit the intro video for the IABM members to see. The editing was fast, but the uploading was terrible via Wi-Fi, having learned our lesson, we uploaded the rest of the videos in the press room at IBC instead! Unfortunately, the video is only viewable for IABM members, so here is a quick screenshot.

Later on, we ventured out into the city of Amsterdam. It was Glen's first time, so I look him for a tour around the sights.

Day 3 - Friday 12th September - IABM Business Conference 'The Future of Broadcasting' and member interviews.

It was an early start on Friday, we arrived at the RAI for the IABM business conference at 6:45am to set up and capture the members breakfast, the conference and the post networking before the show got underway that day. For added motion, I used the ProMediaGear Arc-slider for some of the opening shots, but the main conference was shot on 3 static cameras.

For a mid shot of the speaker, I shot on the Sigma 70-200mm, and for a wide I used the 60D with the 17-50mm. Glen was filming from the front for a reverse angle on the 60D and Canon 100m L, which captured some stunning reaction shots of the attendees in low light. Unfortunately, this video is only available to watch for IABM members.

As our responsibility was to capture and edit videos for a same day or next day release, our two man filming team split so that Glen could begin ingesting, backing up and editing the conference video while I went out into the show and interviewed a number of IABM members. This turned out to be a godsend tactic to release a stream of high quality videos each day. It was, however, difficult to keep track of all the media from SD and CF cards...

That day, I filmed interviews with Georacing, Harmonic, Nexidia that we edited out for same day release:

I then jetted off to The IABM stand to meet the new winners of the Student award from The IABM (I won last year), to capture some interviews with them about their study and what they are looking forward to at IBC!

Day 4 - Design & Innovation Awards and member interviews

We were already half way through our IBC experience when Saturday struck, after a successful few days of filming and editing we geared ourselves up for a long day ahead. The day begun with a selection of IABM member interviews from around the show, including; Blackmagic Design, Avid, Newtek, Sony and many more. If you have been to IBC or NAB before you'll know how long it takes to get from one place to another, but with video kit it was a challenge to navigate around the thousands of people at the show!

I had a great time at the Sony booth, interviewing Peter Sykes about the new innovations; camera, 4K transmission, projectors, storage devices. They can be seen here:

I was intrigued by the Sony A7s, a full frame SLR with great low light and DR features.. There was lots of hype around the camera, and I had noticed a lot of the News Shooter guys using them with Atomos Ninja/Blade recorders (we were working next to Dan Chung and News Shooter in the press room), they rated it very well in a variety of conditions and shooting styles.

Bad luck struck on Saturday afternoon... My Canon 60D and 14mm cine lens was capturing a timelapse when it was moved/taken/stolen from where I left it.. Knowing that this would impact the video production of the D&I awards I quickly got help from RAI security to try and locate it. No luck, so later on that afternoon I borrowed a camera from an IABM member to capture a static wide shot of the awards ceremony. Luckily, when I arrived home I got a call from the RAI security who informed me they had found my camera!

We then got set up and prepared for The IABM Design and Innovation Awards 2014, celebrating and awarding outstanding technical developments in the broadcasting and media industry. Before IBC I edited and produced the 9 nominee category videos and graphics presented throughout the awards. Using the same setup as the IABM conference (A cam - Tele, B cam - wide, C cam - reactions) we captured the night in full, showing the excitement and buzz around winning the awards. I got to have a quick chat with some of the winner companies too!

I edited together the highlights of the IABM Design and Innovation Awards, which can be viewed here -

The individual winner interviews can be viewed here:

Systems - VidiGo

Testing - Cube-tec

Storage - Ardis

Post Production - Quantel

Playout - Elemental Technologies

Content + Infrastructure - NTT Electronics

Audio - Sennheiser

Acquisition + Production - Trimaran

The realities of working 12-14 hour days were catching up with us when we returned to our hotel to ingest and back up the footage. Finally, but 1:30am on Sunday all of the footage was synced and ready to be edited. At that point, we both thought its time to call it a day.

