Jasmine Makes a Video

Creating videos has always seemed like something magical to me.

Surely, there must be unicorns, fairies, and leprechauns involved in the video-making process.

And yet, I know people who actually DO this. Somehow, they do it. (And not only do they do it, but a whole lot of other humans seem to be able to do it too.) My people told me that it’s not actually such an out-of-this-world undertaking, but I was skeptical.

You take bits and pieces of video, audio, and music, and just somehow… stick them together?

You just…splice and dice until something orderly emerges?

Well now, I just don’t know about that.

But for the past couple years, I’ve had a bit of an itching to try it for myself.

Could I actually make a video?

Hard to say.

(Even as I write this, Youtube sensation Ricky Martin is sitting at his desk, making a video and muttering, “Making videos is the worst” to himself as he works.)

This year, I put “make a video” on the list of things I want to do this year.

And now,

I have done it!

Well, I kind of did it.

You see, I was determined to figure this video-making thing out on my own, with as little help as possible from anyone else. I was going to figure this thing out with Google and my brain. (I do believe that it’s good to learn from the people around you and to allow them to help you… but every now and then I just need to figure out something on my own to remind myself that I am capable of taking care of myself.)

Here’s how it all went down.

I wrote my script, I filmed my footage, and I recorded my narration. I then used Google and my brain to research and download free video software, upload my various clips to that software. I painstakingly pieced everything together and added text in the appropriate places.

Let me tell you, there are no unicorns involved in this process. Not one.

After about a week of working on my video every now and then, it was finally ready to export.

It felt like a momentous moment. (Because who has ever heard of someone completing a new year’s resolution before January is even done? What craziness! That person must really be an excellent person…)

So, feeling rather proud of myself, I hit the button to export my humble, yet beloved, little video…

And promptly discovered that THEY DON’T LET YOU EXPORT YOUR VIDEO IN THE FREE VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE I HAD CHOSEN. (Why were there no warnings about this. Just why.)

I felt great despair in that moment. I did. My video was stuck in that software, and there was nothing I could do about it. If I wanted to have a video that I could share with others, I would have to make it in a different program.

When I voiced my frustration, Ricky said, “I could help you. We could use my computer. The software I have will be easier to use than what you were using.”

All these things sounded very good, but I definitely felt overwhelmed at the thought of trying to figure out a new program.

And then Ricky said, “It won’t take long to do. We could do it in ten minutes!”

Ten minutes.

My week of work, reduced to ten minutes.

Dramatic sigh.

I accepted Ricky’s offer of help. After all, even the most independent and determined human can only handle so much on their own.

So although I technically did make the video, Ricky re-made it for me.

But I watched over his shoulder the whole time, and was exceptionally picky about a few things. That’s gotta count for something!

It has been a learning process for sure.

I was determined to let this video be a simple and imperfect video.

In my mind, it was to be a video of straight lines.

The footage is literally me walking in a straight line. (I tried to walk smoothly, but it’s still very bumpy. So sorry. Just close your eyes if you are prone to motion sickness.)

The voiceover is just me reading straight through one piece of writing. (I thought I used expression when reading, but when I listened to it, I realized that I used none. So I recorded it a second time, making sure that I was using good expression. But when I listened to that one, there was still hardly any expression. How is this possible? Does anyone else have this problem?)

The music just plays itself straight through. (There is at least one point where the volume of the music competes with the volume of my voice, and for that, I apologize.)

And so…

I think I met my goals.

I made a video, and it is a simple, imperfect video composed straight lines.

And thus concludes Jasmine’s commentary on making a….

Oh.

Wait!

I forgot to share the video with you!

Here it is.

I hope there is something in the video that makes you feel something, think something, pray something, or hope for something.