When The DV World Was New

In 2003 I saw my first non-tape digital camcorder at a DV convention in Los Angeles. My brain is fuzzy on it but it was an attempt to reach out to industrial and corporate videopeople.

They made a token effort to reach out to "those Internet folks". Many of the exhibitors were not interested in talking to people from the new disruptive wave. The exhibitors were there to make sales to their traditional markets. They had no use for the computer people.

I walked around, got as much swag as I could to justify my admission fee.

Then I saw this:

It was one of the first digital video camcorders. There were two guys running around in white lab coats talking up a storm in either a British or Australian accent. I couldn't tell you which because I was drawn like a bee to honey about that camera.

Running off an 2GB SD card and recording AVI (I think) video. Could have been Motion JPEG. It might have recorded 320x240 video.

It was affordable. $199 in cold hard cash or credit card. Accessible. Golly gee did I want to buy it right then and there. Which meant that I didn't. Not enough cash and I had limited options on uploading and posting videos.

I knew it was a game changer. I knew other camcorders were coming that would be better. I did not known that it would start to pave a path that transformed an industry. Digital video created new opportunities for creatives and non-Hollywood type innovators.

That is the thing about the future. Sometimes you can see a wee bit ahead but you'll never know until you step into the void.

Twelve years later I own different kinds of devices. The most recent being a Pivothead eyewear recorder. Everything old is new again.

Smartphones have replaced dedicated digital recorders. Action cams like the GoPro are transforming movie making and gaming.

Corporate media is busy locking down new talent and production companies to get rooted in the future yet to come.

And hotels are trying to keep you from using personal Wi-Fi and smartphone usage in their buildings.

What has this got to do with video?

Well, if this industry gets the right to block personal Wi-Fi usage then other companies will follow. Some of those companies could be people in the broadcast television industry looking to suppress any form of innovation they don't understand.

Or police departments wanting to stop people recording and uploading video of certain activities.

Or a religious group that thinks you should not have a voice to express your views and actively stops transmission.

How shall we go forward?

Other Posts of Interest

• Equipment
• Legal
• Ramblings
• Video Advocacy
• VidGeeky
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Thoughts About Videoblogging In 2014

When I have a bit of time I like to search a specific term to see if there is something new under the sun. It irks the heck out of me when a word is appropriated by a group that does not know or care to know the original meaning.

Twerking is one those words where the dominate culture slapped a meaning on to the dance and thought it discovered something new.

Videoblogging is not quite as physical as twerking but multiple meanings are being applied beyond what I believe the original generation of the term.

So let's look back and then move forward.

Text Bloggers

Content ranges from personal narratives, to instruction, outreach, creativity and yes there was advertising, marketing and a couple of folks doing a slow grind up against the wall.

Photo Bloggers

Then you had the photobloggers that just uploaded photos to their blog. Or those that uploaded and had a narrative about the photo. Or used photography to instruct, outreach, be creative and show exactly who or what was grinding up against the wall. I will not dismiss the impact of sexual content on the Internet and in blogs. It fueled a lot of innovation.

In the other corner, are the advertisers, marketers and profiteers.

Audio and Videoblogging

Both types of blogs arrived at roughly at the same time with the same processes and motivation of the two prior groups. There were talking head personal narrative videos, travel videologs, cooking vlogs, teaching vlogs, fashion and you name videoblogs it it appeared on Daily Motion, Blip.tv, Vimeo and YouTube.

And yes, there were advertisers, marketers, and profiteers using the name of videoblogging to attempt disguise a commercial or selling opportunity.

Not much has change expect there has been another word appropriation called storytelling. The fiction that is being spun is that if you get the viewer emotionally engaged and create a relationship they will give you money no matter if they need the product or not.

This is a commercial for Bell's Scotch Whiskey.

For the record, I think this is a beautiful ad. It is loving shot and performed. I will stand behind almost anything that promotes literacy and reading. 




I'm not buying that liquor. One, I don't like whiskey or most hard liquors. Two, although I like and appreciate the commercial there is a part of me that feels manipulated. Not in a bad way but I know or sense that somebody is trying to influence me. I have to separate the intent of the ad (to buy liquor) from the narrative of the ad (a father's journey to read.)

Will I tell people about the ad? Yes, if it is appropriate (like right now.).

What does this have to do with videoblogging? Many people are being told that if they tell the story of their product or service in an engaging way they will reap profits with hand over fist money.

