Technical Tea 3: Natural Puerh
WHEW!
Dang y’all.
Video is hard.
Today’s Teas
Thanks again to Allen Yu for sending me these free samples. You can find these teas and more at naturalpuerh.com!
Video Grief
I was on the verge of giving up on video and just stick with audio podcasts. But I REALLY want y’all to experience the quiet sereniTEA that gongfu brewing can bring. So I persisted through the pain and the madness.
Only to emerge with an exhausted confusion. I think it was worth, and I hope future attempts will be easier and higher quality.
Here’s a summary of the problems I encountered, and how I solved them. This is less entertaining than it is about sharing my pain. Enjoy.
Problem: I need to record video. Solution: I’ll just use my phone! (This will ultimately fail)
Problem: I need lighting and a mount for the phone. Solution: I’ll just grab the cheapest, most popular solution on amazon! (This actually works pretty well.)
Problem: My phone shuts itself off after 20 minutes of filming. Solution: An alternate camera program that auto-restarts recording after the hardware limit. (This may permanently overheat and damage my phone.)
I recorded a full hour of audio and video. This will shock you, but there are some problems!
Problem: The camera constantly shifts focus whenever I move my hand or pick up a cup. This is a surprisingly nauseating effect. Solution: Lock in the auto-focus.
Problem: The camera video quality isn’t terrible…but it’s not great. Solution: Try to use my wife’s phone. Install the new camera program.
I recorded another full hour of audio and video, and this one was mostly problem free! The only remaining problem is this:
When I recorded the podcast I kept the mic close and turned away to drink tea. But I didn’t want the mic on camera, so it’s much further than it was before. This was a terrible mistake, and the quality is MUCH worse.
So while I think I have video figured out, I need to troubleshoot the audio and see how I can improve it while still drinking tea.
Any suggestions are welcome, and tune in next time to see if I’ve found a solution!
And try to enjoy the tea video in spite of its voluminous flaws…
