Moto Vlogging, why do you do it?

[lonerockz]

The other day, I was discussing my Moto VLogging ideas with my girlfriend, and she asked a great question: "Why do you want to do this?" She pointed out that it would be hard to achieve my goals without a clear idea of why I was creating my Vlog. I still don't have a good answer, but I'm working on it. I was just wondering what y'alls goals are or why you Vlog?

 

[Moto Mengy]

I agree with your girlfriend, having clear goals and a plan to achieve them is always important, and it's a tactic I've utilized throughout my entire life.

It's also important to be willing to change goals along the way as a task or job evolves over time too.

When I first started Moto Mengy my only real goal was to film and narrate my rides to show & document scenery instead stopping to take pictures along the way. Much to my surprise I found video editing and filming a LOT of fun, so I started recording all kinds of different styles of motovlogs simply for the creative challenge of it. And subsequently my channel's been a potpourri of various motovlogging styles.

Not the best way to execute a YouTube channel, most experts will tell you to niche down and stick to one type or style of video for a channel, but hey I do what I want to, NOT what the algorithm wants me to do!

And subsequently that has become the goal of my channel: Making motovlogs I want to because I enjoy making them, then posting them for anyone else to enjoy if they want to.

I don't have any goals with my channel other than that really. I'm not too concerned with making tons of money, I don't have any subscriber tally goals or watchtime goals, I'm just enjoying my motovlogging hobby and allowing others to enjoy it as well.

I like things simple in life.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

I started doing it as a way to meet new biker mates, all my old crowd had either moved away or given up biking, or both. So it got me a bunch of very awesome folk to ride with. I carry on doing it because it is kinda fun, I enjoy the editing and interacting with people I'd otherwise not know existed.
It will always be a hobby for me, mainly because I am not good enough at it to be a "pro", but also, I have a good job... and like to keep work and play separate.

 

[TallADVer]

Good advice above. I'd just add that goals, like bikes, come in all shapes and sizes. You can have a goal of reaching 1000 viewers. Or to capture your next trip with videos you'll be proud to share. Or to use it as a motivator to get more involved in the larger moto community. All valid and reasonable goals, IMO.

Me, I tend to be a little less goal-oriented, and think of it a little differently. YouTube production is one of my many hobbies, but it is one that I can potentially tie in with my other hobbies. It's also one that I can apply to non-hobby aspects life: for example, I use my photography and video skills to help my wife with her side business, I'm trying to get better at documenting our family trips, I've done photos and videos for my son's hockey team, and am considering branching out to offer them as services to local bands, etc.

So, in order to be able to maximize the utility of my photo/video skills, I need to keep developing them. To that end, every time I do a video or photography project, I have two goals: creative and technical. The creative goal is to make the best, most compelling (or informative, or inspirational, or fun, whatever) video that I can. And the technical goal is to learn some new skill or technique that will benefit all of my other video and/or photo projects. So far, every video has met at least one of those two goals, even if it has failed to move me toward say, 1000 viewers. As long as my pool of skills keeps increasing, that alone is a worthwhile goal. The other ones (viewership, etc), are all secondary, "nice to have" goals. Maybe at some point that equation will change, but for now, it works for me

 

[MotoWolfUK]

The reason I do it is simple tbh.

Watching them helped my mental health at a tough period, so I’d like to hope I could help someone else when they have a tough time with mental health.

That’s literally it, oh and it’s fun to do. ‍

 

[TallADVer]

The reason I do it is simple tbh.

Watching them helped my mental health at a tough period, so I’d like to hope I could help someone else when they have a tough time with mental health.

That’s literally it, oh and it’s fun to do. ‍

Best reasons I've heard yet

 

[Theodor]

I don't think I have any better justification for doing it, besides what has been brought out.
I like to travel on a bike and I like to share the pictures and stories of my travels with friends/family. Making videos was kind of logical extension to that, to share the stuff to more people.

 

[L. Bilious]

Why do I motovlog?

Because.

That's it.

Although having a recording of rides and good times to look back on when I can no longer ride, will be nice.

