Ideal Flying Video?

Jon Weiswasser said:
And BTW - I don't think I CAN monetize this; the copyrighted material alone would preclude that. I am doing this much more as a labor of love for flying and band.
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Copyright?

With the joe rogan thing I was talking about flying out places and making videos of having talks with interesting people about interesting stuff.
 
James331 said:
Copyright?

With the joe rogan thing I was talking about flying out places and making videos of having talks with interesting people about interesting stuff.
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Got it - I was replying to the comment that suggested I want subscribers, monetization, and sponsors, etc...
 
Jon Weiswasser said:
I am in the midst of editing one where the stupid gopro quit literally 0.5mi from the threshold.... Ugh.
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LOL
BTDT - the worst was my old phone - when it pooped out, it would simply not save the video recorded up to that point.
But,
I am more likely to forget to press record.
Or get out of sync and record when I think it's off and off when I am trying to record.
Or have a big fat fingerprint on the lens.
Or aim the camera to cut off the top of my head.
Or...
 
Fallsrider said:
I will comment on the videos you make, and maybe this will help the OP out. I really enjoy your videos. You talk to the viewer, both from the cockpit, and through voice overs. You explain what you're doing with that flight, and give interesting details about some of the places you fly over and visit. I find them very enjoyable. The ones that I find boring are the ones that don't talk to you much, and spend way too much time showing long taxis, way too much flying time when just cruising along, etc. Your videos are a good length to watch. Most are less than 15 minutes.
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Not to change direction of this thread, but thx for the feedback. Talking to the camera while alone up in the plane is one of the few places I do it where I don't feel self conscious, LOL. It get's difficult to do sometimes, however. Perfect example...my next video is about a private tour of SoCal TRACON that I did this past weekend. The airspace and radio work is soooo busy when flying between LA and San Diego that you really need to devote all your time to flying. Making the videos obviously is waaaay down the list of priorities while flying. That section will need to be more voice over-driven.
 
James331 said:
Copyright?

With the joe rogan thing I was talking about flying out places and making videos of having talks with interesting people about interesting stuff.
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That's what I find the most interesting, as well. Going somewhere and learning about someplace or somebody. The flying is "almost" incidental.
 
From what I have seen so far, you have one of the best "flying" channels on Youtube. I really enjoy everything - including the flight planning. I am IFR rated but in a non-pressurized piston. I enjoy seeing how you flying a turbo-prop pressurized single makes a difference in you approach weather and plan a flight. I like seeing how being able to get into the flight levels changes how you can plan for a trip.

The music is good and so far the "stories" have been great.

And...you have a darn nice airplane!
 
Just get a hot chick or three in bikinis, throw in some turbulence, and you'll be able to get enough views to make money as a full time YouTube creator. But really, girls ages 18-24 (or at least look it)
Look on YouTube, average looking guy posts first solo video, 173 views 4 comments 9 likes 1 subscriber on a video 12 years old. Attractive girl posts first solo video: 4,568,339 views 8,421 comments 220k likes, 150k subscribers in the first 2 weeks.

Steingar was right on with his illegal activity comment. Best aviation video I ever saw was from TonyAir. Was a 17 year old kid "dogfighting" with another pilot, and they were in and out of clouds, acro moves, etc...and had some damn good flying in it. Very entertaining. It also got him a visit from the FAA and, I believe, revocation of certs. So probably best to stick with girls from gulf coast state colleges and turbulence.
 
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I don't enjoy videos where the maker tries to use his wife/significant other as a sex object in order to get more views. 310 Pilot and Baron Pilot are two good examples of that. Just seems trashy.
 
There is SO much good content out there - 310pilot and Wolficorn, I am blown away by your level of production and how entertaining your videos are. What I hope to do with mine is, since I HAVE to be there (which in my other GA flying is almost never the case) there are some interesting additional challenges that I need to meet if I am going to fly. I need to really study the weather days in advance, know when the 'failsafe' time is to decided to fly versus drive, and always understand what my outs are. Obviously, I don't need to put my life at risk doing any of it, but the imperative to get there is different than when I am going on vacation, or to OSH, or to fly to see a friend, etc. So, I thought it would be interesting to try to capture THOSE decisions, as well as the planning and briefing, something you don't see a lot of in most videos (because it is pretty dry). If I can distill the briefing and the flying down to the interesting/salient moments and points, I think that I can make it interesting AND useful/educational. The music content is there for the human interest part and to understand why I need to go where I am going.

