Cue the Mic and Scrub the Sound...

Sound is probably THE thing I'm least comfortable with in video production. Varying levels of ambient noise, setting the camera's levels perfectly, all the technical stuff is hard enough to nail. Not to mention the things you can't always plan for like wireless signals jamming the sound, three dead batteries and no spare in 15 miles or goats chewing through hard-wired mics... I've had it all. And nothing has given me more grief.

Such is the case with the sound in this video. I love the sentiments, the camera work is solid for the most part (though intense background light is a pain...) but the sound is in certain areas disappointing. It's a difficult thing working around crowd noise, the ebbs and flows of nearby conversation can get louder and rowdier, especially late in the day after beer and wine has been enjoyed.

I'd imagine it's rather like working out the kinks in batches of "test" cheese that just aren't up to par. So many variables come together to make the final product. A slight change in vat temperature or audio level, curd set time or ambient crowd noise makes all the difference in cheese make or a video make.

Cheers to all the great cheesemakers from California and beyond who made this event oh-so-cool and a big shout out to the organizers and behind the scenes volunteers who made it happen!

...extra cheesy credit... can you spot the 3 non-California cheesemakers who make cameos? Hint: two are from Washington and one is from Oregon.

The Sweet Spot ~ When a Video "Coagulates"

Video production is a many stage process. First there's the shoot - which, depending on the project, can lead to hours and hours of footage and interviews with 10 or more people.

Then there's logging - transferring all that footage from tape into my editing software, pulling out long stretches of "might be useful" bits (which amount to only about 10% of what I shoot) - and tagging the clips so they're easily found. It's a rather tedious process.

Next, as my husband Matt (knower of all things video production and without whom I could not do what I do) coaches, "you find the music," a whole process in itself which I'll cover in a future post.

And then, once all the preliminaries are done (and I've fretted enough about how it's not coming together), there comes a very definitive moment where the story begins to emerge.

Every time this happens. And it always surprises me; when, daring to use a cheese analogy, it coagulates.

I hit the sweet spot where all the good bits from many different people come together. A clear arc forms as a thought from one person merges perfectly into the sentiments of another, almost magically telling the story. I've been in this space these past few days, putting the finishing touches on the rough cut of the CACG video. Exciting...

Yet, as much as I love it when the story crystalizes and the extraneous falls away, it's beautiful and vexing in equal measure - pushing "cut" on those many, many extraordinary bits that I just can't fit -- requires a ruthlessness that I'm still working on.

...Guess that's why there are outtakes...

Layers: in Editing & Cheese

Video editing technology astounds me. It's simple-complex, a lot like cheese; many, many layers, always something new waiting to be discovered. I like that, in my work, my life and in my food.

Working through a new project, with filters and templates and layer upon layer of media -- it's those layers that make it beautiful -- but it's maddeningly minute. Move one frame here, add a dissolve by this time, put this media on top of that. Oh, and don't forget to cut to the music and narrative.

I've discovered that once effects are placed, every single move of a clip requires a render* which can take several minutes at a shot, definitely not a quick process.

Writing about my experiences traveling through the cheese world has always been on my to do list. The elusive element, until now, has been twofold: time, as a WAHM with two kids, writing time is precious; and then there's that even bigger question, what particular niche is it that I operate in, what's my angle.

It occurred to me during a lull as an edit renders that this, this is my time to write... and, as I try one more mask or a gentle tweak to bring up the green in the grass -- what I am is a filmmaker, a story teller, who just happens to focus on cheese.

That's my niche. This is my blog.


*Rendering is a video editing process where the computer merges all the effects (like video titles, text boxes, color correction etc.) so they are viewable as a preview.