Lifestyle Video Productions

Videos to suit your lifestyle

Anne

Flooding Rain and the Changes that Brings

According to Dorothea Mackellar in her famous poem My Country, Australia is a land of ‘droughts and flooding rains’. While drought is a constant threat, the flooding rain can cause spectacular changes to the landscape, especially in Central Australia.

In our area, very heavy rain sometimes brings surprising changes to the creeks in the valley. Although the flood is remarkable, it is quite short-lived.

Things you can do in lockdown No.4

The rules of lockdown are very simple. You can only go out to shop for food essentials, visit any medical service, to go to work only if you couldn’t work from home or for exercise.

Fortunately, we enjoy walking and a local favourite is the flood plain and wetlands of the Dandenong Creek.

Melbourne Water manages the waterways here, including the retarding wall and the Tirhatuan Wetlands.

The wetlands lake supports several species of waterbirds, including black ducks, wood ducks, moorhens, coots and swamphens. We have also seen egrets, herons, cormorants and swans.

The retarding wall controls the flow of water during flooding events. These events occur only rarely, perhaps once or twice a year after very heavy rain.

Then great changes happen in the valley. The usually placid creeks spread beyond their banks and water backs up behind the retarding wall. After really heavy rain, the flood waters spill over and pour into the area below. You can see what this looks like in the video below.

Dandenong Creek valley and effects of flooding rain

Once the rain stops so does the flow. For a short time the ducks enjoy the ephemeral lakes. But these are soon gone, the creeks recede and all returns to normal.

What better way to enjoy our walk then to note the changes in our local environment. And, of course, to make another video. See another Lockdown video Cornish Pasty – made by our Lockdown Cook.

You can find out more about black ducks, wood ducks and other native ducks at Discover Ducks.

Cornish Pasty – made by our Lockdown Cook

Things you can do in lockdown No 3

Cook up a Cornish Pasty? What a great idea that is.

Our cook had a bright idea after discovering a recipe for Cornish Pasty on the back of a placemat from the home of Cornish Pasty, Cornwall in England.

The Cornish Pasty was a staple food, but it was particularly important for the men and boys who worked underground in the tin mines. Not only a tasty and nutritious food, it was also easy to manage in the darkness down below.

Our cook, Soeren, is not Cornish, but he was up to the task of cooking a treat and John, our creative director, was there to capture it all on video.

Steps in making a Cornish Pasty

First the filling

Cut the lean beef into small cubes. Do the same with the potatoes, the swede and the onion. Soeren pre-cooked all of these to make sure they cooked thoroughly in the oven. These were allowed to cool while he prepared the pastry.

The pastry

And now Soeren turned on the oven to 200oC and then prepared the pastry. He mixed the flour and butter by hand and followed that with the water to make a firm dough.

Next was the artistic bit, dividing the dough into four and then rolling out each quarter into rough circles. These were filled with the vegetable and meat filling.

Soeren dampened the edge of the pastry with water and brought the edges together to enclose all the filling. For his next step he carefully crimped the edges together with the fork.

Traditionally, the edges of the Cornish Pasty were formed into a handle so that the miners were able to manage them easily

The glaze for the Cornish Pasty

Now for the final step – glazing the pasties with beaten egg and placing in the oven to cook for 45 minutes. And when they came out of the oven, didn’t they look good?!

The Lockdown Cook makes Cornish Pasty for dinner

You can see how it was done in this video above.

And the four of us really enjoyed our dinner that night.

John was happy too – not only a very tasty meal, but also another outlet for his creative ability. You can see other examples of what he got up to during lockdown when he decluttered the garage and renovated the old lawn mower.

What can you video during lockdown?

Things you can do in lockdown No. 2

Here at Lifestyle Video Productions, we have been producing videos of weddings, concerts, special events, business events and promotions and family stories. Now there were none of those happening.

We have been producing travel videos for many years. This was no longer possible.

And it was winter, a time of year when we usually head north to find some sunshine. But we were in lockdown and we couldn’t travel! Especially not interstate, but then not even outside the 5 kilometre zone!

There wasn’t even an opportunity to take some video except around the house.

We had already started some decluttering, clearing out the garage and under the house. We had even moved into the house to discover the old VHS tapes and updated them to DVD. We even discovered some family super 8 movie films and also converted them to DVD.

But soon we lost interest in decluttering.

Now what could we video during lockdown?

That’s when John went in search of another project. During the decluttering process under the house he remembered finding his father’s old cylinder lawn mower. Suddenly, it was a light bulb moment and a plan was born.

He could renovate the old mower and film all the steps along the way. This would take care of two needs at the one time – something to do while assuaging the need to make videos. Happy man!

The video became a step-by-step process of getting the old mower to work again. Fortunately Soeren was there to give advice and operate the camera.

The video showing the renovation process of the old Victa Imperial lawn mower

After freeing up the throttle and the cable, they checked the spark plug and gave it a good clean. Then it was time to try to start it. This took a few attempts and some more fiddling before it finally burst into life.

But now there was another problem which seemed to be related to the blades not turning. After all this time they were covered in rust! More adjustments required.

So with the drive chains adjusted too, they checked the muffler and gave that a good clean also.

It was now time for a test drive. The nature strip has never looked so good!

And it was all recorded on high definition video – a video made during lockdown.

Decluttering

Things you can do in lockdown No. 1

Now that most people are working from home or just staying put there, what do we do with our time? Decluttering, one of those jobs you have been puttting off, suddenly becomes a good idea.

Once we clear out the garage, we’ll start the process again inside the house. It’s amazing how much stuff you collect over the years when you are living at the one place.

Have you had a similar decluttering at your place?

