Hakuna Matata... No Worries

Children found playing in Durham water fountain on hot summer day.    

                                      BTW, turn up the volume before watching the video!              

        

                     

 

Okay, so they're bronze children.

Statues.

I call it Public art.

Each time I go to SouthPoint Mall (about 4 times a year), I park on the side closest to the lively water fountain. I enjoy walking past it and feeling the cool energy of the flowing waters almost pushing those children into space on their little water disks.

You are probably thinking I've gone cuckoo over making movies, that I have nothing better to do than to sit and transfer my camera videos from my computer to the Windows Movie Maker before uploading them to UnCut Videos. Truth is, it takes so long to complete the process, and I work on it at night after my husband has gone to bed. During the day, I am in my classroom getting ready for you know what to start. Yes, I've even made a video of that, too, though I may not post that one. Got to find a way to make it interesting.

Each time I make a movie, I discover some new feature in the Windows Movie Maker program. For example, during the arrangement of this movie short, I learned how to mute the actual sounds coming from the video, then added the audio music clip from a CD favorite. Not only that, I discovered, through my need to have a very brief musical piece, how to shorten the music clip so that it ended where I wanted it to end. I also learned how to move the audio clip around so that it began just after the title frame. It fades in at the beginning, and fades out at the end.

For those of you who are wanting to do the same with your video clips, it's very easy once you have done a few. I must warn you, though, that if your family is already complaining that they've missed you ever since you started your journal/blog, they will probably forget who you are by the time you have loaded up your first video.

Getting past that first one is the clincher, you see. Each subsequent movie went much faster. Kind of like having a baby. The first one takes forever to birth, but those that follow are generally quicker in delivery. So I've heard, having never had more than one child.

The difference in this analogy is that any pain you experience while transferring your video from computer to YouTube or UnCut Videos will likely be in your shoulders and neck because you are spending too much time sitting at the computer!

As for the song I chose, Hakuna Matata... it sounds playful, and matches the rhythm of the splashing water very well. It also reflects the way I felt the day I was at the mall. Sheria (Aimer) and I had met for lunch. It was a Saturday. I would like to tell you the story of how I drove to the mall twice that day, but it's rather long, and it makes me look very stupid. In fact, I called myself stupid several times that morning on my way home to get my wallet. There, now you know the punch line. The details are inconsequential!

Back in February, Sheria, Caroline, and I met for lunch... our first meeting as aoljournalers. We had such a great time sharing stories about ourselves, and answering each other's questions about ourselves. Caroline couldn't make it this time (we missed you, Caroline) but Sheria and I were able to. She's a fascinating person to sit down and talk with. I learned more about the legislative process during those two hours than I've learned these past few years as a teacher of fifth graders.

I'd like to visit her in our State Capitol one day, at her convenience, and follow her around, like a shadow. She would explain what's going on, point out who's who and what's what in a way that I would understand. That's a teacher's field trip I'd like to go on one day.

After we parted company, I walked past the water fountain, took the pictures and some video. I also filmed someone called Juggle Boy. I'm thinking of posting him next. I'll have to learn how to delete unnecessary footage, though, because it is over 8 minutes long, and some of it is preparatory action, not part of the act itself.

Coming Soon: Juggle Boy at South Point Mall!

 

 

Tags: Hakuna Matata, public art, water fountain sculptures, bronze sculptures, SouthPoint Mall, Windows Movie Maker, making movies for your journal, blogplug

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