COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS TREES AT ST MARY'S CHURCH!
Today was the final day of the annual Community Christmas Tree Display at St Mary's Church in Stafford, which is something that, despite living in Stafford all my life, I was not aware of until last year!
So I thought what better way to raise awareness for this community project than to film a quick casual video on my phone over my long weekend this weekend, where lots of local businesses, community groups and schools decorate a tree to spread some Christmas cheer to display in the church.
It truly is wonderful to see all the unique and creative ways the people of Stafford have decorated their trees, and it's also excellent publicity for those involved too!
Anyway, whether or not you were able to go and see the trees on display over the past week, I hope this video brings you some festive joy and maybe even encourages you to go and see the trees in years to come through the power of fun, feel-good films!
Featuring a local choir (Serenity, I believe they're called if I remember correctly) who were there when I visited the church, singing a lovely choir version of How Far I'll Go from the popular Disney movie Moana!
SEASONS GREETINGS FROM DISNEYLAND PARIS!
I am having the BEST time for my first festive Disneyland holiday, and am excited to edit some of the fun, feel-good filming of the festive parades and shows I've recorded!
The Christmas Parade shows are so fun and feel-good in fact, I couldn't help but dance along to the parade songs whilst filming them!
So just a typical filming session with me then, when I am exposed to fun, feel-good music.
Multitasking at its finest! 😂😂
WORKING FROM HOME!
Today I'm video editing from home, which even though it can feel lonely and isolating at times, it can also have some benefits, especially as a friendly neurodivergent filmmaker!
These include having home comforts around me, as well as being able to work in whatever clothes I want (so I can even work in my pyjamas if I want to!)
This also serves a little bit of a behind the scenes insight to how I can sometimes work from home, as well as stress the importance of comfort for Neurodivergent people, as this can help us to be more productive and finish tasks more quickly and efficiently.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, and let me know what you enjoy about working from home if you can or do! 😊
CREATIVE DAY: NOVEMBER 2024!
A bit earlier in the month than my usual creative days, because November is shaping up to be quite a busy and exciting month for many reasons (both personal and professional!) so have spent today:
- Planning the rest of 2024
- Writing a quote for a potential new client
- Filming some social media content
- Writing a small Christmas List
- A little bit of Christmas shopping
and finally, of course, rewarding myself by sampling one of the new festive drinks from Costa!
This time of year can also feel rather chaotic with the constant reminder of Christmas, so even though it may feel a bit early for some to be thinking about Christmas, getting a bit of structure and organisation is crucial for me to not feel too overwhelmed, particularly as an Autistic person.
Anyway, I hope you're all doing ok, and please make sure to treat yourselves with kindness and compassion through this chaotic time.
QUEST LISTS!
(which are basically to-do lists, but a lot more fun and a lot cooler sounding!)
Writing daily "quest lists" help me a lot as a friendly neurodivergent filmmaker to not only break down quests to make them less overwhelming to complete, but also tricks my friendly neurodivergent brain into making jobs sound more fun and feel-good.
It also makes me feel like I'm playing through a video game or living a grand adventure!
This may not work for everyone, but it works for me, and it may work for some of you as well.
I hope this helps, and let me know what strategies help you to complete jobs, tasks, or quests as well, because maybe we can inspire and learn from each other, which is always fantastic! 😁
THANKS FOR THE ADVENTURE...
Last week I heard the unfortunate news that Bear Grylls Adventure at the NEC in Birmingham is closing in December.
This is such a shame because I truly enjoyed my time there last year when I was invited to their premises to complete a social media task for their Social Media Executive role, and it was such a unique and fun experience.
After my visit I was actually shortlisted for the role to the final few candidates, because they liked the content I filmed, which meant a lot, and definitely affirmed my capabilities as a friendly neurodivergent filmmaker and content creator!
However, I think I'm definitely better at showing what I can do then I am at talking about it, so I haven't worked with them since unfortunately.
Still, it was a fun experience and was definitely one of my favourite projects I worked on last year, and I will definitely miss the venue.
It also definitely affirmed my passion for creating travel and tourism content as well, so please get in contact if you would like a fun, feel-good social media video for your business to attract customers, because sometimes social media videos are the best way to let people know about your business too!
Anyway, with all that said, here's a little snippet of my attempt at axe throwing, one of the activities that was on offer at Bear Grylls Adventure!
THE BEST PHONE HOLDER EVER!
Usually when I'm creating "fun, feel-good films" professionally, I use a tripod or a gimbal to hold and stabilise my camera.
However, if I just want to film a quick social media video at home on my phone (because equipment setup can take quite some time and effort, especially for my personal social media accounts!) I can sometimes use unconventional ways of ensuring my phone stays steady whilst filming.
One thing I've tried is using some of my treasured plushies to hold the phone whilst filming, and this one in particular is PERFECT for such projects!
Even though I bought this plushie because I'm a HUGE Disney Fan and love characters such as Peter Pan and Stitch, (also I love plushies!) it's great when things you own can have multiple uses, even unexpected ones!
(Also, Peter Pan Stitch is the best, cutest phone holder EVER!) 😄
A #FBF TO HEARTSTOPPER SEASON 3 (and how it relates to my videography work!)
One of my favourite scenes of one of my favourite modern-day TV shows reminded me a lot about why I love creating fun, feel-good films, and that is to try and help other people to feel good through any video project I am part of.
This clip from Heartstopper Season 3 also perfectly shows that you can use any creative ability you have (so in my case, video) as a gift to show people you care about them, and can especially help to cheer people up if they are going through a difficult time.
So yes, please take this as a sign to use your creative skills to help other people, and show your loved ones you care about them.
Take care, and have a great weekend!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
For Halloween this year, I wanted to share a #tbt post to a video of one of my favourite Halloween memories, and that is going to Disneyland Paris a couple of years ago to see how Disney celebrate the spooky season!
This is just a few snippets of the Disneyland Paris Halloween Parade, but this also reminds me of one of my favourite things about creating fun, feel-good films:
CAPTURING MEMORIES!
Video is a great way to capture treasured memories, from seasonal events to holidays.
Travel and Tourism videos are also still some of my favourite projects to work on, so please get in contact if you would like help with capturing memories, seasonal events or any travel and tourism attractions through a fun, feel-good film!
DRONE FOOTAGE AUTUMN 2024!
During my creative day last week I felt inspired by the season to capture some lovely drone footage of the lovely autumn colours this season brings, because one of my favourite things about this time of year is the nature of autumn, and as a result provides some very beautiful colours and scenery.
This is definitely by far my favourite drone footage I have captured since I first got my drone six months ago, and I will be sure to enjoy looking back on this footage when it isn't autumn (though it'll definitely make me miss this season!) and I hope you all enjoy this video too!
HOW TO CREATE AND EDIT SUBTITLES ON TIKTOK!
I created this short screen record of how to create and how to edit subtitles on TikTok in an attempt to show and help other people to improve their content and to make social media more accessible.
It's fairly straightforward and easy to understand, though it's always worth checking those automatically generated captions because they may mishear you and mistranslate what you say (like it did for the example I show below!)
Based on the interest and work I've been doing this year, I am also seriously considering putting together some TikTok and social media content training courses to help people understand the practical side of content creation a lot more and offering this as a paid service.
However, any help or guidance about how I can promote and offer this as a service would be truly appreciated as well!
