Visual Connections Chicago 2016

Where Chicago, United States
Date Thursday, May 5, 2016
Venue The Ivy Room
Address 12 East Ohio Street, Chicago, IL 60611 (map)

Visual Connections was at The Ivy Room on May 5th, 2016 and our Principal Sponsor was Workbook.

Among our exhibitors this year, 25 were new to Chicago. 10 were artists reps and join a growing number of exhibitors offering assignment and production services.

69% of attendees had not attended the previous event in 2014. Their annual expenditure on visual media and related services is as follows:

Annual expenditure on visual media/services

They represented the following market sectors:

Breakdown by market sector

Prize winners

Prize Winner
$1,000 Travel Gift Certificate Heather Filippelli, Kohl’s Department Stores
$300 Gift Card Jeff Farinosi, Apple Vacations
$300 Gift Card Cathy Melloan, Freelance

The prizes this year were sponsored by: Alamy, Bridgeman Images, Danita Delimont Stock Photography, Erickson Stock, eStock Photo, ITN Source, Panoramic Images, SuperStock

Sessions

Keynote Q&A Session

Social media: sourcing and publishing visual media

This session will examine the particular issues surrounding social media, both as a source of ‘real’ photography and video for editors seeking the ‘Instagram look’, and for creatives and publishers using all types of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat) as a platform for marketing and finding new talent. The high-powered panel of visual media professionals, including copyright attorney Bill McGrath, will discuss the opportunities and pitfalls.

Marrying Stills and Motion

Insights and tips from experienced producers

Two leading image makers show their work and talk about how they approach the new norm of producing stills and motion for co-ordinated campaigns across print and digital platforms.

Search & licensing platforms

Finding and licensing the right images/clips

Industry experts will show you how to get the most out of search engines like DMLAsearch, and to navigate agencies’ licensing platforms. Whether it’s an obscure editorial image you need, or a multi-media, multi-territory license, the tips you pick up here will save you time.

Our panelists for the morning session

Bill McGrathBill McGrath, a partner at Davis McGrath LLC in Chicago, brings considerable expertise in the fields of copyright, trademark, publishing and Internet law. He is a Past President of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago and a past Chair of the Patent, Trademark & Copyright Committee of the Chicago Bar Association. He has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Copyright Society of the USA and the Board of the Lawyers for the Creative Arts. He teaches courses in copyright law, and writes a monthly column on IP Law for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Since 2006, he has been selected each year as a Superlawyer and as an Illinois Leading Lawyer.

Liz BaugherLiz Baugher has been a champion for artists for over 25 years. She has spent her career fostering lasting relationships between artists, creatives and some of the largest advertising agencies in the US and abroad. Her company Emissary represents highly-lauded commercial photographers and directors. Recently, her reach within the industry grew when she started The Good Influence, an arm of Emissary specializing in content creation by influencers in the social media realm.

Lindsay TylerLindsay Tyler is an Independent Senior Art Producer with 17 years of experience across both editorial and advertising. Lindsay is passionate about pushing boundaries not only to deliver on creative, but to surpass expectations. Her work has been recognized for excellence by Communication Arts and The Society for Publication Designers.

Nuno SilvaNuno Silva is VP of Product and a founding member of Stocksy, a co-operative owned and run by its artists. Previously he has worked at 500px, iStockPhoto, and is an accomplished professional photographer and graphic designer. Nuno has been a guest judge for the Sony World Photography Awards and sits on the board of the Digital Media Licensing Association.

Moderator

Melissa HennessyMelissa Hennessy is a photography professional and former artist agent. Currently at Columbia College Chicago, Melissa works with students to help them bridge the intersection of art and commerce, and organizes events that bring professionals and students together. She’s a member of APA, ASMP, and the Chicago Ad Federation, and consults independently with emerging and established artists nationwide. She founded the Chicago Creative Review in 2014 and continually looks for ways to bring artists and creatives together.

Our panelists for the production session

Laurie RubinLaurie Rubin is a photography producer whose signature style focuses on the drama and appeal of the everyday object, and a film director, shooting television commercials nationally and abroad. Laurie has received numerous accolades for award-winning advertising campaigns and has been featured in Graphis, Print, Communication Arts and PDN.

Jonathan ChapmanJonathan Chapman is a photographer and director with a passion for exploring “real life”, observing everyday things and ordinary people. Clients include Apple, McDonalds, Purina and Samsung. Jonathan has been featured in PDN, Communication Arts and Applied Arts.

Cliff GrantCliff Grant is an Executive Producer at STORY, a full service production and post-production company. Previously Grant has been a producer with director Dennis Manarchy and freelanced as a line producer on Bunim-Murray Productions’ Starting Over reality show that ran on NBC for two years, for which he won an Emmy in 2005.

Moderator

Melissa ThornleyMelissa Thornley of Creative Alchemy Consulting is a veteran creative business professional focused on business development for creative companies, and coaching and consulting for creative leaders. She’s managed creative teams in Chicago, New York and London. Her background is in advertising and film, and has led two top internationally-recognized editorial and post production companies, the Whitehouse Post and Beast-Company 3-Method Studios. She also created the web series Beyond the Spot.

Our panelists for the search & licensing session

Doug
DawirsDoug Dawirs is best known for his work in digital asset management, including developing the award-winning application Extensis Portfolio. He is currently developing an interactive online portfolio review service for Eyeist. He is also technical advisor to DMLA and creator of DMLAsearch), a multi-agency stock image index. Doug is the recipient of two MacWorld Magazine World-Class Awards and an Editors’ Choice Award, as well as a MacUser Editors’ Choice Award (Eddy).

Brian NovyBrian Novy is Director of Sales for the stock footage company Dissolve, building client relationships in the media, agency, and corporate segments. He has worked in media licensing for over a decade.

Lisa Vazquez RoperLisa Vazquez Roper is an Account and Business Development Manager with Alamy. Previously she has worked at Corbis, SuperStock, Starlight Photo Agency and NASA/Johnson Space Center, researching and providing photos to news media during the Space Shuttle program. Lisa has also held offices as ASPP’s National Secretary and Marketing Communications Chair.

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Principal Sponsor

Workbook is proud to sponsor Visual Connections in the hope that we can further cultivate the relationships that result in stunning visual campaigns.
— Bill Daniels, Owner of Workbook

Media Partners

Chicago 2014
The backgrounds of the panelists made for a very interesting and comprehensive discussion.
— Phillip Ross, Neodeco, Inc.
Chicago 2014
Visual Connections brings picture professionals together better then any other regular event I know of.
— Doug Brooks, Image Research Team
Chicago 2014