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Vlog #4: All Dressed Up With No Place to Go

Gabrielle — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:17:54 +0000

This is entry #4 in my vlog series. It’s been a few months (about five) since my last vlog was published. My, how time flies!

Clocking in at a whopping 30 seconds in length, this is my shortest vlog to date. Sometimes less is more, and I think this is a good example. It’s short and sweet. My apologies if you were hoping for something a little longer. You can always play it again a few more times. Don’t worry, it won’t wear out.

Why so short?
The video footage was actually recorded a few months ago, and meant to be longer. Trouble with my editing tools had me spinning my wheels and I gave up on it after a while. I talked about it in this post.

After playing around with some of the footage on and off, mainly as a creative exercise, I settled on an interesting, stylized visual presentation. A few short snippets of the original version were chosen to appear in the final 30 second video. It seemed more effective and meaningful to keep the “message” short and sweet. In the end I liked how it turned out, and there you go.

The day after
Like the video, this write-up also had to be chopped down to a more manageable size. I have a tendency to ramble on about my creative interests – in this case, video production and visual style. It was enjoyable to indulge, but most people don’t come here for that kind of thing. It seemed to clutter up the post, rather than add to it. Another good example of less being more effective. Exactly one day after publishing, I removed six paragraphs of “clutter” for a shorter, tidier post.

Where do you go when you’re “all dressed up”?
Like I asked in the video, is there a welcoming and safe environment you can be yourself and fem-out? Perhaps like myself, you find yourself all dressed up with no place to go? Please take a few minutes to share – either way.

Disclaimer and reminder
I have little control over the suggested videos offered after mine finishes.

Vlog #3: Thanksgiving, Coming Out, and Horror Movies

Gabrielle — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:00:19 +0000

NOTE: I took the video offline, see below.

To my American friends, happy Thanksgiving, 2009, a day early. To friends around rest of the world, happy November 26, a day early. Holiday or not, I hope everyone enjoys the company of friends, family and good food.

This is vlog entry #3 – a (mostly) Thanksgiving themed video that is bit experimental in presentation. In a departure from grainy phone video, this one was recorded on a standard resolution video camera and features a few basic but fun visual effects.

In vlog episode 3, I discuss:

My low-key Thanksgiving Day plans
A Thanksgiving meal that does not include the traditional turkey
An inquiry into who plans on coming out to friends/family this holiday season
Meeting up with an old school friend who I came out to at my class reunion a few months ago
My love of horror and slasher films
Long-term plans to (hopefully) incorporate my feminine side with my creative interests in film/video and the horror/slasher movie genre

Thanksgiving
I was initially just going to do a Thanksgiving Day post without a vlog attached to it, but decided on a Thanksgiving themed video blog instead. As stated in the video, it’s just Mrs. H. and I this year – no extended family gathering. Honestly, it feels so good to just enjoy a nice, quiet holiday together sometimes. There will be plenty of family gatherings to attend this year. They’re fun, but can also be a stressful, too. I’m sure many of you can identify. Every few years, my wife and I like to spend Thanksgiving by ourselves and just relax. Do you and yours ever do the same on Thanksgiving or any other holiday typically associated with extended family gatherings? Tell me about it.

Coming out
Crossdressing being a social taboo, it is something many (most?) choose to keep very private about. I was that way until just last year when I came out to my wife. Do any of you plan on coming out to your wife, girlfriend, friends, or families this holiday season? If so, why did you choose the holiday? I’d like to hear what your plans are in that regard and how they turned out.

Christmas tree & decoration weekend
Putting up the Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving is pretty typical for many. I forgot to mention it in my video, but the fabulous Mrs. H. and I will be setting up our Christmas tree and putting out the seasonal decorations. Mrs. H. will be handling most of the decorating herself after I reassemble our artificial tree. She’s very good at it and really enjoys the process. It doesn’t do much for me – the actual activity decorating, that is. I like decorating myself (as in en femme, of course), but I don’t exactly have a flair for seasonal decorating or much interest in taking care of it, personally. Thankfully, there’s no need to because my wife does a fantastic job.

Who takes care of the decorations in your house? Is it a pretty mutual activity, or does one do more than the other? Do you use an artificial tree or prefer a nature-made real pine?

Horror movies
What a strange, mismatched topic to include in a Thanksgiving themed video blog. Then again, the topics covered in my previous vlogs were also varied to some extent. The point in my video blog series is sharing ideas, information, and just plan chatting about whatever. I do enjoy horror/slasher films and felt like chatting about it. In some ways, I’m sure that breaks a few stereotypes of “what crossdressers are in to”, and I really like that. People need to rid themselves off the stereotypes. Anyone who thinks they’ve got me all summed up because I crossdress is an idiot. I am many things – we ALL are. I am not defined by just my gender expression, but rather the sum of who I am, and that encompasses a plethora of things.

Lights, camera, action… WHOA!
What did you think of the presentation of this particular video blog? I had a lot of fun ideas, but time constraints greatly limited me to what I could include in it (in terms of visuals, sight gags, and additional supporting imagery).

