Recently I responded to an invitation to speak at the upcoming online CatholicConference4Moms. The speakers send a digital video recording of their 30-minute talk to the coordinator whose video editors prepare them for viewing.
Public speaking is my least favorite way to market my writing, but a video seemed doable. After all, I could practice relentlessly and do more than one take, right? So I prepared my talk and used iMovie to record it and play it back. After the shock of seeing and hearing myself give the talk on video for the first time, I got rid of a few nervous habits and simplified those complicated phrases my tongue tripped over. I knew better than to memorize the speech as if I were perfectly orating the Gettysburg Address or The Night Before Christmas.
I presented the talk live to a dozen women in the Catholic Study Group at our parish who critiqued it with honest feedback. I valued their suggestions more than their compliments and rewrote the ending.
iPad prompter
Using prompter software for my iPad, I entered the quotes I cited and key phrases to keep me on track. With the iPad fixed just below the camera of my MacBook Pro, I proceeded with my daily practice.
The conference coordinator encouraged us to use a DSLR camera for a professional recording. I drafted a videographer friend who showed up at my home with lights, an expensive camera, mikes and good ideas about the most effective background.
We prayed. The Holy Spirit showed up and took away by self-consciousness. I felt it was my turn to step into the spotlight for a short time, and that was okay.
Cutaways
We begin with “cutaways,” video recordings of peripheral shots of my hands, cross, and Bible, which the video editors might need. Next I gave the speech without stopping. When I misspoke and immediately corrected myself, the videographer twirled his fingers around to signal, “keep going.”
The first 22 minutes were okay, except when I picked up the Bible to read a scripture the mike picked up the motion of my clothing. He waved that off, saying we would record all the scriptures and quotes again at the end for cutaways.
We decided to reshoot the last 14 minutes—after a break. With more cutaways for the quotations, the recording fit on an hour tape. The whole process from set-up to final shooting took more than two hours. We were all exhausted. I couldn’t think past each step in the process as we worked.
Time code
After dinner, it was time to view the tape and jot down a time code to indicate editing cuts for the video editors. The revealing moment came when I looked into the viewer of the camera as the tape played. How calm I appeared! I didn’t talk too fast or look at the prompter too much. Of course, I will do so many things differently next time, but I was okay with my first video recording.
When I crashed in bed that night, my husband asked me how I felt. “I think that if I wasn’t so tired, I would feel more joy than relief.”
And sure enough, the next morning the Holy Spirit showed up with an ever-rising joy from deep within my heart. He reminded me of additional notes for the time code and seemed to assure me that I had done the best I could, prepared well, didn’t panic, and followed through with each step in the process.
Peace at the end
Sometimes I can lose the peace of the Lord when I begin a giant venture like this, but when that peace comes at the end, it is delicious. I had everything I needed to succeed, especially the prayer support of my family and covenant community.
Was it that the Holy Spirit showed up for my project, or that I showed up for his?
Nancy Ward
Nancy Ward, convert, journalist, author, and speaker, writes from Texas about Catholicism, conversion and Christian community at NancyHCWard.com, JOYAlive.net, and other websites and magazines. Through her Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story workshops, retreats and DVD, she shares her conversion story in Catholic parishes and at conferences, equipping others to share their stories. She contributed to the award-winning The Catholic Mom's Prayer Companion, facilitates two Catholic Writers Guild critique groups, serves on the Guild’s Board, and speaks at national writers conferences.