I spent this morning finishing off the last of the Foundations voice-overs in the makeshift voice recording studio. Although my moving blanket cubicle was getting a bit claustrophobic by lunch time, I was excited to be completing these last few parts.
I’ll confess that our video making process is a bit goofy. First, I organized my ideas into an outline which Mike and I discussed at length. Then we created a rough shot list for the sections. During the week long shoot, I intentionally did not acknowledge the camera while Mike recorded me working as naturally as possible. (There were many pauses to change camera angles.) The next week, we got together and watched every single clip to discuss how they would be cut and arranged. After those meetings, Mike took my computer to his house and has been editing the footage according to our plan. He sends me each chapter’s rough edit so I can write the commentary. Although I’ve put a lot of thought into my observations, I’ve built flexibility in the comments so as not to shackle my voice into “Narrator” mode. I then put the screen away and climb into my recording cubicle. I record the voice-over into the audio recorder without anyone else around. With all distractions eliminated, I’m able to freely talk through each chapter guided by my notes. The audio files get sent to Mike, who arranges the commentary into its logical place and cuts out all my false starts and “Arg. And again…” moments. His work not uncommonly involves adding more visuals to provide room for my commentary. With the voice-overs dubbed in, I watch the chapters again to see if any changes are necessary. This is the stage we are at now.
All that’s left after that is to review the thing in toto and export it to our Vimeo page. We are also going to be doing a run of DVDs and are hoping to have them ready by WIA. We’re on track for that as long as we can avoid any major hiccups.
I can’t say this is necessarily the most efficient way to make a woodworking video, but it’s getting us the unique presentation we set out to provide. I am very pleased with the way this is turning out and this time next week, I think you’ll be agreeing.
- Joshua