For the last few weeks I've been trying to break into the world of video by trying to break out of my own anxieties about being recorded. At nearly ten years old there are thousands of MeArm videos out there showing the various builds and set ups and only a handful of them have been made by me or by MeArm Robotics. I'd like to change that and use video to support the MeArm and future products. To do this I need to get over my fears. I strongly dislike seeing myself on camera, and even hearing my voice is slightly jarring.
Enter exposure therapy, in the form of a daily video diary (twelve so far and they do get a little better, so be sure to watch them all).
These are as hacky (I mean bad) as you'd expect from someone giving a one take straight to camera with very little in the way of preparation. But even so watching them back (it's so painful for me (and possibly you)), there is some progress and I've definitely learned a lot in the three weeks I've been making these.
They have also had the desired effect, there is now a MeArm build video on YouTube on the MeArm Robotics account, that was filmed on day 9 or 10 of these video diaries.
So they are having the desired effect and getting me to start to make the content that I've been meaning to make for all of these years.
Over the last week I uploaded only two new daily diaries, and this was down to two factors, the first - a technical issue, and the second, being sick of them. The technical issue was sorted fairly quickly. The video wouldn't upload so I passed it through Premier Pro and exported it again. The being sick of them issue is harder, as it has a combination of factors. First and foremost it's a renewal of that dislike of my own face on screen, and second it's a lack of "content", who really wants to hear that I've been cutting MeArms all packing them up all day? Not many people or if they do, not more than once. That's what brought me back here, to the MeArm Blog. This was a great habit in the years from phenoptix to MeArm, and not so much with Mime (video explainer needed of that timeline!). The blog helped me focus and definitely drove creativity. So I'm going to try and combine the two habits moving forwards. A daily blog, and a daily video diary. Combining the two should help with that second issue.
So if you want to see how this unfolds watch this space (and don't forget to like and subscribe!).
Thanks for reading this far and hope to see you around again soon!