Shooting and filming with HCC!fotovideo

Walter Wijnhoven

HCC!fotovideo is one of the largest Interest Groups of HCC with currently almost 3,500 members. The aim is to increase knowledge and to offer help and support in the field of photo and video. And perhaps most importantly: sharing information with each other.
Brigitte van Berkel, board member and second secretary, emphasizes that HCC!fotovideo is easily accessible. “It’s a fun hobby that can be done anytime, anywhere. Sharing knowledge about this hobby and making others enthusiastic is just as much fun and gives a lot of satisfaction! It doesn’t have to be expensive. Nowadays, photo and video cameras are available in all price ranges, there are options for every budget. And don’t forget the current smartphones, which often provide very good image quality and so that an extra photo or video camera is sometimes no longer necessary. Simple edits that everyone can understand are always a hit with our members. Think of retouching, creatively editing portraits or making (postcard) cards from your own photos.”

ACTIVITIES
In the past period, corona prevented many live activities. “When the measures allow it again, we will be present with a stand and giving presentations at various trade fairs such as the HCC! knowledge days, (open) days of other HCC groups such as Drones, CompUsers and SeniorenAcademie, but also, for example, the 50+ scholarship. On request, we also go into the country to give presentations, lectures and workshops. And hopefully we will be able to pick up the photo city walks again that were a great success in the past.” The latest presentations given by core members of HCC!fotovideo are: What’s New in Photoshop Elements 2021, Photo Editing with Adobe Lightroom (and also Magix Photo Story), Photo Editing with Cyberlink PhotoDirector (demo with highlights from the program) and Workshop Adobe Photoshop (creative with portraits, retouching, blending modes, day to night)..

WEBSITE AND NEWSLETTER
The Interest Group also promotes all these activities via the fotovideo.hcc.nl website, which also contains the current agenda with photo/video-related events. Articles that are related to photo/video are also placed or linked here. Brigitte: “Our website is being expanded even further, which of course depends on the available content. Members who want to tell something about their photo or video hobby, I invite you to share this with us. When there are major activities, we announce them in a separate newsletter or in the regular digital newsletter that we publish three to four times a year. In addition, a working group from our Interest Group is active with an ambitious film project.”

MOVIE PROJECT
Partly as a result of the presentations Filmic Pro and LumaFusion at the successful HCC! knowledge day last year, HCC!apple and HCC!fotovideo have started a joint film project. The intention is to shape the entire (creative) process from the first film idea to the edited film. Initiator Rinus Vorstenbosch: “HCC is a knowledge organisation. The members of the various Interest Groups have a lot of knowledge that is shared in presentations and workshops, unfortunately due to corona forced online. We are becoming wiser as a result of the acquired knowledge that we share with each other in this way. After many online sessions and after joining the boards of HCC!apple and HCC!fotovideo, I increasingly wondered: what do we do with all that knowledge? Just passing it on to our fellow members or would there be some other way to use that knowledge? I am a ‘doer’ by nature and so the idea came to me to put all this knowledge into practice.”

FROM FILM IDEA TO COMPLETE ASSEMBLY
Within both boards, Rinus proposed a joint film project, in which a composite film team goes through the entire procedure necessary for making a film. From film ideas from which the subject is born to the complete editing and everything in between, such as storyboarding and shotlisting, finding shooting locations, finding actors if necessary, audio, light and so on. There appeared to be a lot of enthusiasm for such a project within both boards. “In addition to using the available knowledge, another reason was gradually added to this project: to appeal to more women and young people and to arouse their interest in HCC.”

WELCOME TO THE ‘FILM CREW’
“We have started to form a team, and it is great that we already have people with knowledge and experience. But people with a great affinity for filming and who are willing to learn are also welcome. We now have seven people on our team, including cameramen, but also two non-members. They bring the knowledge of screenwriting and editing within the team. But also experience with the Apple program GarageBand, which means that we are even able to make our own film music and do not have problems with music rights. There is still a need for people who want to take care of the audio and light. We also want to expand the collaboration to HCC!drones, which we would like to welcome to our team. You can make the most beautiful shots with drones.”

TIME PATH AND CALL
The global time schedule of the film project is as follows: winter 2021/2022: script writing, storyboard and shot list, search for film locations, prepare recordings. Spring/Summer 2022: shooting days for the recordings. Fall/Winter 2022: Editing and GarageBand. If you feel called to participate in this ambitious film project and want to be part of a real film crew, apply. The film can later be used as a promotion for the recruitment of new members. Rinus Vorstenbosch is happy to provide more information and can be reached via mhvorstenbosch@kader.hcc.nl

HOBBY OUT OF HAND
Rinus is not the only one who was enthusiastic about the activities of HCC!fotovideo. The same goes for Brigitte. “I came to HCC in 2003 to follow a Photoshop course. So for photo editing. Pretty soon I became an active volunteer and that’s how I stayed with HCC. Photography and image editing has become a hobby that has gotten out of hand, I also do business assignments. For real quality photos that are needed for printed matter or, for example, a wedding reportage, an SLR camera from the more expensive segment with a (semi) professional lens remains a must for me. If it’s just for hobby and private purposes, then I find the current possibilities with the smartphone and the various creative editing apps such as Instagram, Photoshop Camera and YouCam Perfect very interesting.”

SHOOTING PICTURES
WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE
Many of us often don’t even take our camera with us anymore and take pictures and videos with our phone. But if you want to edit some things, then the questions come. What are you going to do with it afterwards? Do you make a movie of your photos, do you put them ‘somewhere’ on a disk, where do you put them and how do you ensure a backup, et cetera. There are free programs and very expensive ones for all these activities. iMovie, Apple’s default tool, is one such free program that is great for novice movie making, including some basics like adding or modifying text or music. Apple is traditionally strong in this area, but Android is not lagging behind. But the possibilities all this offers is often not given enough attention. A nice job for HCC!fotovideo. Brigitte: “Due to corona and because there is still a lot of movement in free and paid apps in this area, we have not yet written a specific presentation for this. It is on our wish list.”

VOLUNTEERS WANTED!
We are working hard to further develop HCC!fotovideo. But this is not possible without the efforts of volunteers, emphasizes Brigitte. “We can still use many people who want to pass on their knowledge to help others, as well as beginners who are already ready to help other beginners. Because we want to share our knowledge throughout the country, new volunteers and core members are always welcome. Enthusiasts who want to contribute to HCC!fotovideo at locations near the regions, but also at the Senior Academy (which is also divided into regions). Interested parties can register via bestuur@fotovideo. ;hcc.nl. Experience shows that it is not only useful, but also a lot of fun!”