The curse of the video camera - a rant!

[santaman2000]

Hey, if people can bitch about youtube, I can bitch about threads. It's a bit ironic that people don't like me complaining about people complaining about something - no?

And I value many peoples opinions (John and Mary included!) but when I don't agree, I don't agree. I love my girlfriend Eloise totally but we don't agree on every subject. We're mature enough though that a bit of a moan doesn't get out of hand. I'm sure i'll get a good flaming for this though.

Fair enough. It wasn't your complaint itself that set me off; I don't completely agree with them on this particular point either. It was the way you bemoaned having wasted part of your life, when in fact it was by your choice to continue reading after the first post or two. No malice intended.

 

[Squidders]

It's cool - I have thick skin.

I kinda got sucked into the thread and when I should have pulled out, I ended up reading the whole thing... It's like listening to a joke that you know if going to have a bad punchline, you know you shouldn't but you can't help yourself.

Since then the situation has only got worse of course.

 

[santaman2000]

Ah - I recognise the fact that I am no good with a movie camera, have limmitted experience in front of a camera and have a phobia when it comes to technology!
The very reasons that I would not be able to produce a vid worth opening ... like too many others out there already!

That sounds logical enough John. But I for one would love to open any video you might post. Indeed, it would be a welcome addition to the better videos and a relief from some of the drivel.

Are you still active on BCUSA? If so, have you watched some of The Professor's videos? He, like Pict, on both this forum and that one, produces some good videos and neither of them are professionals by any means. But they are knowledgeble and competent in the areas they video. I know from your written posts that so are you and many times I've wished for a video showing what you were explaining.

 

[Toddy]

.........We're mature enough though that a bit of a moan doesn't get out of hand. I'm sure i'll get a good flaming for this though.

Not from me you won't I try really hard not to be a hypocrit, I complain as much as the next person, and tbh it'd be incredibly boring if we all agreed.
Life's too short.

Santaman2000, compared to the sheer volume of amateur youtubers (sorry, quiet snigger again) the few from official bodies don't really make much headway. I think you'd have to be quite specific in the search to find most of those.

cheers,
M

 

[John Fenna]

That sounds logical enough John. But I for one would love to open any video you might post. Indeed, it would be a welcome addition to the better videos and a relief from some of the drivel.

Are you still active on BCUSA? If so, have you watched some of The Professor's videos? He, like Pict, on both this forum and that one, produces some good videos and neither of them are professionals by any means. But they are knowledgeble and competent in the areas they video. I know from your written posts that so are you and many times I've wished for a video showing what you were explaining.

I am still active there - posted on Bushclass today - but I have not watched any of those vids ... they may hold what I am after
I will check them out soonest

As to those kind folk who have pointed out that there is good stuff out there - I agree but I wasted so much time opening the dross that I failed to find much of the good stuff.
As to not everyone is a born spielberg - I agree but is a world forum rather than friends and family who can help with your ambitions a suitable place to premier your oevres.
I am not in favour of censorship - merely frustrated by the total garbage that gets in the way of finding the few who offer good, safe, information in a way that is understandable!
You Tube is a great place to post good information - but it is overloaded with mince from numpties!
If you read my rant you will apreciate that I was looking for useful bushcraft vids - a specialised area - and found most of what was there to be poor if not actually dangerous and wrong.
I have not argument against those who say it is a great way of comunicating information - unfortunately it is also a great way of comunicating MISinformation thereby devaluing the good stuff....
I will not be doing any searches on you choob in a hurry - life is too short!

 

[santaman2000]

....Santaman2000, compared to the sheer volume of amateur youtubers (sorry, quiet snigger again) the few from official bodies don't really make much headway. I think you'd have to be quite specific in the search to find most of those.

cheers,
M

Agreed, but it's a pretty easy site to navigate. Those searches are quite successful. Granted some of the amateur ones (such as Pict's or The Professor's) take a bit of knowledge as to just who you're looking for (or in the case of Nuthin Fancy, who to avoid. LOL) but like here, it only takes a bit of practice.

 

[Wayland]

I just don't have time to find the nuggets of gold amongst the dross <Snip

That's about my position too.

I simply don't bother watching videos that I come across, even here.

I just wish people would note it in the thread title to save me the time of opening a useless thread.

One of the reasons I don't go to BcUSA as much these days is the huge preponderence of videos that wrap a minute or so of information in 10 minutes of rubbish.

At least with a written thread you can scan through it to see if it's worth reading.

 

[santaman2000]

I am still active there - posted on Bushclass today - but I have not watched any of those vids ... they may hold what I am after
I will check them out soonest ....

Be advised that Pict posts on youtube under the name colhane. He posts about his treks and bushcrafting in Brazil. The Professor (he may spell it diferently) posts under that name and his posts vary from bc to homesteading topics.

 

[santaman2000]

.....videos that wrap a minute or so of information in 10 minutes of rubbish.

At least with a written thread you can scan through it to see if it's worth reading.

True. But with a bit of practice you can scan a video just as easily by using the time bar at the bottom.

