USE+FUL | A beginners guide to video recording and editing

Have you ever had the feeling that you should spread your subjective and extraordinary vision of the world to others? Have you thought about the ways in which you could do that? Was video recording an option for you? If yes, this article is just for you. You are about to hear about my passion for videography and video montages along with some tips & tricks that I always recommend to beginners.

1. Get creative Create content even if you don’t really feel like doing it. Always try to improve. Don’t wait for the motivation to kick in when you are laying on your bed wasting your time. Just get up and get going. You can find inspiration everywhere – go to a museum, go for a walk in a park, listen to some new music. The ideas will come in mind as the work is flowing – what kind of a video do you want to record; what song passes to that vibe; what audience are you going to reach with your content; what thoughts and emotions are you going to provoke in them;

2. Take your time to work on that passion of yours Taking time off is essential, especially when you are just starting with a new hobby - not only because it requires a lot of work in the beginning, but also because if you aren’t persistent, soon you are going to drop all of your effort and give up on your new passion. Changes don’t happen overnight, don’t forget that. If you work hard enough, you will succeed at improving your skills. Recording videos and editing them is as complicated as any other art process – first you need ideas, then you need time. 3. Shoot everything and shoot often Practice makes progress. Practice, practice, practice! There’s absolutely no way around this, I can assure you. I don’t care how many YouTube videos you watch, how many photography articles you read, or how many Instagram posts you analyze - if you aren’t shooting, you aren’t really improving! An ounce of experience is worth a pound of theory. Get out and about and shoot! Your first clips are going to suck. You may need to shoot thousands before you get one that you like. But each one, no matter how bad, is one step towards being a better videographer and a better content creator. Practice doesn’t just help you apply the theory you learn, but also gets you familiar with your equipment and how different settings affect the final result.

4. Use the Camera You Already Have While the equipment does matter for videography, it doesn’t matter as much as you think. A skilled videographer can produce great photos with a crappy camera, while an unskilled one will keep shooting on a mediocre level even with high-end, expensive gear. It comes down to a couple simple factors: light, composition, perspective, and as we discussed above – the idea. If you can master all of those things, you’ll be able to take great shots with anything - even a smartphone. The truth is that upgrading your gear won’t upgrade your videography skills. The sooner you accept this, the faster you’ll improve and progress! From my personal experience I can share a lot about that – my own camera is kind of trashy. I bought her 4 years ago at a black Friday sale and at first I felt sorry that I wasted all my money for something so hard to work with, but then I changed my mindset. I decided that I am going to with what I have – I also used my phone for some extra footage. At the end the quality of the video clip isn’t really that important compared to the content. And a great plus is that there is an upcoming trend of recording videos with a camcorder from the early 00s just because it brings out nostalgia in the audience. 5. Learn the basics of editing So you’re ready to embark on your first video project and take your first few baby steps toward the making of your very own masterpiece. Ok…. you probably aren’t looking to start off that big. Maybe you just heard a great indie song that matches to some clips of the sunset you took last week or you just want to impress your art teacher with a new format presentation. No matter what the case is, you are going to have to edit it at least a bit. The last and probably most important tip from me is to explore different editing apps – they can be on your smartphone or computer. The ones that I recommend are Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Final Cut Pro for PC and iVideo for IOS and Android. They are cheap and easy to work with – perfect for beginners.

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USE+FUL | What qualities a young person should have in order to be a leader

What qualities a young person should have in order to be a leader. What made you strive for it?

A young person in order to be successful in the field in which he wants to develop must have certain qualities. In order to be a leader in his sphere he must have six very important leadership qualities.

• The first quality is to have imagination, tenacity and principles. Young leaders must be ready to see the implementation of a project from start to finish. They must have a very strong system of values, be stubborn, determined, and be principled in order to be able to challenge their opponents with arguments.

• Second to know how to build and work in a team. Each leader must be able to build a viable and capable team and be able to keep it. He must be able to recognize people's talents and respect their personalities. It is very important when each team member is created and teamed to feel at home and do something in common.

• Third you have courage, self-esteem and faith. The true leader believes in himself and is open to constructive criticism. They pursue their goals with faith and passion. They never give up on the way to the goal.

• Fourth to have a sense of humor. A good leader is able to see the funny side of things. Creating a successful plan involves creating many new friends, and humor helps.

• Fifth to possess humility. True leaders know that they can always improve as individuals and as professionals and work on themselves.

• Sixth to be human and honest.

True leaders are not greedy egoists. They intercede for their group, their friends, and they are always honest with others and in general are compassionate.

I strive to be a leader and have these six very important qualities. Because it will help me in the realm of my orientation, but not only professionally also in life. Because I think every one of us should be a leader in his own life. This project in Slovakia, the “Communication Masters”, helped me to develop my leadership skills and I had the opportunity to meet many new and young people who are improving themselves in being leaders.

