By popular demand and hotly awaited for the first Dr Sustainability video is to be released in days, you heard it here first (my marketing brain is on overdrive today haha)! I’m sure many of you have been patiently anticipating the release of the first Dr Sustainability video, okay, maybe you haven’t, you probably didn’t know it was getting released, why would you…I haven’t really told you have I.
Filming was an experience, fun to some degree. I would really like to say editing the footage was a labour of love but that would be me lying to you. With the help of two family members, we got some level of editing done and the rest was left in my ‘capable’ hands. I thought I would teach myself editing fairly quickly and I’d get into full swing. After weeks of pain, trying to edit the video content, I can honestly say I’m a lot of things but no video editor.
Acquiring new skills requires time and patience. I am lacking both right now. I have taught myself many things but this isn’t the time nor place for me to learn a new skill. Don’t get me wrong I’ve taught myself many things from using a sewing machine to an advanced level at the age of 10 years old to designing and sewing a ballroom gown by the age of 15 years old. I redecorated the family home from painting, wallpapering rooms to remedial work before I was a teenager. I’m a fairly creative person, if I do say so myself. I’ve even created an extravagant traditional wedding display from a cardboard box for my brother’s wedding. I’m known for my hampers, party decor and displays…not bad right!
Some level of this flare can perhaps be said to have followed through into the marketing and branding work I have done for current and past organisations I have worked for. However, at present I’m overworked, stretched, spinning multiple plates and trying to teach myself video editing during such as time really hasn’t helped. I’m not glamourising my lack of work-life balance at present, I am working on that and will leave that for another article.
One day, after hours of editing I fell asleep, literally, on the laptop…not exactly the sophisticated image I envisaged for myself. I woke up in panic, unsure if the edits had been saved and in a state of confusion altogether. That was a clear sign to put my video editing boots up and call it a day, well for now anyway.
Having put my editing boots up I decided to make better use of my time by searching for an editor, who lives and breathes this sort of stuff. Yes, it will cost but it will also save my sanity and time, which I could do with right now. I hope to get a fair amount of creative content out over the coming year from Podcasts to educational videos. If I continue editing at my current speed, we will still be waiting in 2030 for video content filmed in 2022. Let’s keep it relevant and try to get content out in a timely-ish manner.
My hunt for an editor has been interesting. Working with creators and editors can be fun, exciting…when things go well. I do have a background in marketing (one of my many hats) and I’ve worked with a number of creative individuals and agencies over the years. When we first meet, I always warn them…I’m a pain in the a**e if your work does not meet the quality mark. I’m particular, work to a high standard when it comes to creative work and expect others to do the same too…if that isn’t you, it probably is best we part ways early as I’m not going to make it easy for you. I don’t see a project to be for me, I’m only a facilitator. The work is for a wider audience be it the public, employer, client or partners. I work with that in mind and I have to do it justice. I will openly give my constructive feedback, be very direct and if it means more work/corrections, so be it…we have a tight ship to sail here.
On the flip sides, if you are passionate about creatives and give your work your all, you’ll love me, we’ll have a whale of a time! I’m more than happy to play ‘Branding Police’. We can talk about colour mixes, pantones and brand personality. I can point out when the pantone used for a piece has gone off by 6.5%, how a certain box needs to be moved only 3 millimetres to the right for balance, precision is key. We can discuss how the brand voice in a creative piece is or perhaps isn’t where it should be. Spacing and typology is something I get excited about (yes, very sad I admit), but this is the reality of working with me.
This really is not painting the greatest picture of me. Look, when it comes to my passions and professions; climate change or sustainability, I am pretty geeky and quite serious…come on, we have the future of the world at stake here!! Take me out of that context, I’m not so serious at all and I’ve been told I’m a lot of fun, I can make you laugh in seconds.
Getting back to video editing, which this article is about…I’ve got down to a shortlist of two potential editors and hoping to finalise in the coming days. I can confidently say my signature line….‘it’s been a journey’. Do stay tuned, the first Dr Sustainability video will be out soon-ish!
