I’ve been taking notice of Sean Pointing’s work this past year. His name has been popping up more and more through different edits and I finally got around to checking out his personal portfolio website (SeanPointing.co.uk). Needless to say, I was real impressed. I came to realize he’s not just another kid out there making web videos, he’s a filmer, editor, photographer, motion graphics designer, and more. Sean’s resume was more than enough to have me asking questions. Check out what Sean had to say, some real good photos of Sean riding (yeah, he can shred) and then a long list of his recent video work then leave him some love in the comments or “Like” this…
Name: Sean Pointing
Location: Sunny Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
Years riding: 8 years
Years shooting photos / Filming + editing / Motion graphics / Painting:
My whole life I guess, I’ve been painting and drawing since I could hold a pencil and shooting pictures since my granddad gave me his old 35mm Pentax. I started shooting video during my A-levels to get around some of the more mundane briefs I was given in photography and haven’t really stopped since.
Sean can shred just as well as he can shoot.
Clearly, you have a lot of different avenues for your line of work. What did you get into first? Was it caused because of BMX, or was it a separate interest you mixed BMX in with?
It was a mixture really, I was BMXing first and watching more and more BMX and skate videos, then getting into photography around the same time it seemed like a natural progression to move onto shooting video. Watching a lot of Props videos and even doing an A-level project on one of the Road Fools pretty much set me off. I’m pretty inquisitive so I always want to know how things are made and produced and I hate to be beaten by things like that so I find it hard to switch off.
Did you go to college at all or was it self-taught mostly?
I did A-levels in Photography, art, English and math and then went on to do a degree in Film, Radio and Television Production but in all fairness I learnt a hell of a lot more by making my own stuff and a lot of trial and error.
What kind of a setup are you working with on the photo side of things?
I shoot on a Canon 550D which is primarily my video camera but I do shoot photos on it too, I have a small designated rave cam for the nights out, my old 35mm Pentax I was given by my granddad and a kids ridiculously brightly coloured Holga 120 for nostalgia.
What about filming and editing?
As I mentioned I shoot on a Canon 550D, using a monfrotto tripod, a meter long glidetrack, samyang 8mm f3.5 lens, canon 50mm f1.8 lens, canon 70-300mm, f3.5 lens, a Pentax 90-210mm with macro tubes, Edirol mini mic, ebay timelapse remote, spare batteries, spare memory cards, GoPro HD Hero with car and helmet mounts, Chinon Super 8mm cine cam.
Motion graphics are a pretty heavy task to work with. How did you get into doing Motion Graphics? What kind of projects have you worked on for that? What programs do you use to get the job done?
Perseverance. That is definitely how I got into motion graphics, I taught myself whilst I was in my final year of university purely for the fact I had ideas that I wanted to get out into the real world and didn’t know how to do it. I have worked on a few varied projects, from title sequences for a couple of children’s TV programs, to corporate motion typography, to Swedish bike distribution idents and different music video and bmx edit effects. I use Adobe After Effects with a few plugins to get the job done with a tiny bit of Cinema 4D occasionally. I think that little things like an elaborate title or transition make a big difference to making an edit stand out.
Speaking of projects you have worked on. Who are some of the brands and clients you have worked for in the past? Are any of those projects something you are particularly psyched on or proud of?
That’s a good question, I’ve worked with big companies like Sanyo, Kent County council and Sony, small companies like Animate and Create, Savakas and Antifornia as well as Bands like We Are Embassy, British Standard and Laughing Gas and a few different Bmx companies like Zeal, Mankind and Alone. I’m always really syched on a project when I’m working on it, a few that stand out in my mind still are a snowboarding video I made of a trip my friends and I took, the latest We Are Embassy video for “Move In On”, the Antifornia documentary I’m still working on and the Isaac Lesser edit. I’m proud of all my work though really, I try to put everything I have into each video I make and if I’m not proud of it at the end then its not finished.
What are some of the projects you are currently working on?
I have a list as long as my arm at the moment, currently editing the Alone Malaga edit and Sam Collisson bike check, editing an old trip to Finland snowboarding, planning the next We are Embassy music video, filming for the First Crown Black star music video, editing the Antifornia skate documentary, designing a new tee for Savakas clothing erm I’m sure there’s probably something I have missed out. I hate feeling like I’m wasting my time so I tend just not to stop instead. Busy hands are happy hands as Mat Hoffman would say.
I know I’ve seen your name pop up a few places for contributions. Where can some of your work be found from time to time?
I have done a few exclusive edits for Dig and Zeal so some can be found there but generally you can see everything I am working on video and everything else on my site.
Who are some of the riders you can usually be found working with?
My friends I guess, the whole Zeal team, Isaac Lesser is always a treat to work with I’ve not done to many single rider edits its normally a jam or a trip, capturing all the little incidental things that define the atmosphere of the event.
Are there any riders in particular that you haven’t had the chance, but think it would be awesome to shoot or film with?
Anybody that’s fun to watch and be around.
Let’s say you get a big budget and a van, but you can only take 5 people. Who do you bring, where do you go and why?
I would go to America and drive across the entire country. The who is tough, I would like to take everyone, I would take Justin St George without a doubt, Josh Wyles for his constant banter, Isaac Lesser (you can never have enough Isaac in your life), James Hitchcox to repay some of the motorway miles he has driven for us, and the last spot I would leave open as a wild card and take somebody I didn’t really know that well but shreds. I think that would be fun.
Are you doing all of this as your primary job, or do you still have to work another job to pay the bills?
I wish I could do this as my primary job; I’m currently a Workshop Supervisor in Creative Media at a University near where I live. It’s basically a teacher with out the faff of writing lesson plans and marking papers. I like it, it’s my bread and butter money and everything else is either just for fun or pocket money.
Let’s say a company is psyched on what you do and want to work on a project with you. How would they go about getting ahold of you?
Probably the easiest place to get hold of me would be to go to my site and drop me an email or even just add me on Facebook and drop me a line I’m easy going.
Where can people check out more of your work?
www.seanpointing.co.uk. I try to update it as often as possible with what I’m working on or what I have done, without making it mundane. Hopefully it works out that way. I am very open to ideas and interested in working with different people and collaborating on different things BMX and non BMX related
You are on Twitter, right? Why should somebody follow you and what’s your link?
Yeah I’m on twitter, been pretty slack with it lately since not having the ease of the iphone app anymore due to a pleasant thief at Gatwick airport, but it is fully connected with my site and facebook so its always the first place to hear about my current work. @seanpointing
What kind of advice do you have for people looking to get into shooting photos, filming and editing or motion graphics?
Have fun with it, try new things and don’t get disheartened if it doesn’t work out first time, it rarely does. Think about what you are shooting in regards to the final edit and listen to the music your using it is your best guide to the pacing.
Where do you see yourself in a few years?
I have no idea, hopefully working on bigger projects and be a more established name in the industry.
Anything else you want to say?
Firstly I would like to say thanks for the interview I really appreciate the interest in my work, I also want say a huge thanks to all the riders, bands and companies that have given me an opportunity to work with them and create something awesome together. I would like to say a huge thanks to James Hitchcox at Zeal for helping me out and opening doors for me as well as a massive thanks to Penny for putting up with my weird workaholic ways. Have fun and make stuff.
On a slightly more obscure tangent, one day I would like to be an underwater filmmaker and film whales, if anyone has a job going hit me wid it. Just saying.
