Jon's photo blog

And a HNY year to you too! Here’s my a short film from New Years Day, taking a dip in the very chilly North Sea and taking the new pup for a walk along the beach… Please remember and visit the video on YouTube and subscribe for regular updates. This clip features new music by Alan Cormack (it’s actually an unpolished version of a track he’s working on for me and so the final, shiny version…

“SCREAAAAM..!”

Do you have a scream? Do you know someone with a scream? First off, I have a MKE200 mic to give away courtesy of Sennheiser. It’s designed for mobile and it’s the most perfect entry level mic for mobiles that I’ve used. No messing, plug and play and great sound quality in a tiny mobile package. S, so what do you need to do?Well, it’s Halloween on Sunday and I want to hear your best scream! I…

Scream to WIN a Sennheiser microphone!

Can you scream? 👻 I mean, really, really scream..? 🤪 I need that scream! 🧟‍♂️*You could #win a Sennheiser microphone! Here’s some spooky October fun for you… 🎤 Spine chilling…Blood curdling…or Skin crawling… It’s up to you. Record it on your phone, however you like (only the audio will be used) and share it with me (privately or publicly) before 29th October. Top three screams will get…

Instagram is leaning into video... and this is why it matters to you, even if you don't use it!

Instagram are leaning into video… When a company as big as Instagram states their intention to “lean into video” then take notice! You don’t currently make videos? Doesn’t matter. Not on Instagram? Not the point… This latest video is my assessment of Adam Mosseri’s announcement for any person, business or organisation that posts, Tweets or blogs! “Mobile-first video” is coming for you and…

I can’t emphasise enough the importance of having a box to hand!😉 Documenting the V&A Dundee / Scotland in Venice “What if…?/Dundee” project recently. I interviewed Principal of 7N Architects, Ewan Anderson. Note to self: carry kneepads! Thanks so much to Lydia Smith (@MissLydiaPhoto on Instagram) for the pictures 😎🙏⭐️

Christopher McQuarrie bagged himself an Oscar for the “Usual Suspects (1995)”. It was only his second script to make it to screen. By his own admission the “Mission Impossible 5, 6 7 and 8” screen writer and director was playing the lottery, and learning nothing. In this thread that he posted on Twitter in October 2019 he explains the difference between the lottery and the alternative. The…

Take two! Testing innovative patient PPE... Two simultaneous shots… One phone… Did you know this was possible..?

Two simultaneous shots…One phone…Did you know this was possible..? Thanks to the capabilities in the iPhone from 11 onwards and an app called “Double Take”, by FiLMiCPro, it’s possible to capture two shots at once through two different lenses! Why?Cutaways, reaction shots or, as in this (more unusual) situation, the need to capture two views of the same angle. I actually needed a third shot,…

A Tale of Two Mics

They look similar.

Sound similar.

So which should you buy?

Watch my review of the new Sennheiser MKE 200 when pitched against the veteran phone top mic, Shure’s MV88+

The Sennheiser is half the price of the Shure so you’d think the answer was simple. It’s never simple!

#OnTheFlyPodcast Ep3 with Documentally

#OnTheFlyPodcast Ep3 has landed…

With creative media/technologist Christian Payne (aka @Documentally).

We talk about#socialmedia, how he’s structured his#businessmodel, plus the secret life of his Italian grandmother… there’s a lot in here.

This podcast is intentionally accessible to high school agesand upwards. If you’re interested in continuous learning or are generally interested…

Kids – Adults – come one come all!

#MakeSomethingMobile is my initiative to get you, your kids, your parents, your teachers, your pupils… to get everyone creative using their mobile devices. And maybe (just maybe) win some prizes along the way.

In a nut shell, you have to make something – And there are so many things you can do on your mobile:

It could be  #Music, a #drawing (or…

TUESDAY 2 JUNE – Mobile Filmmaking workshop

Bookings now being taken for my next Zoom #MadeOnAMobile “Take 1” – my introduction to mobile filmmaking workshop. Take full advantage of the movie studio in your purse or pocket – your tablet or smart phone.

Throughout the day I’ll take you step by step through the process of capturing, editing and sharing your own video content created using a single mobile device. Full details in the link…

#OnTheFlyPodcast – the skinny on where, why and how?

It’s happened!

And I’m sure you were perfectly happy before Wednesday but I was certainly relieved to have scratched a long term itch and publish not one, but two episodes in two days.

Wednesday and Thursday this week was due to be #MoJoFest 2020 which had partnered with The Media Production & Technology Show at London Olympia.

Along with many cancellations this year it wasn’t meant to…

Capturing COVID-19: Is it necessary?

Our second wedding anniversary was spent in Paris. It was 1996 and I had a clunky Hi8 video camera from around 1990. A few days in and we had to chat. I was capturing everything and experiencing nothing. Realising that stayed with me and helped me manage my approach to social media.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

There were/are a number of concerns in my head…

Coping with Covid Sharing personal fears and coping strategies to lighten the load...

This is “Coping”…

2 weeks ago I made a video with mental health workers in NHS Tayside where they each shared a personal fear or concern but also how they are coping, getting by.

The point is to to help normalise the fears people have surrounding #Covid19. No doubt, to one extent or another, we all feel the same. And if sharing those fears was going to help the #healthcare profession I…

Movie Makers – Summer School

What did you do last summer? Well, for me it was the Movie Makers Summer Camp at AK Bell Library in Perth, Scotland. Jacobite Clans was the summer exhibition at Perth Museum 2019 and became the focus for three days of learning and making – shooting, editing and sharing stories using a single mobile device. In this case, iPads.

What’s real and what’s fake – it’s so hard to tell..?

The yo…

To give some context for this story I need to start with a brief history of me… Since I left school in 1987 I’ve worked in the creative industries… printer, illustrator, graphic designer and eventually a filmmaker. However, between being a graphic designer (for 10 years) and then a filmmaker I completed a Masters in Design and became a service designer.

The teams share their ideas…

What’…