Hello.
I just realized last week that I never shared the video I made updating you on my 2014 project life. I started working on it the week we moved and got it finished, but with everything going on completely forgot to share it on my blog.
Of course its outdated now, well, sort of. What I mean is we are on week 18 so I should be working on at least week 16, but the truth is, I haven't done my project life since I've moved. GASP! It actually does stress me out because I have more then two months to sort through. I'm trying not to let it overwhelm me or I think I will just completely give it up.
Sigh.
Definitely giving myself permission to be way way behind and catch up as I can. I'm heading out of town this weekend and hope to do a lot of PL work on the go.
So what you see in the video is all I've completed so far for 2014, but just so you're aware I filmed it back on week 9.
PL | 2014 update from Amy gretchen on Vimeo.
Are you doing Project Life? If so are you up to date?
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
city library
Have I told you lately how in love I am with creating little films?
It all started back in 2012 when I made this film of my experience at Squam. I put it together on a whim because I wanted to do something different with my photos and since I had taken some video I thought I would give it a go. I loved it. I absolutely loved the whole process of finding the photos/footage, to choosing the music to set the mood, and compiling it all to tell a story in a whole new way.
After that experience I was hooked. I had felt stagnant for far too long and it was helping to push me forward and get me out of my comfort zone. It challenged me creatively and was exactly what I was craving.
It was probably good I was too excited to actually think about all that was involved in learning this new skill. I mean, I knew nothing about film except how to hit record (who am I kidding, I still don't know much) so I didn't really think about the massive learning curve, but I was determined.
So as I share this latest film I shot in February and started working on just before we moved, I thought I would share just a little about what I've learned so far (still have a long long way to go) on my journey to creating films.
01) switching my brain
I think in terms of photographs. I always have. I walk around town or in my home and I picture life in still frames, attempting to capture that one perfect moment from the scene. I have found, at least for me, video to be quite a different beast, which is why I wanted to tackle it in the first place. So my first obstacle was to switch my brain from thinking in terms of photographs or still moments, to video footage or moments with movement. It was actually a lot more challenging than I thought. They are similar in nature, but they are quite different in execution.
02) remembering to take the video
Remembering to take the video was my second obstacle. You'd think it would be the easiest, but it was almost one of the hardest. Because I thought only in photographs, I'd simply get so caught up in what I was shooting that I would forget to capture video, which meant I didn't have the footage I needed so I ended up making more slide show type films (most of these never got finished), but I wanted to make them so I would learn about putting a story together.
03) stop motion
Xanthe Berkeley's Time Capsules taught me you can make a lovely film even without video footage. Instead of capturing video just shoot a ton of photos one right after another (rapidfire) and when you put them all together it almost looks like video, but with its own special flair. I love the way it looks. This is my first stop motion film. It's rough and has a lot of flaws, but it served it's purpose by teaching me a great deal.
04) storyboarding
When I shoot photographs I don't think about it. I just go out and shoot and take the pictures that stand out to me. It's not until I'm home looking through and editing my photos that the story emerges. I don't have to find it or think about it, it just comes on it's own in one shot. It wasn't always like that, but it is now. Well, unfortunately I don't find that to be the case with video. When I first started capturing videos I would choose random things I thought would be good, but often times when I got home I realized I didn't have the footage I wanted or needed to tell the story I found in my photographs. Realizing I had to put more work into this, I started approaching my project with a story already in mind, that way it would help me capture the footage I thought would be best to tell that particular story. Again, something I had to learn to do ahead of time, begin with the end in mind.
