Resources

Artist Statement

Cover Letter

CV

Evaluative Summary

Invoice

Statement of Intent

Website

Evaluative Summary

Please find under the break my evaluative summary for the whole of this unit of work.

CV

Please find my CV under the break.

I have worked hard on my layout to make it look professional and simple, including relevant information such as a short statement, relevant qualifications, professional experience, skills, and references. My references include a client from a commercial job, and my tutor from my foundation degree.

Group Presentation

Group Presentation Notes

My Presentation Notes

Cover Letter

As mentioned in my statement of intent, as well as a possible career involving moving image, I am also interested in the possibility of teaching sixth form students photography. Due to choosing to undertake a work experience module next semester, I have tailored my cover letter to suit a possible placement I will apply for at the Post-16 Center at Ashton Park School. This is a speculative cover letter, as I have not seen a position advertised.

Invoice

A printscreen of my invoice can be viewed after the page break.

I used Calumet Photographic in Bristol as my equipment rental, as I decided to use companies based in Bristol and therefore more local to my shoots. In a similar move, I decided to shoot my studio images in Jefferson Studios on West Street to keep it local. My book will be made at Blurb as I have heard good feedback about them and they are quite flexible in design for the book. 

A few points need to be noted about my invoice:

• I actually hired out a D700 for six days and a D800 for five. However, I intended to book out the D800 for those six days but couldn't due to it being used for HDSLR workshops until Friday, which was not good for me as I had my graduation that day. I instead booked out the D700 so I could get it at an earlier day. Calumet didn't have a D700 in stock, so due to this and the aforementioned reason, I stated that I used a D800 for the 11 days.
• My Blurb book costs £31.12 due to the selection I made. I chose to make a standard landscape book (from £12.95), with 20 pages (with no extra payment), hardcover with a dust jacket and charcoal-coloured linen, "proline white" endsheets, and matte-finish paper. The majority of these choices bump up the price of the book. 
• I have completed six shoots for this project.
• I also had to buy walking-style shoes and walking socks for cultural descriptions due to the rough terrain at the location of my shoots.

I was surprised how costly the expenses of my cultural descriptions were, and I am very thankful for the free rentals of the equipment and studios at uni! I'll be taking advantage of them as much as I can during the remainder of my time at UWE.

Invoice/Budget Resources

Equipment Resources
I am researching the different places where I can get the equipment I need for the project. I would hire the equipment that I don't already own to spend less money

• Calumet Photographic
• Pro Centre
• Direct Photographic

Studio Resources

As I will be shooting still-lifes in a studio, I am researching different photography studios available for hire in Bristol.

• Jefferson Studios
• Photographique
• Farm Studio

Book Resources

As my final images will be presented in a book, I am researching different companies that make photobooks.

• Peak Imaging
• Albelli
• Bob Books
• Blurb

Invoice/Budget

Following the budgeting workshop from last week, I will begin to research into forming my own budget/invoice.

In order to begin my invoice/budget, I will list everything that I have and will use for my cultural descriptions project, including the things that I will do and use between now and the hand-in on the 9th January.

Things used:

• Canon 600D (owned)
• Canon EFS 18-55mm lens (owned)
• Canon EFS 55-250mm telephoto zoom lens (owned)
• Nikon D700 (used once, Thursday - Tuesday)
• Nikon D800E (used once, Friday - Tuesday)
• Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4G
• Tripod (owned)
• Studio (used once - four hours)
• Assistant
• Book (for final prints)
• Boots (suitable for the terrain)
• Transport
• Food

I will research different equipment and studio rentals, as well as photobook companies to finalise the budget.

Budgeting Workshop

Estimating - Production - Invoices

• Working out and accertaining production costs is a key skill for photographers
• Being able to price cots effectively and efficiently will make your persnoal work be more productive and will win you commissions if a potential employer knows that they are getting value for money
• Being able to account and bookkeep for incomes and expenditures in everyday life will help to stabilise your career

Paperwork

Estimates are based on the information/brief originally given by the client and should include:

• Agency and Client
• Photographer
• Job description
• Media use
• Right to a credit
• Exclusivity
• Fees
• Expenses
• Base usage rate
• Contingency (10%)
• Terms and Conditions printed on reverse

Working out a fee

There
 are 
no 
standard 
fees
 in 
photography
 and should therefore
ideally 
always
 try and
 get 
an 
idea
 of 
the client’s 
budget 
before
 you
 begin 
an 
estimate.