Day 5 - Delivering D&I Award Videos and member interviews

By Sunday, the main haul of event capture had been completed, with the remaining tasks being mainly interviews with members around the IBC show. As our editing 'system' had worked so well previously, Glen stayed in the press room using both our laptops to edit, export and upload the winner videos from the awards while I conducted interviews with more exhibitors and IBC members.

I had a great time at the Atomos booth interviewing Jeromy the CEO about the new Shogun for 4K recording and the power pack!

Atomos Interview -

Later that day I bumped into Joe, my old uni housemate  who was visiting the show for a day. Later, Glen and myself went for Mexican for dinner and met up with our hotel receptionist, Klaudija for a few drinks in Vondelpark!

At this point, I was completely over my missing 60D and the tiredness. Visiting IBC and Amsterdam for work is a very rare opportunity, so we plowed through and continued to produce great day by day coverage of the show for The IABM. Glen, bless him saw less and less daylight each day!

Day 5 - Rising Stars and more member interviews

Arriving at IBC a little later than usual, Glen and myself parked up the the press area and set up the laptops to upload the previous days interviews to vimeo. Before we headed out to Steve Warners talk at Rising Stars I bumped into Nino Leitner who was off to Photokina that afternoon, so I grabbed a quick pic! Nino had been very busy with Cinema 5D coverage of the show producing their 'On The Couch' series with Philip Bloom, HaZ Dullul and more.

At this point, we had captured around 350Gb of video footage and delivered numerous interviews and event videos for The IABM, they were very pleased! We headed over to The Rising Stars lounge; a part of the show dedicated to young professionals in the industry where Steve Warner (training manager of The IABM) was doing a talk on CV's and representing yourself. Even for me, it was quite interesting to hear what recruiters actually look out for and research!

Catch the full video here -

The team then split so I could conduct some interviews with The IABM student award winners, and with a couple more members for The IABM annual conference in December. It was a short and sweet day; shooting multi-cam on talks and conferences made editing fairly straight forward so we were able to deliver the videos pretty much on the same day. Glen did an awesome job and editing videos out quickly. while I was filming more content!

Day 6 - Last interviews

Day 6 was our opportunity to capture the last interview and glimpse of the show until next year. As we were interviewing members and covering events, we didn't get to see that much of the show itself, but made time to visit some cool stands before we left on Tuesday afternoon.

We visited the Ross Video stand, to interview Pete Ross for The IABM annual conference, it was interesting to hear about how the company developed the first vision mixers and lead the way for broadcast production throughout the 20th century, definitely worth recognition.

Well, what an incredible time it has been.. We captured over 400Gb of footage and audio, combined with hours of graphics produced before the show. We delivered (and are continuing to deliver) over 55 videos online for The IABM. What a show, what a success! My huge thanks go to the other half of the team, Glen Symes for his help and dedication to getting the videos out, and dealing with my stresses of production and post throughout! Also thanks to The IABM for giving me the opportunity to cover The IBC Show 2014 for you.

Ooh, I almost forgot I stopped by the Vitec Videocom stand to say hi to the Manfrotto reps and return the tripods and grip we borrowed for filming. While we were there I asked Sofia for a short piece to camera on the new Manfrotto tripods and kit; I was over the moon to hear a new follow focus has been developed to go with the SYMPLA rig!

Check out the video with Manfrotto here -

I've met up with old friends, and made many new ones. My experience has been overwhelming this year, now I cannot wait to do it all again at The IABM Annual Conference and hopefully IBC 2015! If you have any questions about how we produced the videos, or IBC then drop me a tweet @Plowman91 or comment!

I'm still editing and uploading more videos, so keep updated by checking out The IABM website for more videos and content, and I will have an IBC 2014 wrap up video coming soon. UNTIL NEXT YEAR!

Summer Update!

It has been a very wild summer for me, lots of productions and shooting and plenty of editing! Going back to the end of July/beginning of August, I was deep into the wedding season with JHWF, filming weddings from Ashford, Kent to St Johns College Cambridge. I also got to fly the companies DJI Phantom II Drone with a GoPro Hero 3 and Zenmuse 2D gimball, it was incredible fun (for a first timer)!! [embed]https://vimeo.com/103891840[/embed]

Wedding at Eastwell Manor (Kent) via JHWF.

