AVCHD vs. XAVC, codecs and wrappers (not candy wrappers!), intra frame, log GOP....
I started researching video cameras a.k.a. camcorders about 3.5 hours ago. There is A LOT to learn!! 
I have learned so very much. And i realize now that i have way more to learn before i can even consider buying a camera! Every camera has its pros and cons depending on what you are using it for and that you want at the end.
 
Some of the features that are important to me:

• a camera that has the capabilities of shooting one long continuous video (so i don't have to spend hours editing 3 to 5 small videos into one)
• has an AC adapter (runs on electricity instead of battery)
• manual exposure control (so i can up the "light" in darker conditions without having to also buy an external light source)
• capability to record high quality in indoor light conditions (so, not grainy and grey)
• has a rotating screen so i can see myself as i record
• potential to use an external mic (if required) or built in mic that can receive voice (clearly) from up to 10 feet away
• manual audio control
• i do not want HD

So now, i just need to find ONE camcorder that does all that. So far i have fully researched a few Sony and a couple Canons and they DO NOT fit the bill, for one reason or another. Tomorrow, i will continue my learning and search. 
Now, i must go rest my brain!
happy Thursday!
hugs
​

Ok, so as it was so aptly put to me a few minutes ago, it is time to let go of "pseudo technology"!!!
I spent 2 hours recording a Restorative yoga video today with some of my "usual" technology issues.

• video stopped recording in the middle of a pose, near the end of my session (but i didn't know because i wasn't looking at screen)
• so i decided "o.k. i guess it is time to learn a more elaborate editing program so i can join segments of video together" and instead of re recording the whole thing, i restarted at the pose where it cut off.
• video randomly stopped recording again, 3 minutes in!
• Sheron comes out of room making Chewbacca sound followed by "TECHNOLOGY!!!" while shaking fists in air.
• Sheron regains composure and starts again.
• This time, phone did not stop recording (phew) until i pressed stop.

So i have a Restorative practice for you..... However; i need to learn a new computer program in order to edit it/splice it together.

i think, the universe is telling me to keep moving forward, keep upping my game, keep learning the next level. So i am also going to start researching other ways of recording videos i.e. camera versus laptop versus phone etc. And unlike this bear, i will not hide in a hole in a tree! I will move forward! I will learn! YES!!
:)
Wish me luck, send me good vibes!

Today i did a lot of editing to an audio version of Savasana i recorded a while back. My goals were:

• get comfortable with editing on my phone
• cut segments out to reduce it to 10 minutes (from 14)

It took 1.50 hours, but i did it. Editing is slow. I have a lot of empathy for those in the music and movie biz now. I get how much work it really is! An hour and a half to trim 4 minutes out of an audio clip! here are some of the why's:

• part of this was also a learning experience. I took my time and i did some trial and error as well.
  
• the editing program that comes with my voice recorder is very basic and the touch screen is way more finicky than a mouse on a computer would be.
  
• if you have been following my blog, you also know that (my) technology is unpredictable so i too my time and saved a copy after each "cut".
  
• and i have to listen tot he recording, make notes as to where i want to make the cut (how many seconds) and then go back and make the edit.
  

All in all it was a great learning experience. I believe that the next step is to learn an audio editing program on my computer. So i will add that to my research list.

:)
Happy Monday!

Today is a day of research and learning.
But first, an update (the reasons "why" i am in research mode today):

• Nourish Wellness, one of the locations i use to teach my in-person classes has, in light of new covid  regulations, changed their operations. These changes do not fit how i teach and who i teach. So for the summer, it doesn't look like i will be teaching classes there.
  
• Courtenay Recreation has not yet made any announcements in regards to yoga classes for the summer session. The chatter right now, is "they might not happen".
• My "covid benefits" are going to run out soon which means, i need to start earning a proper income again fast!

So in light of the 3 realizations above, my brain has been switched to over-drive again. Over the last couple days i have had a couple brain storming sessions with a couple friends/colleagues around "yoga teaching in this new word" and "what gifts has this time of isolation given and how do I carry those forward?". I love love love brain storming sessions, especially when there is space given for ideas to flow freely (mindful listening). When I know that I can just process and blurt stuff out without fear of judgement of ideas being shot down, the juices flow! So i have some ideas that need to percolate now. And as usually happens, more questions have come up, and will probably continue to do so.

My research today is on the capacity of my web site and what upgrading will offer. Some of the ideas i have will require a step up in "bells and whistles". My basic plan will not cut it.

So stay tuned! If any of my ideas are doable, i will let you know. And yes, i will let you know if they are not doable also.
hugs!