Your 
fee 
or 
day‐rate 
needs
 to 
encompass
 not 
only
 your
 creativity, experience 
and uniqueness, 
but 
also 
the 
tools 
of 
your
 trade, including 
the 
running
 of 
a 
studio, equipment
 purchases 
and maintenance, 
plus 
other 
miscellaneous
 expenses.




As 
a 
rough 
guide
 here 
are 
the 
fees
 photographers 
in 
different disciplines 
can 
expect/hope
to
 charge:


• Advertising
: 
£1000 
‐ 
£3500
 per 
day


• Design/Corporate
: 
£500 
‐ 
£1500
 per 
day


• Wedding
: 
£500
‐
£2500
 per
 day
 (mainly
 weekends?)


• Editorial
: 
£50
‐
£450 
per 
day

Working out a day rate

Quick points to consider:

• No one works 365 days, or 52 weeks a year
• Figure out how much income you need for fixed and non-fixed overheads - then divide that by how many days you will idealy work: 50 for newbies, 100-150 for more established photographers
• £400 a day is the figure to aim for

Fixed overheads

These can include:

• Rent
• Portfolio, test shots
• Marketing
• Mobile phone
• Stationary
• Banking and overdraft charges
• Repairs
• Insurance

Insurance

http://www.williamsoncarson.co.uk/ is an insurance company originally designed for the entertainment industry. It has since expanded to other industries, such as meat, catering, and travel, but still has it's strong creative industry base,

Non-fixed overheads

Examples of these include:

• Studio hire
• Equipment hire
• Assistant

How to calculate a day rate

cost of fixed overheads + cost of non-fixed overheads = the cost of producing one day's photography

the number of days worked

Questions to ask regarding a brief

•  How
 many
 ads/portraits 
are
 required?

• Where
 will 
the 
ads
 be
 going 
–
 final 
format, 
portrait, 
landscape,
 DPS, 
48 
sheet 
billboard?

• Budget 
for 
locations?

• Is
 a 
casting
 required?

• Will
 the 
models 
need
 styling/hair and 
make‐up 
- if so, 
what 
budget?

• Will
 client 
and 
what 
other members
 of 
creative 
team
 will
 be
 on
 shoot?
• Ascertain 
how
 many 
days 
to shoot

• Ascertain 
what 
camera
 format to
 shoot 
in,
 35mm/MF/LF

• Ascertain 
number 
of 
scouting and 
casting
 days 
required?

• Ascertain 
need
 for
 stylist 
and/or
 hair 
and
 makeup

• Ascertain 
how
 big
 the 
crew
 is for
 logistics
 and
 subsistence

Fees
 & 
Expenses
 in
 Real
 Terms


• Commission 
Fee 
– 
Your 
personal
 fee
 for
 your
 talent 
and creativity,
 but
 will
 also
 include insurance 
and 
bought equipment 
costs

• Pre
Production 
Fee 
– 
All 
the
 time
 you
 have 
spent 
scouting, calling,
 casting
 and
 organising the 
shoot. 
Fee 
will 
not 
always be 
met.

• Post
Production
 Fee 
– 
Digital 
capture, 
RAW
 processing 
and retouching 
of 
files. 
A 
way
 of getting
 money
 back 
on 
your digital 
investments.


• Base
 Usage 
Rate (
B.U.R) 
– 
a 
percentage 
table 
indicating
 how
 much
 one
 can
 charge 
for licensing 
and
 future
 licensing dependent 
on 
certain 
factors 
such 
as 
geographical 
territory

Equipment suppliers

• Pro
Centre
 

• Direct 
• Metro
 
• Team
Work
 

• The
Flash
Centre 

• Calumet
 


10% contingency

A 10% contingency rate should be applied to any project in order to get funding. It gives an extra 10% of the budget, just in case something goes wrong, that way you have enough money in the budget to cover yourself in case of unseen costs.

lornarollingsphotography.com

The homepage of my website includes a long bar consisting of the name of the site - "Lorna Rollings Photography" - and four hyperlinks to different pages of the website. The image on the homepage is from my current project Mori, which I used to replace the slideshow that came with the original layout design. I personally don't like slideshows to display work on websites unless the accompanying music (if any) relates to the work. I don't like ones with transitions as they remind me of the special effects I used to put on Microsoft PowerPoint slideshows when I was a kid - it feels childish to me personally. When looking through photographers websites, I often get impatient waiting for each image to change on the slideshow, so I'd like my website to reflect what I'd like to see from a photographer in terms of design.  

