Documenting every hour

AlexEdit

AlexEdit

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Feb 23, 2017
Messages
15
Display Name
Display name:
AlexEdit
Hi All -
I am brand new to this forum and glad I found it.
I am a student pilot and looking to read more and learn more from other experiences.

I am documenting every single hour of my journey and posting it on youtube on a weekly basis. Hopefully this will help me get better and help others as well.

So, what are the top 5 things I should work the hardest on?

Currently on hour 11.

Thanks

Alex -
 
I am expecting each flight to be around 35 to 40 minutes because I will edit out a lot of the ground and a lot of the cruising that doesn't add any learning to the flight.
 
I think you are doing fine to record everything you can. After all, it costs nothing, and can help you find and focus on specific problems after the fact, as well as enjoy seeing your progress over time. You can always go back and erase or edit things later on, but that's extra work. Just like we used to keep logs or diaries in the old days, video records are an improved version of that, with today's technology. And nobody says that other people have to watch everything -- you can point your friends to specific videos at specific locations, when needed.
 
thanks for the tip @RotorDude

I have 5 cameras on the airplane and I am switching between all cameras.

just wondering, what are the good youtube channels out there that people like to watch.

Again, i am kind of new to this stuff
 
AlexEdit said:
thanks for the tip @RotorDude

I have 5 cameras on the airplane and I am switching between all cameras.

just wondering, what are the good youtube channels out there that people like to watch.

Again, i am kind of new to this stuff
Click to expand...

Dude, what's your CFI have to say about all of this?

I'm down to do a single go pro for dual instruction, but 5 cameras, you want to make movies or learn to fly? Also not a fan of cameras for solo ops
 
these cameras are not being operated and do not interfere at all with the lessons.

but I'd like to know your concerns since maybe there are things I have not thought about @James331
 
Cameras add absolutely almost ZERO value to training, in my opinion.

I've filmed my flights before too just to see if I could learn anything from them. Nope.

Use a GPS and something like CloudAhoy to record your flights and sell all those cameras or shelve them until after you get your PPL and want to go on a nice trip somewhere pretty.

Then, if you want to post it on youtube, edit it down to about 3-5 minutes worth (max), because outside of family, no one is going to sit there and watch 30-45 minutes of video. Been there :).
 
Caramon13 said:
Cameras add absolutely almost ZERO value to training, in my opinion.

I've filmed my flights before too just to see if I could learn anything from them. Nope.
.
Click to expand...

I started using gopro towards the end of my training and I'm glad. I did learn from watching them.

A lot of schools actually have GoPro cameras set up in their planes now for students to use as a learning tool.

That said - very doubtful anyone but you is going to want to sit and watch hours of your flight training, Alex. Use it for yourself. And good luck with your studies! :)
 
5 cameras is overkill, two at the most is more than sufficient to learn from.

I agree with what's already been said regarding video length. I love to watch videos that others have filmed, but anything much over 10 minutes starts to lose my interest.
 
"Everyone is guilty of something or has something to conceal. All one has to do is look hard enough to find what it is." -- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

That's a lot of video...
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
I started using gopro towards the end of my training and I'm glad. I did learn from watching them.

A lot of schools actually have GoPro cameras set up in their planes now for students to use as a learning tool.

That said - very doubtful anyone but you is going to want to sit and watch hours of your flight training, Alex. Use it for yourself. And good luck with your studies! :)
Click to expand...

I suppose it matters what you point it at, but for me all the things I needed to improve on were nailing speeds, communication, reducing float, etc. I don't think a single camera would have helped me out on that stuff...but that's me. :)
 
Keep them short for public consumption. I record flights with a single GoPro, if I'm doing something interesting.

But I must admit I "flew" a lot with Jeff Schultz in his Sonex during the five months my plane was down for repairs.
 
AlexEdit said:
these cameras are not being operated and do not interfere at all with the lessons.

but I'd like to know your concerns since maybe there are things I have not thought about @James331
Click to expand...

Well there is a difference from what I've seen

The one rear mounted panel/windshield view camera (dual only) works for chair flying the lesson, it's also not often used to make YouTube stuff.

The 5 camera rig is for making videos, and no matter what you say some of your focus is going to be on that, as a student pilot you'll be lucky to get everything out of a lesson without a camera, adding 5 just isn't helping matters, also how long does it take you to set up all of this?

I've also noted that folks making videos often will make more comments for the camera, as a CFI I demand your full attention be on flying the plane, if I had two chits to give, I took one and broke it in half, I wouldn't even give half a chit about your YouTube channel, I'm there to make a proper aviatior out of you, that's it, anything else is just getting in the way.

But end of the day this is all between you and your CFI
 
AlexEdit said:
Hi All -
I am brand new to this forum and glad I found it.
I am a student pilot and looking to read more and learn more from other experiences.

