The Process
Jericho's Rules for Becoming a Travel Writer, Photographer, Blogger & Vlogger.
I'm coming at this new venture into travel writing from scratch. I know very little about writing, photography, videography, editing, etc., etc., etc. The point of this blog and my vlog are to document my progress through what I have been referring to as The Process; essentially learning what I need to know to be successful at all the skills that go into being a travel blogger/vlogger. As I have learned new lessons, I am making them into Rules and recording them here. My hope is that others might learn from my mistakes and there's going to be plenty!
Rule 1: Produce Quantity. Quality will follow.
Rule 2: Get to the Graveyard early
Rule 3: Read The Fucking Manual
Rule 4: Look at a map
Rule 5: Read the Wiki
Rule 6: Read Something Besides Wikipedia
Rule 7: Bang the Rocks
Rule 8: Hit Save NOW!
Rule 9: Write It Down
Rule 10: Turn It Off
Rule 11: Take Another Take
Rule 12: Don't Attack the Darkness!
Rule 13: Go By Yourself, Bub!
Rule 14: DIY - Trust No One!
Rule 1: Produce Quantity. Quality will follow.
An old friend sent me an article when I announced to my Facebook friends I had a new side hustle I hoped to turn into my next career. It's something of a variation on "Allow yourself to suck." I like it and I'm following it.
Rule 2: Get to the Graveyard early
Sounds way more morbid than it is. But, it's a lesson I apparently need to bang into my head. I need to get to whatever site I'm going to record early, that way I have enough time to record everything I want to record and maybe a bit more, so I can throw out the stuff that didn't turn out.
Rule 3: Read The Fucking Manual
This is an old lesson with a new twist. RTFM used to be a way to tell someone to read the documentation that came with their bit of technology before harassing others with questions they could have already answered for themselves. These days, there are Fucking Manuals fucking everywhere! If you can't find out how to do the thing you want to do on Google or YouTube, change your search terms, it's out there! In my case, Adobe has a massive amount of tutorials on their software. Back in the day, access to all of those materials would have cost tens of thousands of dollars. Now all of that educational material on how to use their software is included in the price of their software subscription. Color me impressed!
Rule 4: Look at a map
This is another way to say RTFM, and, I need this lesson banged into my head as well. If I am going to speak to camera about a site I'm recording, saying, REPEATEDLY!, it's in St. Louis County when it's in the city and this will just result in wasted editing time when I am cutting six and seven frames, individual words, one at a time! Also, getting to a site and discovering it's six to ten times larger than I thought and I don't know where the good stuff is located will result in not getting enough footage and wasting time with less impressive and interesting subjects.
Rule 5: Read the Wiki
RTFM! The Wikipedia entry on whatever site I'm going to is the LEAST amount of research I should do before I allow myself out of my apartment. If I'm taking pictures of the Quick Trip down the street, I should have its wiki page and corporate page memorized!
Rule 6: Read Something Besides Wikipedia
I'm a huge fan of Wikipedia. But, not everything is there and it's not always complete. Look at several sources. Don't throw things together the day of the shoot. At the very least I should show some journalist curiosity and read
Rule 7: Bang the Rocks
“We'll be saying a big hello to all intelligent lifeforms everywhere and to everyone else out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together, guys.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Again, an old lesson. But, for me, I need to learn to be more persistent. This lesson is a bit of Rule 1 and Rule 3, but with a learning focus. Am I afraid to proceed because I don't know how something works? Do I want to learn how to do something new? Do it. Proceed. RTFM. Press the buttons. What will I break?
Rule 8: Hit Save NOW!
I've been playing with computers since grade school and haven't I learned this Rule yet? Hit Save now and then! Do it! Make back ups! Jeebus!
Rule 9: Write It Down
I have a terrible memory. Yet, I am convinced that I can remember every good, bad, weird, goofy and fun idea for a blog that pops into my head. I really can't, but I keep acting like I can. I am never more than five feet from a computing device and write the idea down! Send yourself a text or an email. Call and leave yourself a voicemail. Write it in blood on a food wrapper but get it down!
Rule 10: Turn It Off
I don't have time to write a blog? I don't have time to edit a vlog? Bullshit! I just watched three hours of other people's vlogs! I just re-re-re-watched four episodes of West Wing and NCIS! Relaxation is important. Regulating my stress is important. But it's almost funny how much writing and editing I get done when I actually get in front of my computer and Bang the Rocks!
Rule 11: Take Another Take
I'm usually pretty good about taking more than one picture of a given subject, it's an old habit from when I worked as a photographer in a department store in high school. However, when it comes to video, I think I'm One Take Jericho. I really am not. When I sit down to edit, I would love for the guy on my screen to have taken a second or third take so I can replace the things he flubbed on his only take! Hit record a second time. Take WAY more video than you think you'll need because you'll need it, pal!
Rule 12: Don't Attack the Darkness!
Some reading this may be familiar with the Dead Alewives D&D sketch. For those not familiar and that don't have time/interest to watch the linked YouTube video, there is a line in the sketch where one of the goofy Dungeons & Dragons players casts a magic spell at nothing, in an attempt to attack the darkness - everybody laughs. Go watch the thing, huh?
Anyway, photography and videography are the arts of capturing light with a lens, recording it to media; film, tape, digital, what have you. If there is no light, THERE IS NOTHING TO RECORD!!!
So, the Rule here, you can't record darkness. Light Your Scene. Use a flashlight or the light on your cell phone or a road flare or whatever you have, but light that frak up! You'll get better quality and you won't look like an idiot.
Ruke 13: Go By Yourself, Bub!
Planning a trip with friends can be a lot of fun, going on that trip even more so. Going on a photography outing might be fun, but, then again maybe not. I like having friends along for my projects. But, I also need to Produce Quantity, see Rule 1. If the friends can't make the project, I still need to go and produce. I need to plan projects as if I am going by myself. If others want to tag along, fine. Fun! It's too easy to cancel when friends cancel. If I cancel, I'm not producing.
Rule 14: DIY - Trust No One!
I am sitting at my computer after a couple of years of neglecting this blog, rebuilding everything from scratch. And I do mean FROM SCRATCH. There will be a blog post with details, I'm sure. The point of Rule 14 is that I cannot trust corporations to care for my data. I lost blog entries and photos because I trusted hosting companies when I should have made back ups of everything! From now on, no short cuts. I'll cut my own firewood.
Rule 86: Anchor tags are really old tech...
I built this whole page with Anchor tags. Essentially they are links within the page instead of going from page to page. This concept is as old as the the concept of building web pages. For whatever reason, when you click the lowest link, it doesn't pop that link up to the top of the page - because the bottom of the page is too close? I really don't know. Anyway, if you drop some useless space at the bottom the page, like this waste of bytes, you get the link to pop where it should. I learned to do this, but I haven't learned how to "properly" do it. If I'm lucky some internet know-it-all will come by, call me an idiot, and tell me how it's done.