Hi all,
Would anybody be interested in cooperating on a project to put together a few short videos about guitar that could be put on Youtube?
Do you fancy helping get a script together? Having a stab at co-directing? Getting the chance to have your own point of view quoted? Adding a picture of your guitar and/or a sound bite?
Video seems such a useful and popular way to communicate information that I would like to learn how to do it. I know very little about the technical side of things, but there seems no reason not to just give it a try and learn as I go along, preferably with some help and input from some of you here. I've no reason to believe that it will be all that hard. I'd also like to do it as a cooperative project, that can each be edited and improved as it progresses - depending on the feedback that I get from you all as I put them together.
The idea is to present as a learner, rather than an expert, and to make a series of short videos that concentrate on different aspects of learning guitar, and not on particular songs. I'll take a topic and say "Here's what I know so far, and how it seems to meâ€. I'll rough out an initial script and shoot a quick starter clip that can then be changed, added to, developed and generally improved. Then, if you're interested, you could join in and tell me whether you think that what I'm saying is clear and useful, or otherwise. You could add extra info, suggest a different way of doing tell me if you think that I'm flat out wrong, or blew something. We could slowly shape each video up, perhaps over a period of one or two weeks.
It might be a fun way to pool knowledge. We could all learn about the process as we go along (and some folks here already know heaps more than I do about making videos). It may then help others take the plunge later as we learn what works and what doesn't, both from the technical side and from the angle of how best to present the information.
There's a pretty much endless list of possible topics, and you can't boil each of them down to only a few minutes of video. But the idea would be to give a straightforward overview of the issues, and a few general tips and pointers. In other words, a view of where everything fits into the overall musical map, and how to get started.
Topics might include things like:
Buying a guitar - cover all the basic styles and explain how they differ and what you should consider when choosing.
Posture - how you hold it once you've bought it.
Motivation and strategies for getting through the necessary hours of learning.
Strumming - how to develop a wide range of strums.
Learning songs.
Rhythm, melody and harmony - why each is important, and how to work on them all.
Bar(re) chords.
Learning the neck.
Amp settings.
Care and maintenance.
Why learning some Theory makes life easier not tougher. And so on....
Here's a link to some very rough videos introducing the idea. I've run together a few snippets that would belong in larger but separate videos. Obviously they're incomplete and every single aspect needs improvement. Some shots need to be much closer in, the compromise between video quality and file size needs to be looked at, the scripts and presentation need a lot of work. There's no proper lighting yet and the whole thing needs to be a great deal tighter and slicker. But that's the object of the exercise - to work on all those things until the outcome is useful and worth watching. With a bit of luck we can all learn a few things along the way that some of us might later be able to apply to other videos.
What do you think? Do you think it could produce something useful, and if so would you be interested in joining in?
Cheers,
Chris
sure - why not. good idea
edit - just watched the vids, i like the way they look. definately interested, although im not sure what i would have to offer
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Good videos Chris.
Very informative. You look a lot like Jerry Reed in his 60s. :)
This will be a terrific project. I fear I won't be able to contribute but I am all waiting to see how this turns out.
Good Luck and thanks for taking the initiative !
Haha I liked how you placed some guitars next to you :P looks profesional, really nice quality, I couldn't hear but I bet it is great, good luck, I don't know much about videos, sorry, but good luck.
I wanna be that guy that you wish you were ! ( i wish I were that guy)
You gotta set your sights high to get high!
Everyone is a teacher when you are looking to learn.
( wise stuff man! )
Its Kirby....
Thanks for the replies so far. :)
I'm hoping that if the first one or two come up OK then more people will be interested in either joining in or just watching. Once the process starts it should become more obvious how others can join in if they wish.
Comments will always be helpful - even if it's just to say that something wasn't clear, or that I missed something, that something was too long-winded, or that my comments were biased and a different point of view should be added for balance, etc. I also hope that some members quotes, pictures or sound clips (perhaps even clips of video?) can be included.
