Satureyes Media

You're getting it all wrong

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 07:54:11 -0700

It's time for a new world order.

As pressure mounts on the events industry, companies are desperate to keep their heads above water.

Job losses within the events industry are rife. My timeline is full of people on redundancy and some massive business names in the events world have gone into liquidation. It's a mess.

I am aware that at least some of what I say may be harsh, an uncomfortable truth perhaps.
The situation for the event's world is absolutely dire. No-one can possibly doubt this.

In previous articles I've pointed out there's a new order in town and people are going to have to adapt or die. It's now critical that people start to look at the bigger picture.

Virtual events are not easy.

I've mentioned before that they can't be just a case of boshing some cameras in front of a stage and presenting the 'show' as normal.Â This is NOT how you create an engaged audience.

As we near the Christmas this year we're going to see a lot of event suppliers throwing all sorts of 'virtual events' at people. Unfortunately, no matter how much you ramp up the social media posts and instagram videos, like most things in 2020, Christmas is cancelled. It's Not going to happen in a form that would be profitable for many.

Another honest, harsh truth coming up and this will upset a fair few people I expect...

Corporate entertainment acts are crap. (mostly)

They're crap when you're a guest watching them live at an event (but at least you're in a room full of drunk friends or colleagues) - but why would anyone want to see them in a virtual world?

Sticking a fire-eating-stilt-walking man dressed in silver Spandex and twirling glow in the dark hula hoops on a camera in front of a large LCD screen with graphics all over it and selling this in as an add on to your company Zoom meeting is just as bad as it was in 'real life'. It's,...Read More

All frilly undies...and no content.

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 04:01:05 -0700

It's all the rage. Post after post on social media, in Facebook groups and Linkedin about 'Hybrid' events. 'Bringing your event online’ , ‘using the latest in event technology’

It seems to be the most logical next step, with the pandemic very much still in force and companies desperate to offer you their latest 'virtual platform' for hosting your event.

I see the latest screens, the latest cameras. Some companies have valiantly built a studio in their warehouse to offer live events. Everyone is talking about green-screening, purpose built sets and bespoke solutions. Some event companies have now set up a whole new 'team' for virtual events. For some venues it's the last throws of the dice knowing some events will not be happening anytime soon and understandably they need things to happen, and happen quickly.

Event planners are looking to recreate the event they can't do 'in real life' but in a virtual world. Here's the issue though. They're looking at it all wrong.

They're asking for help and advice on social media:

'I need a platform for a virtual event, 12 breakout sessions' etc, etc.

Here's the problem: They're getting pulled into a system based on the bells and whistles and 'trying to recreate the event' that would be live with a real audience in a venue - as a stream.
This isn't the right approach. It doesn't matter how snazzy the live show is, whether you have fire-eaters, men dressed as mirrors, topless men juggling knives or whatever slightly below-par corporate act can get onto giant LED screens. It's all irrelevant.

This is not how you move your event into this new and evolving space. You cannot just do what you would do normally, but just film it and stream it.

Looked at in a different light. Your live event can't be this - it's needed to be more engaging (and that doesn't mean people sitting watching the 'show'. These are new times,...Read More

Devalued & Desperate?

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 04:43:37 -0700

As we emerge from the uncertainty, we find ourselves fighting a very different battle.

It was only a matter of time until it happened, and the other week my eye caught a post on a Facebook group which had more red flags than a windy Cornwall beach, and generated a LOT of reaction.

The post was calling on freelancers who had their own video kit. It was offering them regular work, on regular projects. Initially it seemed the author was offering a lifeline to those fellow videographers who had been hit hard by the shutdown. On further reading it soon became a lot more sinister.

This post spoke of ‘an opportunity not to be missed’ followed by ‘a lifeline for those hit hard by the pandemic’.

The advert promised regular work - a fantastic opportunity to come through the last few months a little less this is good, but the post continued…

‘of course in these unprecedented times, you will be expected to offer us a much more competitive rate than usual in return of regular work’

And there we have it. Our ‘new normal’.

(For the record I hate this phrase but use it with irony)

We are about to hit a tidal wave of people trying this tactic.

This is no time to take advantage of those who have been hit hard. Having little or no work for a few months doesn’t mean we have suddenly forgotten our skills, our training and our economic viability.

Having work pulled away from us doesn’t devalue our skills. We are still the same talented people we were before this mess, and we will be long after it is all over.

It’s...Read More

Light in the darkness

Sun, 26 Apr 2020 05:12:04 -0700

Some positivity for Sunday.

I'm sure a few of you have seen my posts on social about the live streams I've been doing and how I geared myself up for lockdown by setting up a small streaming studio in my spare room.

Last week I was approached by a client - who wanted my advice (unaware I was doing the streaming thing) about putting on a Virtual event for his daughter's bat-mitzvah which had of course been cancelled/postponed.

I was able to offer them the ability for me to live produce their event- from my spare room.

