A touch of magic

I’d been out of my blogging being for a while all because if the busy schedule I had these past days and one thing that ate most of my time was video editing. I’ve got to work a lot on that because of the talk show we are producing which will air in October.

Having experienced video editing for a year now, I don’t consider myself a pro, but I would love to pursue a career in the world of video clips and audio and sound and visual effects should I decide to live my life in the background—a hundred yards behind the spectacle of my dream of becoming a broadcaster. I got to learn a few tricks on my own, experimenting on clips after learning the basics, and I know I will learn some more being a natural explorer that I am.

Well, basically, that’s how I learned video editing (and many other things)—experimenting. Like purchasing a new toy, or a new gadget, you must read the instructions first before using it. In my case, to make life easier, I asked my friend about the basic things I had to learn about the software such as the tools and their corresponding shortcut keys, the name of the panels, formats and other essential details. I did the rest on my own.

Does this show you how complicated video editing can be?

Through the years, I’ve learned that you can never get to learn something unless you try it yourself. You can never master something unless you touch it and let your hand manuever through it. Simply saying that you want to learn something does not give you the knowledge and skills you have to acquire. You’ve got to do it. A friend of mine said she wanted to learn how to edit videos, but couldn’t because she didn’t own a unit to work with. But actually, even if you don’t own a unit, you can learn how to do it if you really want to. And the first step to that is act. Execute what you say, and you can perform magic yourself. Try it and explore. Don’t get stuck to your stock knowledge. Real learning is applying the knowledge you acquired.

Two months ago, my status message on Facebook read, “I wouldn’t get bored sitting an office if all I had to do is edit videos.” That remains true. It might be exhausting due to the fact that you have to watch a single clip over and over to extract the best part of it. Sometimes, you’ve got to watch closely the mouth of the person speaking on the video to match it with the audio (if you’re getting another visual of the same scene from another camera rolling from a different angle). But, all the hardwork and headache pay off when you watch the output. It sends you to cloud nine when you realize you’ve created a whole story out of fragments. You feel like you’re in euphoria when you’ve transformed flawed videos into something that awes many people.

#5: Feasting on films

The splatter s of the raindrops on the roof awoke me made me jump out of bed.

Oh my God. What time is it?

I snatched my phone from the bedside table and checked the time.

10:30 am. What?! I’m already late for school!

Without thinking twice, I immediately grabbed my towel and prepared for a bath. Then, as if waking up from a daydream, I suddenly stopped on my track as a realization hit me hard in the head.

It’s Saturday. No school.

Thank heavens! I got some time to rest after a whole week’s worth of seemingly infinite school works that almost made me a nocturnal being.

I got one hell of a week, so time to reap my reward for the hardwork I poured. Walking back towards the bedroom, I switched my personal computer, browsed through the movies I saved on it and clicked the play button.

***

So, yeah, when I got time to spare, I grab the opportunity to watch good films for of course, entertainment’s sake. I have developed this interest in films a few years back. Watching movies is like reading novels, since both tell a story although in different formats. While novels use mere words that create a new world in your mind, movies use sounds and visuals that take you to the new world projected in your mind as if you were in the scene physically. But just the same, both make your heart race and once you’ve started, you hardly find the reason to stop.

Movies, just like literary works, are a representation of real-life events, exaggerated and carefully arranged in a manner prefect for story telling. Life, however, is not a movie which you can edit, rewind, skip scenes, or pause. You live it now with all its complications without the certainty that the resolution will come.

Life does not follow a script. Scenes do not start at the snap of the clapper and ends when the director shouts, “Cut!” They continuously flow and transpire. You don’t memorize the lines; you speak them spontaneously.

No, that's not me in the picture (winks). I've grown to love the Harry Potter films back in second year college. The series have opened a new world for me. Somewhere I want to be should I have a second life.