This is an excerpt from some instructions on how to use videoblogging for profit:

Now imaging your product parading in all it’s royalty through (sic) videoblog. You’ll get phone call orders in no time.

If your business is just starting up, you can create a videoblog right at your own home. All you need is your web camera, microphone, video software, and lights. For as long as you know how to use your camera, then you can create a videoblog.

Nothing untrue in that statement; you can have a videoblog in two shakes of a lamb's tail. It does not mean that you have the skill to sell your goods, services or product.

And even if you have skills that doesn't mean I'll come running with cash money to your site.

Because if the above ad can't move me to by a product that would turn my tummy sideways why do you think I would watch your one slide with audio PowerPoint video? Or your plea to buy, buy now, buy now or die knowing that you let this deal go by?

So. Here we are. The carpetbaggers are still running around giving misinformation. People who have a real product or service that they would like to promote using video will have to do extra due diligence not to be sold swap dust.

And videoblogging, in all of it various forms; including those that are adding new bumps to the grind, are doing just fine.

Other Post of Interest

• A Place for Daily Vloggers 
• SeriousPony's Video on Horses
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Reflections on KDMCBerkeley Video Storytelling Workshop

It is too soon for me to do a review. So much happened in three days I'm still piecing the various levels of knowledge.

It was continuous lessons on paying attention, finding the story, don't move the camera too quickly, sound quality and so much more. That sound quality thing bit me in the ass so I'm real touchy about that one.

From 9am to 4:30pm we were on the go learning to construct  a visual story. The class was designed for people who had no experience to basic skills. I wanted to take the workshop because my last formal class in creating media was in the prior century. Back in the days of analog assemble editing and VTRs.

I'm self taught on the digital side so I wasn't exactly a newbie but I did gain a lot of good information and skills. One thing I can say is that the participants of the workshop took it seriously and were very motivated to learn and to create. There wasn't a slacker in the room.

Part of that reason is that we all had to drop some $$$ bills to attend. A three day intensive workshop generally isn't going to be inexpensive. Many of us are planning to use video to start new careers or up our game in creating content for ourselves or for our employers/customers.

It was (is) an investment or future proofing obsolescence.

Will my videos be 100% better? In time, sure. That is another lesson from the class. You have to work on it; you can't sit on what you have learned and then three months later pick up a camera.

Doesn't work that way.

Practice and a strong dose of patience will take you a long way.

Other Posts of Interest

• Audio Inspirations - Joe Frank
• A Resource for Storyboard Templates
• Revised YouTube Playbook
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Stick to It - Ira Glass on Storytelling

Just finished my midterms and I confess creativity and expression had to take a back seat to figuring out the proper structure of the Dublin Core. So I'll be back up to speed in a bit.


Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

It is about persistence. Ira Glass knows something about persistence. This is a motion graphic of an extract of a larger video by Mr. Glass.

So yeah, the videos might be crappy for a while but they will get better.

Getting Lost In Tranparency Image Land

I have been foiled by ambition and a .png. I violated my self imposed rule of keeping it simple. I got lost chasing the rabbit of perfection. That and I barely knew what I was doing.

The idea was to have a video play inside of an analog television set. You first have to find that analog television that has a transparent area in the screen section. You won't find one that will look good, fits your project and has the perfect transparancy.

You will find televisions that have the look that you want but you have to fiddle with them. And by fiddle I mean lose four freaking hours of time.

I couldn't get the above image to converted to a transparency screen area. I was using Corel Paint Shop Pro.  I used the magic lasso, I tried the background erase tool all for nothing or a jacked up version I will not post out of shame. 

This is no reflection on Corel Paint Shop Pro; trying to read and perform the instruction is a bad way to go when you are long past deadline. I should have given up; gone to plan B but noooo.

I had much better luck in TechSmith's SnagIt where I could perform a transparency fill but the corners were jacked up. Which meant you have to magnify to pour the transparency fill into small, irregular spaces. Took more time than I had.

When I finally got close to what I wanted I then needed to layer it in the video editing program. It was reluctant to play nice with the video.

Hence, no video as yet.

Part of creating is making mistakes, errors, and finding out that isn't that simple. I think I can do this and I don't think you should have to have After Effects to pull it off.

The rabbit shall be mine.

