SOLUS: A great little 3 minute film

Here's a film made by a friend at college. I was lucky enough to get the chance to do the camera work for it too.

What's Happening?

Last Saturday night, some colleagues and I began the process of making a music video. This is a really exciting project that is independent of my college work. The initial shoot was of the band performing live, and we'll now move on to film them specificallyfor the video. Our company is Dog Biscuit Media (check out the logo!), and the band is called Death Trap City. They're exceptionally talented and you can check out their work here.

New Photos & A Beautiful Video.

I've updated my Fickr account with some new photos. You can see them by clicking here. Also, whilst you're here, check out this time lapse of Dubai that I came across. It's called Sky and it's stunning. I think I may use this as inspiration for my Graded Unit.


Sky from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

PROJECTIONS...

Just a quick update to add something that interests me. Thanks to Robert for pointing this out. I love these visuals, below is a copy of the projections as they looked on the night, and of the source footage. Very, very, lovely stuff:





SOURCE FOOTAGE
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The Pyramid from BARTEK Videokidz on Vimeo.

RichTeaV Photography

Having just begun our photography module, we've been asked to investigate photographers and their styles to help inspire and inform us ahead of creating our own collection of photos. Whilst I'm not sure which photographers I'm keen on just yet, I know I like the use of depth of field and perspective. I also like the techniques of HDR and Tilt-shift. Put simply HDR is a collection of several photos of the same scene, taken at different exposures and later merged together to create a photo with greater dynamic range, hence high dynamic range (HDR).  Here's one of my first attempts:

Tilt-shift can be achieved in a variety of ways: You can use specialist equipment that appears to be a swivelling lens, you can make your own swivelling lens out of some household equipment, or you can have a go at mimicking the effect in photoshop. Either way the goal is to end up with a real life scene looking toy like, or miniature. Here's my attempt followed by a video version taken at Disney.

Better versions of my photos are available on my Flickr page.

RichTeaV Gets a Marketing Department

I recently discovered a great little company called Moo, They do all sorts of cool stuff, but best of all you can create a book of 90 stickers for £4.99. It’s pretty simple to do and a fun thing to have. Prepare to get stuck!

I also came across QR (Quick Response) codes, they’re a kind of 2 dimensional barcode that was created back in 1994. Apparently they’re very popular in Japan. QR codes can be used as a kind of hyperlink to connect to a website, or provide you with a message or contact details. QR code generators are available free to use on the Internet and it’s easy to make your own. Here’s one for this very blog:

The software to read this image apparently comes as standard on some phones but can be downloaded for free to a computer or smart phone.  QR App, for example, is available free for the Iphone. Simply open the app and point your camera at the code. Go on, give it a go!

It's Not All Work, Work, Work

My interest in all things AV goes beyond  work and there’s some incredibly good acts out there that use visuals and sound to amazing effect. Here’s someone I’m a great fan of:

Here’s someone I’m very excited about seeing live, just down the road, next weekend:

Exciting Stuff

Via College i've had the opportunity to help out a very talented VJ and graphic designer, Robert Motyka.  Though he’s involved in many different projects I’ve been helping him set up and watching the process as he creates visuals for a monthly club at the GRV in Edinburgh.

 

It’s looking likely we’ll work together on some future projects both inside and outside of college, an exciting prospect, so watch this space!

Making The Most Of Things

As well as the experience I've gained within College, the people I've met have also opened up opportunities outside of Stevenson. In late 2009, I had the chance to be a runner on a music video shoot. This was a really valuable experience for me; getting to see how a shoot operates and the equipment used in the industry today. I helped rig and de-rig equipment, operate some equipment, make lunch and many other bits and pieces. Here’s the finished video:

Later in the year I was also an extra or, as josh would say, a band member when  Saatchi and Saatchi came to Edinburgh to Promote T-mobile and Josh's Band. This was the biggest production I’d seen so far with lots of extras and lots of crew. Again, watching how it all worked and how it came together was really informative. As well as that, If you’ve a keen eye and a good pause button I’m famous too!

The Story So Far

It's now February, and Semester Two of my Audiovisual HND has just begun... But, before we get to that, there's some catching up to do. I've already completed modules on Social Videography, Animation, Lighting, Camera Work, Editing, Sound Reinforcement, Multi-Media Computing and Audiovisual Technology. These were all great fun and there's a few things I can show you as a result. 

Our assessment for Camera Work, Sound Work and Editing was all rolled into a 3 min Project. We took turns to film, light, record sound or direct and edit. We were given little constraints, just that the project had to be precisely three minutes in length, be preceeded by clock and bars (i've removed these for YouTube) and it had to fit the the theme "All Change". Here's what I did when I was director/editor:

For the Animation Module, we were tasked with creating a short animation using a technique of our choosing. To meet the brief, the animation was to be a minimum of ten seconds In length but otherwise we were free to do as we wished. This was my first go at being an Animator, and here's what I did:

In addition to the two videos above, I created a Ten Minute Social Videography Project based around a Christmas show at a school for children with social, emotional and behavioural problems. This was intended as a personal record for the school and for those in the show and, as a result, i'm unable to post it online. I also did a short talk on Augmented Reality which I hope to put onto the blog in the future. Lastly, as other people on the course worked on their projects, I had an  opportunity to work as a cameraman and sound recordist. As these films become available, I'll post links on this blog, but for now I hope you enjoy my Vox Pop and Animation.

In The Beginning.

Hello! Welcome to my blog.

Pre 2009, my work life was spent developing a career in social care. However, a suspicion that it wasn't quite what I was looking for, or what I imagined I'd end up doing, was beginning to grow. I've always had an interest in computers, gaming, home audio equipment, display technology and photography. After some searching, I came across a great course right on my doorstep; Audiovisual Technology HND at Stevenson College. After visiting the College I was really keen on the course, and was later lucky enough to get a place. I've now begun the course and continue to enjoy it a great deal. This blog will help document the work I'm doing as I journey away from Social Care toward my audio visual future!