Sailing Videos

[Neeves]

In general I don't watch sailing videos - I find them tedious, boring in the extreme. I did watch some of Concerto's vids - I admired what he was doing (sailing, taking vids, editing vids - needs real commitment). I have not watched all of Concerto's work - but I would do if I was intent on following in his wake. Excepting Concerto the few I do watch need to be highly endorsed or of specific interest. I do marvel at foiling yachts - but that might be ephemeral.

So.... I'm interested in sailing videos as I'm contemplating updating one I made (and unreleased) and wondered what the collective view was - of sailing videos.

There was a frenzy of amateur sailing vids. Has this been sustained, or has the novelty worn off. I detect that some, many, of the individuals making vids have run out of topics and their new releases or updates have become less and less frequent.

I'm interested in comments - but if I don't respond, I'm in the northern portion of the Tasman Sea on the way to Fiji.

Jonathan

 

[zoidberg]

I'm interested in comments - but if I don't respond, I'm in the northern portion of the Tasman Sea on the way to Fiji.

Riding on 'Gabrielle's coat tails', then?

'The worst storm to strike New Zealand in living memory'.....?

Oh, and I haven't seen a 'system/feature' with the letters 'LL' attached, before today. Nor have I found a decode.....

 

[Concerto]

In general I don't watch sailing videos - I find them tedious, boring in the extreme. I did watch some of Concerto's vids - I admired what he was doing (sailing, taking vids, editing vids - needs real commitment). I have not watched all of Concerto's work - but I would do if I was intent on following in his wake. Excepting Concerto the few I do watch need to be highly endorsed or of specific interest. I do marvel at foiling yachts - but that might be ephemeral.

So.... I'm interested in sailing videos as I'm contemplating updating one I made (and unreleased) and wondered what the collective view was - of sailing videos.

There was a frenzy of amateur sailing vids. Has this been sustained, or has the novelty worn off. I detect that some, many, of the individuals making vids have run out of topics and their new releases or updates have become less and less frequent.

I'm interested in comments - but if I don't respond, I'm in the northern portion of the Tasman Sea on the way to Fiji.

Jonathan

I agree with not watching most sailing videos as the talking and background music bores me.

The biggest commitment to making a video is the time required for editting. Recently I had to give a one hour talk at the Cruising Association's seminar on sailing round Britain. I decided to create a 50 minute video of my whole trip. What a mistake. Reducing the videos that had alreay been loaded was easy, but I had to view every video for just over half of the trip. Work out which videos I wanted to use just a short clip from. Every photo I needed to be used had to be cropped to a video format, but did not come out perfect every time as I kept running out of memory. Then there were titles to be added. Whilst making the video, the shortage of memory kept crashing the video editting program. You then went back and re editted what had just been wiped as there is no automatic saving. Finally I got into the habit of saving after every action. Eventually I had it completed at 11pm the day before the talk. Overnight I woke up and thought there was a section of the trip missing. Up early and checked the video and I was correct. Editted everything ready for splicing in the completed video which took about an hour, but then I needed to drive to Limehouse in London. Once there, I headed to the library to finish the video. Cutting it in took about 15 minutes, but then the compiling into MP4 format took just over an hour. Luckily I was not speaking till 4pm, and the video was finished just before lunch. I estimate the whole time to make this video took over 50 hours.

For any video you plan to make, do have an ideo of what you want to present so you know what to film. This helps to ensure you do not miss things that become important when creating the full video. Ensure you film leaving and entering a harbour if possible. Have some clips sailing in different wind speeds and directions, plus from many different positions on the boat. Try thinking what you would like to see in the video as if you are watching it. So include shots of the harbour/anchorage, places of interest ashore. Try not to make it too long. I aim for 10 to 12 minutes as I can always find that but 30 minutes or longer is a big commitment of time I should be doing something else.

If you load your video on YouTube and keep it private. Let me have a link and access code by Private Message, then I will watch it and give you my advice on the good and bad bits. Then you can do any changes before you make it public.

 

[Neeves]

Riding on 'Gabrielle's coat tails', then?

'The worst storm to strike New Zealand in living memory'.....?

Oh, and I haven't seen a 'system/feature' with the letters 'LL' attached, before today. Nor have I found a decode.....

Gabrielle is way south, winds here are 15/20 knots from the south long wavelength 5m swells (maybe from Gabrielle), air temp of 24 degrees, scattered innocuous clouds.

Nothing our here at all, no ships, no birds, no fish - just blue water.

Jonathan

 

[Neeves]

I agree with not watching most sailing videos as the talking and background music bores me.