I removed the original layout on the "About" page that featured a large image with text in a white box over the top of the image, as after a discussion with Shawn, we decided it looked like a text box and wasn't professional looking. I instead put in two smaller pictures from my project "Water". All images on pages like these can be found on the website in their respective project pages. The short bio includes how long I've been practising for, my university education in regards to photography, and the exhibitions I've participated in.

(Please note that this screenshot was captured by reducing the webpage in size so I could fit it all in one capture. The title does not appear like that on the actual page at 100%)

The "Portfolio" page shows all three projects I have uploaded to the website. Each image is linked to the corresponding page and gallery when clicked on. I have also included a small summary next to each picture to describe the work. The images are laid out in a zigzag style pattern as to not have too many blank spaces (as it would if all the images were aligned to the left of the page). I think this makes the page seem fuller, however I may edit this if I add more projects on.

As well as clicking on the images on the "Portfolio" page, you can access each project by hovering over the "Portfolio" link, where a dropdown menu listing the projects will appear. 

Each project page features a picture from the project on the left, with a summary of the project underneath. The images in the project are displayed in a gallery on the right of the page, under the links. The images appear in portrait-composition crop thumbnails, which I do not really like. I will see if I can change this.

The images can be viewed full-size by clicking on the thumbnails, where they "pop-out" (as seen by the grey transparent layer to the rest of the page). Scrolling through the gallery can be achieved by clicking on the right and left arrows, while going back to the page requires clicking on the 'X'. Pretty simple. I don't really like the pop-out nature of viewing the images in a bigger size, so I will see if I can change that. It is also worth noting that images cannot be saved to a hard drive by right-clicking in this view, the one benefit, I suppose.

The other project pages have the same appearance and function as the page for Mori.

My "Contact" page features only an email address and a hyperlink to my professional Twitter page. I didn't want to include my mobile number or address, as I fear that that is too much personal contact information to be putting online and in extreme cases, could be a matter for personal safety. I did have a link to my Flickr page, but after a discussion with Shawn I removed it, as any of my best images should be only seen on my professional website. I also included a picture from Mori to decorate the page. 

I also made a professional Twitter for myself as a way of promoting myself and as another way to keep in contact with people in a professional sense. I have had my personal Twitter page for almost four years, so I know how to use this form of social media very well. My icon is a picture of myself with a DSLR, just to reiterate that I am a photographer, and that this is a photography-based account. My bio features my occupation and qualifications, as well as a link to my website. The background is one of my unused medium format pictures from a previous project. I have retweeted posts on my personal account to advertise my professional account, and have gained 10 followers since I made it last weekend. I try to tweet on my professional account almost every day to keep people updated.

I think that my website is quite professional, however, there are a few things that I will look into changing. I tried to make my website like one that I would like to visit - simple, easy to navigate, with the right information and options for further contact. I will update it in time with more projects and continue to tweak the small things to improve it.

Building my website

I ended up choosing Wix as my web-maker, purely because there was simple, easy to understand information about the website. I feel like this was a good choice, however, there were a few issues.

Artist Statement - Mori

Based upon the tips in a previous blog post about how to write an artist statement, please find mine based on my current project Mori after the page break.

Laura Hynd Talk

Laura Hynd has been a practicing photographer for the past five years. Her work has appeared in weekend magazines, such as the Telegraph's magazine. Hynd also exhibits her work widely.

Education

Hynd spent two years at an art college before completing a three year graphic design degree. She said her graphic design work was constructed around photographs: she would take a photograph and design the graphics based on what was within the image. She describes her education as "visual" and says she comes from a creative background and family. 

Employment

She first worked as a creative designer before moving on to being a picture researcher/editor. However, she became physically ill and was away from work a lot. During this period of time her work was looking for people to ask for voluntary redundancy, something she took up due to her illness. After this, she began assisting photographers and bought herself an old Hasselblad.