Other Posts of Interest

• Animating Text in Windows Movie Maker
• Muvee Reveal Express for Creating Poetry Videos
• Text Storyboarding or Editing on Paper
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Changes and Progress and Oh My

I started this blog in 2009 because a woman was murdered for creating videos. A man became obsessed with the woman and eventually stalked and killed her. Women who text blogged were (and are) being attacked for speaking their voices. A voice lost needs to be replaced by a hundred fold of good people.

I never intended this blog to be a women specific video tutorial kind of place but I want women to know that they were welcomed. Men folk are welcomed too. There are billions of stories on the planet and we need shepards to bring them to the viewing place.

I started this blog because there were women who believed that they couldn't and didn't have a place in web video. It was too hard or too technical. I didn't believe that; there are parts that are challenging but not impossible to surmount.

Time marched on. From analog camcorders to Flip Cams.  Flip Cams to Smartphone/Mobile Devices. Web Apps. Mobile Apps. New players and old tech changing into new.

And the voices:





Young women, older women, geeks, techies, knitters, foodies, fans of vaudeville, Whovians and so many more ideas, concepts and voices.

There is room for one more. There is always room for one more.

I've had technology change on my twice as I struggle to find ways of sharing not only the technological changes but the social and creative changes as well. It was never just one thing with me.

So what now?

Well, that is a good question. I have a few more months of school left. The day job is just as demanding as ever. I need to time plan posts and that isn't my favorite way of writing anything.

And I spent cash money for a screencasting workshop. I need to get busy on that return on investment. I have no plans to buy Google Glass anytime soon. But you never know.

We can't stay in silos any more. We can't pretend that other people don't exist. So I think I'd like to create posts that bust out of the silo. More how-tos but in relationship to a purpose.

Is there new software or applications that can make that easy? Yes. It there existing or old software that can be recycled for new purposes. Yes.

That might happen once a week. Or when I find the time. We'll see.

Other Posts Of Interest

• There Is No Secret To Making A Video
• Placing A Copyright Notice In Your Video
• Video Advocacy Resources
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Midterms, Downloading and Other Rambles

I'm just coming into the home stretch of my mid-term paper. It is a game of beat the clock and I'm about fifteen minutes behind scheduled. Still downloading my old videos from Blip.tv and I'm half way through 2006.

(Psst, you have until November 7, 2013 to download before it is going, going, gone.)

I am facing the fact that some of these videos cannot uploaded. Not only are they 320x240 but because of the various ways I compressed the videos they will not look good when I re-size them.

It is a puzzlement. I bought a Pinnacle Systems Avid Dazzle DVD Recorder device for transferring old content. Got it on sale and it comes with Pinnacle Studio HD 14. I have bad memories of old school Pinnacle so I have trepidations about installing the software.

I know it is not the same product from long ago. Still, I'm not sure it can run on a 64 bit OS.
 
I'll need to dig out my old Hi-8 camcorder and my SD JVC hard drive camcorder to re-edit old footage.

When I find the time. Which seems to be elusive.Anyway, I'm in the thick of it and when this round of writing papers is through I can dive into more important issues like did I just waste $40 on old tech or can my old laptop find a new reason for earning its keep?

Stay tuned...


Other Posts of Interest

• Vimeo Video Web Hosting
• Why Do You Want or Need A Camcorder?
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Blog Update and More From MOCAtv

It is a challenge. I do have ideas I'm trying to find time to write but the life, work, school, sleep balance is out of whack. My apologies. This does not mean that I don't have things to share.

 I do. I always do.




I dip back into MOCAtv for some interesting viewing. Let me first say that I'm not just slapping this up because I'm time crunched.

Well, yeah, I am but there are other reasons.

This blog talks about how to do web video but we don't really talk about the users. Who are also sometimes creators in other realms. Web video is used to inspire, educate, and solve problems. This is a really good example by artist Jason Meadows of how he uses web video.

Another reason I plunked it up is that I love how nature he is, how authentic. This is a real man, not a sparkle infused vampire zombie thing that is being amped up as desirable. I also want to call attention to the style of the video.

Which is a clue as to what I want to share with you the next time. Provided I can hide from all those that are pulling me this way and that.  Anyway, just musing and providing food for thought.

 Cheerio, hip, hip I'm running for the mothership.

