What on earth is an unconference? And what’s this ShootFest about?

These are most likely the first 2 questions on your mind. An unconference is an informal gathering of likeminded people with a common interest. It’s a participant-driven conference, meaning everyone must participate in some way or another. We encourage everyone to present a topic or engage in a discussion during the 2-day sessions.

Each ShootFest is a media unconference primarily for photographers and videographers. This first one that is organised is themed The Wedding and is meant for professionals, freelancers and anyone interested in wedding photography and videography.

The benefits of ShootFests are knowledge-sharing, networking and raising the bar for the industry. If you feel you don’t want to share any of your kung-fu, then the unconference is probably not for you. We want to breed improvement for everyone, and need you to share your thoughts too.

When, Where, What???

Date: 6th & 7th June 2009 (Saturday & Sunday). We start at 10am. Register at 9am on Saturday.

Venue: Integricity office, Centrepoint Bandar Utama

Dress code: Casual. Do bring a jacket or scarf if you’re prone to get cold in air-conditioned spaces

Fees: RM50. And you’ll get a limited edition, never-printed-before T-shirt!

Read more…

Here are some of the group photos that we have taken during Shootfest.

This was the first group shot taken on Day 1.

This was the 2nd group shot taken on day 2.

This was the shot of when all of the animals at Zoo Negara ran loose and so happened appeared out of no where in Centrepoint, Bandar Utama.

At the mean time, let me try and figure out how to allow everyone to download the high res versions of these photos.

We had some chance to do some crazybooth photos in Shootfest. Unfortunately not many people participated, but nonetheless, I guess most people also enjoyed watching those who was in the booth. Had a lot of fun and was laughing even while I am shooting them. Well, since I still have the mood, I betta post some of the photos up. Well, here you go!!!

(SPECIAL THANK YOU NOTE to Ian, Jason and Jon for helping out with the lighting set up, )

Here is Jon Low with his apple and ssshhhh….it is delicious!!!

someone is killing Superman!!!

Both Jason & Ian wore the same Superman T-shirt today!!!

Superman POSE??

Superman’s undies… save the Earth, so recycle with DUCT TAPES???

Matthew surrounded with the Charlie Angels - Sylvia, Fiona and Grace

Lenard giving Shootfest a punch before he takes a leave - BEST FEST THERE IS OUT THERE, ;P

Ali, getting into the fun! Oh, ROMEO!!

Too much LOVE can be poisoning!! haha

Maye meeting her idol, Jenny…and doing the PASSPORT photo??!!

one gone from charlie’s angels , and one in! Grace, Jenny and Fiona, three great lady “shooters”!! BEWARE hor, guys!!!

William G, hehe, a very cute, (taiwanese) pose

OH, Mun Tzin in trouble, 6-feet Andy is attacking her….but wait…

NO FEAR,  Ian the Superman coming out from nowhere, trying to change into his costume!! But oops, candid camera, GOT YA!!!!

But Mun Tzin don’t need Superman, her Superman is MARK!!! aaawwww….so lovely don’t you think so?

Back to the 6-feet long (tall) Andy, Jon is trying to be taller…in someways…

That’s me, Zach with Andy as well as Paul Kong (CK). What was I thinking??!! And ya, both Andy and Paul do great wedding photography as well,

Well, lucky for Grace, she fits into the camera view…unlike someone who is 6-feet tall… (sorry Andy for cutting your head out)

Clipping away….

Remember what I said inspiration from movies, this is from Stephen Chow’s “From Beijing with Love” movie where he is like a James Bond spy and he modified his shoes to be a hair dryer. And there came Kaz, into the picture as JB’s girl, :D. Oh yeah, Jason did the wind effect!!

Juggling by Raymond…and me….huh, I prefer to eat the apple rather than juggle it on my head…

Kee Sitt, the great videographer!!!

Jon, again trying the best to jump high…in between Adrian and Joshua. Oh scroll down for more good jump shots!!

Loved this shot!!! Simply great jump by Joshua! I should ask my client to do so as well.

These two, Adrian and Joshua are just a great pair…okay not that kind you are thinking!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this shot!!! Jon did numerous jumps on this and Fiona trying her best angle to reenact the “monkey stealing peach” stance from chinese Kung Fu show. Great expressions on their looks!!! Vote this as the best??

There is actually a simply stance, just use a pair of scissors!!! Haha… Great leg lift by Danny Chew!!!

Ending this post with a GREAT team - WEDDINGSTORY team!!! From left - Ian, Mark, Grace, Alex, Kee Sitt and Sharon!!!

THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING SHOOTFEST 001 and hope the next one wil be coming up pretty soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We’re in for a really exciting time! ShootFest: The Wedding starts tomorrow! It’ll be a fun time of getting to know new people and learning from one another.

Here’s some notes for you to take down, and prepare before you come for ShootFest on the 6th and 7th of June.

