So I had to make a one-minute video for my Mars One application. My first reaction was, basically, “Gulp”. How on Earth was I going to make a standout video when I get awful stage fright? Don’t laugh, please. I’ve heard of guys who could, and sometimes have, walked through fire and they still get nervous when they have to get in front of a camera.

Like most decisions where I actually have time to think about it, I just basically took a step back to look things over. I’ve even seen a few of the already-uploaded videos. These are people who aren’t too different than me. They’re shooting videos in their homes using their webcams. Like me, they had to know that one minute isn’t a long time to show off who you really are. The ones I’ve actually watched did a decent job. Maybe this won’t be so bad.

My first idea? Kill two birds with one stone. I had to give a presentation for a Technical Writing class I’m taking at my local community college. Man, I hate having to get in front of a classroom. However, I couldn’t get out of it if I wanted the grade, so I just asked everybody if it would be okay if I brought in a video camera and found some free open-source video editing software so I could pare it down to about a minute. Basically, I learned two things:

I am not a very good presenter. I had notes, but I was actually losing my train of thought and stammering up there. I think people were interested and one of them actually had good questions like, “How are you going to replace your oxygen supply on Mars?” But it didn’t help my nerves much and I don’t think I was on the camera very much anyhow.
My voice could be a hindrance. I’ll be honest here. It’s actually better than it was. I used to have a bad speech impediment. However, people will hear that my voice isn’t the best and I hope I don’t get judged for that.

So I abandoned that idea and went to my backup idea: Shoot a video at home. I had to make up a script for it to work. Basically, this was my script:

“So people ask me why I want to apply for Mars One. A one-way trip to Mars? Isn’t that kind of a big leap? Usually I’ll just laugh and acknowledge that it’s not for everybody. Seriously, when I first heard that Mars One was going to start looking for colonists, my first reaction was, “When and where?” I wasn’t about to let this one get past me without at least trying. If it falls through, well, the joke’s on me. Really, I don’t mind the occasional joke if it’s a good one – though my sense of humor tends to run more towards teasing one-liners. I’m pretty good with technology, especially computers, and I don’t mind working either on my own or with a small team of people.”

So, basically, this could be either fairly decent or truly awful. Off the bat, though, I figure I have about as much chance of actually making it as any of the other applicants. So I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.