So I took some time off from the ol' blog. Sue me. :P
Okay, just kidding, I really did miss blogging. Still, we need to talk.
I've found someone... *ahem* something else: vlogging.
I know I promised ages ago that I'd set up a YouTube channel for your viewing pleasure. Well, I actually did it. For real. And it's fun and all, but it's also really, really hard. I have developed a whole new level of respect for YouTubers now that I've actually gone through the process of filming and editing a video. It takes hours- for some projects, days, or even weeks.
For one thing, there's the part where you actually sit down and film your video. I mean, you'd think you could just come up with a topic, sit yourself down in front of your little video camera, and just go. But it's really not that simple.
First, you have to set up the camera, and if you don't have a tripod (as I didn't until last week when my sister loaned me hers) it takes a while. If you're going to be talking for any length of time, you can't just hold the camera. Your arm would get tired eventually. So, you have to find a substitute for a tripod. In my case, the most convenient option was a large stack of books. It's not particularly steady, but it's better than nothing.
You also want to have some sort of spot where you film in your room. That's part of the set up. Before I found a tripod, my spot was my bed, because it was easy to balance a stack of books on it and I didn't have to have my room too neat and tidy before filming. All I had to do was make my bed. That will change now that I have a tripod that needs to be on a flat surface- like, you know, the floor.
Once you have all that stuff out of the way, you have to actually say stuff.
This part is really hard, because, as everyone knows, it's virtually impossible to act natural in front of a video camera. Even if it was a good idea to sit down and start rambling, it would be really hard for you to do, because the whole time you're thinking:
1) I wonder if people are actually going to watch this.
2) Will they like it? Or hate it?
3) I bet they'll hate it.
4) Ugh, nobody likes me.
5) I have nothing interesting to say.
6) What's for lunch?
This makes it very difficult to concentrate, even if it turns out what you have to say is actually interesting and people do respond to it. Regardless, you will experience some kind of stage fright if you're anything like me: that's an introverted, almost reclusive writer type who prefers books to real human interaction. Because real humans are kind of mean.
Then comes the editing. This part is hard for everybody, but I personally enjoy it, although I'm painfully aware that my Flip video camera and Windows editing software aren't exactly the shiniest toys in the store. Still, it's probably the most fun part for me, although since I talk a lot it's kind of hard for me to condense things to a not-ridiculous length. But I'm getting better, I think.
After that, you have to upload the video, and this is the part that takes a ridiculously long time. Once it's loading, you type in your description, tag it, and select which little icon you want people to see when they click on your video- the one with you looking up at the ceiling, the one with a face that looks like you're sneezing, or that other one where you're scratching your nose. I'm crocheting a scarf during these twenty to thirty minute waiting periods. So far, I'm about a quarter of the way through it, and I've only got eight videos up. That should give you some idea of how much time you have while these things load.
Once it's up, you share it. And hope.
Most people tell their viewers or readers or audience to "Like, comment, and subscribe!" and I didn't do that. I still don't. But maybe I should, because I've only got six subscribers, and they're all people I know IRL except for one.
*sigh*
Ah, well. Rome wasn't built in a day.
