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Realfiction - 3D Animation & Holographic Technology ~ Interview with Animator Dominic Lusardi

Source: Screenshot from James Cameron’s “Avatar” - 20th Century Fox

One of Realfiction’s frequent collaborators, Dominic Lusardi, is the founder of a UK-based digital visualization company called Animmersion. Dominic, who has a background in engineering, manufacturing and advertising, decided to dive into the 3D holographic market because he wanted to help determine the direction the field would go in. Who else to have as a partner at the helm of this movement if none other than one of the biggest players in the business?

If you still find yourself unfamiliar with who Realfiction is and what they do, you can take a look at our previous blog post (read: ‘Holograms for Product Display: An Innovative Marketing Strategy for Your Business’). Put shortly, they are one of the front-runners in using digital media and special effects to create rich and engaging experiences for all of their creative partners, and therefore delivering compelling retail experiences for their clients’ brands.

Dominic’s alliance with the Realfiction team has come about from the desire of educating people that 3D does not belong solely to films and games, but that businesses can also reap the benefits, be it explaining a process or showing people a certain vision. It must all come down to bridging the gap between Tech and Creative, which Realfiction might as well use as a company tag.

Their blend of intelligent visualization of information, alongside our platform of intelligent visual content, purposefully showcases the affiliation Soply can tie between Creatives and Buyers!

1. What do you think are the most common misconceptions about 3D animation? (e.g. the constant hijack of the misuse of the word ‘hologram’ for every special effect; that computer animation will never surpass the quality of the traditional one etc.) That it’s easy! :) There can be a misconception that the software we use is doing most of the work, but really it’s the creativity, experience and skill of our team that enables us to create great content. The software is just a tool!

2. Could you share your experience from collaborating with Realfiction and some of the things you’ve learned from working on the Dreamoc HD3 displays? It’s been a really exciting journey with Realfiction. We’ve been fortunate to be able to join pitches with some of the biggest brand names in the UK, and through this collaboration it’s opened new doors and opportunities. We focus on content and delivery, and the Dreamoc gives a new dimension in delivering compelling content, be it a holographic display, or using the units as three displays in one. One of the main lessons learned when creating content is that the objective or reason why you chose to use a Dreamoc needs to be at the forefront of all your creative work.

3. Does Realfiction provide constant training to its Animators during the production process? How do they keep the level higher in terms of development in the holographic industry? The great thing about the Dreamoc range is that they are simple to use and any content creator can start using one with very little training - the key is in the creativity. Realfiction have a great set of tools and tutorials to get you up to speed quickly and they are always there if we have any questions or need support when speaking with customers. The units are the best available and due to RF’s focus on creating truly eye catching holograms, it comes down to the build quality, focused hardware providers, and the understanding of the industries in which they are used.

4. What are some of your favorite projects you're proud to have been a part of? We worked on a great project for Saatchi Healthcare in London. This used an XL2 unit, which we had wrapped and branded in a sleek white material. The content was centred on a single pill on a plinth; a physical model we had 3D printed for the installation. A vortex of purple data would whirl from the pill, with text and motion graphics spinning forth from it, as the story of the drug development was told. A great piece of work alongside one of the biggest names in advertising.

5. Tell us a little about the tools that you are using. What are your preferences? Plugins? Methods? We use a wide range of software: 3DS Max with importing plugins, such as Polytrans, for working with different sectors and using their CAD data; the Adobe suite for post-production and edit. For our more interactive outputs, we use software like Unity, as well as getting our hands dirty with pure coding for bespoke software solutions!! At Animmersion we like to think of ourselves as platform agnostic and so everything we use is about delivering the most compelling experience, being able to deliver across multiple platforms allows for greater access to content.

6. Choose: Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR)? And why? AR. The potential impact of this is huge and applicable to almost every sector. VR is fantastic and highly entertaining, but less applicable outside of entertainment and training.

7. Who has influenced you the most in the animation industry? Who is or was your ultimate Mentor during the early stages? Our team has a broad range of influences. At one end of the spectrum, there are influences from the likes of Disney/Pixar, particularly John Lasseter (personal hero), Dreamworks and a UK favourite, Aardman. On the dark side of the company, there was early inspiration from Chris Cunningham’s incredible sinister music videos. Much of our work is for serious purposes, and not usually character focused, though if you look carefully you may see hints of these influences coming through!

8. What is the most difficult part for you about being in this business? Has having to go back and forth between 2D animation and 3D animation ever been an issue for you? We predominantly work in 3D, so moving between 2D and 3D has not been much of an issue. The hard (and fun) part for us is continually keeping on the ball as 3D evolves. New techniques and technology are appearing all the time! The other issue is power. We always use our setup to the extreme. Infinite power is our dream, allowing us to focus on pure creativity.

9. What are your thoughts about animation nowadays? Have they become harder to produce due to higher competition between companies? Animation has become commoditised and competition is very fierce. In our traditional markets (industrial/technical) this has not been so much of a problem as our core strength is working on technically demanding and complex subject matters - not so easy to offshore.

10. Tell our readers and us a little bit about your latest projects, what are you working on in 2016? We are now developing a lot of animated content for display through real-time mechanisms (AR/VR). We’ve been doing some very exciting internal projects for Dreamoc devices, using unity and different input devices, such as the Leap Motion Controller. We are very interested in extending the capability of Dreamoc devices through pairing them with other technologies. We are also working on a multi-platform delivery system, allowing us to deliver content across a wide range of devices from web, smartphones holograms and AR/VR. Watch this space!!

Do you have any comments for Dominic or questions regarding Realfiction? Then please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

Portfolio Credit:

Dominic Lusardi: https://soply.com/animmersion

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Holograms for Product Display: An Innovative Marketing Strategy for Your Business

In the 1970s, when Star Wars premiered, we saw a holographic Princess Lea speaking to Obi-Wan Kenobi and a young Luke Skywalker. People would think “Wow, how is that even possible? It’s like she’s standing right there!”. Fast forward and technology such as cell phones, video calling, and 3D (well, even 4D) cinema are all now very alive. All of this technology is something that past versions of ourself would’ve thought were simply incredible, not to mention, possibly unattainable. Now it’s 2016, and holograms still feel so futuristic. That’s where we are wrong, because technological progression has allowed holograms to be more-so commonplace. In fact, it has developed into being a user-friendly technology, with a tangible sense of alternate reality, and yet is useful for a variety of unconventional ways.

Source:Screenshot from Star Wars- Lucasfilm- 20th Century Fox

Brands today want solutions that resonate with consumers, which continually and increasingly reach beyond the expectations of classic advertising

Making Your Virtual Dreams Into Reality

Realfiction is a Danish company who has brought this very reality to life. Their philosophy is very clear - Brands today want solutions that resonate with consumers, which continually and increasingly reach beyond the expectations of classic advertising. Their Dreamoc range of holographic displays have made holograms useful for commercial as well as educational reasons. For example, a heart surgeon can use the display to explain to his patient what the procedure will look like. A museum guide can use the display when explaining the evolution of archeological artifacts. And, by using a 3D image, with a full 360 design, holographic displays are exactly what a Brand needs in today’s competitive world of retail, in order to fully explain a product and it’s very complex benefits. The hologram brings the image to life, and is the next best thing to having the real thing in front of you. The Dreamoc is a really powerful tool since the show-and-tell process becomes “ live" with the hologram. You can see some examples of the Dreamoc below:

How We Make Your Product Displays Come to Life

One of Realfiction’s amazing projects was when they worked with their partner PM Screen in the United States. They created a unique POS solution for the speaker brand Altec Lansing. The best way to differentiate their new product, amongst the chaos of products on the sales floor, was to provide a full showcase at the retail space. In this day and age, product promotions must be engaging, and truly involve the customer, in order to convert into a sale; that’s precisely why the company decided to use the display to promote their new series of “indestructible” Bluetooth speakers. The simulation showed the speakers playing music, while animations of extreme conditions (i.e. fire), surrounded them - virtually trying to destruct the speakers. The simulation drew in customers like ants at a picnic. You can see what they did below!

As in this example, it’s quite popular for users to combine their actual product with the animations, but this is not a requirement when using the display.

Our partnership with Realfiction has really allowed a new perspective for the 3D Animators who are a part of Soply. Through this partnership, our creatives have access to partake in the projects with Realfiction’s clients, requesting 3D animations for their holographic displays. Since these companies require animations to be made all over the world, our animators can have their work showcased globally. It also provides an opportunity for our creatives to be a part of an exciting and innovative technology, contributing to a fresh perspective on how companies educate society about their products.