I am documenting every single hour of my journey and posting it on youtube on a weekly basis. Hopefully this will help me get better and help others as well.

So, what are the top 5 things I should work the hardest on?

Currently on hour 11.

Thanks

Alex -
Click to expand...

I am experimenting with recording flight lessons now.

I feel it will help with radio communications and may help with the de-brief.

Some of my clients are in denial about what they have done and this may help introduce them to reality.

I have not figured out how to identify the important bits quickly yet.

It is still an experiment so I don’t know how much it will help.

It reads to me like you are on the right track Alex and I suspect editing will help you identify the useful bits.
 
If you're making a video for your own learning and preserving memories it can be any length you want. If you are making a video for others to watch, it needs to be fairly short and tightly edited. Even then, it might not be of that much value to other people since they won't be able to know what actions you were taking and what was going through your head at the time it was filmed.
 
Everskyward said:
If you're making a video for your own learning and preserving memories it can be any length you want. If you are making a video for others to watch, it needs to be fairly short and tightly edited. Even then, it might not be of that much value to other people since they won't be able to know what actions you were taking and what was going through your head at the time it was filmed.
Click to expand...

This.
For your own use, the sky is the limit, the more the merrier and the more you'll benefit from it. Pilots have a list of "useless things" like fuel in the truck, runway behind, altitude above, etc. You can add "videos not taken or preserved" to that list. But as Everskyward says, don't expect others to be interested in any of it, and even you might have to fast-forward through the mundane sections. So for public consumption, pick out the best parts and create a separate clip out of it, with captions, music and whatnot. The important point is not to conflate public interest with your own needs.
 
One camera on the panel with audio (instruments, yoke, throttle quadrant), and one underneath on the tail to catch the horizon, runway, and wheels. Should be all you need in order to critique your own performance when you get to solo practices before your exam.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
A lot of schools actually have GoPro cameras set up in their planes now for students to use as a learning tool.

:)
Click to expand...

Nope. It's so they can monitor those ****ing instructors, I just know it is, and I'm not paranoid, hey what was that noise...
 
Seriously dude stay off this site...you don't want to be hanging around these pretentious folk

Do whatever you want to do :)
 
image.jpg
 
Single camera, just recording someone flying is pretty boring. I hardly ever watch that sort of thing. If someone where to actually document the training process with multiple cameras and good editing, it might actually turn out to be interesting.
 
Ill say this about youtube aviation vidoes....Even the big shots right now have videos only in the 12 to 15 minute range and I cant even finish those videos anymore. And they try to provide interesting content. But you droning around with your CFI doing maneuvers will be boring to most. Id use your time in editing better yourself not providing videos for youtube. Editing takes a knack and is very time consuming especialy with multiple cameras. Not being a Debbie downer just saying what I see and how I feel about youtube videos. Watch Mr.aviation101, stevo, flightchops, even those videos I cant watch all of them anymore. And they do proved interesting stuff but its the same ol same ol.

I bought a gopro for flying and after a few flights I bored the crap out of myself editing and watching my video over and over, so I knew others would find it boring as well.
 
I did a write up of all my lessons, which was shared in a local pilots group forum. It allowed me to capture my feelings as well as document the lesson for me, the days when I mastered something new, or had the dreaded 'cant fly worth crap' day, and it gave other pilots a chance to chime in and offer critique or compliment. Hopefully, it also was a kind of roadmap for the students that came to that forum later. Over time, I've gone back and re-read many of them, and its like I remember that day all over again.
 
@AlexEdit What is your camera setup, what editing software are you using, capturing audio as well?

What are you doing to sync the cameras?
 
What views are you trying to cover with five cameras? That seems excessive


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
James331 said:
I've also noted that folks making videos often will make more comments for the camera...
Click to expand...

Some of the CFIs who do this to promote their training programs, I just want to slap. They're setting a very poor standard, especially when they're talking to the camera in the traffic pattern.

Everskyward said:
If you're making a video for your own learning and preserving memories it can be any length you want. If you are making a video for others to watch, it needs to be fairly short and tightly edited. Even then, it might not be of that much value to other people since they won't be able to know what actions you were taking and what was going through your head at the time it was filmed.
Click to expand...

This. What's needed for a video to be really good is a proper script and voice over done in the editing room post-flight. And a LOT of footage cut out and dumped on the "editing room floor".

I haven't gotten into videoing flying because I know how much freaking work just editing audio is from the podcast days. A half hour of podcast audio is usually cut from over an hour of real audio and takes about 3:1 number of hours of editing time in post-production to make it even barely listenable.

Video with five camera angles is both horribly worse on time to edit, but also requires some serious hardware so as to not have your PC being the editing bottleneck and causing you to lose time waiting on it as you edit.

