On this week’s Creator Office Hours I had a fun time answering questions from the live viewers regarding a few things. Some things which are fascinating. Some things which are absolutely craptastic. . .in my opinion. Check it out below.
Notes of discussion:
Importance of degrees and education
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It’s the end of the week and I’m just a wee bit tired. I’m grateful I’ve been busy with stuff. It’s been more and more of the on-going job hunt activity. And when I say “job,” I’m not necessarily meaning a “traditional 9-5” job. For the record, I’ve looked at a few of those, but I’m more and more interested in being an independent creator. Especially since we are continuing to see more layoffs over here. But anyway, the job push continues. Moving on to why I’m writing this today. . . .
Image by Ant Pruitt all rights reserved
When I wasn’t checking out the job market or shooting basketball games for MaxPreps, I was checking out tech news. One bit of news which got my attention was the announcement of Adobe Max. It was great news. . .sorta.
Each October, Adobe kicks off its creator conference covering everything from new software updates to creator-driven classes which help you get better with their products to networking with other creative artists from around the globe. I LOVE this event. I look forward to it each year.
I had every intention on attending the event this October until I saw that it was moved from Los Angeles to Miami. This hurt my heart. It took me a minute to get over it, actually. I was looking forward to driving down and seeing the event. But I can’t make a promise that I’ll get out to Miami in October. I’ll go over my budget and so forth in the coming weeks, but off the top of my head, I can’t see a cross-country flight happening. Especially since I don’t know if I’ll have to be in Eugene, Oregon screaming #scoducks. I don’t know. We’ll see. I may be able to figure it out. Sometimes, I actually can figure things out. Maybe I can get a gig with Adobe? That could offset costs, right? Hmmm.
Have you attended Adobe Max? If you’re a creator, you SHOULD. It’s an unbelievable event with great energy that can only help you as a creator. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
So yesterday I put up a video regarding content creators being (fairly) paid. I’ve gotten quite a bit of feedback or comments about the topic. Mostly from creators. I have to say, I’m curious to hear more from the non-creators out there regarding this. What’s your experience? Check out the video below and feel free to comment.
Be well, everyone. Do something nice for yourself and do something nice for someone else. Also, be sure to check subscribe to the podcast and check out my gallery for prints. THANKS.
Image credit Ant Pruitt all rights reserved
It’s been an interesting and sometimes frustrating month or so with regards to finding job or gig opportunities. Each day I spend a little time on job boards or job services such as Indeed looking for something that will be a good fit for me.
stock image from Envato Elements
I say “little time” because I’m definitely leaning into being fully independent and self-employed as a creator, but it’s tough sledding at the moment. This isn’t pre-2019 when I was on the east coast and had a book of business. This is five years later in a new area and a new TIMEZONE. I’m starting over, essentially. Two or three years ago, I tried starting over, but became super frustrated as I was nickeled and dimed so much by potential clients “highly interested” in my expertise, but they didn’t want to pay my rates. I was even stiffed on a job by a client. So I decided to only focus on my duties at TWiT as well as focus on my son’s high school career regarding content I created. I was fine with that because it worked.
Now, I find myself looking at promising roles as well as some roles that should be reported to authorities because the salary offered is too low to live on. This further cements my mindset of being an independent creator. Which means, I need to build my book of business contacts. So if you know of someone looking for photo, video or post-production help, give ‘em my name - Ant Pruitt. I’m easy to find only with that search term, fortunately. And yes, I’ll travel for some gigs.
While I wait on all those referrals to come in, I’ll keep at it on my side looking at opportunities be it part time or full time or client-building. I have two calls on the books for prospective clients this week in an effort to do some contract creative work. Particularly, user generated content (UGC). I’m looking forward that, but can’t (and won’t) stop there. I look forward to it because of the freedom I can potentially have to use my creative vision. I’ve found the service, Backstage, to be interesting and useful. Granted I’ve not signed anyone from the service just yet, I do like being able to see various roles in the creator space. I applied for a camera assistant gig for a film production happening here in the city. This would be a nice short gig on this road of independent creating.
Ok, enough rambling. Be well, people. Thanks for the support and for telling folks about me. Don’t forget to check out the podcast. I’m digging into that production and it’s going to grow up into something great. It’s on my YouTube channel too.
VidCon is going on this week, so content creators are all hyped about new product announcements and potential new partnerships. Today, Blackmagic Design announced some updates to its pocket cinema camera family with the new Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2. Also known as the #bmpcc6k.
