Reflection:
Within my ‘About Me’ video, I made decisions around the location/background of the video based on the fact that I wanted it to be interesting and engaging. I included my guitar, desk and the plants already in my room, to spice up the visual background of the video. I had pictured and planned how I would display the plants and furniture behind me, but when I had my camera set up, I had to move things around in order for it to not look too cluttered. I had to practice sitting and talking in the set-up, and then checking the camera to see if I was sitting in the middle of the frame and whether or not it looked visually appealing. I also put these sample clips into my editing software and had a watch of it to make sure my voice was clear, and the audio was good – I’d ensured I was home alone to minimise the risk of bad audio.
I planned to film an intro cooking the noodles I was going to eat while I talked. I did this firstly as something interesting to start it off with a fast-paced segment, something I’d seen done in a few other YouTube sit down videos. Usually they make a cup of coffee or something similar. The other reason was to make it a bit more informal, like me and the viewers were both sitting down having a chat and eating together, I think it makes the video feel a bit more like I’m talking to a friend, which is how I would like my subscribers to feel, like I’m not a stranger. I want them to engage with me as someone they relate to and understand.
My dialogue in the video touches on the main topics that I think are interesting to know about a person; my interests, what I’m studying, what a normal day is like for me and what I see in my future (which is relatable as I have very little clue about this). I wanted to convey these messages so that
anyone watching the video would have a broad overview of my life, while getting the overall effect of authenticity.
Authenticity, to me, means minimal editing, showing that what a person is discussing isn’t scripted or chopped to cut out anything, a casual informal way of talking, being able to laugh at yourself on camera, and relatability. Decisions about the kind of authentic persona I wanted to display are, indeed only attempts, as I understand that authenticity is the effect that the individual viewer gets from me, which is out of my control and depends what they personally find authentic.
I definitely learned from this experience. I learned how important planning is, as after I had written out dot points for myself to talk about – I literally stuck to them – as once I was in front of the camera I felt a lot less in control and I couldn’t think of what I wanted to say off the top of my head. It was the main challenge I faced, I became awkward and stumbled over my words. But along with this, the more time I spent in front of the camera, the more comfortable I became. The majority of footage used in the video is from the last part of filming, as I was able to talk more freely and gather my thoughts. The dialogue was longer and more relaxed, so hence I used it as this was the vibe I was trying
to express.
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