Conquering Fears - Diving into the Video

The past 24 hours has been absolutely FRUSTRATING for a person who rarely puts herself in front of the video (or camera). I decided to take the plunge and conquer my fear of doing videos. Why all of the sudden? Pfft ... Type-A Con, where else? I mean, honestly, most of my changes when it comes to where I am going with my blog has come from that conference. There are more changes that I am making after listening to Chalene Johnson's Smar Success 4-part Webinar that she offered.

I digress.

So ... I decided to go to the session presented by Monique Johnson and Crystal Collins from MoChris. They have SO much spunk and made it look SO fun. Yeah ... well ... it sounds so much easier than actuality. If you have the desire to dive into videos, then you will want to read this post clear through. I apologize in advance for the length, but I want to do it in 3 parts.

1. Tell you what I learned
2. Tell you the reality that I've encountered
3. Tell you how you can start doing videos as well

BTW ... I am going to really focus on the Windows & Android portion of this because I only JUST got an iPad Mini and I haven't masted the iOS system. I am a Droid user.
The first thing to creating a video is being yourself, watch what you wear, use the rule of thirds, understand the lighting, and keep the background simple.

Yup ... That sounds awesome ... too bad life isn't so simple. THANKFULLY, they broke it down a little further.

When it comes to camera presence, it is important to be yourself. It is best to make a bullet point outline of your video and tape it under the lens of your camera. I am going to actually have to cover the screen once I'm situated because I have a really hard time staring at myself talk.

In addition, take care to make sure you know what you are wearing and how it looks. You want brighter colors and not ones that blend into the background. You also want to be careful with patterned material. I also need to make sure I apply a little more make up because I am a ghost on camera ... well, I'm a ghost really anytime ... it's just more noticeable on camera.

With the rule of thirds, I use my grid so I can keep the main object in one of the thirds. Lighting, however, is more difficult. My first video I had to scrap because I couldn't get the lighting the way I wanted ... and no matter what I did with the edits, it wouldn't look right. I do not have a 3-point lighting system set up, exactly ... so I chose to sit in a way that I could use my apartment lights and lamps to give me the lighting I wanted. This will be easier once I have a set place and actually get soft box lighting and backdrops going.

Alright ... so let's move to the nitty gritty that I have learned.
1. You need a monopod or some sort of stabilizer. You can use a car mount or an extender ... or a stack of Legos ...)

2. You need a camera software. They suggest Camera FV-5. I need front facing camera so until I get something that is set and I don't have to keep wandering around to adjust, I am using my phone's standard camera/video. I am more than sure that it makes my videos less than top quality. That will come. Right now, just the thought of messing with the settings makes me hyperventilate.

3. Adjust the settings - this is where I start to stress. I feel like I need a camera/video basics 101 type course. Not even joking. Anyway, start with the white balance, move to sensor sensitivity (but don't go above 400), and then change the exposure.

4. Edit your video - There are many programs available. My preference, personally, is Wondershare. I have been using an open source and then to Windows Life Movie maker ... but Wondershare is much more user friendly. Obviously for iOS users ... feel free to use easy, peasy iMovie.

So that's it ... right? Wrong. You know that -_- emoji you see on Facebook .. yup, that's how my face looked when I realized all the other info they brought on.

There are different camera lenses that you can attach to your cell phone, audio to consider, and then creating storyboards and templates.

My first video was taken last night ... couldn't get the lighting right. Worked on editing it for almost 3 hours and decided to scrap it. Re-Recorded this morning and boom, loved it. However, because it is HD, it took about 6 hours to go through the editing process and uploading. 6 hours for an 8 minute video. Wowza. BUT it is up, it is live, and you can view it on my YouTube Channel!



SO ... if you want to increase your business and grow your blog, you can get over YOUR fear of the video. If you are so overwhelmed reading all this (I'm still processing it so no judging here), you can join their new DIY Mobile Video FREE lessons. They even have a Facebook group so you can ask lots of questions that you may feel are dumb (I'm full of them so again ... no judging here).

Do you have a YouTube channel? What are your thoughts on videos? Comment below and let me know!