The latest project that Soply has partnered with Realfiction on, was for a company in New Delhi, India. Our animator Kimmo received the opportunity to work on the project, and it’s currently in process! Until it’s done, let’s show you can example of Kimmo’s previous 3D holographic display work, and give you an idea of the production process:

Kimmo R

Your Very Own Holographic Animation

If you were amazed about what you just read (I know we were) why don’t you try it out? If you are interested in using Realfiction’s service on a consistent basis, their new Dreamoc CMS system allows users to remotely upload content through the internet. The updates can be on a consistent basis, and are easy to do. To learn more about how to easily upload your custom content to your Dreamoc, go here.

Soply’s service offers you a selection of hand-picked animators to create your very own 3D Animation, custom made for your Dreamoc holographic display. Using your professionally-made  content, it’s now even easier to upload animations to your Dreamoc CMS updates. Learn more about Soply’s Hire (a freelance animator) service here.

If you are interested in learning more about our services, or would just like to chat, please feel free to email Soply at [email protected] and Realfiction at [email protected]

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Our Latest Product Updates: Communication is Key

Being a tech company, it’s extremely important to keep up with the Jones’. Our team is constantly working hard, so we can make our site the most convenient experience for its users. Whether it be through educational blogs, where we speak about improving the shared knowledge between our Creative Freelancers and Buyers, or through innovations triggered by our development team (such as our Hire face lift), we always listen to our community and work to improve their experience on Soply’s website. From listening to our users, we’re always inspired for new updates to our platform. Just recently, we have two more updates, which we are sure will make you very happy:

Get In Direct Contact with Your Creatives

First, we made a tweak which opens the doors of communication between our Buyers and Creatives. Since the update to our Hire page, you can easily organize your job posting and the quotes which you receive from Creatives.

However, even though we allow Buyers and Creative’s to speak before any quote submission, as well as privately direct message post-submission and throughout the selection process, the communication still wasn’t enough. You see, our entire business is based on giving people the capability to purchase high-quality visuals through a mutual agreement with artists. So in this case, text-based messages will never provide the same information that direct communication could, since visuals are much more descriptive than a short message. Also, especially with Brands, an idea is difficult to explain in just a paragraph - they would prefer to speak extensively about the vision of their companies. That is why we put a new button: “Request Contact Details”:

This is how it works: once a Buyer is very interested in a Creative, he/she can push this button and will receive the direct contact details of the Creative in mind (I.e. phone number and personal email). At this stage, the communication between both parties is completely open, allowing for a better knowledge of what the project entails and the desired end-result. It’s as easy as can be!

Edit Your Brief (again, and again, and again…)

Ever completed your brief and then thought, “oh no, I forgot something!” Or maybe it’s the case that you are not receiving quotes which exactly fulfill what you envisioned. In, most cases, it’s necessary that you go back to your brief and edit (preferably at the click of a button). Well, guess what? You can do that!

You can edit your brief as much as you like. Now you can edit the text of your brief, as well as attach new references (which are very important when trying to give an image of what exactly you would like). You can even edit the type of creative wanted, location, date needed, etc. Another way that we make it easy for you to get the best work possible from our talented Creatives.

If you have any questions about the latest features on our website, would like to chat, or have some suggestions of your own, email us at [email protected]. We love to get to know our community!

Article also posted on Medium

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It Must Be Free If It’s On The Internet, Right?

Not too long ago, we randomly heard about this young people project that fought against intellectual property and was seeking to promote copying without restrictions. And guess what? They even had a Crowdfunding project for this, meaning they needed money to produce some tear-jerking episodes about how beautiful and natural cheating is, and how copyrights hold back the working society. Aha! But in order to produce this content they needed cash, equipment and resources. So even they cannot work for free, now can they? They praised themselves for conducting a project whose content will be available to everyone, and yet they have a star indicating the ownership of this project, serving as a barter to using the produced content in exchange for advertising. What they failed to realize, however, is that through these very actions, they prove that artists must be paid and their works should be legally protected by copyrights. They are promoting today’s reality.

Some of you may not even realize when and how you're violating copyright laws, and since we are visual experts, our team at Soply decided to create a simple guide, which can help you in knowing what's right and wrong in each case. --> Note, copyright is relevant to all mediums, from social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Linkedin etc.), to blogs (personal, collective, generalist, niche etc.), to online publications, and information sites, forums, newsletters etc.

Copyright(s)

So what exactly are copyrights you may ask? Shortly put, they are the claim of each author to decide what happens to his/her work, and their right to decide whether, and under what conditions, their own art (such as photography in today’s case) can be further used. We’ll most likely never see anyone serving jail time for stealing a picture, and we should never have to. But it is equally true that those who violate these copyrights are to be called anything but professional artists.

Types of Photography in Terms of Copyright

All photos are copyrighted. There are no images created out of thin air. If people still dispute on who created the world, we most certainly can assure you that photographs have an author too. And only they (with very few exceptions) can decide what happens to their pictures. The original image sources are thus the authors, while search engines, social networks, photo websites, all represent only ways to reach these authors. Google Images, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, Weheartit and other similar sites do not serve as image sources. And most definitely not copyright free image sources. When it comes to copyright, we will find images online framed in several categories:

1. Photos with all rights reserved (for stock, release, available at an extra cost). These represent the overwhelming majority of images that can be found online. When you see a picture on the Internet, and are not familiar with its origin, you might as well include it in this category. They are usually taken by professional photographers, and usually sold via news agencies, stock image banks, photography websites, or straight from photographers, after direct negotiations. These can be used afterwards in conditions mutually agreed upon between the seller and customer (with or without citing the source, depending on the image use agreement form signed).

2. Free photos for use in a particular context (press photos). These are usually images provided by companies (or other various institutions or public figures) to popularise their work. They are mostly taken by professional photographers, and can be used for free in the context in which they were originally offered (usually accompanied by the Terms and Conditions on official websites on which these are available), but not for other purposes.

3. Free photos in exchange for quoting the source (creative commons). Estimates show these do not exceed 1% of all images that are found on the Internet, mostly being taken by amateur photographers, who in return expect nothing more than public appreciation, popularity, visitors etc. An important note to make is that the images available under the Creative Commons License may be of different types, with different restrictions in use. You will notice that approximately 70% of the images available in exchange for citing sources cannot be used for commercial purposes, and that only the author of the picture may attribute its creative commons license.

4. Free photos (public domain). In most cases than not, free photos are usually lower-quality images than others (possibly were unable to be sold, and are offered for free to the public). As you may suspect, most are amateur photographs and their distribution follows certain advantages, such as excessive advertising on the sites from which they can be downloaded. Furthermore, using these images in commercial actions is very risky and can affect a company's activity, since it’s not uncommon for stolen images with all rights reserved to slip in. You know how the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Using Pictures in Social Networks

We will cover only Facebook due to its immense popularity and limited space of this article. This social channel has two ways of displaying images:

Sharing is used when you do not have (or do not know if you have) the right to use the image, but still want to popularize it. You are not violating the copyrights of whoever posted it initially and all subsequent distributions are also counted to him.

Posting (publishing) images is used only when you have the right to use those images, which is applicable to what we already covered above in ‘Types of Photography in Terms of Copyright’. Basically, if you copy an image into the computer, and from there post it on Facebook, you must ensure that you have the legal and moral right to do so.

The same principles are used for other social networks too, be it these functions are called differently (pin/repin on Pinterest; tweet/retweet on Twitter etc.). However, just because you only have 140 characters room to stretch, or 10 different boards to fill up, not everything on the Internet is free to post. Do not mistake free access to information with the right to use this information created by others to your own liking.

But we understand that often times, it inevitably all leads up to budget, right? Let’s say the budget is indeed very (very!) low, one can still find a 15$ subscription/ per week with 50 images included. Heck, Soply is built around the idea of convenient pricing, where you are at the helm when deciding to whom and how much are you willing to pay. Trust us, you’ll feel far more satisfied knowing you have your own created content in a high quality professional manner, with all image use rights, than if you had blended in with the crowds with a second-rate stock photo.

Found this article helpful? If you are interested to talk this further, drop us an email at [email protected], or just write it down below in the comments.

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

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Today, we are happy to share the last part of our series, “Glimpses of Art from Around the World”, by showcasing some of our gifted animators and their creations on Soply. You will discover the insights of the animators through their interviews and animations - creativity in motion. You will also learn how the animators from different parts of the world view the animation industry and what made them want to become an animator. 

Now, let’s take a look at some of the animators’ animations below. From a monster to a love story of candy, the artwork of these animators really do make ideas come to life!

What originally made you want to become an animator/ artist? I have loved the visual arts as long as I can remember, and have been drawing and painting my entire life. Animation had become an obsession of mine since I was 8 years old. I was fascinated with the idea that you could actually make your drawings come to life. With the help of my mom, I got every book that I could find about animation, which were few and far between, and studied them intensely. When I got into my late teens, fine art and illustration also became a passion of mine. 

