2018 Has Been The Best Year For APVideo!
We’re celebrating! Not just because it’s Christmas, but because 2018 was our most successful year producing video content in Surrey and Internationally!
Let’s take a look back at what we’ve been up to… First up, CVP Pro Repairs.
Earlier this year we were very excited to release the three videos we produced for CVP, promoting their Pro Repairs department with a rebrand. We worked with the CVP engineers to capture the intricacy and details of deconstructing Cooke cinema prime lenses, stripping the Sony F55, and analyzing the optical performance of lenses in the testing room.
The video content was paramount to the marketing campaign which included showing the 30 second edit before and after every presentation at BSC 2018. We’re really proud of this production, and CVP love it!
The Jockey Club - Epsom Downs Racecourse
At the beginning of the year we also began working with The Jockey Club, in particular Epsom Downs Racecourse to produce a series of fashion based videos to support the Investec Derby campaign. The series featured local milliner, Jessica Rea. We also edited the videos in 16:9 and 1:1 aspect ratios so the videos can be published on a variety of social media platforms.
Preparing for the world class racing at Epsom Downs.
JVC Professional
We embarked on a large studio production for JVC Professional all about their professional video and broadcasting products. Based at South Essex College, we took over the theatrical space and shot the footage for 5 videos that will be used online and at trade shows across the world.
We also collaborated with Atomos, Shape, Bright Tangerine, SoftPanels and Manfrotto to bring the production to life.
Screen Subtitling Systems
We’ve worked with Screen Subtitling Systems for a number of years, producing bespoke animations for a range of their leading global subtitling products and solutions. The products are complex, so animation was the perfect medium to communicate what the products do, and why broadcasters need them.
Additionally, we produced a series of software walkthroughs to demonstrate how to use their ‘WinCaps’ software. The series is based upon screen recordings and voice overs that go through the software operations step by step.
Manfrotto - The Great Outdoors
As part of the global photography and filmmaking equipments Spring marketing strategy, we worked to produce an adventure based video about bushcraft and stand up paddleboarding while demonstrating the use of the new Pro Light Cinematic Expand Backpack.
Don’t use video? You’re missing out.
ZEISS Lenspire
We also collaborated with ZEISS on this production, and reviewed the Milvus Super Speed prime lenses, as well as contributed to their Lenspire blog.
Sandown Park Racecourse - The Jump Finale 2018
We LOVE filming events, so it was really exciting when Sandown Park Racecourse approached us to create an after movie for The Jump Finale Raceday. It’s exhillerating filming live events like this, that’s why producing event video content is our speciality! (We do film conferences, presentations and award ceremonies too).
Shot on Sony a7SII, a6500, Manfotto grip year, Zhiyun Crane 2.
Sandown Park Racecourse - Brigadier Gerard, Apres, Promoting the Coral Eclipse Summer Festival with GB Ladies Hockey Players.
After the success of The Jump Finale 2018 video production, we returned to Sandown Park Racecourse to capture the Brigadier Gerard raceday and the Apres area. To promote the Coral Eclipse Summer Festival we also produced a series of videos with members of the GB Ladies Hockey Team! This was great fun, but a challenge to keep up with the ladies! DJ Reggie Yates gave a sterling set after the racing, he was great to film.
Epsom Downs Racecourse - Investec Derby and Summer Nights Live Music
Continuing our relationship with The Jockey Club, we were asked to film at the world famous Investec Derby 2018. This involved visiting the many areas and attractions of the racecourse and ‘The Hill’, capturing content for sponsorship purposes.
Later that month we also produced four videos to play on the racecourse CCTV and giant screens around the racecourse. This included using archive footage from Derby winners throughout the decades, and creating bespoke animations for iconic moments too.
Fennies - Promotion, Recruitment and the Day of Inspiration
In 2017 we began producing video content for Fennies, a leading nursery group based in the South of England. This summer we were invited back to produce a range of videos to promote the nurseries and it’s facilities, to show their staff in action, and to capture their staff ‘Day of Inpiration’. It’s great fun filming at the nurseries, all of the staff are extremely friendly and the results really work for the nursery group.
KIX18 - Surrey Scouts
Adam is a Scout leader and member of the Surrey Scouts media team. This Summer, Adam travelled with 500 Scouts and leaders to Kandersteg, Switzerland, and captured the journey and adventure all of the young people (and adults) had!
You can read the ‘Sense Of Belonging’ blog post by The Scouts here.
cinema5D - IBC (Amsterdam) and Photokina (Cologne) 2018
We’ve contribued to the worldwide online cinematography and filmmaking website, cinema5D.com for a number of years. Part of the role includes reporting all of the glorious tech news from global trade shows like IBC and Photokina. We produce fast turnaround video edits and articles during the trade shows to ensure cinema5D covers the news extensively and to the highest quality.
Don’t use video? You’re missing out.
Screen Subtitling Systems - Animations Galore!
As it’s written above, we work with Screen Subtitling Systems on a regular basis which includes updating their animations with new products. This animation is core to the global companies marketing and promotion at worldwide tradeshows.
