A Few Video Editing Suggestions (although Not All Apply To Vlogs)

ride512

Wannabie Member
Aug 7, 2015
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Great advice! I use multiple cameras to give me something to break up longer sections of my vlogs. I'm still looking for the sweet spot between fun and nauseating. :)
 

endurovlog

Wannabie Member
Aug 18, 2015
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Thanks for the tips. I need all the help I can get! Haha.

don't we all lol. i watch my stuff from two years back and shudder... no doubt i'll be doing the same eventually about stuff i'm filming and editing now. :)

for me the trick is trying to film and edit well enough for the vids to be watchable but not take up so much time you don't enjoy the ride itself. it gets a bit out of balance sometimes.
 

RogueMogul

Wannabie Member
Apr 28, 2015
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I ride a
Ducati Hypermotard
Victory Cross Country
Honda CB550
Good tips! Thanks!
 

endurovlog

Wannabie Member
Aug 18, 2015
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this thread was originally about filming and editing tips but once the ball is rolling i think it's important to look at how you set up your youtube channel and get your vids out there.

i was chatting with a guy the other day who is doing really good vids and wants to get them out there a little more. a typed up some info then figured i may as well add it in here in case anyone else was thinking of doing the same thing. i'm sure there's way more to all of this but this is what i've picked up so far, keen to hear from others....


YOUTUBE CHANNEL SETUP & PROMOTING YOUR VIDS

if you seriously want to get your videos out there and well known, here are the usual tips for ensuring they'll turn up in google and Youtube searches. but always remember the main key is reasonably decent filming, editing and telling a good story - all the points below assume this or otherwise it's kind of like pushing shit uphill lol!

Youtube channel
set up your Youtube channel well. Have a cool little one to two minute intro vid that quickly shows what your channel is about, and invite viewers to subscribe. put a good header image on the channel home page.

type some good text into the channel description, and get your keywords in there including your channel name e.g. "Canadian extreme enduro". then try to work in keywords into your description such as dirt riding, Canada, enduro, extreme enduro, hard enduro, names of the places you ride.

Always add lots of text to the video description
every time you post a video, get those keywords into your video title "A TOUGH SUNDAY: Canadian Extreme Enduro". also put lots of text (at least 200 words) in the video description as Google and Youtube will rank your video higher and get those keywords in there too. if you have narrated the vid, cut and paste your text in here. if you have a website, Facebook page or other social media, put the links in description.

Invite comments & interaction
youtube will rank your video higher if you get lots of comments, and also if you answer the comments. toward the end of the vid, invite comments from viewers on various topics.

Put links at the end of of your vid
at the end of your vid, put a link to previous videos you think the viewer might find interesting e.g. "if you liked the terrain in this vid then check out our favorite riding spot in this vid!" youtubers say this is the 'call to action' - invite viewers to watch another vid, subscribe, like or comment.

Use playlists
as you get quite a few videos together, see if you can classify them into playlists e.g. reviews, our regular rides, my competition events etc. this can make it easier for viewers to find particular vids. you can then link to these at the end of your videos too e.g. "Like to see my race events? See the playlist here!"

Post your vids on relevant forums
post your vids to various forums. i would suggest not going overboard with this as no one likes a spammer. but if you are doing regular vids then consider starting your own thread within the video section of motorbike forums. you can also post your vids in other threads too but only when you think it will be of benefit and interest to others. again, spammers are not appreciated on most forums.

Other social media and cross links
if you have the time and really want to develop your channel, create as many social media platforms as you can manage such as the forums, facebook, twitter, a website etc. if you create links between all of these then your videos will rank higher. if you can invest the time, try creating an open facebook group where anyone can post. some of you will know lars from australian hard enduro and his facebook page of the same name has really taken off, giving him way more publicity than he thought possible.

Consistent recognizable style
develop a consistent style and image that will be easily seen as yours. maybe make a simple logo for the start of each vid. Try to have your intro and endings done in a consistent way. consider uploading a good preview image for each video that also has your name or logo in the corner.

