Art Jewelry magazine Editors' Blog : video

Sneak peek behind the scenes as Art Jewelry magazine's editors tape new jewelry-making technique video tutorials for you!

Addie Kidd — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:24:00 GMT

Last week I told you about the free demonstrations of jewelry-making techniques that Art Jewelry magazine will be offering at the 2009 Bead&Button Show. Well, our online homepage poll last week showed that 73% of you guys have never even been to the show!

I hear you... traveling and workshops are expensive. So even if you can't attend the Bead&Button Show in Milwaukee, WI, you can still sit in on free demonstrations from the editors of Art Jewelry.

I'm talking about our online How To Jewelry-Making Videos. You can learn all sorts of stuff by following along as Jill and I explain various jewelry-making tips and techniques.

Plus our videos are shown in extreme close-up, which is a clearer view than you'll likely get in a class anyway. Ever tried to crowd around a teacher to see what they're doing?? Me too, and it can be frustrating when they're demonstrating a tiny little wee detail and you're the one stuck at the back of the group!

So here's a behind-the-scenes peek at how Jill and I make our videos.

Early in the morning, the camera crew of Keith, Roger, and Dave set up all the lighting around our workbench.

In this photo, Roger is using a light meter to check the lights and help us avoid any distracting shadows.

Then later, when Jill and I come in, the lighting and camera angles are checked and re-checked. You can see that we have two cameras. That way when Dave and Roger are editing the videos together after our shoot, they always have their pick of the clearest shot – you'd be amazed how often our hands get in the way!

Luckily, to help us with that, we have dual tv screens setup just off-camera, which you can see here. They help us keep track of where our hands are, and what's shown clearly within the frame of each camera's angle.

[What's tricky though, is doing a technique, while making sure that nothing (like your shoulders or stray hair) gets in the way, while watching both tv displays, AND verbally explaining what you're doing! *phew!*

That's why sometimes it's easier to just scrap the original audio, and voice-over the video later. We don't have to do that too often though, and prefer not to - it usually turns out better if we can go with the original flow of the visual and audio together.]

In this photo, you can see me pointing out the various pliers you'll need to make a wire spiral.

As I'm pointing to the tools, my eyes are fixed on those tv screens (that's my concentratin' face ;-) ). Jill took this picture from just behind the tv displays.

Shooting a bunch of videos — we taped seven that day — can be sort of hectic. After all, there are five of us in this little work room, with wires all over the floor, a tv cart, two camera stands, and lighting equipment setup everywhere!

(Did I mention how hot that tiny room gets with bright lights and a bunch of people after a few hours? Wow!)

But all in all, it's a pretty fun way to spend a day. We have a good time on our "Art Jewelry Soundstage." There's plenty of joking around, like in this shot, where I'm sharing a laugh with Keith. Maybe we should release a bloopers reel... :-P

We really love that we can offer videos to you guys — we know that there's no better way to help our readers learn new techniques that to show you ourselves. All or our jewelry-making videos are on our Web site. They're free to watch, you just need to be registered on the site first, which is also free.

FYI, We also have a selection of some of our videos on YouTube! Visit Art Jewelry magazine's YouTube channel to subscribe – you can get email updates whenever we post new videos. And you can easily share your favorite videos on social sites like facebook, myspace, twitter, stumbleupon, or by embedding the videos on your own Web site or blog. Have fun with it. :)

I'll keep you posted as to when our newest videos are finished in the editing room.
Until then, have a happy Friday!

~Addie~

Video interview with Robert Dancik: jeweler, sculptor, and originator of Faux Bone

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:54:00 GMT

At the 2008 Bead&Button Show in June, Senior Editor/Online Linda Augsburg was able to catch a few minutes with Robert Dancik to talk to him about how he got started making jewelry, where he's taking the craft, and how he uses Faux Bone. To watch the video, click here. If you're interested in learning how you can incorporate Faux Bone into your work, check out Robert's article, "Chart Your Own Mixed-Media Odyssey," page 28, in the September 2008 issue of Art Jewelry. The article will teach you how to make this bangle:

If this project inspires you to make a piece of jewelry, we'd love to see what you've come up with! Just post it in the Show Us Your Work thread in the Art Jewelry forum.

