Freshly Cut: An Interview with Late Bloomer Urban Organic Garden Show

Kaye Kittrell is an actress, photographer, mother, environmentalist, food activist and web content creator of Late Bloomer, a web series about urban organic gardening. When we met Kaye at Vancouver Web Fest earlier this year, she was recording the very first episode of a vlog to complement her web show. Although as an actress she is used to primarily being in front of the camera, when we shared some of Adobe’s mobile apps with her, she was inspired to start cutting her own content. Three months ago, she used Premiere Clip for the first time, and now she’s editing her show in Premiere Pro. We had to get to know her better!

Adobe: Song on repeat at the moment?

Kaye Kittrell: It’s not a song, it’s a chant.

Amazon, Lifetime, Netflix, are you listening?

I’ve got a great show called Late Bloomer.

Katie Couric, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler,

I’ll be your organic garden guru!

And I can be funny!

I’ve got a great show called Late Bloomer.

You’ll learn how to grow your own food

And have fun while you’re doing it.

Who’s with me?

Desert island book?

It would be an audiobook with a great narrator of historical fiction.

Favorite scene in a film/television show?

Any scene with Meryl Streep acting in it.

What inspires you?

Nature, art, food, generous, courageous people

What are you passionate about?

Saving the planet. Reversing climate change. Sequestering carbon. Securing the future of healthy food. Inspiring people to be kind to the earth.

Tell us about your channel:

Late Bloomer is about my journey to become a food grower in my Los Angeles front yard. I started from scratch four years ago, which is why the show is called “Late Bloomer.” With tips, hands-on advice and interviews with other food growers, “Late Bloomer” follows garden season to season and focuses on plants, bugs (good and bad) and the Monarch butterfly. I want to inspire anyone to grow their own food.

Late Bloomer is now in its fifth season, with 91 episodes online. It was a Best Reality web series nominee at the Vancouver Web Fest 2015 and 2016, Best Edutainment series winner at the Miami Web Fest 2015, Best Reality nominee and winner of Best Actress Reality and Best Editing Reality at Rome Web Awards 2016, and is an Official Selection at Sicily Web Fest 2016.

Phew! That’s exciting! What gave you the idea to create this show?

I had an epiphany. If you watch Episode 1, Season 1, you will see that a parkway tree dying started it all. An encounter with a biodynamic farmer steered me to transform my front yard to an edible garden. I knew nothing about gardening four years ago, but immersed myself. I wanted to use all my talents, on-camera and my photographic and filmmaking skills, to create my own show. I want to be the Katie Couric of organic gardening. From the beginning, I was set on making it the highest quality web show I could with the resources I had available.

What is your process for creating an episode of your web series?

For the Late Bloomer show, I work with a team, and we all work remotely.

I come up with an idea. I compile b-roll that I’ve shot previously or shoot new content for the episode. I shoot an intro and sign-off on Sunday mornings when the neighborhood is quiet. I write a detailed script for my editor. Once I approve picture, it goes to my sound editor and composer, then back to my editor for final assembly and to create the HD file exports, which I upload. I also do all my own social media.

How about creating vlogs? Is the process different?

I learned about vlogs in early March when I noticed YouTube’s recommendation to Build Audience – “Vlog like a boss!” I was, and am still, curious to learn whether there is a large audience for vlogs. Hearing about Premiere Clip at Vancouver Web Fest, and getting some assistance in using the app for my first vlog, gave me the confidence to keep going.

The vlogs I shoot are intentioned, but so far have focused on interesting people, food growers, gardens and food while traveling. They are more relaxed and real and casual than my episodes where I take pains to look good in all my on-camera clips. It’s a risk looking this real for my audience, but it is my hope that sharing more about who I am will help me find people who care about what I’m doing, and have similar interests.

What do you think is the most challenging/intimidating part of video creation?

Putting all the pieces together, in a cohesive, entertaining, informative way, shooting it all myself and still managing to look attractive. And making it sound good!

Before I began with Clip, editing was the most intimidating aspect, which is why I’ve paid editors for four years. Using Premiere Clip got me started with the basics of video editing, and now I’m starting to cut my videos in Premiere Pro myself.

What do you want to learn more about when it comes to video production?

I want to know more about developing and implementing a good soundtrack. Music is really important for setting the mood, and with tutorial videos and vlogs, you still need to hear the narration in the video.

What is your favorite part of using Premiere Clip?

It’s fast. The ease of editing. It feels easy, and is not taxing. I have now made about 16 videos with Clip.

Thanks, Kaye!

You can check out more from Late Bloomer Organic Urban Gardening Show and catch up with Kaye here:

LateBloomerPoster YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/kittrellkaye