Author Topic: How to EEVblog  (Read 28303 times)

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Offline MafexTopic starter

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How to EEVblog
« on: November 10, 2016, 04:00:50 pm »
hi, i wonder how Dave and other electronics bloggers are shooting their videos. Like where to set up the camera, which settings should you do and what type of mic is good for that task. Also i would be interested in which situations you look on the camera screen, or if you should have an external screen.
If anyone knows anything how to make such high quality videos, i would be very thankful for any information ;)
 

Offline ataradov

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2016, 06:20:22 pm »
Lots of Dave's videos show the process, just watch all of them :)
Alex
 

Offline MafexTopic starter

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2016, 06:32:24 pm »
do you have a link to the video(s) where he describes how to set up the camera and/or the microphone, that would be great! :)
 

Offline ataradov

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2016, 06:38:02 pm »
There is not a direct video about that, but a lot of videos have process leaked.

As far as I know in most cases for the desktop shots he just sits behind the camera and looks though a screen of the camera. Some sort of external wireless mic is used. I think there is somewhere a teardown video of one of those wireless transmitters. EDIT: here it is

You will figure most of it out as you go, it is not a rocket science. The hardest part is having things to talk about.
Alex
 
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Offline IanB

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2016, 06:45:37 pm »
Some key things I recall Dave talking about are:

1. Camera -- use a dedicated video camera, not a still camera in video mode
2. Microphone -- use an external mic; use a clip-on mic for good voice capture
3. Lighting -- bright, diffused lighting to avoid dark areas and shadows
 
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Offline MafexTopic starter

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2016, 07:04:09 pm »
thanks to you both! i think i have to try it, but i can not imagine to work on something looking through such a tiny screen. also i dont have an idea where to position the camera and how to mount it...
 

Offline ataradov

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2016, 07:07:15 pm »
but i can not imagine to work on something looking through such a tiny screen.
Well, yes, that's the challenge. Making good quality videos is hard work.

also i dont have an idea where to position the camera and how to mount it...
Just a standard tripod and position it in a way that the things you need to show are in the shot :).
Alex
 

Offline vk3yedotcom

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2016, 07:36:22 pm »
Unless you're showing something sound is more important than the very finest detail in the picture. 

IanB's tips are good - your camera must have an external microphone input.

Wireless microphones are handy for ease of movement but you need to pay a lot of money for a good one. 

If you don't wish to then a cheap electret on a long cable works as well as a wireless mic costing many times more. 

If your camera doesn't supply power to the electret mic then you'll need to build a small power unit as described below.



This video was done before I got the above external microphone but the hints and tips below could be useful



Unless you're good off the cuff you will need some short of plan or order of what to say. But preferably done without reading off a script as that's boring.  Good editing can hide a multitude of sins.

Dave seems to have the gift of talking without much editing but for those who don't then editing is super-important.    You may have to shoot 60 min of footage for a video that edits down to 5 min. And editing can take 2 - 3 hours for a video of that length.  Yes it takes you time but imagine the time your viewers save!  Say that good editing allows you to cut an 18 min video to 6 min, saving 12 min.  Multiply by 1000 views and you've  saved viewers 200 hours. 10 000 views (possible if you become prominent) then it's 2000 hours saving.  Your viewers will thank you for this. 

It could be worth having a distinctive style so that your videos are easily recognisable.  Maybe you do your video with a particular pet (though don't let it take over your topic).  Or a particular backdrop.   I like a lot of natural scenery.  That could work for you if you're near a river, forest or beach AND your projects interface with the natural world.  Of course you have to be careful with direct sunlight (shadows), excessive light (makes you squint), or wind noise but it's better than just a single workshop shot.    Even several different angles breaks up the scenes and can be good.
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Offline MafexTopic starter

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2016, 08:11:16 pm »
what about not recording the sound directly to the video, i own a pretty good sound recorder and a nice mic. so i could just clap in the viewing range of the camera, to line up the sound of the clap to the movement of the clap later on..
thanks for your video and your tips, maybe that helps a lot :) i think i will have to try it with just a few notes like i do in lectures
 

Offline Bud

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2016, 08:20:02 pm »
No shaky camera, background music or stupid intro please.
Facebook-free life and Rigol-free shack.
 
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Offline jancumps

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #10 on: November 10, 2016, 08:25:46 pm »
Modern cameras record microphone sound good enough. No point going trough the hassle of separating sound&video on different media.
 

Offline MafexTopic starter

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #11 on: November 10, 2016, 08:48:03 pm »
any tips which cameras are good for that purpose? and maybe not too expensive
 

Offline ataradov

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #12 on: November 10, 2016, 10:23:14 pm »
any tips which cameras are good for that purpose? and maybe not too expensive
Does not matter/whatever you can afford.  I recently went back and watched Mike's (mikeselectricstuff) videos from 2011 again, they are filmed on something really cheap and sometimes with dead pixels. They are still totally enjoyable, not because of awesome video quality, but because of awesome video content.
Alex
 

Offline MafexTopic starter

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #13 on: November 10, 2016, 10:37:27 pm »
They are still totally enjoyable, not because of awesome video quality, but because of awesome video content.
Yeah right, Mikes content was great even when he started, just like Daves. But my demand for myself in terms of video quality is that it looks at least reasonably well.
 

Offline IanB

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #14 on: November 10, 2016, 10:50:12 pm »
BigClive shoots on an iPad with the built in microphone and both video and audio quality are fine.
 
