Filming yourself doesn't have to be difficult.
What's difficult is your perfectionism.
And let's be honest,
you probably wouldn't be watching this video
if you didn't have some level of it.
To film yourself, you don't need a course.
What you need is an idea and a camera.
It can be any camera.
Think back to when YouTube began.
What we all found interesting was
the notion of a daily vlogger filming themselves.
Oftentimes, this wasn't even high-def,
yet, as the platform has evolved,
so have we.
And the one thing that's stopping us
from going back to that same notion
of producing content in the format
of a vlog is perfectionism.
Loads of other videos on this topic all cover it
with relatively expensive gear
and in today's video, I'm here to guide you
on how you can achieve it with just your iPhone
or an action camera. (finger tapping)
After we have willingly dismantled our own perfectionism,
we can say to ourselves, I, Jake, insert name,
am by no means perfect.
I am 100% capable of filming myself within my means.
Most often when we begin this process
of going to film ourselves,
we get out into the wild,
into a public place and we freeze up.
We're often overcome with this notion of feeling stupid.
I feel those same things too,
do not worry, it is a human feeling.
Now, to overcome this,
what I think is incredibly valuable,
is to have a script.
(bell chimes)
One of these things.
Here's what the imperfectionists do:
they write down dot points.
A few little thought starters
to help guide us through this period
of speaking to camera in the wild.
More perfectionists will write out everything word for word.
Or they'll use a teleprompter,
or they'll resource on lived experiences
and share stories.
That is honestly one of the best piece
of advice I can give you,
resource on those inner feelings.
And when it comes to doing this,
when it comes to expressing this,
you have two options.
Option one, is you hold the freaking camera.
And option two,
is you mount it.
The gear I'm using in today's video is pretty basic.
I have a GoPro Hero11 Black Mini,
I have a bite mount,
an iPhone 13 Pro,
a Manfrotto tripod,
and the GoPro El Grande selfie stick.
Now, before you click on any of the affiliate links
in the description below,
I want you to answer to these two questions.
Do I have a tripod and do I have something to record with?
Action camera, iPhone, heck,
what are you watching this video on?
Use that.
Next up is wrapping your head around two concepts:
A roll and B roll.
They coexist to make your videos spicy.
However, if you only have A roll,
please give yourself an affirmation.
A roll is enough.
A roll is quite simply everything
that you're gonna present to camera,
be it on your tripod or handheld,
or a combination of both.
And B roll is the additional footage that you could capture
to spice up the video.
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When it comes to creating spicy videos
with this current setup,
here's how you equip yourself with a variety
of perspectives.
Option one, mounted on a tripod.
Option two, handheld, talking to camera.
Option three, point of view!
And you can always make space for an added time-lapse
or hyperlapse to give your videos flavor
and to add dynamics to your B roll.
Now let's put each of these perspectives into a sequence.
All we need is a simple action,
like doing the laundry.
Option one, tripod.
(mellow electronic music)
Mounted to the pool fence.
Continuing the action.
(mellow electronic music)
Now let's add in another perspective.
Continuing the action.
(mellow electronic music)
(clothes thud)
How freaking cool was the basket perspective?
You can have so much fun with this!
Remember, you're filming yourself, play around.
And lastly, let's repeat the entire process,
but time-lapse it.
Okay, so I'm happy with the camera mounting.
I'm gonna repeat the action and then film the time-lapse.
(mellow electronic music)
As we slightly give into this notion of perfectionism,
something that we can each do to improve
the quality of our videos,
specifically when we are filming by ourselves,
is to either use grid lines
to incorporate the rule of thirds,
composing our image,
or just simply looking through the viewfinder
or through our iPhone at the composition
of the shot before we hit record.
I was pretty happy with the nature of that one (laughs).
Let's jump in.
(airy music)
(water splashes)
(airy music)
(water splashes)
Additionally, playing around with your frame rate is
a great way to give you variety when it comes
to editing your B roll.
I'm shooting some of these underwater clips
in 120 frames per second on the GoPro.
Look at it this way, on the plus side,
shooting with a camera that doesn't have
a front-facing screen can really remove the shackles
of self criticism.
We are just able to present directly down the barrel
and get on with filming ourselves.
As we further dive into this notion of perfectionism
being the standalone barrier between you
and going out tomorrow or today and filming yourself,
I want to introduce you to someone,
the 2015 version of me.
♪ It's crazy where such little time to take you, take you ♪
♪ 60 seconds can be the difference between ♪
♪ Whether you make it or someone makes you, or makes you ♪
♪ Succeed in a moment or you don't ♪
♪ It breaks you, it breaks you ♪
♪ Back in the game or wait for that moment to come true ♪
♪ Blow to the chest, reassess your world view ♪
♪ I took the blow, moment hasn't come true ♪
♪ Opportunity lost, career option removed, removed ♪
(rhythmic music)
♪ Chasing down the 60 seconds ♪
♪ I break the struggle, fix my attitude ♪
♪ When I was 23 I thought the world was out to get me ♪
♪ Now I'm 27 and, shit, man I'm doing fine ♪
♪ No worrying about getting mad props ♪
♪ From people I don't know ♪
♪ No worrying about getting an album done ♪
♪ Before never doing a show, doing a show ♪
♪ You see, I'm such a high achiever ♪
♪ I feel the need to reach new heights ♪
♪ But for now I'm just a dreamer, dreamer ♪
♪ I never thought it could happen, this rappin' stuff ♪
♪ I never thought it could happen ♪
♪ Making waves in my sink as I stand here playing cleaner ♪
♪ It's about my misconceived demeanor ♪
♪ People say I made it, but for me, ♪
♪ I haven't made it yet ♪
♪ Not driven by that thought ♪
♪ So my actions, they're not desperate ♪
♪ They say sleep is the cousin of death ♪
♪ And with my tired eyes I'm never second best, best ♪
♪ I never thought it could happen ♪
♪ I never thought it could happen this rappin' stuff ♪
♪ Disappointed, glass half empty, unrest ♪
♪ The true test is time and how my mind can persist ♪
♪ Make more money, look after my number one ♪
♪ That's my mum ♪
♪ 'Cause what I learned from this is ♪
♪ That the journey is more appealing ♪
♪ Lessons learned, money spent, deeds dealing ♪
♪ More failures I've felt than successful feelings, feelings ♪
♪ I'm a mixed match, fast track ♪
♪ Slow jam playing on repeat ♪
♪ Nothing normal, that's the way I see it ♪
♪ Reality check ♪
♪ What do you expect in comparison to what's real ♪
♪ And what's real are bills, money ♪
♪ And feeling how it feels ♪
♪ Can't have a dream without financial yields ♪
♪ Balance be a tough task ♪
♪ I challenge you to make the deal ♪
So as you're sitting here digesting
this notion of perfectionism,
I want you to think about something.
If you take anything out of today's video, take this.
Feck perfection.
We are imperfect beings
and you are worthy and you are enough.
So, if you are looking for some direction with your video,
hopefully this has helped.
I also have a shot list, a GoPro shot list,
linked in the description that may help
with the overthinkers to give you some more guidance.
But if you have enjoyed today's video,
I'd love it if you could punch the thumbs up button.
And thank you for sharing the stoke.
I'll see you guys in the next video.
JR.
Peace!
(mellow music)