I normally reserve this kind of post for Not an Activist, but I had a lot of fun making this video. This is just one week’s efforts toward a greener life. There is still a lot to do and to learn! If you want more, please visit Not an Activist. Thanks!
Wow, guys, I have been SO busy lately. I didn’t mean to forget all about the blog, but I’ve got so many new and exciting projects going on that I can’t even keep up with myself. I think it’s safe to say at this point that The Artist’s Way is a very effective tool for tapping into your own creativity, because I suddenly find myself in the midst of a lot of things I would’ve said no to just a month ago. I have a serious habit of saying no to projects that look too cool for me, too good to be true, or too challenging, and I’m now learning how to say yes to those things because they are awesome, and quite simply, I want more awesome in my life. Don’t you?
So, here’s what I’ve been up to lately!
I finally posted this video that I started working on a long time ago. It’s interesting to me how you can tell which shots were the early ones (hint: shakeycam), and which were taken later. Of course, the weather helps to give it away.
I also wrote this short essay, The Little Blue Lines, for The Nervous Breakdown about the oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Thanks to my buddies at TNB for the warm reception to this piece. It was a particularly meaningful one for me to write, but it was also difficult. Many thanks to Ellie_Di who kindly lent her editing expertise for this essay.
Now, I’m working on a related article for another publication (no guarantee that it’ll be accepted, but I have hope), with the help of another wise friend who has been generous with her time.
Oh, and that art project I started with my sister is coming. We had a chat about it yesterday as I was feeling anxious and perfectionist about it, and she calmed my nerves. This project is going to be so rad. Meanwhile, I’m also roping my entire immediate family into a Louisiana-focused art project.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I’ve started [Bob Barker voice] a new blog! Yes indeed. If you’ve been following me on Twitter lately, you probably know about it already, but I’ll post more details here soon.
Till then, peace!
I believe in finding inspiration anywhere and everywhere.
So, you may have noticed that I’m experimenting with YouTube lately. A while back, I made a couple videos on Vimeo, but then I started doing a little bit of video editing for Digital Overload, and I realized how extremely easy to use YouTube is. I can’t decide which site I prefer, yet.
YouTube is easy to use, faster, and very public (so you get more views). On the other hand, it’s got a lot of annoying ads, and since it’s more public, there’s also more potential for people you don’t really want to encounter. Also, YouTube has a weird internet celebrity culture that I’m not really drawn to. I mean, by posting videos of myself online, I am not at all trying to join the ranks of people who have essentially become memes, and I’m slightly concerned that even though YouTube has tons of potential viewers, they won’t see what I’m doing because I’m competing with the likes of … this guy.
Vimeo, on the other hand, is far less commercialized, and the users are much more art-oriented. There are a lot of beautiful creative videos on Vimeo, and far fewer instances of obnoxious humor, memes or people just ranting. So, I was initially attracted to Vimeo, but I feel like my videos don’t have the artistic quality that’s expected on Vimeo, and that Vimeo doesn’t necessarily have the large number of viewers I would like the ability to reach. Also, uploading to Vimeo is notably more complicated, since I can’t automatically associate my account with iMovie and upload that way. (Notice how the aspect ratio on my Vimeo clips is all messed up? Oops.)
Here’s the thing. I’m looking to build a readership, show my work to people, and draw interesting, creative people into my life. I want to put my creative work out into the world in order for it to grow. So … Is YouTube or Vimeo better for that? Are they equal? Do I even need to choose between them? I don’t want to spend tons of time posting videos on multiple sites. If I’m going to use two or more sites, I need it to be simple. It’s really important that I spend more time doing my work than I do editing and uploading it.
So, what do you think? And what other methods do you use to share your work with the world?
Happy Friday, y’all. How was your week? Mine was busy and fun.
This week, I wrote a new essay for The Nervous Breakdown, and then I thought it would be fun to see how it works as a video. The video is below, and if you want to see how it compares to the written piece, go read it here.
It was my first time posting anything on You Tube (or the first time posting a video of myself) so I was pretty nervous thinking of all those people who might see it. I kept stopping and making weird noises. I also scratched my armpit for the camera and fidgeted a lot with my shirt, which I now realize is much lower cut than I thought. All that fun awkward stuff ended up in a separate file called “Awkward,” which may or may not see the light of day … eventually.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.
Have a great weekend!