I had 3 people in different locations calling in via video link and pulling them up as separate 'cameras'.

I edited together some clips they sent me, messages from friends and family and some photos etc - and used them through the 'show' as inserts. I created some graphics, and put together some fun VT packages.

It took me back to when I used to produce live TV shows - something which I'd never thought I'd need to put into use much these days.

We went live on Friday and it was a huge success. It was a proper production (albeit reliant on people's internet connection at their homes) but it worked. A mix of live and pre-recorded things.

I've just had 2 more enquiries about if I can do something similar off the back of this event.

It's just a small 'win' in the doom and gloom but it shows that if you think differently - act quickly there is always room for innovation. At the very least, I've learnt a new skill. It's been amazing having that focus over the last few weeks and probably helped keep me sane (or a little less bonkers than usual!)

I'm also presenting a series of shows called 'The Lockdown Diaries' - The latest event can always be found on my new 'live' page here:

www.satureyesmedia.com/live

Let me take you by the hand...

Sat, 19 Oct 2019 06:57:38 -0700

Who needs gimbals?

Rick Bronks dumps it all and takes a bare-bones kit out and about.

If you don't have time to read, the film is at the bottom of this post.

I've had the pleasure of shooting with the S1 range for several months now, I had the Panasonic Lumix S1R high-resolution monster, and now the S1 with the incredible V-log firmware. I've had a few lenses to play with too.

I was working in Amsterdam for 24 hours and thought it would be a good time to see how the S1 performed as a film making tool, but with zero accessories. Not a tripod, no fancy gimbals, nothing. Just my 45 year old hands and the camera.

I dumped all my bags at the hotel and took with me just one camera and 2 lenses. I packed them all into a Peak Design sling bag to I could be totally mobile. I knew I was going to stay out until dark so I took with me a faster lens for the night shots.

I've fallen in love with the Sigma 14-24 Art lens. I love the versatile focal range. Lovely and wide and then 24mm get's me a little tighter. It also has a very close focussing distance so I can get right up to people and things.

The other lens I took is the delicious Panasonic 50mm f1.4 lens. This too is a stunning lens and at night in low light renders beautiful images.

I already know the Lumix S1 it's a very capable stills camera. I've been shooting with it long enough now to be very pleased with the stills output - and I love even more how I can switch into video mode and shoot some incredible quality footage.

Shot with the Sigma Art 14-24mm L mount lens.

Shot with the 50mm Panasonic Lumix f1.4 L mount lens.

I'm not going to go into a tech breakdown of the camera, the bit-rates, colour science and so on - there's plenty online for you to read about that. This is really a quick post about the results I got from this little...Read More

Light me up!

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 09:59:20 -0700

When you do plan the lighting, how much thought do you give the photographers or videographers?

Regardless of what you might think - us photographers and film makers really love light. They are lying if they say they don't need light.

Sure, a bunch of hipster, sock-less, skin-tight jeans wearing people will tell you that their cameras can shoot in zero light but they cannot defy the laws of physics.

No one is going to argue that gathering images whether it be still or moving is not all about light- but what I’ve noticed over the years is that people really fail to consider anything or anyone other than the overall aesthetic when setting up and lighting a venue.

Sure, we need less light than we used to 'back in the day.' Cameras are very good now at dealing with low light, but we do still need some. It might look pretty having the walls washed with a lovely purple and green uplighter, and some tea lights on the table, but it’s really not conducive for image making.

I understand that the lighting designer, the event company and the client want to have the ‘wow’. I’m not disputing the need for creating a killer atmosphere - but then this leaves us other bunch of image making creatives in a little quandary.

Without going into the technical reasons - we are usually left with some choices. All of which involve the basic principal of adding more light. Somehow.

Use a flash
Use a higher ISO (sensitivity) on the cameras
Use a light on top of the camera

There’s pros and cons of each method but none are ideal.

A flash or a top light can annoy people, they can be very intrusive and possibly ruin the atmosphere anyway. If we pump up the sensitivity on the cameras then you get more ‘noise’ or grain on the images - which can impact clarity but will enable us to get more ‘atmospheric’ photos as the trade off.

It’s a balancing...Read More

Lumix S1R

Thu, 16 May 2019 07:14:04 -0700

Mirrorless?
Megapixels?
Mmm...

I don't like to get into the crazy technical details. I don't understand some of those complicated charts showing sensor quality and all that jazz. I also don’t shoot brick walls or colour charts. I know people really love looking and peeping deep down into the inner gizzards of a camera and it’s electronics but for me - what’s important is how it works as a tool of my trade.

I’ve been using two Canon Pro bodies for the last 4+ years. When I buy a new camera, it’s usually within a 4 to 5-year cycle. I get the new body, the ‘old’ body becomes my second/backup and then the old backup gets traded in. Ive been doing this for years and years. I’ve been with Canon all this time. For the geeks I use a 1DX and a 1DXii. They are solid, dependable and have never let me down. I also have a C100 mk2 I use for video stuff alongside the other cameras. I’m now hitting that 4 to 5 year window where I’ll be looking to refresh at least my main camera.

