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Articles by Simon Horrocks
Why I Love... SMEM
From multifunctional army knives to chocolate, watches, banking, yodelling and (surprisingly) garlic presses, even the most exhaustive Python‑esque “What have the Swiss ever done for us?” list would be unlikely to include synth‑related stuff.
MASTER your iPhone Camera - EPIC Tutorial & Full Guide
MASTER your iPhone Camera – EPIC Tutorial & Full Guide This is the article where you learn everything you need to know about your iPhone camera. Since the iPhone revolutionised photography 15 years ago, many new and powerful features have been added. Multiple cameras, 4K recording, Dolby Vision, Cinematic Mode, Apple ProRes and much more. This is a photo and video studio in your pocket! Maybe you’ve just switched to an iPhone or you’ve had one for a while but haven’t fully got to grips with it.
How to Shoot & Edit a Travel Video with Smartphone & Insta360 GO 2
How to Shoot & Edit a Travel Video with Smartphone & Insta360 GO 2 : Underwater Footage I recently visited the Maldives where I had a go at snorkelling for the first time. So I was able to try out the Insta360 GO 2 underwater. As well, I wanted to capture the feel of the island and the friendly people working there. I actually had 2 phones: an iPhone 12 Pro Max and a Samsung Note20 Ultra. But you can do just as well with 1 phone.
Best Smartphone Filmmaking Equipment (Android)
Best Smartphone Filmmaking Equipment (Android) Adding equipment can enhance the production values of your content, whether you’re shooting vlogs, promo videos or short films. Just a basic tripod can make all the difference and I’ve tried dozens. There are cases, cages and grips to help you get more professional, more stable footage. Do we still need extra lenses?
5 Best Video Recording Apps for iPhone
5 Best Video Recording Apps for iPhone I’m gonna look at 5 apps – FiLMiC Pro, Moment, ProCam 8, Beastcam and ProTake – and see which one is best for shooting video on an iPhone. There are apps that are great for social media, or fun effects, but this isn’t a video about those. This is about apps that give you manual control, Log profiles, Dolby Vision, 10-bit colour (in iPhone 12s), cool timelapse controls and more.
FiLMiC Pro: Every Single Setting Explained
FiLMiC Pro: Every Single Setting Explained In this article, I’m going to go through absolutely every single feature contained within this powerful app and explain what it’s for. FiLMiC Pro has a lot of great features. Most of the features are basic controls you would find in any camera. Some are specific to smartphone filmmaking. And some others are unique to FiLMiC Pro. Oh, by the way, FiLMiC Pro might operate differently or just look a bit different depending on your device.
Why I Love... Electronic Open Mics
If regular open mic nights aren’t quite right for the emerging army of knob‑twiddlers, loopers and beatmakers, where do we go to perform? As an electronic music maker, I’ve felt the heat when playing at open mic nights where unplugged rock, pop and folk is the norm. Firstly, I’ll spend more of my allocated slot setting up my synths and cables than performing, and secondly, my set leaves the audience clueless as to what I just performed and which bits I did live.
Filmic Pro: Understanding 180 Degree Rule
Filmic Pro: Understanding 180 Degree Rule The FiLMiC Pro camera app is designed to work around the 180 degree rule. And the rule is one of the steps you need to take to give your video the film look. But the rule is often misunderstood and can lead us to add unnecessary restrictions when we’re filming. So let’s go through the 180 degree rule, where it comes from, and why we don’t always need to observe it exactly. 2 Rules There’s two 180 degree rules in filmmaking.
Keeping emotionally fit for the long term - starting now
Over the past week, as universities have responded to government advice on limiting the spread of Covid-19, everyone’s had to make major adjustments to their ways of working and living. Coping with such a significant change, plus dealing with the uncertainty about how long it might all last, can take its toll on emotional wellbeing and mental health.
Beginner's Guide to Using Manual Settings for Video (FiLMiC Pro)
Beginner’s Guide to Using Manual Settings for Video (FiLMiC Pro) Most smartphone, DSLR or mirrorless cameras can shoot video using automatic settings. This is the fastest, most convenient way to shoot video. But if you want to shoot more professional, cinematic looking footage, then you’ll want to use manual settings. If you’re new to photography or filmmaking, these settings can be a bit overwhelming at first. So in this article I will cover each setting with a basic introduction and explanation.
Shot On iPhone 11 Pro: "Daughter" - a Tale of 3 Women
Shot On iPhone 11 Pro – Daughter, a Tale of 3 Women Apple have released a new “shot on iPhone” film, in time for Chinese New Year (January 25). While most of these films are non-narrative, non-dialogue visual extravaganzas, Daughter is a real Hollywood-style movie. Complete with sepia-toned flashbacks. They also seem to be making a habit of including a behind the scenes movie too (like with Snowbrawl). Which I love because it gives us a glimpse into extra gear and the size of crew and so on.
