My introduction

Hi. Im new to this website and felt like introducing myself.

My name is Jordan, and I am addicted to cars. I am 21 years old, been in automotive parts and service for five years, having started as a part time in highschool, and I am about to get Senior Parts Counterman position at the parts store I work at. I essentially grew up with a camera at hand at all times as it was such an important tool for my parents, that I slowly learned over time. Through highschool, if I wasnt in my mechanics class, I was usually in a computer graphics or website design class.

My area of expertise may not be so different from anyone else on this website. There are very few cars that I cant instantly identify, regardless which market it was sold in. Its fairly common that I get a customer looking for parts for their right hand drive JDM or euro-only vehicle that they have imported, where when I ask what the car is they are blown away that I actually know which car they are talking about. (I have had this response over Suzuki Carry kei trucks, Mitsubishi Delicas, euro-spec BMW 850i, one-of-twenty 1986 Mercedes SEC AMG, just to name a few). But I have a feeling that, on this website, I might be considered normal for once :P.

As I drive a fairly new car and dont have the funds to modify it, on my spare time, when everyone else is repairing or modifying their cars, instead I decided to make a Youtube channel. I got a bit annoyed that all of the automotive-only youtube channels are run by networks, and half of the actual on-camera hosts are just paid actors who may be interested in cars but arent as big of a car guy as they may seem. They get paid to do it, not so much because they love it (and for the record I dont make any money on this right now, I have spent about $750 in additional equipment, and my monetization has made me less than five dollars, I do this because I love it). Right now, my channel does a weekly show on automotive news, mostly just me talking to a camera with related photos. Filming myself on camera was very new for me starting this, as I have always been behind the camera before so there is significant improvement through every video. As well, this summer I will be filming my local race events, following three particular drivers in Drift, Drag, and Autocross events. As well as Vlog from local car shows, talking about what I believe to be the best in show. If you are interested, you can check it out here: http://youtu.be/aFp-0C2cu9M

*For the record, Im not trying to spam. I have been banned from an automotive forum before for doing something like this (in specifically an introduction thread). I have heard a lot of good things about this website and wanted to join. I dont have any project cars to show you so I decided to tell you about my automotive project Im working on. I do understand if the mod's delete this post, but please dont ban me for it.

Sorry about the long post

i bet its tough trying to do what you are by yourself. my take on your segment is it seemed very rushed, the editing needs a lot of work and you breathing when you take a breath. the information you gave is run of the mill what everyone is talking about so no difference there.

if i were you i would try to find the stories the other 99% are not talking about but please keep doing what you are doing and i will be watching you if you hang in there

You're doing good writing but you need to work on speaking. Take your time, some people can't even listen that fast Look at the pace the cable channel news anchors use, try to match that. You might also want to make your language a little less formal, if you're like me and write more formally than you speak, make a conscious effort to write how you would speak, this way when you read it, it'll sound more natural.

Apart from that it looks good and I'll be waiting for your coverage of amateur events.

I used to write for TV, and the trick is....throw formal out the window. It's totally different than magazines etc. Put a comma in everywhere you want to take a breath. Reading on camera takes skill...keep at it!

Oh...and welcome...everyone here is a bit...eccentric shall we say.

thanks for being gentle in the way you described us

racerdave600 wrote: "...everyone here is a bit...eccentric shall we say.

'cept myself

Welcome. bit of a shindig happens with this crew once a year where they all gather in FL for some as yet not-understood reason. Maybe you should take your camera down.

racerdave600 wrote: I used to write for TV, and the trick is....throw formal out the window. It's totally different than magazines etc. Put a comma in everywhere you want to take a breath. Reading on camera takes skill...keep at it!

Quoted for truth. I used to write for video, and whenever someone would give me what they wanted to say on camera, I would hand it back and say "take out half of it". Slow down, enunciate and have fun.

