Mark has done the "do"many times and what he shows will work.
It's true that if you need to do something well and you go to youtube, your chances of finding a way to do that something are high. Your chances of finding a video in the first one or two that's really good in terms of professional process (vs. someone who just made the video so that they can get sponsored, or amazon-link the items they're showing to make 3% off of the sales of those item) aren't good.
As much as there is in the knife community, I was hoping to see someone demonstrating forge normalization procedures, or methods that achieve the same thing as furnace normalization in simple steels. Those things exist (verhoeven's triple quench, or some variation of it, will normalize steel). The number of videos that show someone doing that with comparative results (or even just the former done properly) vs. a whole bunch of folks quenching something three times....
zero. but you could watch hours of videos of people doing the wrong thing and be no closer to finding the right way to go about it (the actual method that I believe does this is two subcritical quenches and then a critical quench). Many of the videos that are relatively pointless have comments like "how to heat treat 1095 the RIGHT way".
That leads to Mark's potential brand here - to describe the videos as "videos for people who need to do what's demonstrated" or some variation of that. That is, brand the videos to be to the attention of people who are looking not just to buy tools or imagine that they want to do something, but for folks who have a project at a standstill in their shop, and who need complete accurate information to be able to do what's in the video.
Heavy editing and fake looking shops (stumpy numbs type stuff) are popular for the something for nothing or "just come here for tips" type channels. That's the money side of youtube (keep the people who aren't doing much or don't wish to progress and maybe don't even know that they don't want to progress).
But the biggest killer for someone like me isn't editing (I have no interest in growing a channel), rather it's that I can't hold a camera and do the work at the same time. No plans to change that (no plans really to even make more videos), but it would be an enormous increase in quality in terms of people being able to see what's going on.
I occasionally watch mechanic's channels on youtube, but not as a matter of leisure. There are a couple where the mechanic is relatively concise and shows actual projects and they have a knowledgeable spouse operating the camera - and thus little editing is shown other than snipping out dead time.
Bill, based on my experience, I would put your wants at 2 in 100 of video watchers.
The books of complex joints are very popular among the wood club guys here, and the fellow who got me into woodworking has materials related to that stuff and I can guarantee he's never made any of them.
but the books sold in droves (when people bought books). To show a complex joint being made and fitted and then used on a project would be something that the metrics on youtube would show the issues with (unless the desire was to cater to the five people who would watch the entire video).
Youtube's metrics for anyone looking to grow a channel will tell the publisher exactly what works and what doesn't. I guess for the folks who like to link to amazon, the revenue generated from a referral link also tells the same.
From Mark's perspective - if you do put something up that manages to get a lot of views (I have nothing with more than 75k views), you can expect the relevance of the questions to go down, and the like percentage will drop because people are somehow landing on your video expecting a four minute something for nothing type thing with perhaps links to buy at the end.
But, the folks who are genuinely looking to take a method that you've published and apply it - very very few. My highest view videos were all made to answer questions that I got over email (about sharpening stones) or made quickly in anger or surprise (e.g. planing plywood). The videos showing things that actually work for the average person get relatively little traffic (which is great to me! little traffic means most will be more relevant).
I think your speech is fine. It was mainly starting out as you otherwise spoke. Therefore the vocal exercises. You know when you wake someone up with a phone call and the first few sentences are a little off. It is as simple as just warming up.
Same thing as a duffer making dovetails, get them to run a saw freely for a few trial cuts. I have been hand cutting dovetails for 40 years, but I don't do it every month even. And I always do a little warm up till I can feel it again.
How he made his logo. Just like Hollywood. Well maybe in the 1920s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJdrlZTht_U
How to make it come together
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGzjNwomQkA
Mouse traps!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDpuHKxKFvQ
Gurney has been a recognized artist for a very long time, but his channel still has some nice home made elements, including pop up buttons on mouse traps.
As a CAD guy you could really make it happen. You already know how to design stuff, and worst case a 200 dollar 3D printer would crank it out.
How about one of those Robin Hood Era logos where the lettering appears on a sheet of parchment, but yours could be a sheet off a super surfacer. Who knows, fun to think about.
