Bring Your Dream To The Surface: The Creative Process of Videographer Patrick Monaghan

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Whanganui videographer Patrick Monaghan accidentally stumbled across his love of creating videos while in the third year of a Graphic Design degree. From there out he started doing projects for friends and family before being thrown into some great opportunities.

The enduring wedding industry proved to be a lucrative avenue and led Patrick to start his own videography company Ivory Creative. As well as capturing special moments, the project has allowed him to see a large chunk of the country, something he freely reveals "doesn't actually feel like work".

The rest of his schedule is swamped and sees him concocting freelance videography projects for companies, schools, and other organisations. In brief his resume includes a promotional clip for Lorde, an educational video about the Bushtail Possum, a highlight reel for youth basketball and a campaign aimed to restore the number 12 tram of Whanganui.

IT'S ALL NARRATIVE

When working on a new project Patrick's creative process always starts with the story and how to get the message across to the audience. "Whether it is a corporate promo, music video, interview, or passion project – it all comes back to story. I spent many years starting with the visuals. 'How am I going to shoot this? What lenses? What camera?'. After using the process for a while, I noticed that my projects looked visually polished, but often lacked a deeper narrative or meaning. In the end, you can watch pretty shots all day long, but if a piece truly 'moves' you, it is because of it's underlying message."

One example of his ability to convey a message in a unique and powerful way was through a project commissioned by Vevo to show the roots of Lorde. Filmed in the first months of her orbit, the video manages to capture the fragility of the musician in her neighbourhood on the verge of cracking the big time.

Once Patrick has a concept for the narrative, the process of picking gear, storyboarding, drafting shot ideas,  and shooting quickly comes into play. Typically rolling as a one-man-band, he can rely on the support of his partner Sarah to bring ideas to life. "She stands close-by and makes sure I don't miss any magic moments while my eye is down the viewfinder. It is truly great to have the help of someone who knows and understands you. They can fill in the gaps in your skillset, and provide an alternative view on things."

CAPTURING INSPIRATION

To get his creative juices flowing, Patrick will sometimes, like the rest of us, spend an entire day watching movies and videos on YouTube, listening to music, watching TV, going for a walk or calling fellow creatives for a chat. "I do have some documented inspiration in the form of a folder on my hard drive called 'My Lookbook'. This is a collection of screenshots that I have taken over the years when watching movies and other videos. I am often moved or inspired by certain camera angles and compositions, so I will quickly reach for the screenshot button to capture that shot (much to the dismay of Sarah, who has to deal with me constantly pausing and hitting keyboard keys in the dark as we watch a movie together). When I am setting the 'tone' of a piece, I will refer to the 'lookbook' to begin thinking about how I am going to capture the desired mood. I also keep a log of inspiring videos that I have come across."

BRINGING INSPIRATION TO THE SURFACE

Bringing all those brain explosions into the real world is no easy task but Patrick finds the process far easier with the plain sailing nature of Microsoft Surface Pro. "I am a big fan of any tool that makes using technology easy and fuss-free. Surface does just that for me. From the beginning, I used the stylus to document my ideas in the form of a mindmap. The ease of using the tool has made it a pleasure to use, combined with the fact that I can take it on the road really easily, and use it wherever/whenever has really helped to streamline my workflow. The display on Surface is of the highest quality. When editing video it really helps, as I can see my images in clean, crisp detail – helping me to inform my visual enhancement decisions with immense accuracy."

WORDS OF WISDOM

For his latest project Patrick is creating a series of videos titled 'whakatauki' - powerful Maori proverbs that have been passed down through generations and are used as poetic reference points in speeches. "My concept for this campaign is to create a series of short videos, each exploring a different whakatauki in a visual, abstract way. I want to really try and understand what these whakatauki are trying to tell us, and how this can be communicated in a visual form. I think this is an important project for several reasons. Firstly, for cultural reasons. I think it is vitally important that we preserve these ancestral treasures, so that they live long into the future. Secondly, to take them beyond just words. I hope that through video I am able to transform and explore these words in a vibrant, exciting way. Although the final videos will be short, I hope that they will be enough to spark an interest in people to dig deeper... Maybe looking into the cultural context of the whakatauki, or maybe it is an opportunity to think about what those words could mean for them personally."

WHAT'S NEXT FOR PATRICK?

With future work Patrick would like to find more time to work on passion projects. "The next step for me is to continue with my company, hopefully diversifying into other areas of videography. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting out into the field and shooting content that I feel strongly about - it's incredibly liberating. So, one of my goals going forward will certainly be to do more of this type of work, to keep myself refreshed and inspired!"

There's a creative fire raging inside you but the daily grind yearns to stamp it out. Want to bring your own dream to the surface? Microsoft wants to give one person the tools, the time, and the salary* to make their project a reality - whether it be writing poems on grains of rice, creating jewellery out of knives and forks, animating cartoon characters, designing moving desserts or making sculptures out of used car parts.

Simply tell Microsoft what you want to create using Microsoft Surface and they could help you make it happen.

For more information visit winayear.co.nz.

*Monetary prize of NZD $60,000