Bearman's Blog

A rant about a new breed of graphic designers

2011-03-02T17:18:00.002Z

Vector images are defined mathematically

Time for a ranty blog...

There seems to be an increasing trend for Graphic Designers to design logos in Photoshop...

Experienced designers know that a logo should be designed in a vector-based drawing package such as Adobe Illustrator - that way, the logo shape is defined as a series of mathematical shapes, and so can be scaled up to any size without loss of quality. The file size remains very small compared to a bitmap image. A vector file can also be used with computer-controlled machines such as vinyl cutters for creating things like signage and branded clothing, or by motion graphics designers like me to extrude into 3D shapes.

A bitmap image becomes pixellated as you scale it up

It amazes me that some 'professional' graphic designers simply don't know the difference between vector and bitmap (or raster) graphics... If this is you, check out this good explanation on the BBC Bitesize GCSE revision website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/dida/graphics/bitmapvectorrev1.shtml

I'm guessing this new breed of designer is using Photoshop because it's easy to create something that looks 'glossy' by applying a few layer styles to add gradients, bevels and shadows.

Vectors can be used in 3D software

Many of these Photoshop designers seem to have forgotten (or never learned) one of the fundamental principles of logo design which is that the logo should work in monochrome (ie a single colour).

Don't get me wrong - Photoshop is great - there's nothing wrong with using Photoshop for the graphic design of posters etc when you want to add effects and blend layers together, but it's just not the right tool for creating the master design for a logo.

So please, if you're a graphic designer who automatically reaches for Photoshop when you need to design a logo, switch to Illustrator and create your master logo shape in there - it will serve you well!

Rant over :-)

Love U More

2010-09-23T12:33:00.000+01:00

Well this is my first blog post since the beginning of July when I moved into my new office.

Since then I have been completely snowed under with work - I've created over 100 different logo animations in those three months along with loads of other bits and pieces!

Here's my most recent piece of work, a promotional video for Fierce Angel Records' latest release, "Love U More" by Oxford Hustlers and Katherine Ellis.

It was based on original artwork by Jason Cook. Artwork like this is an absolute dream to animate and, being a fan of disco house music, it was a pleasure to work on!

The Big Move

2010-07-17T13:07:00.000+01:00

Three years ago I moved to Manchester from Somerset where I had spent most of my life. I had a separate home and office, 11 miles apart, so my work and home life were kept separate.

When I moved to Manchester, I decided to intially work from home until I got to know the city and could choose a suitable office. Then the recession came along! So I did the sensible thing and continued working from home in case business took a dive.

The trouble with this is that I lost the division between my work and home life which slowly but surely takes its toll. I definitely work more efficiently doing a strict 9 til 5 rather than letting work drift into the evening.

Last week I finally made the move into a new office so I now have a separate work and home life again. I can't tell you how good it feels to have that seperation back again!

The move went very smoothly - I hired a van (from Salford Van Hire - very good value no-nonsense service), and with the help of a friend and the very helpful caretaker at the office block we moved me in within a few hours.

My new home is Ducie House, close to Piccadilly Station in the north of the city, the complete opposite side to my home. Ducie House is an old converted factory, and has been modernised with lots of frosted glass to give the 'old meets new' effect common in so many of Manchester's buildings.

It is home to a number of businesses, mainly in the creative sector which will hopefully provide some networking opportunities once I've got to know my fellow tennants!

Ducie House is unique in Manchester, in that it offers proper self-contained individual offices (not just divided off sections of a big room) which are semi-serviced, in that your electricity and heating are provided and you have shared kitchen facilities, but you are left to sort out your own phone line which means no need to join a slow shared broadband connection or have all your calls go through a central switchboard, which is common in serviced offices.

My first week was slightly marred by BT taking a week longer than expected to provide broadband (you don't realise just how much you rely on an internet connection until you lose it!), but other than that I'm very happy in my new home.

All that remains now is to decorate the office to make it feel a bit more homely.

I'll post some pictures once that's done!

Club Candy TV Review in Pro Mobile Magazine

2010-05-12T14:31:00.001+01:00

This was a review of Club Candy TV written by Pro Mobile magazine.

Pro Mobile Magazine - Issue 40, Page 69.
Club Candy TV is produced by Phil Bearman; you may remember his name as some of his previous visuals
were reviewed back in issue 20 of Pro Mobile. The DVD features six professional dancers in six different scenes: Boogie Nights, Electro Grunge, Glam, Neon Nights, Superclub and Vectro Electro, each designed to complement a different musical genre. There is an extensive mix of backgrounds in each of the six scenes, including a wide range of disco light type effects, a city background, a nightclub, various cocktail glasses, and some giant shoes!

