The Second Week: I'm a real filmmaker now!

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Thursday, June 14, 2018

By:

Elon Price

So in case you were wondering this past week, no I still haven’t figured out how not to get lost on the Metro.  But I’m steadily learning everyday! Sometimes I miss my stop (like this morning) but then I just get right on that reverse train and eventually get where I need to go.

I also very much enjoy walking around the city and exploring a new area everyday.  It’s starting to get a little hotter around these parts so maybe a black blazer and pants aren’t the best walking material but I always make sure to have at least a liter of water with me.  I love how there’s a little bit of nature and greenery somehow mixed in amongst this concrete, glass and metal world. It’s reminiscent of my City of Oaks (Raleigh, NC) and I can’t help but feel a tinge of nostalgia.  Still, being here in DC reminds me of my desire to travel to a bunch of new places. I appreciate being able to turn the other corner and find a whole new uncharted territory.

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Last weekend was a blast!  It started with reggae-jazz and highly competitive games of Uno and ended with ultimate brunching (yes, I made that a verb).  Although it was my first experience with a pride parade, I’ve had no shortage of gatherings dispelling oppression and celebrating family, friends and the expression of diverse culture and personalities. I admit I saw some things maybe I wish I hadn’t but it was all part of a lifetime experience.  In the end, I was super happy I went and of course enjoyed using all the crazy makeup colors I had no business buying.

Before watching the parade, we got the chance to do what I’m now coining as “Light Networking” at the OSA viewing party.  The people there were so nice (I haven’t really met a not so nice person actually) and they seemed happy to meet us. There was lots of free food and colorful leis which we all took advantage of.  We also got a tour of the OSA HQ which was recently (and still in the process) renovated. The building was beautiful with glass sliding doors on the offices, a very modern and homey kitchen area and even a holographic photo!  There was also a balcony overlooking the parade grounds and other buildings and trees. Brigette really got the hook up!

After the tour and then the parade we made our way back to Sam’s room and watched Spiderman homecoming, for some it was a first-time experience that they thoroughly enjoyed.  For me, it was still really cool the 4th time around. After the movie, I was pretty exhausted so I went to sleep much earlier than I expected which was very nice.

The next day everyone got up somewhat early (10:30 is pretty late for me lol)  and we made our way to Teaism for brunch. It was nice to walk around the city on a sunny day with the gang, we had lively conversation along the way as usual so the walk went by super fast.  At Teaism, like the name suggests, they had all kinds of exotic teas in wonderfully decorated boxes. I ended up ordering a plate with tea-cured smoked salmon with cilantro-ginger eggs and a iced chai latte.  It was DElicious!

After a wonderful brunch and walk, I had the chance to get some meal prep in and made some cuban black beans, rice, peanut noodle salad, and vegan mandarin orange chicken.  It was all so tasty and made my week go by a lot smoother.

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This week at work I made some final changes to the script for my video.  I learned how to reserve conference rooms in the building so that I could record in a quiet environment.  Detailed below is the steps to make an awesome video:

  • Check the audio quality of your mic by recording some random stuff. If your sound sucks… figure it out.

  • Record the full audio for the video in sections so that it might be easier to work whatever video editing software you’re using.  If your total audio is longer than expected… figure it out.

  • Review all your audio and realize you somehow forgot an entire section of your 3 page script and record the whole thing again.  If you don’t recognize this until it’s wayyyy too late… then you’ll have to figure that out.

  • Once you got all your audio content squared away, figure out how the heck a simple video editing project turned into a computer coding experiment.

So that’s it! If you follow the above steps you can easily make your own informational video!  Okay so maybe don’t do any of those things but you catch my drift. Despite some speed bumps along the way, I’ve been enjoying my project a lot.  It’s not everyday I get to combine my love for physics and my secret artsy side. What a dream come true! I always said one day I would be an astrophysicist that made sci-fi movies on the side (um, nuclear physics and non-fiction) … I mean this is basically just that!

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Well it’s about that time when I think to myself, They’re never going to make it down this far in the blog Elon, so I’ll end it here for now.  Thanks for reading! If you want to find out if I become the next Steven Spielberg, you’ll just have to stay tuned!

Elon Price