Can an old woman learn new skills? Can Linda learn videography at the age of 58?
That’s me, at the Ide Adobe, in Red Bluff, CA
Somehow this has become a pressing issue, as I’ve decided to make a series of videos for my local chamber of commerce. I started by creating a YouTube account: Happy Camp Chamber of Commerce on YouTube. To that I “favorited” as many good Happy Camp, CA videos as I could find, since we don’t have any videos of our own yet.
YET.
That’s the word!
I ordered a new video camcorder since I’ve never owned one, and am waiting for it to arrive. I’m getting the Sanyo VPC-CG102
I did something similar in 2005. I worked for one summer as videographer for the Great American Bigfoot Research Organization – an organization that no longer exists. They came to Happy Camp and I followed them around with a very expensive top-of-the-line Sony movie camera which they loaned to me. My video editing was amateurish (to say the least) and they got what they paid for, and nothing more.
This time I’m aiming for semi-professional results, and I know this will take a lot of creativity and practice. I’m willing to put the time in to get the results I want. This will be a new start for me – one I’ve been anticipating for quite some time! Vlogging (video blogging) sounds like a lot of fun!
It takes more than a willing heart to become a great videographer. I know that. It will take lots of practice too. It also takes good editing software. Last night I downloaded Video Spin and created my first 2011 video.
Tonight I’ll make another video. Even though I don’t have my camcorder yet, I’ll find something to put there. Videography is a skill and an art I’ll develop one day at a time.
I’m also working on learning to develop a good intro video. After watching several videos on how to create an intro, I decided to try using a simple service called Animoto. This service is generally used by people who want to create video slideshows for their photographs, to send to relatives, for example. I plugged in some Happy Camp photos, chose a bit of cheery music, and created this:
It might look like amazing work for an amateur, but believe me, Animoto did all the hard work! I used one of their templates!
I’m not sure this is the video intro I’ll be using, but it is inspiration in case I want to try to come up with something on my own. I think videos for a professional organization like the Chamber of Commerce deserve a great intro! And credits!
So, there you have it … my new videography hobby. Tonight I’m going to try to do something with that hilarious snowball fight video of my two teenagers a few years back… when I had teenagers. They’ve all flown the nest and are out on their own now. One of the best things for people with empty nest syndrome is the development of new hobbies. A new hobby like this one will also help keep my mind young and involved. Well, young, relatively speaking!
The main thing is to have fun. Videography is that, and more!
good luck with it.
Thank you. Video making is a huge effort for me (I mean, it doesn’t seem to come easily or naturally) but I will make time for it.
Have fun with the videography, Linda, and good luck! You look awesome, by the way!
Thanks, Susan… well, this is an older article – from 2011 when I was just thinking about making videos. I got a lot more experience in 2014, and want to make more videos this year.