Each scene features four minutes of footage making the DVD 24 minutes long in total. The DVD was designed to be used by VJs to provide visuals for tunes for which they don'thave an accompanying music video. All the visuals are choreographed to a constant tempo of 125 BPM with a click-track allowing the visuals to be synchronised with music using a DVD player with speed control. The DVD also features MPEG2 and MPEG4 H.264 files on the same disc for those using VJ software. This DVD is definitely intended to be used in segments - although it will play all the way through, it is best suited for use in the place of a music video, rather than as continuous background visuals.

Used in the right context, both DVDs would be an asset to a mobile DJ's show. All the dancing and graphics they feature are very good and professionally produced. Although some people feel that visuals of this kind can detract from the music, I personally feel that if left looping all night they have the same kind of effect as 'Go-Go Dancers' had in yesteryear.

As mentioned before, to be able to synchronize the timing of the DVDs with the BPM of the music track you have playing you will either need a DVD player with pitch control, or VJ software that will enable manipulation of the video. Of course if you're a budding VJ, if you don't have one or the other of these already, they'll probably be high up on your gear shopping list. All in all these DVDs are a worthwhile investment, and although they are similar on the surface, subtle differences enable them to serve different
purposes within a mobile DJ's show.

* * * *

You can view samples and buy Club Candy TV at www.ClubCandyTV.com

"The music goes really well"

2010-05-12T10:17:00.000+01:00

I've lost count of the number of times that clients say to me "The music goes really well!" when I present them with an animation which has been choreographed to music.

What they perhaps don't realise is that actually it's the graphics that are going well with the music (not the other way around), and that is because I've painstakingly spotted all the 'cues' within the music (beats, bars and musical nuances) and made sure the motion coincides with those musical events. Not quite the happy coincidence it's often perceived to be!

This is why it's key to choose (and settle on) a piece of music before starting work on a project - it really does influence everything else in the process, and changing it further down the line will add a lot of time and therefore cost to the project.

Qualities of a Motion Graphics Designer

2010-03-24T13:44:00.003Z

I recently did a Q & A with some college students to help with a project they were working on, and one of the questions was about what skills/qualities are required to do my job.

I thought my answers might be of interest to anyone looking to get in to Motion Graphics, so decided to post them here (these are in no particular order, and are by no means an exhaustive list)...

(NOTE: These aren't all essential skills for somebody starting in motion graphics design, just things which have been useful to me over the years, whether they were existing skills or things that I picked up along the way. )

Graphic Design Skills - I often decribe my job as being a 'graphic designer who makes things move'! It is essential to understand things like the difference between vector and bitmap (or raster) graphics, and the difference between CMYK and RGB. A basic knowledge of software such as Illustrator and Photoshop goes a long way. Understanding the basics of typography, colour and layout are also very important.
Understanding of how television/video works - it's very useful to understand things like frame rate, the differences between formats such as PAL and NTSC (and now HD formats), TV-safe margins, Broadcast colours etc - if you don't have this knowledge before you start, it should be one of the first things that you learn.
Observation of the world around you - particularly the way things move in the real world. Also, the 'imperfections' of the world, for example dirt and grime on objects, and the variation in nature.
Understanding of how light works - how white light is made up from Red, Green and Blue components, the way those colours mix and how light interacts with different surfaces.
Attention to detail - this is a key difference between an OK designer and a great designer! Humans are subconsciously very sensitive to how things appear - when you're trying to simulate reality it's the small details that will really make it convincing.
Understanding of 3D - knowing how X, Y and Z positioning and rotation work
Musical Knowledge -synchronising motion and events to music is an essential part of being a motion graphics designer. It's really helpful to have an understanding of how music is structured and an ear for the subtle nuances in music which can act as cues for motion. If you're a freelancer or work for a small company you can often find yourself needing to edit pieces of music to fit a particular purpose - understanding how beats and bars work is essential in this situation.
Mathematics / Computer Programming - Motion Graphics software such as After Effects allows you to control parameters mathematically using 'expressions' which can be a huge timesaver if you know how to use it. As a simple example, you could create a wave motion by using a Sine curve to control position, rather than having to create dozens of keyframes.
Thirst for knowledge / research skills - Often it is necessary to research a subject yourself, and it's important that you can research efficiently and accurately.
Workaholic attitude - Near-impossible deadlines go hand-in-hand with this profession, no matter which sector you work in, and working long days is a regular occurance!
Understanding the fundamentals of computers and files - professional motion graphics software is not designed in the same way as office software like Microsoft Word where there are Wizards and Assistants popping up all over the place to help you along your way! You particularly need to understand things like file types & extensions and file sizes.

