Showing posts with label The virtual storyteller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The virtual storyteller. Show all posts

Saturday, January 23, 2021

The Touring Performer - January 2021 Edition

I can spend every evening like this!

 Last January, I wrote a post about how I was preparing to put thousands upon thousands of miles on my car. I was giving tips about surviving the incoming touring season which typically lasts from February to May.

In fact, over the last decade, I've written similar posts. These are as much to remind me about how to survive my schedule as it is to share with others how I manage it.

Not this year.


This year's workflow is very different.




1. I don't even know most shows are happening - The David changes the passwords on the pre-recorded shows on Sunday. Everyone who has a show booked that week gets the new password for the link, and they have access for seven days, He turns the links "on" and "off" as needed.


2. I have to edit particular intros or outros. - The David sends me images or video clips for specific venues. I edit them into the pre-existing packaged show, upload the altered show into Vimeo and The David sends the link to the particular venue.


"I think she's frozen!"
3. I have a new show or shows coming on-line, so I have to record, edit, and upload new material - I head upstairs to the studio, record the necessary material, come downstairs to the kitchen table, load the footage into my computer, edit it, compose the set, put a copy on my external drive, upload the content into Vimeo, and interact with it like step 1 or step 2.

4. I have a festival coming up where they want pre-recorded sets - I follow step three, organize the information, and send the sets to a dropbox. 

5. I have live/virtual shows - The night before the show, I go upstairs to my studio, check to make sure the background I've got on the frame is the background I want to use, make sure I have my video camera charged because I record me performing for the computer and then I edit the recorded live zoom show and upload it into Vimeo. The school then has access to the recording of me live/virtual telling to them for seven days.

I have a hate/love relationship with Live/Virtual

There are so many things that can go wrong with this set-up!

1. The internet on one end or the other gives up because of Gremlins.

2. The internet slows down because of Gremlins

3. The connection is bad because of Gremlins.

4. People randomly unmute themselves because of people.

5. The sound goes wonky because of Gremlins.

6. The people in their little boxes forget that you can see them and they do something.....because of people.

7. The children in their little boxes totally know they can see you so they do something....because of children.

8. You are totally distracted by the people in the boxes and you lose your concentration.

9. You are totally distracted by yourself looking back at you and you lose your concentration.

10. Your neighbor decides to cut down the tree in his backyard in the middle of your set because of neighbors.

11. Some random dog decides now is the time to express his displeasure at the clouds because of nature.

We are not a quiet bunch!

12. Your son and husband start having a great, loving, loud, silly conversation in the kitchen and you have to leave the set, and remind them you are performing live. They are covered with chagrin because they didn't know they were that loud...family.

13. Pets. Let's just leave it at that.





The Bottom Line?

It is just as exhausting.

I'd rather not have to do it.

I am enjoying it. 

Live Zoom is Exhausting!
Yes, I do see the appeal of live telling. The kids can see each other and me and they can interact. There are some things that make it tricky, like when they decide to unmute themselves when they are supposed to be joining me or doing call and response. I love to hear the voices, but they come in at all different speeds and at different times depending on what's happening on their computer.

It makes a cacophony of sounds that I must stop and wait for because kids who either didn't or couldn't unmute also hear it at different times. The pauses are odd and the rhythm of the story gets wonky. Still, it is kind of fun to watch the kids grooving out to storytelling.

They are at home, so nobody is making them sit still. Some kids go full Charleston Boogie. Some kids don't respond at all other than to stare at me unmoving. 

I've watched twins fight over the best viewing spot to see the screen while I'm telling. I watched one little girl act out each and every story enthusiastically a second after the narration.

People who are really into stories are the most fascinating, distracting, amazing things to watch. I'm enjoying a show while I'm presenting a show!

There are some wonderful things about this brave new touring world.

This is the easiest touring schedule I've ever had.

I fill up my car about once a month instead of two times a day.

As for the grueling commute...There are about a dozen stairs I have to climb. Think about my FiftyThree-year-old knees!

Yeah, I don't feel sorry for me either.

I have never toured so extensively and to so many countries and still managed to sleep in my own bed every single night! 

I actually like The David. I'm glad we get to spend time together!

I am enjoying this as much as I can while I can!


Happy Commuting.


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Thursday, November 5, 2020

Part 8: The Virtual Storyteller - The Internet Gods Are Not Always Kind

 

source

Okay!


You've invested, designed, and marketed this beast!


You've defined, discussed, and practiced your approach!


You've uploaded content.


Tonight, you have a live show!

So, let's get ready!



There are any number of things that can go catawampus during a live show. The internet cuts out. The camera does something odd, the computer starts acting strange, you can't hear anybody, they can't hear you, the camera freezes, etc. etc. etc.

Well, there are some things you can do to give yourself the best possible chance of having a successful live show:

1. Make sure you have a good internet connection! If you have been limping by, or you have not invested in a really strong connection or server - do it. If you live in a place with not great connectivity, see if there is a way to get to a safe place that has better connectivity.

2. Close all tabs. Don't make your machine do more work than it has to do. Close your games, your open internet tabs, and anything else that might occupy your computer. 

3. Always check everything before you get ready to perform. Check your lights, background, microphone. Use the camera on your device to see how the setting looks so you won't have to scramble around right before the event begins.