I also did the Ice Bucket Challenge;

[embed]https://vimeo.com/104416562[/embed]

I spent most weekends out filming weddings, where I got to try out my new Pro Media Gear Duo slider; it is simply a 2ft straight slider with a curved track on the reverse side. Honestly, it is so simple I don't know how companies didn't think of it before! It is extremely easy to use and is lightweight, my 5D and Sigma 70-200mm smoothly slides along the track. It sits on a removable carriage (so you can flip the slider over) with four plastic castors. 100% recommended, I purchased directly from them in the USA, it came within the delivery time (3 days) and is cost effective in comparison to similar track based sliders out there.

[embed]https://vimeo.com/103717010[/embed]

I mount the slider onto my Manfrotto 755Pro-B tripod (without a video head) using the clamp accessory which holds it firmly in place. This is on my IBC kit list!

I also helped out director HaZ Dulull on the production of his new short film 'SYNC', it took place in an underground car park in Southend with a bunch of SWAT guys, two massive SUV's, Blackmagic Cinema Cameras and a Production camera. It was a great day shooting, operating the camera and jib for some shots was awesome!

Crew pic!

Going back a couple of weeks, I was editing the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council Health and Wellbeing videos which involved writing up captions and mastering the audio levels as I'm quite near completion. I was offered the opportunity to get some more footage of the activities that the Wellbeing Centre offers for those that suffer with dementia including tennis and Japanese mind games. I took up the offer to get some more footage for future council projects.

It was a hot and bright couple of days, so I used variable ND filters on my lenses to bring down the exposure without reducing the 5D's electronic shutter; a great tip for keeping motion blur realistic. I shot mostly on the Sigma 70-200 F/2.8 OS as it does a wonderful job of isolating subjects from the background. A great lens choice if you don't have red ring fever!

I was also working on the graphics and animation for the EEBC Telecare video; I designed the graphics in Illustrator and Photoshop, then animated in After Effects in a hipstery style using shape layers, pastel tones and lots of easing!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/105682233]

I got some fantastic news towards the end of August, The IABM decided to go for me as their event videographer for the IBC Show and annual conference! Leading up to IBC I have been preparing a number of videos and graphics to be used and shown throughout the show and at a variety of awards, such as The IABM Design & Innovation Award.

I can't show you much at the moment as everything is under wraps until the events at the conference, but I can show you the title sequence for the videos. It's made in AE using some of the pics I took around the expo last year and other general press images from IBC.

[embed]https://vimeo.com/105437241[/embed]

After being WOW'd by the Canon 100mm F/2.8L Macro lens at my Manfrotto Takeover day, the thought of owning one has been rattling around my head since.. I was hopeful with the Sigma 105mm, but the Canon provided the next step up in terms of stabilization, auto focusing, and personally I just preferred the feel of it. I will be using the lens throughout IBC so keep checking for dedicated pics, videos and more!

(The above photos of Schneider Kreuznach Xenon Cine Lenses taken on the Canon 100mm F/2.8L Macro by Adam Plowden).

I also booked my first wedding for January next year, so I met up with the couple 'Sarah and Matt' for a pre-shoot at their venue with Ash (who recommended me, thanks!!). I got some beautiful footage of them in the setting sun, here is a tiny teaser :)

[embed]https://vimeo.com/103859376[/embed]

One day to go until Glen and I leave for Amsterdam to film the IBC Show for The IABM, I did a quick vlog for you, an update on the kit, what we'll be covering. I will be releasing videos most days, blogging and tweeting lots to share the news from the conference, so remember the keep checking for updates! I'm hoping to catch up with PB and Nino Leitner too :)

[embed]https://vimeo.com/105643719[/embed]

Here's the low down on my kit list:

Canon 5D mkIII

2 x Canon 60D

Tamron 24-70mm F/2.8

Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8

Canon 100mm F/2.8L

Samyang 14mm T/3.1

Samyang 35mm T/1.5

Samyang 85mm T/1.5

Canon 50mm F/1.8

Nikkor 50mm F/1.4

Manfrotto SPECTRA Bi-colour 900FT

Manfrotto SPECTRA 500F

Zoom H6

Pro Media Gear Duo arc slider

Roto-mic

Sennheiser Wireless ENG-100 Rx-Tx

I'm picking up some tripods, heads and a magic arm-super clamp from the Vitec team tomorrow, they are doing me a huuuge favor so thank you Dave, Mark and Siobhann from Manfrotto/Vitec!!

