Emperor Norton

By Bruce Webber
Posted 2022-01-23 in general

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I undertook this project to get more practice creating videos. This video is about Joshua Norton and how his life changed dramatically in the 1850's. I’m generally pleased with the result.

What I like:

• I used a teleprompter and felt comfortable talking to camera. The challenge is writing a script which sounds like me talking.
• I used a video monitor-recorder. It let me see how I was positioned in the frame, and it recorded the video using a better codec.
• I used b-roll to cover editing cuts.
• I used a lavalier microphone connected to a digital recorder, and used this audio in the video. I like the resulting audio quality.

Where I need to improve:

• I used natural light from the window on my left, and filled with a constant light on my right. I didn’t need the constant light; it eliminated the shadow on the right side of my face, making it look flat.
• An accent light shining on the walls behind me would have created more separation.
• I want to be a bit more animated – more facial expressions and hand gestures.
• I had some issues with how the monitor-recorder synced the audio and video. I was able to re-sync the audio in post.
• I want to tweak the camera angle and position a bit.

Enjoy the video!