Are these useful? - Beginner Videos

[Mark Wardle]

Hello - over the last couple of years I have been making videos of some of my wood turning projects. I have been turning for quite a while now an I made these videos so I could share my experience with others.
I love watching (well made) videos of other turners in their work shops - mainly on YouTube - but elsewhere as well. I also love making things, not just wood turning, but turning still takes up a lot of my creative time.
So I thought I would contribute in my own way and started a YouTube channel of my own.
Some of the videos are directed towards beginner turners and I thought I would post links here to get some feedback from the forum community. Here are links to three of them. The first one is a bit of a light hearted look at my attempts to teach a young friend to have a go since he was keen to have a try at turning.

View: https://youtu.be/Yhw6GgLalC0


The second two are sort of tutorials, or just documents of how I go about things. Any feedback is appreciated?

View: https://youtu.be/Xad6HjzPlZk

View: https://youtu.be/OUQK7pGciic

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I watched the middle one. Looks good. No safety issues that I could see. Your camera vibrates a lot sometimes. I would use some closer shots sometimes. And definitely film from the side where you can see the action. You had the camera on the other side and can't see the cutting much. Most of the time the shots are from too far. @robo hippy would definitely approve, he likes scrapers, LOL I personally prefer a bottom bowl gouge. A plus is that Americans can understand you well, no Australian accent in the way, LOL

 

[Tim Starliper]

If you can, use multiple cameras, all recording at the same time from different angles. That lets you get the wider shot and a shot of tool use, and a perspective shot, and...and....

I use the overall wide angle camera as my main camera - I have a wireless microphone and pump the receiver output into that camera. When I start a new video segment, I have a piece of wood with some dry-erase tape on it (you can get the tape on Amazon - works like a whiteboard, use a dry erase marker then wipe it off). I write the video information and segment information on it. When I start each camera, I hold the board in the fields of view for a few seconds, allow some space after that before I actually begin. Each camera is a fixed shot.

This gives you a lot of flexibility when making the final video. I use a program called OpenShot - it is an open-source cross platform non-linear video editor. If you have the means to do so and resync, you can separate the audio track and do some additional cleanup there. If you never show your face, then precise sync is not as necessary between the audio and the video. If you do see your face while speaking and do not have the audio and video synchronized almost perfectly (we are talking microseconds, maybe low milliseconds), then it looks like a poorly dubbed foreign movie

I have three sitting in the computer now I need to spend some quality time editing. Editing is a slow process and can take a long time, at least if you want to produce something worthwhile. I use a combination of the built-in title generator and Inkscape (another open-source cross-platform software - a vector editor in this case) to create the titles, captions, etc. If I have stills I need to include or edit, I use GIMP for that (an open-source, cross-platform image editor like Photoshop, without selling your soul to Adobe). Yes, I am a big fan of open-source software, and cross-platform software - although the latter is not always as important since I rarely switch to Windows or Mac for audio/video editing - I do most of it on my Linux workstation.

 

[Roger Ziegler]

Great videos for turners like me, beginners hoping to become intermediate in skill level. They exhibit very good teaching methods, and emphasize safety, and cautious use of the lathe, preparation, and tool use. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to more of your videos.

 

[Mark Wardle]

Great videos for turners like me, beginners hoping to become intermediate in skill level. They exhibit very good teaching methods, and emphasize safety, and cautious use of the lathe, preparation, and tool use. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to more of your videos.

Thanks Roger - I'm glad they were helpful. Whilst I make a lot of other stuff as well, I do have a woodturning playlist on my YouTube channel called "OfftheGridMakes". Here's a link that should take you there. There are a few beginner projects there as well as some more complicated techniques. And lots of tips embedded in the videos as well. I hope you find these useful - regards Mark

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1bqkL5n10DmBR9xyPYc5oBBEzj5V1I0v

 

[Mark Wardle]

I watched the middle one. Looks good. No safety issues that I could see. Your camera vibrates a lot sometimes. I would use some closer shots sometimes. And definitely film from the side where you can see the action. You had the camera on the other side and can't see the cutting much. Most of the time the shots are from too far. @robo hippy would definitely approve, he likes scrapers, LOL I personally prefer a bottom bowl gouge. A plus is that Americans can understand you well, no Australian accent in the way, LOL

Thanks Emiliano. I'll take your suggestions on board. I have found that the noise from machinery can cause the camera to vibrate! It took me a while to figure this out but I have taken steps to fix the problem. Thanks again for responding - regards - Mark

 

[Mark Wardle]

If you can, use multiple cameras, all recording at the same time from different angles. That lets you get the wider shot and a shot of tool use, and a perspective shot, and...and....

