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I finally completed the second (and final) video of my July trip, just in time to head into the park for my next one. I hope you enjoy it!
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Well this one landed with a thud. I'd appreciate any feedback, including constructive criticism. My own would be:
Less travel montage (except interesting bits whether scenic or obstacles), more campsite, especially showing the site and the views of Algonquin.
More time with no me, no talking, no music, just showing the natural sights and sounds of the park.
The 'rear camera' was a new addition this trip and I overused i as a result. Mix up the views and vantages more.
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I wouldn't be too discouraged by the lack of comments. I always find the forum is relatively quiet on the weekends and doesn't pick up until everyone is back at work. I watched the video this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. As I was driving home from the cottage last night I was telling my wife you had uploaded your next video and I was excited to get home to watch it.
In regards to constructive criticism, I would agree with your critique that this video may have been a little heavy on the travel montage. I also think shots with the natural sights and sounds of the park are great, but I wouldn't want you to cut out any of your talking times to make room for them.
My two main takeaways from this video is that I really want to paddle down the Tim, and that I am really not looking forward to the 935m portage into Misty next month (if that is the route I end up taking).
Edit: I also forgot to mention that everytime I watch your videos I feel a strong pull to check out kayak prices. I've never taken one into the backcountry but seeing you do it with ease always make it extremely tempting.
Last edited by RCShevalier (7/30/2017 8:28 pm)
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Hey Uppa thanks for posting another great video...Like mentioned above the weekends can be slow here but activity picks up during the week.
I like the mix of talking, paddling, music etc that you put into these. I think it was a good balance of scenery, activity, talking etc. I also really like when folks include a map of their route like you did...
The rear view camera was neat but I personally would prefer to see what is in front of you as opposed to your back as you paddle. I also really enjoy seeing and learning about people's gear and campsite set-ups in videos (but again that's just my personal thing...). You have some neat gear that I'm not too familiar with so I'd be interested in hearing a bit about what you find works well and what doesn't.
I like your choice in music as it's soothing and doesn't take away from the serenity of the scenes...
How much did the window end up costing you?
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I liked it but I'm a fanatic for the park and tripping so like to see all of it. I suspect most people here feel the same. For most audiences you're right about the travel segments.
YouTube viewers are more generic (watch a variety of subjects) and they want VERY informative, short videos or VERY entertaining long videos. Plus they want something unique, which you are doing with the kayak tripping so you have the potential to reach a bigger audience than just canoeists or Algonquin Park enthusiasts. My canoe videos rarely exceed 10,000 views while my cabin videos get up to 500,000 because it's unique.
Your talking segments are critical to your audience. They want to connect with the person. They can see thousands of pictures and videos of the scenery (I have that much of my own out there lol). I know I want to watch you talking and kayaking because that's unique and interesting and I can understand the context better from third perspective, as if I'm there with you watching you there.
It took me awhile to figure this out. I still like making first person videos for my own archives, but they don't do well on social media.
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@RC: My bad for being impatient. I was fishing for feedback before I left on my next camping trip (I leave tomorrow morning) as it will help me figure out what to focus on. If you end up taking the 935 into Misty you probably won't find it all that bad - at least you'll be going downhill! And likely it'll be somewhat drier by then. I'd love to hear about a confirmed kayak convert due to my trip reports - that would make my year ;)
@Steve: Thanks for the feedback - I appreciate it. Yeah, the rear camera thing was an idea that I still think has some merit, but I way way way overused it. The drawbacks are of course I can't change what it's pointing at (at least not without getting out of my kayak) and I'm turning it on and off via an app on my phone (which is in the day hatch of my kayak), so every turn on / turn off takes time and gets minorly annoying. As a result I basically left it on most of the time, which means I could literally post a video that was my entire trip if I wanted to (except the gaps between when a battery died and I replaced it). The main idea is just to be able to switch up views more. Shot from the front, shot from the back, shot looking to the side, etc. If nothing else the second camera lets me take long timelapse videos on my site while still being able to shoot other things.
The window ended up costing about $400 to replace (had to replace a plastic thing inside as well as the window - the rock must have busted it somehow). That stupid thing at the rear of my car I ripped off ended up not being an easy repair, and ended up costing about the same. So yeah, taxes and everything that was close to a $1000 mistake.... sigh.
I've thought about talking about my gear, but I don't know - I've seen some videos where someone goes on about a piece of equipment and in the back of my mind I'm always hearing "This video brought to you by Big Agnes!" or whatever. Feels too much like product placement crap to me, and I'm really not trying or hoping to turn videos into something to make money off of - not that I could if I were trying! I do talk sometimes about how I pack and organize my gear as that's very specific to what I do (kayak camping).
@My Self Reliance: thanks for the confirmation of what I basically already should have known. Even watching my own videos I start skipping through the travel segments and if they don't keep me interested, why the heck would I think it would interest anyone else? My problem so far is that I'm perfectly happy to film lots while travelling because it really doesn't impact what I'm doing. Push record on the camera and go back to my travel day. Once I get to my campsite I tend to be far more reluctant to let the camera 'intrude' on my time out there, so I come home with 30 hours of travelling and 2 hours of campsite footage. Hence... travel montage that never ends!
The 'talking' side of things makes perfect sense even while at the same time it's hard for me to wrap my head around. My sort of innate assumption is to not let me insert myself too much into the show, so to speak, but then you're absolutely right - there's thousands of hours of footage out there of trees, rocks and lakes for people to look at. And yes, the kayak aspect is certainly the unique aspect of what I'm doing, so I need to play that up. Thanks for the advice, I really do appreciate it.
Last edited by Uppa (7/31/2017 7:48 am)
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Just a quick FYI, this video might disappear while I'm out camping. Got copyright disputed over a song I actually paid to use (as I don't monetize my videos that's not expensive). I challenged, they rejected my challenge. So I just appealed that, and that means the copyright holder has an option to take my video down entirely.
Hopefully it's still there when I get back!
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Video worked for me! I like the tear-down time-lapse. I also like your talking / mug shots. When you are dead and buried your family will look back on these and smile! I'm also a fan of the rear view cam. Bow or 1st person shots can get monotonous after a while.
Was that last song Explosions in the Sky?
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I enjoyed it! We just got back from 4 days out there, specifically the Tim, and it was lovely seeing all that footage of you paddling along that never ending stream! I gotta say, it must be nice having a kayak when you have to power through those little openings in the beaver dams.
I wonder if your format will appeal to those who have already been there and just want to go back? I know that's how I felt.
Really enjoy the talking sessions too.
Too bad about the whole car smashing thing, I think it would have eaten away at me as well. That was a pretty huge last day as well, I hope you slept well!
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