Here is something I've been checking out; If you love motion graphics and After Effects, then definitely check out The School Of Motion '30 Days of AE' tutorials, a range of in depth tuts ranging from objects to typography; check it out to learn something! http://www.schoolofmotion.com/

Right, I'm up at 3am to fly at 6. You will be reading the waffle of a very tired Adam tomorrow! Keep on following for more;

@Plowman91

Adam's Videos

Adam on Facebook

Oh and I made this for a mate too:

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/105450445]

New VLOG coming tomorrow!

I'm doing a new VLOG tomorrow, hosted by myself and Glen Symes as we cover the IBC Show for The IABM. We'll be giving the low down on our kit choices and capturing the events, news and products from the expo and conference floor. We depart on Wednesday for Amsterdam where I'll be catching up with Steve Warner (IABM Training), Nino Leitner (Cinematographer and Cinema5D), HaZ Dullul (SYNC) and many companies including DJI Phantom, Schneider Kreuznach, Sony and many more.

You can keep up to date here on the blog or -

Facebook - Adam Plowden Video

Twitter - @plowman91

Vimeo - Adam Plowden Video

Ooh, I got the Canon 100mm F/2.8L Macro lens, and the Peak Design Leash too ;)

Also been trekking on with the graphics for all of The IABM video content, a little teaser for you;

Finishing off my showreel by creating a cinemagraph!

Inspired by Framestores recent Eastenders tv advert, in which they created cinemagraphs to depict the suspected murderers of Lucy, I decided to embark on my own cinemagraph to complete my showreel. I'm deep into After Effects, for this kind of animation I am using one still image, with no plate to make it difficult for myself. However, its a good job the subjects have high contrast against the white background or I would really struggle with this! I will be uploading more as I go, but for now I must dive back in!

Adams video week roundup!

Blimey lots has been going on over the last week, I hope it has been as hectic for you as it has been for me! Monday started with continuing the design of the graphics for a recycling animation, a daunting task which put my drawing skills to the test. Bearing in mind I've spent the majority of the last year behind a camera, I took my time to learn the techniques I would need to use Illustrator properly. I would usually use Photoshop over Illustrator, but until I recently found out PS is not truly vector, and as I would be using a combination of the Pen tool and others to design the images this was very important, as I would need to transform the graphics later in After Effects.

My best mate Glen came down from Wycombe for a  surprise week to, so I spent plenty of time catching up with him and chatting about work. He gave me so very important advice; "Everything is too complicated these days, you should keep it simple and your audience won't know the difference, especially if it is moving and animated anyway." True words, and I took Glens advice which not only sped up the process, but made me more confident with the work I was producing.

Here's a screenshot to show all of them! (I think I am working on a 10K canvas).

The graphics design has been on-going, I practiced when I was first commissioned, but it just shows how familiarizing yourself with the tools and applications can ease your work! A very very important part of this process was to intensively storyboard and plan each scene, so I know what graphics can be generated beforehand, so I spent a good couple of days story boarding and sketching the graphics I would need, followed by a long list of assets I would go on to to create.

Pre-vis sketches:

For the rest of the week I started importing the graphics into After Effects, and setting up the 15 scenes. I am finally starting to see progress! I am still working on this section, and it will take another week or so to complete all the animations. Again, I storyboarded this in the planning, so I know exactly what to produce for which scene which saves so much time. Also, the best thing about this planning part is that it does not have to be a work of art to depict your ideas, just a simple sketch to represent what you will need to create.

