Getting my feet wet!

So, over the last couple of weeks I wrote a little three-page script for a video starring some toy dinosaurs I have, recorded the dialog (I did all the voices), and shot it. Then I edited it all together using Final Cut X.

It turned out pretty well. Not good enough to share with the world--the focus was off in some of the shots, and there were one or two other places where there were technical issues--but it served its purpose. I learned a lot about using the editing software, and about editing in general. Plus it was a lot of fun. When it wasn't frustrating as hell while I tried to figure out how to do something.

It's an approach I highly recommend for any other budding filmmakers out there. For one, you are working totally alone, with inanimate objects as your stars, so you aren't worrying about communicating what you want to people who may not understand what you're saying--while you'll have to do that eventually, at this point the fewer things you have to worry about, the better.

Also, in my case, I didn't do any animation at all. My characters just sit there. This presents some challenges and it gave me some experience using editing to tell the story, and keeping a video where nothing moved interesting. Which was my intent all along.

It also didn't cost me anything, other than the cost of getting the dinosaurs, and I got those several months ago.

I plan to make a series of these and upload them somewhere--You Tube or Vimeo, probably. Of course, I'll announce it here when I start with that. So, keep your eyes open for that.

My next project is making a video using one of my songs. Right now I think it'll be "Far From the Sun," which is based on a short short story I published here a while back. If you're curious and want to hear the song for yourself, click the player to your right. It's on there.  Check out "Contact," too. It's also a potential video.

That's how I learn things. I do some preliminary work, then I dive in and try to put it all together. Eventually I figure it out. Usually.

It hasn't failed me yet. Though sometimes it does lead to some embarrassing situations.