I cut my finger with a tape measure yesterday, which hurt a lot more than you might imagine. I had about seven feet of tape rolled out, then released the spring to reel it back in and the edge of the metal sliced my finger as it zipped back into its roll. Like a paper cut on crack.
It was worth it, though.
Yesterday, I set up a green screen in my office. It's part of a project I've been wanting to do for a while, and one that I've been putting off. As I resolved to push forward on stagnant creative plans in the beginning of 2013, I went to my office to get into it. Voices of self doubt and self defeat battled me the whole way there, and I ignored them blindly. I've come to realize that the only way to get things done is to start doing them, even through the uncomfortable parts when you're not sure what you're doing.
So I've had a huge leftover roll of green screen backdrop sitting in my office from a past production, and I decided to figure out how to use it in a video. I started researching plug-ins and Adobe After Effects and watching youtube videos about how green screen works. I learned a little, but decided to just set up the screen, shoot a test video, and figure it out. I'd figure it out as I went, make mistakes, and keep pushing through.
I know it sounds easy: hanging green screen on a wall, setting up a camera on a tripod, and shooting a simple test video. As I write this, it doesn't seem like a big deal. Maybe it isn't. But in the past, I'd have let the fact that I wasn't sure what I was doing stop me from actually starting.
I figured it out. I cut a 7' x 7' piece out of the roll and duct taped it to the wall I was shooting on. I set up the camera, and shot my test video. Then I went home, decided to open iMovie to see if it could handle green screen, and figured it out in ten minutes.
Now I know how to shoot on a green screen and drop anything (in this case, sample background) I want behind me. (I also learned the importance of good lighting).
Not a huge deal, I know. But goddammit, I'm pushing through that doubt that holds me back. I'm ignoring the need to do things perfectly the first time, and simply starting projects I want to do.
Guess what? It's pretty fun.