Geek update

2010-03-11T14:51:00.004Z

I've just splashed out on a new workstation, as my 'youngest' was a three year old Athlon dual core machine that was struggling a bit with CS4 and the increasing complexity of projects that I'm working on.

I spent all of last weekend carrying out a major operation to get the new computer installed, and shuffle everything around in order to retire my oldest 'admin' PC which is 5 years old.

For anyone who's interested, the spec of the new machine is as follows:

Processor: Intel Core i7 Processor i7-930 (2.80GHz)
Memory: 12GB CORSAIR XMS3 TRI-DDR3 1333MHz
Motherboard: ASUS P6T WS Professional
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit
Storage: 1 x 250Gb for OS etc, 4 x 1TB configured as 2 x 2TB RAID-0 drives for video storage
Graphics Card: PNY Quadro FX580 512MB GDDR3

It's running like a dream! Rendering is at least 4 times faster than my other workstation.

This is also the first time I've used Windows 7 and I really like it. (Thankfully I missed out Vista altogether!).

Advertising Tips for Nightclubs and Bars

2010-02-28T12:15:00.008Z

Here are my three tips to improve the advertising of your venue's events and drinks.

Before I start, I should explain that I'm no expert in the subject, but with 10 years experience working in and with the nightclub/bar industry, I've learned and observed a few things over the years!

(In case you're wondering - I started out with a Saturday job in a sound and lighting shop, which led me to a four year spell working as a lighting designer, programming light shows in nightclubs among other things. I also taught myself to beat mix which led to DJing and promoting a successful club night for six years. In 2004 I became a motion graphics designer and have been supplying nightclubs and bars across the UK and internationally with custom visuals and advertising ever since.)

So, on to the tips:

1. THINK AHEAD

I never cease to be amazed by the number of bars/clubs who ask me to make an advert for an event that's only a week or two away!

I would recommend that you begin promoting any event at least a month before it happens. By 'begin promoting' I mean you should have all of your advertising in place. Therefore you should aim to get your designers briefed 5-6 weeks before the event.

It's equally important not to advertise too early (although this is rare!) - start too early and the impact and momentum of your campaign will be diluted.

By thinking ahead you will give your event the best promotion possible, and you will get the best quality work from your designers rather than a rush job.

2. CONSISTENCY

There is nothing more frustrating than being faced with conflicting information from different sources when all you want is a simple answer. Imagine a potential customer looking up information on your venue - if one website says your venue is open on Friday nights and another says it's closed, the chances are they aren't going to take a gamble - they'll just go somewhere else. I would guess that over 60% of venues have conflicting information on different websites.

Make a list of all of the places that your marketing appears, print it out, stick it on your wall, and use this as a checklist whenever you make a change to your listings etc.

Here are some obvious ones:

Your website
Networking sites: Facebook, Myspace, Bebo
TV Screens
Posters & Flyers
Event listings sites (Don't stay in, Tilllate)
Magazines & Newspapers (Mixmag, etc)
Directories - Yell.com etc

Always look for the most clear, concise way of getting your message across, and use that same message on all of your websites, adverts etc.

Close down out-of-date profiles on networking sites so that you have just one 'page' for your venue - you don't want your punters to search for your venue and be faced with a choice of four different groups/pages/profiles for the same venue!

3. MAKE YOUR ADVERTS ENTERTAINING

The drinks industry is well known for clever and entertaining advertising campaigns. Why not try to emulate this with your own adverts? Rather than just stating a product and a price, think up a funny, clever, or attention-grabbing message and you are sure to see increased sales.

Selling on price is rarely a good idea - unless you're a giant with huge buying power like JD Wetherspoon you are much better off selling the benefits of your products (drinks/venue/events) rather than the price alone.

As a simple example, imagine an advert for Tequila shots. Rather than just stating "TEQUILA SHOTS £1", you could play on the well-known song lyrics "Tequila, it makes you happy!" perhaps accompanied by a good stock photo of a group of people at a bar laughing (although you'd probably want to put a small disclaimer saying that tequila isn't actually guaranteed to make you happy!).

