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

Want creative and cinematic promotional video, and need to keep costs down?

Are you in need of innovative, cinematic and artistic promotional video's and media, that makes your business, product, event or service stand out, attract a wide audience and immerse them in the visuals and sound?

My portfolio includes video/media work with - Moet Hennessy, Broadcast Magazine, The BBC, AstraZeneca, Manfrotto & more.

I'm offering 10% off on all productions until the 15th of November 2013! Check out my work at

www.adamplowden.co.uk

and get in contact!

What do YOU want to know about Video, Editing, Graphics, Audio, Live?

I've had my fair share of experience over the last couple of years, working in many different situations from audio engineering at the London 2012 Olympic Games, to single filming the Prime Minister of Kuwait, to weddings, to motion graphics and more. I can write about pretty much any of the above situations, the camera skills and techniques used as well as anything else really, but I want to hear from YOU so you can learn from this blog!

What do you want me to write about? Do you have any questions about the video and media industry or its practices?

Contact me so I can help!!

[contact-form][contact-field label='Name' type='name' required='1'/][contact-field label='Email' type='email' required='1'/][contact-field label='Website/Facebook/Twitter/Blog' type='text'/][contact-field label='What do you want to know?' type='textarea' required='1'/][/contact-form]

Answers falling out the sky!

Very strange, in my last post I described the troubles I've been having with starting up the business, then this just popped up on my timeline - http://www.creativebloq.com/career/tools-freelance-designers-7133493 Creative Bloq is so cool for creative procrastination, and generally awesome inspirations, so do check out this post about 'The top 10 tools for freelance designers'.

Back to normal for freelance videography

A week since IBC, things are pretty much back to normal for here in Epsom. I have been furiously emailing the companies and people I met to get my foot in the door for some videography or digital media content production.. We shall see! Oh yeah, immersive experience, here is what I am listening to - http://8tracks.com/monkcoco/amsterdams-jams

I have been working on an edit for a video of a day trip around Amsterdam city, just a few shots of what I though was worthy of being included! ("You only get one" quote from Glen Symes). It is currently taking a looonngggg time exporting in Adobe Media Encoder due to down-res'ing from 1080p to 720p for the web, as well as some heavy grading done in Magic Bullet, which always takes time anyway.

Here is a couple of photos from the edit, and the grade to show you how :)

What can I say, do your clients pay for render time? XD

I'm going to upload the video of Amsterdam later today, so keep updated as I shall post it on here! I used Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 to edit the video, and Red Giant Magic Bullet to grade. I did a couple of timelapses so just sped them up and used 'Frame Blending' to create the smooth motion blur. I shot most of it on my Canon 60D and Tamron 17-50 F/2.8, also using Sams GoPro Hero3 for the other shots. I chose Zero 7 "Destiny" for the backing music as it is chilled and ambient, just like the culture over there!

In the meantime I am developing my marketing strategy for the videography business I am trying to get funding for, through The Start Up Loans company (James Caan), but that hasn't been at the top my list, although it really should be.. If you've got any tips for start ups and writing business plans then please forward them this way!

I am also working on videos in the edit suite which include interviews with F&V, NHK, Tokina, Ikegami, and NanGuang, so keep updated for those too!

Ciao for now :D

My experience of IBC 2013 Part 1

I had never been to IBC before, I wanted to go a couple of years ago but I was a little last minute with extremely expensive prices, but now after all the hard uni work and starting myself up as a freelance videographer, a trip to Amsterdam for IBC 2013 was just what I needed! It was also the first time I've been on a plane in 11 years, so I was super excited, and acted rather like a tourist for the first couple of days.. But, I have no regrets!

Myself outside Amsterdam Schipol Airport, great smoking area with all the sunflowers, how Dutch!

Just had a quick thought, for you readers to enjoy your experience reading my blog further, you can listen to what I am listening to while I write it, having withdrawl symptoms from Amsterdam lead me to searching for "Coffeeshop" "Soul" on 8Tracks, hoping for a chilled result :) So here is the playlist you can listen to while reading! Street Cues Sound Clues Amsterdam Withdrawl Playlist on 8Tracks

Amazing Mexican restaurant called 'La Margarita' just off the canal, near Amsterdam University (https://plus.google.com/105150292043799825469/about?gl=uk&hl=en) They do great cocktails too, definitely recommend it.

