Category / Production tips

by Jake

Overcoming the Malaise Between Shooting and Editing in Videography

Introduction: The Videographer’s Journey from Excitement to Exhaustion

The journey of a videographer is often a tale of contrasting phases: the adrenaline-fueled excitement of shooting and the introspective, often solitary, process of editing. While shooting is about capturing the essence of a moment, editing is where these moments are woven into a coherent narrative. However, it’s not uncommon for videographers to find their enthusiasm waning as they transition from the dynamic world of shooting to the meticulous task of editing. This article explores strategies to bridge this gap, ensuring that the passion and creativity ignited during shooting continue to burn brightly through the editing process.

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by Jake

The terror of the blank page (or screen)

Mornings in my world are spent teaching A/V classes to a bunch of bright-eyed teenagers in a rural high school that’s as small as it is full of character.

You might wonder what the scariest part of this routine is. For me, it’s the chill that runs down my spine when administrators grace the classroom with their presence for observation. But for the students? It’s the stark terror of facing the infinite possibilities of a blank screen (or page, but honestly, we rarely actually write anything).

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by Jake

So bad it’s good

Much like “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” there’s media out there that so terrible, so awful, so poorly-done that it flips around the scale back to being good.

In films, you have “Plan 9” and “The Room.” Commercials featuring the late Billy Mays (OXICLEAN!) and Vince Offer (The ShamWoW guy with the jaw). Or any commercial featuring a spokesperson with the title “Crazy.”  Music brings us the phenomena of William Hung, “Barbie Girl,” “Achy Breaky Heart” and a lot of the disco produced in the 1970s. Literature has “Fifty Shades of Grey” and the “Left Behind” series.

Not even presidents are immune. H. L. Mencken said that Warren Harding’s English was “so bad that a kind of grandeur creeps into it.”

At some point in your career, you’ll hit upon the idea of making something bad on purpose, hoping to get the so-bad-it’s-good magic that’ll make your production (in)famous.

DON’T DO IT. Continue reading →

Photo Credit: TheArtGuy via Compfight cc
by Jake

Make a pot

(Photo Credit: TheArtGuy via Compfight cc)

If you try to make every press release, every commercial, every radio script you work on an absolute masterpiece, the pinnacle of innovation and a trendsetter not just regionally but globally, you’ll drive yourself insane. You’ll never make deadlines. You’ll get depressed.

Basically, you’ll fail. The truth is that no one’s going to have a 100 percent success rate 100 percent of the time.  You can’t always be brilliant, so learn the value of “good enough to get the job done.”

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by Jake

Plan your shoots

Our deadline was approaching quickly, and we hadn’t shot a single frame for a holiday spot that was rapidly becoming as stressful as the actual holidays.

We’d scrubbed two shooting dates and had to cancel a shoot ten minutes in because we couldn’t find the right costume for the talent. Disaster was looming over us, so I dealt with it the best way I could… planning for the shoot.

And you know what? Things turned out okay.

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by Jake

The place of ego

It should go without saying that whatever kind of publicity you’re putting out, it’s going to reflect back on your, your organization or your business.

But that’s what you want, right? The whole idea of advertising and PR is to make you look good. That door swings both ways, however. Putting out shoddy commercials, press releases or even malformed tweets makes you look bad.

And people remember the bad stuff a lot longer. They’re more likely to tell their friends about the bad stuff. People love sharing stories about bad stuff.

So take it personal. And invest a little bit of ego in it.

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by Jake

Everybody wants to be appreciated

My son lulled me into a false sense of security. We got about four good months of his being the perfect two-year-old before the terrible twos started in earnest.  And man, did they start. Every little routine daily activity was no longer routine — it was a battle of wills between us. He got mad. I got mad. His mother got mad.

Worst of all, it was affecting how we felt about our parenting. It’s hard to feel good about raising the youth of tomorrow when you feel overwhelmed, frustrated and utterly emotionally beaten.

Thanks to a little nugget of wisdom, though, things are better. Not perfect, mind you, but better. A lot better.

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