This year I am celebrating my 10-year anniversary of making instructional origami videos and uploading them to YouTube (check out my channel here). What started with a simple web cam and about half a year of origami experience has since developed into a quite well-equipped recording area, an accompanying website (happyfolding.com) and a loyal following of origami enthusiasts.
Anniversaries often make us look back at how things started, how they developed, and where we are now. In that spirit, I recently revisited a wonderful design, for which I previously had presented a tutorial. To be precise, on March 23rd 2012, I uploaded a video on Jun Maekawa's fantastic 3D rabbit. It was the last tutorial I recorded with my old camera, the last video before life changed fundamentally for me. Just a week later I gave birth to my first son, Felix, who recently celebrated his fifth birthday. Almost exactly five years later, on March 25th 2017, I uploaded a new tutorial for that same rabbit.
What changed since then? I'll let you judge for yourself:
Rabbit (Jun Maekawa), as presented in 2012
Rabbit (Jun Maekawa), as presented in 2017
Did you notice the drastic change in recording quality?
And for a look even further back, I revisited the Hydrangea designed by Shuzo Fujimoto in March 2015, after having initially presented it in July 2007:
Hydrangea (Shuzo Fujimoto), as presented in 2007
Hydrangea (Shuzo Fujimoto), as presented in 2015
Here the changes are even more apparent, not just in recording quality, but also teaching style. What differences strike you most? Leave comments below to let me know!
Comments
Congratulations on 10 awesome years of fantastic videos! Hope to see 10 more!
Yes, to 10 more years, and even more after that. :)
-- Sara
Not all the advances are due to technology. It is evident from the differences in the videos that your skills have grown, as well as your understanding of what steps in the folding process may present difficulties to the viewer/folder. Keep up the good work. If you ever get bored I would love to see some of Won Park's models folded.
Thanks, I strive to improve with every video I make. And I agree, the differences are definitely not just due to technology.
As to getting bored, I fear I'm too busy for that. ;) Still, I'm always looking for more wonderful models to present, and from a greater variety of designers. Won Park's work is for sure stunning, but from what I've heard also very protective of it.
-- Sara
First of all, if you are reading this comment and haven't subscribed to the HappyFolding YouTube channel (350 videos!), go do it now. Go! I'll wait. (https://www.youtube.com/user/AdamsSara)
Sara's passion for folding and teaching is quite evident throughout her video catalog. She instructs on a wide variety of projects from beginner to advanced, and trying along with her will quickly move you up the learning curve. I was a complete origami newbie a couple of months ago, and with a lot of daily practice and a couple of attempts, I was able to create these cute rabbits and make everyone I know think that I'm an origami master. As added bonuses, she has a nice voice to listen to for hours on end and is probably the most generous person in terms of replying to (polite) comments and questions I've ever encountered.
Thank you, Sara, for creating a new origami fan! I look forward to all of your future videos. Maybe in 10 years, you'll be comparing this rabbit video to your new VR reshoot. ;)