Think about your typical customer and what would make them tick - are they students who would have an 'off the wall' sense of humour, are they sophisticated people who are sold on style and glamour?

A picture is worth a thousand words - so, for example if you're putting together an advert for cocktails, go to the effort of making up each of the cocktails and taking a good photo of each (and by good, I mean well lit, in focus, and nicely composed with spotlessly clean glasses - don't just take a quick snap without thinking about it!).

Finally... unless you want to date your venue by 30 years, please please please don't spell nightclub as "niteclub" - just a personal niggle of mine, but I never cease to be amazed by the number of clubs still doing this - it was fashionable in the eighties, but definitely isn't now!
==================

I hope these tips will help you to promote your venue more successfully.

There aren't enough hours in a day

2010-02-05T10:49:00.002Z

Lack of time is my biggest source of frustration!

Being a bit of an 'ideas person', my mind is constantly bursting with new ideas - ways to improve my workflow, marketing, website, new products, etc., but obviously these things come secondary to doing actual jobs for clients which, thankfully, I'm never short of!

I've been known in the past to take a week's "holiday" just to make some headway on some of these ideas! Of course the downside to taking time off when you're self employed is that it's unpaid - a week off means losing quarter of your monthly income!

I'm hoping to be in the position to take on an employee over the next year which will be great as it will free up some of my time to spend on these ideas, although employing somebody will be a big and scary jump!

Behind the scenes - Club Candy TV

2010-01-14T12:03:00.001Z

Here's a short video I've put together showing s0me of the making of Club Candy for anyone who's interested:

"Don't give up the day job" (Club Candy video tutorial)

2010-01-06T11:52:00.003Z

I've just posted a video tutorial on using Club Candy TV on my YouTube channel -

http://www.youtube.com/user/philbearman#p/u/0/HoVUUZtkIaw

As you will see, presenting really isn't my forté - I won't be giving up the day job any time soon!

There are also full length samples of the 6 video files included with Club Candy Vol.1:

http://www.youtube.com/user/philbearman#p/c/A5BC935B777A23F3

Christmas... DONE! (nearly)

2009-12-21T09:38:00.002Z

It's Monday morning - two days of work left before my Christmas break begins. I'm feeling smug because I've hit my sales target 10 days early, so can take a couple of weeks off for Christmas without feeling guilty! (Although this has only been achieved by working 12-hour days for most of this month!).

This also means my turnover has been exactly the same as last year - not bad for a year strongly hit by a recession!

Last week I finished work on my new DVD title - "Club Candy TV" - at long last! I'm still waiting on stock to arrive from the duplicators, but the initial response I've had has been fantastic. I've already got ideas for a second volume, so I hope it sells well!

Over Christmas I'm planning on writing a couple of articles for my blog/website. The first will be a guide to marketing for Nightclubs and Bars. The second will be a guide to setting up a small business for individuals - I thought it would be nice to 'give something back' and share some of what I've learned during my 10 years of self-employment!

Anyway, better get some work done - still a few loose ends to tie up before Christmas.

I have no idea how many (if any!) people read my blog, but best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to any of you out there!

Phil

Introducing Club Candy TV!

2009-11-25T10:02:00.005Z

I've nearly finished work on my latest product, Club Candy TV.

I've put together a website with some video samples, and plan to release it at the beginning of December.

For full info, check out the website here: http://www.clubcandytv.com

It's been two (very intensive!) months in production which has put a bit of a strain on my resources, so apologies to all my clients for my being a bit slower than usual, and thank you for being so patient!

Teaser video...

2009-10-18T22:26:00.003+01:00

Here's a short teaser video for my latest DVD product which is due to be released sometime in November. Watch this space for more info!

Busy busy busy!

2009-10-14T08:51:00.003+01:00

September and October have been incredibly busy for me which is great from a business point of view, but pretty stressful on a personal level! I've got 18 jobs queued up at the moment, and the work just keeps coming in!

Last Wednesday I had a 'no phone or email' day, which was a great help in getting through the backlog of work. It's amazing how much time you lose to admin and communication as a one-man business.

I also added a page to my club & bar website giving information on turnaround times. I've always prided myself on fast turnaround, but that's only possible when the work is coming in at t the same rate as it's being completed. Something which I mentioned on the page was the old design mantra which states "You can have any TWO of the following: Quality, Speed, Low Cost - but not all three" - this is so true!

I think the high volume of work is a combination of the usual seasonal peak as we head towards christmas along with a lot of clubs/bars upping their marketing spend as the recession eases off.

