🎬 German Film Funding Boost

Deep dive into Underwater Photographer of the Year snaps 🐋, Germany's reel good film funding news🎬, and the queens ruling the creator scene💁‍♀️.

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Welcome, creative friends!

Who Runs the Creator Economy? Spoiler: It's the ladies, and they're not taking selfies, they're taking names.

In today's rundown:

  • 📸 Oceans of Beauty Captured in Water

  • 🇩🇪 German Film Gets the Money Rolling

  • 👩‍💼 Creator Economy: Girl Power

  • 🔥 Press Worthy Stories

  • 📚 Learn & Grow

Read time: 3 minutes

VISUAL CREATORS

“Whale Bones” by Alex Dawson

Swede Alex Dawson is this year’s Underwater Photographer of the Year with his stunning shot ‘Whale bones’. It captures a diver amidst a minke whale’s skeleton under the Greenland ice.

Alex Mustard, head judge, praised the pic for making us ponder “our impact on the great creatures of this planet.”

The contest drew over 6,500 entries, but whales were the stars. Spain’s Rafael Fernandez Caballero took two top spots with pics of a grey and a Bryde’s whale. Meanwhile, Lisa Stengel from the US won Up & Coming Photographer for her mahi-mahi moment in Mexico.

Alex’s Analysis: The ocean’s a big place, but with photographers like Alex Dawson capturing its lesser-known corners, it’s shrinking. On top of that, this isn’t just one of those “a picture’s worth a thousand words” deals. Alex Dawson’s photo is worth a top spot in this year’s UPY, and it’s making waves in the conversation.

Whales have been on the losing end of our relationship with nature, and the whole world’s watching—with bated breath.

Is art the best messenger for climate change?

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Should artists separate personal and commercial work?
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💼 Business Move
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 🎨 Art Knows No Boundaries
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 😌 A Balance Is Possible

🔥 Press Worthy

  1. Photographer builds a budget Aurora detector using a Raspberry Pi that alerts him when both the Northern and Southern Lights appear.

  2. Analog's back in focus as Lomography's Sprocket Rocket 35mm cams get a vibrant reboot. Panoramic pics never looked so retro-chic.

  3. How to create a legacy in your creative work? It’s about your why, not your ROI. Make work matter by contributing, not just comparing. The long game is where the real legends are made.

  4. How to make more money with your photography? In short: diversify, print-on-demand, bulk orders, offer more products and LEARN ABOUT BUSINESS!

📚 Learn & Grow

TOGETHER WITH RECUT

If you make videos or podcasts, you know the toil of trimming tiny pauses on EVERY edit. How many hours could you save if Recut removed the silence for you?

Nick D. says, “I’m incredibly happy with Recut. I haven’t found a software that does a better job. I literally couldn’t produce my videos once per week without it.”

It fits into your editing process as the first step. Recut's cuts are a mere suggestion: you can tweak them, keep some parts, and remove mistakes. Export super fast (and lossless) to your usual editor as a project (or as a video). It works with Adobe Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, CapCut, and ScreenFlow.

From Dave, the creator: “I'm so tired of subscriptions! So I made Recut a one-time purchase with a useful free trial.”

Talent:
Sabīne Zoltnere (Photographer)

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PRODUCTION MASTERY

Kirsten Niehuus, Tom Tykwer (Courtesy of Sebastian Gabsch/Medienboard)

German film fund Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg expects proposed changes to the country’s film funding system to make it more competitive with other European locales.

Medienboard head Kirsten Niehuus said the modifications “will mean that we would have a tax system in place that could compete, for instance, with Budapest or Prague, so that not so many German productions would go and shoot somewhere else, and more foreign productions would come and shoot in Germany.”

She highlighted the withdrawal of high-end outlets like HBO, Paramount+, and Sky from local productions as a key challenge, noting “the streamers are not such reliable partners anymore…so I think producers are having a really hard time at the moment.”

She also mentioned that a budget increase of €6m ($7.23m) over the next two years would be directed to movie theaters in the region.

Will Germany's film scene benefit from tax system tweaks?

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Will Sora steal the show from VFX pros?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🌟 Oscar-Worthy AI
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤨 Not So Fast
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🎭 Complementary Talent

🔥 Press Worthy

  1. AI video tool, Sora, is reshaping filmmaking and augurs a future of enhanced filmmaker creativity. It generates scenes from text, cutting costs and boosting indie access. It's not AI vs. artists but AI + artists.

  2. Steadicam’s new G-70×2 Arm lifts up to 70 lbs with a 29″ boom range. It’s a sleeker, safer, and more adjustable version of its predecessor.

  3. Rapper Vince Staples debuts his own show on Netflix, and it’s a surreal exploration of fame and human interaction.

  4. CameraOne expands UK ops with Manchester & Cardiff offices, offering 70% off first rentals for new VIP members.

📚 Learn & Grow

CREATOR ECONOMY

Passionfruit

Influencer marketing is set to hit $19.8B this year, says Collabstr citing its latest report. This comes as no surprise with the creator economy projected to more than double by 2025.

But here’s a plot twist: Instagram and TikTok are tied for first place, with each platform accounting for 42% of brand collabs. Meanwhile, YouTube grabs only a 2% slice.

Why? Well, user-generated content (UGC) is stealing the spotlight. It’s all about that authentic, relatable vibe that’s made for scrolling, not TV.

And get this: UGC could be a $71.3B game by 2032. That’s a lot of unscripted love for products.

As for who’s in front of the camera, ladies are running the game, making up 70% of influencers. But here’s the part that needs a remix: men make 30% more per post. Time to tune in on equal pay, maybe?

Which platform is the true influencer breeding ground?

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Is Reddit selling out or just buying in?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤝 It's a necessary evolution
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 😡 Corporate intrusion!
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤷‍♂️ Mixed feelings, hold please

🔥 Press Worthy

  1. In 2024, influencers turn to premium content for more than just clout—think stable incomes and creative playgrounds.

  2. YouTube Shorts adds music via new remix feature , essentially dancing on TikTok's grave.

  3. EU slaps Apple with €500m fine over anti-competitive behavior in the music streaming market.

  4. UK watchdog warns of a scam ad "epidemic", with major platforms like Facebook and Google still hosting fraudulent content.

📚 Learn & Grow

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