Monthly Archives: April 2011

Going Into Video

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20110430-115355.jpgWhen I sold my apartment in Copenhagen it left me in a position to make some investments for the future of my business. Which, in case you were wondering, is the business of telling stories. I chose to invest in video.

I have been wanting to do video on a more serious level for a long time, but I didn’t have the setup to recreate the visuals in my head. Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer in the whole it’s-not-the-gear-but-how-you-use-it thing, but if you have specific ideas that your current setup just can’t do, it might be time to upgrade. So, I’m moving from iMovie to Final Cut Studio, from camcorder to DSLR and from built-in mics to a wireless system.

Up until now, I have just fooled around with video. Over the next few months I will dive into the more technical bits and study, practice and practice some more. But it doesn’t start with editing, special effects or even filming. Software and hardware does not a great film make. So I have gone back to the beginning.

In my mind filmmaking of any kind starts with good writing. That is where I have begun. I am reading about scriptwriting of all kinds, from documentary and music videos to feature films. And I am experimenting and doing exercises in writing for visuals as I go. Warming up before a few bigger test-projects involving other people and actual filming.

It’s a huge investment in terms of both time and money. Am I nervous about it? Absolutely! I think any important decision should make you a little nervous, just so you’ll take it seriously. But mostly I am excited to learn and dive deeper into something that has always interested and attracted me, but that I have only ever scratched the surface of.

Will Work For Free

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Singer Johan Olsen from Magtens Korridorer.

Magtens Korridorer is a Danish band I've photographed for years. It's been fun following their path to success. The free beer was cool too!

I hope I never get too busy, jaded or lazy to do the occasional free job. Anyone can take a picture, but I like to think that I am better than average (or the last decade of my life has been for nothing). That’s why I normally charge for my services. But every so often, I will offer to work for free. It’s not a completely selfless act mind you, I get something out of it too.

The people I photograph for free are almost always artists of some sort. I grew up around painters, musicians, architects and what-have-you, and almost all of these talented people could have used a good picture or three for marketing themselves and their work, and for the same reasons they would need a photo, they also couldn’t afford to hire a professional to shoot a series for them.

There are thousands of struggling artists in the world, but naturally I can’t afford to give away my photos all the time.

I extend the offer to people I really like. The people behind the work are more important than the work itself. I am a storyteller, and those always have their root in people. It ties into combining Kindness and Hard Work as well. The people I help are genuinely grateful, and they tend to remember me later. In the past this has led to referrals, more work (some of it still for free), friendships and collaborations. And with each and every shoot comes inspiration and learning, and that’s the real pay-off.

A couple of people I have photographed have later gone on to have some success, which hasn’t made me rich (nor would I dream of taking credit for their success, which had everything to do with their own hard work) but it’s gotten me lots of really cool, fun experiences that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Giving away my work also gives me a sense of applying my talent where it matters. That’s a very direct and fulfilling thing. I’ve met naysayers who claim one of two things: it’s undermining “the industry”, and you’re killing yourself for nothing. To those I say, you don’t get it. I’m not doing this for business – not directly anyway. I’m doing it because it’s who I am, how I was raised and it’s what I love doing.

Gone Bandcamping

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I’ve just signed up for the music site Bandcamp! Actually, when I went there to sign up my preferred username was already taken, so from experience I knew to try one of my older passwords. Bingo! Turns out I had signed up a long time ago and never used it for anything. I have fixed that now.

“Bedre i Amerika” is my first EP, consisting of all old songs. Apparently, that’s how I roll. If you listen, you’ll also know how I rock. The songs are all in Danish by the way, so unless you already speak it you also get to be Internationally Hip — just by listening!

There were 12 songs at first, then 8 and now 5. The rest just didn’t stand the test of time. I can say that truthfully, because I wrote them all back in 2008. This is around the time I was just getting over my regular bouts of homesickness, I had gotten a few friends and the shock of moving to another continent without any real planning had passed. These songs remind me of that period of relative stability, which lasted only a brief moment of course. C’est la vie.

I used to give all these songs away for free on my Danish blog, and I now have the audacity to ask at least $0.69 per song, or $3 for all five. It’s not that I think this is going to make a huge difference in my monthly budget or anything, but times are tough. I’ll take your pocket change for a song and blame the recession. I’m not ashamed. Besides, the Danish blog doesn’t exist any more.

Use the player above or check out my profile page on Bandcamp to listen.

Update: The EP is also available in iTunes (and via several other services). This link is to the US store, but if you’re somewhere else just search for my name and you should see it.