Kempton Park Racecourse - 32Red Winter Festival Stingers
We were over the moon to expand our video productions for The Jockey Club into Kempton Park Racecourse. On Boxing Day and the 27th, Kempton Park Racecourse will play host to the infamous Winter Festival, sponsored by 32Red. We were tasked with producing a range of stings to count down to the festival. The shoot was challenging; a lovely sunny day when we really wanted cloud!
We adapted to meet the racecourses needs by grading the footage and applying effects to give the stings a wintery feel. This was accompanied by custom graphics, again, following the wintery theme.
Yosemite - On Top Of The World
In October we travelled to Yosemite National Park on a collaborative project between APVideo, Manfrotto, ZEISS, Sennheiser, GoPro and Zhiyun-Tech. We wanted to demonstrate how to capture incredible photos and video while having an adventure. We were priviliged in using one of the first ZEISS Batis 2/40 CF lenses available, as well as capturing 360 degree sound using the Sennheiser Ambeo Smart Headset. This project is currently in the post production stage.
APVideo Wins ‘Best Business For Design or Technology’
We are over the moon to have been recognised for our hard work at the business awards! We support both local and global businesses, organizations and events with bespoke video content, and getting the award brought home all of the hard work we put in for our fantastic clients.
The Ashley Centre - Christmas Light Switch On
For the last four years we’ve worked with The Ashley Centre, another local business in Epsom to capture the Christmas Light Switch On. It’s family fun at it’s best with entertainers, the pantomime cast and of course Santa! It’s wonderful to support another local business.
Fennies International - Multi Language Video Poduction
Fennies is expanding internationally, and with that they wanted a narrative based video production with multi language subtitles. From start to finish, we worked closely with the Fennies marketing team to develop the storyboard, narrative content and the creation of the subtitles in both English and Chinese. We provided a range of video delivery options including ‘burnt in’ subtitles in both languages, as well as the subtitle text files for use on online video platforms.
To Review…
As you can see, APVideo has had an incredible year, and we can’t wait for 2019 to start so we can continue the filmmaking adventure. We’re looking to invest into more equipment, expand our team and continue to grow to be the most successful video production company in Surrey.
As well as all of those video productions (and more we can’t share just yet), we’ve also been very grateful to work with our filmmaking friends like Teralon, Warner Vision, JHWF and providing guest lectures and workshops at Kingston University. Collaboration is key in this industry, and we’re always looking to join new teams and crews to produce fantastic content.
So, you’ve seen what we do, let’s work together to create something amazing.
Behind The Scenes
We shoot in 4K, HD, in slow motion. We integrate with your teams, work together, collaborate and have adventures. We experiment, we create, we succeed. We are APVideo and love making video content. If you haven’t got yours, get in touch with us now!
INCREDIBLE: DRONE DREAM!
New summer post coming very soon!
It's been an extreme summer season! From epic weddings with drone flying to creating the videos for The IABM for IBC, it has been immense.
Now nearly 9 months since starting Adam Plowden Videography properly, I am over the moon with the great clients and people I've worked and am working with.
I still have a number of productions on the go, and I will be attending The IBC Show in September so there is much more great stuff to come!
Massive shout out to the team over at Manfrotto who have been a great help with sorting out equipment for my travels abroad!
Keep those creative juices flowing!
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/103717010]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/75340958]
Gettin' Hitched?
A quick still from the wedding I shot with John Harris Wedding Films yesterday at Wotton House in Surrey. Awesome day, and Harry and Sammi are a lovely couple!
It's always a blast working with John and Ashleigh, especially when I get to shoot on a 5D with a Glidetrack slider! John shot some awesome footage from his areal camera too!
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
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!!
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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 :)
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!
Good Morning Rembrandtplein Video!
http://vimeo.com/74572966
Here is a short timelapse of the morning when we had sun here in Amsterdam! Shot on GoPro from my hotel window in Rembrandtplein. IBC videos and blogs to follow!
Counting down the hours 'til IBC Show 2013!
I've just finished packing my suitcase, I've managed to cram in my tripod, Camax field monitor, batteries, mic, all my clothes and stuff. Got a GoPro Hero 3 on charge (cheers Sam) and the trusty Canon 60D is coming with me on the plane.
It's going to be an early start tomorrow, bussing it from Kingston to Heathrow through morning rush hour could be a nightmare, but we'll see. Extremely excited now, the weather however does not seem to be up for a sunny holiday for me :(
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2759794
(Thursday: cloud w/rain, Fri: cloud w/rain, Sat: cloud.. etc)
I shall be uploading bits and bobs tomorrow from the journey so keep updated!
What I've Been Up To.. Continued
Hello again, I realized I missed out some other of my recent job outings including a two day shoot with Glen Symes in and around Cambridge for AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. They are relocating offices and staff to near Addenbrooks Hospital, Cambridge. The brief was to capture the surrounding towns, culture and housing where the staff would live and work. I had a great two days, I drove 289 miles all together from Epsom in Surrey to St Neots, Huntingdon, Ely, Cambridge, Trumpington, Addenbrooks Hospital, Great Shelford, Saffron Walden and Royston.
I had the Canon 60D, Tamron 17-50 and Canon 15mm Fisheye with me to snap up the awesome architecture and locations we visited.
As well as that, I've been scrambling up Box Hill in Dorking with Glen, and we filmed it on Glen's GoPro! You can watch the video here -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hiM8e3nsO8