Anyway, better get back to it!

My First Shoot... a success!

2009-09-26T00:26:00.004+01:00

Well the big shoot took place this week - I spent Monday setting up the studio, and Tuesday was a solid day of filming.

The studio was perfect for the job, and being just down the road from me, it was very convenient!

The big day went very smoothly with all of the dancers doing a great job, providing some fantastic footage.

There are a few things that I would do differently if I did it again, but it wasn't bad for a first effort!

I've spent this evening keying the footage which has been surprisingly easy, despite being filmed on an AVCHD camera. I'm glad I did my homework on getting the lighting right!

Here's a short bit of video I've put together - this is a very rough composition of some of the footage so isn't representative of what the finished DVD will be like!

"It gets earlier every year!"

2009-09-11T11:20:00.002+01:00

You know you're getting older when you start saying "Christmas gets earlier every year..."!

I'm working on my first Christmas-related job of the year today. The funny thing is, my bar & club clients always get their christmas marketing going nice and early, but the majority of them don't seem to think about other events until a week before which is nowhere near enough time to promote an event!

I'm currently writing an article for my website giving some basic advice on marketing. It's very apparent to me that many clubs and bars don't have an understanding of some of the basic principles of marketing and advertising, which are essential in the current economic climate.

Whilst I wouldn't claim to be an expert, I've been working in the industry for 10 years, and promoted a successful club night for 6 years, as well as animating adverts and branding for clubs and bars for 5 years, so I think I'm well positioned to give advice from both an outsider and insider's perspective!

Watch this space...

Lights... camera... action!

2009-09-05T12:15:00.003+01:00

I've been neglecting my blog a bit recently, so thought I ought to make another entry!

The last month has been very busy work-wise, plus I had a family wedding which I was heavily involved in so spare time has been a bit sparse this month.

I'm currently preparing for a day of filming for a new product I'm working on.

It involves some dancers, and I had an overwhelming response from an advert that I put on a pro dancers website. I've now selected all of the talent for it - Simon Cowell eat your heart out! I'm really chuffed with the people I've selected - they're going to look great on camera.

I've also found a great little studio just down the road from me which is perfect for the job.

Now I've just got to plan the shoot and bring everything together on the day. I'll post a 'behind the scenes' video on here once it's been done.

There's lots of 'firsts' for me on this project, so it's quite daunting, but I'm really excited about it - I have a feeling this is going to be my most successful product to date!

Anyway... back to it - watch this space for more info!

Celebrating 5 Years In Business!

2009-07-28T15:49:00.002+01:00

On 28th July 2004 I sold my first video creation, so today I'm celebrating five years in business!

To mark the occasion I put together this little video - nothing groundbreaking, just a bit of fun!

Semantic Satiation

2009-07-10T11:03:00.003+01:00

Slightly random post this one, but I've finally found out what that sensation is called when you stare at or say a word so often that it starts to look/sound strange... It's called Semantic Satiation!

I experience it almost every time I try to choose a font, as I stare at the word whilst flicking through the hundreds of fonts, and I have to look away and do something else for a few minutes until the word no longer looks strange before continuing my search!

I'm sure it must affect all graphic designers!

Beware of Imitations!

2009-06-17T13:29:00.002+01:00

When you have a successful business it's important not to get complacent, and to keep an eye on your competition.

When I started producing motion graphics for nightclubs and bars in 2004, as far as I am aware there were only two real competitors to my service, and neither offered a fixed price structure like mine.

I put together the price structure to make it easy for venues to understand what they were paying for, and work to their own budget.

I recently did a bit of Googling to see who was out there now, and found a few new websites which have sprung up offering custom nightclub/bar visuals. I was amused (and flattered!) to see that they have all copied my pricing structure, and in some cases have made a very obvious copy of my business model, even down to the wording of their website and additional business areas (one has a 'themed DVDs' section, which is 'coming soon...' - it will be interesting to see what comes of that!)

It's nice to have some company in my area of business - I believe competition is very healthy, and by having alternatives out there it means clients can take a look at what is on offer and feel happy that they've made their own choice of supplier rather than only having one option.

Importantly, it also gives me the motivation to keep developing my service and improving the quality of my work.

I have two major products/services in the pipeline specifically for my nightclub/bar clients, which I believe, in addition to my 5 years of experience, will maintain my position as an industry leader.

Pride Themed DVD Finished!

2009-05-04T09:01:00.006+01:00

I've finally finished my Pride Themed DVD. It has a pretty limited market, but I've enjoyed making this one. Hopefully it will appeal to gay clubs and bars for use during Pride festivals.

