150,000 and still counting

Since April 2008, when we bought Nikon D3, we decided that it will be good for TILT to keep track of the shutter count so that we can be prepared when the camera may fail. In a short period of 2 years and 3 months, we realised that we have already taken 150,000 photos to date.

150,000 definitely sounds like a big number. Considering that we do not go for photoshoots every day, this certainly is quite a huge number. As such, we decided that we can do some quick mathematics. To our surprise, that is an average of about 180 photos taken in a day, a pretty digestable number.

Having said that, during our peak periods, the number of photoshoots can be pretty overwhelming. Recently, in the month of June, we did a reality check and realised that we were out on photoshoots for 21 days out of 28 days (and that is inclusive of Saturdays and Sundays). On certain days, we can be rushing for places to places for photoshoots. In fact, just in early June, there was 5 photoshoots happening in 1 single day. Our photographer was shooting from 8am – 10pm. Well, there are breaks in between where it is used for travelling and meals, but nonetheless, it definitely can be very tiring.

So, what exactly is shutter count? Why does it matter? How do you keep track of it?

The shutter count is the number of pictures that a camera has already taken. Shutter count is actually the laymen’s way of saying it. The actual term is known as actuations. The shutter blades are delicate mechanical parts, and are subjected to wear & tear. They are generally the first thing to fail on a digital SLR.

For entry level cameras (Canon Rebel, Nikon D80, etc.) the shutter is rated for 50,000 shots.
With mid-range cameras (Canon 40D, Nikon D200) it’s 100,000 shots.
With professional cameras it’s over 200,000 shots.

Note than any given camera can fail sooner or last much, much longer. These numbers are just guidelines. At any rate, the lower the shutter count, the better.

For those who are interested in finding out your camera’s shutter count, you can download the free Opanda IExif where you can then use it to check on your camera’s shutter count.

For the record, this is the photograph taken which was our registered 150,000 shot. This was taken at Jalan Besar Stadium on 16 July 2010 for a S-league match between SAF FC and Home United FC. The photo shows the contrast between Home United’s celebration and SAF FC’s disappointment after Home United had scored a goal. For the record, Home United won 5 – 2 at the end of 90 minutes.

We are still counting and we definitely will be looking to getting a new DSLR soon.

Dig in and Research

TILT has been involved in the pharmaceutical industry for a while now. We recall the days where we had went to Mount Elizabeth to conduct photoshoots. The days where we came up with the collaterals for Parkway College seemed just like yesterday as well. Healthway Medical and her subsideries followed suit subsequently. This paved the way for us to design a series of branding advertisements for Rottapharm | Madaus this year.

Below is a testimonial from our client as well as the artwork which has been created.

“Great job! I really like it that TILT digs into research & open up points as part of your design process.”

Tracy Ho
Marketing Executive
ROTTAPHARM | MADAUS

Inspiring Sporting Singapore Photography exhibition and Interview

The Inspiring Sporting Singapore Photography exhibition is now on at most National Libraries. TILT is honoured to have been selected by Singapore Sports Council to contribute photographs for this exhibition which is being held from 2 May 2010 – 26 August 2010.

With a theme of Excellence, Friendship and Respect, our chief photographer was also honoured to have been selected by Singapore Sports Council to be interviewed by CNA, which was conducted on 25 June 2010.

“There is not a single genre of photography which will be able to provide you with a full spectrum of emotions within 10s (for 100m dash) to 90 minutes (for soccer). It is only in Sports Photography that you will be able to capture the joy, the sorrow, the anger and the agony all within such a short period of time.” revealed TILT’s Chief Photographer, Tay Ling.

“Behind each and every photograph is an actual story. This story serves to inspire everyone to pick up sports. And the beauty of this is that all of us have a part to play in it! Not everyone can be good in sports. But all of us can do our part to aid Singapore in becoming the Sporting Hub. We can do our bit in playing a supporting role, whether in sports photography, sports marketing, sports event management or sports journalism and more!” as he shares on his passion in sports photography.

With the recent conclusion of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Tay Ling also shared that his dream is to be able to take photographs at the Fifa World Cup before he stops clicking on the shutter.

Below is the news article which was published.

Below is the video clip of the segment which was shown on Channel 8.

We Did It!

We did it!

As much as this is the tagline used for NTUC Club U Sports Awards Night 2010 collaterals, this tagline also goes to show how much we take pride in our work. In the space of 12 days, we managed to complete the following:

1) Proposing of master creative

2) Sourcing for Talents

3) Conducting of 3 full days of photoshoot

4) Designing of the following
a) Logo
b) Master Creative
c) Series of 5 Giant Pole Banners
d) Entrance Arc
e) Series of 4 Curved Wall Banners
f) Series of 12 Pillar-Wrap Banners
g) Backdrop
h) Invitation Card

It is without a doubt that as we have our in-house copywriter, designers, photographer and account servicing personnel, are we then able to complete the work. Of course, having an understanding and good client like NTUC U Sports is a must as well. They had worked with us through the weekends, rushing the designs for approval and coming back to us with precise changes. This resulted in a win-win situation for both parties.

The idea behind the collaterals was to create a formally casual impression. This sets the tone to a closure for U Games 2009 as well as the new beginning which U Games 2010 will experience. A celebratory pose against the beautiful landscape of Singapore to let everyone know that with the correct attributes, they will be able to achieve. Everyone’s achievements are measured differently.

You are successful, not necessarily due to the fact that you came in first, but it could be that you dared to try in the first place. You have excelled, not necessarily due to the fact that you are a star player, but it could be that you had put the team as top priority in the first place. They have all done it because they had all believed, in the first place, that they can do it.

