I'm not even slightly ready for my Close-up....
Hello there, I am sorry I haven't been here recently but I have been rather distracted by a new project, but I do hope you're all well and enjoying your week...
So this project of mine, I decided I was going to try and make a movie, after all, it didn't seem that hard, you point a camera, you film and then you release it on an unsuspecting public who proceed to hail you a genius...but it turns out, ( and this might surprise you), it really isn't that simple..let me explain..
It all started with an idea, perhaps making a short travel film could be something I would enjoy..so, before I even picked up a camera, I looked on YouTube..and watched and what a varied bunch they were ! There were very attractive young people, clearly posing for selfies while talking about a landmark, which wasn't always that obvious in the shot...I studied very closely and on one, there was nothing but the merest hint of the Eiffel Tower behind a very excitable young woman who seemed very keen on highlighting her mascara choice- obviously useful if you need make up tips, perhaps not the most informative when it comes to making a travel guide for Paris. Other movies were made by incredibly talented people, their offerings were a dazzling display of wonderfully scenic shots of various places, rich in color and filled with fascinating facts - it was seeing these which made my heart sink..as I felt I had no hope at all of creating anything worth seeing..I was but a goldfish amongst an ocean of creative sharks.
But as so often in my life, once a bar of chocolate had been consumed, ( OK maybe two), I soon became flooded with baseless ambition and grabbed my tiny camera and strode out of the door. Now I am in a city, rich with diversity, so it wasn't too hard to find my first location - what I didn't take into consideration, was this would be filled with people. So once I had worked out how to switch on the camera, I pointed it in the general direction of a vast historic building, but - to my surprise- I couldn't see it through the viewfinder. I tried focusing, I tried zooming in and out..but still no building, after a few moments, I realized my screen was filled with a particularly huge woman, who was staring up at the building while munching on a large sandwich. I was thankful my 'zooming' technique was that accurate, I could see every wrinkle in the lettuce leaf cheekily peeking out between two slabs of bread...but obviously, not the best image for a travel movie. So I moved to get a clear shot of the afore-mentioned building, only to be thwarted once more, by a rather angry man who seemed to be having some kind of 'face-off' with a parking meter. Once more, I moved and - heavens be praised- I had an uninterrupted view at last !! So I stood filming for a good few minutes, attempting wide shots, more zooming and ( as I now know they're called) a rather ambitious 'panning shot.' Feeling flushed with success, I found a nook and watched my 'brilliant' footage..only to be rather surprised by what appeared to be a bald head bobbing up and down at the bottom of the frame. After a few puzzled moments, I realized it was, in fact, my finger in front of the lens - possibly not a problem Stephen Spielberg has ever faced.
After several days of some successful and some pretty dismal filming, I sat in front of my laptop and examined the newly-downloaded film editing software, which promised to deliver 'professional' results while maintaining a user-friendly interface. Still feeling spookily confident, I started uploading my humble offerings..it only took an hour of editing before I had run through every possible emotion, heartbreak when I thought I'd lost the clips, excitement when I managed to edit them successfully, dismay when I couldn't work out how to effectively splice the whole thing together and finally - after even more emotional turmoil - relief that I'd managed to somehow fashion a vaguely decent movie. But then, a further problem, I needed a voiceover..I needed someone to narrate the whole epic..someone with humour yet gravitas..I needed Sir David Attenborough ! I watched my movie again..it was glaringly apparent, he wouldn't be available to make idle chitchat over occasionally shaky images. There was only one thing for it - I'd have to do it myself !
Now, you might imagine, talking over your own footage would be quite straightforward..after all, you know what's coming - let me tell you now, it's not easy. I found myself stuttering, burbling off topic and mindlessly rambling - and that was only over the opening scene.After hastily deleting the soundtrack a further thought occurred to me, perhaps if I scripted what I was going to say ? So I carefully wrote it all down and then tried again, at first, I was sure it was infinitely better - until I listened to it - my script had turned me into someone with all the emotion of the average robot... not exactly the informed, chatty delivery I had attempted. Finally, I ditched the script and just talked..on listening back, I was slightly relieved to hear my own voice wasn't too painful to the ears.
So having done all of this, I was then at the point of uploading the finished product..this was perhaps the easiest part and - without question- the most frightening. As I watched it winging its way through cyberspace via a small ever-filling blue bar, it suddenly dawned on me, the world was now going to see this little epic ....naturally, I dealt with this realization in a calm mature manner...I hyperventilated!
After a somewhat restless night, I hesitantly logged into YouTube, part of me hoping someone had seen my efforts while the rest of me parted they hadn't - imagine my surprise, when I saw it had several views !!!!
https://youtu.be/Z2pqdePkyfw
Now, I have included the link here, please don't feel you have to watch, but I do feel I have learned a valuable lesson throughout this whole experience. I had no clue how to make a video, I had even less idea on how to edit one - yet, through trial and error, it's a reality..perhaps not Oscar-worthy, but I did it and have since, made another. My point is, it would have been easy to dismiss my original idea as foolish, owing to my inexperience, and perhaps it was - but if we only do what's deemed 'sensible' maybe we would never discover there was more to us than we might once have imagined. Sadly, for the world of film, I am going to keep trying..hopefully, improving slightly as I go along...more importantly, I hope the fact I tried something completely new will maybe inspire you to have a go too. Whatever it is, be it artistic, sporting, academic...it really makes no difference, just make up your mind and stride out into the world with your head held high...yes you might not be a world leader in your chosen field, but you will be able to say..I did that !