As I have moved along on this project (I have edited and readied 11 of them and published four) my sense for paring it down has been honed I hope, so that these will get better over time. The response from this community has be EXTRAORDINARILY helpful. I hope that I can return the favor by publishing useful and entertaining material.
 
Jon Weiswasser said:
There is SO much good content out there - 310pilot and Wolficorn, I am blown away by your level of production and how entertaining your videos are. What I hope to do with mine is, since I HAVE to be there (which in my other GA flying is almost never the case) there are some interesting additional challenges that I need to meet if I am going to fly. I need to really study the weather days in advance, know when the 'failsafe' time is to decided to fly versus drive, and always understand what my outs are. Obviously, I don't need to put my life at risk doing any of it, but the imperative to get there is different than when I am going on vacation, or to OSH, or to fly to see a friend, etc. So, I thought it would be interesting to try to capture THOSE decisions, as well as the planning and briefing, something you don't see a lot of in most videos (because it is pretty dry). If I can distill the briefing and the flying down to the interesting/salient moments and points, I think that I can make it interesting AND useful/educational. The music content is there for the human interest part and to understand why I need to go where I am going.

As I have moved along on this project (I have edited and readied 11 of them and published four) my sense for paring it down has been honed I hope, so that these will get better over time. The response from this community has be EXTRAORDINARILY helpful. I hope that I can return the favor by publishing useful and entertaining material.
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Jon, the worst thing about your videos is that they make me jealous of how you’re using GA to get around and actually achieve stuff. I think it’s great that you are showing us how much you’re thinking about your planning - I suspect it’s really easy to get yourself into trouble in such a capable plane.
What’s with vascular surgeons and flying turbines, eh? You, Dick Karl etc etc (although you seem far to humble to be a surgeon!)
Personally, I like the musical interludes and the on-stage stuff is really well shot.

Keep them coming - I’m really enjoying them
 
It's really funny that people write posts that are too long to read but, when you read them, they basically say videos should be shorter.

BUT.....everyone's videos should be shorter.

Something that makes Bryan's content better than most is that he doesn't think he's cool and his videos don't leave you thinking, "man, my life is boring. Why don't I have all those cool friends and whatnot?" When you finish one of his, you think, "that was fun." If you can get people to watch a video and think "that was fun," you've succeeded.
 
You asked for feedback, so I'll give you mine. Since I'm a pilot, I watch flying videos to see something that is unique, unexpected or that leads me to visit a place I've never been. So your videos aren't interesting to me. They capture routine flights to very average places. That said, your editing is crisp, your images and sound track are sharp and the videos are easy to follow. They just don't grab my attention. Much of my flying parallels what you show (albeit at a lower altitude since I'm flying a normally aspirated single without pressurization or O2). I'd be surprised if a non-pilot could follow what you are showing and a pilot that regularly flies on IFR flight plans won't see anything new. So what audience are you trying to reach, and what are you hoping to provide that audience? Assembling a polished video is a lot of work, I know because I've tried a few. You invested a significant effort to assemble these but they seem more like diary entries than stories to share. That's just my perspective and YouTube hasn't asked me to join their staff as a video reviewer, so take my input with a grain of salt.
 
Flyhound - Thank you for reaching out and I very much appreciate your feedback. I understand how this isn't going to be interesting to everyone; in fact, I would be surprised if these didnt only appeal to a relatively select few. What I am going for here is, I think, different from everything else out there in a couple respects, bearing in mind that this is very much a vlog, a sort of 'video diary'. The first is that I *have* to be where I am going. I have a set time that I must be there and to use the airplane to do that requires some special consideration (IMO). Second, I personally and as a pilot who has been flying for 26y, find the judgement that goes into safely planning and making decisions around flying - both on the ground as well as in the air - to be the most challenging and fraught aspect of the endeavor. I do not see a lot of videos which capture that, or if they do, it is significantly simplified. I find that most videos - to me - are fun to watch but not very educational or enlightening.

To those ends, I hope that I am offering something unique. Included in mine is the 'human interest' side of *why* I am going to where I am going. To the flying person who has absolutely NO interest in music, that part is going to be boring. By the same token, our fans (21,000 by last count on Facebook) are going to be much more busy with the FF button when it comes to the flying footage and planning.