Amsterdam's coffee shop culture is something to be admired, the liberal and relaxed lifestyle suits me perfectly, and I'm not going to pretend I disagree with coffee shops, because they are awesome. I met more friendly people and generated more work in coffee shops than I do in Starbucks in The UK. In the photo you can see The Bulldog, and further down is the original coffee shop. I did pop in to these, but both were really busy so I skipped off to another in the pouring rain. (https://plus.google.com/112706500562557581286/about?gl=uk&hl=en).

This rather lovely looking church turned out to be a brothel.

Taken from outside The Greenhouse Seed Co Coffee shop, near Dam Square. Sitting outside having a drink by the river is so cool. We had a couple beers over there on the first evening, Duvel! (Cafe Rock Planet)

The view from my hotel window, the Pathe Cinema! (Rembrandtplein).

On the Friday (13th) myself, Amy and Sam made our way to the Amsterdam RAI. We jumped on the tram outside our hotel on Rembrandtplein which took us all the way to IBC, very convenient although it was rammed with suited business-people attending the show! IBC provided free tram travel for the duration of the show which was great for getting around town, until I lost mine.

We made our way to The IABM stand, near the Future Zone in one of the 14 halls of this massive place, where we met Steve Warner and Sam Hawkins and were presented with the prize money. We also met the other Engineering Student Award winners who came from across the world for IBC; Zoe Wyeth of the University of Salford, Julian Theis of the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Adam Plowden and Amy Tinker of Kingston University, Pierre Hamme-Gerome and Antonin Morel of the Université de Valenciennes, Kathryn Savage of Southampton Solent University, Lennard Bredenkamp of HTWK Leipzig, and Evgenii Smirnov and Anna Nikolaeva of St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television. (Photos are coming from The IABM in the next couple of days).

The rest of the day was spent wondering around, wowing and touching all the amazing new technology and equipment, which I will upload the photos of soon! There will also be video blog entries uploaded very soon too, including interviews with manufacturers, designers, and a film of Amsterdam too, yes 'Ive been busy!

BlackMagic Design had a fantastic booth exhibiting many of their Cinema and Pocket cameras in different set-ups, as well as demonstrations of the new 6G production switcher, and the newly released DaVinci Resolve 10. As I am looking to upgrade cameras, the BMCC is definitely an option for me, as the price of the unit and features weigh it up considerably as a mid range cinema camera, rather than a simple DSLR upgrade. Also, as I discovered, Tokina had been hard at work on an 11-16mm T3 cine lens for Super35 sensors, demonstrated on a BMCC at their booth; finally opening up wide angle shots which had previously been restricted due to the 2.2x mag factor. More info on the NEW Tokina releases can be seen in an upcoming video with the Director of Tokina himself!

There will be much much much more coming soon, I just have to get through the video editing and chuck it all together, but please be patient, they are coming :)

As for future work and plans, I was due to produce a couple of videos for some classic RV's, with Joel from London Event Photography however thanks to the terrific English weather it was called off. Also got some top secret work with a manufacturer coming up, as well as a possible booking to go back to Amsterdam for the end of November.. IE.. My 22nd Birthday!! We shall see..

All the best for now you wonderful people! If you haven't checked out this kind of teaser video then please do :)

http://vimeo.com/74469276

IBC Blues..

Although IBC 2013 and my time in the wonderful city of Amsterdam is now over, and yes I am feeling the withdrawal symptoms of being a tourist. But, I realized this morning that I shouldn't be sad about leaving behind the great experience of IBC, meeting the other Engineering Student Award winners from the IABM, who traveled from all over the world to come! As I have made so many connections, collaborations and friends that the work is already pouring in, following networking with the manufacturers and visitors! I will hopefully be returning to Amsterdam in November for a big event, where I will be producing digital media content! For now, I must catch up on sleeping, eating and sorting out all the footage I shot, and editing it into some cool videos for you guys to watch, and I hope it will help you! Videos include talks with; Nanguang, Tokina, Ikegami, NHK, F&V and much more, plus many photos of new products as well, so keep updated and please share!

Myself outside the Amsterdam RAI, the conference center where the incredible 14 halls of IBC are held.

The wonderful Hotel Atlanta, on Rembrandplein, surrounded by great bars and the staff were awesome too!

Canon C300 on a Zacuto shoulder mount rig.