05) learning the software
I actually love learning new software. In fact, it's almost a hobby of mine. I don't watch TV any more, instead I spend that time, no kidding, watching online videos on how to learn software. I use the services from lynda.com so I have a plethora of options to choose from. Sometimes I even watch videos on software I don't even own just because. Yeah, I know I'm a dork. Anyway, back to my narrative. There are a lot of choices out there for editing video and I've tried a few except for the mac only ones, which by the way i would love to try. I decided on Premiere Pro and man what a beast it is when you first get started, but once you get the hang of it and understand a little how it's set up and how it works it's really not so bad. I picked it up pretty quickly just from my experiences with other Adobe software, although pretty quickly still put a wrench in my learning curve and has slowed down my process.
06) time
Anything worth anything takes time, right? And so it is with film. I think this is the biggest lesson I've learned so far because I totally underestimated the amount of time it would take to not only go through my photos and edit them, but scanning through hours of video footage to find just the right clip I was looking for. It's time consuming. Really time consuming, and then putting it all together takes even more time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I actually love the process, however, this is my excuse for why I have far too much footage on my computer just waiting to get used. TIME. I need more of it. How about you?
Have you ever thought of making films with your photographs?
Happy Friday! Have an excellent weekend friends.
xo
It all started back in 2012 when I made this film of my experience at Squam. I put it together on a whim because I wanted to do something different with my photos and since I had taken some video I thought I would give it a go. I loved it. I absolutely loved the whole process of finding the photos/footage, to choosing the music to set the mood, and compiling it all to tell a story in a whole new way.
After that experience I was hooked. I had felt stagnant for far too long and it was helping to push me forward and get me out of my comfort zone. It challenged me creatively and was exactly what I was craving.
It was probably good I was too excited to actually think about all that was involved in learning this new skill. I mean, I knew nothing about film except how to hit record (who am I kidding, I still don't know much) so I didn't really think about the massive learning curve, but I was determined.
So as I share this latest film I shot in February and started working on just before we moved, I thought I would share just a little about what I've learned so far (still have a long long way to go) on my journey to creating films.
01) switching my brain
I think in terms of photographs. I always have. I walk around town or in my home and I picture life in still frames, attempting to capture that one perfect moment from the scene. I have found, at least for me, video to be quite a different beast, which is why I wanted to tackle it in the first place. So my first obstacle was to switch my brain from thinking in terms of photographs or still moments, to video footage or moments with movement. It was actually a lot more challenging than I thought. They are similar in nature, but they are quite different in execution.
02) remembering to take the video
Remembering to take the video was my second obstacle. You'd think it would be the easiest, but it was almost one of the hardest. Because I thought only in photographs, I'd simply get so caught up in what I was shooting that I would forget to capture video, which meant I didn't have the footage I needed so I ended up making more slide show type films (most of these never got finished), but I wanted to make them so I would learn about putting a story together.
03) stop motion
Xanthe Berkeley's Time Capsules taught me you can make a lovely film even without video footage. Instead of capturing video just shoot a ton of photos one right after another (rapidfire) and when you put them all together it almost looks like video, but with its own special flair. I love the way it looks. This is my first stop motion film. It's rough and has a lot of flaws, but it served it's purpose by teaching me a great deal.
04) storyboarding
When I shoot photographs I don't think about it. I just go out and shoot and take the pictures that stand out to me. It's not until I'm home looking through and editing my photos that the story emerges. I don't have to find it or think about it, it just comes on it's own in one shot. It wasn't always like that, but it is now. Well, unfortunately I don't find that to be the case with video. When I first started capturing videos I would choose random things I thought would be good, but often times when I got home I realized I didn't have the footage I wanted or needed to tell the story I found in my photographs. Realizing I had to put more work into this, I started approaching my project with a story already in mind, that way it would help me capture the footage I thought would be best to tell that particular story. Again, something I had to learn to do ahead of time, begin with the end in mind.
