Logging Malawi Video

They say logging your own video helps you understand better how to shoot video in the first place. I sure hope that’s true. I’ve been logging my video of Malawi nurses for days on end now and find myself yelling at the computer screen every now and then “Hold the shot! Hold the shot!” Fortunately, I seem to slow down and hold my shots better in the later videos.

Logging video means you write down a description of the action in different sequences, what people are saying and the time code from the video so you can easily jump to it if you need it.

Today I finished a whole series on Nurse Grace Nyirongo as she gives malaria medication and checks temperatures on the pediatric ward at Embangweni Mission Hospital and talks about her life and work.

It’s all in preparation for writing scripts that will combine different video sequences with photos and audio. It’s time-consuming work and, frankly, a bit tedious. But it’s allowing me to relive the trip to Malawi and revisit my deep respect and admiration for the men and women who work in the hospitals I visited.