The biggest commitment to making a video is the time required for editting. Recently I had to give a one hour talk at the Cruising Association's seminar on sailing round Britain. I decided to create a 50 minute video of my whole trip. What a mistake. Reducing the videos that had alreay been loaded was easy, but I had to view every video for just over half of the trip. Work out which videos I wanted to use just a short clip from. Every photo I needed to be used had to be cropped to a video format, but did not come out perfect every time as I kept running out of memory. Then there were titles to be added. Whilst making the video, the shortage of memory kept crashing the video editting program. You then went back and re editted what had just been wiped as there is no automatic saving. Finally I got into the habit of saving after every action. Eventually I had it completed at 11pm the day before the talk. Overnight I woke up and thought there was a section of the trip missing. Up early and checked the video and I was correct. Editted everything ready for splicing in the completed video which took about an hour, but then I needed to drive to Limehouse in London. Once there, I headed to the library to finish the video. Cutting it in took about 15 minutes, but then the compiling into MP4 format took just over an hour. Luckily I was not speaking till 4pm, and the video was finished just before lunch. I estimate the whole time to make this video took over 50 hours.

For any video you plan to make, do have an ideo of what you want to present so you know what to film. This helps to ensure you do not miss things that become important when creating the full video. Ensure you film leaving and entering a harbour if possible. Have some clips sailing in different wind speeds and directions, plus from many different positions on the boat. Try thinking what you would like to see in the video as if you are watching it. So include shots of the harbour/anchorage, places of interest ashore. Try not to make it too long. I aim for 10 to 12 minutes as I can always find that but 30 minutes or longer is a big commitment of time I should be doing something else.

If you load your video on YouTube and keep it private. Let me have a link and access code by Private Message, then I will watch it and give you my advice on the good and bad bits. Then you can do any changes before you make it public.

Really sincere thanks,

I've already encountered the commitment needed for editing, which is why I have been reluctant to make a video, or videos. Your vid of 50 minutes taking 50 hours of editing is sobering.

I've already deduced that actions that are too long are a turn off - short sharp clips. I have played around with what to use and have 2 cheap Go-pro clones that I can clip in different locations (I have handle bar brackets I can use on handrails, pushpit etc) and use other devices as the main recording device - then I get the same action from different angles (more of my viewing time needed but may offer more interesting shots). The beauty today is you are not wasting anything, just delete the lot if it is not interesting. And talking of beauty - no bikinis.

I'll see how I get on.

But thanks, really educational post.

Jonathan

 

[Neeves]

This was not intended as request for advice.....but I welcome education and encourage those willing to share experiences.


I had simply wondered if people who were rated, who ever they were, were able to sustain the support, or able to generate new and interesting videos - or do they become tedious and repetitive.

I get flyers from AAC (I don't contribute) and some of the releases look contrived, as if he/they are simply releasing something because they have 'sponsors' and there is the need to 'feed' the sponsors with 'product'.


But returning to the welcome off topic discussion.

I have noted that you dislike talking and background music.

I gather music is a diversion or distraction? Or is it the choice of music (or both)

Is a voice over better than captions (I gather you like captions - I don't mind talk over, as long as its to the point) - or room for both? I tend to expose my background as when I hear myself I detect my, educated, Scots background - so not Australian but also not neutral.

I am used to take multiple photographs (and extrapolate this to video - hence multiple cameras) and don't delete but mostly keep them all - there are nuances that become more or less important - so all images can be used at some time or other.

It would have been gratifying to be requested to present to CA, congratulations. Its the acceptance by one's peers that is the reward.

Jonathan

 

[Maatsuyker]

LL: Category 2 cyclone, I think

 

[zoidberg]

winds here are 15/20 knots from the south long wavelength 5m swells (maybe from Gabrielle), air temp of 24 degrees, scattered innocuous clouds.

Nothing our here at all, no ships, no birds, no fish - just blue water.

What's the barometer doing?

 

[lustyd]

I detect that some, many, of the individuals making vids have run out of topics and their new releases or updates have become less and less frequent.

Have you seen "real" TV lately? Ideas ran out some time in the '80s yet viewer numbers are higher than ever. In a world where Love Island exists, and there are whole series based on watching people do pottery, baking, sewing, etc. there is definitely room for some low quality sailing content. I think of a lot of them like a soap opera, checking in to see what Delos/Vagabonde/Doodles are up to this week is a bit of an escape, I don't need it to be serious stuff.

I did enjoy Florence though, they just completed their circumnavigation and did a recap video which was interesting.

 

[Concerto]

Really sincere thanks,

I've already encountered the commitment needed for editing, which is why I have been reluctant to make a video, or videos. Your vid of 50 minutes taking 50 hours of editing is sobering.

