Tuesday 20 May 2014

Video Speak for Newbies
{Filming tutorials - What you NEED} PLUS a
Sneak Peek for Inkido & an Upcoming Announcement!





Hi there everyone!  I hope you all had a beautiful weekend!!  I did.  
I spent time with my {now} small family of 4.  We sure do miss our other 2 kids,
 both away at uni now, but with Skype & Facetime we probably speak to them
 now more than we did when they were at home!  Haha just kidding!!


For now I have no new work to share but that doesn't mean there hasn't been
 stuff going on "behind-the-scenes!" There sure has!  I have prepared my very 
last layout for Inkido {Papercraftscandinavia} as my term ends in June. 
 I'm "going out with a bang!" with a video!

That will be coming up in the not-too-distant future {5th June} & I have 
been learning the ropes of a NEW VIDEO PROGRAM


{Above is a terrible iphone photo of my current "rig!"}

 My journey into video has been arduous for various reasons:-

 1)  I have a tiny countertop that isn't wide enough to accommodate a tripod
 & doesn't have shelves on either side to accomodate a rod to support a
 camera with a mount/gorillapod.  This means setting up takes me an hour
& involves a mic stand, lots of masking tape, 2 clamps & supporting my
camera with them using 2m of twill tape :)  NOT FUN...

2)  I thought that using Windows Movie Maker was a great idea seeing that
it was free & very simple.  Wrong.  Not all the time.  Blogger & Picasa are
free & simple enough & BRILLIANT.  WMM is NOT.  It's oh so tempting
to keep at it because the linear editing system it offers is so easy to use.
Problem is it doesn't work! 

 For short videos no problem but mine are 2 hours plus (to create a layout,etc) 
then require editing of many clips into 10 minutes of so.  No, no, no & no. 
 12 hours of failed editing later I spent $40 on video software & am not trying 
to learn a foreign language {video speak}.  No way around it though so I have 
accepted my lot & the struggle continues :)

Non-linear video editing is much more difficult to learn for non-techy types
like me, but I will do it because it has to be done.  And you can do it too!

3)  South Africa has the slowest Internet upload speed in the world.
Very frustrating but this is a given & cannot be changed.  Not by
me anyway.  So that just involves patience of which I have plenty.

4)  I haven't splashed out on a camera mount.  This is because at most sites
like this one you can find reasonably priced mounts which then cost a stupid
amount in shipping to reach anyone outside of the US!


CRAZY DAYS!  NOOOOOT HAPPENING...
--------------------------------------

I've found a reasonably priced local option at last & am so delighted about it.
Once I have collected it I plan on reviewing it & letting ALL LOCALS 
{SOUTH AFRICANS} into the secret. 
 {In case you gals want to film tutorials too}
SO WATCH THIS SPACE...

--------------------------------------

My recommendations for anyone with the same predicament as me.
{Not enough space & a counter top too narrow to accomodate a tripod}
BUY A MIC STAND - they are inexpensive - EVEN IN SOUTH AFRICA
- & they work well standing at the side of your desk as you see in my photo.

Then acquire a basic mount {thanks to GoPro being available & popular in
South Africa there are various mounts available here now} - all pricey of
course but as I said I am looking into a WELL-PRICED MOUNT & will
keep you posted & recommend the seller to you if things work out!

*As for my Upcoming Announcement I will be sharing that here tomorrow :)*



8 comments:

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Can't wait to hear the announcement!!!

dstandard said...

WOW good luck with everything - sounds like it will be challenging!

Lynnda said...

Can't wait to hear the announcement Helen! Hugs....x

Lynette Jacobs said...

Can't wait to hear how you are going to solve this predicament.

Desire Fourie said...

Helen you sure have the patience of a saint, but I know it will be worth it in the end for you.
Hugs Desíre {Doing Life}

Denise van Deventer said...

LOL....sometimes things are just not as easy as we would like them to be! You are certainly the kind of person that will find a way to make it work! Good on ya! x

Marjie Kemper said...

Good luck with all of this, Helen. I'm so non-techy, and I know I should put time into learning it all as well.

Sandi Clarkson said...

I haven't even really given consideration to doing videos .. mainly due to this huge learning curve! Ugh!