05) learning the software
I actually love learning new software. In fact, it's almost a hobby of mine. I don't watch TV any more, instead I spend that time, no kidding, watching online videos on how to learn software. I use the services from lynda.com so I have a plethora of options to choose from. Sometimes I even watch videos on software I don't even own just because. Yeah, I know I'm a dork. Anyway, back to my narrative. There are a lot of choices out there for editing video and I've tried a few except for the mac only ones, which by the way i would love to try. I decided on Premiere Pro and man what a beast it is when you first get started, but once you get the hang of it and understand a little how it's set up and how it works it's really not so bad. I picked it up pretty quickly just from my experiences with other Adobe software, although pretty quickly still put a wrench in my learning curve and has slowed down my process.
06) time
Anything worth anything takes time, right? And so it is with film. I think this is the biggest lesson I've learned so far because I totally underestimated the amount of time it would take to not only go through my photos and edit them, but scanning through hours of video footage to find just the right clip I was looking for. It's time consuming. Really time consuming, and then putting it all together takes even more time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I actually love the process, however, this is my excuse for why I have far too much footage on my computer just waiting to get used. TIME. I need more of it. How about you?
Have you ever thought of making films with your photographs?
Happy Friday! Have an excellent weekend friends.
xo
Saturday, April 12, 2014
12of12 | April
[click here to enlarge]
01. Bella welcoming in the morning light before heading out for bagel day.
02. Megan and Tess were making their cousin Lewis laugh by spinning on the barstools.
03. Megan filling up the page with thought. (More on this new tradition to come.)
04. At the soccer game Tess and her friend hung out with their most favorite school teacher. This woman was a God send for all my girls, but especially Tess.
05. Blossoms. They have started to emerge in our yard.
06. We watched my nephew Lewis today. This was him totally engaged in the soccer game.
07. Megan had a soccer game and scored a goal. Go Megan go!
08. Little Lewis absolutely loves Adam. It's so sweet the way he calls him "uncle" and loves rough housing with him. All afternoon I kept hearing him say, "where's uncle?"
09. Bella had her friends over for lunch and then they talked the rest of the day until they decided it was time to get out and enjoy the day.
10. Adam busied himself with small house projects like installing the screen doors. Perfect timing too. Couldn't have been a better day to have the doors open.
11. Megan rollerbladed and I borrowed Sidney's (Bella's friend) long board.
12. We saw these delicate flowers along the way -- oh and bunnies to.
It was a lovely day and although I can't say I was productive at all, I felt like I got stuff done. I think it was the time spent with others that made it feel full.
I hope you had a great day and I hope you will be willing to share with us your photos in the Facebook group. If you haven't joined yet, but would like to go here.
xo
xo
Reminder
First off I just want to apologize for my absence. Like I said in my post yesterday not having my studio set up, my back injury, & my move have taken me offline completely. Can't say I'm all disappointed as it's nice to get a break every now and again, but I didn't anticipate it taking so long.
But for what it's worth, I'm back. :)
I also want to remind those of you playing along that Saturday is the 12th. Remember it's never too late start.
Looking forward to seeing this 12of12 through to the end.
Enjoy your day!
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
lately
I'm still unpacking. There are many reasons for this 1) I hurt my back and 2) I have everything I need already so why unload mor, right? I'm debating whether or not I should take the full boxes I have left and donate them -- something lovely about simplifying and only keeping what you need.
I'm healing. After injuring my back due to the move and shuffling around boxes I am still on the mend. I thought I was better for the most part, but I pushed myself this morning during my workout and have been feeling it all day. Once again I'm taking it easy.
I'm spring breaking. Last week the five of us left town. First we stopped in Las Vegas -- Adam had a conference and so the girls and I went along for the ride. Then we hit southern Utah. It was a great break and nice to get away from the boxes for awhile.
I'm sneezing. Sadly my allergies are hitting me hard this season. Not sure why some years are worse than others, but this appears to be a bad one.