The reason I posted the question was to gauge whether my suspicion about 'what is missing' from flying-videos-at-large was in fact true - that so much of the activity gets trimmed as to make it appear way simpler than it is, and perhaps set not such a good example for those who judge GA or are learning, etc. I am learning that the thirst for that kind of content is indeed as vigorous as I had anticipated. Not universal, but clearly there to a degree that impels me to move forward.

I appreciate VERY much your honesty. It is not going to appeal to everyone, that is for sure. But I have been very pleasantly surprised by the positive remarks here and elsewhere to this OP and to the videos I have posted that I feel the effort is most certainly worth continuing.

Again, MANY thanks for reaching out.
Jon
 
Mike - Thank you!! I don't know Dick Karl... I'll have to cross paths with him at our annual convention or something. Thank you for the support and I am really glad you like these. New one every other week (next Wednesday's is EPIC).

Jon
 
Jon Weiswasser said:
...The reason I posted the question was to gauge whether my suspicion about 'what is missing' from flying-videos-at-large was in fact true - that so much of the activity gets trimmed as to make it appear way simpler than it is...
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Here's the simple truth, the majority of non-pilots think getting a pilots license is like getting a driver's license. They have no clue, as you are elluding to. However they dont want their fantasy ruined with lots of facts and planning. They want to think any of their pilot friends could fly them in any weather, no bumps day or night, mountains or large bodies of water...all like driving a car.

An analogy. Just because doctors can perform open heart surgery doesn't mean 2 billion you tube viewers will want to watch videos of all the critical decision making that goes into each event...which is truly amazing if you ask me. Our attention spans have went from writing letters with envelopes to instant SMS.

I'm not writing this to tell you to abort or even change a single thing. You believe in it and want to share it. Your production level, training, piloting are all fantastic. I do get the impression you are trying to rationalize it to us and it appears that some of us like it and some dont.

When a Steveo or 310 pilot leave out all the planning stuff it doesn't mean they didnt do it. It just means they would rather film the more personal / story telling side of things...which BTW doesn't mess with the non-pilots fantasy world.

Another thing that might be a bit hard to swallow for pilots and probably same vibe for non-pilots is the actual core theme which comes across this way to me:

I play in a tribute band.
I own a $3M airplane
I have to fly it a few hundred miles to a gig I could just drive or fly commercial to.
Let me show you hard this is.

It starts off cool and indentifiable but by the end it is more elitist. Kinda like watching ProducerMicheal buying a $400k watch or putting a wrap on his Bentley because he does want carbon fiber. But he pulls it off because he earned it all (which you also have!) But he has fun with it, keeps the tone light and is ironically humble.
 
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Sinistar said:
Another thing that might be a bit hard to swallow for pilots and probably same vibe for non-pilots is the actual core theme which comes across this way to me:

I play in a tribute band.
I own a $3M airplane
I have to fly it a few hundred miles to a gig I could just drive or fly commercial to.
Let me show you hard this is.

It starts off cool and indentifiable but by the end it isn't humble and is actually more elitist. Kinda like watching ProducerMicheal buying a $400k watch or putting a wrap on his Bentley because he does want carbon fiber. But he pulls it off because he earned it all (which you also have!) But he has fun with it, keeps the tone light and is ironically humble.
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Come on Brad, this is going way too far. You may not appreciate Jon's videos but there is no point in putting him down because he has a nice career or airplane, you just sound jealous. Everybody on this board is way ahead of about 99% of the people on this earth and to them there is only a small difference in degree between any of US!
 
For me to watch (I.e. undivided attention) must be 10 min or less. Anything longer and it is on in the background while I do something else, which is how I watched your first two episodes today.

I will agree with you about the flight planning aspects, and that is something that makes your videos almost unique (Martin Pauly does a little of that too on some of his big trips). The thing is, you are a capable pilot with a highly capable plane, so your decision is almost always going to be GO, so your decisions aren’t as hard as mine as VFR pilot in a 4 place single. True, you have the added element that you have to be there, but I’d say your decision to invest in the aircraft did way more to eliminate uncertainty in getting there than your GO decision on any given day.

