She corrected me in her latest video, intentionally or not, making it clear that she had not purchased a new camera, but rather and app for her phone which basically keeps track of her movements, something akin to the more old fashioned dolly used in movies and tv to pan along with a character in a scene.
She apparently planned to use this visual toy before this, but a forecast of rain dissuaded her.
Her video blog has replaced the print blog I followed for several years, and she clearly has a talent for it, and she is so photogenic, she can’t help but attract viewers.
She is also growing into the medium, having learned how to speak to the camera, not a hard lesson for her who has spent so much time on stage and as a performer – although the earliest efforts on this blog were basically a series of long shots, of her walking her dog or a study of nature in an urban environment, followed by a few videos narrated via text. So, by the time her of current video, she seems unintimidated, even giddy when talking to her audience.
Structure is something she seems to be still working out, crafting her own model as an organizational tool – especially in regard to her horse and travel pieces.
As I noted in an earlier journal piece, films tend to use two basic structures, one designed for storytelling, the other to use image as metaphor. The better film projects use aspects of both.
Her videos seem to have adopted a documentary format – which can use any structure – and it is clear that she is using her photographic skills to create some clever imagery.
Some of this might seem like a flash back to things she’s done in the past, especially in regard to her horseback riding, which she had engaged in when living upstate well over a decade ago, and she clearly retains the love of it.
There are no real lessons in these videos. She seems more focused on conveying her joy and her experience, using the video media to allow her audience to get some joy from that experience as well.
This differs sharply from the calculated motives of commercial films. She is not selling anything, or attempting to manipulate, which helps make each of these mini films a delightful nugget I can watch nearly as often as I listen to her music, feel good pieces that allows me and others to share in her experiences of joy – delightful change from the sometimes cryptic poetry she used to post, although to tell the truth, I more than miss the effort of trying to figure out what she meant.
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