On Thursday I joined a crew of fashion designers, hair stylists and models to film a magazine photoshoot for Sherman Hawthorne (the hair stylist and creative director of the shoot) at The Lemonade Factory studios on Queenstown road. With eccentric styles and art direction, I set about to capture high contrast, dramatic footage which will compliment the photos. It was an early start, here I am waiting for my train at Clapham Junction;

I was a single shooter, I had the pleasure of transporting the equipment to the shoot which included a steadicam vest that I ended up not using. I've learned my lesson here not to take extra kit!

My kit list was as follows:

Canon 5DmkIII (A camera), Canon 60D (B camera)

Tamron 24-70 F/2.8 VC, Samyang 14mm T/3.1 cine, Samyang 35mm T/1.5 cine, Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 manual, Samyang 85mm T/1.5 cine, Sigma 70-200 F/2.8 OS

Manfrotto 755CX3, Manfrotto MVH700AH, Manfrotto Hydra arm and super clamp,

CamSmart camera rig + Lilliput field monitor, CamSmart Stabilizer vest, Flycam Nano

Zoom H6, Rotolight Roto-mic.

As with all of these shoots, time runs short so I was restricted to short burst of filming time with the models to capture the specific ethereal and industrial motif, but I also shot around the photographer to maximize my usable footage. I made use of the 50fps slow motion for the moving shots, so that the models movements are exaggerated, as well as stabilizing the shot.

As the props included wire fencing and chicken wire, aliasing was a problem when shooting shallow depth of field, or at an angle to the object. To remedy this I used a lower aperture (F/4-5.6) for some shots, but also I can add a Gaussian blur in Premiere Pro when editing to soften the lines, gently smoothing out unwanted aliasing.

A couple of frame grabs from the shoot!

Here I'm using a moving shot to create a distorted perspective from outside of the set.

Here I use a low angle shot, removing the identity of the model to create a 'trapped' and 'mysterious' feel to the model, and why she is in the box.

Weekends are always working weekend for creatives and freelancers. I spent yesterday working on the animation of the recycling project again, continuing to compose the scenes using simple 2D shapes and animation styles that have become very popular recently.

I also came across this post from Chase Jarvis about how to manage your time properly, its a great post with a detailed outline of 90-minute working slots that should improve your productivity, I urge you to read it if you're someone like me who can't stop working, then apply the plan to your working life. I know I will be!

Do Less = Do More by Chase Jarvis

I haven't had many #videoquestions come in recently, so please keep them coming so I can help with tips for the community of videographers and creatives! Send them over to me @Plowman91 on Twitter.

Finally, ending with a must watch video, check out Philip Bloom's video shot with the Blackmagic Production Camera, the 4K one at Miami Beach, what do you think of it? Is it worth investing now the Panasonic GH4 is on pre-order and it looks like Sony will have a 4K DSLR announcement coming at NAB2014 too..!!

Philip Blooms Four Corners Miami Beach (Blackmagic 4K camera)

That's all for now folks! Keep the creative juices flowing!

Silence is golden, Planning is key!

A new #videoquestions is out today on how to plan your video production so it runs smoothly, and is within your time and money budgets! I'm out for a pre-vis meeting this morning for a video that combines animation, where planning has been a very important role in creating a narrative and generating an estimate price for the production. I'll share my work with you in this#videoquestions later today!

Creating ambience in motion graphics

I've been working on the title graphic for the Rotolight BVE video, sometimes I can get going straight away with designing and animating however (and I presume this is due to getting up early to start working) I was stuck for ideas.. VideoHive is a great resource for re-made graphics sequences for After Effects, but they are also great for getting inspiration on how to create the atmosphere and effects for your own work. I spend a good half hour looking through the pre-made effects and gathered some ideas.

One key point I've found to make the graphics seem realistic, and to give it an ambience there are a couple of things you can do to make it more life like. Number one is to use a particle generator to create dust to naturally drift around the environment. The particles can be given physical attributes like gravity and wind, which makes the animation more realistic.

Number two, using light and lens flares; this leak of light appears to give the environment in which your text, graphics etc seem to be in a 3D space shot through a camera - these are naturally occurring when out filming and in our eyes, so it can be used too.

