I'm Recording Again (Day 3753 - 3/4/20)

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Stephen has started recording again. It's a big deal since he hasn't recorded anything ever since Sagan passed. Before Sagan's passing, he and Dan had been really productive. They had all of Februarys videos ready at the beginning of the month. It was one of the first months in a while where they were ahead. Stephen had recorded First20, Morning Mario, and Super Smash Bros: Ultimate episodes. Then, Sagan passed very suddenly and mentally put him in a bind. However, it didn't put him in a bind from a video perspective since he had videos ready to release which he was grateful for. It allowed StephenPlays to be basically uninterrupted during the time he was grieving. So, he was able to have time to properly grieve without having to worry about recording.

Now that he's at a point where he needs more videos, he's also at a point where he feels ready to start recording again since he had time to grieve properly. Stephen says that StephenPlays was technically interrupted since he didn't release any Morning Mario episodes this week. He explains that he had run out of episodes last Friday, but he wasn't ready at the point to start recording again. So, he didn't release any Morning Mario episodes this week. But, there will be Morning Mario episodes next week since he feels ready to record today. Mallory had already started on recording her next painting, but Stephen hadn't gotten back to recording any Let's Play stuff until today.

Then, he talks about how he's feeling okay and that he doesn't want to talk too much about the situation because he doesn't want anyone to feel sad. Stephen also knows that he has already talked so much about the situation with Sagan. But, he's finally at a point where it's not occupying his thoughts all the time. Stephen says that he's healed enough and has started to embrace the new normal enough to the point where he can focus on being entertaining again. He says that it's still going to be hard, but he will just have to get back into it in small amounts.

Stephen then talks about how his Elgato green screen is fantastic. He says that he occasionally has problems with Elgato's capture products, but the green screen is great. Stephen says that he will leave a link in the description for anyone who wants to get one. He says that you can technically buy the green screen from whatever website you like, but they get a portion of the profits if someone buys something on Amazon using their code. Then, he talks about how he's excited to be productive again. Additionally, he's excited about the new camera equipment he bought and will show it off. But, first he needs to go downstairs to feed Kepler. Stephen says that both cats were very vocal before meal time. But after Sagan passed, Kepler has been more vocal. He says that it's almost like Kepler is trying to make up for Sagan's portion of meows.

Next, Stephen shows off the camera accessories he ordered in order to make his life easier. He ordered an Arca-Swiss plate which allows him to easily attach camera accessories onto the camera without having to screw them into the camera. Stephen constantly swaps between handheld, using a pistol grip, and using a GorillaPod in order to hold the camera. He uses the pistol grip often to hold the camera, handheld for close-up shots or for tight spaces, and the GorillaPod for travelling. Stephen says that when he wants to swap between the 3 options, he has to unscrew the camera accessory. During their trip to China, he realized how tedious having to swap between the 3 options was since he had to keep unscrewing and screwing camera accessories. Therefore, Stephen thought it would be easier on him if he got a tripod plate, so he got the Arca-Swiss plate. He explains that every device that you want to use with a camera has a mount that can be attached to this plate.

Another item Stephen got was a replacement tripod head for the Joby GorillaPod 3K. He talks about how the original tripod head was a good size, but he wanted a different tripod head for it. Stephen says that the new tripod head has a pan lock and it has an Arca-Swiss mount, so he is going to swap the new tripod head with the tripod head of the GorillaPod 3K since they're basically the same. So, now he can easily attach his GorillaPod to the camera. Stephen also got a new grip because it makes it easier for him to hold the grip when he flips the camera. He explains that his pistol grip has finger grooves on it and when he flips the camera, the finger grooves don't align with his fingers so it feels awkward. So, he got a new grip that is a machined piece of metal with a bunch of mount points and screws you can use to attach camera accessories. Stephen says that he is going to put an Arca-Swiss mount on top of it as well so he can easily attach to the camera without having to screw anything in. He also got another Arca-Swiss mount for his camera stand upstairs, so he can easily slide the camera on to record First20 streams and Morning Mario.

Stephen says that he hasn't tried out any of the new accessories he bought yet, but the reviews on Amazon looked good. He says that most people just record with their phone, so you would probably only buy these camera accessories if you have a dedicated camera or want a swap system to switch camera accessories. Stephen mentions that he also got another GorillaPod 3K since the joints on the older one got loose after a while. The GorillaPod 3K also came with a phone mount, so now he has a phone mount he can attach at any time. Stephen then talks about how happy he is about getting back into recording. He hopes the viewers understand why he took a short break from recording Morning Mario.