I went to the Lewis Centre today to re-record the video that didn't quite work out last week. I planned and even made myself cue cards so i'd remember all the important bits. I had a couple false starts (i am getting used to those now). It felt like it was going smoothly. Well, when i finished and went to press stop, the screen was black, which means, at some point, the camera stopped recording. GAH! So with help from D, we figured out roughly where it stopped and i re-started from that point. I am not 100% sure i got it right. I hope so. Hopefully when the video gets to L, the editor, she can figure out my mishap and "sew" the 2 videos together. HA HA HA!

I am not upset, nor was i at the time of discovery. I am getting used to the random glitches that occur with equipment. Dare i say, i am coming to peace with technology. Well, for today anyways.  ;)

I was in admin brain again today. So i went with it.
There are so many little jobs to be done that can take up a whole day, if I let them. And i did. It feels good to have many of them complete. Filing, sorting, shredding, correlating, organizing, compiling...

I also cleaned up my email;
deleting, sorting, compiling, cross referencing....

Phew! I feel light now.

Happy Thursday!

I was in "admin" brain today so i went with it. I had not been able to complete everything last week so i figured I'd keep going while the momentum was there. I am up to date to the end of March with my financials and 90% of my admin work is done! YAY!

I am looking forward to getting back to recording and am excited for the upcoming projects.

Happy Tuesday!
I hope you are all well and riding the waves of change with ease, grace and gratitude.
hugs!

Happy Friday everyone!
So my recording at Lewis Centre yesterday was challenging. I was not focused and i kept losing the flow. I decided to let it go. So i will go in again next week to re-record. One of the reasons i felt unfocused is that i didn't listen to my intuition when it urged me to make a light plan for the recording - that was also what i stated in my post yesterday! It happens. It sucks when my gut is right and i don't listen. BUT it is another opportunity to learn. So i enter this work day and long weekend with the question: How can i slow down, pause and listen intelligently to the inner cues? How can i be open to receive? 

On the table for today:

• admin stuff - sorting and data entry and tidying all my accounting and admin stuff that i have not looked at for, hmmm, a month
• write the May newsletter for my email list (and hopefully send it out too)

​And before i sign off for the long weekend, a bit about today's photo. I saw a long time friend and student yesterday and her lilac bush was in full glory. The aroma was intoxicating! She clipped a bouquet for me to take home. It is off and on keeping me company while i work. I say off and on because the aroma is incredibly strong and while it is glorious, it feels a little overwhelming at times. The good side of that is that i keep getting up and down from my desk to move it outside, or back inside. I am certain my body will appreciate that by the end of the day.
​Also, this image ended up with a soft focus - accidentally. The lens of my camera was dirty and i didn't know. When i saw the pic i thought "ahhhhh....". I believe this will be a nice combo with the questions above and will form the theme of my long weekend.
"Soft focus and sighs" to all of you! 
​Hugs!

Hi All, Happy Thursday!

A quick note to say that i am heading in to the
Lewis Centre to record another video.

So my "work" today is planning and getting
ready and... recording!

​Woo hoo!

Hugs

I am getting comfortable and skilled at editing videos now on YouTube. I am also getting skilled at pausing while recording when i've made a mistake and starting over. Yay! and Phew!

​The good thing about getting better, is that i am braving some trickier edits - like the video (How To Improvise A Bolster) i just posted (see "expand" page).

I realized that i talked extensively (in the video) about Halfmoon Yoga Products and i put myself into new territory. This product chat could be seen as product endorsement which would put my video into different category AND add extra bits to my video. YouTube's explanation on what qualifies as "product endorsement" is ambiguous. Since i am not likely to get a response to my inquiry into clarification in a timely fashion, i decided to edit out that bit of my video - thereby removing any possibility of confusion. I don't need to get myself in trouble, nor do i want my video to get removed. Plus, from what i was reading, there are legal guidelines outside of just YouTube that need to be followed re product endorsement and i am not yet ready to read that extensively on the subject - especially since i am not actually profiting from the "endorsement"! 
​:)

Well I have to trust there is a reason only one of the four videos I recorded yesterday worked out. Restorative practice? nope. Belly Breath practice? goner. How to make your own yoga blocks? sorry, it didn’t make it either. Sigh. I watched them all to see if anything was salvageable but no.