One suggestion: since you are trying to show the utility of GA, summarize the GA advantage for each flight. Door-to-door time GA vs door-to-door time commercial (when a viable alternative), vs door to door driving time.
 
Not jealous. And not trying to be harsh. I sure hope Jon doesn't take it that way. I just sense that he's trying to rationalize the main part of what some of us don't find as interesting as he does. I truly believe he earned that plane and his flying skills easily exceed mine. I have said it several times, the production quality is great especially having only released 4.

Regarding the plane...its awesome to see him use it for the tribute band gigs. My understanding is that he is a doctor/surgeon so perhaps his time is so valuable that this is his way to fit in two very interesting careers/interests. Total respect for that! But it doesn't take a pilot long to see that some of these gigs are also driving distance and the seriousness of the flight and the planning seem a bit overboard.

If you recall, I thought when Jon was doing more talking live on th he camera it really started to connect more for me. That part feels real, connected and serious in a good way.

The average person doesn't want all this serious stuff. At least not so frequently. I guess I should have just wrote that. But if he truly wants critique that is the way I think others, especially non-pilots will see it.

Damn...I hope I am wrong and he gets tons of subs and likes and better yet a sponsor! Gosh knows he put a lot of work into it and really believes in it. I just hate to see him work so hard and find a small audience when his goal is a larger audience.
 
Like the videos. Love the music (who doesn’t love the Eagles?)! Unlike most here, I crave the flight planning. I want to know how people do it in real life. What do they look at and what are they thinking for the analysis. I’ve enjoyed that part.

it’d be cool to hear/see more about the behind the scenes band stuff (mostly flying but a bit more band stuff).

What do you do in real life to own a Meridian? Agree on keeping your real time audio more than voiceovers.
Great videos.
 
EdFred said:
Look on YouTube, average looking guy posts first solo video, 173 views 4 comments 9 likes 1 subscriber on a video 12 years old. Attractive girl posts first solo video: 4,568,339 views 8,421 comments 220k likes, 150k subscribers in the first 2 weeks.
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ahhh...reminiscent of when Kimberly was here!
 
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
Like the videos. Love the music (who doesn’t love the Eagles?)! Unlike most here, I crave the flight planning. I want to know how people do it in real life. What do they look at and what are they thinking for the analysis. I’ve enjoyed that part.

it’d be cool to hear/see more about the behind the scenes band stuff (mostly flying but a bit more band stuff).

What do you do in real life to own a Meridian? Agree on keeping your real time audio more than voiceovers.
Great videos.
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Thank you!!! I've cut a bunch of these (I'm in the midst of #12) and the band aspect will definitely occupy more space as time goes on, especially the last 5 trips which have been extremely VFR/VMC and the weather planning aspect of them have been pretty much a non-issue.

As far as voice over versus direct narration, I am sticking with primarily voice over for a couple reasons: I'm not as good as focussing down on the point when I am speaking extemporaneously and I don't want the need to 'narrate as I'm doing' to distract me from the flying. It is hard enough to fly that plane and worry about whether the cameras are working.

More to come - new one every two weeks.

Jon
 
Jon Weiswasser said:
....As far as voice over versus direct narration, I am sticking with primarily voice over for a couple reasons: I'm not as good as focussing down on the point when I am speaking extemporaneously and I don't want the need to 'narrate as I'm doing' to distract me from the flying. It is hard enough to fly that plane and worry about whether the cameras are working.
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That's exactly the reason I am not critical of those who choose voiceover vs talking directly from the cockpit. A pilot's primary responsibility is aviating, navigating, and communicating (with ATC, not viewers!). Fly safe while filming!
 
Groundpounder said:
I don't enjoy videos where the maker tries to use his wife/significant other as a sex object in order to get more views. 310 Pilot and Baron Pilot are two good examples of that. Just seems trashy.
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You know, I think I've seen every one of 310pilot's videos, and I have never seen anything that would ever remotely approach trashy in the videos, other than some prepubescent type comments from viewers. It's not fair to accuse him of that, do you want her to wear a burka?

Same thing with Baron Pilot, the only qualm I have with him is that sometimes his videos are like an infomercial, but he has gotten better lately.
 
PaulS said:
You know, I think I've seen every one of 310pilot's videos, and I have never seen anything that would ever remotely approach trashy in the videos, other than some prepubescent type comments from viewers. It's not fair to accuse him of that, do you want her to wear a burka?

