by Amanda Barnard | Oct 14, 2019 | Everything Else, Financial, Jeeps on the Rock, Motivation
I’m excited about the videos that Brad and I have been working on. I told him that I didn’t care if no one enjoyed the videos but me. I have been, and will continue to, appreciate them!
There is no real list of essentials for video equipment, but I can tell you what we have used. I can also say that you can create videos on a small budget, whether it be for fun, or if you have hopes for it to explode.
THE EQUIPMENT
We decided to vlog our family vacation this year, we used an old iphone 6s, that is no longer connected cellularly, as well as a couple of our own current iphones. We also have a Canon EOS 77D DSLR, a DJI Mavic Air drone , and a Gimbal Stabilizer for iPhone.
Just a side note, I am going to say that I absolutely HATE the Gimbal. It seems like it goes haywire and is squirrely. Flipping around like a hamster in the wheel. Maybe it is because I haven’t used it a lot.
But for the record, probably greater than 90% of our entire family video was shot with the iphone 6s.
Then, when we took the Jeep to New Mexico, we filmed everyday to have travel video content. A couple of our friends came along and had a GoPro Hero 7. We were VERY impressed with how stable the footage was, no matter where we placed it.
I had bought a phone kit dash mount from Amazon to put in the cubby on our dash. The camera mount held the GoPro nicely and the footage was not shaky. We also used a suction cup mount on the outside of the window of the Jeep and the film product was 4K resolution, again very stable.
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
I have said and continue to say – start here, go anywhere. Figure out where you are in your journey, and what you want the end result to be. Steven Covey wrote a book called – “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“. The second thing he talks about is to begin with the end in mind.
I heard someone recently talking about a friend visiting Will Smith. He had a window wall with sticky notes all over it. The friend asked what all of it meant and why? Will Smith went on to tell him that it was scenes to his next movie.
Bewildered, his friend asked, “how in the world to you know where to place it all or the order?”
Will said, “oh that part’s easy! I start with the final scene and work backwards!”
My daughter, Savannah, is a make up artist AND she is really good! She has made a few videos with nothing more than her iPhone and iMovie. Check her stuff out here.
THE BUDGET
So if you’re looking for video equipment on a dime or if your budget is more non-existent, get that phone out and get going! Then budget some money and little by little add to your collection, build as you go.
Good luck! I hope to see your content out there soon!
This site may contain affiliate links which may be monetized at no cost to you, For instance, if you link through to Amazon, I may get a kick back for it, but it will in no way change the original cost of any item. So if you happen to shop through my links, thanks in advance for your support! ~Amanda
by Amanda Barnard | Feb 13, 2019 | Everything Else, Family
Have you ever heard of the Marco Polo app? It is an app that records video and then you send it, like a conversation. Then your recipient (or recipients) can reply at their leisure.
I didn’t know anything about it until the other day. I have a group of ministry friends that we all text each other, pray for each other, cry together, laugh together (MOSTLY laugh together), and just basically share life. With some being on the east coast, others being on the west coast, and many in between, makes it difficult to spend time together. We have done well with texting and making time to get together when we can.
Our fearless leader encouraged everyone to download this app. There were several that stated they really didn’t like the app at all, but in light of us connecting, would give it another try.
1. Entertainment
So with the app in commission, the fun began!
Yes I say FUN, because it has been such a joy to be able to hear their voices and see their faces and to reply when I am able.
Let me tell you about the other fun……
I encouraged Brad and all of the kids to download the app! Yes I did and holy cannoli! As of this writing, we have had the app, barely over 24 hours when Brad downloaded it and there were 277 messages! It was hysterical!
I’m not going to just tell you the fun, though. I want to give you more specific details! Because what sounds like fun to me, may not be fun to you! So for the nitty-gritty (presuming you know what “nitty-gritty” means)……
2. Convenience
The app records your message. Then, unlike Snapchat, actually keeps the message. If you have a group chat, those that are online can see the live version. The real convenience is those that are not online can come back to view whenever they have time. Then the other person (or another person from the group) records their own message and it stays at the bottom in a rolling line.
You can delete a video, if you didn’t really like it or messed up while you are recording. But be aware, if someone is online and sees you live, well they saw it – so what. Delete it and go on, that’s what I did. But I didn’t realize people could see you live (*insert face palm).
Another convenient feature is the “2x” button, where it plays the video double time. This is really funny, but very convenient if you have 277 messages to get through, like Brad did. Brittany told us that the 2x button allowed her to get through 62 messages in 6 minutes.
3. Interpretation
How many of you have ever misconstrued a text message? (*raises hand high here) ME! Yep! Another great thing about the video message, you can see the person’s face and hear the message. This allows you to interpret the context much better. the While we all know it can still happen, It leaves much less room for a misunderstanding to take place.
I actually said on the messages today, how much I would have enjoyed an app like this when my mother was still alive, it would have been so much fun! Today, I am appreciating it with my family and friends.
I encourage all of you to try it! I hope you like it as much as I do!