Image: Blackmagic Design
The Pocket 6K G2* has been redesigned to look very similar to that of the 6K Pro, while still allowing it to feel familiar to the original 6K that some of us own. The LCD is now a flip down/up version like the 6K Pro, additional mini XLR audio inputs, EF lens mount and the battery is now the NPF style of battery instead of the Canon LPE6 battery. Granted, you should probably invest in a better way to power the device with something like a FXLION* pack or a/c. You do not get internal ND filters on the G2, though. Makes sense. You’re still getting a great 6K super 35 image sensor with an alleged 13-stops of dynamic range. But you’re also getting an updated camera operating system (OS).
Image: Ant Pruitt
If you’re like me and running an existing #bmpcc, you can still update your camera OS by downloading the software from Blackmagic. It’s an easy process to update the camera, it’s just a bit slow.
Image: Ant Pruitt
The updated OS includes some useful features to go with the new UI and also unlocks gyroscope information. The gyroscope information will be be used in Davinci Resolve v18 to aid in image stabilization. The stabilizer in Resolve isn’t bad, but it’s nice to see that Blackmagic is working to make it even better. I’ve not installed the beta version of Davinci Resolve 18 yet. Granted, the features sound GREAT in it, but I’m just not mentally prepared to have beta software running on client work.
Image: Ant Pruitt
It’s nice seeing this camera get an update. The 6K is a very nice camera for the amount of money, but it’s not perfect. I’m looking forward to seeing the new OS as well as trying out the stabilization within Davinci Resolve whenever the production version is released. If you’re interested in getting started with Davinci Resolve, I created a quick tutorial to get you rolling. Watch it here. Get the 6K G2 for $1995 available today.
*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.
The folks at Blackmagic Design were kind enough to send me an ATEM Mini Extreme ISO* to play with for a couple of weeks. MAAAAAAN this device. . .I won’t say much here. Just watch my video below. But before you watch the video, check out the tech specs:
8 inputs
2 USB-C outputs
Supersource
ISO recording
Camera controls for BlackMagic Design cameras
*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.
I have the honor and pleasure to be a part of the panel of judges for the 2022 International Mobile Film Festival. The wonderful Miss Susy Botello and team reached out to see if I’d be interested. Of COURSE I was interested. The world of content creation continues to fascinate me and when you look at it from a mobile device perspective, it’s pretty dadgum amazing.
Image via International Mobil Film Festival
I got to know Miss Susy a few years ago as I saw her on Twitter preaching the gospel of Filmic Pro. I love that app for getting the most out of your smartphone video camera. She’s being running this film festival for quite a while now (2009, I believe) and it’s great to see its growth in popularity from creators around the globe. Really great seeing the passion to help push folks into creating more stories with their mobile devices.
The event takes place in San Diego April 29th - May 1st 2022. For more information, head on over to the site and feel free to submit your mobile cinematic masterpiece.
I had the honor and pleasure of being on Tom Merritt’s DTNS “Experiment Week” which for my episode, was hosted by Anthony “Amos” Lemos. With this being “Experiment Week,” the DTNS had me on to talk a bit about photography. The state of photography today as well as my thoughts on the future of photography when it comes to consumers and pro-sumers. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for giving it a listen.
A little while ago I sat in our Mr Alex Lindsay’s Office Hours again. I love sitting in on that panel to attempt to answer questions from the creative community as well as LEARN more stuff for my own skillset. Periodically, he and the panel conduct “ruthless reviews” of each other. The reviews range audio, to video, to set, and so forth. All about making the online/virtual meeting experience better for the panelist and their audience. I was a part of this ruthless review and it was quite helpful. Click below to watch the first hour of q&a and then watch the second hour of the video as we get into ruthless reviews. Enjoy.
Screenshot via Alex Lindsay and Office Hours
I’ve had the pleasure to meet Mr. Alex Lindsay a few years ago since moving west. There was so much I didn’t know about him beyond the world of seeing him on TWiT TV. After meeting him and shooting a show with him, the pandemic happened. For him, the pandemic mattered not. He and his business partners pivoted and created something I enjoy each week that’s designed to help content creators learn more about the craft. It also serves as a great community for open discussions about the topics shared and learned. it’s called Office Hours.
Every now and then I’ve joined Office Hours as a panelist to answer questions that I may actually be familiar with. A lot of the time, I have no idea as I’m not a creator that’s out on movie sets in Hollywood or someone that livestreams large productions on a regular basis. But it’s nice to be able to contribute where I can.
On this episode below, the second hour of Office Hours focused on orchestral recording and how to position the mics. It’s such a nuance skill. The presentation was handled by Karl Asmussen of Australia. Sorry, I can’t find a website or social media profile to link to him. Anyway, watch his presentation by clicking the image below. You’ll learn a LOT.
Image screencap from Karl Asmussen