In the machinist realm there are a lot of very complex and detailed channels that are successful. Woodworking is a hobby where most people assume you don't really need much skill. And for the most part they are right. People who never made anything will produce a perfect looking guitar or a large yacht.
I think that the warm-ups would be essential, so maybe crank the tunes and belt out a hit from the 70's for a few minutes prior to speaking might help.
That's pretty interesting stuff and gives me something to think about. I am leaning more to the CAD version, then mousetraps.
There certainly is a lot to think about. This is a whole new world of internet viewing, and understanding the way that people watch stuff, and their attention span. Back in the old days of teaching about wood structure in a class, if their eyes started to roll back you upped the pace a little, or banged something on the desk to wake them up.
I don't pretend to know much about anything, much less video production, but here are a few editorial insights that may be useful.
Know your target reader/viewer. This will inform your presentation. How much can you assume they already know about the subject and/or the underlying fundamentals, definitions, jargon, etc.? Talk to your viewer's ability to understand. There may be a way to talk to people of all experience/skill levels, but it's going to be tricky. Maybe you can layer the presentation, say, with an overview at the beginning that will give the expert all he needs to know, and then break down all the whys, wherefores, terminologies, and how-tos for the rookies.
Conceptualize your presentation. In magazine world, the format is generally: Tell them what you're going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them; in other words, the lead, the body of the article, and the conclusion. In the video format, I'd start with an attention-getting title in the same eyeball as a compelling image that the viewer can immediately identify as something they want to learn to do. In a magazine article, that would be a headline (e.g., "Routing Complementary Curves") accompanied by a lead photograph or illustration that shows the payoff; in a video, maybe you would have large type set over an identifiable shot of the finished product, that quickly answers the viewer's question, "Why would I do this?" or "Is this video for me?"
Explicate the title somehow, to further incline the viewer to keep watching, and to "tell them what you're going to tell them." The print equivalent is called a sub-hed or subtitle, usually a sentence (e.g., "A simple, foolproof way to a perfect fit.") In a video, this could be an actual sub-hed superimposed on the camera image, or part of an actual static title page, or it could be rolled into the opening remarks (e.g., "Hi, I'm Mark Hennebury and I'm going to show you how to easily make perfect complementary curves with a router and simple accessories.") I'd probably go a step further and discuss more reasons why someone would want to know this stuff. Maybe I'd say, "You can make curved joints in solid wood, like this cutting board," and show one or more cutting board ideas, or "I'll be showing you how to make this joint with complementary template collars. I'll also show you how a removable bushing with set screw can speed up the process by eliminating the need to change template collars."
Then you launch into your presentation. Keep it organized and logical (e.g., show them what they will need, tell them where to get the stuff they might not have, take a shot of the bench fixture you're using, noting the critical features and telling why you need it).
As for the presentation itself, there's this little thing called "production value," that has to do with all the visual and technical aspects of presenting something in the video format. This includes camera angle, clarity of the audio and video, framing of individual shots to best show what's going on, etc. By viewing other videos that are well done, you can develop a critical eye for these aspects and evaluate your production values comparatively.
One key thing I would recommend is to limit your movements and make them count: no flipping stuff around, sweeping and blowing off the surfaces, casting about for something you need. If this means having everything laid out neatly and rehearsing the delivery a few times, so be it. Visual clutter and extraneous movements are distracting, time-consuming and irrelevant.
I'd also recommend zooming in on key details and just show hands and action. This may be difficult without a camera operator. At the least, it will require setting up these shots and then editing them into your finished production later.
When you've completed the procedure, take a moment to summarize what you've just showed your viewers. Calmly hold up the finished product, look into the camera, discuss the features and advantages of the procedure, and thank everyone for watching. Go out on a fade to your cover page again with your company logo or web address for more info, or whatever is relevant to your marketing efforts.
Ellis, That is a great seal of insight and wisdom. I have a lot to think about for sure. I appreciate you spending the time and sharing your invaluable knowledge. Thank you and everyone else who has taken the time to view and comment. I will mull over everything that has been said. Thanks.
I appreciate all of the opinions and advice I have received from you and everyone else. I will take it all to heart and try to make decent video's using what I have learned. Thanks for your input. it is much appreciated.