Who or what has been the single biggest influence on your way of thinking? My wife, Mark Nollinger, and Bob Dylan. That’s a tough question. I have been influenced by many artists throughout my life. When I was young, I studied the work of the Disney animators and the Master draftsmen. As far as my personal art, my biggest influences range from the Post Impressionist to the New York School - Rothko, de Kooning, Pollock and some of today’s artists.

How do you believe the animation industry has changed? And how do you ensure you’re changing / progressing along with it? The biggest change in animation is technology. In the United States, animation is done almost entirely in CG (computer generated animation). I have nothing against it, and started to learn the process, but I wasn’t drawing anymore, and drawing is what I love to do. I do, however, promote the idea of technology in the arts. Some friends of mine have commented that doing digital art is not real and true. For me, that is ridiculous. Did the older artists during the industrial revolution tell the younger ones “you shouldn’t use tube paint"? If they did, they were obviously wrong. I use my computer everyday for animation, illustration and some digital paintings. For me the thinking process is exactly the same. Why not do both?

What are you currently fascinated by and how is it feeding into your work? I should define that currently in my case, a single dream, image or word, could represent a whole series of paintings or some 3D animation. However, mainly once the idea is IN my mind, it usually keeps feeding my wish and lust to achieve what I have to achieve. And, in most cases, it is only clear once the process is halfway started.

How would you describe the approach and style of your work? My work is inspired by dreams, mainly. The style still has plenty to improve, but I think I am confident on the path I am taking. Lastly, I think once it will be mastered completely, it will look awesome.

What do you like most about working as an animator? The fact that ideas come to life quickly. Create [your] own concepts, and see them realised and complete, is unique.

What originally made you want to become an animator/ artist? I've always been an inward person - living in my head a lot. I've been this way since I was small; a head full of imagination and a passion for making art. I never left my love for art and so here I am.

How would you describe the approach and style of your work? I believe that the best solution to a hard problem, visual or otherwise, is a simple one. I love simplicity. To me, simplicity does not mean a lazy or half-hearted attempt. Simple means thinking about the problem at hand and solving it at the core. This applies to anything that I make. Life is complicated and noisy and sometimes difficult; art, illustration, and design don't have to be.

Who or what has been the biggest single influence on your way of thinking? In school, I questioned my love for visual simplicity. But then I saw companies like Apple and Google. Their products are simple - they strive for it. Google's home page has Google's colourful logo, and a search box; Apple's original iPod was a white rectangle with rounded corners, and a round flat button pad. More and more modern websites are wonderfully simple with layouts that embrace white space and use colour with purpose. Illustration and visuals have moved from texture and gradient-heavy to bold, iconic and flat. I love that the these big names are embracing visual zen philosophies. Watching these companies evolve has strengthened my sense of confidence.

Interested in working with any of the illustrators above? Then head over to their online portfolios, or drop us an email at [email protected] with any questions you might have.

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

Portfolio Credit:

Wayne Carlisi: https://soply.com/waynecarlisi

Ovidiu Nicolae Baiculescu: https://soply.com/oxhid3

LaTorri Lindsay: https://soply.com/torri

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Continuing with our inspirational series of artist interviews, we’ve been talking to some of the magnificently talented creatives in Soply's freelancer network. As custom, we would like to introduce you to a couple of our best illustrators – some carrying an abstract edge, while others taking note from their childhood inspirations. Yet, their different techniques is what makes them cater to so many of us.

Today’s blog post marks the third part in our series of ‘Glimpses of Art from Around The World’, by navigating through other ‘creative corners’ of the world, and offering insight into these artists’ work processes and the reasons for becoming the visionaries they are today! If you are still not convinced why you should hire them for your next creative project, keep scrolling down and discover why below.

How would you describe the approach and style of your work? My approach is constant - I go by the rules. Work that is both aesthetically clean and to-the-point. I spend most of the time educating my clients about their need for a logo or illustration, and then I execute it to the best of my abilities. It starts from pencils and paper, to digital [afterwards]. I probably follow the basic structure every graphic designer does.

Who or what has been the biggest single influence on your way of thinking? There’ll be a huge list of influencers for me. Single most influential might be Van Gogh. He literally blew my mind with the new styles he brought to paintings. Next will most definitely have to be my Grandma (a canvas artist whom I grew up with, watching her sketch and paint) and postal stamps (kudos to whoever managed to fit so much photo or illustration into such a small piece of stamp) :)

What do you like most about working as an illustrator? I love educating my clients and other people who come to me for designs. Once they are shown the real heart and soul of illustration and its methods, it makes me feel great. Learning new things myself is amazingly wonderful. Never stop learning.

What are you currently fascinated by and how is it feeding into your work? Logos/ brand designs have always been my love affair. It’s so cool because it is challenging to squeeze an entire business into an illustration or design. There’s a great deal of work, knowledge, effort, ideas (coffee and beers, too) that go into making logos. However, they will always be needed.

What originally made you want to become an illustrator/ artist? Since my childhood, I drew events related to experiences and activities. I still keep my schoolbooks of my first handwritings and drawings related to events. It’s interesting how these abilities start in our early age and are cultivated forever. I remember winning a first prize in an art contest in kindergarten; the work was made with tempera on paper representing a whale in the sea. This became my first motivation to describe fantasy.

But it was when I made my way to college in Italy that I really started appreciating and admiring all the positive energy in art. Art came to me through art, architectural and graphic design studies; however, it took time and effort to learn classic academic drawing, and the history of art (as I studied science and letters in high school). Today I acknowledge that my love for art has a modus of maturation in life. It delivers a direction that challenges my individual appreciation to grow in it.

How would you describe the approach and style of your work? To me illustration and painting have an optimistic edge because they are a direct and honest expression or message. They start at the origin of your inspiration, but you must feel it first, or let it define itself in the making, while the final result has to deliver an aesthetic and message at the same time. Through my career, I have always combined different techniques as part of confronting the best way to place my sensibility in the context. The hard edge and graphic style are my major concerns, and the use of different colours sets the mood or time. I primarily like simplicity in composition, but I sometimes venture in complexity as well.

What are you currently fascinated by and how is it feeding into your work? Today I draw on the tablet and took it onto the vector app and vice versa. It is an interesting way to experience your way into the final stages of work. But, the most amazing thing is how all this is done with very little expense and no physical mess. To reproduce something is so easy now, and you can take it to any format, size or media without losing almost any quality. If you ask me, some of my work is just meant to be digital as it was conceived to be on the web, plus it looks better and therefore I hope it will stay there forever!

What originally made you want to become an illustrator/ artist? I was good at drawing and English, but l really sucked at mathematics. I also think that my family helped me by enrolling me in Summer Art Camp as a child. Later on I was fascinated by early Pixar computer animations - that must have influenced choosing computer graphics as my media.

What do you like most about working as an illustrator? I can come up with imaginative ideas that are not existent in the real world, for example aliens with five eyes and geometric forms that are very difficult to make by hand. I have also previously worked with architectural illustration and it is the most challenging industry out there, I have to say.

How do you believe the illustration industry has changed? And how do you ensure you’re changing/ progressing along with it? The competition in the illustration industry is now very much scattered. It has its upsides and downsides. Companies are outsourcing their production and illustration work for countries with lower labor costs, which has lead into shortsighted thinking by company leaders with maximum profit and minimum wage for illustrators. On the other hand, freelance illustrators that are very talented can earn more in the freelance market than as full-time artists working in a company - as anyone today can have access to a digital drawing tablet and Internet.

That has also a lot to do with social media, but more importantly with websites like Deviant Art and CG Society. If you manage to get showcased on the Internet, then your popularity increases much faster than before, when you were constricted to your local scene. Creating a demo reel or portfolio is much easier too; you can get instant feedback and access illustration tutorials or other helpful free tools to finish projects faster than you would without Internet.

It takes some patience to keep up with the pace because there’s almost too much information available. I think the progress comes naturally with personal points of interest, and by filtering only the most interesting ideas and melting them together into your subconscious. I feel that I haven’t changed a lot, as much as the culture has, but I have become wiser for sure.

Interested in working with any of the illustrators above? Then head over to their online portfolios, or drop us an email at [email protected] with any questions you might have.

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

Portfolio Credit:

Prashanth Muralidhar: https://soply.com/Prashanth_M

Manuel Jaén: https://soply.com/manuel.jaen

Kimmo Rinta-Pollari: https://soply.com/kreativekaos

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How to Respond to a Creative Brief

How creatives respond to briefs is the single most important factor in landing successful deals and, in turn, creating some truly beautiful work. If you ignore what the brief specifies, there’s no guarantee that things will turn out well. But, if you give yourself the opportunity to ask the specifications of the job, you can easily carry out the job you’re supposed to with style.