I mentioned this project to Guitarnoise - Paul Hackett - last week and he was supportive, so I'll give it a try and see how we go.
I guess that the Hear Here forum might be the place to base the threads and links to the videos as they progress. Does that sound OK from the Mods point of view here?
I'll start with one about What to Look for When Buying a Guitar (Any ideas for a better title?).
Initial script ideas:
Show 8 or so different guitar styles, such as:
Classic - nylon string.
Steel string acoustic
Nylon string acoustic/electric
Steel string acoustic electric
12 string acoustic
Semi-hollow body electric
Hollow body archtop
Solid body electric
Talk about what the features of each one are. Mention aspects like:
Neck shapes and construction
Sound qualities (loudness, style, etc. Which matters most - the fingers, the amp, the pickups or the guitar?)
Which music style suits a particular type of guitar
Weight and balance
Scale lengths and number of frets
What to look for (solid tops and how to confirm them, how 'solid' are solid bodies, etc.)
Known advantages or limitations
The idea is to give a reasonable overview, and try to cover all those things that a new buyer may not have realised until after they've bought a guitar (perhaps online), or might want to know to help with their next purchase.
I'm off out for a while now to help with some pruning and tying up at a friend's vineyard (good exercise and excellent lunches... :wink: ), but if they are no objections - or requests that I use a different location - then I'll probably start a thread in Hear Here, with some expanded deatils of the script ideas above, and start working on that first video.
All suggestions, contributions or criticisms most welcome. :)
Cheers,
Chris
By the way.... I probably should be clear about this:
This is NOT a commercial project. Don't wait for the boxed DVD set, special discount price this week, plus free air guitar stand... :note1: :note2: :note1:
My aims are threefold:
1) To enjoy learning how to use my video camera, by training it on a subject I enjoy.
2) There's no better way to learn something than by trying to pass it on. This will force me to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and polish up some of the many slack areas.
3) I've learned a huge amount via the internet, from GN and many other music sites. This is an attempt to try and pass some of what I've learned on and around again.
It's also worth mentioning that this is not a Guitarnoise specific thing, it's just me and whoever offers advice. I have already had input and help from local friends and will be happy to take suggestions etc from any source - such as other sites (although I haven't yet asked elsewhere).
Cheers,
Chris
Love the ideas....I'm a video editor by trade....so if you need some help on that part, let me know.
In Space, no one can hear me sing!
Love the ideas....I'm a video editor by trade....so if you need some help on that part, let me know.
Joe, you're a star! Thanks very much for that offer. :)
There's certainly a lot to learn - so the first attempts will have plenty that needs improving. My first try at filming a quick explanation of what I was intending resulted in an uninterrupted three minute take of me jabbering directly at the camera! :oops: Not the best idea...
I've got a Canon camera that will shoot in 5 different....um.... definitions - if that's the right word, so I'm trying to pick the best compromise between picture quality and file size. Of course Youtube then compresses it all again when you upload, so that has to be factored in too. I have iMovie 09 on the computer and the capability of that sort of program is just amazing. I had no idea that you could do things like cropping the size of the movie, just like you would a photo, not just the length. The built in captioning and transition options are a breeze too. Finding the balance between keeping it interesting yet not overusing the whizz-bangery will be a learning curve... I had a quick crash instruction in using iMovie from a friend the other night, in between dinner courses, so I've found most of the basic tools needed to make a start.
I'm also hoping that people like your good self (who has both guitar and video skills) might be persuaded to make some guest appearances to break up the sight of the same old goat rabbiting on for 5 minutes. It would be nice to see pictures of other members' gear used to illustrate some points, perhaps snippets of their music popping up in the soundtrack, even some doing the talking for some spots if they felt interested.
Enough of the dreaming though... I'd better get back to working out the content and timing for the first one.
