“As a media professional running my own business myself, I have high standards and work with a lot of different production companies. SCN productions is one of the best and what really sets them apart is the wealth of experience they have working in the business. SCN Productions is one of the companies that not only demonstrates professional capability but also how your project can be taken to a higher level through innovative and creative design of sound production and video production. I would highly recommend Stuart Neale.”
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'Catching the Eye' - technology makes possibilities
Stuart Neale • 26 July 2023
After having walked some distance on the journey of film and digital capture and dare I say photography, my eyes have indeed been ‘opened’ to some interesting concepts and realisations.
Take the subject of depth of field for example, which has for many decades opened up cinematic and photographic opportunities for creative visual representations of not only the real, natural world, but also an avalanche of ‘special effects’ specifically created for film, TV and many other consumer-led photographic industries. The digital ‘Iris’ known as 'aperture' has been the bread and butter of lens manufacturers for decades, allowing a myriad of focus permutations, together with rich variations of ‘bokeh’ for the capture of outstanding visual performances whether in the film studio or 'on location'.
But for the source of innovation and creation we can look no further than our very selves - the human form, which intrinsically provides a template for so many things, not least of which is the construction and operation of the human eye....
Let us consider for a moment the in-built capability of just one element of the exposure triangle, that being our ability to make split second changes to our focus length according to the myriad of light conditions; the amount of camera and lens configurations needed to emulate this vast expanse of permutations would be endless, together with the speed of set up coming absolutely nowhere close to our own, visual expertise.
Now where technology may have introduced additional, tangible layers of dimension to the ‘capture’ process is the emerging development of virtual digital techniques such as the planned virtual production laboratory scheduled for completion here in Belfast Harbour Studios - https://www.business-live.co.uk/technology/new-belfast-virtual-production-lab-27139470 - a new brand of explosive creativity that heralds even greater illusions of reality, and supernatural effects, I believe will attract many global operations including the Hollywood ‘set’ for many future productions; with Disney’s show “The Mandalorian’ already having been produced at this 'cutting edge' production facility, it certainly seems destined to ‘catch the eye’ of the consumer as the productions roll in and roll out…
Nevertheless, its worth sometimes to stop and stare and by using the very tool we were born with, that has indeed the most extravagant visual ability, together with that pandora’s box called ‘imagination’, we can emulate and even surpass the technical engineering constructed by human hands.
Yes we can be inspirationally motivated by our wonderful industry but not reliant on its' technology to ‘Catch the Eye’.
I have been referred to along lifes journey as a ‘perfectionist’ and with some internal satisfaction I previously received this label with glee, but now I’m not so sure..
Both the music and film industries have primarily been established over many decades, being driven through the hunger of the consumer to be entertained. Of course nothing wrong in that (I hear you say), but when in the case of purely commercially released music and film production being used very effectively as ‘containers’ to deliver a variety of messages, which are not derived from genuinely altruistic but self serving motives, I begin to wonder is this really 'Art'?
In an age where technological advances have resulted in artificially created ‘intelligence’, giving rise to automation on an unprecedented scale that previous generations would not have ever imaged.
Reviews
“Stuart has been producing my music and videos for a number of years now and I am always thrilled with the finished results. His wealth of experience in the music industry coupled with his above and beyond attitude is what makes his work special. He never fails to catch the vision of a project and his gift for production and arranging always takes my work to another level. Every song and video I’ve put into Stuarts hands has undoubtedly come back to me a hundred times better. He has a fantastic attention to detail and never hands a project back until it is perfect. Overall, an incredibly talented producer!”
Vicki Holden, Business Owner
“I had the pleasure of being introduced to Stuart to explore an innovative project I was creating which required some bespoke music for an animation. Stuart walked me through the process with ease and created an end product which pulled together the entire production, elevating it to a higher level than I could have ever imagined! I am so thankful to have had this opportunity and highly recommend Stuart’s work.”