I've already deduced that actions that are too long are a turn off - short sharp clips. I have played around with what to use and have 2 cheap Go-pro clones that I can clip in different locations (I have handle bar brackets I can use on handrails, pushpit etc) and use other devices as the main recording device - then I get the same action from different angles (more of my viewing time needed but may offer more interesting shots). The beauty today is you are not wasting anything, just delete the lot if it is not interesting. And talking of beauty - no bikinis.

I'll see how I get on.

But thanks, really educational post.

Jonathan

All of my photos and videos are taken either by my iPhone SE 2020 or my DJI Mini 2 drone, I do not use a GoPro. To make an interesting video, you need to be able to capture sights as they pass, like ports, cliffs, boats, rough water, etc. and holding a camera phone is so easy. I keep my phone under the sprayhood so I can grab it quickly. Both my phone and drone have 4K video which does help with crisp images. The only improvement I could make is the addition of a hand held gimble, but I cannot justify the cost, but I do use a handle to hold the phone which does steady the image and is easier to keep it level. The one big disappointment of my trip was not finding conditions that allowed me to film Concerto sailing from my drone. Hopefully this will happen many times this year.

With regard to video clips I have found that they should be no longer than 8 seconds as a rule, but panoramic views can be spliced together with three 8 second clips. Usually the shortest clip should be 3 seconds. However for a series of photos, I usually have 2 seconds each as they give a flavour of places and the video can be paused if anyone wants a longer view.

Again I try not to appear in my videos as they are about sailing rather than me. A few people think I should have a few clips of me talking to camera or adding some additional sound, but that is not my style.

Last night I started the next part of my video series and have about 1¼ minutes ready for final adjustment and trimming. The final trimming only takes place once I have completed the whole video and feel it is either too long or the balance of sailing to places is slightly wrong, I expect the completed next part of my trip to be loaded to YouTube within the next couple of weeks and covers sailing from Stromness in the Orkneys to the start of the Western Isles of Scotland.

 

[lustyd]

I had simply wondered if people who were rated, who ever they were, were able to sustain the support, or able to generate new and interesting videos - or do they become tedious and repetitive.

Not just videos, authors of books quickly run out of ideas too, and then release "new editions" with very little change simply to supply a demand. This book isn't even up to date, there are sections which should have been completely rewritten and weren't. But yes, the support continues and I would still defer to Tom regardless.
Complete Yachtmaster 10th edition - Tom Cunliffe

 

[Sandy]

I struggle to keep my blog up to date, I am still working on the Faro to Falmouth Trip August 2022, and suspect that a YouTube channel would be way out of my skillset. Thankfully, Instagram is a good way of sharing pictures quickly.

 

[doug748]

In general I don't watch sailing videos - I find them tedious, boring in the extreme. I did watch some of Concerto's vids - I admired what he was doing (sailing, taking vids, editing vids - needs real commitment). I have not watched all of Concerto's work - but I would do if I was intent on following in his wake. Excepting Concerto the few I do watch need to be highly endorsed or of specific interest. I do marvel at foiling yachts - but that might be ephemeral.

So.... I'm interested in sailing videos as I'm contemplating updating one I made (and unreleased) and wondered what the collective view was - of sailing videos.

There was a frenzy of amateur sailing vids. Has this been sustained, or has the novelty worn off. I detect that some, many, of the individuals making vids have run out of topics and their new releases or updates have become less and less frequent.

I'm interested in comments - but if I don't respond, I'm in the northern portion of the Tasman Sea on the way to Fiji.

Jonathan

I watch a lot of video, sailing and otherwise, probably because I rarely watch television. Anyway these are my random thoughts - not trying to make out I am anything but a duffer with an interest.
Interesting that I have never heard of most of the sailing top earners, being much more interested in the unusual, the little bloke with his Westerly up a canal in France, that sort of thing.

I think you need someone speaking, or music, it is tricky to handle both. Silence can work but only if the images are exceptional and it is usually used as a tool to emphasise this. Each have drawbacks. Some commentary is boring, repetitive and adds little, some music can be crass and obtrude. I think the world has enough yachts bashing through waves for six minutes with Queen going on in the background.

Here is an example of a jewel like piece of video from a professional:

Without music it would be less than it is, added commentary would ruin it. Note that the max length of shot is 10 seconds, c25 shots in a two minute film, most well under 5 seconds.

I guess in the end it depends what you are going for: Instruction, Travelogue, Atmosphere or General Interest. Though some of the best video people can mix these up almost seamlessly, for example the excellent Tally Ho stuff.
If you are making general interest video around sailing I think you have to dial back the actual shots at sea unless there is a narrative of some sort. Wildlife, harbours, fishermen, bars, food, dogs walking on their hind legs, people swimming etc, all add to the mix. For this you have to carry a camera with you at all times; after a while missing a good shot really can spoil your day.