With the Hasselblad, Hynd began photographing plants, gardens and the outdoors, stating that she liked the colours and subtleties of unresponsive beings.

Hynd created a hand-printed and bound portfolio before heading off on a self-assigned project in Massachusetts to photograph a organic farm with charity associations. This project was shot on the Hasselblad too, and she developed the film in New York before coming back to England. While there, she edited her selection and contacted the Telegraph picture desk for a meeting on her return. At the Telegraph meeting, they commissioned her to fly out to Italy and photograph a vineyard. Before the vineyard commission, she was also asked to photograph a gardener for their weekend magazine. Hynd stated that she was really nervous before the gardener shoot - she was physically sick beforehand, used 8 rolls of film and spent more money than she was paid, but it paid off and she kept on getting commissions. 

Websites

Hynd also talked about websites and said she looked at photographer's websites as part of her job at a picture desk, as research for her own website, and also for pleasure. She thinks that they should be easy to navigate and easy to look at - with possibly no Flash.

Hynd covered a story on pure energy in the Shetland Isles, a task that took 2 1/2 - 3 days. Besides shooting the required images, she also covered the history of energy in the Shetland Isles, and the publication ended up running pictures that they didn't commission.

Hynd has also shot a few magazine covers for the Telegraph, including subjects such as Nancy Dell'olio, Tom Hollander, and Emily Mortimer. She said that they tend to give her "diva" characters that she takes natural portraits of. Hynd was honest and said that she doesn't use lights because she doesn't know how to, and that she prefers natural light.

Hynd says that she is in control of all editorial and publishing work, and that this is disconnected from Burnham Niker, her agent. Hynd has also done a few advertising jobs, mostly including food - for example, Melrose + Morgan, the grocery. Hynd states that she will only shoot real food and that she doesn't do a lot of ad work, as "I want a nice life with no stress".

Personal Work
As Hynd's career was becoming more successful, her personal life began to go downhill, which resulted in her project The Letting Go. Hynd discovered that she could use photography to deal with her personal problems. She believes that it doesn't matter if people see photographer's personal work and it gets "out there", it's about getting it out of your system. 

In terms of completing a personal photography project, Hynd says to express yourself, to be honest, and think about what it is that you want, not what others want from you.

The Letting Go is presented as stills and also in a slideshow featuring music by Portishead. Hynd went for music with lyrics instead of an instrumental piece as the lyrics added to the content of the project. 

Hynd's current personal project is about her family history and past events, visiting places that were a big part of her childhood. The project is currently ongoing but has been exhibited at Photomonth. 

Hynd mostly uses film and says that unless the client has a preference, she will shoot in film. She also noted that picture editors are aware that not all photographers can afford to use film. Hynd now works shooting editorials and teaches, but says her personal work keeps her being creative.

"Being a photographer is brilliant because it takes you out of your comfort zone."

Building a Website

I am currently looking into different website-building sites for me to create my professional website. I am trying to decide between Wix and Moonfruit. 

Wix

• Easy. Fast. Beautiful
• No coding needed
• Just click to edit anything and create your own website in minutes!
• Advanced HTML5 Technology
• To create a site
• Wix is the only drag n' drop website editor that offers you HTML5 capabilities
• 100s of Stunning Designs
• Just for you
• Whether you need a business website or a personal portfolio
• Your Website
• Your way
• Change colours, text, background, pics & more to create your own unique site
• Top Grade Hosting
• 100% free
• Wix is dedicated to providing you with the best, most reliable hosting, 100% FREE
• Mobile. Facebook. Blog.
• Full web presence
• All you need in one place. Create websites, mobile sites, Facebook pages & blogs too

Domain names can be brought from wix for $14.95 for one year, and they offer .com and .co.uk