“Wow! Pretty damn impressive! The folks at NTUC Club are all very impressed with the design concept of the U Sports Awards Night Collaterals!”
Terence Koh
Executive
NTUC Club, U Sports Department

Below are the series of collaterals which were created.
Master Creative

Series of 5 Giant Pole Banners

Series of 4 Curved Wall Banners

Series of 12 Pillar-wrap Banners

Safety Starts With Me!

TILT was awarded a project in March with our long term client, Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSH Council), to design a book which contains the stories which secondary school students wrote on how safety starts from within.

After months of working on the the project, the illustrative book was finally printed and the comments from the client certainly warmed our hearts.

“The Safety Starts With Me book is beautifully printed. Good work! Well done for all the hardwork and effort put into this book. Once again, Well Done!”

Mark Eugene Han
Communications Executive,
Industry Sensing & Engagement, Publications
Workplace Safety & Health Council

Below is one of the spreads from the book.

Where U Truly Matter

It seems just like yesterday when we started working with Education Services Union (ESU) on their re-branding exercise. In the early days of 2008, we were recommended by one of ESU’s contacts and ESU decided then to hear us out and listen to what we have to say about their rebranding exercise.

The tagline which we subsequently proposed “Where U Truly Matter”, successfully encapsulated what all union members can experience when they join ESU. What followed then was a series of re-branding work which includes the following

Design of Corporate Stationary

Design of Corporate Brochure & Folder

Production of Corporate Identity Guide

Building of Stock Photography Library

Design of Launch Video (in Flash)

This relationship continues till this day and with the recent conclusion of the production of their corporate video, we look back and we are truly happy that both parties have truly benefitted from this relationship.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Closing off the end of 2009, TILT had been very fortunate to have long-term clients standing by us and with their continuous support, we had attained notable achievements and overcame the bad news surrounding the market.

TILT will be closed from 7 – 10 January 2010 for our annual corporate retreat. As we will be overseas during this period of time, we will have limited access to internet and emails. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

However, be rest assured that when we are back, we will be refreshed! With competition from other agencies becoming stronger and fiercer, we look forward to more client support with trust in our quality of work and service excellence . At the same time, we promise that we will be working harder than before and will fulfill our promise of DESIGN MATTERS to the clients!

H-TWO-O Ultimate Photography Challenge Merit Winner

H-TWO-O Ultimate Photography Challenge 2009 was organised to celebrate the essence of Sports and to harness the unity, camaraderie, strength, endurance and feeling of achievement.

TILT, with our speciality in Sports Photography, took part in the competition and won a Merit Award (Open Category). Due to the sensitive nature of most of the sporting events, where we were the official photographers, such as

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007 – 2009

WaterFest 2007 – 2008

Aviva 70.3 Ironman 2007 – 2008

Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic Games 2008 / 2009 Season 2

Photographs taken during these events were not submitted. As such, we submitted a photograph taken during the Singapore Paintball Novice Series 2009. Below is our entry.

To read more about our previous post, click here.

We are Five! Our history and more…

In a twinkle of the eye, 5 years flew past us. From the early days in 2004 where we initially worked from home in a bid to keep overheads low, we have certainly come a long way. During this 5 years, a lot of things have certainly changed.

From a home office to a shop house office at cozy Keong Saik road is a story by itself. We tried initially to work from home but unfortunately, it just wasn’t conducive enough and definitely not the correct business direction. In 2005, when we finally managed to secure enough projects and profits to rent an office, our old office at Keong Saik road was not even our first choice! We actually wanted to rent another shop house opposite Singapore General Hospital (SGH). There was a nice cozy roof garden where we can actually invite our clients there for a jug of beer after work. Parking was convenient and ample. Location was perfect as it was just outside CBD area. In fact, we were so keen on that location that we placed the security deposit. History has it that someone else offered a higher price and the landlord chose to offer it to another company instead. In our search, our dismay turned to joy when we found the office at 30A, Keong Siak road and we soon settled into that office.

Graphic design (print matters) was what TILT first begun with in our early days. In this course of 5 years, we had included photography, web design, web applications, copywriting / copy-editting and events management to our scope of work. The increase in our scope of work coincided with our increase in headcount as well. As much as we like 30A, Keong Siak road, the cozy shophouse was simply too small to squeeze all of us. In fact, everyone in our office loved that office! They love the convenience of having a 7-11 just at our doorstep. The coffee and tea from the coffeeship downstairs is as aromatic as it goes. The food is simply heavenly! The list can just continue but changes in life is what makes life exciting!

In 2009 alone, TILT managed to have not 1 but 2 sessions of team-building. The birthday celebrations which we have had for all of us have come in all shapes and sizes. From the karaoke sessions, we understand that English MTVs have a high percentage of becoming a National Geographic video where you are introduced to a country by some bikini girl. From the BBQ which we had, we found out who knows how to marinate and who knows how to start a fire. From the partying times, we realised who can hold their liquor and how some react when they lose it all. In the midst of all these fun which we had, there is also an increasing list of clients who are recurrent and our projects are of a larger scale as well as higher visibility. All these could not have happened without everyone at TILT. These are the people who knew how to work hard and play hard.

For the years ahead, we are sure that changes will continue to surface. No matter how things may change in the future, there is one thing which we are sure. That is our promise to our clients that DESIGN MATTERS!

The little imperfections that makes them perfect

At TILT, we are truly touched by this commercial by Ministry of Community, Youth Development and Sports (MCYS). The sentence, “In the end, it is these small things which you remember. The little imperfections that makes them perfect!” This sentence means the world to us and we hope, you may one day understand this sentence as well.

This is truly a touching television commercial directed by award winning director Yasmin from Malaysia.

Titled “Funeral”, this is an ad in Singapore promoting family, and what makes a family – the imperfections.

We hope you like this advertisement.

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