I have put together about 10 films for my own/family interest, they are great to look back on, much better than photos. However I do think I have lost a bit of interest now and have done nothing for a couple of years. Partly because my meagre stock of ideas has run out, partly covid, partly the repetition.
I found I probably took about 10 hours to edit a 10 min film spread over a few days. This assumes you are familiar with the software, all your stuff is loaded in a single folder, in a suitable format on your computer, ready to go.

.

 

[steveeasy]

I struggle to keep my blog up to date, I am still working on the Faro to Falmouth Trip August 2022, and suspect that a YouTube channel would be way out of my skillset. Thankfully, Instagram is a good way of sharing pictures quickly.

Depends who your intended audience is. I would think a film of your intended trip would be well received here.
Steveeasy

 

[boomerangben]

Looks like the L L is accompanied by two barometric pressures, so a chart generated by computer that predicts two areas of lowest low pressure. In other words maybe a computing anomaly. Never happened on Bill Giles’ watch

 

[Sandy]

Depends who your intended audience is. I would think a film of your intended trip would be well received here.
Steveeasy

My intended audience is for when I go 'gaga', and can read about my adventures, and for family and friends.

I tend to hide from a camera pointed in my general direction, although I have a few cameo appearances in other peoples productions when I did not move fast enough to get to the galley and boil the kettle for a pot of tea.

 

[goeasy123]

Have you seen "real" TV lately? Ideas ran out some time in the '80s yet viewer numbers are higher than ever. In a world where Love Island exists, and there are whole series based on watching people do pottery, baking, sewing, etc. there is definitely room for some low quality sailing content. I think of a lot of them like a soap opera, checking in to see what Delos/Vagabonde/Doodles are up to this week is a bit of an escape, I don't need it to be serious stuff.

I did enjoy Florence though, they just completed their circumnavigation and did a recap video which was interesting.

re your low quality sailing content.... Below Deck Sailing Yacht.....

 

[lustyd]

re your low quality sailing content.... Below Deck Sailing Yacht.....

Oh I forgot about that one. Now I need a drink to forget again!

 

[Neeves]

Thank you for all the comments. I've not been ignoring you, or I was, as I was otherwise busy. But useful feedback which quantifies what I had vaguely thought. The investment needed, by people who have made video, is the undeclared downside of using a Go-Pro - who edits all the 'film' who then watches it? As I mentioned I have a cheap clone - and I delete much. You cannot keep it all - never enough space.

My focus is on 'education' rather than Concerto's vids which are combination of travelogue and education. Education needs to be interesting or eyes glaze over, quickly.

Interesting the comment that video is more interesting than still images - I don't actually agree as I find most video tedious and prefer the printed word and images (is this because that's how I was brought up and have not moved on? ). Its also the problem YM and PBO have - if vid is more acceptable - their days are finite - unless they can monetise video. (I think this will not be in my time).

However I accept that video is immensely popular (Tic Tok is an awful, but a cringingly successful, it seems to generate income, example) - so move with the times.

Jonathan

 

[Concerto]

Education is a fine aim but consider what a viewer wants to see. There are plenty of people at different stages of learning how to sail, navigate, cruise, moor, anchor, set sails, etc. Your expertise on anchors would be a good place to start. Possibly something on how to sail a catamaran would be good as well.

Creating a video that people want to view is getting highly competitive with so many existing videos with thousands/hundreds of thousands of views. Also more younger people have more training in computer use than I have ever had and know how to use social media to promote any video. Can you compete with them, I certainly cannot. So I create videos that I feel will appeal to other sailors who will find them inspirational to try and do something similar. I have received many appreciative comments and interesting questions from my videos and written posts, now I am being asked to give talks. I feel in a little way I am giving something back to the sport of sailing and showing what is possible, and showing which barriers can be pushed like distance or wind conditions.

Most people sail with crew, but doing it singlehanded in a video emphsises how much more they could do. Not many fully crewed cruising boats will intentionally sail is some of the conditions I do, but that is their choice as some crew members my suffer from sea sickness. On my round Britain trip I met a couple on a modern 34ft yacht who had only been sailing for a few years. They were sailing round Britain via the Caledonian Canal, rather than right round the top. I met them on a number of occasions, initially in Lowestoft. When I left Hartlepool we then went our separate ways, but I met up with them in Balleycastle and Bangor, Northern Ireland. They followed my trip and I read their blog. They admitted they were cautious and thought I was fearless. We have remained in contact and met up at the Southampton Boat Show. They ask a lot of questions about many aspects of sailing as they know I will almost certainly be able to answer clearly. No doubt we shall meet up again this year somewhere along the south coast.

So on reflection, I think inspiring people is probably better than educating them.