I'm embarrassed, but I have to get used to it.

[gruntygiggles]

Not the smoothest, but a first effort for youtube as I have to start posting videos to try and get a following before the book comes out next year.

Go ahead....give me your critiques, I can't improve without some constructive criticism. I know I need to sound a little more dynamic and a little less...well...boring...lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5TmYrZ8_uc

If anyone knows how to embed....please tell me and I'll do it later :-)

[beabert]

to embed take the id of the video from the url.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5TmYrZ8_uc


Put it betweem tags (change the first and last brackets to the straight edge ones)

{youtube]u5TmYrZ8[/youtube}

[the_lone_wolf]

Functional rather than flashy, but for a first effort it's very good - nobody sounds like they think they do but the audio is fine and the instruction easy to get hold of. Video is a little up close at times but without a studio setup kitchen getting wide angle shots in a normal kitchen would be impossible anyway. Did you have a script you were following or was it spontaneous?

More recipes involving meat please:cool::mrgreen:

[gruntygiggles]

Spontaneous Mark. If I try to script it, I mess up...lol. Will do the embed later as I'm off to see Viper, Lou and the kids for the afternoon! x

[robh539]

Thats awesome GG. Nowt to be embarrassed about. You look very calm/relaxed. look forward to the next one.

[The Guru]

Get rid of the Aimersoft text :smt045

[the_lone_wolf]

Spontaneous Mark. If I try to script it, I mess up...lol.

Fair enough - What about scripting afterwards for the next time you record? It can be difficult to foresee how the audio will sound after you've cut and edited the video, little things like repetition of instructions or similar phrases near each other are what can cause the video to look and sound like an edited video, rather than flowing smoothly as if it were one continuous monologue:cool:


Or I might be talking out of my ****, who knows...:smt103;)

[Wideboy]

i just keep getting "the video you have requested is not available" :confused:

[timwilky]

I doubt I could get my lot to consider ham at christmas after last year where my brother cooked it in Coke served with a Cumberland sauce.

Far Far Far too sweet.

Yours does look nice though

[collis]

Ham cooked in white wine for a few hours with vegies and gravy... YUM

[tactcom7]

A couple of tiny minuscule points, when you're scraping ingredients into a pan (redcurrany jelly) use a spoon and not your finger lol

And for the final ham shot, how about carving a slice so the viewers can see what it's cooked like and the lovely colour contrasts?

Sorry if they seem anal.

Si

[Stig]

Do it Keith Floyd stylie. :)

I'm seriously hungry now. Your post like this should come with a warning.

[keith_d]

My personal thoughts:

Think about slightly less flat lighting, particularly when you're talking to the camera. Frontal lighting is great for plates of ingredients, but it's not ideal for people and finished food.

I'd consider a slightly warmer tone to the lighting. I think we've got at least one lighting engineer on the forums who could give you some pointers (and maybe a few gels)

Talking straight to camera is fine, but it can be more flattering if you don't stand quite so square on.

I've got to go now, but I'll take another look over the weekend.

Keith.

[-Ralph-]

You need to give cooking times for other size joints, ie: per pound or something like that. I personally wouldn't know if a joint twice that size needed double the amount of time, or just an extra 1/2 hour.

[timwilky]

She did gives times by weight right at the end. But I think for whilst in the liquor on the stove, and then a single time in the oven

[speedplay]

Need to flirt with the camera like Nigella....;)

http://www.johnnyikon.com/data/articles/2008/12/171/nigella.jpg

[gruntygiggles]

A couple of tiny minuscule points, when you're scraping ingredients into a pan (redcurrany jelly) use a spoon and not your finger lol

And for the final ham shot, how about carving a slice so the viewers can see what it's cooked like and the lovely colour contrasts?

Sorry if they seem anal.

Si

Don'y seem anal Si. Had to use my finger as I couldn't do it again and the spoons are at the other end of the kitchen, but I thought the same myself.
As for carving, I would have loved to, but by that point, as with some other stages, I was alone and so didn't have Dan to hold the camera :-(

Do it Keith Floyd stylie. :)

I'm seriously hungry now. Your post like this should come with a warning.

Quit your moaning, you're close enough to come and have some! ;-)

My personal thoughts:

Think about slightly less flat lighting, particularly when you're talking to the camera. Frontal lighting is great for plates of ingredients, but it's not ideal for people and finished food.

I'd consider a slightly warmer tone to the lighting. I think we've got at least one lighting engineer on the forums who could give you some pointers (and maybe a few gels)

Talking straight to camera is fine, but it can be more flattering if you don't stand quite so square on.

I've got to go now, but I'll take another look over the weekend.

