It was another "Go Play" day...

... and it had several uses.

Due to the culmination of me finishing my Holiday Rush work and the fact we were at a slow moment of the day, my boss wanted to figure out how we can generate more revenue and get people in the store. My "go... play..." served as both a time waster as well as prove Pinnacle Studio 18 can upload Youtube videos.

Wait, what?

I haven't upgraded to the newest software, as I'm still trying to use figure out the aforementioned editing suite. There are way too many options to clearly make us get the new version. The bells and whistles work fine for now, so we can digitize people's movie reels as well as make one solid streaming video from smart devices (phones, tablets).

Lately, we've been asking the question "where's the next big thing coming from, and how can we obtain it?". So far, people want their phone videos off and playable on a DVD. We can do that. But what's next?

After getting some rare phone calls if we offer a service to help edit videos and post them to Youtube (or any social network), we haven't had the opportunity to fully check it out and set up a payment plan. To be honest, we don't get that much traffic as it is; therefore, with the technological savvy society we (generally speaking) have become, everyone is doing it themselves - posting immediately to Facebook, Instagram, and the like. This was the first phone call in months, asking if we provide any video editing and network sharing. I had to tell the customer we don't, but after a discussion with my boss, it was decided "maybe we should figure it out... there might be a selling option here".

Therefore, off I went; taking my Canon EOS Rebel T3 outside, put the video mode on and my lens on manual focus, and off I shot. I had 9 different clips, because it's hard as hell to see if you're focusing correctly while facing the sun. Because there was very little shade, I was going by (what I hoped was) instinct. You really need to know your camera because the Auto setting can't help you if you "go blindly" into a situation with the thing. Like I've shared in the past with the videos, auto focus can hurt you if you try to do too much video at one time and aren't paying attention. Everything turns out blurry. Therefore, manual focus is your friend, even on the auto setting.

I got back in, after spending a good 20 minutes outside, walking around our lake, imported my videos (it took 10 minutes or so), put three shorter ones together, and did a quick title. I didn't fully edit them, as I was only trying to make a point. After reviewing them, I admit, I'm not too thrilled with it. Given the opportunity to play with the settings more (in my camera), or at least fix the color and use enhancements in Pinnacle. It was a rush job and I stand by my work 100 per cent, but I'm not 100 per cent happy with it. Maybe next week I'll try taking video again, uploading it and editing it, but for today, "it is what it is". At least I learned from this venture today, and can fix my mistakes for the next time. Perhaps as well, it's a learning curve and a teaching tool for what we can do, not only for ourselves, but what new service my work can offer.

Tonight, children, be well, be merry, don't drink too much. Some people are expecting a jolly fat man in a red outfit, to squeeze his gelatin ass down a chimney and deliver presents under a tree. Other people are using it as an excuse to do some catching up with family and friends, while I know other humans that really don't care it's a holiday; they are waiting for the candy to go on sale tomorrow. You get it, buddy!!

Cheers;



Video and photos or it never happened (My laptop monitor isn't calibrated; forgive the discoloration in some):