Home Page for Mobile Users

Reflections on My Create Video Notebook Anniversary

In August of 2009 I started this blog. My goal was to making it easier to understand how to create web video. I wanted to share how to find the resources that a newbie or intermediate user would want to know.

It is now August of 2013. Wow. That is a lot of posts; 900+ or so. I hope that a few of them have been useful or inspirational to folks. I know which posts are popular cuz I glance at the stats every once in a while.

I never wanted CNVB to just be a how-to video blog. I want to help people understand that there are connections and relationships to other disciplines and creators. There is more than one way to create a video.

Video folks should know what audio podcasters are doing and using to create their content. Professional journalists are now using consumer level tools to submit stories. Smartphones and tablets have to be considered when talking about recording devices. What are the best ways of doing that? How can a technique be shared among the various video creation communities?

But most of all, let's not forget about fun, creativity and the inspiration of a good video that rocks your world.

This is a time of re-invention. I'd like to take one more crack at making a useful resource for web video creation tips.  I still think connecting to various types of creation tools is important.  And being aware of the pathfinders on the road makes it easier to follow or respect their footsteps.

I maintain that the more you know about a process or technique the better your video can be; whether it is a birthday video, a public service announcement. video activism or just adding a video to your text blog every once in a while.

But it isn't about the gear, the software or the hours you spent creating it. It is about what you are trying to share with other people.

So the beat goes on.

Other Posts of Interest

• The Shift in the Force - The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
• Text Storyboarding on Paper
• Home Page for Mobile Users

A Look At The True Voices Poetry Channel

I will not step foot in a church if I can help it. Quite honestly, they wouldn't want me in the pew. I would be asking questions and disagreeing with some of the interpretations of a book that has been transliterated hundreds of times by man and by language. I say let's kick it back to the Aramaic version and then let's talk.

God's word may be infallible but human beings are by nature jacked up from jump street. What has this got to do with poetry videos?

I will tell you. True Voices is a Christian poetry video channel on YouTube. It is mainly performance and slam type poetry. I came across Thee Apprentice video which lead me to True Vocies and that lead me to a place of questions.




Thee Apprentice's video It is a good example of performance poetry videos, the man has some flow and I was curious so I as I checked out other videos on the channel I was willing to be open. I have to tell you my willingness dropped as I viewed other videos.

There are poets with talent but I have to tell you I have concerns about their interpretation of faith. There are people of faith using poetry to proselytize. There are poets who are speaking from life experiences and other who stand hip deep in the pulpit.

Some of the poetry is offensive. I either disagree with them or flat out reject their interpretation of Love and Spirit.

I am not a Christian. But I am human and I don't like it when people use the name and icons of Spirit to hate on others who are not Christian.

Is your faith so weak that you must damn Atheists? That is how you show your love?

Ain't having it.

So, I can do one of two things. I can pretend that I never saw the channel and walk away. Or I can honor my spirit that says in part to respect the act of discovery. Let the viewer decide what he or she wishes to view. There are exceptions. This isn't one of them.

In other news, still a lump of coal.


Other Posts of Interest

• Muvee Revel Express for Creating Poetry Videos
• The Short of the Week and We Will Forget
• The Forge and Eric Lim
• Home Page for Mobile Users

Creating Poetry Videos - Beginnings

Reinvention. What is next on the path? How about a neglected art form? If there is any creative activity that is suited to web video it is poetry. And no, this is not the stuff that was crammed down your throat in school.






A definition is tricky. Most people think it is a poet standing in front of a microphone facing a video or film camera is all that is needed. It can be. It does not have to be done that way. It can be a collaboration like the above video with Joshua Stewart and Fraser Jones.

It can be found objects, text narratives, photo slide shows, experimental or intentionally vertical videos. It can be anything you can conjure if the end result is a poem.

Don't believe me? You should check out Moving Poems where I found the above video and other video poems that got me to thinking. I always seem to be thinking but, just like the hair and beauty vloggers, there may be specific creation tools that poets can use to create their own work.

Most of you have that tools within the reach.of your hand. I will be honest, it might take a tad more time that composing a poem. Which can take months and years for some folks.

It won't take that long. But it will require a shift in process.  I think I can propose some entry level tools and resources to get folks started.

Other Posts Of Interest

• A Quick Look at File Extensions 
• You Might Need a Tripod 
• No, I Don't Make Viral Videos
• Home Page for Mobile Users

A Mini Rant About Finding Video Podcasts on iTunes

I just installed iTunes after a long break. I found my long lost Nano and it was time. One of the reasons I used iTunes was to find both audio and video podcasts.

