So the first few months post university have been interesting and a tad nerve wracking, trying to find oppourtunites with my new found skill sets. By the way I did manage a 1st which was beyond any of my expectations and I am very proud of myself for that one!
Still, I need to try to keep the newly acquired knowledge alive and well, earn money. So my new daily routine now includes searching amongst Art job websites and contacting directors, theatre companies to connect with and hopefully collaborate.
With all things projection in mind my long-time friend and client, the talented James Roberts superstar hairdresser contacted me to help them get there salon projector working properly and create some content featuring the range of work they do along with the rather fabulous Nataya Beauty who operates from the same premises. To get something to test I created a little movie with our 20 odd years of working together on hair shoots for the salon, including some award-winning images for competitions such as the prestigious L’Oreal Colour Trophy. This was a lovely look back over years of collaborations with exceptional makeup artists and stylists we have here in Manchester and some incredible models, some of whom have not been professionals. Also, a chance for me to have a little nostalgic look at past exploits in the realm of analog photography! (yes we go that far back) along with the film I did for him in my second year where I had begun to use the brilliant Sony A7II at Lipa to create content for my projection designs.
So it was back to the salon to film some more content featuring a new inovative colour product from L’oreal .
I had up to this point only filmed hand held with my go to app Filmic Pro, which produces astounding 4k from my iphone , after revisiting their website and looking through some tutorials I knew I had to get a gimble ! just the ability to operate from the unit and experiment with angles etc was too enticing but on a very tight post university budget where to find one? I love e-bay !! previously to film Phaedra as part of the Love of the Nightingale production at LIPA I had sourced a great bit of kit a Moondog anamorphic lens for a great price, now to the gimble.
And boom result! got me my very own ZHIYUN SMOOTH 4 for a fraction of the price and in mint condition. So having spent the weekend playing and getting to grips with the controls, I headed back to the salon for a morning of filming.
Had a blast with it and learned lots more about approaching shoots with the iPhone, I am on the lookout for a cheeky second hand Sony but until the right one at the right price comes along this is a good answer to getting the footage I need. Also now waiting on some little bids back on my friend e-bay for a portrait lens addition to my iPhone camera set up.
The results are as I type been projected onto a wall here :)
http://www.jamesrobertshairandbeauty.co.uk/
and on the Instagram account here