I could easily see 4:1 or 5:1 editing to video length shot being normal. And I just don't have five hours for every one hour flight to edit stuff to make it reasonable to watch. Music, bumpers, graphics overlays, scripting, recording a voiceover, mashing it all together with a storyline and a plan, and cutting all the camera angles with a final audio sync...? Hours and hours to do it well.
 
simtech said:
Ill say this about youtube aviation vidoes....Even the big shots right now have videos only in the 12 to 15 minute range and I cant even finish those videos anymore. And they try to provide interesting content. But you droning around with your CFI doing maneuvers will be boring to most. Id use your time in editing better yourself not providing videos for youtube. Editing takes a knack and is very time consuming especialy with multiple cameras. Not being a Debbie downer just saying what I see and how I feel about youtube videos. Watch Mr.aviation101, stevo, flightchops, even those videos I cant watch all of them anymore. And they do proved interesting stuff but its the same ol same ol.

I bought a gopro for flying and after a few flights I bored the crap out of myself editing and watching my video over and over, so I knew others would find it boring as well.
Click to expand...
I, too, bought a gopro (and stock, but I sold it for a small profit). Ended up selling it to a friend. Afterall, how many youtube videos of Leadville airport do we really need?
 
I personally don't care if you use 50 cameras. Just realize you're not the first one to post multi camera, well-edited aviation videos. And your videos will be exciting TO YOU because you are new to all this, but you'll soon find out that watching videos of flight lessons is mostly boring to people. Especially when they're longer than a couple of minutes. Each flight lesson will be exciting to you and you'll want to share it with people, but that doesn't make the videos more exciting for them.
I gopro'd every lesson. I edited them down to short clips in the :30 second range and each had a specific focus point....."here's my first steep turn" kind of thing. Straight and level videos get boring quick. Good luck, but unless you have something brand new to share, I think we're all just trying to save u some time.
 
eman1200 said:
I personally don't care if you use 50 cameras. Just realize you're not the first one to post multi camera, well-edited aviation videos. And your videos will be exciting TO YOU because you are new to all this, but you'll soon find out that watching videos of flight lessons is mostly boring to people. Especially when they're longer than a couple of minutes. Each flight lesson will be exciting to you and you'll want to share it with people, but that doesn't make the videos more exciting for them.
I gopro'd every lesson. I edited them down to short clips in the :30 second range and each had a specific focus point....."here's my first steep turn" kind of thing. Straight and level videos get boring quick. Good luck, but unless you have something brand new to share, I think we're all just trying to save u some time.
Click to expand...

This may be true and may not be true. If you or your CFI are really hot, someone will watch.
 
Yeah watched the video well skimmed through it. I love aviation and I watch a lot of aviation videos and I skipped through it in maybe a minute. It may interest someone perhaps new guys would like it to know what is coming but I don't think many current pilots would be interested.

I am all for trying to monetize your videos but there is a lot of this stuff out there and most of it is boring as hec.
 
I started recording my PPL lessons right before my first solo for the purpose of watching and learning from my mistakes as a student pilot. I asked my CFI if he had a problem with it before I did it and he was completely fine with it. I can tell you first hand it is an EXCELLENT learning tool! Not only did it allow me to see where I was going wrong on landings, but it also allowed me to listen to my ATC interactions. I would watch these videos often to correct my interactions with ATC.

While there will be several answers for "how many cameras" to use, I personally found that 3 is the best. One for the rear tie down, one pointing straight out the front windshield, and one pointed at you. The rear tie down and front facing camera are great for critiquing flight maneuvers such as landings and take offs, and the pilot facing camera is good to watch what you were doing in the cockpit.

I found these to be so useful for pilots that I started an aircraft action camera mount company which has sold mounts to every continent and all 50 states.
 
Iceman21 said:
@AlexEdit What is your camera setup, what editing software are you using, capturing audio as well?

What are you doing to sync the cameras?
Click to expand...
- 5x GoPro 4 blacks (my first two videos only had three, now I have 5)
- The overhead camera has the audio input. Search Amazon for "gopro aviation cable" to find the cable that goes from the airplane to the gopro audio input.
- Adobe Premier to edit, but you can also use Final Cut Pro
- to sink all cameras and audio, just find the start of the airplane on all cameras, put it at the begging of the timeline, shrink all cameras to 25%, edit, then make one of the clips back to 100%, copy and paste the attributes of that clip and paste them on all the other clips to bring them back to full size.

I really hope that helps.
 
coupl'a things:

1) definitely a good editing job
2) definitely pretty solid after only 8 hours
3) definitely seems like a great instructor
4) definitely can't watch several 10+minute videos of primary training videos
 
Here is hour 9 video - at this point I still only had 3 cameras. From hour 11 on there will be more. You're creative criticism would be greatly appreciated.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top