Is this the place?

graywolf

graywolf

Well-known member
Is this the place for questions about planning, shooting, and editing non-fiction films?

I am new to dvxuser, and can not seem to figure out where to ask about doing "films", instead of "movies". While I do have some background in writing, photography, audio, what I know about video can be put in a thimble. I, at his time, mainly want to do "How-To" stuff (I have some experience in this). Eventually, I would like to get into "real" documentary stuff, interviewing people, videos about things happening, etc. but that is a way down the road from where I am right now.

So, is this the forum where folks like me can get help and encouragement?

ADDED: Oh, yes, I am not a kid looking to learn a trade, but a old coot looking for an advocation.
 
Yes, this place is fine. I would say at least half of us are involved in nonfiction. It's just that we often like to talk about movies. Actually, we like to obsess about whether this clear piece of glass is clearer than that clear piece of glass, or whether this visually lossless recording format is better than that visually lossless recording format. Sociologists have name for this sort of behavior, bikeshedding.

Anyway, among how-to videos, some people just wing it, having little more than a rough outline in mind. Later, they might edit it.
Others write their narration word for word and read it into the microphone. Later they add visuals over the whole thing, their face never to be seen.

Either style is fine with me. The main problem I have with Youtube videos in general is the pace. I think too many spend too many seconds or even minutes introducing themselves. Someone once said that they always skip one third into a Youtube video, and usually that's about where they need to be. Unlike television, Youtube videos have text underneath the screen: the title, the author, and a description. Therefore I find it quite tedious for the Youtube video to repeat all of this. With television, I'm clicking around, and I need the show to tell me what I just landed on. With Youtube, I searched for a topic, got a list of videos, clicked on the title, and quickly read the description while the video loaded. So I am ready for the actual answer. Cut to the chase.

There is no video too short in the eyes of God. If 30 seconds is enough to convey the information, may it be 30 seconds and no more!

Here are some of Youtube videos that I have liked:

  1. How to...Make a Perfect Omelette (5:03) by livelife365. Looks low tech, a cheap camcorder and no external microphone. But he makes up for it by holding things close to the camera or holding the camera close to things. His voice is loud and clear because he gets up close to the camera too. His manner is firm and self-assured, and he seems to love what he's talking about. Also, he was describing something I was interested in learning.

  2. Fixing a dented SM58 mic grill (2:30) by JimsEquipmentShed. Like the omelette video in its total apparent lack of any production value, but again he stays fairly close to the camera. Plus he gets to the answer fairly soon (although there is a little bit of an intro). Much more mild-mannered than Mr. Perfect Omelette, but in both videos the lack of slickness is endearing. Plus, what he was explaining was something I wanted to find out.

  3. How to Fold Hospital Corners (1:02) by Ballard Designs. This video looks and sounds so much better than the other two, and the reasons why are outside the scope of this comment. However, I guess I like it because it is short and to the point, and it was something I was interested in at the time.

  4. Digital Show and Tell (23:52) by Monty Montgomery. This video goes in my hall of fame as possibly the best how-to video of all time. The narrator is fun to learn from, because he is (a) very smart and knows what he's talking about, and (b) he likes what he's talking about. His presentation, unlike the first two, is also very slick --- but slick in a different way than the output of many Youtube personalities.


Of course these videos break the rules I first mentioned. But most of them are pretty short, and the intros aren't as long as others I've seen. I think they would be better without the intro at all (especially that lovely Comic Sans opening title) and that last video is almost half an hour. So that just goes to show how fantastic content and delivery can override everything else. That's very hard to do, though, and many Youtubers who think they are interesting and funny are in fact just obnoxious.

Half the videos that I listed are of low production quality. Please bear in mind that I love slickness, I started doing videos 25 years ago in junior high. I went to film school, ran my own video production business, the whole nine yards. But if it's slickness at the expense of heart and human connection and any warmth at all in the narrator, then I quickly lose interest. I prefer wabi-sabi.

Also, last but not least, three out of the four videos were interesting to me because they taught me something I was looking for at the time. To someone else, they could be sleep-inducing. The last video, once again, is the exception. There was little he said that I didn't already know. I just couldn't stop watching for his superb style.
 
Last edited:
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...

I think I make better omelets. Maybe I should do a video about it.

Digital show and tell, I should know all that with my technical background, but I did learn something.

The other two, are not news to me.

But I do get your points, and that is useful information indeed. Thank you.
 
I think both. Ramsey does have cooking shows and is well known. But he is also a great cook. The production value of the video is also good. To make even a simple "how to" video, it is always good to make every aspect as high a value as possible. Even if you are making a simple omelet video, start with a good (exceptional) recipe, plan your shots, have a tentative script, good lighting, editing, etc.

Also note, in the original omelet video, the cook added salt and stirred the salt into the raw eggs. I never do that, and as pointed out by Ramsey, it is a bad practice. Adding salt when the eggs are raw makes them more liquid - add the salt when the eggs are almost done cooking.

If you want viewership, you need to have command of the subject matter, otherwise you are just a guy with a camera and taking up space. In any event, it is very impressive to get over 20 million views for making scrambled eggs. Note also, people are watching the video learn how to make great scrambled eggs and not to see Ramsey's face. The "how to" aspect of the video is ultimately what added value. Even in a Hollywood production, a big name actor if cast into a movie with a poorly written script and low quality production, can still bomb at the box office. People keep coming back to Chef Ramsey's videos because of the how to value, and the production. If his recipes sucked and the production was poor, his viewership would drop off.
 
This is a viral video...

20 million views is great of course - and I will never have a video with that many views - but it's an exception.

That's how they operate. It gets picked up here...it gets picked up there. It's like a rolling snowball.

And not to take anything away from it (I think it's awesome), but it's been 6 years since the video was posted. There are thousands and thousands of videos out there with millions of views...many in a much shorter amount of time.

By briefly scanning GR's YT page, you'll find that many of them did not break a million.

If you get on top of a search, it doesn't matter who made the eggs if it's a viral video; people will click it. (His celebrity status, skills, and personality of course help.)

In reality - production value or no production value - if Kim Kardashian made scrambled eggs, she'd have 40 million views.
 
Last edited:
Now, I am really thinking I ought to do some cooking videos. Of course the s*%tty kitchen in my apartment would turn most viewers off.

Putting salt in the eggs does not make them runny, it makes them tough. Of course that is relative, it only makes them slightly tougher, but it makes a difference between good and great. That guy's eggs do not look so great to me. A long time ago, I came across this myth that scambled eggs need to be cooked very slowly. So I tried doing them that way. Wow, that guy lied. The basic trick with scrambled eggs is to keep stiring and don't over, or under cook them. They come out light and fluffy and melt in your mouth. A pinch of ginger, and a dash of garlic, will give them a nice tang.

Funny thought, I keep wishing I had a gas range in the apartment, but just now I realized that I do have a 2 burner propane camping stove. I think I will try that tomorrow morning. Gas burners, for those who do not know, give you better control of temperature.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top