4. If you find a place that is ideal for the internet in your space, try to make that your performance space if at all possible. (Hopefully it is not up near the ceiling above your laundry machines or something equally annoying.)

5. Make sure you practice that story for the little box you are going to be in! Make sure you are performing to the camera and that you are comfortable and relaxed.


Even with all of the preparation, the internet gods are not always kind, if something goes awry:


source


1. Don't panic - You are not the first, nor will you be the last person who has to deal with a technical error. We understand. We will wait.


2. If you get kicked off the internet, take a deep breath, make sure your tabs are closed and that your computer is connected, and get back on.


3. If your audio goes haywire, sometimes you have to stop, disconnect and reconnect. Sometimes if you stop and wait, it will sort itself. Sometimes speaking slower is the answer.


4. Make sure you are muted if you are not speaking. I've been on several live events where technical problems are suspected, but it is actually someone's live mic.


5. Make sure you are not near someone else who is on a different device on the same link. The feedback can get scary!


6. No matter what happens - Don't Panic! You are not the first person to have technical problems, and you will not be the last.

(an aside, if I may, I do love  Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy!)


Wishing You Luck and Hoping You Don't Need It!


Happy Live-Virtual Telling!






Part 9: The Virtual Storyteller - We Are An Evolving Business







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Thursday, October 15, 2020

Part 6: The Virtual Storyteller - I'm a Teller Not a Film Editor!

 I remember the first time I opened Imovie. Yes, it was six years ago. I was in Canada freezing my tuckus off and I made a video about the freezing weather.

It was the first video I'd ever shot on my computer. I downloaded Imovie because it was free, and I "produced" a little short that ended up on my Facebook page.

I was very proud of myself.

After that, I did a few videos that I uploaded to Youtube. Here is one of those old videos:



I can't tell you where I shot that or anything else about it, but I do know I did it in Imovie.

I was pretty impressed with my new skills but not so enamored of them that I continued to do movies much after that.

No, I didn't have much use for the whole video story connection.

Fast forward to 2020. 

I opened Imovie again for the first time in six years and had to start all over. Nothing about it was familiar.

I have no idea what other people have on hand if they are not mac folk.

I sent out an SOS to the internet. Someone suggested I use Adobe.

Adobe? Right. That's why I have children. If I need something in Adobe, I'll just ask them.

Brainstorm! I'll shoot videos and let my kids edit them. If they balk, I'll start talking about how I had hyperemesis with both of them and they owe me.

No, I would never do such a thing. I'm talking about the hyperemesis, not asking them to do things for me. 

After letting my son edit my first video series back in March, I decided I should learn the software and do it myself.

Back to Imovie and video tutorials like this one:



So, that's the end of this post...

No, just kidding.

Once I started using Imovie, I discovered it wasn't as flexible as I needed it to be, and besides that, the dang thing kept crashing. 

So, I upgraded to Final Cut Pro.

I love Final Cut Pro.

This post, however, is not about the software. Use what you like. This post is about what I've found effective in editing, and what I have found to be ineffective.


My experience with editing has led me to these conclusions:


1. You can edit out every pause, and smack, and slip of the tongue and produce perfect looking videos. Yes, you can, but it is not natural. The humanness of the story is in your humanity. Humanity is not perfect.

2. You can edit in the midst of a story, but be very wary of where you start from and where you end.
Matching your hand gestures, tone, and such is tricky.

3. If you must edit internally, it is more important to match your voice than your hands, gestures, and the tilt of your head. Try this - Close your eyes. Can you hear the edit? If you can "hear" the edit, then you should reconsider that section. (A tip from my son)

4. Listen to your edited footage...more than once. I had some bad edits when I first began and luckily they were caught by people who love me before they were widely distributed!

5. Whenever possible, I do the story in a single take. I perform as if there is an audience present, and I just get through the tale. I can always go back and edit out things if I hate them, but I much prefer the single take to multiple edits in the story.

6. If I get too flustered and can't get through a tale, I stop and move on to a different story, or I stop for an hour or the day.

7. I stop when I get tired. It comes across in the recording

8. I stop when I get frustrated. It comes across in the recording

9. I stop when I am feeling stressed. It comes across in the recording. 

10. It is perfectly okay to hate the sound of your own voice. Get another set of ears on it before you erase it in a fit of anger or disgust!

11. Recording yourself and editing the product is incredibly exhausting. Monitor yourself. Keep hydrated, and make sure you take enough breaks to keep the work fresh

A few hints -

1. Before I start speaking, I pause, give the camera a huge smile, and hold it for two seconds. I end the same way. That way, I will have a visual cue as to where the actual recording is starting and ending.

2. I use fades between stories as well as at the beginning and end of clips. I give the audience at least three seconds to reset before the next story. More if it is a particularly heavy one.

3. I offer custom introductions to venues for the videos

4. I offer live Q&A or discussion for an extra charge if you get a pre-recorded show....

Wait!

I've strayed into marketing with the last two statements. Oy. This business of editing and marketing and how you work this all bleeds into each other!

Okay.

Time to edit this post.

Next Week...How to market the Virtual Storyteller!

See you then!

Happy Recording!



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