Wheeling video part meh.

[Toasty]

Not sure anyone really likes these videos BUT i need to practice before the Sierras. I want to make a really good quality video so please give me some feedback. Most of the videos i have up are shot with my phone, i will be switching to my gopro as soon as i get one of those glide camera dealios. I'll be learning and trying out different stuff as i go. This video was just a casual run out to a mercury mine this past Saturday, the guy in the white Monty is brand new to wheeling and he just got his truck on the road (he bought it run into the ground by the previous owner). He did really well out there, not really a beginner trail but he wanted to get straight to the fun stuff and he conquered every hard option. We taught him the importance of lower T-Case gears. Good times

 

[haolepinoy]

I watched that video today while at work, and spent a little time looking at the others on your ADD YouTube page. Really looking forward to seeing the videos that come from this year's Sierra Carnage. I watched some of those videos from the previous Carnage trips. Looks like a really good time.

 

['round n' back again]

that.....looks exxpensive to wheel in that manner.
but videos are representative and clear. i think you have a talent enough to pursue this avenue with vigor.

Ground clearance shots; watching donnikers pass under the rig with no damage is nice to see, operator interaction with the viewer, good. distance from the action is good, but closer sometimes would be nice.
maybe some more close up or even under vehicle angles with attached gopro.
the music is cool and good enough but we would love to hear the sounds of engine rpm and the scraping of metal on rock....just kidding, but the engine gives additional visceral info on how the operator is doing what he is doing.

jow in the world do you keep the engines within operating temps in that crawl mode??

 

[Toasty]

I like motor and scraping noises as well, they're there in this video but I made them really quiet because there was a bit of off topic chatting as well. PAJ_ERO (Green Monty) and I (Blue Monty only shown parked) have crawler gears so our trucks don't have to work very hard offroad even while powering through the brakes for extra control. Our new friend (White Monty) had A/T Temp issues off and on as we went, he's going to install an extra cooler until he can afford to do it right and regear his T-Case.

As far as it being expensive to drive on rocks like this yes and no, Montero's are super tough. gears and front lockers do cost money though.

 

['round n' back again]

are your engine fans up to keeping things cool? at that pace?

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

are your engine fans up to keeping things cool? at that pace?

Gearing like this... is what puts the engine at a super low rpm, barely working, while cruising effortlessly through these places. If you check some of the other videos, like this video here... you'll see what gearing does for RPM's and effort. You can spend hours idling through a boulder field up a steep grade.

 

[Toasty]

After everything I've done to the truck to keep it cool like massive electric fans and custom radiators (3 row copper and 2 row dual pass aluminum) the best thing was proper gearing and a well maintained cooling system. It's now back to a stock radiator and new OEM fan and clutch, i do have my A/C fan on a thermal switch but it hasn't been needed. A/T temp light never happens either.

 

[Smileyshaun]

this is just my opinion but lower the music volume and let the vehicle noises come through , letting the music be the loudest this is fine if done in short segments. maybe do a little post editing and adding some commentary explaining the terrain and struggles on the trip .

 

[Toasty]

I thought that too after the fact, thanks for the input!

 

[camp4x4]

Little feedback from someone who used to produce web content for a bike company:

1) The pace of the music doesn't match your content. Generally speaking your music selection should compliment the action/story in tempo. This music is much better suited to really fast paced action. Not that your music selection has to be an entirely different genre - okay, maybe it does... speed metal just doesn't go with picking your way up a rocky trail... but you should at least find something that doesn't clash.

2) You can pick up the pace of your video by using shorter clips. Cutting more often between different shots will give you the opportunity to A) use more angles B) use faster paced music C) highlight just the important parts of the action and D) generally make your edits more interesting.

3) Going off #2, use more angles and don't zoom. When you feel like you want to zoom to change the shot, don't. Move positions. Physically walking forward or backward is far better than zooming. Better yet, change positions entirely. Cutting from one perspective to a similar perspective is jarring for a viewer. Change to a perspective that is significantly different. Here's a good article about some shot types. Keeping all these in mind when shooting will give you much more latitude when editing.

4) Try and keep the camera still. You don't have to use a tripod or anything, but do your best not to move the camera around much at all. Unless you have a gimbal don't walk around while filming. Not only can it be disorienting for viewers, if you're focused on not tripping over obstacles then you aren't focused on keeping whatever you're filming in frame.

5) Get some people talking. It can be casual on-trail or it can be before/after (both!). It doesn't have to be a lot, but engaging with the people there and getting information about what's going on is a very big part of why sooooo many popular channels/shows use both setup and on-the-spot commentary.

What's already been said about music/ambient mix volume is definitely true, and there's lot of other fine details to go into, but the above will be plenty to keep you busy and go a long way to improving the videos.

Hope that helps!

 

[Toasty]

It does help, I'll keep working on it and trying different things. probably start uploading to my personal YouTube channel and doing weirder stuff as well as experimenting more with types of shots. Zoom in this video was terrible but I learned pretty quick that it was a bad idea, looked ok on my phone.

 

[Toasty]

PAJ got my new car stuck already.

 

[Toasty]

...and we'll just let it sit there a while.

 

[camp4x4]

 

[Toasty]

Learning as i go, i need to start using my real cameras.