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Offline EEVblog

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #15 on: November 10, 2016, 11:02:08 pm »
Some key things I recall Dave talking about are:
1. Camera -- use a dedicated video camera, not a still camera in video mode

Correct. Canon HFG30 mostly + Sony NEX VG30 for mailbag talking head.

Quote
2. Microphone -- use an external mic; use a clip-on mic for good voice capture

I only use wireless external mic for whiteboard stuff because the camera is way back to get deep depth of field.
Otherwise it's internal mic on both cameras. They are more than good enough if you are close to them. Mailbag I'm about 1.5m away form the internal shotgun, but that's good enough. Wireless mics are too much mucking around for day to day shoots.

Quote
3. Lighting -- bright, diffused lighting to avoid dark areas and shadows

My lighting is very non-optimal. Just some overhead LED lights. The camera shadows stuff which is bad, so I have to get around to moving these panels.
I shoot manual depth of field for teardowns etc, and often manual exposure for bright/dark combo scenes

No external screen, I just uise the 3" internal screen. Sometimes I miss stuff because of that as I'm almost always watching the scree to make sure the shot is correct.
 
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Offline MafexTopic starter

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #16 on: November 10, 2016, 11:02:41 pm »
BigClive shoots on an iPad with the built in microphone and both video and audio quality are fine.

really? just with an iPad? i often watch his videos and the quality is really okay and i have an iPad Air 2 laying arround, it just needs a little screen repair and im ready to go :D
 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #17 on: November 10, 2016, 11:03:47 pm »
Quote
what about not recording the sound directly to the video, i own a pretty good sound recorder and a nice mic. so i could just clap in the viewing range of the camera, to line up the sound of the clap to the movement of the clap later on..
thanks for your video and your tips, maybe that helps a lot :) i think i will have to try it with just a few notes like i do in lectures

Only a fool would record video separately from video and sync it up later. Great for a hollywood movie, useless for anything else. When you make videos regularly then anything that reduces your editing time will keep you from going insane.
« Last Edit: November 10, 2016, 11:06:36 pm by EEVblog »
 
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Offline EEVblog

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #18 on: November 10, 2016, 11:05:08 pm »
any tips which cameras are good for that purpose? and maybe not too expensive

Doesn't matter much, it's all about how much light you have. If you have enough light then even a phone camera works great.
By enough light I mean shooting outside, or having massive studio lights. Indoor light is never enough, even for a professional camera.
 

Offline MafexTopic starter

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #19 on: November 10, 2016, 11:10:44 pm »
thanks dave for that answers, these cameras are a bit pricy to start with for me, i will test it with my iPad and my good old gopro hero3, also i have a sony alpha 77II here, so i can test that one too, i tested it a few times outside and the results were pretty well.. i think i have to try it out and than choose the best one for recording :)
 

Offline MafexTopic starter

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #20 on: November 10, 2016, 11:13:09 pm »
Only a fool would record video separately from video and sync it up later. Great for a hollywood movie, useless for anything else. When you make videos regularly then anything that reduces your editing time will keep you from going insane.

yeah, probably youre right.
 

Offline MafexTopic starter

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #21 on: November 11, 2016, 12:23:52 am »
The next two questions you need to answer are
What is your video going to be about?
When are we going to see it?

Practically every blogger out there started small and built on their experience. Even Dave. Get cracking.

it will take some time, till you will see my video. before i will shoot and upload a video, i want to learn about cutting and a bit editing.. when i think i am good enough in that, i will choose a topic and than film it. probably nothing fancy, as you said, you have to get started.. ;)
 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #22 on: November 11, 2016, 02:46:51 am »
Dave seems to have the gift of talking without much editing but for those who don't then editing is super-important.    You may have to shoot 60 min of footage for a video that edits down to 5 min.

A typical video for me is maybe 50-100 clips.
I prefer to think of something to say and then record a clip of that. It just breaks up the flow and gives your subconscious time to think about what's next.
I usually know kinda what I want to talk about when I hit record, but I usually have no idea exactly what to say when I hit record, I just wing it. So maybe 10% of the time there will be a false start because I what came out didn't make sense. You can see see that on my timeline below, with a small pause on clip 42 for example.

Other golden rule is I shoot everything in sequence, even if I have to change my macro lens 10 times. Makes editing infinitely easier. You'll go nuts otherwise. So I just drag all my clips into the timeline, trim the smart and the end, and delete the occasional dumb clip and that's it.

Very little of my footage is wasted or edited out, almost all of it makes it in the final edit.

 
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Offline EEVblog

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #23 on: November 11, 2016, 02:48:31 am »
Only a fool would record video separately from video and sync it up later. Great for a hollywood movie, useless for anything else. When you make videos regularly then anything that reduces your editing time will keep you from going insane.
yeah, probably youre right.

I guarantee you I'm right!
 
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Offline EEVblog

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Re: How to EEVblog
« Reply #24 on: November 11, 2016, 02:54:54 am »
Unless you're showing something sound is more important than the very finest detail in the picture. 

Yes, sound is more important than video. People will watch crap video quality with great sound, but not the other way around.

Quote
IanB's tips are good - your camera must have an external microphone input.
Wireless microphones are handy for ease of movement but you need to pay a lot of money for a good one. 
If you don't wish to then a cheap electret on a long cable works as well as a wireless mic costing many times more. 

Yes, cheap ones suck, really, they do. $500+ for a decent set.
I used this for a few years:
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/9c6eca17168eef6f/index.html
It had a 5m cord and worked well.
But if you are always just behind camera and within 1m of the mic, then the internal one will work fine on a decent camera.

And old article on my setup
https://usesthis.com/interviews/dave.jones/
 


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