2019 was a big year for me for several reasons. Firstly, I hit the big 3-0, which actually wasn’t as scary as everybody had made it out to be. I also somehow, miraculously, managed to get on the property ladder! If you’d said that to me 5 years ago, I would have laughed.

When you hit milestones in your life such as these, it does make you self-evaluate, both in a professional and personal sense. Fortunately in both cases, things are going well!

This year saw a bunch of exciting projects with many familiar faces, as well as a string of new ones, however it was also a time to catch up on some of the joys outside of work. Organisations increasingly understand that good work-life balance and positive mental health in the workplace is essential to staff productivity. In light of this, it’s important that the workforce, especially us self employed, are able to switch off when we can. As we end up becoming more productive, this results in us doing better work. Better work = happier clients. Sounds good to me!

Here are some of my personal highlights from 2019:

Filming in the City

Alongside my ongoing work attending healthcare summits across the country with HSJ and promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession with Aspiring Solicitors, some new ventures in the capital this year included creating video content on fintech for the Loan Market Association and operating on live streams at London Fashion week for Project Video Productions.

I’m definitely starting to get my bearings around London above ground now, and am probably becoming a more aggressive driver in the process!

Creating entertainment experiences with The Business Creative

As our talent was wearing camo gear, we opted for a bluescreen..

Outside of London, a new client for me this year was The Business Creative, an agency based in Brighton who create entertainment experiences around the world. One such project involved making video content for a childrens escape room at a holiday resort. Instead of utilising a live actor at the resort, this activity had participants operating a tablet, with their host appearing in a series of pre-recorded videos to give the clues for each puzzle.

My task was to turn their office into a blue screen studio to make it look like the host was actually orbiting the earth from a spaceship. With some careful lighting and by incorporating motion graphics templates, the end result was a success and the client were delighted.

Capturing the walking activity in the resort town of Morro Jable

I was also fortunate enough to fly out with them to Fueteventura for a few days to shoot a series of internal training videos for TUI. This involved capturing several activities at one of their hotels, including Sjoelbak (Dutch shuffleboard), cocktail making and casino night, showing staff members how to efficiently prepare these activities for the guests’ enjoyment.

As far as brands go, TUI is one of the biggest I’ve ever had the pleasure of working for in my career so far. Thank you Business Creative!

Panasonic EVA 1: super 35 camcorder with EF mount

Early tests and the colours coming out of this camera are simply stunning.

Investing in 4K: Panasonic EVA1

After a noticeable increase in requests for delivering footage in 4K, as well as the benefits of capturing in 4K for HD delivery, I finally took the step in upgrading my main camera to the Panasonic EVA 1. My Canon C100 has served me very well indeed after upgrading from a DSLR several years ago, and I will continue to use it for particular projects with an Atomos attached. However, in order to continuously improve the quality of work that I deliver to clients and to stay competitive with my peers, this upgrade was inevitable.

I will be going into more detail in an upcoming post on my reasons for choosing this camera over the likes of the popular Sony FS7 and the Canon C200 and most importantly, why I think my clients are going to love it.

Gorgeous black sands on the south coast of Iceland

Life experiences: exploring Europe

As a camera operator and video editor, I’m always looking for inspiration. Occasionally I’m fortunate enough to visit interesting places for work, but travelling on business isn’t quite the same as being let loose in a foreign country with a bit of time and a DSLR!

Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. A tragic reminder of the events that took place on our doorstep, not too long ago.

Turning 30 made me realise that I’d slightly neglected my passion for travel in recent years, so I took the opportunity to visit a few places in Europe to make up for lost time and to inspire me to keep on shooting.

From learning about the siege of Sarajevo in the 90s, to seeing a glacier for the first time, I was incredibly fortunate to visit some incredible places across the Balkans, Iceland and Greece. Maybe I’ll start a travel blog after this!

Off the beaten track in a remote village near Theth, Albania

Travelling broadens the mind and gives you a fresh perspective on life. I’m desperate to return to these stunning places as soon as I can; hopefully to shoot some projects next time!

Of course, there have been numerous other things going on this year too. Far too many to list!

So, what’s happening in 2020?

Continuous improvement through personal development

Lighting is a key area I’ll be focusing on in order to create more cinematic imagery. Can you guess the film that inspired me here?

Continuous improvement are the only two words that matter. As mentioned above, it is time for me to step up. I want to create broadcast quality, cinematic content for clients, but without losing focus on the purpose and message. I want to portray brands in the perfect light and will be developing my portfolio to showcase what I can do. This includes getting involved in more ‘passion projects’ to develop my skills in cinematography and ensure that the long term result is a higher standard of work for my clients. I have some exciting projects in the pipeline for 2020, including a commercial job for Rug Doctor and a narrative project or two as well.

Curiosity and personal development are the only ways a freelance professional such as myself can grow and do our best work. If we don’t want to do our best work, then why would we deserve to get hired?

An increased focus on video strategy

I’m also increasingly noticing that companies are often lacking a strategy when it comes to releasing video content online. Now I’m not claiming to be a marketing expert, but if videos aren’t released as part of a wider marketing strategy, both the clients and I lose out. It is no longer good enough just to turn up, film a project, edit it into a video and hope it does well. Great video content requires careful thought, preparation and collaboration for the best ROI. It’s in my interest for that content to perform well!

As we go into the new year I will be asking clients, current and prospective, more questions from the outset. Some of the answers will be obvious, whereas others will require some careful thought. The purpose is to get an increased understanding of their business and hopefully, see improved engagement. I would encourage anyone getting video content made to answer these questions:

What problem is the video content solving?
How can it deliver the message in the most efficient way?
How can we get the best audience retention & engagement?
When is the optimal time for release?
How is your audience reacting to existing content?

Hopefully these questions will encourage closer collaboration with clients, so I can understand the reasons why they want video in the first place. I also see myself collaborating more with marketing professionals and agencies long term, to ensure that the content I create has purpose and that clients benefit from the combined expertise.

Work experience

Lastly, I am still on the look out for candidates looking for work experience opportunities. My goal for 2020 is to beat this year’s grand total of 1! If you are a new entrant to the video production industry and are keen to get some practical experience with a freelancer in filming and/or editing on the job, do get in touch!

So, here’s to the next 12 months..

Whatever the new year brings I’d like to thank all of my clients, collaborators, family, friends and everyone else who has supported me throughout the year. I look forward to the challenges that 2020 brings and I will most definitely keep on creating.

All that’s left to say is..

Happy new year!

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Looking back over 2019