Moonfruit

• Publish Once. Be Everywhere.
• Web, mobile, social
• The internet just keeps getting bigger and your customers want to find you everywhere. You design your site the way you want it and we'll make sure we publish it correctly for web, mobile and social. Our software automatically creates a mobile optimised version of your site, and we'll even push your entire shop into Facebook with just a few clicks. Set your site free!
• As the online space continues to evolve it's our job to evolve with it and make sure your site is everywhere it needs to be without you having to worry!
• Total Design Control
• Own your own brand and online identity
• So what if you’re not a web designer ...you still have the power to craft and own your brand and identity. Moonfruit has an enormous library of backgrounds, images, templates and animations to choose from so you have complete control over the look and feel of your website.
• You can lay images on top of images, crop and animate them, make them transparent, choose from any number of fonts and colours – whatever you can imagine, you can make happen. Our premium packs now come with Getty Images too!
• Set-up Shop
• Start Selling in Ten Minutes
• The Moonfruit ShopBuilder automatically publishes your shop onto web, mobile and into Facebook. You only have to set-up your shop once. (Publish to eBay and other marketplaces coming soon too!).
• It offers a mobile optimised checkout for phone shoppers integrated with PayPal. It allows you to push your products into your Facebook and Twitter stream. It allows your customers to 'like' and 'tweet' their browsing and buying habits. It can be designed and published by you, like every other Moonfruit tool. It's even free.
• Get Blogging
• Good articles get shared. Sharing gets visitors. You get traffic. Blogging can create the kind of goodwill for your products that money can’t buy. It allows customers, friends and fans to share tips and experiences they collectively care about.
• It gives you the platform to share your expertise and passion about your business and you'll have a good excuse to regularly update your site and push articles into social media like Facebook and Twitter. Like every other part of Moonfruit, you can change the design and add your own content without any coding. It's addictive!
• Get Visitors
• Attract more people to your site
• Building and editing your website is only part of the fun. As you know, the most successful websites are the ones which attract the most people. Search engines like Google play a key part in this. All of our sites are search engine friendly and our tools automatically 'mark up' your content so that it is easy for search engines to read and understand.
• We've also added Google Analytics so you can track your visitors, and Google Webmaster Tools to help make your website a success.
• Premium Options
• More space, more products more stuff
• All Moonfruit sites are awesome, but if you want a little more awesomeness to beef up your website's capabilities, that's fine too. Multiple websites, more disk space, free domain names, bigger product catalogue, mobile checkout enabled, multiple site administrators – all these things and more are possible. You can even get a reseller pack if you want to start building websites for clients.

Moonfruit domain names cost £11.99 a year (and £11.99 for renewal) for .com, or £5.99 (and £5.99 for renewal) for .co.uk (minimum 2 year registry). 

CJ Clarke

CJ Clarke has been commissioned by Vanity Fair, The Guardian, and Christian Aid, as well as shooting documentary and portraiture. He has also won the BJP's Open Shutter Award, which is the first UK competition for HDSLR capture. 

What inspired you to begin using moving image and why?

Film, the moving image, has always been my primary interest. I took up for photography at the age of 15 or 16 as this was the closet I could get to film making. Digitally technologies were not widely available so it was not possible (and probably not even conceivable) to get my hands on the right equipment and start making films. 

Photography or more specifically, photojournalism, side-tracked me and it was on the medium that I exclusively focused for three or fours years. It was however, always my intention to make films and I began making small films (perhaps film is the wrong term, multimedia pieces using moving image, stills and audio) and gradually this led to my film 'Mother & Daughter' which was my first fully fledged film: it was the right opportunity at the right time. Rather than make a film for the sake of making a film I wanted to wait until the right opportunity presented itself to ensure it would be seen and not just vanity. 

In this sense, I wasn't swayed my new developments in camera technology; it was always an intension to make films the invention of HDSLR's made the leap from stills to film much easier and more accessible. 

My preference for film over stills is down to the greater control you have, as director, over the whole piece; the greater ability to control an audiences perceptions, to control the narrative in order to tell the story that you want to tell. As a working photographer, you are, in the main always producing work to fit into somebody else's design, be that a magazine or newspaper etc. As a film director you have control over every element - the visuals, the script, the sound, the lighting, the costumes. It is an exhilarating experience. 

What equipment do you use to capture your moving image work?

I have predominantly used HDSLR cameras to make my films so far. These cameras though, are used in the context to full processional film shoots, working with cinematographers, using lighting ... professional sound recording etc. It is never just a matter of turning up with my camera kit and trying to film something ad-hoc. 

How much of your moving image work has been commissioned?

All of my moving image work has been commissioned ... it is important that work is produced for a reason or has an outlet otherwise, otherwise the project can end up just being vanity; it can have no focus and no checks and balances to ensure you are making a refine product. 

