It’s the middle of the night (or more like the wee hours of the morning) and I’m awake… again. Is there a better time to jot down a few thoughts? I don’t think so! And what I’m thinking right now is that I’ve put the cart before the horse. Aren’t you supposed to start a blog and THEN go on YouTube?
mid 2022
I was newish to social media… a late joiner. But two years ago, I took the plunge and finally started a YouTube channel. Since then I’ve fallen in love with everything that is vlogging. I love talking to the camera, filming all my adventures, creating my b-roll. And most of all, I love the editing process. That’s when I finally stumble on the meaning. It isn’t until I’m actually editing that I fully determine the direction of each video. It’s often a particular shot that fires my imagination, the backlighting, an unexpected moment. I go through my catalogue of music, and then inspiration hits. I watch the footage back and re-sequence it. Something is unlocked, and then I think, “Ok, I know what to do with this video now”. I create the intro, I add my voiceovers, I finalise the music. And it all comes together.
When I upload the completed video, I experience a profound sense of relief that I’ve created something and put it out into the world. I need to create… continuously. It’s like breathing to me. I’m sharing a piece of myself and hoping that others will connect with it. It’s an amazing feeling when people like and comment. They’re telling me that the video has hit the mark. That it resonates with their lives. And I love it!!
Road block
The one part of the process that I truly suck at is the planning. I just want to skip over this step because it feels hard. I have an idea. I get excited about that idea. I can’t wait to start filming. And this is bad, very bad. Filming without a good plan is asking for trouble. It leads to a lot of unnecessary recording and missed footage (Damn why didn’t I do those “before” shots, cause I really need them for the “after” shots to make sense?). It also means spending way more effort editing, doing reshoots and patching it all together.
So, this blog…. It’s my attempt at getting my thoughts together, writing them down and organising them into something coherent. And hopefully, this will be my first step in the planning of my videos. Or at least trying to understand what they are about before I press record. I need this discipline!
The story behind the story
When I’m filming videos, there are often themes that I want to explore further and simply don’t have the time or energy to do so. Or maybe it’s something that just feels too personal to talk about on camera. Somehow putting it into writing provides a buffer, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.
Also, I’m greedy! I want more out of the creative process. If I can’t include all the nuance in my videos, than I can express it here… explore, extend, connect the dots, see the bigger picture. So I’m hoping that this blog will be a companion to my videos and provide another access point. A window into my crazy little world.
And speaking of being a bit mad, I also have a shit load of “stuff” from my past that I’m still processing. So I’m pretty sure some of that will end up in this blog.
You’re here!
If you found your way here from my YouTube channel…hello! You are likely part of a small but fantastic group of people who regularly and thoughtfully comment on my videos. If you’re into the written word, I hope you’ll join me on this platform to explore and hopefully understand on a deeper level, what we are trying to change in our lives and why. And how we believe those changes will make our lives better.
And if you’re completely new to tea with Lilibet, also welcome! I’m a writer who has never really published anything before. But this feels really natural. And I already have too many words that want to find their way onto the page. Like I said, I’m a late joiner.
I want to know what you think too. So please, please, please comment on this and futures posts! Because this blog is all about connecting with you. Thanks for being here with me. And I look forward to many more conversations with you.
Lilibet xo