Number three; textures and patterns; for a graphic based (not so much vfx based) title, tiling textures and patterns to create a wallpaper background is visually appealing, as is only using a number of tones from a simple colour pallet.

Number four; interpolation and motion blur. Again just like in real life, our brains process the images we see at around 16 frames per second, and fills in the spaces in between. In graphics this motion blur needs to be added, to correctly interpolate the animation and blur of a subject or object. The local and global motion blur (bouncing ball) icons are easily found on the timeline so be sure to click!

Number five; depth of field. In cinematography the director uses the depth of field to move the audiences attention through the frame to reveal new parts, to uncover secrets and ideas. This can be done in motion graphics too, by using a Camera. When you have a camera in your composition, be sure to check 'enable depth of field' and to set your aperture to a low F stop (F/1.8 for example) and increase the blur amount. After Effects then generates depth of field using the camera settings; making objects close and far away from the camera blurred.

Here's a snap of the working-graphic for the title, for a cinematic look to the video I have also applied an anamorphic aspect ratio overlay. I might make some changes later, but for now it is off for comments and feedback. If you have any questions about the graphics or videography then give me a shout!

Andrew Kramer (VideoCopilot) does it again!

I'm a big fan on Andrew Kramers work and contribution to the industry, running the After Effects tutorial and blog website, creating the title sequence for Star Trek Into Darkness film, it has had a big impact on my learning.

I first started using VideoCopilot when I was 16, designing a title sequence for a series of webisodes I had written and was planning to film, direct and produce. It never got made, and I'm sure I've got the original work somewhere. My point being is that to this day I still use this amazing resource for my work now, learning new techniques for effects creation. If you haven't checked it out before, I urge you to do so immediately!

Here's the latest tutorial, creating '3D' volumetric light rays which will look great in mysterious, dark trailers or titles!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frXQxwMKh6c

Mesmirizing fractals in After Effects

I've often pondered whether it is possible to generate geometrical, point and fractal graphics using algorithms in After Effects. Fascinated by expressions since starting in CS3, I have always experimented with different types of generation and control to create more organic motion graphics, and animate them. After learning and working with Trapcode Particular and Form, which specialize in amazing particle effects, I further played around with ideas and animations combining the particles with expressions, auxillary particles and physics to recreate a realistic particle graphic. I had varied success, but I still couldn't find a unique effect.

It has been a while since I stepped back into After Effects; I usually float between applications until I need to use them so I got myself back up to speed with AE and tried my hand back at fractals - not the ones generated by fractal noise or turbulent noise either.

After a couple of days experimenting (bearing in mind I am still working on my laptop, and not my editing supercomputer) I had got to grips with generating graphics, but with this technique the results are partly random generations so occasionally I end up with a result that is completely different to what I expected but looks fantastic! With the curves following Bezier, they look naturally pleasing too.

My fractal tests -[gallery ids="979,978,977,976,975,974,973"]

Planning a product promo + review shoot!

I've been working on the plans for a number of videoshoots to test out the awesome Rotolight mic and LED ring light. As the kit works especially well with people and subject focused shots, I am orchestrating a model/fashion/lifestyle shoot to show off the equipment to its full potential. (Photo from Rotolight website - Rotolight and Jason Lanier)

I spent the morning trawling through various fashion sites, blogs and Pinterest for inspiration on make up, clothing and models. I've never used it before, and from my experience it is a great resource for mass data collection. (The reason I'm not signed up to Pinterest is due to its Terms and Conditions). Building up a mood board, I've narrowed down some ideas and will spend tomorrow wandering around my town to find unexpected gem locations!

If you know any models; male and female, make up artists, fashion designers that would be interested in collaborating then please get them to contact me!!

I've had this idea in my mind, of a young woman running toward the camera as it tracks backwards, she holds her shirt together around her chest, hanging on to lace summer sandals. Cuts to her feet as she skips to slip her sandals on, slow motion playing a big part here.

