Progress Over Perfection
The feeling of relief washed over me, like a hot shower after a long training run. Or the feel of a warm cloth wiping off a deep cleansing masque in your first facial after lockdown.
It started from the top of my head and cascaded down my neck, shoulders, back and hips. Opening muscles with every wave as I leaned back in my office chair in a deep sigh. The final flourish, lifting my arm now weighted with relief as I unclipped my microphone.
I had finally filmed the conclusion of a project that filled all of my free time for the last two months.
I first got the idea to film a course on setting up your Zoom shot like a producer in the spring. I was looking for work for the first time in a decade and in the middle of a pandemic no less. I work in TV, so I know how to use professional equipment operated by a professional crew. I did not know how to do this at home with just a phone and a laptop.
I’m not a Youtuber, I’m not an influencer. I’m just a girl who applied her professional knowledge to her home office and instantly noticed a boost in confidence on a platform that previously silenced me. And I want to share this knowledge with the world.
For the past two months I’ve struggled with my inner perfectionist. I’ve been constantly frustrated with sub-par equipment, delivery delays for products meant to improve my audio and an inexperienced host. But nevertheless I persisted. Any spare afternoon or day off I would record a few short sections. I boiled my lessons into two-minute videos that will make up a lesson.
With each session, I got better, faster and more confident with my editing skills. I want to keep things consistent so even though I filmed over the course of two months, I kept my hair in a top knot and wore the same pink button-down every day. This means I have a self-imposed deadline of Aug 7th when I plan on cutting off my lockdown locks after not having a haircut for 13 months.
So yesterday when I filmed my last piece a week before my next haircut the relief was immense. It means I can take a few days to myself and tweak the editing I’ve done so far and still have two days in my schedule to do any retakes. But seeing as I’ve been editing as I went along, I didn’t anticipate any reshoots.
Until I gave a close listen to the clips. The audio is not great. It’s also not consistent. Early clips, the microphone is crisp and clear. But in latter clips, it’s really low. Ironically these make up the section on audio. In one clip, there’s a buzz, as if there’s an electronic interference probably from my desk lamp.
The tension instantly smacked me in the face. My inner perfectionist wants to scrap the whole project, abandon the plan and start coming up with excuses when people ask me what’s happening with my course. But there’s a new voice in town. Let’s call her Ms Progress.
Progress Over Perfection is what I remind myself every time the project falls a little bit short. I’ve never created content this way, not something purely DIY. The money I had to invest in the project went into equipment. I’m not in a position to hire a crew or editor. Not right now. So I’m having to learn it all and try my best and learn from my mistakes.
Ms Progress wants to continue building on what we have — even with the uneven audio. The course also includes written material and downloadable guides people can refer to instead of going through the videos. She wants to focus on that instead.
Ms Perfection is on board because she knows we’re a better writer than on-air host.
So, even though the audio is less than stellar, I have a plan to move forward and improve. Once the written materials are ready, I’ll publish the course using the parts of video that still apply. I could be all of the content, or it could just be the live demos. And I might have enough to work for quick IG videos.
When you’re not paying attention to the audio with an editor’s ear, the advice is still solid. It explains TV production to those who don’t work in TV but now have to master production for work meetings. There is still value to the advice I have to share and I can’t let perfection get in the way of that.
There’s still time to find a better microphone to use on this platform. To learn how to troubleshoot audio during recording and gradually improve this project. Until then, I will let my written works do the talking.
