Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Video Guy

At an Irish concert, I sketched the video guy. Man vs. Tech.

12 comments:

Joshua Pinkas said...

Both this and the chihuahua have nice deep blacks in them. Do you do any adjustments in Photoshop? I'm curious because I have a devil of a time getting graphite to scan or photograph well. It's always got some glare to it.

Anonymous said...

Do you have any advice for drawing folks "out in the wilderness"? It feels like a whole different beast compared to figure drawing sessions, where you have plenty of time to make careful measurements and observations.

Rich said...

The Video Guy is very vividly portrayed.
Another enjoyable entry.

Anonymous said...

Great lines as usual. Interesting lighting. Even the camera seems to have a personality. - mp

James Gurney said...

Joshua, I shoot all my work outdoors with a digital SLR camera (or a pocket camera if that's all I've got). I usually adjust Levels or Curves or the automatic "Adjust Levels" to correct white balance and bring out the range of tones. Sometimes I edit the whites to pure white to give the feeling of a vignette on white paper.
Thanks, mp and Rich.

Anon 1: Yes, in "the wild" I can't do the length or slope measurements that I might do in a model session. And of course my subject will surely move and depart after a while. I love the sense of urgency that gives my drawings.

People dealing with technology, especially cell phones or laptops in cafes, are great subjects because they hold poses for a long time.

One tip: wear a pleasant expression rather than the grim Concentration Face in case they happen to look over. And if they do look over, hold up your book with the page toward them and smile or walk over if you can and explain what you're doing.




Anonymous said...

Two questions: 1) Did the "Video Guy" film the "Sketcher Guy" and, 2) What kind of camera is he using?

Scorchfield said...

red camera
http://www.red.com/
:)

Anonymous said...

My first reaction was "He's smoking indoors?!?!"
Great drawing James!

James Gurney said...

Anonymous:
1. No, the V.G. didn't notice that the S.G. was looking at him.
2. Don't know the kind of camera. The sketch was from almost 10 years ago, so digital cameras have come a long way since then.

Qitsune, It was a big tent with open sides, and the rules were a little looser about smoking back then, so I don't think anyone complained.

DMcCunney said...

I know some video folks. To get the full picture, so to speak, you have to be around for the tech build, where they are setting up the control area, laying the cables that will provide the feeds, siting the cameras that will shoot the action, and later doing the all important tech rehearsal where they do a run through with those who will be filmed to get the schedules down and the cues set so that everyone is on the same page about what will happen when. It's live, and you don't get to do a retake if there's a flub. It has to be right the first time.

And since it's not just video, the sound folks are in the mix as well, placing mikes and adjusting levels at the mixing board so people will be heard as well as seen, and the lighting folks are doing hang and focus and setting up the light plots in their controllers, putting in the cues that will let them change lighting with the touch of a button at the appropriate moment. (The staging folks have already built the risers and the framework from which lights will be hung.)

It's Putting On A Show, and I know a lot of folks who do other things for a living, but do stuff like this because it's fun. (And do it, often, better than those who do it for a living.)

But it's not man vs tech unless there's a glitch. Usually it's man and tech, and the tech is an extension of the people using it.

Great sketch, though: the video guy is totally focused on getting the shot, and it will be right.

James Gurney said...

DMcCunney, thanks for the insider's perspective. I guess it's only Man vs. Tech when I'm trying to operate the camera.

DMcCunney said...

It would be the same for me if I were confronted by a brush and oils. It's not my tech, and hasn't become an extension of me.

Your challenge is to get the image right in your head. Once you know what you _want_ to paint, you won't have an issue actually doing it, because you've mastered your craft.

It's true of any endeavor.