Rather fortunately I could look at two cameras that have entered the scene in the years since I last upgraded. I will not do a technical breakdown here. This is more of a brain dump of my thoughts as a professional photographer using the cameras in my work.

I look over the reviews online - that’s part and parcel of my research but I largely take them with a healthy pinch of salt. I see the test images. Sometimes they are nice, sometimes they are massively uninspiring and just not what I’d shoot, for fun or for a paid brief.

Let me say I have no prejudice towards any camera system. There really are no crap cameras out there anymore. If you are only looking at pro cameras, then you’ll be hard pushed to get one that’s terrible. It’s more likely to be user error than the camera.

So here I am - a bag load of Canon kit, and the logical move would be to keep it in the family. Second up would be; 'mirrorless what’s all the fuss...Read More

It's all about video

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 01:20:18 -0700

The Photography Show was back at the NEC in Birmingham. This year saw the addition of The Video Show and Rick was there to share his expertise.

Over the whole 4 days Rick delivered several seminars. This year he focussed (pun intended) on all things video. He ran a couple of workshops on video editing too. He kicked things off with a panel discussion about how important audio is. (If you didn't see the seminar the answer is VERY!)

The Video Live stage was bigger and better than last year and fortunately it was jam packed for all of Rick's talks. There was standing room only at the back and at one point 3 or 4 rows deep of people standing there.

He also hosted a full house in his 'how to shoot for the edit' which gave people pointers as to what they need to do when filming to ensure the editing process can go as smoothly as possible.

There was also a 'live' demo thrown in there for fun - a seminar about getting set up for an interview with minimal fuss and some tips and tricks on how to get things done smoothly and easily.

It's always amazing when people are attentive. It's nice to see people taking note. Literally!

For the Pro Conference, Rick was the guest with the Intellectual Property Office discussing how important it is to protect your images. This was an absolutely packed room full of photography professionals keen to learn and ensure their images are safe.

Finally, after a lot of speaking and seminars came the fun networking evening for the pro's. Rick was asked to be one of 10 photographers speaking for only 2 mins each about their favourite photo and a short story why. The story is a little NSFW but I'm sure if you drop him an email he will tell you :)

On the final day Rick hosted the students and chaired a discussion about getting ahead in the industry as well as introducing some more inspirational speakers.

Hopefully he'll be back in 2020. In the meantime - please drop him a line if...Read More

Food for your ears

Thu, 04 Apr 2019 07:19:37 -0700

The Aspect Ratio Podcast

Satureyes Media is delighted to launch a brand new series of podcasts.

Aspect Ratio will get under the skin of the photography and video business. It's not just for people in the photography or video business. We have some great content that will strike a chord with anyone in the creative industries.

We even have a shiny new logo in celebration of the launch.

We wont be looking inside people's kit bags. We will find out what makes our guests tick, and what helps them get through the ups and downs of running their own business.

We've hit the ground running - with our first edition now live, Rick speaks to Victoria Grech who has some incredible ideas for us. She explains how to value your actual worth, and how to nail instagram marketing.

It's light, commute friendly and hopefully enjoyable. A few people have already called it 'inspirational'. Why don't you pop over and see for yourself.

It's on iTunes and Spotify (and probably loads of other places too). You can of course just listen here:

Please subscribe and keep up to date with the latest edition of Aspect Ratio.

Don't hire a faker

Sat, 17 Nov 2018 13:30:29 -0800

Fake photos? Fake awards? Stolen blog posts?

How do you know that you're not about to hire a clown?

As a photographer I'm probably way more aware of the use of my images and where they might end up. I've even been used as a case study by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to highlight how important it is to keep your work your own.

A while back I had a run-in with another photographer. In this case I called him out on Facebook because he was caught in an Instagram photo not being particularly professional and I made sure he knew my opinion.

I received a call the same day from him, and amongst other things called me he said he was 'happy to see that I've not stolen any of his work' and put it on my site.

The irony of his last comment to me became very apparent.

I was telling the story to one of my clients who is a fellow geek, and together we began to look at his website. Incredibly we discovered MOST of his work wasn't actually his. There's a very easy way to find this out too and most people don't know about it.

It's really easy to do this - anyone can do it and I recommend you do too. Especially if you're hiring someone and want to check them out. It's called a reverse image search.

Just visit images.google.com and click the little camera icon. You can then paste in a URL or load up the photo. Screen shots of the photo also work.

Google then shows you where on the web the images appear. Try it - you might be surprised.

So after spending a little time looking through 'Monsieur Fakers' photo site it was quite the revelation. There were loads of images showing events, food, weddings - the lot - all photos that someone else had taken and he was 'passing off' as his own.

Turns out that some of the...Read More