 

[Toddy]

I'm wondering now if it's an educational thing ?
We read and write with some ease; but not everyone does, especially the youngsters. Some of them are very, very visual in both their learning and demonstration.
If they have never learned to absorb information from the written word, or how to clearly give that information to others, in the same way, then maybe the Youtube phenomenon is more than just the five minutes of fame ?

I can see the appeal too of actually hearing the voices of people we've come to know online.
Having met many of you, I can 'hear' you when I read your posts

cheers,
M

 

[British Red]

Theres a place for it. Some things are better shown - its why I use a lot of photos. Some things even then though are better shown in motion or "live" - but we don't all have access to experts - how to assemble something works well on video - the trajectory of an arrow filmed well shows something impossible to capture in a still. Some things require still photos (e.g. a good close up photo of something for identification), some things need words. Many people use the wrong medium or the same medium all the time. I have done the odd video - but I don't have editing experience so it has to be something simple.

 

[santaman2000]

Good explanation Red. Different subjects just require different presentations.

Mary I think you may have hit on another sad fact; our education is behind our technology. Hopefully some day the rudiments of video presentation will be taught in school as it seems destined to be THE medium for some time to come.

 

[Wook]

Since I am not Ray Mears crossed with Orson Welles, I guess I'd better take down my couple of videos PDQ....

 

[cbr6fs]

End of the day it's a free resource that you have a choice to use or not.

I agree there is a lot of rubbish there, but then there were a LOT of rubbish books before the internet, and lots of rubbish folks tales and songs before electricity.

The other thing is we're all different.
What one person might see as rubbish another may well see as informative and entertaining.

I've seen estimates of 7 billion people that have access to the internet, even after subtracting non regular uses and non English speakers that's still a LOT of people by any standards.

Just checked and there are 48 hours of video loaded onto youtube every min.


So yes there are going to be a lot of rubbish there, but it's still a free source of information and you have the ability to scan through the videos to see if it's likely to be content you like.

 

[Woadhart]

I find youtube a useful resource. I have been introduced to bushcraft techniques that I have never encountered before through it and I owe the fact that I can tie a decent range of knots to posters on youtube as well.

Some of the videos do show a lack of skill and concern for safety, however at the same time others are of the highest calibre.

For example, at the start of this summer I was building a new fence for my father and had to break up some old concrete post foundations. Being completely unskilled in the art of sledgehammer work I hopped on youtube and found a training video from an American or Canadian park ranger service. Thirty minutes later not only was I versed in how to safely smash up the concrete/boulders with a sledgehammer but I'd also picked up some tips on sawing and axe work too.

 

[John Fenna]

I find youtube a useful resource. I have been introduced to bushcraft techniques that I have never encountered before through it and I owe the fact that I can tie a decent range of knots to posters on youtube as well.

Some of the videos do show a lack of skill and concern for safety, however at the same time others are of the highest calibre.

For example, at the start of this summer I was building a new fence for my father and had to break up some old concrete post foundations. Being completely unskilled in the art of sledgehammer work I hopped on youtube and found a training video from an American or Canadian park ranger service. Thirty minutes later not only was I versed in how to safely smash up the concrete/boulders with a sledgehammer but I'd also picked up some tips on sawing and axe work too.

In other words, folk who did not put up a vid without first learning how to use the camera, how to edit, how to "perform" and who knew the skills they were showing and how to perform them safely
It is that quality of vid I was looking for - but unfortunately all that good stuff (on the subjects I was looking for) was lost in a pile of ordure posted by numpties.
Unfortunately I only get between 4 and 6 meg broadband and things take a while to load and play so even the idea of fast scanning vids to check if they are any good takes more time than some of the vids I found justifies.
Again I will say - I do not doubt that there is good info out there, it is just that it is buried under all the carp that the numpty brigade put out .
I guesshe curse of the movie camera is that anyone can buy one and turn out rubbish and then clog the information superhighway with these unroadworthy and dangerous vehicles for their egos.

 

[robin wood]

It's a common misconception that video is a good medium for the passing of skills. Having an ex wife with a PhD in the subject of using digital media for skills transfer I know a little about the area. Video is a tremendous vehicle for inspiration but poor for skills transfer. A good vid can motivate us to have a go but nearly always good written, photographic and illustrated instructions form better learning guides. If you start with that in mond and aim to inspire rather than inform you'll make better vids. I do like the democratic nature of youtube and think that people can develop reading/viewing skills to sift the dross.

 

[John Fenna]

I just found theprofessor's vids on BcUSA - now they are useful and I wish I had found them before (perhaps then I would not have started the rant )
The filming is of a good standard, the info is good and things look pretty safe too (though I have not watched them all...) - just the job!
The professor's "challenges" look to be even better than the BcUSA "bushclass" and much better than the Hardwoodsman stuff on the same site
Many thanks for directing me to the prof!

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

i would recommend swissgearlabs knots for setting up camp for anyone new to setting up tarps etc. Best video i ever saw posted by a member on here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_-CwJNEkcs

 

[John Fenna]

Now the good stuff is coming to the fore!
Cheers for all the good links folks!