Close up of her glorious smiling face as she races forward, her hair like silk in the wind flowing as she exits the frame. Tracking behind, as the young woman continues her path, into the horizon and out of focus as the camera slows and tracks high in the air.

(Ideas Intellectual Property of Adam Plowden 2014) muah!

That is all your getting for now, a teaser while I magic up the rest!

I'll be posting later about the questions I got via Twitter and Facebook; choosing your camera - is a camcorder an option for you? As well as analyzing picture profiles and how using filters can help your video! Much more to come, so share!

Busy!!

I've been busy over the last couple of days, working on both John Sinclair videos, as well as the arrival of the professional camera rig I designed. It is still a prototype so some changes will be made, but so far it is a great fabrication of my design I proposed 18 months ago!!

I've since been working on the John Sinclair documentary, which I've titled 'Behind The Smoke' in Adobe Premiere, which has been going very smoothly. I've also finished the title sequence using footage from the Amsterdam gig rehearsal, as well as using outstanding quotes from John, it is accompanied by the track Mohawk of his new album with Steve Fly.

I used the layers blending modes to merge the layers together, as well as distorting the text (in a bold font like the 70's John Sinclair posters) and animating them in a style that conveys the subject.

I will post the video up later!

Fractal Noise does EVERYTHING in After Effects!

After finishing up the multi-camera edit of the John Sinclair Viper Madness video the other day, I have moved on to creating the graphics; title card, lower 3rds and credits in After Effects. I've used After Effects for about 7 years now, since CS3 so I've got to see it develop and grow over the years, just as my knowledge in motion graphics has too. I always find, if you're trying to create some kind of animated texture, no matter what it is, Fractal Noise will always have a solution.

To animate the title card, I added the Fractal Noise effect to a solid layer and changed the parameters so the fractal resembled smoke, using expressions to control the evolution over time. The result is perfect, simple and easy!

Everything you need to know for videography and docu-film making! (Infographic)

John Sinclair Viper Madness, Edit suite day 3!

Progress from the edit suite!

A videographers diary of a working trip to Amsterdam

I left for Amsterdam at 4am on Friday 23rd, heading for Gatwick with Sam who really kindly drove me there! Having taken some equipment with me when I went to Amsterdam for the first time for IBC, however this time I would be covering a music event with multiple cameras so the kit list looked something like the following..

3 x DSLR bodies (2 Canon 60D, 1 Nikon D5000)

6 x lenses ranging from 17mm to 85mm

2 x Manfrotto ML360 LED lights

2 x Superclamp + magic arms

1 x Zoom H2

A load of extra things to cover my back just in case!

Copyright Adam Plowden 2013.

I got to Amsterdam at around 9am and headed for breakfast. Knowing how busy the Damrak is, I headed West and found a little cafe to chow down on breakfast. Like England, Amsterdam suffers from grim weather, so rain it was.

Copyright Adam Plowden 2013.

Now re-charghed, I headed to 420 Cafe, where Steven 'fly' works; the guy I met while I was over here in Sept, and offered me the job to come over and film the gig he is playing drums at; John Sinclair & His Vipers, on the opening night of the 2013 Cannabis Cup. For those unfamiliar with John Sinclair, he inspired John Lennon, writes amazing poetry and produces podcasts for Radio Free Amsterdam. With a huge following and message, capturing his performance was key to promoting John and moving his message forward into the age of video!

After dropping off my bags at Stevens, we had a look at the venue 'Arkhnaton' just round the corner from 420. It is a small venue with a corner stage, dark and faded which added to the aesthetic of jazzy, smoke filled Amsterdam gigs.

Copyright Adam Plowden 2013.

I then got to meet Mark from Iron Man records, and Claire, a producer back in 420 and got chatting about ourselves, the anticipation for that nights performance and how we can get the best material to push John Sinclair into the limelight. Through the cloudy room appeared John and Nick fresh off the train from England! We had a great time talking and relaxing in the great ambiance of 420.

After 26 hours of traveling, walking and getting settled back into Dam life, it was time for me to crash.