Keith.

Thanks Keith. To be honest, I'm not really bothered how I look, I just want to food to be well presented. They are not meant to be professional videos, just a way of getting a bit of a following on youtube ahead of the book and I have no budget to do any kind of lighting so I'm not too worried about that.

I will however be getting a stand for the camera so that I don't need Dan to hold it and it will give a steadier picture.

You need to give cooking times for other size joints, ie: per pound or something like that. I personally wouldn't know if a joint twice that size needed double the amount of time, or just an extra 1/2 hour.

See below...

She did gives times by weight right at the end. But I think for whilst in the liquor on the stove, and then a single time in the oven


Yes Tim...30 minutes per kilo of ham and then 20-30 minutes in the oven at the end.

Ralph, when the ham goes in the oven, it is fully cooked, the oven stage simply caremelises the glaze. Iappreciate the comment though, I'll see if I can put something on the video to make it a little more clear.

Tim, if you do it, despite it looking like it's going to be really sweet, it isn't. The wine and port temper the sweetness, I can't describe the taste really. Just lush!
Need to flirt with the camera like Nigella....;)

http://www.johnnyikon.com/data/articles/2008/12/171/nigella.jpg


Not a hope in hell....lol ;-)

[gruntygiggles]

Oh....Marky Mark...yes, I agree with the comments about repeating instructions...lol. I found I said, "Ok...so now we need to"....which I didn't realise I was doing and I know I repeated myself, so I'll script next time and maybe put a story board up in the kitchen behind camera so that I can prompt myself on what to say for each stage.

Thanks all x

[DarrenSV650S]

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k164/DarrenStewartTait/b808fd01.gif

[DarrenSV650S]

By the way, you obviously don't want Jamie's 30 minute meals. Put a damp dish cloth under you chopping board to stop it sliding about ;)

[Sally]

Need to flirt with the camera like Nigella....;)

http://www.johnnyikon.com/data/articles/2008/12/171/nigella.jpg

Mmm she would be pure filth... :p

[speedplay]

Not a hope in hell....lol ;-)


Gutted :(


lol

[the_lone_wolf]

Oh....Marky Mark...yes, I agree with the comments about repeating instructions...lol. I found I said, "Ok...so now we need to"....which I didn't realise I was doing and I know I repeated myself, so I'll script next time and maybe put a story board up in the kitchen behind camera so that I can prompt myself on what to say for each stage. That sounds like a good plan, go for individual scenes demonstrating each step of the process but create a monologue that flows over the section as a whole:cool:

If you want a 3rd party set of eyes to read through anything just let me know

[gruntygiggles]

By the way, you obviously don't want Jamie's 30 minute meals. Put a damp dish cloth under you chopping board to stop it sliding about ;)

No point when I'm only quartering 1 orange...lol. I've been doing that since I was a nipper and my mum told me to. I won't bother for one orange though...lol

[gruntygiggles]

That sounds like a good plan, go for individual scenes demonstrating each step of the process but create a monologue that flows over the section as a whole:cool:

If you want a 3rd party set of eyes to read through anything just let me know


Will maybe take you up on that Mark...cheers! x

[Wideboy]

can see it now

that's good, don't seem nervous to me

[Sally]

Gutted :(


lol

This might ease you're suffering...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM0MdVZK8TQ&feature=related

[speedplay]

"I love a clattery batter.."

Classic! I was half expecting the dawn French version.

[anna]

I get what you are saying that this isnt a profession vid yet, but if you want to attract as many viewers as possible I would suggest that lighting may help give it an edge.

I´m sure with a few lights that you might already have around you could easily make it look a bit "sharper" and show your food in a better light (see what I did there).

Give a shout if you like.

[andrewsmith]

GG nowt to be embarrassed about.

My youtube claim to fame is this the expletive is me

NSA1tCdyBVw

[gruntygiggles]

Thanks Anna. Need to use the proper video camera as well then I guess. I am using the bridge camera on video mose at the moment as I can just stick the sd card into the laptop and transfer the files in seconds. It's a much longer process with the proper camera...and that would involve finding all the right leads...lol

[missyburd]

I think you've done a superb job, and as for the spontaneous commentary,well I certainly don't remember you making any mistakes, you're clearly a natural and love what you're talking about!

Couple of things from me, repetition of glaze at the beginning but then I suppose if you're calling your ham perfect then you have to back it up :-). Would be nice to see a clip of you actually putting the cloves in? I know I've not thought of doing that before...

EDIT: Never cooked a ham...I've just been told everyone puts cloves in and should know how to do it...d'uh!