You should also watch old episodes of Top Gear when Clarkson was starting out, or old Howard Stern episodes. Both of these guys SUCKED when they started out, but they had a passion and are both rich and famous today. I hope we can all say that we knew you when!

i admit, i am not the best speaker. everything is very much a learn as i go experience. and its very rare that i go an episode where something doesnt go wrong. last week i was out of focus by a foot or two, this week my light was slowly dieing. the problem i have with stories is that since i am so small that its not easy to find a story myself. the one time i did have a story, a gm insider was posting on another forum. where while i was gathering all of the info he was posting on the corvette, before it had veen revealed, i also made a similar post like this and the forum banned me. so i couldnt complete the story. i love the feedback, as its very difficult to get an honest answer that isnt coming from a troll. and i know nobody is good when they start, ive spent a lot of time studyibg youtubers original videos compared to wgat they do now and its a huge difference. too bad i live in canada, otherwise i would come to the florida meet you guys put on. im definately going to keep in touch with you guys, there might even be a few stories coming from here

I have to admit, my production days are wayyyy behind me, but I'm a career TV guy.

One of the biggest differences between professional and amateur product is the way it sounds. Controlling that echo off the walls can do a world of good, that's what causes a viewer's "..sounds like he made it in his basement.." comment. Easiest way to do it would be with a Lavalier mike, but that means an added expense.
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=11974761

There are things you can do on the cheap, though. Try to break up any flat surfaces on the walls. I've had friends do something as simple as close the door to the room and hang a few bedsheets off camera. Drawing the blinds was good, glass is the worst! And not just windows, the panes of glass or plastic in framed photos will do it, too. Get yourself a couple of prints and mount them without glass in the frame. That way, your background still isn't sterile..but it isn't contributing to the echo, either.

Yeah, I know it's a PITA without a camera operator to do the key shots..but another thing that will help would be to get smaller key graphics. That way you can retain your motion while speaking (less like a "talking head" anchor), without your head getting into the key shot. It really is little things like that which build credibility in a viewer's mind.

Good luck!

Egg crate foam on non-seen surfaces will also help with sound...it's cheap and it works. Small, clip on mics are cheap these days and will definitely add to the production quality. Take a look at what is available for wedding videographers for ideas on the cheap.

As far as making mistakes, keep at it. Only experience will make you improve. Always look at each one you do and try to find at least one new thing you can do to improve quality for each. If you're budget is really tight, try buying used equipment, and recruit a friend or two to help with production and to spot things you can't see.

When you have the money, a cheap mixing board for audio should also be in your budget. And have a set of head phones someone can listen through to pick up problems. Corrado made some excellent points.

Everyone starts somewhere. If you have the ideas, you're halfway home. You can learn production, or eventually hire someone to improve it.

A couple of other tips. If you want it to look like you have additional cameras, you can plan a break and simply turn your head like you were looking at a different camera. Then, move your camera to where you were looking, and change the focal length to tighter or longer shot, but make sure it is different than the previous. Pick up there with the video and edit it together later. It makes the video a lot more interesting visually and cost you nothing to do. Also, shoot to one side or the other to leave room for graphics.

i do have an external microphone and sound recorder that i use in these videos. its mounted to a second tripod and is a bit closer to me than the camera but not close enough to be in the shot. should i bring it closer and have it in the shot?

Out of shot is probably too far for that mic to be. If it's a Shure SM series or similar...that mic needs to be way closer. If you look at music performers who use a handheld mic like the SM58, they are pretty much kissing the mic. A condenser mic can be a bit farther away, but even then should be pretty close (look at radio DJs/NPR reporters in a recording booth. You may also want to consider rigging up a pop filter - the mouth movements that make b and p sounds produce a puff of air that oftentimes will manifest itself as a pop sound in your recording. A pop filter is simply a fine-mesh cloth stretched over a round frame positioned a couple inches from the mic, you could probably make that yourself on the cheap.

Check this out for an example of proper mic placement, from the world of public radio (which is most closely analogous to the type of sound recording in your youtube videos - mostly talking, not too loud, not music):

And here's an example of an SM58's proper placement:

Canoe?

bluej wrote: Canoe?

there was one … but it's gone now … these posts are legit