A while back I saw a post on HARO (Help A Reporter Out) asking for video talent for On Demand Media.  It sounded like a fun, new opportunity to get my name out, so I sent the producer a note.

ehow-melissa-wardIn her reply, she asked me for some video samples to review and photos of my office, since that was my preferred film location.  After completing my tasks, and approved as a talent, my profile was set up and we began the process of selecting titles that fit my area of expertise.  We went through a number of topics and picked 14 that I felt comfortable presenting on.  The minimum requirement for a project is 10 videos, since they are fairly short.

Once the project was created, I had to wait for a film crew to select the project.  My crew came in from New Jersey to shoot at my office.  The crew was a father and son team and they had all the necessary bells and whistles to make the project come to life.  I was mic’ed, they set up their lights and we rearranged my desk a bit for a distraction free viewing experience. The whole filming process took about 4 hours.  We filmed me giving the introductions and exits to each of the videos, some shots of my hands on the keyboard, mouse and using my smart phone, and I recorded some on screen work using CamStudio.

The one mistake I made was not having the actual script written down.  I assumed I’d be on camera the whole time, so I only had bullet point notes.   Now that I know the bulk of the film is the actual screen, I can read a script and they can set up the voice over for a smoother listening experience (plus it will hide the hesitation in my voice if I feel nervous).

Take a peek at one of the videos:

What have you done that has made your nervous recently?