The Three-Month Thursday Video Blog Experiment

So, three months ago, I began filming a series of video blogs for the Thursday Diary entries, and part of the reason why I decided to go that route was to see how it would go initially.  Being one who is chronically camera-shy, and who used to hide whenever cameras were present, I decided to try this experiment out for at least three months so I could become more familiar with the idea of putting more of myself out there, and to try and overcome a long-time fear of public speaking, brought upon by a failed seventh grade speech, and several botched job interviews over the years.

So, what has this little experiment taught me about myself?  Well, I'll tell you.  But this time, I'm taking a break from filming a video and I'm going to write it out.

(Mainly because I forgot to charge my recording device, and it is now nearly dead.  I have it on the charger now though.)

This doesn't mean that I am going to quit doing the video blogs though.  I have a great idea for one next week.  But this week, I'll explain why I did the experiment here, and what I hope to change in any future videos.

February 6, 2014

You know, I sometimes miss doing these handwritten Thursday Diary entries.  As I type this, it's been three months since I last wrote anything in a Thursday Diary entry.

(And, no...that Wednesday piece that I did yesterday doesn't really count.)

You see, right around the time that I began the video feature for the blog, I had just gotten an iPad mini which unbeknownst to me had the capability to film videos.

(And, yes...even though I do work in the electronics department of the store I work at, I really was that clueless about electronics...seriously.)

Anyway, when I discovered that little feature, I thought I would use it to my advantage.  That's what made me decide to change the Thursday Diary entries to the Thursday Video Blog entry.  I never intended to make it a permanent change, I just wanted to try it for a couple of months or so.  And, there's a couple of reasons why I wanted to do this.

1 - I wanted to allow all of the readers of this blog to put a face - and a voice - to the words that they read in this space.

2 - I wanted to overcome my fear of public speaking.

And, when I first began doing these videos, I admit that I was a little bit green - the term used for inexperienced actors in the world of Hollywood.  And, well, three months later, I'm still very much a sickly shade of turquoise.  I guess it's probably a good thing that I never really seriously considered acting as a career goal, because if that were the case, I would probably go down to Hollywood expecting to achieve fame and fortune, but instead settling for a lifestyle which involves serving flapjacks and Belgian waffles to other struggling actors at the International House of Pancakes.

But I can honestly say this.  The more videos I did, the more comfortable that I got with doing them.  I no longer stutter as much as I used to.  I'm able to choose my words more carefully.  And, I think I've certainly shown that I can come up with things at the spur of the moment without looking like a dork.

Well...okay, at least in MY mind, I don't sound like a dork.

But, you know, looking back at the past video entries that I've done, I know there are some things that I need to work on.

First, I should probably plan out what I'm going to say before I film it...like maybe have a script ready to look off of while I film so I don't say um and oh one time too many.

Secondly, I should have a stop watch available to time my videos to just a few minutes in length.  Maybe once upon a time, a fifteen minute video was deemed a little on the short side, but I have to face it...when you're competing with sites like Vine, where its users can tell a story in six seconds or less, I know I'm fighting a losing battle.

(Seriously, I don't know how you people can even film a coherent video in just six seconds.  I tip my hat to all of you for sure!)

And lastly, I have to tell myself to relax every once in a while.  I mean, in most of the videos, I think I sounds spastic, or I talk too fast, or do all sorts of little nitpicky things that make the video not as effective as it probably should be.

I mean, I know what we say.  We are our own worst critics.  Believe me, I know exactly what I'm saying with that statement.  But I'm slowly working on that aspect of myself.  I suppose it's good timing too, since I have a potential situation going on in my own life where I will have to present myself in some sort of interview process (it's not anything like a job interview...more like an interview relating to something within my job...if that makes sense).  And, surprisingly enough, my video projects - as interesting as they were to film- have done exactly what I had hoped for.  They made me become a better public speaker.

Well, at least, I hope they have.

So, anyway, that's all I have to say.  And, I'm going to say that this is NOT the end of this experiment.  As I said, I have something very special planned for next week around this time. 

Now, I won't say too much more than that, but I will bid you adieu on this, the 993rd post that I have typed up for this blog.

993...what an interesting number.