I found your video eminently enjoyable. I liked the music and that the levels of it compared to your narration were very close. All too often videos have loud music compared to any narration not to mention some kind of grunge/death metal/trance that just isn't my thing.
I liked hearing the bike in the background. It was there but never intrusive. As a rider watching a bike-centric video this is a consideration for me. I especially like the lack of a frenetic exhaust note. I don't like it when riding and it's worse in videos unless it's the point of a video. Those are videos I don't watch much.
Did you use a script or outline for your narration? If it was extemporaneous then mad props. It was friendly/casual and well spoken. Very pleasant and conversational and didn't sound scripted. There were no uhs/ers/ums or other distracting vocal pauses or glitches. That in and of itself is a major feat. Using really polished narration is fine for a travelogue or Galapagos documentary. Being too folksy is also a little tedious to me. I felt you struck a decent balance but maybe a little less folksy would be better.
I can see where the ride to the house might be seen as long/longish but other than the initial two stretches at the opening it was ok to me. It gave us time to hear some narrative background and I didn't feel like there were long stretches of just "going down the road". Stops and turns kept my attention so that's my data point.
The transition from the establishing shot that puts you on a bike to the beginning of the video was abrupt - a cut scene. Nothing fancy need be done but it felt like a fade to black and back was called for.
Counterpoint to seeing the bike in the video I often see videos that include "bike stuff" taking up screen space at the expense of the road/scenery/etc. I ride a bike. I know they have gauges. I occasionally use them. I'm not hearing a car. The single front wheel is a reminder. For me there doesn't need to be much bike in the video. When I'm riding I'm not paying much attention to gauges except for a quick glance to keep aware of my speed. I liked seeing the bike itself so showing it from time to time is nice.
But the bike isn't really the story. The story is you riding to your destination and for me the ride is as important as the destination. The advantage of videoing from a bike is that it opens our view compared to trying to shoot from a car. If you were doing a story about a bike — well that would be a different story entirely.
What is your camera setup? The video was very smooth as was any panning. Image stabilization is a great thing but even it can't compensate for excessive/frequent/major head turning. So I like bike mounted rigs.
The frame rate was good.
I like the video because it didn't feel like being at someones house where they drag out the slide projector and gave us twenty shots of the same thing from a slightly different angle. It didn't feel like a "production" which I think is equally important. As I said earlier - casual. Relaxed even. You could have left out the part about the car passing you as you paused at the "roundabout" ("traffic calming device" out my way) and I would have been ok with that.
It's about the story you want to tell. I wouldn't want that do devolve into critiquing your riding style only doing 40 in a 40MPH zone etc. That gets in the way of the story.
I'm not a film critic so I wouldn't quite my day job if I had one. But hey — everybody's a critic. The video was a bit short but it's a test vid so I get that. I look forward to seeing how you progress.
Thank you very much for taking the time to watch and write a very useful information. Glad you enjoyed it. Please see my notes below.
I like casual videos, not sport, and it was important to me to have the sound of the engine low enough to hear it, as well as 'slow' moving pace of video.
I used a bullet point list and tried to speak naturally, might have had one or two sentences I planned scripted. I am concerned with an accent I have, but it seems this was not an issue.
I tried to avoid riding with pause during talking. At the start I had some pauses, people brought to my attention, and I revised the video to eliminate pauses better, which also eliminated some riding video time that turned to be a good decision. Added stops and turns to add some 'interest' to the ride, glad to see this kept your attention.
As a motorcycle rider, I aim at riders and actually plan to include in the next video a view that shows some of the gauges, depends how this will turn out, if I can maintain a sight of the surroundings.
My camera setup for this test video was a 360 camera where you can frame the view in post. Since then I purchased a GoPro to supplement and mount it to the helmet chin -I'll see how that turns out to be, though my concern as you point out is turning the head while riding. Depends how this turns out, I might consider adding a drone to the mix, if that favors the site I'm visiting.
Casual format is the main goal.
You mention the video was a bit short. The original intent is to keep it short overall, so not to lose interest. Still, I'll consider longer videos, depends on the subject matter.
I plan on doing more videos, and would love more of your feedback -I can let you know once I post more, if you'd like.
I appreciate the comment on the abrupt transition -not sure I understood though -did you mean the transition INTO the cut scene, to fade to black first? Or eliminate the cut scene all together and just do simple black transition with fade to black and back between the shots on the road? I was hoping the cut scene would 'act' as the identity for the channel.
Last, the video format is planned to aim at certain type and age of rider. May I ask for your age please? You can private message me if you prefer not to share here. This will help me know more if I'm in the right direction.
Thank you again for the detailed feedback.
Doron