Myself and Masato Kobayashi of Ikegami, he developed the system to implement an Arri Alexa sensor into a fully operational studio system camera, for use with fiber connections to CCU's and OCP's. They also developed a tiny 3 chip HD camera, which received a whopping 70 orders from EarthTV over the week. I will be doing an in depth post on Ikegami's work and innovations soon!

This awesome experience was provided by The International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers, thank you so much for this life changing opportunity that has truly kick started my career in the media and broadcast industry! I look forward to next year already, and maybe, I will be exhibiting!

IBC is only 3 days away.. Updates from Adobe!

Heya! As IBC is drawing ever closer, numerous media and broadcasting production companies are announcing updates to their existing application and technology line up. Big interests for this year include 4K and Cloud Computing.

For motion graphics and animation artists, Adobe has also been working hard on improving features in the new Premiere Pro and After Effects CC applications, which make compositing layers in 3D space and tracking much simpler.

One of the new features in After Effects CC includes Property Links and Layer Snapping - http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adobe-at-ibc-2013/after-effects-cc-property-links

Another new feature is Mask Tracking - http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adobe-at-ibc-2013/after-effects-cc-mask-tracker

Follow and share for more IBC updates as the conference and exhibition draws closer!

Adam

What I've Been Up To.. It's been a while!

Good afternoon! Its a blazing hot day here, I'm preparing my trip to IBC (checking flights and passes etc), and getting to know the other IBC Rising Stars at this years IBC in Amsterdam. I'm so excited! I've been busy with a variety of jobs since my last post, including photography and shooting. I helped out a make up artist friend of mine by doing a photoshoot with a model in Hampton Court and Bushy Park. Here are some of the best photos:

Leanne Cook is the Make Up Artist and has loads of experience in TV and special occasion make up. Here's a link to her site - http://www.leannecook-mua.com/

I've also been working on a couple of weddings with JHWF, here is one that I shot in The Orangery, Holland Park, Kensington.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/72345141]

Other recent updates include the testing and shoot with the Camax LCD High Definition Field Monitor for videography, cinematography, broadcasting and photography. A full review of the field monitor will be uploaded soon, for now here are a couple of stills and my first thoughts about the monitor.

• Very easy to use straight out the box (although lack of battery and longer cables held me back from using it immediately on location, which I had to purchase separately.)
• Basic functionality for a low cost solution.
• Lightweight; great for on location or light rig solutions.
• Overall a good basic solution to a field monitor, however this product should be specified by its packaging and reflected in the quality in design of the packaging and the manual and firmware.
• I was surprised to see a battery not included.

What else has been going on? Oh yes! I am now a Manfrotto Local Hero, and have my profile on their page! Many thanks to Dave Beck for your help, and I am extremely excited for our LED lighting field test shoot this Friday! I will be testing out the 5 new on-camera LED lights, as well as the new 1x1 flood panels (bi-colour and daylight/tungsten), got a music video and model shoot lined up so keep following for the updates!

Here is the link to my Manfrotto Local Heroes profile - http://www.manfrotto.us/Local+Heroes/Adam+Plowden/52400709

Apart from all that, IBC is coming up next week which I am so ecstatically excited for! If you are attending and want to meet up then get in touch!

What I've been up to.. Green Screen shooting and a Wedding at Hampton Court Palace!

Had another hectic week of filming for a compositing project, this time with a make shift green screen studio in my garden! Keep up with the blog to see the work in progress and the final product; a UFO film trailer! I'm compositing it together in The Foundry Nuke, the industry standard 3D compositing software for film and television, first designed for James Cameron's 'Titanic', and more recently used to create the amazing landscapes in Avatar, for the VFX in Iron Man and so many more! I was also filming the wedding of Andy and Ting at Hampton Court Palace! It was my first outdoor ceremony which was fantastic with the great weather we're having, as well as having beautiful decorations and the couple were just fantastic! Plus, the grooms god father is Theo Paphetis who was a lovely chap to film! Follow and share for more fun!

Look! A UFO! What I was doing today..

Today I had the pleasure of working with Glen Symes, who has worked with many on many projects before. I was shooting the footage for a compositing project in The Foundry Nuke; gotta make a film trailer and use nodal based post production for effects and grading, which will be interesting! I'm importing all the footage now to make a rough cut in Adobe Premiere, export as AVI uncompressed (720p HD) and then read into Nuke to add the visual effects; a space ship/ufo perhaps, as well as chroma keying and grading to give it a filmic look.