As the demand for highly skilled, specialized employees increases and more top businesses turn to freelancers, an increasingly high number of people are, in turn, taking advantage of such opportunities. Soply offers you just that, by helping creatives attain a wide network of connections that could turn into future clients. Moreover, our website promotes finding success as a freelancer, both through establishing connections and showcasing your work. It all starts with a well thought-out quote in response to one of our many creative briefs.

At the start of any creative project here on Soply, clients will give the creatives (whether a graphic designer, photographer, videographer, animator etc.) a written outline of the goals and objectives of their project. It should cover:

Project Goals: i.e. to generate sales, to get information from customers, to launch a product etc.

Project Outline: a brief overview of what the client would like

Timescale: when does the client want to achieve their goal, and what are the important milestones in the project?

Budget: how much money does the client have to spend on the project?

Client Information: contact details

(Are you a Buyer? Click here if you want to read more on ‘How to Write the Best Creative Brief’)

Sometimes, you can’t get all the information you possibly want out of just the brief. In this instance, only by speaking to the brief’s creator will allow you to squeeze out the additional information you need. Briefs come in all shapes and sizes. So let’s look at how to deal with them next time you are interested in a job opportunity:

STEP 1:

SUBMIT YOUR QUOTE

Providing a quote can be the same as running a profitable, successful business, because like in everything else, it’s all about hard work and understanding how to sell your services. First and foremost, to accomplish these two things, you must think carefully about the price in relation to the exact requirements of the brief. Here are some points to consider when it comes to pricing:

Do you fully understand the requirements? If you have any doubts, follow up the brief and talk to the client. Make sure you know exactly what’s involved, otherwise you can’t price it properly.

Can you meet the deadlines? If the work must be done in a specific time period, think about whether or not you have the time to complete it during that time period and to the standard you prefer.

Are your prices set accordingly? Remember to take all variables into account, and how much the price affects their efforts. Also, don't forget minor details such as currency exchange rates, transportation costs, and most importantly, including Soply’s 15% service fee within your final wage (learn more about our service fee here: ‘Managing your Freelance Career’).

STEP 2:

PROVIDE YOUR COMMENTS

A good quote is a summary of everything relevant to the job or service you’re planning to provide, as they need to be brief, yet accurate and comprehensive. However, if you have any comments to add to it (I.e. the price is per photo/ video or per shoot),or any other details you feel are relevant, here is where you can write them down.

–> NOTE, you are not allowed to provide any personal contact details directly to the brief, such as email address, phone number or website link, as they will be masked. If you wish to be able to talk directly with the Buyer (which we understand is often times necessary to do), we could facilitate that for you and provide this info straight to the client.

STEP 3:

ADD YOUR MEDIA FILES

Here you can provide photos or videos relevant to this brief so the Buyer can get a sense of what you can deliver. Nevertheless, if the media you have uploaded in your Soply portfolio reflects the work specified in the brief you wish to pitch for, there is no need to share them again here. Follow this step only if you feel the need to further promote work that's exactly relevant to the particular brief you're responding to!

STEP 4:

HIT SUBMIT!

OTHER QUESTIONS IN MIND?

If you have some questions or concerns regarding the brief before even submitting a quote, you always have the option of interacting with the Buyer here first. Here, you can encourage a preliminary conversation with the client that may answer some questions as to whether or not you are capable of handling this job, much less feel it's a job which suits your needs. If you feel like it's the perfect job for you, then it's time to pitch a quote!

Found this article helpful? Your feedback is always invaluable in helping us support your needs, so drop us an email at [email protected].

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

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Managing Your Freelance Career (While Still Enjoying the Freedom of Being Your Own Boss)

Being your own boss is somewhat of a novelty. You can set your own hours, possibly work in your pajamas, and hopefully do what you love. But with that privilege comes a cost: contracts, payment, liability, and marketing. In the emergence of the shared economy, nearly anyone can be there own boss, and work at their pleasure as a contract employee - but how will you handle all of these additional circumstances?

So maybe this is you, and you are looking to start your career, or have already started your career. It can be completely overwhelming to make sure everything runs smoothly, so you still need a way to handle everything that comes with freelancing. This is why Soplyacts as a platform which supports freelance, but still professional, creative entrepreneurs. We help with contracts. We support in marketing your work, and expose it to our community. We assist in processing the payment, so you never feel like you missed out on something. And, lastly, we actually find you clients, which is vital to having a successful freelance career! So here’s a breakdown of what we do for you:

Marketing Marketing your work can be very time-consuming when you have social media and a professional website. In a world filled with “likes” and “shares”, it can be extremely competitive to have your page land in front of the face of a buyer. Although it’s always good to have your work out there, sometimes it’s hard to manage that it gets to the right eyes and ears. At Soply, we specialize in marketing artists to the creative and buyer community. Our talented Marketing team puts a strong focus on how your work is marketed, and to whom. We will only show the right audience the right media, and at the right time - so you don’t have to! We actively feature our artists on our social media, as well as our website. On top of that, you can publish a portfolio on our site, always making it easy for buyers to easily access your work.

Contracts Some of you reading this are experienced freelancers. You’ve had years of dealing with clients, and you know exactly what needs to be in your contract in order to prevent any mishaps. Some of you reading this are newbies to the freelance world and are finally taking the plunge to make a career out of it. In either case, we must stress that having an appropriate contract is crucial. Some of you may not even think about rights of use, cancellation policy, a booking agreement, etc. That’s why we thought about the exact details of contract employment, and then some! However, those experienced creatives probably have your own custom contract in hand. With Soply, you are still welcome to use your contract, alongside our Terms & Conditions, and come up with a mutual agreement with your client.

Payment & Bookkeeping For a creative freelancer, bookkeeping is one of the last things you may want to do. As important as it is that the numbers match up, it still may not be your cup of tea to constantly manage your income from your various jobs. That’s why our Accounting team manages that you will receive the correct payment, and on time.

So here’s a highlight of the process: Once you come to an agreement with the client on a quoted price, our team ensures that the payment is processed. This process, along with all the other work we do, sums up to our 15% fee of your total price. Upon booking, we take out that 15%, and hand over an initial 35% to you. This initial sum locks in the job, so all you have to do is keep it in your calendar! Once the job is completed, and the work is transferred, you’ll receive the remaining 50%. All of these amounts will go straight into your bank account, and in a timely manner, making it one less step for you to manage when it comes to booking a job!

Media Transfer As an artist, your work is your life’s passion. You have spent numerous hours initially shooting the job, or designing an animation. Then, once it’s first captured, you spend countless hours editing. So, how bad would it feel if your hard work was not properly received by the client? By securely uploading your finished work on our site, we ensure that it will be successfully transferred to your client. No longer will you spend time going back and forth with your client, unsure if they received the work.

Client Building & Relationship Management For any salesperson, client management is what makes your business. But for a contract employee, it may be hard to manage amongst completing your jobs and finishing up your work. We take part in two major roles of selling your services: building leads, and maintaining relationships. Our Sales team are always hard at work, managing prospects for new freelance jobs for you. On top of being salespeople on your behalf, our website acts as a CRM (customer relationship management) platform in that you can easily organize and speak with your clients by job, directly through the site. We understand a lot of details need to be discussed before, during, and after your jobs are completed; this is why you are always welcome to speak directly with your clients - in fact, we encourage it. We keep in touch with both you and the buyer, and can always manage a happy ending.

If you’re looking for a convenient way to manage your photography, videography, illustration, design, or animation career, we’re here to support you in doing so!

Your feedback is essential in helping us run smoothly and in your best interest. If you have any questions or feedback, please email us at [email protected]

Thanks for reading! The Soply Team

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We are thrilled to start the showcase of animators to feature them and their creative animation works on Soply. By interviewing them, we could understand their work and art philosophy even better, and now we are happy to share their insights and creations. These animators are from all around the globe and strive to reach out to the world by constantly creating animation in motion, whilst delivering messages rooted in their creations.

Now, let’s take a look at some animations, created by a few of the artists on Soply, and further get an insight on how they work and how the animation industry has changed.

What originally made you want to become an animator/ artist? Conversations - talking to someone and drawing to explain something. I discovered the value and my love for illustrations and animation with image boards on the internet. English wasn't my first language, so it was easier to communicate with visuals. It's a universal language and I love it.

How do you believe the animation industry has changed? And how do you ensure you’re changing/ progressing along with it? It's an exciting era. You can now immediately share your work in progress, and finished projects. Or watch what others are doing, get commissions from around the world, get help, say hi to that inspiring artist. The industry feels like a big community; I’m constantly sharing my work and connecting with inspiring artists.

