SSam Loc: Sierra Vista, AZ

I took only 3/4 of the video, but I did all of the editing. Any and All Constructive Criticism is welcome!

Three years ago, I made a video completely by my self of this RV Resort, our 'winter roost'. My 'locals' criticized that I didn't use a female narrator's voice for most of my production (because the wife has more say in whether or not to join our non-profit co-op than does the husband). So this time, I told the communication's committee (who asked me to do an updated video) that I wouldn't do one unless someone did a "story board" first. The lady who turned out to my "boss" said that she didn't even know what a story board was. But, her finished 'outline' had 36 photos showing what I was to take a video clip of, the narrative that was to be spoken, and the length of each clip. Wow, that made my job much easier!

Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKncif6hTe0&t=14s

Sam

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Sam, I think that was a great video! Was the overhead view done with a drone? Totally professional and a great message. Looks like a terrific community. Thanks for posting. What audio and video equipment and software did you use?

Bob

SSam Loc: Sierra Vista, AZ

Yes Bob, a new member in our park took those 'flying' clips last year (before our park's Board of Directors 'outlawed' flying in our resort. OK, they allow flying with a 60 days notice. Not good for 'planning for gentle flying conditions.)



I'm learning to use Cyberlink version 14 (15 has been out for at least 9 months) for my video. I used Audacity to 'level out' the audio. And the background music was from a person on the Internet that does not charge for non-commercial use. We did contribute $10 to him, just in case he felt even our non-profit's "advertising" was "for commercial use". I have used Pinnacle for video about 10 years ago (Old man 'guessing here') and it was much easier to use. But they sold their 'hobbyist' version to Coral. I don't like that company so a friend who understood Cyberlink suggested I 'switch'. Then he left the park. Even though there are many free tutorials on YouTube, I find the very basic stuff is not covered and somewhat inconstant in simple editing changes.

I used my TM900 Panasonic camcorder for this project. It saves in 1980P. (I've since purchased a Lumix DMC-FZ300 since it records in UHD 4k. But, haven't made a video using that ... yet.

Thanks for you positive comments. And yes, there is so much to do here at our volunteer RV Park. Even Visitors are encouraged to participate in our actives. But they must be members of the Escapees (national) organization before they can even stay in 'boon dock' let alone rent a site temporally vacated by a site "owner". No one actually owns their site. We all have 'equal shares' of the entire park. Any more question regarding our park should be via private messaging (since this wasn't why I shared the video). Sam

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Thanks for the info Sam. Very well done. Hope you will contribute some more video in the future. For some reason, this section gets very little traffic. The video section on the largest UK photo forum called Talk Photography also gets little traffic and few submissions. Not sure why, there are lots of people taking videos.

Bob

SSam Loc: Sierra Vista, AZ

We had something similar last year when two of us tried to start a new 'club' within our RV Resort. We thought a video club would be a complement to our "Photobugs" (still photo club). We had a turn out of 8 people, which we felt was a very good start. But after one or two meetings where the chairman showed techniques to take and put together a video, the club attendance dropped to just the chairman and me as co-chairman.

I interviewed the six individuals as to why they stopped coming and all, separately, said the same thing "I wanted to learn how to use my equipment to make videos." They were not interested in how to actually make videos that other people would enjoy watching. So, this year we didn't even advertise that we'd have a Video Club. :-(

Don't know if this is playing a part in the UHH video group or not. Just a possibility.

Sam

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I don't know. It's quite difficult to get a good still pic of a bird. It requires patience and skill in taking the pic and post processing it. But lots of people try, post bird pics, offer and accept criticism. Likewise it is quite difficult to shoot a video that others will find interesting. There's millions of them on youtube, but hardly any will get posted or commented on in a forum. Maybe it's easier to shoot a good still than make a good video.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Sam I think your video was informative and interesting and I see that in just 6 weeks you have over 700 views on Youtube. I thought some more about your comment about making videos that others find interesting and came to some conclusions.

What appeals to video viewers (based on number of youtube views) seems to be a video that is informative on a topic large numbers of people are interested in. That is why most political videos get massive numbers of views. Instructional videos that inform people on subjects lots of people are interested in as a hobby (like photography and astronomy), or esoteric subjects like conspiracies, aliens, etc. get a good number of views as well. Videos that are mainly of personal interest to the videomaker (vacation or leisure activities or less popular hobbies) often get only a few .

I looked at which of my own youtube videos got a lot of views and which did not. I did 9 music videos over the past 3 years that got less than 900 views total. This is a topic I put a lot of work into and find interesting, but viewers did not. To be fair, I'm not a very good singer and just a passable musician, so people interested in music would want to watch someone quite a bit better than me they could learn from or be entertained by.

