It's Time For You to Make a Video
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I can hear the screams already. Make a video? Are you insane? I don’t know anything about video? I never wanted to learn video!
Pshaw!
That’s just being silly. You can do it. And here is how.
What You Will Need
Your camera that already shoots great video
The ability to find the P mode and to put the camera in video mode
A tripod
Your computer with any free video editor software, such as iMovie from Apple or ClipChamp from Microsoft
Any hobby or interest that you have
A free personal YouTube or Vimeo channel to post on
The Steps
Think about a hobby, pastime, interest, collection, really anything that you have an interest in and at least a bit of knowledge of. Maybe your pet, maybe you do woodworking, or raise flowers or collect old Hummel figurines, or fancy teacups. Maybe you are a voracious reader and are surrounded by actual books. Maybe you collect jewelry or watches. Maybe you are really into music on vinyl LPs. I guarantee that there is something that strikes you and gets your juices flowing.
Now write down in point form a story about YOUR interest. Answer in your point form the W5H. Who, what, when, where, why and how. If you give yourself about a minute for each question, you will have a lot of content, but not too much content.
Set your interests on a table or something appropriate in front of you.
Put your camera on a tripod pointing at you and give yourself a wide enough angle of view to show your upper body and your table top with your interest
Start the recording. Now in your own voice, answer the six questions about your interest, not in the form of an interview, but as an introduction to your topic. Feel free to pick up examples of your interest, or point to them. When you are done, stop the recording. When filming yourself, look into the camera and speak to the camera, just like you would if you were on a Zoom call.
Go get a drink and a rest and then come back and do it twice more. This gives you what I promise will be three different approaches. Comfort in front of the camera comes with time, but it’s actually easy. Lots of creatives don’t like having their picture taken, but when just talking about something that is interesting to the person, all that stuff just goes away.
Wait a bit and then bring your video files into your video editor. If you have not done so, now is a great time to learn via tutorials the simple basics of video editing. You will want to learn how to cut out sections, how to make simple cuts and move sections around. If you feel REALLY adventurous, use the built in functions of your editor to make a title opening, and maybe even a closing credits roll. Sure you may think it’s silly but it’s also completely harmless fun.
An Example Pseudo Script
To help you out, I developed this really short video script literally as I am writing this article, first to show how easy it is, and how it can flow quickly into making your project. For my example, I am going to do a script on some Miles Davis Jazz records. Here we go.
Hi there. My name is Ross and I want to share my thoughts on some of my favourite Miles Davis records. My father was a big fan of big band music and it was always playing in the house when I was young. I found that I gravitated more to the sound of trumpet and saxophone than wind led big band stuff and was pretty young when I first heard my first Miles Davis record, which is called Kind of Blue. It was made back in the 1950s and the cover shot was actually made by a man who became a very famous photographer.
I find the sound of a trumpet both enthralling as well as sad and lonely at the same time. For me, it’s a very emotional instrument.
I find that listening to what is often called east coast jazz from this era is best for me in a good room, played pretty loud on a good stereo system. There is nothing wrong with digital recordings, but I find that the sound of a stylus on vinyl is more transportive for me.
I like listening to this kind of music at night, when it is dark and I can let my imagination transport me away and create the mental images that come along as I am listening. Each listening session tends to produce a different mental picture even from the same tune which means it never tires me out or gets staid.
While Kind of Blue, is probably my favourite Miles Davis record, I also find that Sketches of Spain is very transformative. I have been to Spain once, and while my trip was not all that memorable, this records creates a mental image of what Spain was like for Mr. Davis when he was there in his time. Visioning is enabled by the sounds, and the spaces between the notes. I don’t find that you need a lot of notes to tell a musical story, using the right notes and the right gaps, sounds better to me.
Miles Davis also recorded a soundtrack record for a French film called L’Ascenceur aux l’Echafaud. It’s not a happy film at all, in fact the story behind the film is quite sad. That said, the music is very emotion generating and I find its sparseness and simultaneous depth to be mind opening and capable of creating a sort of loose tension.
While much of Mr. Davis’ live music was performed in clubs that were smoky and low ceilinged, the recorded sound is to me perfect. It has space and natural reverb, the players are in their best places and there is no over production, or bunch of studio trickery. The songs were recorded to tape and there was none of the editing capability or tuning fix tools that are everywhere today. The music is honest, natural and very human.
If you’ve never had the opportunity to sit quietly on your own, listening to this kind of bluesy jazz, you might want to invest some time in yourself. Forget the videos and all the other stuff, just sit yourself down in a darkened space, using good headphones if necessary and let the music take you away.
Thanks for watching. I hope that you get as much out of this as I do.
And That’s It
It really is that simple. You aren’t making an infomercial about some generic crap, you are telling your story about something that matters to you. That’s the most important thing. You are telling your story, and while you may think it’s not interesting, you are actually wrong.
Give it a try. I dare you. If you are willing, email me with a link so I can watch your video when you are done. I’m not interested in production value or editing skill, but I am interested in hearing about something that matters to you, whatever it happens to be.
Wrap Up
This is a legit challenge, and could be outside your comfort zone. That’s ok. We grow by stretching, not just doing the same thing every time. I wish you great success with your project.
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