What are you currently fascinated by and how is it feeding into your work? I love how common it is to create and share small video clips and gifs, and watch them on your smartphone on your way home. Most of my friends are used to it. I like the format, and I use it for most of my work. The content is also conceived to watch in a few seconds.

How would you describe the approach and style of your work? I like to approach my work with simplicity in mind, therefore I build the characters with simple clean shapes while adding some textures to give it some depth. I approach the same method with my animation, with simplified characters and clean silhouette, it is easier on the eyes to watch.

What do you like most about working as an animator? It would have to be, being able to express myself through my creative work. Taking something I thought up in my mind onto paper and eventually moving in a 3D space is what I find most enjoyable and fulfilling.

What originally made you want to become an animator/ artist? I have always been creative. As a child growing up, I would draw on everything: paper, textbooks, walls and tables. So it was only natural of me to go into a creative field, and after watching loads of cartoons as kid, I knew I wanted to bring my own characters to life.

How do you believe the animation industry has changed? And how do you ensure you’re changing/ progressing along with it? The animation industry has definitely shifted toward 3D computer animation. I'm keeping with the times by teaching myself 3d programs. However, with any technological advance there will always be a backlash of people looking to stick with traditional processes. As important as 3D computer animation is to the industry, I prefer the tactile process of working with traditional methods of animation.

What are you currently fascinated by and how is it feeding into your work? Right now I am fascinated with layering live footage and animation. My current passion project consists of layering hand drawn animation on top of double exposures inside of live footage.

What do you like most about working as an animator? The limitlessness of creation through animation appeals to me greatly. I love that the only restrictions of the medium are the boundaries of your imagination.

Interested in working with any of the animators above? Then head over to their online portfolios, or drop us an email at [email protected] for any question you might have.

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

Portfolio Credit:

Dorian Rodríguez: https://soply.com/hexeno

Roberto Pita: https://soply....TA_animations

Charlotte Kramer: https://soply....m/char.kramer

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This week we are kick starting an inspirational series of artist interviews, by speaking with several of the magnificently talented creatives Soply encircles in its freelancer network. We would like to introduce you to a couple of Soply’s best illustrators - some have an abstract and somewhat surreal edge, while others pride in their whimsical nature, yet their differently passionate rendering techniques is what makes them cater to so many demographics.

Today marking the first part in our series of ‘Glimpses of Art from Around The World’, we will navigate through the ‘creative corners’ of the world, offering insight into these artists’ workflows and prolific inspirations, and why YOU should hire them for your next creative project!

What originally made you want to become an illustrator/ artist? I grew up between graphite, inks and erasers; my father has dedicated more than half his life to his work and his passion, therefore I inherited this devotion for colours and the nature of this noble profession. Furthermore, the people I've met in my life were a big reason to approach illustration - their joys, fears, motives and their interesting points of view.

Who or what has been the biggest single influence on your way of thinking? Two things - mainly my father, he's a great artist that I respect and admire, and with whom I worked together in the past as graphic designers. This brings me to my second biggest influence, which is hard work. I am impressed by the way humans can evolve with tools around them, hard work constituting one of them in my case.

How do you believe the illustration industry has changed? And how do you ensure you’re changing/ progressing along with it? The industry of illustration has changed a lot, as today we see great artwork in advertisements distributed en masse: via social networks, altruistic fundraising causes etc. This is all thanks to technology access and ways of publication such as Soply, which are easy to attain and use. In return, social networks like this one gives us the opportunity to familiarise with the work of other artists, designers and illustrators alike, thus achieving more inspiration and power. From them I observe trends and develop a style of my own, which I later translate into what the customers desire and expect.

What are you currently fascinated by and how is it feeding into your work? Currently what fascinates me a lot are street art visuals, old school tattoos, the high contrasts of old album covers, basically anything that is different, that instantly catches the eye and impacts the mind. These months I am returning to practicing traditional methods, such as watercolour, charcoal, pencil, pastels and others as such.

What originally made you want to become an illustrator/ artist? I've never been able to function properly without creating art of some kind - as a teenager I was working towards being a doctor, but decided to follow my dream instead. I've ended up in illustration because I'm excited by how many different ways it can be used in the world.

How would you describe the approach and style of your work? My approach is very varied, I like to try new things all the time, so I work on paper in pencil, ink and paint, and completely digitally, as well with vector art and digital painting. Animals and nature tend to find their way into all of my work though.

Who or what has been the biggest single influence on your way of thinking? My love of animals and nature - it influences my personal ethics and inspires all of my work. If I ever feel unmotivated, a walk in nature turns that right around.

What do you like most about working as an illustrator? I love having the freedom to create and be myself in my work. While client work sometimes limits that because it is creating something to fit somebody else's vision, being able to create every day is like a form of therapy, it's the most satisfying part.

How would you describe the approach and style of your work? This is my artist statement: “Pardon the ‘artsy-ness’ of it. I draw and paint the surreal and psychedelic phantasms storming through my synapses. This is how I express beauty, pain and my version of the divine. Permutations of contour and texture are my main interest and I like to alternate between representational and abstract art."

My main tools are crow quill pen and ink. I try to use non-traditional ways to render tones by using different patterns and flowing lines rather than regular hatching, stippling, etc. I've made thousands of drawings with hatching and I think it's kind of boring now that I've developed more of my own style. I try to apply some sort of strangeness and surrealism to the piece, whether it's threatening or thoughtful or otherwise.

How do you believe the illustration industry has changed? And how do you ensure you’re changing/ progressing along with it? Social media is the key of course. Technology has brought us all so close together. It's simultaneously daunting and inspiring to discover so many amazing artists around the world, making it harder to keep your own voice truly original. That isn't exactly a requirement as everybody is influenced by some other force - it's up to us to add something of our own to what we've absorbed. There's even a place for artists and bands that blatantly wear their influences on their sleeve. Scratch that - they're wearing a whole goddamn costume! Consumers of art and music tend to mind this less and less however, given how saturated the creative market is.

I stay true to my style but have noticed that realism tends to get more attention on IG, so I've posted many older pieces of mine where I was practicing technique by copying photographs. I intersperse these with my recent work for some variety. This touches upon a rant I've often made. The main thrust of said rant bemoans the fact that photorealism seems to be the measurement used by non-artists for what constitutes ‘good art’. Basically, my view is that Pollock and his splatter painting is pure ‘style’, whereas one of the thousands of Instagram artists who painstakingly copy high-res photographs of human eyes are pure ‘technique’. ‘Style’ is formless noise rock or jazz, ‘technique’ is practicing scales at lightning speed. Find a pleasant mixture of both - that's good art.

What are you currently fascinated by and how is it feeding into your work? I'm not generally too political but am currently inspired by Bernie Sanders and the progressive movement he has ignited. Historically I've been studying ancient mythology and culture. I was involved in a project for a few years where the concept was based on the Mayan calendar and the different cycles therein, as well as the apocalypse prophecies and theories. 

After steeping myself in that research from about 2010 - 2014, I started to delve into Celtic art and folklore, most notably the Book of Kells and other religious manuscripts created in the monasteries at the time. The knot work prevalent in Celtic art is known as ‘icovellavna’ and I chose to study that as a historical portion of one of my recent school assignments. It was a research paper about mathematical knot theory and topology. Over the course of that writing, I researched many intriguing concepts that will inform my artwork quite a bit, such as chirality, homeomorphism and isotopy.

Interested in hiring any of the creatives above? Then head over to their online portfolios, or drop us an email at [email protected] for any question you might have.

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

Portfolio Credit:

Hugo Uriel Ortega: https://soply.com/Acheu

Kitt Byrne: https://soply.com/kitt.byrne

Eli Quinn: https://soply.com/eli

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How to Write the Best Creative Brief

A couple of weeks back we have shown you the optimal way to hire a freelance creative for the brief you created via our New Hire (read ‘Now an Easier Way to Hire your Favorite Freelance Creative’), but that is one step ahead if you still haven’t figured out the right way to put together a creative brief.

Ever wondered what makes or breaks a brief? Or what triggers a creative to go ahead and submit a quote? When planning to hire a creative from Soply (think photographers, illustrators, videographers, 3D animators etc.) for the project you are undergoing, it is essential that you write a brief specifying the exact type of work and results you are after.

The goal when writing a killer brief is to allow Soply’s creatives to really know and understand your needs, and for them to be able to deliver extraordinary no-hassle work. A well-written creative brief can also reduce any misinterpretation and ensure expectations from both parties – buyer & creative - are clear.

It is important you get quotes from artists with demonstrable experience in the art field you are after, but first you have to ensure that the creatives you are briefing this to, understand your vision and needs. So in order for this to happen, we have composed a step-by-step map you should follow next when writing a creative brief:

1. Start Off with Basics: The Who, What, Where

The appropriate way to write a brief is of course different from person to person, and from assignment to assignment. But one that is written correctly encompasses several key pieces of information right from the start:

Select the service you are looking for from the creative (photography/ videography/ animation/ graphic design/ illustration etc.)