I wish you all every success in whatever endeavor you choose...until the next time...
Take care out there xx
So this project of mine, I decided I was going to try and make a movie, after all, it didn't seem that hard, you point a camera, you film and then you release it on an unsuspecting public who proceed to hail you a genius...but it turns out, ( and this might surprise you), it really isn't that simple..let me explain..
It all started with an idea, perhaps making a short travel film could be something I would enjoy..so, before I even picked up a camera, I looked on YouTube..and watched and what a varied bunch they were ! There were very attractive young people, clearly posing for selfies while talking about a landmark, which wasn't always that obvious in the shot...I studied very closely and on one, there was nothing but the merest hint of the Eiffel Tower behind a very excitable young woman who seemed very keen on highlighting her mascara choice- obviously useful if you need make up tips, perhaps not the most informative when it comes to making a travel guide for Paris. Other movies were made by incredibly talented people, their offerings were a dazzling display of wonderfully scenic shots of various places, rich in color and filled with fascinating facts - it was seeing these which made my heart sink..as I felt I had no hope at all of creating anything worth seeing..I was but a goldfish amongst an ocean of creative sharks.
But as so often in my life, once a bar of chocolate had been consumed, ( OK maybe two), I soon became flooded with baseless ambition and grabbed my tiny camera and strode out of the door. Now I am in a city, rich with diversity, so it wasn't too hard to find my first location - what I didn't take into consideration, was this would be filled with people. So once I had worked out how to switch on the camera, I pointed it in the general direction of a vast historic building, but - to my surprise- I couldn't see it through the viewfinder. I tried focusing, I tried zooming in and out..but still no building, after a few moments, I realized my screen was filled with a particularly huge woman, who was staring up at the building while munching on a large sandwich. I was thankful my 'zooming' technique was that accurate, I could see every wrinkle in the lettuce leaf cheekily peeking out between two slabs of bread...but obviously, not the best image for a travel movie. So I moved to get a clear shot of the afore-mentioned building, only to be thwarted once more, by a rather angry man who seemed to be having some kind of 'face-off' with a parking meter. Once more, I moved and - heavens be praised- I had an uninterrupted view at last !! So I stood filming for a good few minutes, attempting wide shots, more zooming and ( as I now know they're called) a rather ambitious 'panning shot.' Feeling flushed with success, I found a nook and watched my 'brilliant' footage..only to be rather surprised by what appeared to be a bald head bobbing up and down at the bottom of the frame. After a few puzzled moments, I realized it was, in fact, my finger in front of the lens - possibly not a problem Stephen Spielberg has ever faced.
After several days of some successful and some pretty dismal filming, I sat in front of my laptop and examined the newly-downloaded film editing software, which promised to deliver 'professional' results while maintaining a user-friendly interface. Still feeling spookily confident, I started uploading my humble offerings..it only took an hour of editing before I had run through every possible emotion, heartbreak when I thought I'd lost the clips, excitement when I managed to edit them successfully, dismay when I couldn't work out how to effectively splice the whole thing together and finally - after even more emotional turmoil - relief that I'd managed to somehow fashion a vaguely decent movie. But then, a further problem, I needed a voiceover..I needed someone to narrate the whole epic..someone with humour yet gravitas..I needed Sir David Attenborough ! I watched my movie again..it was glaringly apparent, he wouldn't be available to make idle chitchat over occasionally shaky images. There was only one thing for it - I'd have to do it myself !
Now, you might imagine, talking over your own footage would be quite straightforward..after all, you know what's coming - let me tell you now, it's not easy. I found myself stuttering, burbling off topic and mindlessly rambling - and that was only over the opening scene.After hastily deleting the soundtrack a further thought occurred to me, perhaps if I scripted what I was going to say ? So I carefully wrote it all down and then tried again, at first, I was sure it was infinitely better - until I listened to it - my script had turned me into someone with all the emotion of the average robot... not exactly the informed, chatty delivery I had attempted. Finally, I ditched the script and just talked..on listening back, I was slightly relieved to hear my own voice wasn't too painful to the ears.
So having done all of this, I was then at the point of uploading the finished product..this was perhaps the easiest part and - without question- the most frightening. As I watched it winging its way through cyberspace via a small ever-filling blue bar, it suddenly dawned on me, the world was now going to see this little epic ....naturally, I dealt with this realization in a calm mature manner...I hyperventilated!
After a somewhat restless night, I hesitantly logged into YouTube, part of me hoping someone had seen my efforts while the rest of me parted they hadn't - imagine my surprise, when I saw it had several views !!!!
https://youtu.be/Z2pqdePkyfw
Now, I have included the link here, please don't feel you have to watch, but I do feel I have learned a valuable lesson throughout this whole experience. I had no clue how to make a video, I had even less idea on how to edit one - yet, through trial and error, it's a reality..perhaps not Oscar-worthy, but I did it and have since, made another. My point is, it would have been easy to dismiss my original idea as foolish, owing to my inexperience, and perhaps it was - but if we only do what's deemed 'sensible' maybe we would never discover there was more to us than we might once have imagined. Sadly, for the world of film, I am going to keep trying..hopefully, improving slightly as I go along...more importantly, I hope the fact I tried something completely new will maybe inspire you to have a go too. Whatever it is, be it artistic, sporting, academic...it really makes no difference, just make up your mind and stride out into the world with your head held high...yes you might not be a world leader in your chosen field, but you will be able to say..I did that !
I wish you all every success in whatever endeavor you choose...until the next time...
Take care out there xx