On the technical end, I was very unhappy with the harsh lighting (for vanity reasons). It wasn’t until after reviewing the footage that I realized how terrible and unflattering the hard shadows made my face look. With some reluctance, I completed and published the video in spite of my unusually rugged appearance. The photo to the right (taken shortly after shooting the video) shows my face in softer, better light (click to enlarge). In the future, I’ll probably go with my phone camera again. Thought it lacks picture quality, it’s simple, effective, easy to work with, and requires a lot less preparation, set-up and time consuming postproduction work.

Some feedback on the technical end would be appreciated, if you have any to offer. What worked in this video and what didn’t? Were the visuals fun, or just distracting?

Sorry about the annoying hum noise
My apologies for that annoying damn hum sound in the audio. I was completely unaware of that while working on the video because it was not present in the (cheap) headphones I used during editing. Only after uploading the video to YouTube and listening to it on another computer did I realize there is a rather annoying low-spectrum hum present on the vocal track. Unfortunately, my time is up and the video is posted. YouTube doesn’t allow video replacement – I’d need to delete the video and re-upload it as new, which I really don’t want to have to do. The hum is rather irritating though, so I may just fix it, delete the old hum-video, and re-upload it anyway. Let me know if you heard the hum or not. Maybe I’ll get lucky and everyone will be listening with cheap headphones and not notice. lol
UPDATE: Hum noise fixed!

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday. Eat well, but don’t over-do it. Enjoy the company of friends and family, and remember to be thankful for all that you have. :)

Just a reminder
I have no control over the suggested videos offered after mine finishes. I do NOT endorse any of them.

Vlog #2: Overeating, Exercising, and a Wii Bit of Racing

Gabrielle — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:05:22 +0000

This is entry number 2 in my vlog (video blog) series. It’s been just over a month since my last vlog, so I thought it was about time.

In this installment, I talk about a personal struggle that’s been causing trouble in my life. A recent session with my therapist shed some light on a destructive obsessive cycle that’s been spiraling out of control for a few months now.

In vlog episode 2, I discuss:

My recent troubles with overeating
Obsessive over exercising to compensate for overeating
Stress
Lack of personal time
Mario Kart Wii
My number one video admirer (?)

Vlog #2, take two…
Once again, this was recorded using my phone’s low-end built-in video capabilities, so my apologies for the picture quality. I spent some time in front of a real video camera talking about things, but rambled on way too long and didn’t feel up to the time consuming task of chopping it all down to size. Somehow, talking to my phone cam in the bathroom keeps me more focused than when talking in front of a tripod-mounted camera in my makeshift studio.

A brief segment from the original recording session remains intact in the video – a little Mario Kart sight gag. It should bring a smile :)

Discussing personal struggles
We all have our problems in life to deal with. Even though I was caught in a worsening destructive obsessive cycle for months, it wasn’t until discussing things with my therapist that I full realized how bad things were. This may sound odd, but I was embarrassed to discuss this issue, and the many others I spewed out during my last session. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. The embarrassment often helps me break free of the negative patterns I sometimes get trapped in.

There is also embarrassment in sharing my shortcomings in life publicly like this. So why do it? Sometimes humility is good. It can be a powerful motivator to change bad habits and replace them with new, healthy habits.

What works for you?
As pointed out, I’ll shame myself (sometimes publicly) into making positive changes in my life. It works for me. How do you motivate yourself to make changes when they become necessary? If you have any tips or tricks in that department, please share what works for you.

Just a reminder
I have no control over the suggested videos offered after mine finishes. I do NOT endorse any of them.

Vlog #1: Failed Outing, Class Reunion, & Striped Mini Dress

Gabrielle — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:30:52 +0000

My first official “vlog” (video web log). This was originally recorded on September 12, 2009, but it took a while to find the time to polish it up with some titles and music, and post it online.

Ever wonder what my femme-voice sounds like? Well, it ain’t very convincing. Not yet, anyway. But I’m working on improving it and practicing voice feminization techniques. I’ve got a long way to go in the voice department, but I don’t think you’ll find it too distracting.

In vlog episode 1, I discuss:

My feminine voice (a work-in-progress).
A failed outing (all dressed up with no place to go).
Why I often record phone-videos in my bathroom.
How people reacted to seeing me en femme at my high school class reunion.
The fact that I don’t pass (in person) and why that can cause complications when venturing out in public en femme.
My striped mini dress and outfit, head to heels.

My apologies for the poor video quality. After returning home from a failed outing, I wanted to capture a quick video of my thoughts. My phone was the most convenient video capture device handy – nothing to set up, no lighting to play with, etc. As with other phone-videos, this one was captured in (of all places) my bathroom. Want to know why I often record phone-videos in the bathroom? Well, it’s certainly not because of the scenery! lol I explain in the video.

Please take a minute to offer your feedback.
What’s your take on vlogging? Do you regularly watch other vlogs? Would you like to see more video content like this from me? It won’t replace my written content, but rather be offered in addition to. Let me know if the relatively blurry phone-video quality is good enough, or does it detract from the video as a whole?

It’s YouTube, not me.
Btw – I have no control over the suggested videos offered after mine finishes. I do NOT endorse any of them.