Select the kind of work you need and for what purpose (wedding/ music video/ landscape/ portraits/ web design/ campaign/ promotional material etc.)

Set the location (e.g. Copenhagen, Denmark etc.)

2. Choose a Deadline for Final Work Submission

Brief the date for when you need the creative, or an appropriate time for them to submit their final work for you. Keep in mind that creatives might quote higher if that date is too close to the one for submission of quotes, as their pipeline of work might be busy with other paid assignments.

3. Define a Project Budget

The budget is a barrier for the creative process if not taken with precaution. Every budget is different and depends on the scope of the project or activity. You could either:

a) Make sure that the budget is clearly detailed, so that the creative will know what he/ she’s working with and whether it is feasible for the both of you. After all, if you are aiming for something grandiose, then you should also expect the creative to demand a bigger budget as well. Therefore, clear information about the project budget should be provided to the creative in order to develop ideas accordingly.

b) Leave it open for negotiation with the creatives, if unsure how much to charge. Many buyers are unfamiliar with how much these services cost, so in this case it’s better to let yourself be educated on how much the creative’s wage should be.

4. Provide Contact Information

E-mail address and phone number (optional) for the person or the team on the client side.

5. Describe the Job Offer & Media

We have arrived at the step where you must elaborate on the media you require from the creative, but somehow this is the one step most buyers will prefer to skip. Supplementing the creative with as much detail and facts as possible will only ensure you won’t have to deal with more explanations further down the road.

Tick all the boxes presented below for a stress-free work collaboration with your creative:

Details (specify any relevant details regarding the media, e.g. number of photos, video length, style, delivery channel or format, dimensions, resolution etc.)

Media Platforms (specify the exact medium of publication where you will be promoting the artwork, for e.g. website, social media, brochures, billboards etc.) 

Media Copyrights (define the right level of ‘Copyrights’ needed, as creatives could charge you differently depending on your requirement)

→ NOTE, normally if the media is only used for social media or website, the size/ quality does not need to be as excellent as when using them for print, large scale posters or billboards. This is definitely an aspect to keep in mind for when setting a budget up, since creatives will generally charge less if their art will be used for the Internet alone.

6. Hit ‘Submit’ & Wait for Quotes!

Here at Soply we can’t overstate enough the value of a great brief, as it serves as your reference to help determine exactly what information to provide to the creative. If all parties involved know what this photo, video, illustration or web design needs to achieve, everyone will spend less time and money re-working a design to bring it closer to your original intent. So put this blog post to good use and get of brief-ing!

Your feedback is - like always - invaluable, so drop us an email at [email protected]

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

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Highlighting Modern Videographic Talent - Part II

~ INTERVIEW with JAMES HIGHET ~

As you might have read in our last blog post (check out ‘Interview with Rodrigo Tasca’), Soply has initiated a short series of interviews focusing on videographers and their magnificent work, in hopes of inspiring you to stamp your own imprint on the landscape of great videography, or to better educate you in terms of writing briefs, accommodating fees and handling expectations, among other aspects.

Soply enlists a community of select creatives and industry experts from all over the world, specialising in many genres, and we have tapped into the experiences of some of our best videographers to bring you exclusive tips, insights and stories to help your professional practice. Whether you are an amateur or seasoned pro looking forward to register your portfolio on Soply.com, or just one of our present or future buyers greatly seeking for advice and insights of this business, keep on reading!

“I don't put my name on anything I wouldn't be proud to show my parents or have my younger cousins watch. Having a moral code helps to keep things in perspective.”

Toronto-based director/ producer/ entrepreneur James Highet has this great saying, “The world is vast and that there's talent in every corner.” Truer words have never been spoken.

Always having a passion for making films, he went on to create SevenSeas Productions, a wonderful website promoting some of the best talent he could find. Always looking forward for effective and innovative ways to simplify things for his cast, crew, and clients – today James will be made subject for one of our interviews, meant to teach creatives and buyers alike a thing or two about what the art of videography really entails. Enjoy!

1. As you see it, what qualities does a good videographer possess? A good videographer sees the world around him as frames, he knows what fits and what looks good; what can be left out and what could add emotion to it. He has an idea for the details and knows how to bring it out in his work.

2. What resources you feel are most important when starting out? Equipment? Website? Clients? The most important resources you can have when starting out are your network, your enthusiasm and a passion for what you're doing. Equipment can be borrowed, rented, etc. Websites can be made very easily these days (enough to sustain you for a while anyways) and clients will eventually come, but the most important thing is always your attitude and never underestimate the power a strong network can hold.

3. Tell me how you organise, plan, and prioritise your work as a freelance videographer. I've started using a virtual work board to help organise all my projects for the year and ideas for the future. Knowing how to manage your calendar early will be a saving grace later on.  

4. How do you usually go about finding new clients? What factors do you consider before taking up a new job? A lot of my jobs have been through word of mouth, again which falls on the network aspect. However every new project gets screened for content and context. I don't put my name on anything I wouldn't be proud to show my parents or have my younger cousins watch. Having a moral code helps to keep things in perspective.

5. How would you describe a good brief? Are there relevant details or specifications clients are prone to forget or to leave out? I've seen some that are packed full of information but have no heart, and one's that's had a ton of enthusiasm but nothing tangible for us to use. I think it's a good blend of the two: making sure the meat is in there (budget, locations, script, amount of cast, etc.) along with a good dose of passion and excitement will make a great brief!

6. What are some of the things clients should look into before booking a videographer? For instance, do you have any piece of advice on how to set a price accordingly? Don't base your decision on price! Yes, you have a budget you want to stay within, but I would much rather work with someone who gets my vision, understands me, and is a good people person, over someone who just has the best price, but their quality may not be at the level you want, or they don't know how to work with you and your staff. Always choose the person, not the price.

7. What type of videography jobs have you done in the past and which appealed to you the most? Anything to do with cars, I love working with exotic and custom cars! Outside of that, working with people who are as passionate about their craft as I am; doesn't matter if it's a video about making paper or a music video with explosions, if they've got excitement about what they do, everyone can see it and it feeds off the production.

8. What input do you want to receive from your clients, and what do you prefer to have a final say on? I always like to hear what my client is thinking when it comes to the overall feel of the video. However I do like to have a final say when it comes to cuts and edits as I feel it's part of the storytelling process and can get jumbled if someone wants a certain shot or angle that really doesn't fit. But these are all things we discuss beforehand so there are never any surprises!

9. What is the most rewarding and the most challenging part of your job? Surely there are aspects that behind-the-scene people are not even aware of… The most rewarding aspect is when the client sees the product for the first time and the look on their face when they realise it was all worth it! As for most challenging, it would be getting the production together, sorting out contracts, organising schedules, shot breakdowns etc. I love every minute of it, but it's definitely the most challenging part that most people never see!

10. Would you mind sharing an experience you had in dealing with a difficult person and how you handled the situation? Also, what have you learned from mistakes on the job? The most difficult person I worked with was an artist who wanted full control of the entire process. He had very little experience in anything production wise, so it really led to some tough times before, on and after shooting. I learned a lot from it, especially where I like to have control and what ground rules a client and I set out before the process even begins. If everyone is aware of the process and what they are responsible for, I feel it makes for a much better production and an even better final product!

Thanks James! For more information about his works in videography, head straight to James’ profile and see if he’s the videographer you’ve been waiting to find!

Do you have any comments or questions for James? Then please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

Portfolio Credit:

James Highet: https://soply.com/sevenseasprod

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Easter Is Coming!

Easter, on one hand, is for Christians to remember the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, it could be a holiday for festival-lovers to experience something new and exotic. As Easter traditions differ regionally, it is quite interesting to take a look at various traditions and festivals in different parts of the world. In this post, we are happy to share some unique Easter fun, so that you can make unforgettable memories with your family, friends or beloved ones.

Brazil

Let’s start with Brazil, where it has the largest population of Catholic in the world. Easter is a very important time for many Brazilians and travelers. Thus, a myriad of interesting events are held during the Easter period. In Ouro Preto, Brazil, during the Holy Week, you can see is streets colorfully decorated with religiously-themed carpets with a religious theme - such an astonishing thing! It’s definitely worth a visit, especially if you would love to be a part of their special-themed carnival. In this carnival, everyone walks on the beautifully decorated carpets on the street for about 4kms, visiting and celebrating in several churches. On top of that, there’s Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the world's largest carnival, before Lent. This Carnival has been attracting around 2 million festival-lovers per day for almost 300 years. If you are a music and dance lover, we highly recommend you to take a visit.

