I’ve been learning a lot just in the past week of working on this. I suspect I’m going to learn a lot more before it’s done. It’s not that I don’t think I can do it. I know I can. I just want to whine and say, “I don’t wanna!”
I got some more video recorded yesterday. I took Kender to a friend’s house to video him with the dogs. We got to see him tolerating the dogs as they greeted him at the door, moving to ignoring the dogs after just a few minutes, and loudly refusing to help give the dogs treats. We got him checking out (and banging!) a bird’s cage, generally exploring an unfamiliar house. Then we caught a spectacular refusal on his part to put his coat back on and leave. Much thanks to my friend Su for letting us invade and do that; I know she’s not been feeling her best the past few days!
Before bedtime last night, we got some more video of Kender’s singing. I got an interview with Tamara, we introduced Max and Teddy Bear to the camera, and we got a little bit of Kender petting the cats (and poking her ears).
I’ve taken a fair amount of video over this year. In fact, I have hours and hours of it, all of it needing review. I need to watch each video and take notes, like “1:36 Kender pats the cats, 2:45 Kender kicks the dishwasher,” so I can find segments for putting into the main video. This will probably take up quite a few evenings over the next week.
Before I can review the videos, though, I have to watch them, and that is turning out to be trickier than I expected. (This is what I get for putting this off for so long!) My phone and my tablet record in specialized formats, one in *.3gp and the other in *.mp4. Neither of these would play with the default Windows Vista programs. (I’m not working on the Linux computer because I need to do a lot of this during the day, when the kids are up, and the Linux box is in the basement where I can’t keep an eye on things.) After some digging around, I found Final Media Player that at least would let me watch the videos in these formats.
I need more than watching, though. I need editing, cut and paste, voiceover. I found Lightworks for that. The free version may be limited, but there is a 30-day trial on the Pro version, and 30 days should be more than I need. Hopefully the learning curve on it is not too steep. There are some active forums I can dip into for help.
I have learned that the longest my tablet will record video is about 1 hour 22 minutes. I wish that I could set up cameras in every room, constantly streaming to the main computer. I wish I could get a head-mounted camera, or a cameraman to follow me around all day. It’s so hard to catch things on video. Some behaviors just don’t last long enough. I think I will need to deputize one of the older kids each day to follow Kender around with a camera, filming until the battery runs out and then starting over. That may be the only way to get some of this.
Today is New Year’s Eve, and we are expected company for our annual party. I have cleaning and cooking to do, so my time on this may be limited today. I plan to get more video recorded and start testing out the Lightworks editor.