CloudHead

May '23 Recap

Author

Giel Sweertvaegher
May 31, 2023

Welcome to the second edition of the CloudHead newsletter. It has been a relatively quiet month here. I didn't create any new work, but I did edit two videos, one of which has already been published. I also finished editing the photos from my trip to Morocco in April. June is expected to be similarly slow as I'll be very busy with my "real" job as a teacher. However, I'm excited to plan my summer holidays, and there are some exciting things coming up!

Thanks for reading

Giel Sweertvaegher

Last month’s work

🆙 Two of my videos have reached 1000 views, which may not seem like much, but I'm happy to see some progress in terms of views.

  • The first video is a 2021 recap featuring air-to-air footage. It was created during a time when I relied on iMovie for my video editing process. You can read more about how that has changed in the next section of this newsletter.

  • The second video is a POV photography video from my visit to Point Mugu. Due to restrictions, I couldn't film much, so it's mostly a compilation of iPhone footage. It seems people really enjoy getting up close with the Kfirs, and I can't blame them!

🆕 I released a new Youtube video showcasing memories from Morocco. It’s one of the easiest and simplest videos I’ve made so far, but also one of my personal favorites.

🆒 My favorite Instagram posts I made this month: the S211 in the best possible conditions.

⬇️ My worst performing Instagram post: the USA in black and white. Whenever I post non-aviation content, it receives minimal likes. Nevertheless, I’m still happy with how those images turned out.

⬆️My best performing Instagram post: who doesn’t like a Tiger attack helicopter? However, considering the significant drop in my reach, it’s difficult to determine what “best performing” truly means at this point. Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on with my Instagram anymore…

Behind the Scenes

📽️ Insta360 Flow

  • This month, I treated myself to some new gear. I've often been asked to film behind-the-scenes footage during my air-to-air flights, but it has proven to be quite challenging. In the past few years, I've captured some vertical footage using iPhone for my Instagram stories or aerial footage with my camera. However, the former is unsuitable for YouTube, and the latter takes up too much space and requires extensive editing. That's when I came across Casey Neistat's video about the Insta360 Flow, which seemed like a potential solution to many of my issues. It's essentially another gimbal designed for the iPhone, but it has the ability to easily lock onto a subject and follow its movement. It also features a built-in tripod and allows for seamless switching between vertical and horizontal filming. I'm really hopeful that with this new gear, I'll finally be able to create behind-the-scenes videos for the projects I'll be working on in July and August.

📹 Morocco video

  • Editing the Morocco video this month was the quickest edit I've ever done. It took me less than an hour to stabilize the footage, apply color grading, find suitable music, and piece everything together. My workflow has undergone significant changes since I committed to making 12 videos this year. Previously, I relied solely on iMovie for editing, but its capabilities for adjusting footage are quite limited. However, I still appreciate its stabilization feature, as I haven't been able to find a suitable alternative in other programs. Once the footage is stabilized, I import it into Davinci Resolve for color grading. I'm gradually becoming more familiar with its basic functions, but there's still so much to explore in this powerful and free software! I'm particularly interested in learning more about the color grading tools. After color grading, I proceed with the editing process in Adobe Premiere Rush. It provides all the necessary editing tools without overwhelming complexity. So far, Davinci has proven to be a bit overwhelming, and I feel there is still much more to learn before fully utilizing its editing capabilities. Perhaps once I become more proficient in color grading, I'll give it another try.

  • For music, I've discovered that Uppbeat is an easy-to-use website. It offers a wide selection of royalty-free music and provides enough free downloads for me to stick with the free plan. Occasionally, I've had issues with YouTube flagging my videos for copyright, most likely due to the music. However, at this stage, I'm not too concerned about it as I'm not eligible for monetization.

🎛️ Lightroom

  • I've come across entire articles discussing the incredible advancements in AI within Photoshop, but I was equally amazed by the new noise reduction capabilities in Lightroom. It's truly remarkable! Since I don't have any scheduled shoots this month, I plan to dedicate some time to editing older photos that I previously considered unusable due to noise. I'm excited to see what I can achieve with the new noise reduction feature. I'll try to create a video about it and provide an update in next month's newsletter!

Worth Sharing

✈️

🚀

🏎️

📹

  • Easily the best Youtuber out there right now.

  • Finally watched Bo Burnham’s ‘Inside’ on Netflix. The most creative thing I’ve seen in a long while.

⚔️

Connect

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