Maurizio T.

Denmark

Now, let’s talk about some very family-oriented and heart-warming traditions. In Denmark, there is a quite unique Danish Easter tradition - a teaser letter. A few weeks before the Easter, children craft their own decorated letters and write teaser letters. The letters are sent anonymously, but with a number of dots that are equivalent to the number of letters in the sender’s name. Therefore, the recipient could have some fun guessing who the sender might be. The letter should be sent with a Snowdrop, which is considered to be the first flower of the year. If the recipient succeeds to guess the sender right, a chocolate Easter egg will be rewarded, and vice versa.

Alex B.

England

Lastly, like in many other countries, Easter eggs in England take an important part during the Easter, as they are a symbol of rebirth. Families gather up to enjoy Easter food, and decorate Easter eggs together. Another Easter tradition is having hot cross buns on Good Friday. "Hot Cross Bun" is a song that prays for a widow who lost her sailor son. The son asked his mother to bake hot cross buns before he went on to his journey, but he never made it back. In more recent times, the widow’s cottage has turned into a pub where British sailors come and still pray for the widow.

Carmen M.

Indeed, Easter is a good time for family gatherings and traditions. We know you want to capture your unforgettable memories with high-quality photos; our marketplace on Soply allows you to easily hire professional photographers all over the world. Simply create your brief on our website.

Happy Easter from our team at Soply!

Your feedback is invaluable to our services and we greatly appreciate your feedback! If you have any questions or comments, email us at [email protected]

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Highlighting Modern Videographic Talent

~ INTERVIEW with RODRIGO TASCA ~

This week, Soply has installed a short series of interviews with videographers whose work pushes the boundaries of their profession to create films that are emotional, edgy, original, and most of all, enthralled with unique moments in time. 

Whether you are an amateur, a seasoned pro looking to register your portfolio on Soply.com, or one of our present or future buyers greatly seeking for advice and insights of this business, Soply hopes these interviews will inspire you. Upon reading, realise how you can stamp your own imprint on the landscape of great videography, or, rather, better educate yourself as a buyer in writing briefs, accommodating fees and handling expectations.

“The most rewarding part of my job? Every day is pretty rewarding. Just knowing that I'm doing something that started as a hobby five years ago still makes me laugh.”

Rodrigo Tasca, a South Florida-based videographer, editor & designer, enjoys capturing moments of absolutely everything from personal reels, to company re-branding, behind-the-scenes editorials, music videos, weddings and even informational videos for non-profit organisations. After asking himself one day, "How cool must it be to be the one shooting these? ", Rodrigo specialised in event videography. Now, he’s a master in getting to know his way around any social gathering, and therefore prepared for any difficulties that may come his way.

Expanding his craft is what he loves doing most, so he let us inside his world - just enough to offer our readers and users a unique insight into his creative journeys and artistic practices. Enjoy!

1. As you see it, what qualities does a good videographer possess? Passion! Anyone can hit record but capturing a moment in its perfect essence takes a certain passion for the art of filmmaking. Technique can be learned, always.

2. What resources do you feel are most important when starting out? Equipment? Website? Clients? A good attitude is very important and goes a long way! With technology you can shoot a movie with your iPhone. Not to say quality is not important, but I've learned that the concept behind the content can be more powerful and is therefore more important than the quality of that content.

3. Tell me how you organise  plan, and prioritise your work as a freelance videographer. It's a big juggle between shooting, editing, emailing clients and attending meetings. The workflow is constant, and at times, overwhelming. But, the end product is worth it, and at the end of the day, I'm just happy I'm doing something that I love.

4. How do you usually go about finding new clients? What factors do you consider before taking up a new job? Most of my clients come from word-of-mouth, or end up being people that I meet when I’m out shooting or working on other projects. I try to stay active and shoot things that I am passionate about on a daily, but whenever I get the opportunity to shoot something new for a job, I rarely turn it down. But I do take into consideration the concept, time frame and how long will it take to edit the project. As long as I am able to do it and help someone out while making a living for myself, why wouldn’t I try?

5. How would you describe a good brief? Are there relevant details or specifications clients are prone to forget or to leave out? The biggest problem I’ve run into when dealing with new clients and project guidelines is uncertainty. It’s happened all the time that the client is not quite sure how he/she wants the end product to look like, or the timeline of the project is not clear, and so that makes my job a lot harder. It’s usually a smooth process though, and I am always willing to help the client get what he/she needs.

6. What are some of the things clients should look into before booking a videographer? For instance, do you have any piece of advice on how to set a price accordingly? It depends on a variety of things. A client has to understand the style of each videographer and see if it matches the style he/she wants in his/ her own video. The client must also be aware of the videographer’s past clients, experience and subject matter, to see that it fits the project well. Regarding pricing, I look at projects like they’re houses - no two are the same. Usually I start with my base price and go up from there: how many cameras, do they want a slider or lavalier mics for interview, drones etc.

7. What type of videography jobs have you done in the past and which appealed to you the most? I have worked on a little bit of everything since I started videography. I’ve covered music festivals, high-end editorial shoots, restaurant openings, non-profit infomercials and many more, but I think my favourite shoot was one I did a while back for Summer Stage. It was my first music event in which not only was I able to capture performances by some of my favourite artists, but also be on stage with them in front of 10k people - that was an incredible experience, to be a part of something so large and exciting. I go back to that video sometimes and just think about how far I’ve come from there. It makes me glad to know that in one way or another, I always knew this was my passion.

8. What input do you want to receive from your clients, and what do you prefer to have a final say on? Videography is very personal and everyone has their own style, so I like to be as involved as possible in the creation of each video. Whether the shoot is for a rap artist or for a large corporate business, I like to have room to be creative. However, my job is to make the client happy and have the video fit their needs, so I like to know every detail on their vision for the project so that we can reach a mutual agreement.

9. What is the most rewarding and the most challenging part of your job? Surely there are aspects behind-the-scene people are not even aware of... The most challenging part of my job is finding a way to communicate my voice while working on projects that I would not usually choose to work on myself. It’s like any creative job really: you want to please the client and make a living, but you also want to have something that speaks to you and to your style. It’s a struggle, but when you find a balance, it can be amazing. The most rewarding part of my job? Every day is pretty rewarding. Just knowing that I'm doing something that started as a hobby five years ago still makes me laugh.

10. Would you mind sharing an experience you had in dealing with a difficult person and how you handled the situation? Also, what have you learned from mistakes on the job? I am a very positive person and I rarely deal with difficult people on the job, but I did encounter a situation in which a client asked me to shoot and edit a series of photos and ended up backing out of the deal after I delivered them to her. I was definitely very frustrated but from that, I learned that contracts are key! I haven’t made a mistake like that since, so I took that as a win.

Thanks Rodrigo! For more information about his works in videography, head straight to Rodrigo’s profile and see if he’s the videographer you’ve been waiting to find!

Do you have any comments or questions for Rodrigo? Then please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Many thanks!

The Soply Team

Portfolio Credit: 

Rodrigo Tasca: https://soply.com/rodrigo.tasca

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An Update to Our Hire Page: Now an Even Easier Way to Hire Your Favorite Freelance Creative

We are very excited to finally announce that we have a new and improved format for your hiring process! For those of you who have submitted a brief in the past, you once saw your pitches, questions, and comments all on one single page. Now, our new “Hire” page is neatly-organized with sub tabs, so you can easily access all of your pitches and the creatives who you are interacting with.

Once you’ve written your request in your brief, you’ll be directed to our new “Hire” page and here is where our tour begins…

You can see on the top of the page that it says the title of your brief (i.e. Photographer Needed for a Wedding in Morden, London Borough of Merton, United Kingdom). Underneath is the location of the job/ submission and its deadline.

Note: If a deadline isn’t indicated, the option “as soon as possible” is automatically selected. It’s important to select a deadline so both you and the creative have a timeline for the job to be completed.

So now let’s go through each individual tab:

Brief: This first tab neatly presents the brief which you originally submitted to us. The text you submitted to us will be underneath. To the right-hand side of the page, there’s a graphic image of a map-view (where the job will be completed/ submitted), the deadline date for submissions, your budget (which includes Soply’s service fee), and the Usage & Rights (so you and the creative know how the creatives’ work will be used).

Lastly, there’s a button you can click on to add some inspiration/ examples of what you would like to see in your incoming pitches. This makes it easier for creatives to have an idea of the quality of work you require, and/ or type of style.

Questions: This is the place where creatives can ask you questions for clarification about your brief, before they submit to the job. It’s laid out by creative, and date of submission. This really makes communicating about your job easy and organized!

Note: Please respectfully follow our “Guidelines” and do not exchange personal information with our clients. This could result in you being banned from our platform!

