These last two weeks I’ve been working too much, eating crappy food (or forgetting to eat), not sleeping enough … and it now has come down to this.
A horrid red bump on the bottom left of my chin.
(I thought I was too old for this stuff? Well, apparently not.)
It happens to all of us. Those days where you have a blemish or a bad hair day or you’re hungover or have dark circles under your eyes or your kid is screaming or it’s cold or too windy or you’re sick …. but you still need to make a video.
Here’s my secrets for the days where I’m just too murkified to be on camera:
1 – Screen Capture Video
I use screen capture videos to create how-to tutorials, to review information products (Empire Building Kit, Question the Rules) and for case studies. These videos look deceptively professional and complicated – but they are as easy as hitting “record” on a piece of software, and speaking into your microphone. As far as the technology goes, I use Screenflow on my Mac and CamStudio on my PC.
2 – Photo Voiceover or Photo Music Video
Take a montage of pictures – photos that illustrate your points, photos from a recent vacation, or photos from a local networking event, for example – and put them together in a timed slideshow using your movie editing software. Just add your voiceover audio to explain your points. Or, use the subtitle function of your movie editing software to communicate your content, and add music to set the mood for the scene.
3 – Powerpoint Voiceover Video
Think of these as webinars or live presentations, without the live. You create a powerpoint presentation (or if you’re on a Mac like me, a keynote presentation) and record your voice over the slides as your video. You may do this using your screen capture software or by importing the slides into your movie editing software & recording the voiceover from there.
4 – Dig Up Old Footage and Recut
Here’s a real hack – don’t feel like making a new video for that relaunch of your program? Just get your old footage and recut the video to give it different timing and feel. If some of the details of your relaunch are different (dates, prices) just insert a title slide or picture and voiceover with your new information.
5 – Do the Video Anyway
Yep, I made videos this weekend, even with a spot on my chin. Because here’s the thing – we all get spots/wrinkles/bad hair/circles under our eyes/etc. – and when you are vulnerable and real with the people watching your videos, it’s endearing. (And most of the time, people don’t even notice the things that seem glaring to you!)
What problems come up that keep you from making videos?
So have you not made a video on a day when you felt murky? What did you do instead?
I’d love to hear your comments/feedback/questions below!
Related posts: