Recently, I’ve been working on a video project (a not-for-work video project). And it’s been fun. And a little irritating at times, too.
Irritating? Why?
Glad you asked! Because lighting has been a struggle, among other things. I’m creating these videos in my basement, and started out using some umbrella lights and my trusty Sanyo Xacti HD1A video camera.
And in the process, I’ve discovered that I have A LOT to learn about lighting. And sound. And scripting (because I generally have a hard time winging it). And because my trusty Sanyo Xacti video camera has started to act up (whack! There, it’s fixed).
But guess what? Instead of giving up, I decided to experiment a bit and improve my skills. The pic accompanying this post is just that – it’s me in action, playing with a new backdrop and a couple of new lights, and figuring out how to use the white balance on my video camera (as in hey, what’s this thing do?).
My point?
I’ve discovered that a little experimentation goes a long way to improving what I saw as problems. Color problems? Fixed. Weird lighting problems? Getting better. Audio irritations? I fixed those, too. Camera problems? (Whack, whack! Fixed again – ok, more improvements needed there, I think).
These days, most of us are NOT experts. Sometimes, we have to wing it. And we have choices when presented with one of those “oh-shoot-I’m-no-expert” projects:
- Don’t do it. You can always say “I can’t do that – I’m no expert.” boo, hiss.
- Do it, but don’t learn from the experience. marginally better than boo, hiss.
- Do it, learn from the experience, and improve it next time. Yay!
Want to improve something? You HAVE to start. You HAVE to keep on doing it, purposefully experimenting during the process, and learning from those experiences. Simple to say, much harder to do.
That’s all for now (whack. whack, whack, whack. Whew!).
Nice post. This is exactly what the Podcamp Topeka breakout will be about! 🙂
Also, you could use it as a learning/networking tool by talking to people who know how to do something like that (in your case, I’d suggest the people at Topeka Civic Theatre & Academy, or some of the independent filmmakers in Lawrence who may be willing to travel to Topeka).