The Video Learning Curve

An old aphorism states we need to crawl before we walk, and we need to walk before we run. Useful though this may be, most of what's useful work these days compares more to auto assembly or repair. Where do you begin to learn?

A video project involves a lot of elements and stages:
Concept
Script
Locations
Talent
Equipment
Schedules
Budgets
Skills
Editing
Music
Intellectual Property Law
Distribution
Marketing Communications

To be a specialist in even one of these requires a lot of crawling, then walking, before the run begins. And there are so many runners in the race.

Before beginning, it would be wise to look at one's strengths and talents. What do you enjoy? Do you like playing with creative ideas or do you like dealing with electronic devices and lighting hardware? Do you like playing with software applications to create content - word processors, html editors, sound editors, video editing programs? And how much patience do you have? Is it more satisfying to work on short projects or can you wait months before the final project is finished?

Actually, this works in favor of working in a team. This is an important point. I may not be very talented in creating story concepts, but I'm a quick study on camcorders and microphones. Or I may be able to gather lots of people's ideas in to a working shoot script, and other people will handle the camcorder and be the "talent." So the larger the team, up to a point, the more likely the necessary roles for a successful project are covered, even if we're all amateurs.

In fact, being inexperienced also works to our advantage if the video's charm is how "genuine" it looks to co-workers, customers.