I've been agonising over whether to concentrate on adding more titles to the Themed DVD collection (I've got a few more in mind and would really like to reach 20 titles!), or to get started on converting all the existing ones to NTSC format in order to access the American market.

The sensible option is probably the NTSC one as the weak pound is making my products better value in the USA, and it's a much bigger market. The downside is that it's a pretty tedious/boring task to undertake, and there are a few other considerations to make such as Product Liability Insurance (Americans will sue for anything!), choosing a distributor (Fulfillment by Amazon is looking like an attractive option), sorting out the exporting and the impact that US import duty etc will have on the profit margin.

My visit to PLASA Focus in Leeds earlier in the week was worthwhile. The seminar about the Media City development in Manchester was very interesting - it sounds like it will be very beneficial to the city and the creative industries within it. I also had a wander around the trade show although that was a bit disappointing. I haven't been to a PLASA show for a few years now, but there was nothing ground-breakingly exciting in the world of lighting/video, just lots more LED products everywhere!

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

2009-04-27T11:47:00.004+01:00

I'm afraid I've got a bit lax with blogging over the last couple of weeks - things have just been very busy work-wise, which is of course no bad thing!

Tomorrow I'm off to the PLASA Focus trade show in Leeds to listen to a seminar about the new Media City project in Manchester, so may well blog about that tomorrow.

The show is also a chance for me to keep a tab on what the pro sound & lighting industry is up to (which of course includes a lot of video technology these days!)

I was reading a thread on the After Effects Mailing List about dealing with anxiety, and Trish Meyer made a great point about keeping fit and healthy. I couldn't agree more with this - I go to the gym first thing in the morning four times a week, and can say without any doubt that I work better and think clearer on those days. This combined with a good diet and adequate sleep are essential if you want to work at your full potential. I believe it's best to take excercise in the morning as it leaves you feeling great for the rest of the day, and lets be honest - the last thing you want to do after a long day at work is go and work out for an hour!

Happy New Financial Year!

2009-04-12T08:56:00.003+01:00

Well that's another financial year over. I spent Friday morning catching up on the last 3 months of accounts so I can submit the final figures to the accountants - one of the not-so-nice aspects of being self-employed, although it is very satisfying getting it finished and being able to see how the year compares with previous years.

I finished the Kids Party themed DVD last week - http://www.philbearman.co.uk/kidsparty - and have nearly finished the Pride themed DVD. Will hopefully get that completed on Monday.

I've got quite a busy week ahead of me, so the bank holiday has been a welcome opportunity to recharge my batteries.

Media Glasses

2009-04-05T15:13:00.005+01:00

I was out for after-work drinks on Friday evening with a graphic designer friend of mine (www.ilovegraphics.co.uk), and he was describing a friend of his who is a video editor and said "she wears media glasses"!

I asked what he meant by that and he said he meant those bold rectangular glasses that seem to be worn by anyone who works in media, which is so true!

I have recently been prescribed glasses for computer work, and picked what I thought were a nice pair of D&G glasses. I've actually already gone off them (they're too wide for my face - that'll teach me to buy glasses online!), but what amused me was that they fit my friend's description of Media Glasses!

Across The Pond

2009-03-27T11:08:00.003Z

I've noticed a huge surge in work from the USA recently - I think the weak pound has actually done me a huge favour! I've always got a buzz out of knowing that my work is being seen by hundreds of thousands of people every week around the UK, so to know that it's also being seen across the pond is another huge buzz for me!

Speaking of ponds, my stock footage on Pond5.com has also seen a huge increase in sales over the last couple of months, and as the footage is sold in dollars I'm benefitting from the weak pound that way too!

With the media contstantly doom-mongering about the recession, I think it's vital not to get sucked in to all that, and focus on the positive things - the above is a great example of how it's not all bad news!

Forthcoming DVD releases

2009-03-18T14:27:00.003Z

I'm currently working on 4 DVD titles which will be released over the next few months:

* Nineties - Nineties themed visuals to compliment the existing 70s and 80s titles.

* Kids Party - Designed primarily for mobile discos who cater for kids parties, featuring clowns, balloons, cakes, etc. This title will hopefully also appeal to parents holding parties for their kids.

* Pride - A collection of cool rainbow-themed visuals aimed at gay pride events

And one other title which I'm keeping under wraps :-)

Upgraded to CS4

2009-03-01T10:11:00.003Z

I've finally got around to upgrading my Adobe suite of software to the latest version - CS4.