Pitches: There is a huuuuge difference between this new Pitches section, and the previous one in our old Hire page. Now the creatives’ pitches to your job are clearly laid out by each creative, along with an example image, quoted price, and creative information - all on the cover. In order to view the pitch, simply click “view” to see the submission.

Submissions

Let’s see how a submission actually looks like:

Now you’re looking at a submission (above). On the top of the submission, you can see a glimpse of custom media, which the creative found relevant to the specific job (also a reason to add your brief’s inspiration!).

Underneath is the creative’s general Soply portfolio. Here, you can then see the versatility of the creative, and also whether or not his/ her style may suit your needs.

Moreover, on the right-hand side of this page is a section called Conversation. Here you can have a chat with the creative about his/ her pitch, the job, or any other details you think are relevant after the submission is made. The creative may also begin a conversation about his/ her experience with the type of job, or describe some of the media they present. Whatever you think is relevant to the job/ this specific pitch, you may discuss here.

Delivery: Finally, this is the section where your completed jobs are securely submitted to you, and are ready for your use.

That completes the tour of the latest update on our website. We are very proud of our new update, and hope you will find it easy to use.

Your feedback is invaluable in helping the experience of our buyers and creatives! If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

Many thanks! The Soply Team

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A Few Simple Steps for Publishing Your Online Portfolio

For an artist, your portfolio is a symbol of who you are and the work you do. It’s what defines your creative ability to potential clientele. The content of your portfolio can be what makes or breaks your potential work opportunities, especially in the freelance world.

All creatives on our website have the opportunity to post a free, online portfolio. Soply provides this service as we know that it allows for ease in finding and pitching to new jobs. However, a portfolio doesn’t hold much influence if it isn’t updated - not to mention, not even published. This is why we feel the need to further inform those who use our service, to take a look at your portfolio and see if it’s been updated properly.

So, we hope we made it clear that you need to make sure your portfolio is “published”. But, you may be confused as to whether or not your current portfolio is published or not. If your portfolio isn’t published, you can’t easily showcase your work when you apply to jobs, and it’s also not viewable to the public (in case you’re directing potential clients to your Soply portfolio). If it sounds like we’re talking to you, here’s what you need to do:

Log into your account. Take a look at your portfolio, and if it says “Unpublished”, you’re probably missing a few pieces. You can click on the question mark button (?), and a further explanation will be provided as to what you’re missing. If you’re still confused, read on :)

1. Set a Profile Photo:

Your potential clients would love to see the face behind your work. This feature allows for you to have a more personable appeal to those viewing your portfolio, while ensuring trust. A photo of you is an opportunity to show others a glimpse of you, both as a person and as a professional artist.

Click on “Set your Profile Photo”, written in blue. This will then redirect you back to your “Profile” page. Then, you simply just have to find a suitable photo, and edit it so that it is formatted as a square (much like the dimensions on Instagram photos). This way you won’t have your face stretched out in some odd, unrecognizable way ;)

2. Set Your Skills:

Yet again, setting your skills adds both personality, but also practicality when finding jobs. Potential clients would love to know how well-rounded you are. It also allows us to properly notify you of relevant jobs, as they arise. You can add as many as you want, but please only add those which pertain to you - this makes it easier for both of us.

For this, all you have to do is tick the skills which match your own (e.g. Wedding, Portrait, Landscape, Event, Animation, Illustration, Design, etc.) If your skills change, or you gain new skills, please remember to update your skills on your portfolio, so that you’ll then be notified of even more freelance jobs!

3. Set Your Location:

When we receive new jobs which need a creative to be physically on-location, it’s much easier when we know where you are. Then, we can notify you immediately as these jobs pop up. When location isn’t a worry for the job, you’ll be notified simply by your skills (see above). If you’re traveling a lot, please put your main place of residence as your primary location. Then, for other places in which you are also available to work, you can set an unlimited amount of additional locations.

4. Set a Cover Photo:

This is also a way to add personality to your portfolio. It should be something which represents you, but also is very appropriate for a portfolio. 

To set your cover photo, simply click on the “Configure” button in the right-hand corner of the page. Then click “Change” and a window will pop up to upload your media. Please make sure it is at least 1,500 pixels wide.

5. Upload (at least) 5 Pieces of Media:

The media you upload depends on your skill set, of course. Whether it be photos, videos animations, etc., the media on your portfolio should be relevant to your skill set, and to the trends in the industry (this makes it easy for you to land your favorite jobs). Quality is what matters here more than anything else. This is what truly gives an impression to your new clients!

¡Important! Please do not put personal contact information on the photos in your portfolio.

6. Re-Order Your Portfolio Media:

You’re almost done here! The last thing you need to do is order your media in the way you think is best. Once you upload your media, it may look a bit messy (everything is likely lined up on the left-hand side of the page). This is when you may re-order your media, and also customize the size of each work. This is a way for you to highlight the work you’re most proud of! To adjust the size of media, click on the right-hand corner of the item and and drag it manually.

¡Important! If the message “Unpublished profile” still appears on your profile, please make sure you haven’t forgotten to update any of the steps above (e.g.: your skills, location or cover photo).

So, that’s it! Wasn’t it easy? Now your portfolio should be published and viewable by the public. Once you’re satisfied with your portfolio, you’re ready to find freelance work all around the world.

In order for us to deliver the best service, we would love to receive your feedback or questions. So please feel free to write us at [email protected] if you have any ideas or suggestions on how you think we can improve our service.

Portfolio Credit: https://soply.com/giovannirussografico

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Let us present an image: you have the photography skills, you’ve finally acquired all the necessary photography equipment, and now you’re ready to begin your career as a freelance photographer - BUT, there’s just one last thing … you can’t find work. Working as a freelance or, more formally, an independently-contracted photographer has many hurdles along the way. Being your own boss has both privileges and pitfalls in regards to finding work and getting paid quickly and fairly. It can often times become a cycle of finding work, working your bum off, and then again finding work. But the question is, is there an easier way to do all of this so that you can go ahead get your career started? How can you more easily streamline the process of finding work and expediting your payment process. Our team would like to recommend a thing or two to get things going:

Have a Portfolio Which Is Viewable By the Public

It’s difficult to get hired for a job when a potential client needs to hunt down your portfolio, especially if it’s possibly not even accessible to them at all. Once a potential client can see your portfolio, they can then decide if your work is a match to their interests. Not only that, if you are actively scouting for clients, you will have a place which you can easily refer them to. Our personal recommendation would be to post your portfolio on Soply. Not only is it easy, it’s free. From there you will automatically placed in our database and will be the first we contact when jobs matching your interests arise.

Understand the Market and Your Competition

It’s important to see what your competition is in order to understand what your place in the market is. With millions of creative freelancers worldwide, it’s necessary to gain a perspective on what type of photography you want to specialize in, and to what demographic you want to target. Do you want to be a wedding photographer, a landscape photographer, or a high-profile fashion photographer? The list can go on and on. Once you decide on what type of clientele you would like, finding specific jobs will become much easier.

Create a Bid Strategy

Understanding your competition, and where you stand in the market, is also crucial when developing your pricing strategy. You don’t want to run into an issue of charging too little, or too much, for a job. Either case can deter a potential client away from using your services. Once the bid is accepted, and the job is done, you should receive a fair and agreed-upon payment.

Before You Even Begin the Job, Get a Contract Signed and Dated

There’s nothing worse than committing your time and energy to a job, which doesn’t pay out in the end. If things aren’t in writing, there is no commitment on who agreed on what. This can pose a huge problem for freelancers. Soply’s database ensures that you are locked into an entitled job. Once you find a job on our site, the brief and agreement acts as a contract. Don’t worry, our team will handle all the boring administrative tasks required in freelancing.

Receive Your Payment

As a freelancer, you are responsible for invoicing your client. With websites such as Soply and the app Albert, invoicing can be done with ease. Using the Albert app, you can send the invoice within a couple of steps and include your company logo. You may also track on its progress, and overall keep a tablature of jobs you have invoiced. These are some key things to remember, so that you can receive your payment seamlessly: If you delay your invoice, the client may delay your payment too Invoicing quickly makes your work acutely to ‘recency bias’ (i.e. your job is more important since it was recently completed) Statistically, invoicing quickly has a bigger effect than invoicing terms and those who invoiced on the last day of the job typically received payment within five days. Sending the invoice a week later could double your waiting time. In the UK, it is estimated that freelancers are paid 21 days late.

Our team understands that starting up as a freelance photographer can be an uphill battle. But, we also understand how rewarding it can be in the end. Once you have the logistics worked out, it’s time to start your dream career in photography!

If you have any questions about this article or the services our teams provide, please email us at [email protected]

Getting Up and Running as a Freelance Photographer: Finding Your First Job and Getting Paid Quickly (2016)