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USE+FUL | SofiaLab – a laboratory, but not exactly

SofiaLab - our laboratory (and under ours, I mean of the citizens) is an area, space, hall, office, co-working and co-learning space, where both young and adults with young spirit are welcomed as long as they are people willing to learn, work, share and develop. We usually associate the word "laboratory" with medicine, but in our case the concept refers to a place where new and experimental ideas and projects are being developed. At SofiaLab, we believe that ideas for meaningful initiatives can be born in an informal environment and encourage young and not so young people to exchange experiences, approaches and views in the activities that excite them.

We call the place "laboratory" because it encourages experimental thinking, develops new practices and skills. A laboratory that works in the field of digital and social entrepreneurship is no less significant than a chemical one in the field of medicine. SofiaLab is part of a network of similar laboratories in other European cities. The space is funded by the project "New Generation Skills", which is implemented by the Directorate "European Programs and Projects" of Sofia Municipality and Sofia Development Association and it is financed by INTERREG Danube Programme.

SofiaLab's priority events are events that follow and apply the Quatruble Helix philosophy - those that result from partnerships between institutions, business, scientific and civic organizations; events related to the participation of Sofia in European initiatives (European thematic days and weeks that are held simultaneously in all EU Member States); events that support the two priorities of Sofia's Smart Specialization Strategy - Digital Technologies and Innovations in Culture, with a target group and/or predominant participants aged 15-29. All priority events are held at SofiaLab free of charge.

Fortunately, I have firsthand experience with what is happening in the lab. I have started working quite recently for Sofia Development Association, and although I have been interested in various events on the territory of Sofia for the past four years, at SofiaLab I discover activities that I have not been aware of so far. In the film "An education" Jenny says that action is character, and if we do nothing, we will remain no one. Every day I meet people who do a lot, have a cause, fight for it, follow it ... and that is stimulating, inspiring, wonderful.

To get an idea of what's happening at SofiaLab, I'll give you some examples of events that took place here recently.

On 12.11.2018 we hosted the Advisory Council on Youth Policy, along with us was the Deputy Mayor of Sofia Municipality - Assos. Prof. Todor Chobanov, municipal councilors, representatives of community centers and a bunch of other young people. The topic of their meeting was "Youth Spaces" (spaces where young people feel recognized, secure, invited to create events and free to make initiatives without being sued, a place where they gather to realize their ideas.) Young people decide whether to make the events themselves or invite someone to lead them. This is a place for development. By the way, SofiaLab is a place like this. :). After not a long but an intense discussion, the participants decided to indict a standpoint on the draft law for community centers, which would encourage the community centers to work as youth spaces. The idea is that this should happen on the principle of "funding for activities". We hope that this practice will come into force very soon and that in the Chitalishte will have more and more activities that develops skills for the young people.

Only two days later we hosted UNICEF ​​Bulgaria fundraising training for "Children's Champion". Young, smiled girls will collect funds in the form of SMS from benefactors for charity purposes. They will be the children's champions - young ladies who believe in UNICEF's motto - "Every child has the right to live, prosper and develop their full potential - for a better world." It was a pleasure for me to see how noble goal, gaming approach and good mood turn into quality training.

The weekend of the same week was no less interesting. A day full of emotions. The children of His Excellency, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark, Soren Yakobsen, played together with children, living in social institutions in Nadezhda district, here in SofiaLab. They did not only play, they were juggling together, riding a unicycle, made a pyramid together, danced and laughed. In short, they socialized regardless of where they come from, their nationality and their capabilities. They were learning together. All this happened thanks to Mini Art Foundation. They are dealing with Social Circle supported by the Europe Program - an innovative, social service for the neediest groups of people such as youths in social institutions, prisoners, refugees and people with health restrictions and disabilities. The Scandinavian countries' embassies and the IWC charity bazaar stand behind them and their cause - integration and physical activity, which aims to involve minority groups in society and ensure their development, self-esteem and social skills.

Next week, we were together with Microsoft and their EduDays (Training Days for Directors, Teachers and Students) along with the Business School of Sofia University. We were learning to program robots that are already part of SofiaLab's equipment and are available to anyone who is not afraid to improve on programming. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development then presented various models for financing projects in the field of energy efficiency and ecology.

A day later, we met the activities and campaigns of AEGEE Sofia (for example, Y Vote - a campaign for the upcoming European elections in May 2019 to develop critical thinking among young voters in Europe, to motivate them to vote and to involve them in the processes of decision-making at European level through civic participation methods), then a Round Table on the INTEGRA project, funded by the European Union Fund for Asylum, Migration and Integration, aiming at the integration of people from third countries, now lies ahead Giving Tuesday of foundation Because and events related to the month of the migrant.

In general, many things are happening at SofiaLab, all good and fruitful, and we are yet to develop and expand. We are open to any suggestions and advice and we guarantee that our enthusiasm will not diminish.

We expect you, young people!

More info you can find

HERE

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