Initially, I intended to film a new video for my main photography channel yesterday. I was being a little ambitious, I also wanted to do a second video for my vlog channel, showing behind the scenes of how I set up my shoot and capture the whole process from start to finish, making a video. I thought some would find that fascinating and beneficial. However, the weather did not agree with my plans, as my shoot depended on the sky conditions outdoor, it rained heavily, and I had to postpone the original video shoot. Instead of just calling it quits, I decided to continue vlogging, documenting what I did for the entire day - my morning gym session, adventures playing with a cat, and sitting down in a cafe getting some work done. You can find the vlog here (click).
I intentionally decided to film most of my content outdoor, to separate myself from those typical YouTuber studio setups, usually a darkened room with some fancy RGB light and a main key-light illuminating the creator, seated at one spot, talking from start to finish. I thought that worked fine, I have nothing against it, but the formula has been copied so, so many times. I just wanted to look different in my videos. So, I filmed my videos outdoor, taking advantage of natural light and beautiful greenery in my background, something Malaysia has in abundance. Unfortunately, that also means I am at the mercy of the weather, it also rains a lot in Malaysia. I think about 10% of my shooting schedule has to be rearranged due to bad weather.
The good news is, I make a batch of videos and have a considerable size of buffer, so I am not in a rush to pump out new videos every week. If there was an emergency, or if I have paid jobs that require a majority of my time shooting, and there was not enough time left to make a video, it would not be the end of the world, I can still pull out a video from the buffer-list and publish regularly. For the past 5 years on YouTube, I have been incredibly consistent in making videos and publishing new content every single week without fail. I don't intend to break that streak. I'd like to think I am a disciplined person.
Yesterday did not go according to plan, it rained almost the entire day. I hoped the rain would stop after lunch, in early afternoon, but that was not the case, the sky was still dark, and I decided to just post-pone the video making for my main channel for another day. The vlog part, however, was easy and I just documented whatever happened, so I continued shooting.
It started from morning, my gym routine. I go to the gym lifting weights almost daily now, minus the weekends which are devoted for shutter therapy and spending time with friends. I think there is something really therapeutic going to the gym, and it was a much needed me-time, allowing me to just empty my thoughts and not stress too much about life and its worries. Also, self-care is extremely important, I am not getting younger, working out is one way to ensure I will be strong and fit enough to continue doing what I love - photography. I don't want to struggle with carrying my gear as I age. I want to be as strong, mobile and fit as I possibly can.
After the gym session, I went home for lunch, shower and after that I went to a nearby cafe with my tablet PC and started working. People do not realize the amount of work there is being a content creator/YouTuber. It is not just merely making video and uploading them. I have to reply to comments, and within 24 hours of publishing my latest video, I got about 100 comments already, and I did my best to reply to every single one of them, which took at least an hour or more, sometimes more than 2 hours. Then I still have a blog, this blog to maintain, and continue updating, and writing blog articles also take time. On top of that I also have to send invoices to clients, manage my email and social media, all those easily ate up 3 to 4 hours sitting down time in the cafe.
The reason I went to the cafe to do those work was simple - I don't want to be trapped in my room forever. I spend a large considerable amount of time editing photographs (shoots for clients) and also video editing for my content on YouTube. A photography job can take as quickly as an hour edit, to a whole day, depending on number of photographs taken and the intensity of processing required. Video editing usually takes about 3-4 hours per video. You compound all that together, I am basically stuck in my room in front of my PC computer day in and out. So, for less processing and power-hungry work, anything outside of heavy photo and video editing, I will go outside my room and find a nearby cafe to get the other work done.
Another thing I want to talk about is the loneliness of being a content creator, but I guess that should be an entire blog article on its own. Until then, I hope I still have time to make that video happen this week, if not, everything will have to be dragged until the next following week. The shoot goes on, shutter therapy must go on.
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