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Description

Our Senior Art Director Bill Bon had the pleasure of art directing at this year's LAX iStockalypse (May 13-16). iStock-a-what? The iStockalypse concept was born in early 2005, as an official multi-day iStockphoto photography event. Several times a year, contributing artists and photographers from the international iStock community come together to collaborate, share knowledge, and exchange tricks of the stock photography trade. iStock sets the stage for participants to launch into highly art-directed photo-shoots — carefully planning and selecting locations, local models, wardrobe, hair and makeup professionals, props, professional equipment and providing mentorship. Under savvy expert guidance, beginners and seasoned pros get to share what they know and create brilliant images with old and new friends. The iStockalypse is not only about creating great local imagery. Our passion is growing artists and providing them with the tools and expertise to further their experience and education. We set the stage for attendees to broaden their knowledge in a series of seminars and activities designed to take their trade to the next level. Since the first event in Las Vegas, iStock has visited Seattle, Boston, Ljubljana, Prague, Austin, Barcelona, Marseilles, Buenos Aires, Malta, Berlin, Calgary, Istanbul, Cannes, Tokyo, London and Milan. What is your role? My name is William Bon, but my friends call me Bill. I'm a Senior Art Director at Getty Images NY. What was your role at the recent LAX iStockalypse? I had a chance to speak about video and work with iStock photographers through all stages of the creative process: brainstorming, location scouting, shooting, direction, etc. Tell us about the walkabout video timelapse. During the iStockalypse, we hold walkabout shoots were anyone can participate. We produce the shoot and the photographers get a chance to shoot released models and salable concepts for their portfolios on iStockphoto.com. As an Art Director, I usually work with a single photographer on a shoot, so it was an interesting challenge to work with roughly 15 people at once. As we moved throughout the day, I was able to suggest things that they may have not thought of on their own in the heat of the moment. Things like composition, color, new angles, and moving through shoot situations that are fluid in nature. The video is roughly 4 hours of shooting compressed to about a minute and a half. How did you capture the imagery on the walkabout while you were art directing? I mounted a small Go Pro camera to my chest and had it take pictures continuously. In post production I edited down thousands of shots into just enough to move at a nice pace through the timelapse. I then assembled the selected imagery in Final Cut and paired the visuals with music from iStockphoto.