Don’t Like The Way You Look? Shoot the Video Anyway

I just watched this great video by Tentblogger about closing the gap and bringing authenticity to blogging via video. It inspired me to write this to tell you my experiences with videoblogging.

My Excuses

I’m an early riser. Writing at 5am makes more sense than shooting video. I also don’t look my best at this hour.

I’ve shot about 15 videos and have some excerpts of presentations I’ve given all uploaded to my YouTube channel. My variations of equipment and accompanying experiences are as follows:

I have a video feature on my digital Casio Exilim camera which uses a .avi extension. I don’t have the editing ability to work with this extension so I’m limited to one take. I’m a retired actress and model so my ability to get a sound byte right quickly is beneficial in this process. I generally get it done in three takes. The first is to gets “the blabs” out. You know where you ramble and don’t make your point. The second is for when I simply stumble over my words, say “Ack”, and stick my tongue out at the camera. The third is the money shot. No editing necessary. Done.

I have video on my iPhone. I still have the 3G so I don’t have the forward facing camera. This is a tough one to hold and get the angle right. Also, I have a powerful voice so blasting out the sound on the mic is normal. I have to whisper to use this one. Obviously it’s not my favorite choice.

I bought a Flip HD video camera which I thought was going to be the answer to everything. Except for two things. I now have to edit the footage. Ugh! I don’t think I can express how little I like to edit video. And second, I have these huge digital files I don’t really need or want but can’t bear to throw away. Needless to say, I almost never use the Flip anymore. UPDATE: This camera has since been put out to pasture. Not surprised.

I do have a camera on my laptop that I should test out. Again, I do much of my creative work at an ungodly hour and when I accidentally start this feature on my laptop (pretty common occurrence) the unexpected view of myself so early scares even me. Maybe I should make an appointment with my better groomed self to test out this feature.

No One Likes How They Look On Camera

My last issue is that I’m growing my hair out. The short pixie cut is venturing into the “shaggy muppet” phase. I need to get over my reticence to document the outgrowth. If I can get over it, please be kind to this muppet when watching my latest video blog.

I take the Tentblogger challenge and will increase my video output. You want to know why? I made a video about a year ago that I really like and I think describes what I’m about pretty well. I’ve gotten a tremendous response from this video and will continue to feature it on my site. I’ve had clients hire me after watching it because they feel like they know me and can relate to who I am. I have clients all over the world that I’ve never met but it doesn’t matter because they feel comfortable with me though we’ve never been in the same room.

A picture is worth a thousand words. For your business and reputation, a video can be priceless.