Up at 4pm the next day, recovered from the day before I was ready for a meal and to get on with the production that night. Steven and myself headed to John's favorite Indian restaurant on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and tucked into the best chicken madras I've ever eaten. Followed by a short walk across the road, we arrived at The Arkhnaton and began setting up for the gig later.

Copyright Adam Plowden 2013.

Naively, I forgot to pack the power cable for the field monitor, so I had to suffice with the on camera screen and viewfinder. I had a 60D on a tripod central to the stage with the 85mm F/1.8, with another 60D to my left a couple of feet higher than myself for a wide shot (with a superclamp and magic arm). Over to the right I had a D5000 with a 35mm F/1.8 for an extra cutaway shot.

Ready for the gig, I chilled while the band set up and rehearsed. I got some snaps and shots of John and his Vipers performing to build up a collective of promo material.

Copyright Adam Plowden 2013.

The blues and poetry were in full swing, Steve Fly on drums, Vince on guitar, accompanied by a last minute sax and horn player to add a touch of brassy class. Having Magic Lantern on the cameras eliminated the restart issue, so syncing up in post would be easier. It was a fantastic gig, and great to hear Johns poems in person.

Knackered from another late one, I turned around the memory cards and equipment the next day, racking up 70Gb of footage over 3 hours or so! It was enough of work, and time to enjoy Amsterdam.

I had a fab time with the 420 guys Janne, Eli and Tias when we went on a trip around town for a Cannabis Refugee's project, I accompanied with my camera, capturing the nights events in a number of hotspots around the city; Grey Area, Greenhouse, ending back at 420 for some more giggles and fun.

It was my 22nd birthday on the 27th Nov, so in true celebratory style, cake for breakfast! Followed quickly by Wok To Walk, which is like a Chinese version of McDonands which they have brought to Soho!! Thanks to Steven and the guys I had myself an exhibitor pass to the Cannabis Cup 2013, so the rest of the Cannabis Refugee filming went on the road! As a tourist, it was create to experience this new open culture and lifestyle!

There's Annika! Stevens flatmate and my new found seed genius!

After that, I got to see The Wailers (minus Bob of course) at The Melkweg, a local gig venue to the Leidsplein, which was awesome!! They played all the best tunes, a great end to the day.

Copyright Adam Plowden 2013

Being a techie, its a bad habit of mine to check up on what the guys working are up to..

It was soon my last day in Amsterdam, it always comes around too quickly as I never get around to do all the things I wanted; museums, canal boat tour etc.. But it is winter and I was there for work so that is my excuse!

Now back home, I'm in the edit suite working on the multi-camera edit of the video!

I'm working on my laptop, so progress is a little slower than if I was working on a full powered machine, however I have got through most of it over the last couple of days, spending most of my time re-syncing the clips together.. Working with 3 cameras in post on a 1 man live crew is certainly interesting!

If you haven't already, check out some of my other stills I took, including a performance from Steven and Vince in a Squat house!

Thanks to Steven Fly for the job and for letting me stay at your place for my stay, thanks to Mark and Claire for your help with the video, as well as the guys from 420; Janne, Eli, Tias, Laura, Claire, Francesca, Annika, John and Caleb and anyone else who I've missed out!

Do you want video for your business, event or organization? Video is a powerful and vast marketing tool, get in touch at info@adamplowden.co.uk for more on what I can do for you!

Manfrotto Shoot #2 "Backpack50"

Manfrotto's all new Backpack50. [gallery ids="557,558,559,560,561,562,563,564,565,566,567,568,569,570,571,572,573,574" orderby="rand"]

There will be much more later, its been a long day! I took the photos on my Canon 60D and Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 manual for a beautiful soft background to complement the autumn colour tone, landscape and chilly weather at Epsom Downs!

For After Effects users that don't know the power of Brainstorm!

Check this sweet After Effects tutorial out from AETuts+ always a great resource for learning more about motion graphics in AE! http://ae.tutsplus.com/tutorials/workflow/an-overview-of-brainstorm-in-after-effects/

Still going on the motion graphics

Been in After Effects for the last few hours now working on the GLF map of schools, animating the logo's of the schools with an organic pendulum expression.