Camera Capers

 

Several weeks after telling myself that I would be filming a How-To video on making zippered leaders for the Q24 have gone by and I still have not done it. It turns out that making instructional videos is not as easy as it looks. I think I am actually good at delivering the demos on camera - it is the technical side that has been tricky. The camera angles have to be clear and in focus and it is important to have good quality sound. I have got so much gear now that I could probably rival a BBC documentary team. 

I bought a refurbished GoPro from a seller on Ebay. However, the battery door got jammed and bent and the outer case broke. Thankfully, the seller was one who accepted returns and they did not quibble. I was told that they could not fix it and did not have a replacement so they would refund me. Apart from issues with the outside of the camera, I liked it so I spent an entire afternoon trying to source and order another one. Later that evening, I received an email from the original seller informing me that they had managed to fix it and it was on its way back to me. Now I will have to return the replacement when it arrives since I have not managed to stop it from being dispatched!

It occurred to me that I could practise making videos by filming the stages of making a Goosey Guddle block and by doing a short film on how we make overnight “sourdough” bread. Nella became my untrained camera-person and editor-in-chief. She actually made a great job of stitching all of the scenes together and switching camera angles. I don’t know that I am yet You-Tube ready. I may have to get some beta-testers to see if my instructions make sense. 

I have almost made half of the Goosey Guddle blocks for Nella’s autumn quilt. I will have to get a move on as we are now into October and the leaves are starting to fall. I have so much spare fabric that it makes sense to use it on the back. I would like it to be more interesting than simply speedily joining large bits together so I would like it to be pieced in some way. I started by making a super-sized Goosey Guddle block. It is the size of a small quilt and I really had to watch out for bias stretch in the large triangles. 

Since I am teaching myself videography by watching You-Tube, my homework for the week is to learn about B-Roll - seamlessly blending in casual shots from a background camera. Luckily, I have a competent editor (Nella) but one day I will have to learn all this stuff myself…