Tag: youtube

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Why Do I Have A YouTube Channel

Some of you know that Klee and I have a YouTube channel where we talk about life, art, tips for aspiring artists, and other goofy content. We even have a small following that seems to be growing every day.

Rafi and Klee On YouTube

Now anybody that has done any filming and video editing knows how much work goes into producing a well edited short video. If you don’t, it’s a lot of work, like you can hire a team to do it and it would still take time. Considering that I’m pretty much my team with the occasional technical assistance from Klee, it begs the question, why do it?

Rafi and Klee On YouTube
My makeshift solo filming, that’s right, there is no camera man.

Admittedly, I’ve had to ask myself the same question. I mean, I can be creating art instead of videos, and that would make me more of an income than the videos ever will.

But, I just can’t help myself. There is something about the whole creative process that I love. I love the writing, filming, lighting, sound, content, editing, Klee and I bouncing off one another and most of all, I love the creatives who follow us on YouTube.

Rafi and Klee On YouTube

Our 2018 goal is to release 2 videos a week by streamlining the process. Well, that’s the plan at least.

I plan on introducing new segments as we figure out this whole video side of Klee and me. We want to make sure we remain true to ourselves and that what we do in our videos is stuff we truly enjoy, and not something that doesn’t make sense for us.

We also have huge plans in place for art projects this year, from specific pieces to series. Klee’s has also been working on music, and getting the perfect picture.

Rafi and Klee On YouTube

I guess the reason I have a YouTube channel is because just like my paintings and sculptures, it gives me the opportunity to connect to people… And I love people.

I think when you are a creative person, you want to connect with people through your creations… And if you are us, you have a lot of expression coming out of all the places.

(No, that was not a fart reference…)

 

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My Art Teacher Was Wrong

Have you ever had someone tell you that you are not good enough? Did you believe them?

Rafi Perez in Studio
Rafi Perez in his art studio

This picture is of me working in my art studio, creating art for a solo exhibition, because I am a full-time artist, who makes a living from his art. This is not what my teacher predicted… Guess he’s not a psychic.

If I had believed my art teacher in school, when he was telling me that I wasn’t good enough, and that “You will never make it as an artist” I probably wouldn’t be writing any of this right now.

But, I didn’t believe him… Well, eventually.

It’s interesting how such an insignificant event, had such an impact on my career as an artist. I’m sure he doesn’t even remember saying it, but his words stayed with me longer than I’d like to admit.

Watch this video to hear the full story:

Now, I wouldn’t change a thing, because eventually my journey lead me to finding my own confidence, and there is no point in wishing that things had gone differently.

It would be a lie, if I didn’t admit, that every once in a while, I wonder where I would be, had I started my art career sooner… But, it is what it is, and I’m enjoying the ride thus far.

Rafi Was Here Studios
Klee didn’t listen to the naysayers when she started her jewelry business and her work is amazing. She also didn’t listen to the naysayers when it comes to her music. She’s an awesome role model for me.

Why am I sharing this story?

I wanted to reach out to anyone out there that may be experiencing the same thing. Whether it be a creative field, a life goal, or a dream, Don’t ever believe anybody that tells you that you can’t do something.

It took me a few years to learn this for myself, but now that I have, I am unstoppable. I’ve learned that the only way you can ever truly fail at anything, is to give up. With my art career, I had given up, before I even started.

Being Childish Is Fun
My friends Monica and James didn’t listen to the naysayers when starting LunaStella Naturals. Their company is rocking the natural skin and body care market.

Because I lacked confidence in my ability to persevere, I took to heart the comments of naysayers in my family, and eventually my teacher.

Luckily, I put all that crap behind me and I know that the only thing that matters, is whether or not I believe I can do it.

So, if you believe you can do it, (no matter what it is) then you can… plain and simple.

Thank you for reading my rambles! Remember to stay endlessly inspired by the stuff of life.

-Rafi

 

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You Just Wont Have Time For Boredom

Klee and I don’t watch much TV because honestly, some of those commercials are draining. Especially the drug commercials. I feel like any time we sit down to watch Supernatural, by the end of the constant stream of maladies and side effects being thrown at us, I am convinced that I’m dying… I’m not sure of what, but I’m sure I’m dying of something.

8-16-2010-2

So, we decided to have a little fun with it and created our own drug commercial. This week in our old video reboot, I present you with the drug STIMULEX which doesn’t allow you the unfortunate condition of boredom. Enjoy!