Youtube ads?
some guys want to build up an audience to then let youtube plaster ads all over their vids and try to make some money... almost impossible to do this as you really need hundreds of thousands of views on each video to even start a part time income. frankly i don't even bother sitting through a 15 second ad to watch a video. if you want to make money i'd suggest getting an outside sponsor and don't let youtube vandalise your vids for almost nothing in return.
 

Viper1350

Wannabie Member
Jan 15, 2016
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Cape Town, South Africa
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Yamaha YZF-R6
@Marbro_za is he being nice?

Dan = Danie (Danny but with emphasis on the 'a', pronounced Daah-knee)
Does = Doen (Pronounced similar to 'hoon', but shorter and obviously with a 'D' - get it?)
Nothing = Fokkol (Fokkol actually means "fuck 'al" but it's a more playful/jokingly than serious - Fok is pronounced like fork, without the 'r', and a bit shorter, kol would be pronounced like 'hall')

Make sense? Not 100% being nice, more like friendly banter ;)
 
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Motorpsych

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Feb 27, 2016
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i wasn't sure whether to post this or not. a few years back i just started to get interested in bike videos and started a thread on another forum. i got all these really good suggestions and started compiling them along with stuff i was learning.

not all of this would suit vlogging, but just thought there could be some food for thought in all of this. personally i'd be keen to hear on tips from the guys who've been filming for years. :)

ZOOM IN ON THE BIKE
wide angle lenses are cool but you need to get very close to get a good shot when filming someone else although the tailgating involved can get a bit dicey.

MINIMISE CAMERA SHAKE
helmet cam seems to be the smoothest, can be made a bit smoother again by absorbing impacts with the legs more if you are riding offroad. when riding on road, try not to make fast movements with your head where possible. for hand held camera work, triangulate -hold the video camera with two hands and tuck your elbows into your body... your arms and body form triangles that anchor the camera firmly to reduce shaking.

BE VICIOUS WHEN EDITING
professional videographers always seem to say in most cases you need to cut all excess video footage down to just your best bits if making the vid public. obviously less important for vlogging although i see quite a few of the really popular vloggers cut their footage up like this.

AVOID LONG TAKES
works in with the previous tip... most tv shows and movies only have takes of about two to four seconds before they change camera angle and usually a bike vid is similar - watch a red bull vid for an example. again, less relevance for vlogging but worth thinking about.

SLOW MOTION?
easy to overdo this, but a few bits here and there can work a treat. a cool little combo is speeding the bike up toward the corner, then slow motion through the corner, then speed up again on the exit.

AVOID LONG BORING INTROS.... YAWN
apparently most youtubers have the attention span of a goldfish... the video pros say get their attention in five seconds or they've gone. try to get into riding footage immediately, or just have a short catchy intro sequence and a good title that grabs the attention.

INTERESTING ANGLES
a vid that is 100% helmet cam footage can get boring unless the story telling is superb. jump off the bike and hand film here and there. or if you can be bothered, get some different mounts and go crazy... film from the swingarm, under the bike, a swivel mount stuck on top of your helmet.

DON'T WANT HEAPS OF RAW FOOTAGE TO EDIT?
if you don't like sifting through terrabytes of raw vid footage, instead of just leaving your camera on for the whole ride just turn it on for 10 seconds at a time when you think the footage should be worth it. the bugger is you can miss stacks and surprises this way, but the editing is much quicker after the ride.

TELL A STORY
everyone hates the sound of their own voice, but if you are game talk while doing any hand filming. or when riding, you can get really good voice audio if using the proshot chinbar mount and the skeleton door with your gopro case. this can be a budget alternative to the mikes used by many vloggers, which are the ideal of course.

professional videographers always say you should tell a basic story to make a vid really interesting... just like writing a story - an intro, body and conclusion. if you really don't want to talk, most video editing software lets you put text in across the screen which can work well.

VIDEO LENGTH
professional youtubers reckon two minutes is the maximum for the average goldfish viewers out there, up to four minutes if you already have a dedicated audience. obviously this changes with a vlog especially once you have followers, but staying short and to the point may help get subscribers in when starting?

