digital video

Video is Not a Market

June 24, 2012 By admin

Video is Not a Market

[by Gail Mooney]

I talk to a lot of photographers who seem to be confused right now. The ones who are just starting out are wondering if this career will sustain them and the ones who have been in business for a long time are wondering if they have to learn everything (video) all over again to stay in business. Some know they need to do something – they just don’t know what it is.

Many are looking to video for the answers. Some photographers’ existing clients are asking for video. They witness the public’s hunger for motion content to watch on their iPads, iPhones and other mobile devices and they realize they have a need for video. Video is in demand. A lot of photographers think they need to become “videographers” and go after that “market”. But video isn’t really a market at all. It’s a medium that has sound and motion, and is used – just as we do with still images – to communicate; to tell a story or deliver a message.

Still photographers are accustomed to defining themselves by what they shoot or the “markets” they work in – architecture, food, sports, weddings and so forth. They see these niches as separate markets. The increased demand for video is pervasive and in all these markets and our clients have needs for motion content. With the convergence of our “tools” (cameras), it makes perfect sense for still photographers to add video to the services their businesses offer.

What seems to confuse photographers as they contemplate video, is that they think they will have to abandon still photography and compete in the already glutted arena of video production. They equate video production with creating broadcast spots for advertising agencies or TV shows and films for Hollywood. That’s great work, if you can get it, but those business models have also changed and that is not where the new opportunities are. That world is changing too. As the Internet and TV continue to converge, online programs get broadcast and indie filmmakers with Canon 5D Mark II’s are making movies. To embrace video doesn’t mean that a still photographer has to abandon still photography – it just means that they need to stop defining themselves by their tools..

Opportunities are in “new media,” which is essentially anything digital or displayed digitally. It could be still images, audio, video, graphics or anything that makes up a digital creation and is delivered digitally. We, as “creators,” are living at a time where we can use the new tools that technology gives us, to not only create with, but to deliver our message globally. Video is not a market at all. It’s just another ingredient in the mix of how we communicate in today’s world.

via Video is Not a Market at Strictly Business.

Make It Your Own

June 24, 2012 By admin

Make It Your Own

[by Judy Herrmann]

One of the biggest challenges I faced as an emerging still photographer was finding my own voice as a visual communicator. I would look at the work of established professionals and become so lost in my admiration for their vision that I couldn’t find my own.

Eventually, I gained enough confidence to split from the herd and start producing creative work that showed a unique visual style, aesthetic and approach. First by using experimental lighting and darkroom techniques, then by adopting digital imaging tools as soon as we could get our hands on the technology, my partner, Mike, and I were able to craft the images we’d always imagined creating.

Two years ago, we started seriously exploring the possibility of incorporating digital video into the mix of services we offer. We knew that it would be a profitable addition but a part of me resented the idea of having to adapt my vision to this new medium.

The fact that our first exposure to shooting video came in the form of a workshop where documentary approaches were emphasized just made matters worse. After decades of refining a visual style that manipulated reality, we were back to working within the same limitations as film – only this time without experimental darkroom techniques.

I feared that we were setting ourselves up to compete with every DV camera operator out there for work that we were less than passionate about doing. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in 23 years of working as a photographer – you can’t compete with people who are more passionate about getting the job than you are.

After feeling very dissatisfied with the video footage we were producing, it finally hit me. Instead of adapting to this new medium, I needed to make it adapt to me. We started experimenting with new approaches and techniques and now that we’re finding our voice using a variety of motion imagery tools, it’s clear the effort was worthwhile.

By taking control over our role in the process – the same way we did with stills – we’ve discovered an enthusiasm for this type of image making that we didn’t know we had. Along the way, we’ve realized that digital video isn’t the only motion imagery tool we want to use. CGI, Augmented Reality and Interactive Media all offer opportunities for us to express our vision in new and exciting ways.

Placing these tools in the service of our vision was the critical step to creating imagery that we’re passionate about and identifying new markets that need the kind of imagery we excel at producing.

via Make It Your Own at Strictly Business.