Good clear speech, very easy to follow. I feel motivated to have a go and I don't do ham lol (well I eat it, don't cook it)...

Need to flirt with the camera like Nigella....;)



Why!? GG is GG not Nigella, she's got her own style and what's more, I like it :-D :-P

[hindle8907]

Very good looks lovely.

[Sid Squid]

OK, so it isn't the slickest video ever, but I think it's a damn good first try. Well done!

Technically speaking there's a lot of good info in the above posts, but don't forget there's a significant difference between imparting information, which isn't hard, and peforming, which is much more difficult. Making an instructional video that passes on the relevant information can be very dry, which is not to say that every cookery video needs to be Nigella, but a bit of performance goes a long way to making things engaging and easy to watch.

[Speedy Claire]

Well done GG. I can`t comment on the technical stuff such as lighting etc but I think you come across as natural and confident. Doesn`t look like a first attempt at all! If you take on board some of the constructive feedback then I`m sure it`s going to be brilliant.

[Stig]

Camera shake. I noticed that. Other than that all I was looking at was the food. :)

[gruntygiggles]

Camera shake. I noticed that. Other than that all I was looking at was the food. :)

As said on facebook Simon, you're close enough to come and try it...;-).
Not today though, we're taking the leftovers to the lakes for the weekend. "A holiday with our ham" lol.

Thanks Sid and Claire and everyone else. Yes, lots to work on, but I'm happy with I guess.

[Paul the 6th]

You'll have to come up with "Fa-mousse cheryl's celerbrity mousse" or something cheesy :) Cracking first effort to be honest with you, especially with you being from a food orientated background rather than media production..

Couple of random bits and pieces which you probably know about already:
Rule of thirds for framing/composing your shot (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rule+of+thirds&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a#hl=en&expIds=17259,24813,26637,27050,27356,27404,27447&xhr=t&q=rule+of+thirds+video&cp=16&pf=p&sclient=psy&client=firefox-a&hs=s9d&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB%3Aofficial&aq=0&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=rule+of+thirds+v&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=32c4e96b0e35a027http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rule+of+thirds&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a#hl=en&expIds=17259,24813,26637,27050,27356,27404,27447&xhr=t&q=rule+of+thirds+video&cp=16&pf=p&sclient=psy&client=firefox-a&hs=s9d&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB%3Aofficial&aq=0&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=rule+of+thirds+v&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=32c4e96b0e35a027) - make sure your eyes are along the upper horizontal line and have a play around with framing/composition for wide angle shots of you cooking with close up's of the food action edited in..

There's some kind of high pitch sound on the video, I initially thought you were shooting on tape as it sounds similar to when the microphone pics up the sound of the rollers/spindles turning the tape.. Could be fixed with an external mic or different camera. Failing that, you can use a program like Adobe Soundbooth (sound editing software) to extract the audio from the video, stick some noise reduction filters on it, and then put the audio back over the top of the video in Adobe Premiere (video editing sw)

Production
You can hire professional camera's (http://www.camerent.co.uk/video_camera_hire/sony/Sony_HVR_HD1000E.html) & lighting for not very much money (the sony camera is £40 for 3 days!!) - HD, wide angle lens so your kitchen looks big and the ingredients aren't right up against the screen etc... Might it be worth getting all the ingredients and receipies ready for a large number of dishes, then do all your filming over 2 days (changing outfits to differentiate each video of course), then you can keep each of the production stages together - pre-production (recipies, shopping), production (filming, re-takes, lighting, sound), post production (editing, website) and then publishing..
http://buycheapestcamcorders.com/aimg/414MZ3YSY5L.jpg

Have a think about the structure of your video as well: Maybe open the video with close up's of the finished dish.. Have a look at how other professional chef's have done their videos, and spend some time thinking about how you could do it better/differently..

Editing: like lone wolf says, have you thought about working on the dialogue seperately? For example, write out the instructions, record yourself talking through them "throw in the port, cut the oranges" etc...

film short clips of the action 'throwing the port in' and 'cutting the oranges', then edit the video together and lay the sound over the top. One continuous shot in real time may cause some impatient viewers to skip the video forward. Throwing in a few edits will make the whole process seem quick and easy..

Material: Is there going to be a website with all the recipies and instructions? If so it would allow you to explain things simply on the video and refer to "all ingredients, measurements, temperatures and timings are on my website at www....."



