One of the things I did this summer during a trip to the US was film some video courses about subjects I knew very well.  Two of those courses were about French immigration.  I did one on the Long Term Stay Visitor and one for Profession Libérale.  These courses represent a great deal of the knowledge I’ve accumulated on my journey here in France and were one way to deal with the increase in interest over the last few years of English speakers interested in coming to live here.

I learned a lot while shooting these courses, not least of which that recording on camera is significantly more difficult than radio or podcasts, both forms of media in which I have a lot more experience.  In video, you need to maintain eye contact with the camera, with walking-speed enthusiasm, all while keeping straight what you’d like to say.  Public speaking is more forgiving of mistakes or stumbles, because it’s live, but all those stumbles have to be reshot when you’re making a video course.

If you’ve been thinking about putting together a dossier to come to France, watching either of these courses would be the equivalent of your reading different websites for many hours (I know, because I used to have to do that!).  I hope they will be a useful tool for you as you prepare to come here.

Photo by my producer and videographer Dan Fox, probably at the end of our 4th day of filming.  If I look tired…I was 🙂

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