Video Editing

My week has been minimally productive in the clay studio, but I have gotten some work done for Larson Gallery.

My daughter got sick at the end of the week. They sent her home last week too, but that illness was imaginary. Unfortunately this time it was authentic. I've sat on the couch with her for two days. Luckily kilns don't require constant attention and I was able to bring some pieces out to the living room and underglaze when she napped.

I did a little glazing in the evening and loaded a kiln that I fired today. I should have the results tomorrow and three fifths of the clay parts for my gear sculpture will be glazed, fired and ready for epoxy and bike parts.

layers of fired underglaze

this glaze (that will be matte after firing) looks white when applied

The rest of my week seems to have been spent learning now to make videos for Larson Gallery. Since March have been making videos of throwing techniques to post on my YouTube channel for my students, but these videos only require a camera and a tripod. I narrate while I throw and the video gets posted with minimal editing.




This Larson Gallery video ended up being more of a challenge. We wanted a video of Joe Feddersen's show being installed in the gallery to share on Facebook and our blog so people could see what goes on in the gallery when it is closed to the public. I was going to take video of the show being hung, but my daughter's illness was ill-timed and I couldn't get to the gallery on installation day. Luckily I had gone in earlier in the week and had some short video of the show being unpacked.

With my original plans thwarted, I was forced to make a new plan. As it turned out, I didn't have much of a plan for what I wanted to say or even much idea how the video should look. After viewing my video clips, I spent some time outlining the video on paper before I actually started moving anything in iMovie. When I film a throwing demonstration, I don't have to think much. Throwing a bowl while narrating my process is pretty automatic for me at this point, so I don't have to have a plan more detailed than "throw a bowl."

I quickly discovered that a script was essential to ensure I didn't sound ridiculous. I also needed to teach myself how to add a voice-over since my video from the gallery included unrelated conversations about summer plans.

My first attempt was actually not too bad. I added a scripted voice over and I only included one verbal stumble (I recorded over the other mistakes). I also figured out how to add in still images and even change the length of of the still image or how it is viewed.



Only an hour or so after I posted it, I realized that I had included one film clip twice (she's moving the same table twice). I also got some helpful suggestions from my father, not all of which I was able to include in this version, but some I can use next time. I added a picture of the artist and did a slightly better job of lining up the images with what is being said at that time.



I learned a lot doing the video. It also took me about 4 hours of actual work time. In real time I started Tuesday morning and finished Friday evening. I look forward to doing more videos (ones that look more professional) with my new editing, scripting and planning skills.