Hognose
08-30-2008, 07:57 AM
Guys,
I am not a big video guy but sometimes it's the best way to communicate something. Especially something that moves, like aircraft, their component parts, and the people who enjoy them.
Some of you will look at this list and say, "well, duh." But some videos out there, even with interesting content, are dreadful. Example (this is a vid recently posted of a McCullough J2):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bse3k3Xoi0
That video violates every one of these rules:
Use a real video camera, not a cheesy digital camera that "also shoots video." A friend or relative already has one, most likely -- check with people who have had babies recently!
Use a TRIPOD. Tripods are dirt cheap and hold the camera steadier than you can, unless you too are dead and made of metal.
Clean your lens. A spot that stays in the center of the video distracts viewers.
Get close enough to the subject that it shows up. Yes, this is a problem if you already violated Rules #1 and #2 above. Honest, people don't want to watch a space in the sky where the guy that made the video remembers an aircraft having been.
Closely related: focus.
Edit the video. Yes, even pros occasionally shoot their sneakers or the ground, but they know better than to show that shot in public.
Sound is vital to good video. That means you have to record it right, which means shielding the mic from wind and/or using an external mic with a wind guard.
If you're trying to sell something with the video, or doing something that ought to be explained, consider using a pro-style narration, or titles.
Two or three guys yucking it up behind the camera are usually not as funny to users who don't know them than they are to their friends.
I don't really mean to rag on the guy that posted the video to YouTube. I hope his J2 finds a new home, and the video helps in that it shows that the thing is safely flying. He missed the chance to be a far more effective sales tool. Compare this amateur video, which was the first one on the list of related videos to that last one. Yes, he still violates some of the rules, but many fewer, and as a result the video is easier to watch even though it shows much less (just a Xenon taxiing out, spinning up, and taking off):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOI6pgtsmlQ
Finally, compare to a professional video. Here's Dennis Fetters's original Air Command 447 promo video. The video is old and deteriorated but there are very very few rules violations there. Many people who saw this video for the first time were inspired to buy a kit from Dennis (for those who didn't, he made a couple of bucks off the videos).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYuHR1Eet3w
All the shots are off a steady platform like a tripod. There's no extraneous or distracting audio. The subject of the video is in focus, takes up most of the screen real estate, and there are no distracting artifacts.
Watching both parts of Dennis's excellent video makes me realize three more things:
Shoot like people will be watching your video through a glass of beer, because that's what age will do to videotape, and YouTube's low resolution & heavy compression will do to anything.
Working from a script (even if it's just a list of planned shots) ensures that your "show" will tell a consistent, coherent story and not miss any points you want to make.
Have someone else check your spelling and grammar on any titles. Nuff said.
Yeah, he had professional help on this one, but the basic difference between an amateur and a professional is only that the latter gets paid: there's no reason you can't lift some of the pro's techniques.
Hope this is helpful, and not taken as a an attack on the first video. I'd like to see everybody working up to the standard Dennis set -- 25 years ago!
cheers
-=K=-
I am not a big video guy but sometimes it's the best way to communicate something. Especially something that moves, like aircraft, their component parts, and the people who enjoy them.
Some of you will look at this list and say, "well, duh." But some videos out there, even with interesting content, are dreadful. Example (this is a vid recently posted of a McCullough J2):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bse3k3Xoi0
That video violates every one of these rules:
Use a real video camera, not a cheesy digital camera that "also shoots video." A friend or relative already has one, most likely -- check with people who have had babies recently!
Use a TRIPOD. Tripods are dirt cheap and hold the camera steadier than you can, unless you too are dead and made of metal.
Clean your lens. A spot that stays in the center of the video distracts viewers.
Get close enough to the subject that it shows up. Yes, this is a problem if you already violated Rules #1 and #2 above. Honest, people don't want to watch a space in the sky where the guy that made the video remembers an aircraft having been.
Closely related: focus.
Edit the video. Yes, even pros occasionally shoot their sneakers or the ground, but they know better than to show that shot in public.
Sound is vital to good video. That means you have to record it right, which means shielding the mic from wind and/or using an external mic with a wind guard.
If you're trying to sell something with the video, or doing something that ought to be explained, consider using a pro-style narration, or titles.
Two or three guys yucking it up behind the camera are usually not as funny to users who don't know them than they are to their friends.
I don't really mean to rag on the guy that posted the video to YouTube. I hope his J2 finds a new home, and the video helps in that it shows that the thing is safely flying. He missed the chance to be a far more effective sales tool. Compare this amateur video, which was the first one on the list of related videos to that last one. Yes, he still violates some of the rules, but many fewer, and as a result the video is easier to watch even though it shows much less (just a Xenon taxiing out, spinning up, and taking off):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOI6pgtsmlQ
Finally, compare to a professional video. Here's Dennis Fetters's original Air Command 447 promo video. The video is old and deteriorated but there are very very few rules violations there. Many people who saw this video for the first time were inspired to buy a kit from Dennis (for those who didn't, he made a couple of bucks off the videos).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYuHR1Eet3w
All the shots are off a steady platform like a tripod. There's no extraneous or distracting audio. The subject of the video is in focus, takes up most of the screen real estate, and there are no distracting artifacts.
Watching both parts of Dennis's excellent video makes me realize three more things:
Shoot like people will be watching your video through a glass of beer, because that's what age will do to videotape, and YouTube's low resolution & heavy compression will do to anything.
Working from a script (even if it's just a list of planned shots) ensures that your "show" will tell a consistent, coherent story and not miss any points you want to make.
Have someone else check your spelling and grammar on any titles. Nuff said.
Yeah, he had professional help on this one, but the basic difference between an amateur and a professional is only that the latter gets paid: there's no reason you can't lift some of the pro's techniques.
Hope this is helpful, and not taken as a an attack on the first video. I'd like to see everybody working up to the standard Dennis set -- 25 years ago!
cheers
-=K=-