Once upon a time it was only the few who were “under the lights” in front of a camera. They were the movie stars, dressed by professionals, with make up applied by professionals in front of gleaming mirrors in well-lighted rooms, and directed by seasoned visionaries who knew the story and how to tell it on film.
Today there are about 64,000,000 content creators on YouTube, from musicians to magicians, from painters to political commentators. YouTube and other video platforms are filled with “stars” who pay their own way to appear before you. The hundreds who teach golf on YouTube are joined by dozens who teach ballet, bull riding, bocce ball and bridge.
So much for the idea that most people are camera shy.
Some of those who teach online are excellent, of course, but all of them have this in common: they have taken action. (Isn’t it fun that the word “action” in italics gives a picture of “action?”)
Getting started
If there is something you want to say on video, you will need a few things. You will undoubtedly need better lights than you have in your home office. Without them the picture won’t be as sharp, and it won’t be as appealing to the viewer, even if they don’t know why.
Amazon has you covered, with more choices for lighting than a Hollywood studio gives a low budget movie. For under $20, you can make yourself much brighter on Zoom calls. (I should say, make your image brighter. You have to bring the “brain brighter” yourself.) Those lights will suffice for some YouTubing as well.
For less than $75, you can make the whole room bright and appealing to the camera. Spend around $250, and you are in the big time for lighting. You’ll receive a package with lights on stands, all adjustable for height and angle, and probably intensity. Amazing!
Drop about $500, and you can grab a GVM Pro 500W SD with a built in DMX-512 interface. No, I do not understand most of that, but it sounds impressive.
On YouTube you can learn about makeup, what color shirt/dress you should and should not wear, and on and on.
(The first video I pulled up on that topic suffered from several sound issues. The volume was too low, the words difficult to understand, and the lip movements did not match the words I could understand. Golly!)
Which of course brings us to sound. Microphones, like lights, can be very expensive or very affordable. Either will make a big difference.
A little work and less than $100, and you’re in! Lights, camera (which comes with your computer or you can add more), action.
Appearing now…
Social media has given a stage to anyone who wants one. From Facebook to YouTube to Instagram to X and everything in between, people record themselves and put it out for the world to see.
What are we seeing? In many cases, we are seeing acting. Not a popular Hollywood star, a regular person. But that regular person, aware that he or she is on stage, delivers a script that is often created for popularity.
Followers. Subscribers. Likes. Shares. Reposts. Those are the metrics of social media. It is a great way to have fun, but it is not a great way to make a living.
Still, if you have something to say that people need to hear, act on it.
I don’t mean “act” like being an actor — too many are doing that already. I mean act like take action.
The road to heaven
You know the proverb about the road to hell being paved with good intentions? Does hearing that make you want to throw on your suit and get to work? Until I read the saying in the following context, it never once stirred me from my chair. I would read it or hear it, nod my head in agreement, and stay seated. But William James moved me with:
No matter how full a reservoir of maxims one may possess, and no matter how good one’s sentiments may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one’s character may remain entirely unaffected for the better. With mere good intentions, hell is proverbially paved.
For most of my life I assumed the line was about intentions gone wrong, but I believe James has it right: these are intentions without actions.
If in fact hell (along with the road to it) is paved with “mere good intentions,” then can we say that the road to heaven is paved with good actions? I believe we can.
Some, I know, will read that and think that I am advocating for an odd kind of “works based” salvation. I am not. What I am promoting is that all of us who wish to do good should actually do good, not just intend to do good.
Before you place your Amazon order…
I know the day is coming soon for Do Good U when we will set up a small studio and start creating videos on doing good. That means we’ll be shopping for microphones and cameras and lights, and learning about sets and makeup and clothing. What we already have is content.
Why? Because literally for years and years we have been teaching people how to do good, both with our words and our actions. Recently an old friend said about me, “That’s Lewis, doing good… for as long as I’ve known him.”
Those were kind words and much appreciated, but also a reminder for me to keep on doing good. “As long as I’ve known him” is much preferred over “every once in a while.”
So before you spend several hundred dollars on equipment and invade social media, live your good out IRL. Because real life is where character is built. In short,'”act” if you like, but take advantage of every good opportunity to act.
