Aston

I work at Aston University.

Behind the scenes of The Aston Effect from Composite on Vimeo.

“The Aston Effect” was a video promo commissioned as part of Aston Universities “Graduate Employability” marketing. It was produced by a combined freelance and in house team. I was asked to take part in the project and I suggested that I could make a behind the scenes film. Unfortunately I wasn’t available for every day of filming but I think I still captured a flavor of what went into creating it. It was shot during September and November 2012.

Generally speaking I’m fairly happy with the results but not fully. Due to the nature of the project I had very limited amounts of time to get the shots. Often there was literally one opportunity to get a shot or steal an interview between takes. This project more than any other has reinforced how handy a mono pod would be. Carting a tripod around when you have have limited time to setup shots really didn’t help. It was the first time using the Rode Video Mic and I was very happy with the results. I felt the audio was very clear on the interviews and picked up a good enough quality of ambient sound. On the whole I enjoyed making this video and would love another chance to do something similar again.

View the finished promo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R8tDlnft8E

I shot this video using a Canon 600D, the 18-55mm lens and the Rode Video Mic Pro.

Model Student from Composite on Vimeo.

This time lapsed tilt-shift video was shot over a week of graduations at Aston University Birmingham, during July 2012. Various locations around Aston’s campus were used as well as The Town Hall in Birmingham where the ceremony took place.

I wanted to have a go using the tilt-shift technique and as I work at the university I thought this would make a great subject for a small “unofficial” side project. Thanks has to go to Aston Business School and Aston’s marketing department for assisting me in gaining the required access for some of the shooting.

Shot on a Canon 600D, 18-55mm f3.5, using Magic Lantern.
Music used under license from Audio networks.