I finally mounted the camera that I got as a Christmas gift, so I went for a ride and shot lots of video. I'm still trying to figure out the editing and uploading. I posted some videos to YouTube, but some of them are pretty crappy.
It seems like in order for the quality to be there, I have to save the finished product in a larger size. It's a double edged sword, if I make them small, they look crappy... if I make them big, the quality is great, but it takes forever to upload to YouTube... I don't mind a 1440x1080 movie on my hard drive, it looks fantastic!. But, if I save the finished work in 320x240, so I can upload it to YouTube in less than a day, the small video looks really bad on YT.
I'm still experimenting.... my computer came with Windows Live Movie Maker and it's easy to use, any suggestions?
I know ride videos are not everyone's favorite, but here's a short 2 minute clip from Friday's ride. Even after rain and warm temps, there's still snow and ice all around me.
Here's the crappy, short clip with a deer at about 1:40..
And if you have time, a better quality long version of the above clip... The deer is at about 6:30 and a squirrel about 7:20? Hard to see on the YouTube videos, but clear as day on the raw, full sized clips in my computer.
Feel free to criticize or offer up better ways of doing this.. I'm still learning!
Thanks!
P.S. The smell of the fallen leaves and pine trees was amazingly strong. I wish this was smell-a-vision, I'd share it with you!
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Thanks for the ride. It still looks mighty cold in your neck of the woods. Meanwhile, spring is in full force and gearing up for summer in Germany ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe snow refuses to go away. Even with the increasingly warmer temps.
DeleteFun videos! Love the dirt road ride!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteDidn't see the squirrel but I noticed that the deer showed up after you picked up a little more speed.
ReplyDeleteAnd I liked the dirt road ride as well.
BTW, I don't mind the ride videos at all. In fact some of my favorite have been posted by 808yewtube, a moto-vlogger (motorcycle video blogger) located in Hawaii. Nice ride videos in an area where I'll probably never get to ride.
ReplyDeleteThe Delta-Drummond Road would be a fun one to really open it up on, but every time I ride it, there are deer standing in the road or running out to say hi!
DeleteErik:
ReplyDeletelooked like you were flying.
I've never used WLMM, but when I first started with video I used WMM and the problem is that it limits your quality to 2.5 MB/m bit rate
I have the same problem as you. It is always a juggling act between bit rate and file size. I gave up on 1080p as the files are too large and most often your video stops all the time to buffer. I downsize all my video to 720p and try to keep my videos below 5 minutes. For this I use a bit rate between 5 & 8 Mbps. If your video is longer than 5 minutes I use less quality to keep the file smaller. For those I would use around 5 mpbs.
anything lower would pixelate. I don't think with WLMM they let you use bit rates this high. You will find different opinions on which editing program to use. Most would use Final Cut, or iMove (if Mac). I like Adobe Premiere Elements but you should try to use PREL version 10 or above because if you have a 64 bit system it will make full use of all your onboard RAM. None of the other programs will do this as they are written for 8 bit systems
I upload through WiFi only, I do not use an ethernet cable which may be faster. I have found that I can upload 60 megs per each 10 minutes. so a 180 Meg file can be uploaded in 30 minutes. I have many videos over 500 megs and most times it may take up to 2 hours to upload to Youtube.
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Thanks Bob, I'll be doing a lot more research. So much to learn. I considered my self lucky to be able to even figure out how to post to YouTube and embed the video on the blog!
DeleteErik, making good videos is really challenging. Stage 1 is where you are at now and is about mastering the camera, settings, software etc. Bob is the guru of this and he explains it really well. Stage 2 is about making your videos interesting and this is the really hard bit. Like you, my first ride videos were single shot, looking forward and simply included one view. In reality, these are not very interesting. This is the important bit….. Good videos tell a story, not just show the view. Quality of the picture can be important, but quality of the story is much more important. Here are a few videos I like that shows what I mean….
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrGp1YIcuSA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Vz6IgDFmc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N95YM4--lfw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42GZexvzLf0
All are made by amateurs who are good at what they do. What do the videos have in common? They tell a story. They all contain music. Non are really high quality video. Most have terrible sound. All are made from really short clips. All are interesting.
I used to concentrate on quality of the picture, but I have learned that is not so important. Content, content, content is what matters.
Gary, thanks for your thoughts! Once I get the feel for using the camera, I'll work on improving the content. Thanks for links to the videos.
DeleteIt is nice to see sunshine and just snow in the ditches. I bet it feels great to get out on the bike.
ReplyDeleteThe second video clip just looks a little more pixilated. Not so bad to watch.
This has been a LONG winter.. and yes, it does feel good to get out and ride!
DeleteHi Eric
ReplyDeleteYou've made a great start here by the looks of it. It always hard to learn something new. Escpecially if you don't continually do it all the time.
Looking forward to seeing some of your videos soon.
Thanks, I want to film some of the really twisty roads, like Spearfish Canyon rd. in South Dakota.
DeleteAs fun as the videos are to edit and play with... riding the roads is still a lot more fun!
Are you OK up there with the fire? I just saw "Immediate evacuation" listed for your area!
ReplyDeleteMartha, we're ok for now. The towns of Gordon and Barnes are 20-30 miles east of us.
DeleteI just checked the news, over night the size of the burnt area has gone from 3500 acres to 8700 acres.
Good to know. Glad you are safe. Sorry for those in the line of the fire.
DeleteI use CyberLink PowerDirector for editing. To save my raw GoPro videos and to save space in my computer I purchased an external Hard Drive. And I try to keep my videos under 5 minutes because it takes forever for longer videos to upload on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteRiding My Own Biography
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