There has been brainstorming going on at Casa Benson with regards to what I can do with the video format. Tutorials are great, and I will continue to do them, but what else can I do? The video format offers me the ability to convey information differently than in either written words or still photographs so I really want to take advantage of its strengths.
I have a list of ideas that I keep adding to as they come to me. Some of them will take the acquisition of more technology and/or skills, but some of them can be accomplished with what I have on hand. Yesterday I filmed my first attempt at what I am calling a Pattern Tour. Which might make you do the head tilt, huh?
For every pattern I do a photo shoot and upload still photos to the Ravelry page (and here) and I try my very best to communicate all of the things that a knitter needs to know about a pattern. But things slip through the cracks. There are subtle elements that don’t quite come through. So I figured that I could shoot a video with me showing off the finished piece and babbling a bit about what you might have missed in the photos.
For my first swing at this format I decided to use In Uffish Thought. It is a fun, easy pattern with some subtle details that I think are not adequately conveyed by the photographs. Hopefully the video will show you more about the piece and maybe it will be a good fit for a yarn that you have been wanting to knit up. I tried to keep it short. Based on what YouTube tells me is the average viewing length of the previous videos – I need to keep them at 2:30 or less. Which makes sense, everyone is busy in this world!
My plan is to make this style video for all of my new releases (to add to the laundry list of other things I have to prep for a new pattern – why do I do these things to myself?), but I also want to go through my back catalog. If you have any of my already published patterns that you would like to receive this treatment, please do not hesitate to nominate them in the comments. It would be awesome to be able to prioritize my efforts.
Any feedback on this concept is also welcome. Was there something I did that didn’t work for you? Is there something you wish I did that would be great to add in the future? This is an evolving concept so I can try new stuff in subsequent videos.
Tumped Duck 