HOWEVER; “How to improvise a bolster” survived and turned out well. So to the editing table I go. It should be up on my web site and my YouTube Channel tomorrow, that is, unless it somehow meets the same fate as the other fallen videos. HA HA HA!
I can only laugh, sigh, surrender to “what is” and start over.
Boy, am I gonna be resilient after all this!
:)

I had a few hours this morning with an empty house so I decided to record a video. Long story short, the universe was testing me today… “How many things can we mess with until she losses her cool? Until she says I give up?” Well the answer is I don’t know.
Many, many things went wrong

• I decided to shoot a vid with the better camera on my phone (rather than selfie) but this meant that I’d be blind - I would not know if I was off screen at any point. So I tested and tested again. Then I recorded a 30 minute video…. and when I looked at it… my head was somehow cut off at the eyebrows!!
• A parcel was delivered… the dog went mental.
• Part way through recording a shorter video, it just stopped recording (but I didn’t know until after).

There were other things, big and small, but I think you catch my drift. After each mishap, I had a moment of frustration, I might have even swore a couple times, but I dusted myself off and started over. This appears to be the new theme in my life. So I didn’t reach my limit! Woo hoo! The thing that finally forced me to stop was a roaring sound of a chain saw or some other loud power tool outside my house. That I could not work with.

So the lesson in all this?
I AM COMMITTED to making these videos!
I AM COMMITTED to sharing!

I am still feeling a little raw so I won’t look at the videos today. I need some space. But if something was salvageable from my 3.50 hours of work, I will post it!

Hugs!

Today i discovered a new use for my tripod!
As i mentioned in a previous post, i have been doing some yoga training. Watching videos on our big computer is o.k. but there is usually a lot happening in our house and even if it is 'quiet', there is dog hair all over (and often a dog to go with it). So i like to practice in a dog-free zone, where i can close the door. I decided to move my training sessions to my phone. Now i am portable!

But, where to place the phone so i can see it? And how to hold the phone while i practice?!
I know the answer to that!!   ;)

Yes, the image you see on my phone is of one of my videos -
i figured that was a copyright safe image!
And, no, my room is not iridescent blue. Just me playing with photo edit to jazz up an otherwise drab photo. 

So thanks again to all those that have contributed! I am getting a lot of use out of my new equipment!
​:)

I had this list of things i wanted to report to you... and now that i am at the computer, i can't remember all of them! Oh well.
 
My arm/hand is still not interested in computer work. It is giving me the opportunity to sit with "surrender to what is" and "be open to new". 

• I edited one audio and i have started the process of editing another  
• i had a great brain-storming session with a friend re rearranging my "studio" to make the recording a little more efficient. I will give that a go next week
• i have signed up for some on-line training (yoga)

and my wrist says "no more!" so i guess it is good i forgot those other things i wanted to say.
Happy Thursday!
​Hugs

OH! OH! I JUST REMEMBERED!!! My second Courtenay Rec yoga video has been edited and uploaded! I will head over to my "expand" page right now, it get it on there!
​:)

Thank you everyone for sending me those kind words and good healing vibes! Whatever is going on with my right arm (tendinitis?) is getting better. I am still only mousing with my left hand and keeping typing to a minimum as my arm starts to ache after a couple minutes. So it'll be another short update today. 

The house is mine for a couple hours so i am heading to my "studio" to set up and attempt to record the video that flopped last week. 
If you are reading this on May 5th around mid day, send me some good recording vibes please. 
​
If my arm is feeling up to it, i will update later. Otherwise, see you tomorrow!

hugs!

***UPDATE***
well, it took 1.50 to record plus 1.25 hours to edit and upload a 13 minute video. HA HA HA! And that is not counting the first go at this that flopped (see Day 25). 
Savasana is now ready for your viewing (and practicing pleasure). 
May your body and mind be relieved of stress. Enjoy the practice. 

Tendinitis still alive and well in my right arm so this will be short...
May 2
Script in hand, i decided to record an audio practice (way less set up). So how to hold the script up at eye level (so i can read without having to tip my head down to read at a table - not good for my neck). Introducing..... The Script Holder 2000! Ha ha. I blue goo-ed a long ruler to my tripod and then blue goo-ed my script to the ruler. Success!!

NOTE: no, my walls and carpet are not hot pink, i just needed to add some fun colour to a drab image.

So this means, i have an audio practice to edit now. My intention is to upload it to Insight Timer. And this statement should help give me a nudge to complete my account set up and take this next plunge. 

:)

Hi All! I am not quite back to 100% re tendinitis. So i will keep my posts short.
April 30th
I had the house to myself, so i set to work with recording my new video. Long, long, story short it was a flop. Nothing was going right for me that day. So i spent 2 hours with nothing to (literally) show at the end. I was off my game and the universe was testing my patience. The universe won that round as i was cranky for a couple hours after. Now, i look back and think, "meh, whatever. It is what it is. I was doing the best i could with the tools and skills and time i had available at that time. I will just do it again." I am grateful that the pain of that day didn't turn me off this endeavour forever!

:)