I know there's a few professional vidiot's on here who will be able to offer much better advice - these are just a few things I've remembered from the video production module I did on my Media Course (I specialised in broadcast radio and sound engineering but remember a few of the basics for video).. Also, the above isn't me having a dig at your video - it's fantastic for a first attempt (you could have done MUCH MUCH worse!) - just hope there's some bits in there which help you along the way :)

Oh and feel free to pm/email/phone if you have any questions cheryl :) P

[gruntygiggles]

Well, an old school friend of mine is now an award winning short film director and he's given pretty much teh same advice that you guys all have, so he's going to help me out a bit next week and I'll do it again. One thing I have tried out is that I set the camera up so that it looked at the whole kitchen and I stood facing it, behind one of the worktops. I had a think last night about how everyone already does it and I don't want to be be like anyone else, I am me. What I noticed though is that in the video I have posted here, I am very...not monotone, but not very engaging...so I need to bring a bit more of my personality to it.

I think food is fun and easy, I need to convey that to others and make it all a bit more light and fun.

Paul, I love the idea of doing wide angle shots, interspersed with short close-ups.

I have taken it all on board and we'll see what I can come up with next week :-)

[gruntygiggles]

Just started to watch it again and...


CRINGY CRINGY CRINGY CRINGE!!!!!!!!!

[Seggons]

Bear might be a good person to PM for hints and tips because I believe he works in the media industry.

[tinpants]

Don't be too critical of yourself Cheryl. I thought it was a very good effort. You'll get there. Keep the faith hun.

[Paul the 6th]

What I noticed though is that in the video I have posted here, I am very...not monotone, but not very engaging...so I need to bring a bit more of my personality to it.

Paul, I love the idea of doing wide angle shots, interspersed with short close-ups.

I have taken it all on board and we'll see what I can come up with next week :-)

One of the methods used in scripting for radio //is to write out what you want to say // then underline the words you're going to put emphasis on // and mark in where you're going to take a breath with two forward slashes // (read it again with the again with the markings :)) obviously there are key words you're going to want to emphasise like temperatures, timings, fancy names of ingredients (say them a tiny bit slower than usual to make sure the audience hears them clearly).. but apart from that, words I might emphasize and places where I take a breath (as above) could well be different to the words and places you choose to take a breath...

Oh and when reading from script it's roughly 3 words per second, so if you've got 20 seconds of voice over to add in, 55-60 words should fill that gap (the more times you rehearse the script & timing, the better). People tend to speak a little bit quicker if they're not reading from script..

In terms of editing between wide & tight shots, you've got to get the framing, angle and duration of the tight shot right, or it could be distracting to look at and won't make sense in the viewer's head :)

Just started to watch it again and...


CRINGY CRINGY CRINGY CRINGE!!!!!!!!!

Cringy cringe? Look at this absolute idiot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97dsJGH6Ed8

speaking too fast for the audience to be able to tell what I'm saying (talking off the top of my head). Also the same high pitch noise as on your's - maybe I should have looked at my own production value's before telling you what needs doing with your video!

[metalmonkey]

As the other guys said good first attempt, you will only get better the more you do it.

I would vary the type of shoots you have, so speak to camera more so its face on, over the shoulder looking down ect..

As for cameras Paul mentioned that is a Z1, I filmed on those there are ok but there are much better cameras out there now, the lens on that camera is not very good. There are stills cameras Cannon D5 and D7 with a film lens on produce very nice pictures, but sound has to be recorded seperatly. There are loads of options for cameras now, it depends on budget, then where you want to show it.

I would use a seperate mic, I would go for a mix of a boom mic and a lapel mic which are much higher quaility through a sound mixer.

The basic of TV lighting is three point lighting a Key light, a back light and a fill light.

I would work off script or write an order of how you want to get through everything, maybe have notes to the side of camera. I have never presented, just worked with a few presenters. Find what works for you and your style it will come togther.

Good luck, any questions then ask away.

[gruntygiggles]

One of the methods used in scripting for radio //is to write out what you want to say // then underline the words you're going to put emphasis on // and mark in where you're going to take a breath with two forward slashes // (read it again with the again with the markings :)) obviously there are key words you're going to want to emphasise like temperatures, timings, fancy names of ingredients (say them a tiny bit slower than usual to make sure the audience hears them clearly).. but apart from that, words I might emphasize and places where I take a breath (as above) could well be different to the words and places you choose to take a breath...

Oh and when reading from script it's roughly 3 words per second, so if you've got 20 seconds of voice over to add in, 55-60 words should fill that gap (the more times you rehearse the script & timing, the better). People tend to speak a little bit quicker if they're not reading from script..

In terms of editing between wide & tight shots, you've got to get the framing, angle and duration of the tight shot right, or it could be distracting to look at and won't make sense in the viewer's head :)



Cringy cringe? Look at this absolute idiot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97dsJGH6Ed8

speaking too fast for the audience to be able to tell what I'm saying (talking off the top of my head). Also the same high pitch noise as on your's - maybe I should have looked at my own production value's before telling you what needs doing with your video!