Cheers,
Chris
Sounds like a cool idea. My video equipment consists of a Kodak digital camera though so not the best quality video shooting ability, however I do figure I have something to offer. I mean, I have so many guitars and I am a half arsed guitar tech as I do all my own work. Oh, and I can play a little too ..............
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Thanks TR - you sound ideally equipped for the job. I won't be aiming at Oscar nominations for the movies, this time around, so all contributions will be welcome. :)
I'm currently roughing out a 'cast list' for 8 or 10 guitar styles that I'd like to give a short description of - and it would seem reasonable to include one in a Les Paul style (which I don't have ) so maybe one of yours could do the job? It could be a still picture if video was tricky. There's also the issue of sound clips, which I'm still undecided on.
I'm reluctant to try and play all the ones I'll show, for a couple of reasons : a) it would be time consuming and b) It can be a bit misleading, especially as I'm not that good on all the different styles (many would say that I'm not that good on any of them...) and the sound of a guitar can vary so much depending on who is playing it and what the amp arrangement is. So that's something that will need working through too - how much background sound to use, if any.
I'm hoping to start a thread for the first video in the next day or two (probably in Hear Here where the Beginner video thread is), so we can throw in more ideas then. But at present I'm thinking along the lines of a bit of general introductory waffle, and then a short separate scene for each guitar style. This would make it easy to edit my original chat about any of the guitars, and replace it with photos plus voice over, or even clips, put in by others. My first attempts had a bit too much of me and not enough guitar, so getting the right balance of putting the spotlight where it belongs will be a goal too. 8)
Cheers,
Chris
Here's my feedback so far, Chris (other than what I mentioned in PM).
One thing I did notice . . . you simply cannot hold up all these different guitars . . . and not strum it . . . that is a no no.
At a very elementary level, a guitar is an instrument that makes noise . . .
so when you show someone one of these noisemakers, you have to show them the type of noise it makes . . .
otherwise you are teasing the viewer . . . and frustrating them. :mrgreen:
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
Thanks very much for the feedback and the PM Ken,
That's a tough ask... :)
You're right of course... but I've just filmed a take that explains why I'm not going to play them all... :mrgreen:
Sound is turning out to be the trickiest element to get right, so far. I did some reasonable opening shots this afternoon, but when I played them back the sound was very poor - thanks to using the wrong mic and failing to do a proper sound check regularly. So there was too much other interference going on. In general, it's coming along surprising well though - the quick samples I linked to above already look embarrassingly bad, so it shouldn't be too hard to tighten it all up, cut the crap, and add some more substance.
The difficult part about playing them all is that the quote "Tone is in the fingers" is pretty much right - so to have ten sound clips of my mediocre strumming isn't going to demonstrate much about the true potential of the instruments - most of which can produce a very wide range of sounds anyway. It's also too time consuming to really demo them all properly, and I want to keep the length of each video down. So my current plan is to have some general talk and then about 30 seconds discussion of each guitar.
You're right though - it will probably need some sort of token thrash on each one, even if it's only a second or two. I've done two contrasting short takes on one guitar showing how completely different it can sound, but I may need to think about the others too. This could be a case where it would be great to get some short sound files from some of the guys here (like TR) who have both the gear and the skills.
Anyway, I'm sure that will develop further as we go. I'm hoping to get the first 'rough cut' (???? is that right? I'm going to have to read up on movie jargon.... :roll: ) ready to put into a thread in Hear Here by tomorrow or Friday, along with a print out of the script so far. Then we can rip it apart and see how it can be done better.
The first one will be a steep learning curve, but they'll get easier as it progresses.
A Big Thank You to all the people who have offered encouragement and help, and to David and Paul for giving it the green light. I'm hoping that once the general template has been established, and the basic technical problems sorted through, then some of my scenes can be chopped out and replaced by guest appearances from others - either in the form of pictures of their gear, sound files, or even clips of video. It's been an eye-opener finding out how much you can do with the video software now.
Cheers,
Chris
