Artist AND Videographer!

When I was actually drinking the coffee and contemplating posting, it was in the Alaska mug. It took so long for Blogger to load this morning that I drank it all before getting here. "No More Buffalo" by James McMurtry for music. Not Blogger's fault about the lack of speed though--I'm uploading the new versions of the roll-up videos to YouTube right now. James McM is for Dave who is planning to drop by the Continental Club tonight at midnight to see him. *sigh* I am so envious. I'd stay up for James McM.

I was very disappointed in the quality of the roll-up videos I initially put up--especially as the quality before uploading was very good. Last night I did a little technical research on the mahvelous interweb and discovered that you are supposed to upload the highest quality video you can to YouTube--you should not compress it yourself first--as they will compress and "optimize" it when you upload. So a little more time on the front end for me results in a much better video for you. Unfortunately, the article I read said the maximum size for uploading was 100 mg. I spent a couple of hours last night trying to get each of mine just smaller than 100mg each with no success. This morning when I went to YouTube to upload my compromise size (I finally ended up with iMovie's pre-defined cd-rom quality of 35 mg) I saw that YouTube now accepts up to 1 gig and 10 minutes of film per video. Re-exported to 250 mg each, and am sloooowly getting them up. Note to self: make sure to be connected to the DSL through a cable--not wireless--to upload 250 mg files...

Who knew as a glass artist I'd have to learn about the nuances of video formats, compression, frame rate, aspect, bit rate, etc.? I just want to press a button and have the darn thing show up on that there Internet instantly looking great. I don't think that's too much to ask. But technological savvy is increasingly important for artists. Going back to the discussions several of us had at the Buyer's Market in February, the venues of the past for promoting our work aren't enough. I don't know anyone now who just does the annual retail festival circuit (Florida in the Winter, the deep south for the spring, then up to the Midwest or west to the Rockies for the summer). Likewise, I don't know anyone who is making it just doing the wholesale arts shows--certainly no one who started in the past five years.

More income streams (i.e., production work, art work, teaching, writing, etc.) and more online marketing venues (not just a website but Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Plaxo--and I'm not taking on-line sales here, that's a whole different subject) are becoming the norm for the successful artist--and each of them requires new skill sets and time. It's only Wednesday and I'm ready for a nap (or to go become a pool cleaner).

Enjoy the (New and Improved!) videos. Don't forget to put the sound on, and--as always--please support the musicians who inspired me both in my artistic endeavors and for the videos (Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Jace Everett, John Carpenter and the Coupe de Villes, and Creedence Clearwater Revival (links are to buy the MP3's on Amazon--how great is that technology?).