How to Make a Bezel: NEW 5-part instructional video series from Art Jewelry magazine

Addie Kidd — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:49:00 GMT

Yet more videos, everybody!

A few weeks back, we released the How to Set a Cabochon in a Bezel 3-part video series.

Well, now we've posted a 5-part video series teaching you how to make that bezel to fit your selected cabochon.

Go to www.artjewelrymag.com, click on the "Videos" tab, and scroll to the Metalsmithing section. You can't miss the bright red 'New' next to each video link! Or you can just click here.

And again, you don't need to be a subscriber to view the videos, but you do have to be a registered user – meaning you have a screenname and password.
It's free to sign up. And once you've got your screenname, you can watch all our videos and also comment on our blog here to let us know how we've done.

Enjoy!

~Addie~

So what's the deal with "RSS??" Let's chat (and watch a fun video!) about syndication, news feeds, subscriptions, and blog readers.

Addie Kidd — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:26:00 GMT

So here's a subject that had me somewhat confused for a while.

Actually, that's not right at all. I wasn't confused...I flat-out avoided a topic (RSS, in this case) that for the longest time felt mysterious, overwhelming, and complex to me. And in my avoidance of this ever-growing area of the web, I missed out on all kinds of information and time-saving convience.

So now that I've seen the light and changed my uncharacteristically Luddite-like ways, I want to help anyone who may feel hesitant about stepping into the world of blog subscriptions. Don't worry, it's not as confusing as it looks from the outside.

First of all, RSS stands for "real simple syndication." And it represents a way for you to electronically subscribe to and automatically gather blog posts and other continually updated information, like news feeds, on the web.

You've likely seen one of these little symbols floating around on one of your favorite web pages. They indicate a "feed," or website that has a constantly-updating stream of information to which you can subscribe.

These buttons can be short-cuts that allow you to click and subscribe to whatever you're reading. Though sometimes they're not a button, just a small symbol or link at the bottom or top of the page.

To view all those feeds you'd like to subscribe to, you'll need an RSS reader or blog reader – that's a program or Web site that collects and updates all your subscriptions automatically.

I like to use Google's blog reader because I find it easy to navigate, and I can quickly share blog articles with my existing Google email contact list. But you can use any blog or RSS reader. Just type "blog reader" into any search engine and find the reader that suits you best.

If you're a visual learner, like me, then this cute and simple video (via CommonCraft's site) may help explain it better than I can.

Click here for the Youtube link to the video.

Once you've found a reader, you can cut and paste your chosen feed's link in it, and you'll be all set!
Here's two links to get you started!

Use this link to subscribe to the Art Jewelry blog:
http://cs.artjewelrymag.com/artcs/blogs/artjewelry/rss.aspx

You can subscribe to this link to see every new postings on the Art Jewelry forum:
http://cs.artjewelrymag.com/artcs/forums/aggregaterss.aspx?Mode=0

Here's a screen shot of my reader, showing a list of recent Art Jewelry forum posts. If I find one I want to respond to, I can just click on the headline and I'm instantly taken to that page on the Art Jewelry forum. It's amazing how much time you can save, and it makes keeping up with a community SO much easier.

I promise you, if you're anything like me, you'll be looking for subscription icons EVERYwhere! (blogs, newspapers, forums, comment feeds, stores, photo-upload sites, social networks, etc.) I may have been reluctant and slow to catch on the RSS craze, but now I'd say I'm a full-fledged RSS-convenience-addict.

Happy Subscribing!

~Addie~

PS If all this information has stirred up any questions, post them below. I'll do my best to help you out.