When you were decluttering, you might have discovered a dusty pile of old VHS tapes on which you have recorded family activities, celebrations and parties.

But you probably don’t own a VHS player anymore. Even if you did have access to a video player, would it still work?

If you would like your family memories converted to digital media, we can help you out here. We can turn your family memories on VHS tape to a DVD or USB memory stick.

This saves your family memories into a form that you can watch again. Your younger family members might also enjoy watching your old movies with you too.

DVDs take up less space than equivalent VHS tapes and this will be a factor if you need to downsize in future.

We have been producing video productions on DVD for many years now, so we have the experience necessary to convert your tapes. And we have a VHS player that is still in good working condition.

And if you don’t have a DVD player anymore, we can convert your VHS tapes onto USB and then you can watch on your computer or TV.

For more information, head over to our Family Stories page, or Contact us to discuss your options with us.

That way you can save space if you are downsizing, as well as watching your old family memories while you are staying at home.

A Video Camera Problem faced by Small Business Owners

Visibility online is a necessity for almost any business. People like a personal connection with the businesses they buy from. Video is one of the best ways to help make that personal connection. And that means you might need to stand in front of a video camera. And this is where the dreaded video camera problem comes in.

These days, when many small businesses are forced to work from home, business owners need to find creative ways to get their message out to prospective customers. There is no networking, or meetings, or events and no coffee catch-ups to fall back on.

This is where short videos offering helpful tips, useful information and clever ideas become really useful. And often people would prefer to watch a video than to read a blog post. These videos also help to keep each business connected to their contact list.

Does presenting to a video camera make you want to run away and hide?

Don’t be concerned – you’re not the only one. Many small business owners agree – they feel very uncomfortable with the idea of presenting to a video camera. Yet it looks easy enough and most find that it’s simple.

But some small business owners feel acute embarrassment, a sudden lack of confidence in their own ability and a dread that leads to putting off the whole video experience.

This sample is my first attempt at presenting to a video camera. I was hesitant, kept forgetting what I was going to say and wasn’t all that helpful. But I will try again and with practice I should get better at it.

Some tips for overcoming the video camera problem

So here are some tips that might help to make your first video presentation less of an ordeal.

You don’t need a script

But you do need to know what to say. Make a few dot points to remind you to refer to if necessary. But you are familiar with your topic, so you really do know what you are going to say.

Plan your video on a single topic. For instance, a café owner might announce a new service, such as home delivery with instructions on how to order. An online store could announce a new product and show with video how it works.

The video should be short, around one minute is good. Knowing what you are going to say will help to make a confident presentation.

Practice brings confidence

Practice your script in front of a mirror. Imagine you are speaking to another business owner at a networking event. Then have a go.

Your first video might be awful, but that’s okay. Your next one will be better and you will become more comfortable with each new video posted.

My first effort on video was quite awful. I am more used to being behind the camera than in front of it and I am easily distracted and forget what I am going to say. I think I needed more practice. Take a look and see what you think.

Always offer useful content in your videos

As with your blog posts, your video tips should be informative and helpful. If you need inspiration, have a look back through your other blog posts and produce videos of hits and tips from your best ones.

For example, you might have written a post of 7 helpful tips. You could repurpose each tip into a video presentation and post these as a series over a period of time.

Post your videos often and consistently

Remember to produce your videos often and the more often you do produce videos the more comfortable in front of a video camera you will become. I know I will be practising so that my video presentation skills improve.

We offer a full range of business video applications. Go to our Business videos page to see some samples. Or you can contact us if you would like advice on setting up your own small business video studio.

Gawler Ranges experience

The Gawler Ranges National Park, in South Australia, is an area of ancient ranges, rocky gorges, seasonal waterfalls and natural wilderness and was proclaimed in 2002. In the park, there is plenty of wildlife to see, including the yellow footed rock wallaby, as well as history and Aboriginal culture.

The Park is accessed 76 km from Kimba and 50 km from Wudinna. Both of these are found on the Eyre Highway, west of Port Augusta. although the park is smaller in size, there is much to see and do there. Visitors with either 2-wheel drive and 4-wheel drive are catered for with several camping options suited for each as well as caravans.

We were part of a trip exploring throughout outback South Australia. Our group came to the park from Mt Ive Station, along good gravel roads. Once there we turned right and headed for Kolay Hut, where there is plenty of shade suitable for a lunch stop. There is also a campground here.

Not far from the hut is Kolay Mirica Falls, which were dry at this time, but the line of the falls was clearly visible across the surface of the rock. We climbed to the top of the falls and were rewarded with a stunning view across the valley. Up above the falls though, the rock formations have formed into pillars of stone, standing in neat rows along the creek line.

From the Falls area, the road took us across to the northern part of the park and Pondanna Outstation. There is an old house here in immaculate condition which is available as an accommodation venue.

With plenty to see around the old station house, we spread out for a good look around. We saw farm equipment, a water storage and sheds that still remain on the property. Information boards explain all for the visitor.

From Pondanna Outstation our road took us to Conical Hill and to a lookout with a far reaching view across the plains below.

Gawler Ranges in South Australia lookout view View
Conical Hill lookout view in the Gawler Ranges, South Australia

But it was now late in the day, so we left Gawler Ranges National Park and headed out on the Yardea Road, aiming for the road to Kingoonya.

On the south western corner of Lake Gairdner is a very nice campsite, set amongst some casuarinas and wattles. There are no facilities here, only a view of the lake just around the corner, and the hillside and plain to the west.

The Gawler Ranges and our adventures there feature in our latest video Long Road to the Alice. You can see more about it and purchase your copy from our website at Travel videos of Australia.