Sunday fun-day, am I right? Well, not when you’ve left your self-imposed blog-writing too late.

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Week three. The time is flying by, as it always does. I’ve often marvelled at how relentless time is, and how there isn’t much you can do to stop it. Being mindful of the minutes passing doesn’t slow them down, but it helps. But that’s for another day. We’re here to learn design, not the path to enlightenment.

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Today we’re discussing talking to camera and recording videos. In short, it’s both difficult and easy. But it’s only easy after it’s difficult, and never the other way round. Reading from a script, word for word, would make everything a lot easier, but then you lose the all-important natural-ness. I always fixate on someone’s eyes when they’re reading from behind the camera, wondering what they’re reading off, how far away it is, whether it’s moving etc. Without a structure, though, you end up losing your marbles and have to sift through forty-five minutes of rambling and pensive silences in the edit.

All my attempts follow the same trajectory. Start confident, roll off the first few sentences with ease - deceiving myself that this momentum will last. Then it doesn’t last. I overthink the next few lines, repeat them over and over and begin to feel mentally unwell.

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No-one talks about how mental you can feel talking to a camera, especially when repeating lines over an over. For actors or presenters it’s probably normal-ish, but for an average bloke like myself, it’s not normal. It’s like your performing to someone you can’t see, and bad jokes still make the room awkward - even though you’re alone. There’s a presence of an audience, and it makes you nervous. Not NERVOUS, but enough to be self-conscious and adjust your hair. It’s only until this self-consciousness subsides that I can actually record something worthwhile. I need to record something. To miss the schedule two weeks in is just pathetic. WEAK. The failed attempts help shape the video, and the last take contains the majority of what you see in the final product. I may re-say a few lines right after each other, but almost all the editing is done using the final go.

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The edit creates most of the humour and flow. My recordings are usually awkward, self-aware or accidentally in slo-motion. Editing allows you to step out your own head and get to work. A lot of what you thought was important isn’t, and you’re able to determine what is boring or self-indulgent, and what is actually worth sharing. I’m sure you develop a sense of what the audience responds to over time; right now I’m making videos that I find entertaining to watch, and if I watch them over and over without the need to edit, then it’s go to go.

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Frustration. Maybe it’s just my deep-set anger issues, but recording can be super frustrating. A lack of preparation, in all things, is often the primary cause. I get annoyed at my voice, the way I say something, the way I don’t say something, and I get annoyed at getting annoyed. Not very enlightened, bro. There hasn’t been a recording session where I’ve not said “what the fuck am I even doing man” yet. It’s all part of the process. I hope it is part of the process.

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A creator online (@jydezlva) recommends the three-take method, which sounds like a logical approach. By limiting yourself to three attempts, you’re more inclined to ‘lock in’ and work with what you’ve got. It makes sense, otherwise you’ll be repeating lines for hours. It doesn’t work like that in real life, you don’t get to re-record the terrible joke on the work Zoom call. Yet, this imperfection lands well on social media. It closes that gap between your social media persona and the one they’d meet in real life - in theory anyway.

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Creators online often talk about an ‘awkward phase’ when creating content online. I haven’t figured out if they mean the awkwardness of being on camera, or the period in which you’re finding your feet. No longer ‘trying to be a …’ and are now actually a … . At what point do you become that? I now create content, am I a content creator? How much content do you need for that no longer to a question? I’ve noticed our society has a habit of flinching at those who try to do something new. What subsides that - not caring, not stopping, the numbers? The funny thing is, you’ll only ever see the support, and to get any ‘hate’ means you’re actually making real progress. I can’t wait for my first real ‘hater’, I know my mum will 100% reply.

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To anyone thinking of doing something similar, or planning to release work full-stop, I’d really suggest making a schedule and sticking to it. It takes things out of your hands, arrests procrastination. My nature is to leave things right until the last minute. Living in the world of instant-dopamine (which you certainly aren’t getting reading this - you’re welcome), the ‘I’ll do it later’ problem is worse than ever. Tell yourself that if you miss your own deadlines, you’ll never be successful, or worse, you’ll live with regret for ever and ever. It’s dramatic, but unless you love having a boss, deadlines aren’t going to set themselves.

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In truth, I’ve left today’s post a little late. I ought to write these in advance so Sunday is a fun-day. That isn’t the case; I still leave it as last minute as possible. If it reads a little poorly, that’s why. I spent most of today lost in a shopping centre and fighting the urge to spend money on graphic t-shirts (industry research). But, it’s out there - that’s the main thing.

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Lastly, you’ve probably seen this blog layout looks a little different. It’s probably why you’ve even made it this far. It’s mental how I created a design orientated page and posted the most boring layout known to man, twice. Composition is very important in graphic design, apparently. This is practicing with purpose. It makes this blog into a picture book. Let’s be honest, everyone prefers a picture book. If you don’t, you’re probably a software developer.

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That’s a wrap on week three.

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Talk soon.

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Ivan

(06.04.25)