Haha, that actually made me feel a little bit sea sick...and I don't suffer with sea sickness...lol.

Yeah, regarding the framing, I have no idea what I should be doing there. I'll give it another shot next week when I make my cranberry sauce and cranberry and brie puffs and see how that goes. I don't feel I rush my words when not scripted. I feel quite comfortable now just talking away calmly...I just need more personality to come through.

Thanks Nick....PM me your email addy please hun xxx

[Viney]

Tis a great video, i just dont like ham, well not boiled. A nice gammon steak now youre talking...anyway, as i say, im off in December, and could come and be your 'Clive'

[Paul the 6th]

As the other guys said good first attempt, you will only get better the more you do it.

I would vary the type of shoots you have, so speak to camera more so its face on, over the shoulder looking down ect..

As for cameras Paul mentioned that is a Z1, I filmed on those there are ok but there are much better cameras out there now, the lens on that camera is not very good. There are stills cameras Cannon D5 and D7 with a film lens on produce very nice pictures, but sound has to be recorded seperatly. There are loads of options for cameras now, it depends on budget, then where you want to show it.

I would use a seperate mic, I would go for a mix of a boom mic and a lapel mic which are much higher quaility through a sound mixer.

The basic of TV lighting is three point lighting a Key light, a back light and a fill light.

I would work off script or write an order of how you want to get through everything, maybe have notes to the side of camera. I have never presented, just worked with a few presenters. Find what works for you and your style it will come togther.

Good luck, any questions then ask away.


I thought you was five-o dawg!

[gruntygiggles]

As the other guys said good first attempt, you will only get better the more you do it.

I would vary the type of shoots you have, so speak to camera more so its face on, over the shoulder looking down ect..

As for cameras Paul mentioned that is a Z1, I filmed on those there are ok but there are much better cameras out there now, the lens on that camera is not very good. There are stills cameras Cannon D5 and D7 with a film lens on produce very nice pictures, but sound has to be recorded seperatly. There are loads of options for cameras now, it depends on budget, then where you want to show it.

I would use a seperate mic, I would go for a mix of a boom mic and a lapel mic which are much higher quaility through a sound mixer.

The basic of TV lighting is three point lighting a Key light, a back light and a fill light.

I would work off script or write an order of how you want to get through everything, maybe have notes to the side of camera. I have never presented, just worked with a few presenters. Find what works for you and your style it will come togther.

Good luck, any questions then ask away.


Again, all understood and I agree, but don't forget guys, I have zero budget for this. I have just been asked to do some home cooking vids to put on youtube but the publishers don't see it as importany enough for me to need any more than the camera I already have and myself, so I'd rather stay away from going out and buying mics and hiring cameras unless...as Paul says I can get one for a few squids and do lots in one go.

We'll see, thanks for all the advice. We're off to the lakes for a weekend now :-)

[ThEGr33k]

Looks good. I know someone will have already mentioned this... you spilt the port! Hope you licked that up!!!! ha ha

[Quiff Wichard]

me like it..

look lower down the you tube page..

pineapple peach glazed ham..

do NOT like the woman on it or the glitz but the beginning is good (except the dancing) .. in that it is edited so you see the finished product at the beginning to hook you in.. and I like how it went from black and white to colour.

Cheryl yours is good.

oh maybe pride of place on your Dining table at Christmas may sound better rather than
"kitchen table",.

Dont beat yerself up duck.. :smt039

[metalmonkey]

I wouldn't get too caught up in kit, there is loads out of there its in a real state of flux at the moment with so many cameras out there, who is using what ect...

You don't need to spend money to make a great film, its very possiable to make films on next to now budget, but there is always a cost no matter what anyone says!

Something that is shot nicely, doesn't have to cost loads look at 28 days later, shot on what was a basic camera at that time, with film lens on it. I would suggest either shoot in daylight sunlight would be best (i know its winter) use poly board to reflect and use as a fill light try it. Or improvise and use anything you can get your hands to light try it! Probally best to aviod mixing daylight and lights in the house, mixed lighting is a pain! Oh white balance the camera, otherwise it will blue or just wrong.

Sound gear is quite cheap to hire...But I would beg, loan steal what ever it takes, you can tell I have done this before can't you!

Check out web sites like;

www.mady.com (http://www.mady.com)
shooting people

Goggle low budget fiilm making, I would also watch some shows to find out what style you like. I thought hey, you I like that shot, or crash zooms ect so I went and did it best way to learn.

Paul I went to art college then got involved in films and tv.