You have covered campaigns and trailers in your work, will you expand into any other genres or areas?

I will of course expand into other areas - fiction and longer form documentary maybe. 

Has your moving image work influenced your still photography?

I was originally inspired by cinema and, as such, my stills photography as probably always been more influenced by film than other photograph; or indeed, I have been drawn to and influenced to photography that had a cinematic style or narrative such as Gilles Peress photography. 

Do you think it is important for photographers to expand into moving image?

It is clear that stills photography has changed; developments in digital technology and means of production have had a profound effect on the way we take and consume media. Stills photography does not exist in a vacuum. It has to respond to new developments and this may mean that photographers should expand into this area but only if they have the required skills and passion. Stills photography as we know it is probably dead; at lest on a downward curve that will see it become a more marginalised art. How photographers respond is up to them

. 

Stan Guigui

Stan Guigui's work is inspired by classic literature, including the works of Charles Dickens, which has fueled his work that delves into the darker side of society. His main body of work, The Kingdom of Thieves, is about Bogota, Columbia, and the people who live there whose lives have been changed for the worse by government abandonment. He has also worked as a crew member on several moving image projects. 

What inspired you to begin using moving image and why?

Just wanted to make a movie. Something different that stills. Another way to tell a story.

What equipment do you use to capture your moving image work?

Anything, Sony HD, Canon 5D, Camera does not really makes difference. I loved the HI8, it was the closest to film...

How much of your moving image work has been commissioned?

None, they where produced by Ciné Producers.

You have worked as a crew member on several films, did you find your photography skills translated easily to a new medium of work? If so, how?

No it's totally different. In a movie, frames and lights are changing in the same scene so it is another work. You need other people to help. When I am doing pictures;, I don't want any assistant, I don't like to talk... For me, movie is less intuitive than stills. It is a work. No pleasure !!!

Has your moving image work influenced your still photography?

No, it is the total opposite. My work in photography, helps me to do a movie. It is much more difficult to make a good picture than a good scene. In movie, you follow the action. In still you have to catch an action or an expression and sometimes it is really fast !

Do you think it is important for photographers to expand into moving image?

In term of business I would say yes, because TV pay more than magazines and they are thousand millions of pictures. So it is maybe easier and bankable to sell a short documentary or tv reportage. Also with the new consumption of media (I Pad, internet...) It is easy to put moving images. 

Cover Letter

Speculative vs Standard Letter

• Speculative
• something that covers the CV
• used for an opening or position that you don't know exists - e.g., something you haven't seen advertised
• Standard
• something that covers the CV
• used for an opening or position that you have seen advertised

In some cases, an email can be a cover letter, in which case the CV can be attached to the email. Each cover letter should be targeted and tailored to the organisation and role.

You should:

• explain why you are writing and what you can offer
• explain interest in employer
• display understanding of job and enthusiasm
• emphasize your key selling points
• illustrate with examples, then direct them to your CV
• keep the length to one side of A4 maximum 

Artist Statement

An artist statement is a brief statement created by the artist about their work. Its purpose is to justify, explain, or contextualize a body of work.

The statement should:

• use clear, simple language that is easily understood
• entice the reader to view the work

The context included in the statement should cover:

• what is the background of the piece?
• why did you create it?
• what influenced your ideas?

When talking about the meaning of the work, this should be included:

• what are the key themes of your work?
• what does it represent?
• does it reflect a philosophy or vision?

CV Development

How can you present yourself?

• CV
• Cover letters and emails
• Artist statement
• Application form
• Personal website/blog
• Portfolio
• Showreel
• Business cards
• Social media

The purpose of a CV

• It's a marketing tool
• It can be used to get an interview or work experience
• Don't tell your life story - only include achievements and highlights
• On average, employers spend 30 seconds reading a CV

What should a CV include?

• Contact information
• Links to online portfolio
• Education and qualifications
• Experience, work history, volunteering
• Achievements, awards, competitions
• Hobbies, interests, societies
• References
• Maybe a personal profile

CV Styles

There are three styles

• Chronological
• Skills based/functional
• Creative

Get the content right before focusing on the design

Tips

• Make it no longer than two pages (one page double-sided)
• Format it in reverse chronological order
• Make the layout consistent and attractive
• Double check it for errors and spelling/grammar mistakes
• A CV needs to be tailored for each role you are applying for
• Find the right balance between too much and not enough information

What is in a successful CV?

