Cinematographer Bevan Goldswain is no stranger to the camera. His father, a wedding photographer, handed him his first one at a young age, but provided him with only one roll of film each month. Bevan quickly began pouring his attention to detail and new love of photography into the one shot he took each day.
Since his first footage submission in 2010, Bevan has become a recognized model-released artist in the Shutterstock footage collection, and has grown his collection to more than 3,000 clips. We caught up with the artist to ask some questions about how he creates such consistently authentic work.
Shutterstock: When and how were you first exposed to stock? Why did you make the decision to start shooting for it?
Bevan Goldswain: My parents owned a small advertising agency and used to get these bulky books of images sent to them by stock libraries. Whenever they purchased a file, they would have a single film slide sent to them by courier! I remember how fascinated I was then with the idea that you could shoot almost anything, and people all over the world could buy it.
Closeup portrait of beautiful woman by Bevan Goldswain
How did you decide to focus on model-released footage, and what experience gave you the skill to direct so well?
I enjoy working with people. I have shot some non-model-released stuff that has sold very well, and has been very easy to plan and shoot. But I find it less rewarding somehow. When I was about 15, my dad had a wedding client who had yet to find a decent videographer. With zero experience beside playing around with our new video camera on a single holiday, my dad highly recommended my brother and me to shoot the wedding! It went well, and we ended up shooting the weddings of all the daughters in that family over the next 5 years. Weddings are a great training ground, as you are constantly working with people who do not want to perform for your camera. When you do end up paying someone to be in front of the camera, it feels almost too easy.
Who do you primarily use as your models? Family and friends or hired talent?
Starting out, and up until recently, it has been friends and family. Last year I started working with agency represented models. Professional models do improve your shots immensely, but there are limits to that. Your skills need to be as good as theirs. Shooting friends and family is a great way to start out when they’re cheap or free, but it’s also dangerous ground to tread. You really need to explain to them the implications of the shoot and where their face could end up — it’s all fun and games until someone sees a clip of themself in a political campaign or religious propaganda that they don’t want to be associated with. If you’re working with friends and family, you really need them to understand what royalty-free stock is and where their image might possibly be used.
Party Girls series by Bevan Goldswain
What would you highlight as your keys to shooting such successful and high-quality MR footage?
Finding great people to shoot. Even if you’re shooting friends and family, finding people who are natural in front of the camera is so important. The feeling you get from someone’s performance — I don’t know if these things can easily be taught, but maybe they can be learned. Beauty is important, but comes second to character. This is even more important for video than stills.
What equipment are you using? How do you decide what to purchase?
The RED Epic Dragon and the Movi M15 have really enabled me to up my game this past year. Being able to shoot slow motion (up to 120 fps in 4K) was the biggest thing that made me chose the RED over other cameras. I love how shooting in slow motion can completely transform what you’re capturing into something quite otherworldly. My recent “wedding photo booth” series and the “party girls” shoot wouldn’t be half as good if it wasn’t for the high frame rates.
Wedding Photo Booth series by Bevan Goldswain
I don’t want so much gear that it demands massive crews to handle it all. I want to be able to be a one-man-band sometimes, too. There’s a mantra I use to steer my decision on purchases that I actually got from Ken Rockwell’s blog: “The poor man buys twice.” And I’m still learning that lesson. I spent all of last year battling with an entry-level follow-focus system and have now bought a more expensive one. I would have saved if I just bought the pro one from the start.
How do you get inspired and come up with fresh ideas for new footage?
Our job as artists is to inspire, and if that is not a burning passion of yours, then you’ll always struggle to be inspired. I look to any source of fresh, relevant content to find inspiration. I walk the high street looking at billboards, and I save about 5-10 new visual references to my ever-growing library of eye candy every day. I do this not as a chore because that is how to “get inspired,” but because of a hunger I have for images.
Man eating breakfast by Bevan Goldswain
It’s very easy to be overwhelmed by all the stock categories in the market. What advice would you have for someone just starting in stock video?
Like the very best t-shirt print I have ever seen said: “Do one thing.” Focus is underrated; people are generally bad multi-taskers. The other advice I’d give would be to find what you can shoot well for free. Don’t risk too much early on, because not all shoots are a success. I learned this the hard way by investing too much in what I thought was a good idea at the time.
I love shooting things that don’t require expensive models and crew. Last December, I spent a week shooting hands at different tables from above — mostly my hands (which are free). The camera was rigged to the ceiling, no fancy gear needed. Shooting stuff like this every now and again takes the pressure off.