How to Focus Pull using FiLMiC Pro Camera App
How to Focus Pull using FiLMiC Pro Camera App Open FiLMiC Pro Open Manual Controls Move Focus Wheel to first Focus Point Tap the focus point line on the wheel to set first focus point Move Focus Wheel to the second Focus Point Tap the focus point line on the wheel to set second focus point Now tap the mark you wish to start your focus pull from To start the focus pull, tap on the mark you wish to end the pull at Alternatively, tap on the small arrow if available Adjust the focus pull speed...
Best Feature Films Shot on an iPhone (or smartphone)
Best Feature Films Shot on an iPhone (or smartphone) If you read this blog often, you don’t need telling that smartphones can now shoot amazing quality video. If you are new to iPhone filmmaking, however, you might not realise that a number of successful full length films have been shot using mobile phones. Not only that, but some very well known directors have shot films using iPhones. Before the main presentation, however, here are some shorts to get you warmed up.
How to attract, retain and cultivate a new breed of IT professional
By Simon Horrocks, Regional Vice President ANZ, AppDynamics The technology skills gap is impacting Australian organisations across almost every industry, with businesses struggling to find the right talent to drive innovation, whether that be in cloud, data analytics, or other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).
OnePlus 7 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus vs Huawei P30 Pro (for Video)
OnePlus 7 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus vs Huawei P30 Pro for Video I was a OnePlus One user until I got Samsung phones as part of our old sponsorship deal. From the start, OnePlus managed to create a special aura around their phones. Before I got my OnePlus, I remember a friend proudly telling about his and how only those invited could buy one. Played a few marketing games and some of the worked, some of them misfired. Well, here they are with the OnePlus 7 Pro.
Best Editing Apps for iPhone
Best Editing Apps for iPhone If you want to edit video within your iPhone (as opposed to editing on a laptop or computer), then you will need an app designed for this purpose. When used as the central tool for shooting video, iPhones bring great flexibility to the filmmaking process. We’ve covered a lot of information regarding shooting with a phone, but what if you want to edit with it as well?
How CIOs can work with colleagues to drive new competitive advantages
Article by Simon Horrocks, regional vice president A/NZ, AppDynamics At a time when digital is core to successful customer experiences, a career-defining opportunity presents itself to CIOs. Because applications and software have become the primary conduit for businesses to win and retain customers, now is the time for CIOs to demonstrate they can work with their business colleagues to drive new competitive advantages.
New Film Festival Levels Playing Field
The 20th century could be said to be the century of cinema, with the first real narrative films appearing on the dot of the year 1900. It took count Giuseppe Volpi of Misurata another 32 years to come up with the idea of a festival of films and the Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia (or Venice Film Festival) was born.
There's a new breed of technologists shaping the future of businesses -- here's what you need to know about 'Agents of Transformation'
iStock Driven by technological advancement, the next three decades will see societies change in ways we cannot begin to imagine, and the way we work is no exception. According to Accenture, businesses are moving toward more intelligent processes that allow for faster and more efficient operations. However, with these advancements come challenges for businesses as demand for technological innovation from customers outpaces many organisations’ ability to deliver it.
Silent Eye Episode 4 - The Museum of Me
Simon Horrocks is raising funds for Silent Eye Episode 4 - The Museum of Me on Kickstarter! We're raising funds to make Episode 4 of scifi anthology series Silent Eye. We can do it - with your support!
Lighting for Video - on a Microbudget
Lighting for Video – look, no lights! I have been helping to run a smartphone film fest for 4 years but – until this year – I’d never filmed anything this way myself, except our kickstarter videos. For these, we often just used the phone with no extras. But what about something more serious? So I started shooting my scifi anthology series, Silent Eye, with the phone I had in my pocket – a Samsung S8 (and now S9).
Machine learning: Moving from algorithms to enterprise-wide adoption
Although conversations about machine learning in Australian enterprises are happening, the long-term strategic application of the technology still eludes many organisations. Local deployments in artificial intelligence (AI) have utilised machine learning in just 52% of cases, according to a recent Infosys survey.
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Smartphone Filmmaking
This guide is intended for people who haven’t done any, or little, smartphone filmmaking. Often, the feeling is – where do I start? Because you feel there’s so much to know, and it’s overwhelming. The mountain just looks too big to climb, so you put it off for another day. I’ve tried to put enough information here to get you started, without burdening you with too much information and technical jargon (which can sometimes be off-putting for new filmmakers).
Mark Duplass: The Cavalry Is Not Coming
I started watching Mark Duplass talk at SXSW in 2015, on YouTube. Not exactly new but still pretty relevant. And, well I thought I might as well note down the important parts for you (otherwise it’s an hour long, if you feel up for it). I’m in the middle of a lot of things, right now. I have 3 feature scripts out being looked at by various industry people and producers on board one of them.