• Provide evidence of most relevant skills, knowledge, and experience
• Use examples from a range of contexts, e.g., uni, work, hobbies, volunteering
• Be specific - what did you do? What skills did you use? What did you learn/achieve?
• Write clearly and consistently - no waffle
• Use strong action words to describe yourself, but "passion" is overused 

Laurence Dutton

Laurence Dutton has been a photographer all his life and is enthusiastic about moving image. He specializes in advertising and commercial photography. 

Dutton was one of the photographers listed for me to contact about photography and moving image. I sent the emails out on Tuesday 6th November and received a reply on the same evening, asking if I could ring him on Thursday. The responses given to the questions will be based upon the notes I made during the conversation, as I did not record the phone call. 

What inspired you to begin using moving image and why?

Dutton says he is forward-thinking and in the past has worked with graphic designers. He said that moving image is taking over from ink and that print has numbered days. 

What equipment do you use to capture your moving image work?

Dutton has previously used the Canon 5D Mark II, but has just bought a Sony video camera. The other equipment he uses is a dolly slider, a small crane (for swinging, up, and down shots), a focus puller, and a monitor to view his work on.

How much of your moving image work has been commissioned?

Dutton told me at the beginning of his career a lot of his work was commissioned. Production companies used him as a cameraman, however, he has had little commissioned work (he estimated around 10%)  in the last six months. He is currently working by himself creating stock footage.

Have you found that your photography skills have translated easily to a different medium of work? If so, how?

He told me it was very easily to translate his skills, especially lighting.

Has your moving image work influenced your still photography?

Dutton believes that his moving image work has not directly affected his stills photography. He feels that in fashion, moving image has pushed still photography in a different direction.

Do you think it is important for photographers to expand into moving image?

Dutton told me he believes it to be essential for photographers to get involved with moving image as there is less work for photographers. He also noted that photography work is less well paid, saying that a job that would pay £2000 a few years ago now would pay £300. 

Dutton also told me he believes that making a decent living from photography alone will be harder, and that stills that have movement (.gifs/cinemagraphs) have a certain elegance about them.

Contacting Photographers

Following a previous post about contacting photographers, here is the standard template for the emails that I sent on Tuesday. Some questions have been tailored to that artist's work if applicable.

Dear __________,

I am a BA (Hons) student currently working towards my Photography degree at the University of the West of England. As part of a project, I am looking into the photography industry and in particular, how and why photographers are using moving image and including it in their portfolios. I came across your name during my research into photographers who are embracing film making. 

I would be very grateful if you could answer questions on this topic and anything else you feel is necessary. 

• What inspired you to begin using moving image and why?
• What equipment do you use to capture your moving image work?
• How much of your moving image work has been commissioned?
• Have you found that your photography skills have translated easily to a different medium of work? If so, how?
• Has your moving image work influenced your still photography?
• Do you think it is important for photographers to expand into moving image?

I look forward to hearing your response and your opinions on moving image.

Thank you for your time.

Kind regards,

Lorna Rollings

Karni + Saul Talk

"Karni and Saul are a couple and a creative team who have just joined Aardman Animations as Commercials Directors.  Saul is originally an animator/director, and Karni a photographer/director.  They started working together in 2004 after the video department at Virgin Records saw potential in some 10” films they made for showstudio.com. The films were based round the idea of flip book animation and were a natural evolution from their individual occupation bringing photography to movement or the other way around. They developed these into the three minute music video/film and then have gone onto make longer shorts, including the BAFTA nominated Turning, and Flytopia. Karni and Saul see their films like little stories, short cuts around a certain narrative where, influenced by their photography background, framing, beauty, crops, lighting are all very important. They like to call their work “breathing stills”."

On Wednesday, I received an email inviting me to a practitioner talk by filmmaking couple Karni and Saul. Both born in Israel, they met in college and wanted to become art teachers. Saul ended up becoming a self-taught animator, while Karni changed schools to study photography. They both ended up in England and met up again while working for Nick Knight's ShowStudio. This came about after Karni, who was struggling for money, was influenced by Nick Knight's interactive shop window installation. The finished product was uploaded to Showreel, and from there Knight commissioned a short. 

