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“Changes”

I went through quite a bit of those this week. I got contacts, got Google Wave, and lost my YouTube account. But you’ll find out all about that in this second edition of my vlog. A few things to note about this vlog:

1. Structure

I’ve created different “segments” so the videos will have some structure. Not every video will have every segment (they’ll be mixed up based on that week) and I’m trying to have at least 5-7 set segments. So, when all else fails, I’ll have a lot to fall back on.

2. Set-Up

I’m still deciding if I want a consistent set-up for each video. For this one, I was able to remember the joy and pain of video-making. It took me about half hour to move two big chairs to the other side of the room, put a box on a couch as my tripod, cover the TV, move the bean bag chairs, and angle the camera so it wouldn’t fall. Then, it took about 45 minutes to an hour just to properly light the place. You see, lighting is one of the most important parts of production (thought too often overlooked). So I had the ceiling fan’s light, and I added and LED which I really couldn’t find a good place for it so it wouldn’t overbrighten my face but would fill in the gap on the opposite, dark side. I even tried using whiteboards as reflectors for it. Also, I tried to compose the shot nicely (notice that the Rubik’s cube creates a bit of visual interest, no?)

And after all that, it took about an hour or so to film everything.

3. Editing

I tried to make some sort of standard titles. The last vlog was edited on my sister’s laptop in Windows Movie Maker (he he he, my brother was using the big computer). But this time I was able to use Sony Vegas on the regular computer, and tried to add in some cool titles and effects. Hopefully, later on I’ll experiment with other techniques and styles (I did some green screen footage this week too, keep watching that Creative Cut!).

SEGMENTS

ReeeCaaap

What did I do this week?

A reeecaaap of all the events that took place with me. Hopefully, this one won’t be needed as much (it’s more of a fall-back segment when I don’t have much content). I have another (unreleased) segment that’s more beneficial, speaking more about lessons I’ve learned from the week.

Drum of Ideas (ideas, ideas)

Ideas are ideas. But now, they’re in a drum.

The reasoning behind this segment was that, when you write down an idea (instead of just saying it out loud) it already begins to further develop into something that’s tangible and reachable. This is more of a personal exercise for me. Throughout the week, I try to write at least ten ideas total, and showcase the three best ones on this segment. It’s a good outlet for filtering out good and bad ideas, as well as the first step in bringing some of them to fruition. I’d recommend this exercise to others as well as it gets you to begin thinking more clearly about your ideas.

Creative Cut

Random bursts of creativity.

A filler segment in which I showcase any random footage I shot, edited, or created just for fun. This week featured a mini-series opener (not a real series, just used footage from the Essentials of Tajweed course I took) for “Time for Tajweed, with Wisam Sharieff”. Just a fun project I did experimenting with my footage.

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Links mentioned in the video:

@NadimSohail

FAYM – FAYMtube, FAYMtwit, FAYM.org

Articles – Most Dangerous Game short story, Avatar movie review

Book – The Islaamic Meeting: How to Plan and Attend by Naseeb Khan

So, what do you think? Is it an improvement of the last vlog? What other improvements could be made? Any other ideas for segments? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.

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