I'm feeling daunted. My studio, while it's an amazing space, (I'm just now realizing I really haven't shown proper photos of my home remodel -- I will I promise) it doesn't have near the storage I had in Bernard's house (the endearing name adam has given our last home). So I'm giving lots away, and when I say lots I mean like 1/2, and trying to find creative places for the rest. The problems is there's supplies everywhere right now so my ability to work is, well, lacking. I wish for a moment I could be like Mary Poppins and snapping my fingers would move everything to it's proper place -- but then again I don't. One of the most exciting parts about moving into a new space is putting it all together.
I'm stressing about being behind on my project life. I try not to think in terms of behind, but I haven't work on or even looked at my photos since the beginning of March. No joke. Remember how I was suppose to post my 12of12 collage from March? Well I still haven't uploaded those photos onto my computer. So ya, the thought of going through a month worth of photos is very daunting and sadly I still do nothing. Does that ever happen to you? You have so much to do that you end up doing something else like reading? I hate when I procrastinate, especially something like this because I really want to work on it. I think it will be helpful if I clear off my desk and give PL space.
I'm mourning the lost of my canon 24-70L lens. :( It's falling apart, quite literally. I'm frustrated because this is the lens I spend hundreds of dollars getting fixed last April. So far pictureline won't do anything to help me -- I'm out money for the repair and the lens. Not sure what to do?
I'm exploring our new yard and it's surroundings. It's brought with it a lot more wildlife than we had before. I hope I never get use to seeing deer run up the hill or the squirrels running across the cables. The trees have not yet bloomed, but I look forward to their coming out party.
I've been playing the games monument valley and 2048 on my ipad. Check them out, but be forewarned, both games are very addicting.
Hope spring is treating you nicely. Would love to hear what is going on in your life lately. It's been far to long my friends.
xo
I'm healing. After injuring my back due to the move and shuffling around boxes I am still on the mend. I thought I was better for the most part, but I pushed myself this morning during my workout and have been feeling it all day. Once again I'm taking it easy.
I'm spring breaking. Last week the five of us left town. First we stopped in Las Vegas -- Adam had a conference and so the girls and I went along for the ride. Then we hit southern Utah. It was a great break and nice to get away from the boxes for awhile.
I'm sneezing. Sadly my allergies are hitting me hard this season. Not sure why some years are worse than others, but this appears to be a bad one.
I'm feeling daunted. My studio, while it's an amazing space, (I'm just now realizing I really haven't shown proper photos of my home remodel -- I will I promise) it doesn't have near the storage I had in Bernard's house (the endearing name adam has given our last home). So I'm giving lots away, and when I say lots I mean like 1/2, and trying to find creative places for the rest. The problems is there's supplies everywhere right now so my ability to work is, well, lacking. I wish for a moment I could be like Mary Poppins and snapping my fingers would move everything to it's proper place -- but then again I don't. One of the most exciting parts about moving into a new space is putting it all together.
I'm stressing about being behind on my project life. I try not to think in terms of behind, but I haven't work on or even looked at my photos since the beginning of March. No joke. Remember how I was suppose to post my 12of12 collage from March? Well I still haven't uploaded those photos onto my computer. So ya, the thought of going through a month worth of photos is very daunting and sadly I still do nothing. Does that ever happen to you? You have so much to do that you end up doing something else like reading? I hate when I procrastinate, especially something like this because I really want to work on it. I think it will be helpful if I clear off my desk and give PL space.
I'm mourning the lost of my canon 24-70L lens. :( It's falling apart, quite literally. I'm frustrated because this is the lens I spend hundreds of dollars getting fixed last April. So far pictureline won't do anything to help me -- I'm out money for the repair and the lens. Not sure what to do?
I'm exploring our new yard and it's surroundings. It's brought with it a lot more wildlife than we had before. I hope I never get use to seeing deer run up the hill or the squirrels running across the cables. The trees have not yet bloomed, but I look forward to their coming out party.
I've been playing the games monument valley and 2048 on my ipad. Check them out, but be forewarned, both games are very addicting.
Hope spring is treating you nicely. Would love to hear what is going on in your life lately. It's been far to long my friends.
xo
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