I use the overall wide angle camera as my main camera - I have a wireless microphone and pump the receiver output into that camera. When I start a new video segment, I have a piece of wood with some dry-erase tape on it (you can get the tape on Amazon - works like a whiteboard, use a dry erase marker then wipe it off). I write the video information and segment information on it. When I start each camera, I hold the board in the fields of view for a few seconds, allow some space after that before I actually begin. Each camera is a fixed shot.

This gives you a lot of flexibility when making the final video. I use a program called OpenShot - it is an open-source cross platform non-linear video editor. If you have the means to do so and resync, you can separate the audio track and do some additional cleanup there. If you never show your face, then precise sync is not as necessary between the audio and the video. If you do see your face while speaking and do not have the audio and video synchronized almost perfectly (we are talking microseconds, maybe low milliseconds), then it looks like a poorly dubbed foreign movie

I have three sitting in the computer now I need to spend some quality time editing. Editing is a slow process and can take a long time, at least if you want to produce something worthwhile. I use a combination of the built-in title generator and Inkscape (another open-source cross-platform software - a vector editor in this case) to create the titles, captions, etc. If I have stills I need to include or edit, I use GIMP for that (an open-source, cross-platform image editor like Photoshop, without selling your soul to Adobe). Yes, I am a big fan of open-source software, and cross-platform software - although the latter is not always as important since I rarely switch to Windows or Mac for audio/video editing - I do most of it on my Linux workstation.

Thanks Tim for your considered response - it's appreciated. Where can I see some of your work?

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Thanks Emiliano. I'll take your suggestions on board. I have found that the noise from machinery can cause the camera to vibrate! It took me a while to figure this out but I have taken steps to fix the problem. Thanks again for responding - regards - Mark

I once had a GoPro mounted on the lathe. The vibration was terrible. Yet, looking at the camera it was not moving. You have solved a mystery! I'm guessing the noise of the gouge was making it vibrate when I wasn't looking.
Another mystery Mark is how come your accent is so easy to understand? Keep up the good work. Aloha.

 

[Roger Ziegler]

Thank you for the reply, and especially for the link to your 23 videos.I am looking forward to viewing them in the coming days and the holiday weekend. You have a great selection of topics. and assuredly an encyclopedia of useful tips for beginners like myself. You are a great inspiration. Thanks again. Roger

 

[Mark Wardle]

I once had a GoPro mounted on the lathe. The vibration was terrible. Yet, looking at the camera it was not moving. You have solved a mystery! I'm guessing the noise of the gouge was making it vibrate when I wasn't looking.
Another mystery Mark is how come your accent is so easy to understand? Keep up the good work. Aloha.

Ha! Not all Australian accents are 'broad'. Some of us can speak clearly - ha ha

 

[Mark Wardle]

Thank you for the reply, and especially for the link to your 23 videos.I am looking forward to viewing them in the coming days and the holiday weekend. You have a great selection of topics. and assuredly an encyclopedia of useful tips for beginners like myself. You are a great inspiration. Thanks again. Roger

Great to hear that they are helpful. Any questions you have - just ask. All the best - Mark

 

[Tim Starliper]

Thanks Tim for your considered response - it's appreciated. Where can I see some of your work?

I need to get my website whipped back into shape, and spend quality time with my videos. I sort of messed up on that front and pulled some stuff down that I did NOT have archived. Oops. The only multiple camera videos so far are not actually mine, and are not able to be shared - they were for a specific group's internal use.

I will be making a post here once I have the videos up.

 

[Pat Patterson]

Mark, You got me hooked. Went to look at one and spent the rest of the day watching them.
Thanks,

Pat

 

[Mark Wardle]

Thanks Pat - I need more people like you in the world!

 

[Richard Moore]

Mark, I’m not a total beginner and I’m not an expert turner either. But from what I've seen of your channel, I have to say your are quite creative and a solid woodworker. I really enjoyed what I have seen and look forward to seeing more. You have reinforced what I’ve been working on and that I’m going down the right rabbit hole. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Mark Wardle]

Mark, I’m not a total beginner and I’m not an expert turner either. But from what I've seen of your channel, I have to say your are quite creative and a solid woodworker. I really enjoyed what I have seen and look forward to seeing more. You have reinforced what I’ve been working on and that I’m going down the right rabbit hole. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Richard. I'm glad you found them helpful. I try to get out one video per fortnight, but don't always make it!