Hello and Welcome back to 'Boy in a Big World'
I know its been a while since I last posted but life has just been so hectic lately and it has just got the better of me and I am sorry for not keeping you up to date.
Today is going to be the 3rd instalment of Camp Counsellor series, and today its going to be all about the dreaded part of your application but probably the most important part.......... the video.
Now if I'm not mistaken and please do correct me if I'm wrong, most if not all agencies require you to make a video to support your application. And so in this post I'm going to try to help you make your video the best it can be.
I think the video is one of the hardest parts because people are stuck for things to say/do that they haven't already put on their written application. The main thing to remember here is that the video is a way of showing off YOU as a person and your personality as well as a way of BACKING UP ALL THE THINGS YOU SAID ON YOUR APPLICATION.
Note those two parts that I wrote in capitols down, they will come in handy. Trust me.
To make this a tad more easier to understand and digest I am going to break it down into steps so you can work through them and make the most of them. Please don't take my word as law and if you feel like you want to do it differently then please do. This is just advice on how I did and didn't go about mine.
So onto the steps.
1) WRITE A SCRIPT!
Make a list off all the tings you want to cover in your video. Don't worry about the length of the list (you will see why later). Make bullet points or a mind map or anything else but DO get it down in writing so you don't forget anything.
Now I work best when I just talk from bullet points, I feel I sound more natural and relaxed so this was where my script ended but I know people who felt more comfortable writing out exactly what they where going to say and reciting it word for word. It's all about getting your personality across so whichever works best for you.
2) LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Now you know what you want to cover in your video, think about where you want to film it. For me it was a case of filming it against a plain wall in my house but you might want to film in the park or at a place where you do one of your specialist skills e.g. Gymnasium for gymnastics.
Think about things like background noise and other disturbances. If your outside, are you going to be right next to the road with loads of car noise or is it going to be really windy and put you off. If you are filming at the gym is there going to be people walking in front of you or doing distracting things in the background. This was why I decided to film at home, the time when I wanted to film mine, it was raining outside and my camera doesn't like the rain.
Also, if you are filming anywhere that is owned by someone privately, hate to go back to it but.....like the gym.......make sure you have permission to film there, nothing worse than starting to say your script and being shouted at to get out.
3) THE TECHNICAL STUFF
Now I was quite lucky in the fact that I studied media at college for 2 years so I owned a fancy DSLR camera and knew how to edit on fancy software but if you don't have all this then don't worry. Do you have friend of family member that could help maybe? Does you place of work or where you study have eqipment you could borrow? Think outside the box people. If this isn't possible for you, then don't worry. Don't go out and buy an expensive camera. After all its not what you've got, it what you do with it. Your digital camera that you use for holidays will be fine or even your phone, just try to use the back facing camera and be in a quiet area for filming.
4) THE EDIT
This is the hardest bit (in my opinion). Editing is something that I studied for 2 years and still don't understand fully but most computers come with basic editing software now and so get your ass on youtube and find some tutorials for whatever software you have and work through it like that.
Alternatively get someone that's good at editing to do it for you if at all possible. If not, don't worry and just take it slowly.
Now earlier I said don't worry about your script being too long, this is where you will thank me for that. Ideally you want your video to be no more then 2-3 minutes and the more footage you have the easier it will be to make this happen, take out all the footage that you can't hear you in, your forgot your words, the wind was being a pain or you just don't like, take out all the times you said UMMMMM or AHHHHHHH and you will see that your video is already so much shorter.
Now find some music, it makes the whole thing seem so much more professional, try to avoid music with words (especially swear words) and try to make the song up beat and child friendly. avoid heavy beats and think about the final outcome of the video.
5) NOW YOUR DONE.
Sit back relax and if this was your last step before you application was complete then wait to be placed. If not then WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Finish it quick so you can go to America already.
So I hope that helped and here are some quick tips I didn't think fitted under any of the sub heading.
- Wear comfotable clothing that looks reasonably smart. I wore jeans and plaid button up shirt, dont go overly formal with a suit and tie, you will look silly to camp director and this will not play to your strengths.
- Think about light. Try to film on a bright day or in a bright room, it will really make all your footage 1000x better, trust me.
- Don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself (within reason), dress up like a super hero if you think will help, camp is all about having fun and working hard, just makesure you get the balance right.
- Think about who will be watching. Think about what camps you want to attract, if you want to atrract a specialist sailing camp, show off your sailing ability, if you want to go to specialist arts camp, maybe put in some shots of you acctually peforming.
- And finally the most important one again. DON'T WORRY. The camp directors know that we are not all tech savvy master video makers. So don't worry if your video isn't exactly Stephen Speilberg's latest film. Just make sure the content is there, make sure you show your personality and above all HAVE FUN WITH IT.
I think that is all for now, any questions then by all means leave a comment below or email me on jljriley@gmail.com and I will try my best to help.
Please remember my word isn't law and you do whatever you want.
Wishes,
Jack
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