I don't know why I bothered. Most of the video podcasts, if you can find them are from broadcast or traditional providers. This doesn't make them not worth watching. There is good content.

But there is a reason people flocked to YouTube and the part of that reason is Apple's institutional barriers about user generated content. 

Really, not talking about the dog and kitty types of videos. I'm talking about the kind of place it could have been that would have programs like Feminist Frequency, The Young Turks or Adventures in Woodworking.

Don't get me wrong. You still can set up a iTunes podcast. Reading the FAQ kinda tells you the you need to do the heavy lifting and then when you are ready let iTunes know and they will then evaluate your podcasts.

If it is acceptable, and if you have done the right things, your podcast is included into the iTunes system.

But that does not mean a user can find your show. I spent too much time trying to find specific kinds of video podcast content. It was either the fire hose or unrelated audio shows mixed in with a video search.

There is no effective way to discover new and current video podcasts. Or exclude older videos. Or exclude religious podcasts when I use the search terms creation or creativity. I don't want that content to go away. I just want a decent search engine inside of the podcasting area.

Other users probably want the same things. And maybe that is why when people think about viewing videos they think Blip.tv, Vimeo and YouTube and hardly every iTunes.

It did not use to be this way.

Home Page for Mobile Users

Low Bandwidth Video Project - Introduction

A few weeks ago there was an electrical storm in my area. Next thing I knew my Internet connection is out. Kaput. Don't know if it is my Ethernet card, modem or phone line. I'm in problem solving mode but life goes on.

Now yes, I could be off line for weeks at a time. I choose not to be. I was able to get a Mobile Hot Spot connection. Which presents connection challenges all its own. Sometimes I have 4G speeds. Sometimes 3G level Internet connections.

I bring this up because I was internally fussing about not being able to upload videos. Not that I have created any lately. It is kinda hard when you have upload speeds of .11Mbps or if I'm real lucky .5Mbps. It fluctuates like the breeze on a tree.

By the way, I highly recommend Speedtest.net to check out your connection speeds. It can be a humbling experience. I just ran it again, .25Mbps. Speedtest.net tells me that I have an national F+ level connection and a global D- level connection.

Yeah, I'm in a bad way.

Anyway, while I was grumbling I remembered that I use to upload videos on a 53k Dial-up connection. For those that have always known broadband, this is what it sounded like to connect via YouTube user Masoola:







It is not that I can't. It is that I haven't done so in quite a while.

So for the next couple of posts I want to explore the process of making a video that tells a short story or memory piece/poem thing (still pinning it down) and then uploading the video using a minimal connection speed.

Starting at the planning process, resources, gathering materials and ideas that can and can't work withing a restrictive bandwidth environment.

 The rough parameters are:

I still need to upload a standard size video; I'm not going that far back to the days of 320x240 videos. I want to find out how much or how little I can pack into a 720p environment.

I do know that I have to keep it short; probably under 2 minutes but that might be too much. Or just right.

There has to be some video movement but I want to be in service to the story, not the constraints of the project. It might be a photo story or a narrative with pictures and limited animation. I have options to explore which can focused on in the planning stage.

As some of you know I can go long and deep but I think it can help those that want a more linear path to creating a structured video or those that want to peep in a particular process.

I do know I have to get my real broadband back; seriously I have a need for speed. 


Other Posts of Interest

• If I Had Just Five Minutes
• Text Storyboarding or Editing on Paper
• To Make A Video Balance Need vs Want
• Home Page for Mobile Users

More Disruptions 4LTE Broadcaster Mobile

YouTube is king of the walk for now because people access content via their computer or mobile device. Traditional broadcasters either use the service, create their own distribution service, i.e.Hulu or try to do it themsleves via their websites.

If you have been to any of the network sites that have video it is a pain in the tukas to view.

That might be changing.

According to a post at Technology Review called Broadcast Video Will Soon Be Packed into Smartphone Signals

So you really want to view The Chew? (I only know about it because it was on when I was waiting for a plane.) Someday you will do a search on your phone, maybe go to the ABC web site and this time you will view the entire program.

I don't see this as a good or bad thing. 4 LTE Broadcast might lead to more competition from non-broadcast and nontraditional providers.