Same thing with Baron Pilot, the only qualm I have with him is that sometimes his videos are like an infomercial, but he has gotten better lately.
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I enjoy 310 pilot's stuff, my favorite flying youtuber. I have no problem with him wanting his wife to look good, we all know what "sells" on the internet! Good for him that he has a successful business model. I don't feel like it's overdone at all, it's a good mix of destination flying, avionics upgrades, family (I've never laughed so hard, his little boy is hilarious!) and a very attractive wife that he's proud of (nothing wrong with that!). I enjoy how much fun they have together, and how he includes her into his flying by having her do most of the radio work.

I also watch Baron Pilot, and enjoy his channel, especially the upgrade/avionics heavy ones. He's had several different woman flying with him over time, each one younger it would seem. Not my thing but I'm an old guy. I still watch him and enjoy the channel. He's also been successful in the youtube world so more power to him.
 
I feel dumb for never considering 310 guy was strategically including his wife! Doh.

Her being ATC adds a lot of credibility / comfort to her handling the radios. Pretty awesome combination.

I do wonder where the kids are many times.
 
The voiceover does make sense now that you say that. Please keep the real ATC audio as well. Love to hear your real voice interact and react to ATC especially receiving and copying clearances etc.

For taxing and at the FBO it would be cool to see how you handle that too. I’m also curious to the difference in treatment/attention you’ll get compared to one of us in a Warrior.
 
You have an uphill battle my friend, seems
Groundpounder said:
I don't enjoy videos where the maker tries to use his wife/significant other as a sex object in order to get more views. 310 Pilot and Baron Pilot are two good examples of that. Just seems trashy.
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To me it comes across extremely transparent. However it seems to work, find a random channel and the videos that have a thumbnail of a possibly attractive women will have substantially more views than the ones without a women. Even on POA certain video discussions will start delving into the discussion of the female in the videos.

Personally I tend to watch the aviation videos that have technical content, either IFR flights, challenging scenarios or building and maintaining. I also watch the typical aviation news outlets and of course crashes. I'm more of a leecher though... I probably won't subscribe, defiantly won't Patreon and no way am I buying anyone's 'merch'.
 
It sounds like there are more than one way to make videos to succeed. The length of the video may or may not matter, depending on the content. For example, premier1 driver, 310pilot, etc. make longer videos with great success. I am on the same boat as you on Youtube. The best advice that I got was from @SixPapaCharlie in his latest video(
)..make videos that you love and you'll find your audience.
 
PaulS said:
You know, I think I've seen every one of 310pilot's videos, and I have never seen anything that would ever remotely approach trashy in the videos, other than some prepubescent type comments from viewers. It's not fair to accuse him of that, do you want her to wear a burka?

Same thing with Baron Pilot, the only qualm I have with him is that sometimes his videos are like an infomercial, but he has gotten better lately.
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Here is 310 Pilots highest viewed video.


Not sure why he picked that frame for his thumbnail
 
Well, to each their own. Personally, I wouldn't put my wife's yabbos on the internet in an effort for clicks, but its a free country. And I'll still watch his videos....haha
 
Groundpounder said:
Well, to each their own. Personally, I wouldn't put my wife's yabbos on the internet in an effort for clicks, but its a free country. And I'll still watch his videos....haha
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Yeah, whatever, I love the way the guy flies, and I love the way she helps with the radios. I wish my wife were as interested in flying. As far as the "yabbos" thing, women have them, part of life, some dress differently than others, I'm of the ilk that we shouldn't shame them for how they dress. Focus on her eyes if it bugs you.
 
PaulS said:
Yeah, whatever, I love the way the guy flies, and I love the way she helps with the radios. I wish my wife were as interested in flying. As far as the "yabbos" thing, women have them, part of life, some dress differently than others, I'm of the ilk that we shouldn't shame them for how they dress. Focus on her eyes if it bugs you.
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It doesn't bother me at all, in fact I quite enjoy it! I'm just saying I wouldn't do the same thing with my wife.
 
Groundpounder said:
Here is 310 Pilots highest viewed video.


Not sure why he picked that frame for his thumbnail
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Seems pretty easy, to get clicks. His wife is hot, so why not? It's not like he's selling her into the sex trade. Just trying to get views and sell his 'merch'!
 
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