Videos are the hottest way to go, when trying to make your posts go viral.

 

Personal experience of doing videos:

Some years back, one of our sons wanted to add a video to his website (Longday Safaris: https://longdaysafaris.com/). It was to illustrate the type of lifestyle he lived, biking trips through different countries in Africa, etc.  

So taking up different positions along a path in the bush (of the Springbox Flats area, in the Transvaal, South Africa), I videoed him, passing by me and disappearing into the distance. 

Then it was my time!

Coming back from his ride, he knew that I had my art location fieldwork bag with me. So he told me he would video me painting a scene, right there and then, in the same bush! 

I was shocked. Wow! I wasn’t expecting that. But being a sport, I submitted and set up my watercolour gear and sat down to paint.  

He stood behind me and started videoing. 

Gosh, we hadn’t even discussed how we would do it! 

After a while he decided to ask me a few questions about what I was doing. I was concentrating on what I was painting and so found it hard to talk sensibly or logically while painting.  

And it’s not so easy painting in the bush. Your art materials aren’t surrounding you at waist level like you would have in your studio. In the bush, you have to bend down and look for stuff in the grass, weeds, etc. 

It was the first video I had done. And in the bush too! It was making me nervous. My brushes seemed to have a life of their own. And nothing was falling into place like it should. 

And it shouldn’t have been like that. Knowing I had done many a demo at art galleries in my time, with so many people watching me too.  

And my voice…!!  Tape recordings can seriously change your voice! That was `the last straw’. 

The moral of the story…

Be fully prepared before you start doing video interviews and demos! At least work out who does what, when and how. 

Doing studio demos:

Working in a studio, though, is much easier that working out on location doing fieldwork.  

1. You have time to make a list of procedures beforehand. 
2. You can set up the right background environment around where you intend to work. Unclutter the scene and set out your paints and brushes (whatever your tools are) close at hand. 
3. If you are right-handed, you can set your camera and light to shine in from the left side. So people can clearly see what you are actually doing and see the result clearly. 
4. With your materials close at hand, you don’t have to fish around looking for them somewhere in the grass next to your camping chair! 
5. Your watercolour paper is not harassed by wind. Or leaves from trees, don’t unexpectedly float down onto your painting, smudging all your beautiful effort! 
6. The list of procedures will make it easy to follow when the camera is whirling along at top speed. This removes tension and stress, so your voice is delivered calmly with confidence. 

The technical side:

There are several free video and film apps that you can use to edit your videos offered on the internet. 

1. Make your video as short as it’s possible. Between 10-30 minutes. The length of time of cause will depend on the type of demo and what is involved.  
2. The download size and time is also important. It’s very annoying when people have to wait, as each section downloads bit-by-bit, while watching your video on their computer. 
3. Leave out the in between boring fiddly stuff that happens in demo procedures. For example, if you are doing a cooking demo, don’t show all your preparation, like fishing in the fridge or chopping up all the vegetables. Get to the point, the important stuff. Make it look easy to do. 
4. Also include in writing, the formula that you are using in your demo, so people can easily follow up later on.  
5. To make your demo look even easier, include diagrams or cartoon drawings. 
6. When editing your video film, link and join the film sections so they make sense to those who have to watch the procedure.