But it also might snuff out creativity and innovation.

Then again, where is that national hi-speed internet like other countries have? They first have to do it and then be able to handle the traffic and the demand. In some communities they only have 3G or 4G WiMax. Or no access at all.

And the way that mobile companies charge for data usage? Ouch!

That is gonna take time.


Other Posts of Interest

• Right to Record Police Officer Revisited
• Quick Look at Muvee Video Stabilizer
• Think about In-Camera Editing for Mobile Devices
• Home Link for Mobile Users

The Shift in the Force - Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

I haven't done a camcorder or camera review lately. There wasn't anything that caught my eye, made me flutter or cause me to re-check the bank account for permission. Smartphones decimated the Point and Share category.

Standard camcorders are evolving slowly but manufacturers are not innovating. The sensor is still tiny and no major vendor is going to innovate without cash money assurance that it will be successful. That isn't how innovation works.

My ennui was so bad I was walking past clearance camcorders with a disinterested glance.

And then, my eyes cast upon this beauty and my heart began to sing again. This is the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.

It is not a digital still camera. It records video.
It is the size of a Micro 4/3 camera and can take those lens too.
It has a sensor about the size of a 16mm camera. We are talking a huge honking sensor in the size of a compact camera body.

External mic jack, yes.
HDMI out, yes
Standard battery, yes.

You can record video in ProRes 422 or CinemaDNG RAW and then go where you want with it.

Is it a consumer level camera? No not really. It is $995 to start and that doesn't include a lens. You would have to make sure that you have a pro-level video editing software that can accept the video like Final Cut Pro, Sony Pro line of video editing software, AVID; stuff like that.

You will be investing in new storage options cuz this camera demands it.

It is a game changer because if the video and form factor works there is gonna be a bum rush by manufactures to clone or be inspired to create their own version of this camera.  And they will have to do it at either a lower price point or up the quality by +3.

Either way, the professionals and those of us on the other side will be the winners. Video from this camera will be in commercials, demos and feature films. It is small, light and on the pro side of the fence inexpensive.

Hell yeah I want it but I don't need it just yet. I'm in observation mode. I need to know that it isn't vaporware or a marketing person getting ahead of R&D.

If you want to take a look at video shot with this device check out John Browley's recording of a local farmer's market. It is after he processed it. You can view the ungraded version as well.

Might have to start counting pennies, just in case.

The Sounds of Sneezing

Sorry folks, I am experiencing Day 9 of the Cold That Will Not Die. Posting is going to be catch as catch can this week. I didn't catch it today; will try again tomorrow.

A Moment to Reflect

So much has changed since I started this notebook in 2009. The technology has moved forward with Smartphones replacing personal point and share camcorders.

The money is flowing in for certain types of user generated content. More important, the uses of web video also continue to expand.

I’m almost irrelevant because with a push of a button people are recording video on phones, phablets and micro devices.

I still maintain there is a use for personal and dedicated camcorders.

I did say almost.

Because there are still certain groups that are not participating in web video. The process is easier but not easy.

And I do want people to push back against the “make googazillians of dollars” bum rush mentality. I do like money and this isn't a criticism of the money flowing to the new class of content creators. I just have a fear that traditional television is being recreated.

I think web video can go further than that concept. With the wave of new mobile viewers coming down the road it will have to serve multiple interests.

There are other expansive uses for web video. Like using video to extend the story you are telling on a blog or web site. Or to document your history and the place you find yourself.

Boomers and Eco-Boomers have been particularly slow on the take-up.

On the global scene there are people being murdered for trying to tell their story. Or locked up. Or shamed into silence.

Or ignored as not being important enough to warrant attention.

I think there are things to learn about making the next generation of web video. I know that peeping over the fence at speech givers, business presentations, podcasters and related but unconnected allies is important.

And play. There has to be some fun. Time to experiment and muck it up.

Tis no time to sleep.


Other Posts of Interest

• The Battery Lingo - Where's the Juice
• Vidly Viewer Graph - Trends In Video Viewership by Mobile Device
• Mobile Reporting Field Guide from UC Berkeley

Video Block and the Voice Within

Resource blogs tend to want to help people do things or learn a topic. It is more appliance of skills than thought and reflection. I certainly tend to focus that way; there is so much to do and learn. But what are we doing it for?