On the other hand I did three astronomy videos that got over 18,000 views, so there must be a lot of amateur astronomers out there. But a video on post processing an image of Jupiter only got a couple of hundred views, so most amateur astronomers were not interested in that topic. Likewise two microscope videos got less than 500 views so not that many amateur microscopists are out there.

My most watched video was an instructional video explaining how to tether a Nikon D3100 camera although Nikon claimed it couldn't be done. That got over 11,000 views. There must be a lot of D3100 owners out there and others looking to tether their cameras to a computer display or monitor.

I don't monetize my videos so in the long run I guess it doesn't matter how many or few viewers there are. Your comment just got me thinking about what makes a video other people want to watch.

SSam Loc: Sierra Vista, AZ

Marketing certainly is a 'targeting goal' isn't it. That video that you liked (you saw it off my YouTube page) was seen off of our park's FaceBook page over 600 times in the first two days. That source has a total of 647 views as of today. But, I guess you could add those two figures together. ;-)

Bob, you asked me to post some more videos. This one may help in getting new members to join a video club. But not only is it out dated (I didn't mention using smart phones for photography) but it isn't up to the level of the one you gave me the complements on. :-( But, maybe UHH members can use it for a 'starter' and develop a more current photo club marketing tool of their own. Anyone can even use portions of the narrative that they feel are 'right' for their club's image. It is not copyrighted. If you enjoy this one at or above 51% of my recent posting, I'll be happy. ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWvdAOojL5M

Sam

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Hi Sam,
I did enjoy your second video. I hope others will too. You have a great voice for narration and an engaging enthusiasm. The white background worked very well. Also saw your travelling north video on your youtube channel. My wife and I went from NYC to Tahoe and back on Amtrak in 2000. It was a fabulous trip. The scenery from Denver to Tahoe was truly spectacular. We spent 10 days at Tahoe. Just a beautiful place. For my money, the most beautiful spot in the US.
Bob

SSam Loc: Sierra Vista, AZ

Bob, another member here asked privately to see another video. I sent him one to which my target audience are Geocachers. I believe that most cacher's are motivated by "Finding the Cache"/logging another "find". I hope this video enlarges their thinking to seeing the beauty of what can be seen both coming and going to the exact location of the Cache. While I probably won't be redoing this particular video, I do welcome both improvement comments and what specific things 'make it' for your viewing. I can then apply your suggestion(s) in future videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hQ1UBvwbQI

Sam

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Hi Sam,
Happy New Year. Thanks for posting. Great pics, narration and message. Very well done. The only other comment I have is I would have loved to see some video of these scenes. For a slide show, I think it ran a bit long. But beautifully done.

Here's a link to a video I did a few months ago. I'm playing rhythm guitar on the right. My friend and I are just a couple of amateurs, but like you said, the journey is what counts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdpzKgFugdg

Bob

SSam Loc: Sierra Vista, AZ

Bob, thanks for the positive comments (that I didn't quote). And I agree with you that it is long for 'todays' audience. I did make this video (slide presentation) for a specific target audience of Geocachers. I don't think I even owned a video camcorder when I did that presentation. My main purchase of showing it on the UHH is to show the importance of a "Story Line" to make a video that someone would watch.

Sam

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Sam, you have a great gift for narration, and writing. If a picture is worth a thousand words, video is worth ten thousand.
I don't think your Mud Flats video would have been as good without the live action scenes. Also, panning with a wide angle lens shows much more than a picture. You get sights and sounds, and a feeling of action that stills can't give. Here's a less than 3 minute example. No story line, but the story of where I live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUc32uS1tFU

Bob

SSam Loc: Sierra Vista, AZ

What I liked best of your video is the relaxing bird sounds throughout the presentation! How in the world were you able to keep the "wind noise" completely out of the video? It has been several years since you made this video, have you purchased a "fluid head" to mount on your tripod, since? If not, see if you can borrow one or if you are lucky enough to have a camera store in your area, you could set up your present tripod with both your head and a true fluid head displayed by the store. Pan the very same area (in the store or out the window) with the same video camera but using the two different heads and see what a difference that makes. (Hummm, do I like helping others spend money?) ;-) Sam

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Hi Sam, I'm not sure why I didn't get wind noises. That was an HS10 Fuji camera I bought used for $100 on ebay but had some good features.

One feature that was bad was that as it automatically focused and automatically adjusted the exposure it captured the aperture click and focus noises. I got around that by editing the sound track, copying random segments of the bird sounds and pasting them over the clicks and focusing sounds. A fluid head sounds like a good investment.
Bob