We're already half way through the 3rd month of 2024 and what a crazy month it's been so far so I thought i'd update you with what its like as a videographer for a month. I thought I'd get a quick entry in here today with all the things i've worked on so far and what i've learned from this month. Since day one the business has solely been run by Joe and I - Although we've worked with some great people and brought people onto our team for odd shoots we've never actually had anybody join our team officially - that changed this month. We started off the month by conducting some interviews for a new intern to join us in the studio and learn alongside us on some shoots over the next 6-8 weeks. After meeting with quite a few really promising candidates we offered the position to Annie, A photography studio, who's worked showed great promise and Georgia, an animation Masters student. So far both of them have settled straight into life at Matchbox Productions and we're really excited to have them on board for the next couple of months.
Not 12 hours after conducting the interviews my alarm sounded at 3am, which only means one thing..... GB ULTRAS. I've been itching to get back out on the trails and mountains over winter so I was very excited for the first race of the season - The Chester Ultra 50. We started the day at Ellesmere port sports village with the running track filled with runners all ready to tackle the mammoth task of an ultra marathon.
Our biggest challenge this year was the weather - but equipped with out new drone and camera (The Mavic 3 Classic and the Canon R5C) we were determined to start the season off right and create our best video yet. Despite facing pretty much every season and weather you could think of in a day - we didn't let the weather affect us and were able to create a piece of work we were really proud of - capturing the essence of the event and showcasing all the amazing people that participate in the event and also help bring the event together.
In the days following the event I spent most of my time behind my desk - Editing through the photos and footage and getting some rest after a busy few days. The march madness continued into the first and second week of March - on the Wednesday we were back in the studio filming again - this time for a project that i'm very very excited for - unfortunately at this time I can't share to much about it but its definitely something that could have a really great impact on our business. Towards the end of the first week we then worked on a promo video for a wedding band - The Weekenders. These type of jobs really capture the essence of Matchbox Productions and really are the roots and foundations of how we started the business - Joe recording audio and myself then filming a video to the audio that has just been recorded. Joe and I are a great time and these sorts of projects are when we are at our best as like I said it's how we started this business in the first place. Yesterday I got a bit of a run out of the studio - Back at the Ethiad complex working with our friends over at Broadcast Cameras for Manchester City. We were working at a player appearance day where players come in and shoot content with the sponsors of the team - I can't talk about what content we shot but we got to work with Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Stephan Ortega. And that brings us pretty much up to date (14th March 2024) - The madness continues with a busy end to the month and also another GB ULTRAS event (The Manchester to Liverpool Ultra) to round off the month. Thank you for reading, Oli