In terms of equipment, the couple use DSLR to film moving image for their stop-motion work as they found with the flexibility of lenses, the work was better quality than if they filmed with a camcorder. Camcorders are too low-resolution to make stop motion from due to the file format. Saul animates the films himself and tries to make any CG (computer generated) work look as photo-real as possible. However, due to Karni's photography background, she sees it as more important than animation in terms of filmmaking. 

Karni and Saul like to shoot on film as it has a good result, however it limits the filmmaker experimenting due to the cost. Karni believes playing is underrated as it is where you "find the magic". The couple read biographies of directors to inspire them to be playful. 

The couple think that a written script is not as important as you may think it is when pitching an idea. For their first pitch, they submitted a storyboard as they didn't know how to write a script. The idea that they were pitching included little dialogue so it was also beneficial to submit a storyboard instead of a script. 

It took a long time for the couple to get into films from commercial videos and music videos. They believe that critiques are essential to improving your work, and to not submit work that is similar or includes similar styles and techniques to what is popular, as it makes you stand out and is favourable. They said that film isn't about being like, but it's about being brave as it gains respect. 

Saul encourages filmmakers to challenge narrative and storytelling. He says it is easy when watching films to tell who has been to film school, as they are taught how to make films. Saul tells film students to disregard what they have been taught in film school and to find and keep their original style and look.  

The couple have made two short films. The first, Turning, is ten minutes long and was commissioned by the BBC.  The synopsis from the BBC website reads:

"On his sixth birthday, Robert receives three beautiful old ladies in his mother's sitting room. Through his eyes, we visit the memory of this afternoon, visualised with the free spirited imagination of childhood, naive yet wonderfully dark. Ladies appear like birds, a gift scuttles across the floor, blue icing is nibbled from a magical cake, tea is sipped, lacy slips shifted, and between knobbly knees strange visions appear. The ladies weave an extraordinary tale of an emperor with no skin, and the boy himself, older and wiser, adds the finale... with a tail."

They call Turning a "naive, soft fairytale with a dark side". At that point, they had read the Will Self short-story Flytopia, but felt that it was too raw for a first film. Turning was nominated for a BAFTA.

"We stumbled across the fantastic short story by  Lynda Sexson  in a murakami-edited collection called "Birthday Stories". 

And we immediately fell in love with the mix of wild imagination, crazy narrative structure and the magic of its world.. dealings with age/skin/beauty/sexuality and childhood.

It was shot over a week in Bristol with a fantastic crew cast and team!! great fun!!! the rest is history. we are very proud of our very first short. its now toured more than 12 film festivals around the world and is still going.... and the BAFTA nomination was fantastic,  we actually had to buy Saul his first suit .  p.s. got to kiss Tim Burton hooray!!..."

Flytopia was the couple's second short film, based upon the Will Self short-story featured in his book Tough, Tough Toys For Tough, Tough Boys. It is 20 minutes long and was commissioned by Film4. 

"A dark fantastical tale in which a man enters into a pact  with all the insect inhabitants of his rural cottage. 

dripping with honey, sex, flies, meat... 

and a very sticky end"

They shot on location in Hungary and used the location and Hungarian crew to push themselves. The short was shot over the space of a week, but Karni and Saul commented that they could have possibly done with an extra week. Their Director of Photography had worked previously on feature films. The majority of the insects were computer generated - Saul estimated 95% - and post-production lasted for 12 months. One component of the film was making madness to be a "good place".

Flytopia was shown at the Encounters Festival in Bristol, however it is not a premiere as it cannot be a premiere in your home city. Will Self was nor involved in the making of the film, however, he gave the film good feedback, calling it a "mistresspiece". Karni and Saul are now collaborating on writing a feature film with Will Self. 

The couple have filmed music videos for Flogging Molly, and also Joanna Newsom. The Newsom video for her song "Good Intentions Paving Company" was banned due to her being "too sexualised", although she had asked for a Rihanna-style music video. 

Karni and Saul say that they are still developing their style, but believe a crossover of mediums is crucial to bringing something to life. Karni said:

"If anyone feels anything while watching something I've made, I'll be happy."