I mean, there is a whole squadron of folks who want to monetize their videos. They will tell you that in no uncertain terms. There are others that want to do good work and understand that the profit from their labor will come.

There are people that make family videos; this is important to do because some of our family members are on their way to their transitions. They know stuff.

Last week I read a post at a middle age blog site that wanted to know if the readers wanted to start posting videos on their experience going through the passage.

Yes! Excellent. 

I also know that there aren't going to be a lot of responses. If asked, and I have done this on my own, the responses come down to "I don't know how" and/or "I'm no one that has anything important to say."

The first I can help with but the second, takes a lot of convincing.

We all have a voice that is unique. There are current events that need our point of view. We have the power to give our perspective.

Yet I have to be honest. It isn't easy. Not if it is important to you to get it right. 

Yesterday I wanted to respond to a current debate about an issue. Doesn't matter when you read this because I'll almost always have a response to a current issue.

Six flipping hours later I had nothing.

Writers block my foot. I had Video block. Or Creativity block. 

I was blocked up, okay?

I was so focused on getting it perfect that I couldn't do it at all. Not even write and I don't generally get Writer's block.

 I can tell you that there are hundreds of ways to deal with the block. But only one way will work for you.

For me, after six hours I walked away. Made Ginger Tea. Slept on it. Woke up with the following words "if you have Writer's (Creativity) block then work your way around the block."

This can mean: 

• look for inspiration in other types of videos that are unrelated to what you want to do
• developing the concept more, 
• make an outline or mind map
• gathering more images or audio, 
• make the shell of the video first; i.e. make the titles and end credits

 Most of all, it is okay to fail. Or, it is okay to spend time learning what not to do.

Other Posts of Interest

• Back that Thing Up - Hard Drive Storage Options
• Quick and Easy Storyboarding or Planning is Good
• Book Review of How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck

Some Buy Shoes, I Buy Electronics

I've been quiet because half of my stuff is in the old pokey and new stuff is on the spiffy new computer I bought this weekend. Spent most of my day yanking out the bloatware and crap. Sixty two programs installed and I don't even know what half of them do.

I can say the most challenging part of installation is looking for all of the software keys and codes of the software I did actually paid for and used.

After all of the gnashing and research I got another HP with 8GB RAM and 1.2TB hard drive for just under $700. I bought a second terabyte drive a few weeks ago. I can juice it up later and it will bring me just one generation behind from Windows 8 OS.

I got tied of the lock-ups, freezes. I was not going to find the system that I wanted at the price point I could pay. I can afford this for right now and keep an eye out for my heart's desire.

This is a non-informative video about the computer. Why would a company make a video non-informative?

I don't know.



Like I said, comes with a 1.5TB drive. I'll add a second TB just for video work and storage. The external drives will rotate as a back-up system. I'm on Windows 7 OS so I will find out what software will or won't run very soon.

I also bought an external drive enclosure. Instead of hooking up cables and installing drivers I can remove the existing hard drive, plunk it in a case, hook it up and drag and drop files.

In theory. Yep. That's my plan. I got a lot of ideas I hope will come a running now that I've removed a bottleneck of productivity.

Beware the Installation Toolbar Window

Hi folks. Have a rare official day off so I am catching up on clearing out old software and installing some new stuff.  I have some posts in the pipeline so hang tight. If you install video editing software on your computer you should know about this.

While I was installing some new software, I cam across an old bugaboo that newbies don't know about and jaded techs often forget.  The toolbar add-on.  Many vendors get some side action from other companies added a tool bar to your browser.

In addition to reducing the amount of readable area on your screen it is a bit of redundancy. If you really like Ask.com (and I ain't hating on the search engine. I used it back in the day when I was on Bloglines) you can change your default browser search engine any time you want.

I don't care for the added tracking, cookies, and sharing of where I go and what I do. I don't mind if I tell you I went to a critical thinking web site. I do mind if that is relayed to folks I don't know. I really mind if I see a bunch of add stating I can get critical thinking for half price at Shopper.com.

Anyway, before click or un-click you definitely want to read the Ask Toolbar Terms of Service.

I speak as a sadder but wiser girl who years ago had to work a bit too hard to get it out of my primary browser. I still get involuntary re-directs to Ask.com from time to time.

Related Posts

• My Experience with YouTube Light Correcting Filter
• Cue Prompter When You Need to See What You Say
• Exact Audio from Video Using Mpeg Streamclip