 

[MotoWolfUK]

The reason I do it is simple tbh.

Watching them helped my mental health at a tough period, so I’d like to hope I could help someone else when they have a tough time with mental health.

That’s literally it, oh and it’s fun to do. ‍

Funnily enough, I recorded and edited 6 episodes for a series around Mental Health today

Hopefully it helps someone out there somewhere.

 

[PhilTonic]

I started because I was bored of riding in the south downs. Previously spoiled by riding in the Alps and German Forests.

It stuck. Now I'm just making videos about whatever topics I want to talk about or documenting meets, trips, tours etc.

 

[TallADVer]

Funnily enough, I recorded and edited 6 episodes for a series around Mental Health today

Hopefully it helps someone out there somewhere.

That's awesome, dude. I'm also aiming to do something similar. It takes a lot to open up about stuff, but you are right - it can help people.

 

[Southpaw78]

I recently started motovlogging and I find that I enjoy going back and seeing the ride, and listening to some of the thoughts I was having for the day. I am sure the experience will evolve.

 

[Drakhen99]

I'm with @Moto Mengy , I started to document my rides instead of stopping to take pics. Now I stop to take pics sometimes too. But then I wanted to help people with mental health, so I recorded some videos around that. And I recorded all my testing, and found people receptive to my style of testing and teaching, so I do that. Then I really got into editing, and learned a lot of things that other Davinci Resolve users may find handy, so I do some of that, too.

So yeah, I just really like riding, recording, and editing... so I do a lot of it.

Oh yeah, and I really liked the challenge of motovlogging with a half helmet and getting the best audio I can - and that led to having some of the best audio out there, according to some of my viewers, of half and full-face motovloggers.

Then there was the challenge of more cameras, better editing, faster editing, creating good thumbnails, coming up with things to talk about on my ride, and processing things I'm going through. It all helps with that.

So yeah, there's a lot of reasons I motovlog... but the #1 is... it's fun for me. So I make random videos about random stuff, mostly while riding my Harley, and sit at the computer at night and edit and have a lot of fun at it.

-John

 

[lonerockz]

Thanks all for your replies! It's helping me understand my situation as I reflect on your answers.

One of my biggest challenges is that I don't love editing. I enjoy learning how Davinci works, but once I know how the hours spent going through footage to pick the best shots are mundane. This might explain why I have thousands of photos and hundreds of hours of footage that I have never curated! Which is a motivation to do the Vlog. I want to share my experiences with people in my life. Having them slog through 100 photos of a thing when I should be showing them one good photo means I don't share photos.

I also believe that I am somewhat entertaining. That people would enjoy my content. So there is motivation there to share my adventures and whatnot. It is a boost when people give me positive feedback. And so far, everyone has been supportive. Even people in my life who prioritize truth over harmony have been positive, so I'm pretty sure y'all aren't just humoring me.

Thanks again!

 

[Hippo-Drones]

Thanks all for your replies! It's helping me understand my situation as I reflect on your answers.

One of my biggest challenges is that I don't love editing. I enjoy learning how Davinci works, but once I know how the hours spent going through footage to pick the best shots are mundane. This might explain why I have thousands of photos and hundreds of hours of footage that I have never curated! Which is a motivation to do the Vlog. I want to share my experiences with people in my life. Having them slog through 100 photos of a thing when I should be showing them one good photo means I don't share photos.

I also believe that I am somewhat entertaining. That people would enjoy my content. So there is motivation there to share my adventures and whatnot. It is a boost when people give me positive feedback. And so far, everyone has been supportive. Even people in my life who prioritize truth over harmony have been positive, so I'm pretty sure y'all aren't just humoring me.

Thanks again!

Maybe try just switching the camera on when you have something to say or show rather than recording the whole ride? Will massively cut down the editing time!

 

[TallADVer]

I also believe that I am somewhat entertaining. That people would enjoy my content. So there is motivation there to share my adventures and whatnot. It is a boost when people give me positive feedback. And so far, everyone has been supportive. Even people in my life who prioritize truth over harmony have been positive, so I'm pretty sure y'all aren't just humoring me.