Do good! It’s in you.
Lights, Camera, Action
Once upon a time it was only the few who were “under the lights” in front of a camera. They were the movie stars, dressed by professionals, with make up applied by professionals in front of gleaming mirrors in well-lighted rooms, and directed by seasoned visionaries who knew the story and how to tell it on film.
Today there are about 64,000,000 content creators on YouTube, from musicians to magicians, from painters to political commentators. YouTube and other video platforms are filled with “stars” who pay their own way to appear before you. The hundreds who teach golf on YouTube are joined by dozens who teach ballet, bull riding, bocce ball and bridge.
So much for the idea that most people are camera shy.
Some of those who teach online are excellent, of course, but all of them have this in common: they have taken action. (Isn’t it fun that the word “action” in italics gives a picture of “action?”)
Getting started
If there is something you want to say on video, you will need a few things. You will undoubtedly need better lights than you have in your home office. Without them the picture won’t be as sharp, and it won’t be as appealing to the viewer, even if they don’t know why.
Amazon has you covered, with more choices for lighting than a Hollywood studio gives a low budget movie. For under $20, you can make yourself much brighter on Zoom calls. (I should say, make your image brighter. You have to bring the “brain brighter” yourself.) Those lights will suffice for some YouTubing as well.
For less than $75, you can make the whole room bright and appealing to the camera. Spend around $250, and you are in the big time for lighting. You’ll receive a package with lights on stands, all adjustable for height and angle, and probably intensity. Amazing!
Drop about $500, and you can grab a GVM Pro 500W SD with a built in DMX-512 interface. No, I do not understand most of that, but it sounds impressive.
On YouTube you can learn about makeup, what color shirt/dress you should and should not wear, and on and on.
(The first video I pulled up on that topic suffered from several sound issues. The volume was too low, the words difficult to understand, and the lip movements did not match the words I could understand. Golly!)
Which of course brings us to sound. Microphones, like lights, can be very expensive or very affordable. Either will make a big difference.
A little work and less than $100, and you’re in! Lights, camera (which comes with your computer or you can add more), action.
Appearing now…
Social media has given a stage to anyone who wants one. From Facebook to YouTube to Instagram to X and everything in between, people record themselves and put it out for the world to see.
What are we seeing? In many cases, we are seeing acting. Not a popular Hollywood star, a regular person. But that regular person, aware that he or she is on stage, delivers a script that is often created for popularity.
Followers. Subscribers. Likes. Shares. Reposts. Those are the metrics of social media. It is a great way to have fun, but it is not a great way to make a living.
Still, if you have something to say that people need to hear, act on it.
I don’t mean “act” like being an actor — too many are doing that already. I mean act like take action.
The road to heaven
You know the proverb about the road to hell being paved with good intentions? Does hearing that make you want to throw on your suit and get to work? Until I read the saying in the following context, it never once stirred me from my chair. I would read it or hear it, nod my head in agreement, and stay seated. But William James moved me with:
For most of my life I assumed the line was about intentions gone wrong, but I believe James has it right: these are intentions without actions.
If in fact hell (along with the road to it) is paved with “mere good intentions,” then can we say that the road to heaven is paved with good actions? I believe we can.
Some, I know, will read that and think that I am advocating for an odd kind of “works based” salvation. I am not. What I am promoting is that all of us who wish to do good should actually do good, not just intend to do good.
Before you place your Amazon order…
I know the day is coming soon for Do Good U when we will set up a small studio and start creating videos on doing good. That means we’ll be shopping for microphones and cameras and lights, and learning about sets and makeup and clothing. What we already have is content.
Why? Because literally for years and years we have been teaching people how to do good, both with our words and our actions. Recently an old friend said about me, “That’s Lewis, doing good… for as long as I’ve known him.”
Those were kind words and much appreciated, but also a reminder for me to keep on doing good. “As long as I’ve known him” is much preferred over “every once in a while.”
So before you spend several hundred dollars on equipment and invade social media, live your good out IRL. Because real life is where character is built. In short,'”act” if you like, but take advantage of every good opportunity to act.
Do good! It’s in you.
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