CHOICE OF MUSIC & AUDIO ISSUES
a small percentage of viewers hate music of any kind in a dirt bike. the majority don't mind or actually like it if it's well selected and kept fairly low key... almost everyone wants to be able to hear the bikes clearly. this usually means fairly bland music that has a broad appeal.

lots of free music out there, some very good threads on this forum already. youtube has this free library but very occasionally the artists withdraw their song, then suddenly youtube slap ads on your vids because the copyright rules apply. google 'creative commons music', heaps and heaps of good free stuff.

wind can play havoc with audio if you are hand filming. a bit of foam over the mike will stop that 'roar' caused by wind. there are good threads on this forum about mikes and wind noise etc.

YOUTUBE ADS?
most youtubers report getting $1 to $2 per thousand views of their vids. unless you are wildly popular it's not worth it. i'd suggest not bothering until your numbers are really doing well.

QUALITY OF THE CAMERAS?
heaps of cheap chinese ones around that do a basic job. if you are really getting into videography though, i'd suggest getting the best camera you can, especially if you want your vids to look good in years to come. i look back just a few years to footage taken with the gopro 2 and it looks like shit! a good camera really shines in low light conditions, or high contrast such as patchy sun and shadows on the trail.

GOPRO SETTINGS
everyone has their preferred settings, mine is 1080p and 30 frames per second as it keeps the files small. then i bump it up to 120 frames per second for any slow mo bits. unless you want small file sizes, i'd suggest 1080p resolution for the best detail and it will still look good in a few years time when the resolution goes even higher. if you delete your

footage after editing, it can make more sense to just film at 60 frames per second all the time as it gives you the option of going slo mo on any favourite bits.

i've done a video version of all these tips here that endeavours to put it all into practice as an example.

so keen to learn more from anyone who really knows what they are doing with video cameras, or just any tips or things you've discovered. i'm aware this post crosses a few topics that would be better off under the camera setups section, hope that's okay mods?

Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
 

Moto Verse

Wannabie Member
Aug 14, 2016
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Omaha, NE
I ride a
2016 Kawasaki Ninja 300 EX
Thanks for sharing these tips, was a good read. Creative Commons is super hard to navigate, I'm not able to find the music section. I've been looking for music to use for a LONGGGGG time, back since 3 years ago when I did gaming on youtube. To this day there isn't anything that I can find... Any direct links would be Amazing. Most loyalty free music I've been able to actually find is crap. I've been using Soundcloud from people who say it's fine to use. Thanks :)
 

endurovlog

Wannabie Member
Aug 18, 2015
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www.crosstrainingenduro.com
I ride a
Beta
speaking of camera mounts, i've found the proshot chinbar mount to be great over the past year but have now started using this one. great for spoken audio as it mounts on the chinbar, but you can pull it off in seconds then do static filming or pass it to another rider. a must-have for dirt vlogging!

 

endurovlog

Wannabie Member
Aug 18, 2015
72
22
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62
www.crosstrainingenduro.com
I ride a
Beta
as per the original post there's plenty of free music out there, especially if you search for 'creative commons' music. a nice little find recently was:

http://www.playonloop.com/

you have to buy the longer songs, but there's around 10 to 20 second loop that's free to download and use for each song. i've grabbed a pile of these and just use three for a five minute vlog. quite a few genres to choose from. :)
 

scooterwuf

L Plate Member
Jan 6, 2017
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I ride a
Kymco Downtown 300i
One thing I’ve learned is the importance of B-Roll footage, and to have as many cameras mounted when possible. I’ve shot with a helmet cam, and them mounted cameras on the side of the bike to get passing views of the terrain I’m riding through. I’ll be placing an adhesive mount on my top case so I can mount a came at any angle from the back. If I can only use my helmet cam I make sure to turn my head every so ofter to see things from the side and then hold it there. This is risky as your eyes are off the road. If done right it provides you with cut away shots (B-Roll) that breaks the monotony of a Helmet cam’s forward views.

- Wuf
 
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