You are! And we're not humoring you (at least I'm not). I can tell that you're a smart guy with interesting things to say... not saying that just as an obligatory "rah rah" from a fellow forum member, but as someone who values thoughtful, creative content. I also especially appreciate the viewpoint of an American tourist traveling in other countries by bike, because it's something I'd love to see myself doing some day. So, if only for my sake, keep it up!

 

[lonerockz]

Maybe try just switching the camera on when you have something to say or show rather than recording the whole ride? Will massively cut down the editing time!

Lol! Aint that the truth! My footage taken to used ratio is embarrassing! I have so many shots where I turned on the cameras and never ended up using it! And then other places where I messed up and don't have the footage! I'm sure with practice this will get better. It also goes to my questions around episode length, I could easily have a lot more on bike footage in my videos. But because I'm trying to keep it short I cut a lot out! Maybe I'll release extended remixes or something!

All part of the learning process.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

Lol! Aint that the truth! My footage taken to used ratio is embarrassing! I have so many shots where I turned on the cameras and never ended up using it! And then other places where I messed up and don't have the footage! I'm sure with practice this will get better. It also goes to my questions around episode length, I could easily have a lot more on bike footage in my videos. But because I'm trying to keep it short I cut a lot out! Maybe I'll release extended remixes or something!

All part of the learning process.

It is why I like editing my trail ride videos.... they are still way too long, most are over 30min... but I only run the cameras on the trails, I don't switch them on while riding tarmac, so I know at least if I string some words together, that will be on a pretty part of the ride rather than in traffic or whatever.
I'm less good at doing that on road rides, but I am not touring countries over multiple days, so keeps the footage down a bit at least. With your trip vlogs, if you record it all, you must have hundreds of Gb to sift through... def worth considering being more selective when you turn on the camera if that is workable for you!

 

[Drakhen99]

Dude, I feel your pain! I used to record my entire ride, from driveway to destination. It was so painful - it would take me anywhere from 20 minutes to 3 or 4 hours just to cull the footage down to what I thought I would use.

Now, I use GoPro's The Remote to start/stop recording, and while it takes a bit longer to sync [especially if there's no slow ride or stop in the footage], it's much faster to edit a video together. You can also leave yourself notes while you record, things like, "Put this in at the beginning" or "About to start talking, cut before this" - and when you are playing through the footage, you'll have those references to help you edit.

It took me a good 200-300 videos before I got the muscle memory for editing down and the recording style to where it plays nicely with my editing style. Now, the videos are much faster to edit and take up less space on my hard drives.

Also, I don't cheerlead anyone, so any praise I give is earned. Just ask my kids

-John

 

[lonerockz]

You are! And we're not humoring you (at least I'm not). I can tell that you're a smart guy with interesting things to say... not saying that just as an obligatory "rah rah" from a fellow forum member, but as someone who values thoughtful, creative content. I also especially appreciate the viewpoint of an American tourist traveling in other countries by bike, because it's something I'd love to see myself doing some day. So, if only for my sake, keep it up!

Thanks so much for the kind words!

In one of the other threads I was asked about who my target audience is. I'm still giving this a lot of thought, but one thing I really want is for someone to watch my video's and think: "I could do that!" So I'm glad that was your reaction!

So few motorcyclists travel. I'm always shocked by that. There is a huge fear factor for some reason that I don't understand. So much of what is produced is "extreme adventure!" While it is very entertaining to watch it can also leave you feeling like there is no way you could do it.

I'm watching season 6 of ItchyBoots and in the current episode she is loading her bike onto some crazy cable "car" suspended over a river. It leaves me in awe of her "adventure" but also feeling like I do NOT want to do that! That's part of the reason for my channel name. You will almost never see me doing anything and go "how/why the hell did he do that?" (I'm not a total wimp, I have completed the Iron Butt Rally riding 9,000 miles in 11 days, but that's not what the channel is about).