I skipped the last release (CS3) so there's big differences in all of the applications.

It's great to finally have a working version of Adobe Bridge (the version included with Production Studio Premium was just hopelessly buggy). With thousands of stock footage and backgrounds to wade through it's going to be a massive time saver to be able to index it all in Bridge.

All of the apps are looking very neat - the user interfaces are much slicker and compact making better use of the available screen space.

I've just been playing with the Puppet Tool in After Effects and can see that's going to be very useful. Character animation is something I've always shyed away from in the past, but the puppet tool will allow me to tackle this in the future.

The Layer Styles and Shape Layers (which were introduced in AE CS3) are also going to be incredibly useful (although I find it unbelievable that it took this long to implement these very obvious features!)

It's a shame GridIron haven't released an update to allow Nucleo Pro to run in CS4, although I can understand them focusing their efforts on getting GridIron Flow released as I believe this will be a truly groundbreaking piece of software.

Adobe's aquisition of Macromedia has meant that Flash is included with the Creative Suite which will be very useful to have on hand, as I'm being asked to produce more and more video for the web, and whilst After Effects can produce FLV files, you need Flash to be able to produce a SWF file which is what clients expect.

The OnLocation video capture software which is included looks useful, particularly as I'm planning to invest in an HD camera later in the year.

I haven't had a chance to play with Soundbooth yet, so am looking forward to trying that out - I've been using a very out of date version of Wavelab for audio editing for far too long now and hope Soundbooth will provide an better alternative!

Tip for all After Effects users!

2009-02-18T10:25:00.002Z

If the save dialogue box pops up randomly, for gods sake use it to save a backup copy of your project!

I've often found that if AE crashes unexpectedly it will pop up the save window without necessarily warning you that it has crashed (which it usually does when it crashes) - if you close the window it will usually be followed by some evil Runtime error and AE disappearing!

(The first few times this happened, I crossed off the window, only to lose my work! Needless to say, I've learned to always save a backup copy when this happens!)

What's in a name?

2009-02-17T09:59:00.003Z

Something that continues to niggle me is my company name, "Phil Bearman Creative Media Solutions" - here's the story/explanation/excuse for it!:

The name started out in my freelance lighting designer days as "Phil Bearman Lighting Designer" which was fair enough (the only problem being that it didn't fit on my bank cards which had to read Phil Bearman LD!)

So when I moved into motion graphics I need to change the name. This was the perfect opportunity to come up with something a bit original, but despite hours of brainstorming and suggestions from friends and family I just couldn't find a name that I liked that wasn't already in use by somebody else. So I accepted defeat and carried on using my own name. The trouble was, at the time I was trying to do website design, motion graphics, graphic design work and more, so I needed a name that would encompass all of that, and that's where the dreadful 'Creative Media Solutions' came from!

Now I've streamlined my business it would be more accurate to change it to Phil Bearman Motion Graphics or similar, but the hassle and cost of changing the company name outweighs any benefit. Plus, as a friend pointed out to me, the company name is actually well established and known (some people know the company as just 'Creative Media Solutions'), and as the old saying goes 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

So, for now at least, the company continues to be Phil Bearman Creative Media Solutions (and continues to be abbreviated on the bank cards - to Phil Bearman CMS!)

Night Magazine

2009-02-07T16:12:00.002Z

I've spent today putting together a magazine advert to go in February's NIGHT Magazine - it will be going with an article about my business, so if you read NIGHT, keep an eye out for it! I'll post a link to the article once it goes online.

One of my friends is a sales and marketing guru, so as usual I've had his input on the design which is always very helpful.

It's easy to get tunnel vision when you're running a business and I think it's essential to ask for, and act on other people's ideas and opinions, particularly when they are more experienced than you in an area - it's SO important to act on the advice rather than just acknowledging it and then convincing yourself that you know better!

Early Spring Clean

2009-02-01T16:23:00.005Z

Ok, so it's not Spring, but I'm always pleased to see the back of January - it's just such a depressing month, particularly so this year with the constant doom-mongering of the media over the so-called 'Credit Crunch'!

So feeling all upbeat and positive, I decided it was time for another big sort-out of my PCs, and have spent the day tidying up files (it's amazing how much crap you can collect in 'My Documents'!), organising Internet bookmarks, defragging, removing unused software, archiving old work, and fixing little niggling problems such as my DVD printer taking forever to start printing.

