What a busy week! Planning for the new beauty site has taken over my life - in a good way. Besides learning to stick to a schedule in order to honor the time of all the people involved in this project, there have been other nuggets of wisdom. See my top four revelations below.
1) I have the innate ability to drive web designers and art directors crazy without much effort.
2)Writing script for a web program 20 minutes before it airs is not a good idea.
3)This project seems to require talent beyond what I currently possess.
And my favorite, 4) I suck in front of a video camera.
That last one really bites as most of the platform for the new site is video. Yeah. Do you feel my pain here? Now, in all fairness to myself, I should state that revelation #4 was a direct result of not knowing revelation #2 until it was too late.
Non-professionals stepping in front of any camera really should take the proper time to prepare. And trust me, I've learned my lesson after being scolded by my director. On location. With other people walking past.
Doing 63 takes to get a five minute piece seemed logical to me. I mean, I'M A NEWBIE HERE.
Of course, my guest host who will cover travel assignments (like her first interview in a few weeks with a very poshy organic salon), is a professional news reporter.
It seemed like such a good idea to have her as a part of this project. We could reach a larger audience with our very different looks and perspectives. However, it totally didn't register that I'd look like a complete idiot in front of the camera and she'd be as smooth as butter.
I sat in my office and pouted after seeing my fear induced face on video, again questioning why I thought this was a good idea all those months ago. But then I took a deep breath. And gave myself a pep talk:
Todra, it's true. You aren't particularly engaging in front of the camera. And God knows, you should not have worn those jeans for that taping at the health food store. But this isn't as bad as it seems.
And the beautiful blond co-host is not your enemy. Stop making voodoo dolls of her. She's your close friend. Remember? And what do close friends do? They help each other. Do you see a clear path here? Maybe?
That was it! Instead of crawling under my desk and crying in a bucket of ice cream over my lack of video charisma, I'd call my friend and ask her to help me get better at it!
I did just that. And she gleefully answered, "Of course, silly! I'll come over and teach you some pointers."
The 5th thing I learned this week: I have awesome friends.