5 Steps To Becoming A Self-Sufficient Filmmaker
I wanted to be a film director when I was about 7 years old. I have some school diaries from the time. There’s a drawing of a (standard 8mm) camera on a tripod my dad bought me. I wrote the synopsis of films I’d seen at the cinema (ie: from memory). One film was The Snowball Express. Over a the next few weeks I wrote out the plot-line of this film, as I remembered it. So it must have really stuck with me. This was in the 1970s, so no chance I could stream it or check the DVD to refresh my memory.
What Does "Cinematic" Even Mean Now?
The meaning of words change over time. Gay used to mean happy, a clue was a ball of yarn, eerie was something you felt (like dizzy, or sad). The word “film” comes from the Old English word for membrane “filmen”. It also means “a story or event recorded by a camera as a set of moving images and shown in a cinema or on television“. Which is a fun and exciting activity. But if you really want to get your film noticed, you need to blow folks away with your film’s cinematic quality.
"computer-screens" movie makes $16m worldwide
What’s going on in the world of mobile device filmmaking today? What should we even call it? Smartphone filmmaking? But what about tablets and GoPros? Mobile filmmaking? $7000 Steadicams are mobile. How about Filmbreaking? There’s even a thing called a “computer screen” movie. Because after a long day at the office, staring at your monitor and your smartphone, why not head to the cinema and pay $20 to watch… more screens for 2 hours.
Silent Eye Episode 3 - The Unlocking Thought
The Unlocking ThoughtThe MindBright system works roughly 800 times faster than traditional therapy. It's inventor is able to improve people's lives by using his system to reveal a subject's "unlocking thought" - but what about his own life?Silent EyeThe Unlocking Thought is the third episode as part of the Silent Eye sci-fi anthology series. When I say "sci-fi" this is the kind of science fiction which we're used to from The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits or (more recently) Black Mirror.
Unsane: Steven Soderbergh Explains Why He Used An iPhone
“I look at the movie now and I don’t think it would have been as good if I’d had to shoot it in a conventional way.” Steven Soderbergh. As a festival exclusively for films shot on smartphones, we are believers in the idea of using the device for its strengths. The size of the device provides many advantages for filmmakers, even those with $1m+ budgets such as Soderbergh. As a filmmaker I’m much more excited about that, than trying to hide the camera’s weaknesses.
IT Brief Australia - The changing role of the CIO, and what they need to know
By Simon Horrocks, Regional VP, ANZ, AppDynamics The role of the CIO is changing. As organisations become increasingly focused on digital transformation, CIOs are no longer seen as purely IT-focused. They are now business executives, driving revenue rather than just controlling costs, and working with the leadership team to set the agenda for the entire organisation. This fundamental shift is reflected in the 2018 CIO Agenda Report from Gartner, a survey of 3,160 CIOs across 98 countries.
ChannelLife Australia - 2018, the year that...AR will overtake VR in popularity
By Simon Horrocks, Country Manager ANZ at AppDynamics Due to its high price point and the need for users to be somewhat cut off from the world, the hype around Virtual Reality (VR) will soon be overtaken by appreciation for the more accessible benefits of Augmented Reality (AR). Over the past two years, VR has received a great deal of publicity from both technology companies and the media.
‘Unsane’ First Trailer - Steven Soderbergh's Smartphone Shot Feature - Mobile Motion
The trailer has just been released for Steven Soderbergh’s next movie – a smartphone-shot feature, starring “The Crown” breakout Claire Foy.
The rise of enterprise spend on cloud
The clock is ticking and every organisation should be feeling the pressure to move quickly along its digital transformation journey. Organisations that are slow to digitise their offerings and operations will find themselves competing for a progressively shrinking share of their respective market segment’s opportunities. Now is the time to recognise that cloud will lead the charge on the journey to becoming a truly digital enterprise.
Kickstarter >> BODY and SOUL: A cinematic movie made only with smartphones. by Simon Horrocks
We're at about the halfway mark of the campaign with 18% of our goal. Huge thanks to you all again for backing and for sharing the campaign. Pledge £30 or more : Own the Soundtrack A digital download of the film's soundtrack - songs written and recorded for the film. What are lyrics without a melody? With this reward you will get the same as the Line of a Song reward except your lyrics will be set to a unique melody.
10 Best Films Funded by the Director - Mobile Motion
It takes a leap of faith. I know, because I’ve done it myself. But before I started out on my own crazy filmmaking adventure, I read how others did it and got inspired. So here’s a list of some notable films made “against the odds” and without industry backing. My main rule was that the film’s director invested his own money. It’s a good indication a film would never have been made otherwise. I’ve listed them chronologically, to give a sense of the history.
Lexar Professional Go Portable SSD with Hub
Campaign Rewards FAQ 13 Community Hi Kickstarter! Lexar is finally here! For professional photographers, videographers, and photography enthusiasts, Lexar is a well-known brand. Many of you have probably used Lexar memory cards.
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