1. Things to bring: (ShootFest is a green event, hence the reason for reusing items)
a. Your own refillable water bottle
b. A name tag from any old conference that you have attended previously (so that it’s easier to get to know each other!)
c. Notebook (if you have one), or a normal paper notepad!
d. For speakers, a VGA dongle to connect your notebook to the projector cable (mostly for Macs, since the connections are slightly different)
e. Equipment - camera, camcorder (please take care of your own equipment, we will not be liable for any loss/theft)
f. Namecards
g. Pillows or beanbags if any
h. 4R photos of your work (please view note below)
i. Things to sell on Sunday (camera gear, bags, magazines, books etc)
j. Slides for Pecha Kucha session (see below)

2. Snacks will be provided during registration times. ShootFest starts at 9am on Saturday and 10am on Sunday. Lunch and dinner will be at your own expense.

3. View the conference schedule, and plan which sessions you’d like to attend. There are still some empty slots for those who are interested to speak.

4. We want to save the environment, so notes will not be provided. Slides will be uploaded online.

5. We’re going to have a participant’s wall, which we will decorate with YOUR photos. Yes! It would be great if each of you could bring about 3-4 different 4R photos of your work to be stuck onto the walls of Integricity.

6. Pecha Kucha sessions - Could I please have a show of hands of those who are interested to participate? Just prepare 20 simple slides (it can be just a photo, with 1 or 2 words per slide)… and speak on each slide for 20 seconds! Easy! It can be about any topic - from why you are interested in weddings to talking about your beloved pet cat. Sessions can be in English or Malay.

See you on Saturday/Sunday!

Up till today, we’ve been getting calls asking if there’s still space for 1 or 2 more people for ShootFest. Everything is set to go for our first ShootFest gathering this Saturday. The t-shirts have been printed… the snacks about to be bought… and the chairs to be arranged this Friday night! If anyone is interested to help out this Friday, do msg us. We’re meeting at 7.30pm at the Integricity office to get the space ready for the next day. We need as many hands as possible so do join us.

See you this coming weekend!!!

What an amazing few weeks this has been. Since putting up the website and getting the ball rolling, we have hit our target of 80 participants for ShootFest. Registrations are now closed. The t-shirt design has been confirmed and the orders put in already. Most of the speaking slots are confirmed. Looking forward to 6th and 7th of June 09!!

Here is the confirmed t-shirt design. Front is the logo, back has the website and text.

Hi everyone, the T-shirts order will be made this Friday (15/5), so please check the chart below and order your T-shirt size. Email admin@shootfest.org with your registered name and T-shirt size (XS, S, M, L, XL etc etc). If you have not placed your order by Friday 5pm, we will randomly choose a common size for all. We are getting short sleeve t-shirts so ignore the long sleeve one. Thanks.

ShootFest: The Wedding Unconference

Date: 6th & 7th June 2009 (Saturday & Sunday). Registration starts at 9am.
Venue: Integricity office, Centrepoint Bandar Utama, PJ
Fees: RM50

So what is ShootFest: The Wedding all about? And what is an unconference?

An unconference is an informal gathering of likeminded people with a common interest. It’s a participant-driven conference, meaning everyone must participate in some way or another. Everyone is encouraged to present a topic or engage in a discussion during the 2-day sessions.

Each ShootFest is a media unconference primarily for photographers and videographers. This first one that is organised is themed The Wedding and is meant for professionals, freelancers and anyone interested in wedding photography and videography.

The benefits of ShootFests are knowledge-sharing, networking and raising the bar for the industry. The idea is to breed improvement for everyone in a friendly environment.

Our sharing slots are open to everyone who is interested to speak. Participants can choose to speak about anything… from technical know-how, to marketing your photography business, to sharing your experience about how you left your full time job to be a wedding photographer. Other interesting things that will be happening are like Pecha Kucha sessions, where you share 20 slides, each for 20 seconds, or a buy-sell session where everyone brings their second hand gear to sell.

How it All Started

Inspired by a techies gathering called Barcamp, Alex Lam (www.integricity.com) and Grace Tan (www.weddingstory.com.my) gathered a group of wedding professionals and shared the idea of an unconference with them. The first ShootFest meeting was held at a coffee outlet and 5 people met up to discuss ideas. Those who were present were Zach Chin (www.zachchin.com), Jon Low (www.idealwedding.net), Mark Leo (www.markleo.net/blog) and of course, Alex and Grace.

Everyone was really excited about the idea of sharing knowledge and networking with others. It was at this first meeting that the name ShootFest was determined, and that night itself the domain was purchased, and a Wordpress site set up. Others who couldn’t make it for the meeting due to geographical constraints were Ian Chong (www.eeyern.com/blog) and Lim Kee Sitt (www.weddingstory.com.my).

Latest Updates

From that first meeting, we have gathered a group of volunteers who have willingly availed themselves to help in any way. Word about ShootFest went out informally through forums, blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Over a short period of 2 weeks, we had 65 registrations. The cap on the total number of people would be around 80 due to venue restrictions.

Visit the ShootFest website: www.shootfest.org to get the latest updates, view the schedule, register and sign up for a speaking session. If you’d like to help out in any way, do email admin@shootfest.org. We gladly welcome volunteers.

After our last meeting, those that were present viewed all the logos, took into consideration all the web comments, and then we shortlisted 1 logo that we liked. So from that one logo, here are slight variations to it. Which do you vote for? 1,2 or 3? (in the order it appears).

Another round of logo designs adapted from GT4 in the blog post below. These set of logos are designed by Alex Auyong who shares the same office as me - Grace. Thanks Alex!!! Vote pls!