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Special Effects and Filming on a Low Budget

Special Effects
Don't Make Silly Faces and You'll Be Fine

So you are making some videos and sharing them with the world. You want to take it the next level and use special effects to enhance your viewers experience.

What do you do? What program do you use? How do you get it? How do you learn to use it?

I’ve been making videos for a while now and that counts for something but not too much when it comes to the advances in technology in video editing.

I use Sony Vegas for film and Video Sound Editing. I use Adobe After Effects for Special Effects and picture quality rendering (Due to the fact that I use a very cheap camera for the moment) I also use Sony Acid Pro and Audacity for music production and sound effects.

So on a low budget, how do you come across all these programs? Well, Audacity is a free sound and music editing program and you can find it at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

The other program are a bit expensive, I reached out to a lot of people and was constantly on the look out for a bargain. I found the programs I was looking for at the Flea Market in a box of stuff that belonged to a kid who had gone off to college and his parents were cleaning out his room and converting it into an office. The interesting thing was that once I found the programs a bunch of people let me borrow their copies.

The next step was learning the programs, I can only speak for myself but the best way I found for me to learn something is to actually play with it. I spent a month filming and playing around with both programs, when ever I wanted to do something specific I looked it up on Youtube… In fact I still look it up when ever I think something up that I don’t know how to do. I think that is key, stretching your abilities by dreaming something up that might be a stretch for you and then making it happen, either way, it will be a learning experience.

To be honest with you, the key to filming something on a low budget is to just do it… Creative ways of doing it usually pop up in your mind once you’ve already started the process of filming. I spent a long time dreaming things up and not taking action on them because I didn’t have everything I needed. This will make your filming experience dull and you may not enjoy the process… In my opinion, why film unless you enjoy making films.

So, if you are a filmmaker and you have no budget, don’t think to yourself that someday you’ll be able to do it… Just do it. Borrow equipment, find good deals, be creative and stay optimistic… And have fun!

Some of the best films I have seen had virtually no budget but a lot of creativity… You can’t buy that, and sometimes necessity breads ideas  that are creative and brilliant simply because you were forced to think outside of the box.

Also, display your work… If you watched it more than once and you enjoyed it, put it out there, you’ve got nothing to lose. So, if you are a filmmaker, then make films, and stop using not having a budget as an excuse to not make films… Happy shooting!

http://www.rafiwashere.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/RafiwashereUS

https://www.facebook.com/Rafiwashere

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Attacked By Aliens

Alien Attack
Alien Attack

In This skit Klee and I are “parking” and I was totally going to get to second base until we were attacked by aliens.

This was filmed at night, so there was a lot of moving lights around involved and the challenge of keeping the auto-focus from going crazy.

One funny thing about filming this skit is the fact that the alien who is played by my cousin Erik is supposed to be a tiny scary Alien who just sort of appears. Well, the challenge is the fact that Erik is a big dude with wide shoulders.

Erik had to stand on his knees to reach the small alien stature, yet you still see some of the widest shoulders you could ever see on an alien. He was a great sport.

I have to applaud Klee in this skit. Her performance was amazing, and her terrified screams are convincing… When I was editing I had to lower the volume because our dog thought I was killing her every time I played back a scene. It turned out great!

http://www.rafiwashere.com

https://www.facebook.com/Rafiwashere

http://www.youtube.com/user/RafiwashereUS

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What is Rafiwashere Productions?

Rafi Shooting
Rafi Shooting

Chances are if you live in Pensacola Florida you’ve seen a crazy looking truck with the words Watch us on Youtube painted all over it, or maybe you ran across one of the videos by Rafi Was Here on Youtube.

Rafi Was Here is a small (Very small) production company that is focusing all it’s efforts on creating fun and original content on Youtube.

Armed with a cheap camera, an old computer and creativity we decided to see how far we can go and how many people we can make laugh.

In 2009 Klee and I (Rafi) left Chicago Illinois and traveled the country in a customized 92 Ford Explorer. We decided to hang out in Pensacola for a while and focus on filming. So far so good. This Blog will be used for production notes and tips Utilized by us during our filming efforts on a shoestring budget… Luckily we can get pretty creative.

http://www.rafiwashere.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rafi-Was-Here

http://www.youtube.com/user/RafiwashereUS