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Permalink Reply by Greg Aliff on March 5, 2010 at 6:17am

Bump.. No opinions at all? I know i'm not reinventing the wheel with a how to chemex video. The people we are going after though have never heard of or even seen one though. Mainly looking to see if you think a newbie could figure out how to do it themselves based on this video.

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Permalink Reply by Benza Lance on March 5, 2010 at 11:20am

Dig it.

a. I would, in the future, steady the camera work a little bit. I'm not one to get motion sickness, but it did hurt my brain after the first minute, because it's sort of jumpy.
b. Obviously this was done in your kitchen, I'm guessing. I personally love this, because you're de-mystifying all of this coffee majik, but I would definitely do something about the surroundings and back lighting.
c. An explanation of why you're using X amount of coffee for Y amount of water, etc. would be nice, especially if you're targeting a demographic who doesn't know, but wants to.

Overall, for a first attempt, and something you obviously did yourself, I think it's really nice.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Aliff on March 5, 2010 at 11:48am

Hi Benza,

Thanks taking a look at the video. I appreciate your feedback.

a. You're right, it is a little shaky. I didn't even notice this at first. I shot this with a Sony point and shoot digital camera. I'll need to figure out a creative way to steady it next time.

b. Yeah it was in my kitchen. I shot it at night. There is a large window in the kitchen that would give me a lot of natural light. I'll plan my next one for a weekend afternoon so I have better lighting. What else did you mean by surroundings? You saying my kitchen is ugly?? :)

c. I tried to explain that I was using the industry standard as my starting point in the blog and encourage people to experiment from there. I guess I could also add this to the video to give a little more clarification.

Thanks again for your feedback! I hope to make another video soon.

Greg

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Permalink Reply by Joachim Oster on March 5, 2010 at 12:35pm

Greg,
You used mostly simple, descriptive images. You can do this with a still camera and title charts in between better. The moving image of video only comes in once when you pour the hot water. Using still images would give you more possibilities of setting the light better, avoid shaking, focus and such.

In a movie production you have a Director of Photography, Camera Man, Director, Editor, Sound Engineer and much more. In a video you do all this by yourself! That has advantages and gives you a built-in excuse to be a bit 'shoddy'. But then it should still have a tongue-in-cheek, a joke, or unexpected quality which is the reward for us to watch it! YouTube lives off of this.

First get clear what you want to do: a) an appealing, yummy video to drive traffic to your website? b) a purely educational HOW-TO video to establish your website as an authority? c) entertainment value with some info but leaving the customer wanting more?

Let's assume you like to do b), a HOW-TO video. There are many out there. Watch as many as you can. Pick the ones you really like. Check car fixes, cosmetic videos, garden videos. Do not look at other coffee HOW TO videos! Look at Japanese HOW TO videos, Polish ones, anything HOW TO. You may end up really liking i.e. a JApanese cartoon style with cut out figures. Simple like South Park. Doodle-simple you can do even by yourself. It is preferred that you are not an amazing artist on YOUTUBE! MAybe you make music by yourself, banging on kitchen pots and pans or let the utensils do the sound track: Grinder humming, water dripping, boiling, pouring rustling of beans. As a voice over you can use the one from your brothers child- it makes it sound simple automatically and is ultra charming! A 5 year old girl bumbling thru lines like 'Set the VArio Grinder btw course and fiiiiine, pleeeaze!" BOOM-you have a unique, attention grabbing style right away! Now you rule, because the matrix for the second and other HOW TO video is established. Don't think hi-res video- it has to work on a small cell phone screen. A CD cover has to work nowadays as small as a thumb print on AMAZON to be successful. That's were the challenge lies.

So ditch the first video. It's like the first brewed cup of coffee in a new machine. You just throw it away. What is important is that you have the will, the energy and the dedication to learn the medium. Profit from the simplicity and a charming amateurishness, but don't try to imitate big screen production. After all when you have fun, we who watch will have fun! Keep up the good work.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Cockrell on March 5, 2010 at 7:55pm

It just makes me want to go boil some water and grind...!!!

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Permalink Reply by Joe Marrocco on March 5, 2010 at 8:59pm

I am tempted to make a how to video on how to make a how to video.

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