I've long been of the opinion that it's better to leave PCs on permanently. Ok, it's not very 'green', and some would argue that it puts a lot of unnecessary wear on components, but my PCs are set up to run scheduled house-keeping tasks such as virus scanning overnight meaning that they are always ready to roll each morning. It also means Emails are downloaded instantly preventing my inbox filling up with large files that clients have sent).

My oldest PC is still running fast and flawlessly after 5 years, so I think that speaks for itself!

UPDATE
Mentioning my 'green-ness' prompted me to take the WWF Eco Footprint test which I saw on Not Easy Being Green earlier this week... To be honest I thought I'd score really badly, but I came out at 2.22 planets, which is apparantly below the UK average! I don't feel so bad about leaving those PCs on now :-)

Eighties DVD... DONE!

2009-01-28T17:46:00.005Z

Today I finished work on the new Eighties DVD. I'm pleased with the way this one has turned out, so hopefully I will shift quite a few copies when the stock arrives at the end of the week!

http://philbearman.co.uk/eighties/

I'm still battling with a huge workload from clients, so it's nice to have the 80s DVD out of the way at last!

Better get back to the grindstone...

Eighties DVD in the pipeline

2009-01-09T10:40:00.004Z

Today, work has started on a long awaited Eighties themed DVD. I've had a number of requests for this kind of thing in the past and my distributor, Mixmash, has also seen a lot of interest.

As I already have a number of Eighties themed animations that I have created in the past I've got a bit of a head start on this one which means it shouldn't take long to complete.

Planning continues on my other big project - it is going to involve a shoot, so there's a lot of prep to do. I need to decide whether to invest in an HD camera (something I've been considering for a while) or just rent one. The Panasonic AG-HMC151 is looking very attractive at the moment.

Sales of my stock video clips on Pond5 have been going well, so I think the camera would probably pay for itself if I used it to create stock footage to sell.

January's a bit of a funny month - it's traditionally one of my busiest, but always seems to be full of random one-off projects rather than work from regular clients (not that I'm complaining!).

In other news, I've run out of milk and am struggling to function without coffee :-)

Work on new DVD title started...

2009-01-03T18:14:00.002Z

Today I started work on a new DVD product which is aimed at nightclubs. This will be the first product that I've created entirely in high definition.

I'm not going to divulge any details about it just yet, but I think it's going to be a very popular product when it's launched, as there's nothing quite like it out there at the moment!

My 'off-the-shelf' products have been selling better than ever over the last few months depsite the economic decline, so this year I plan to add several titles to the range, and also launch the whole range in the USA in NTSC format as I've been seeing growing interest in my products from the States.

My First Post!

2009-01-02T11:56:00.003Z

Well it's a brand new year, and I've decided to join the blogging craze!

I plan to use this blog as a journal of my work life for my own record, but hopefully it will also be of interest to others!

I've never been very good at keeping a diary/journal in the past, so we shall see how I get on!

Here's a potted history up to where I'm at right now:

I'm a freelance Motion Graphics designer based in Manchester, UK. I specialise in producing visuals for the nightclub and entertainment industries. I started doing this in 2004, and prior to that I had worked as a lighting designer since 2000. Add to this my 'amateur'/part time years whilst I was at college and I've clocked up 10 years working in entertainment technology.

I now supply over 500 nightclubs and bars around the UK and Ireland, and work for some of the UK's leading event management companies.

Other related skills/interests include web development (I don't offer this as a service anymore, but designed and maintain my own company websites, and continue to provide support for a handful of companies who I have developed sites for in the past). I am experienced in PHP, MySQL and JavaScript (which I also use in my Motion Graphics work).

From my lighting design days I'm knowledgeable about lighting technology and although I never got a chance to use some of the more exotic lighting desks, I do know the Pulsar Masterpiece inside out!

I've got 3 A Levels (Computing, Design and Maths) but can honestly say I haven't used any of what I learned during college in my career to date! (Although I'm pleased to say that trigonometry from GCSE maths has come in very useful!). I didn't go to university, and apart from perhaps missing out on the social side of it, I have no regrets about that!

Outside of work, I'm passionate about food - I love both cooking and eating! After a day stuck in front of a computer screen, there's nothing I love more than getting busy in the kitchen (I think about what I'm going to have for dinner the moment I wake up in the morning!).

I co-promoted a successful club night for 6 years, and DJ'd at this too, so can beat mix and my musical knowledge regularly comes in handy in my Motion Graphics work.

That'll do for today... check back soon!