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There are a lot of MTB videos out there most of which are competing for your clicks. I like to make MTB videos too for a few years now and would like say good at it to. Content and story is imho important and try to convey this in my videos some more successful than others. A lot of the time my videos are made on the fly, no plan, a good idea of what to achieve but no real plan.
I would like you ask you what in your opinion makes a good MTB video?
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#1: Don’t rely entirely on POV footage, Nate Hills notwithstanding.
I’m still trying to get better at video production myself, and what I’ve found is that planning makes a big difference. I try to start with a list of shots I know I want to get. That way, I’m not frustrated when it’s time to edit and I don’t have what I need.
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That’s a good question. I recently got into making videos after I got a gopro for a bday present. I wouldn’t say I’m good at it but I’m learning and I get better with each attempt. Once I started making videos it changed the way I watch them and I have picked out a few characteristics from the ones I consider to be the best.
Generally most good videos open with a nice wide panning shot to bring you into the setting.
I notice a lot of short videos string a bunch or 2-3 second clips together and alternate between fast and slow motion with longer segments between the sections of short clips.
I personally try and start the video at the beginning of the trail and end at the end, but I really don’t think this matters.
Lots of different angles helps, although follow cam friday guy does really well with one pov, but he rides with some really good riders that are great fun to watch.
Some sort of storyline to keep the audience interested.
I think it comes down to is connecting with your audience. Seth from Seths bike hacks connects to his audience well without using the above techniques too much. I think his narration and sort of “who cares” kind of style is appealing to a lot of people. Although he is a good rider he’s not trying to be “cool” or the best, he is more real and trying to helpful. I think this appeals to a lot of people.
Again, I think its connecting to your audience, and that can be done in a bunch of different ways.
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No music. I’ve watched videos with all kinds of music from heavy metal to strange electronic dance music. I feel that when I watch a MTB video, I want to see what the rider is doing (or thinking-where VO can be useful in place of music), what the trail looks like, etc. Music in MTB videos to me is just a distraction. If you don’t have good audio from the original recording and don’t want to do a voice over that’s fine. A distant ambient track is better than silence, but don’t put Born to be Wild, or Iron Man, or some hipster ska-like audio track over your videos.
I would try to apply cinematographic elements into your videos as well. Don’t just shoot a video, craft it. Focus on framing, give your shots narrative. Move the camera deliberately based on the action. Shoot the rider, the land around them, combine POV’s (as mentioned above). There’s nothing more boring than an entire video of a first person action cam shot for nine minutes with arms/handlebars/trail ahead, and guess what: there’s a million of them on YouTube. If you find your videos are too similar to what others are doing, change your style. A MTB video that is entirely different is going to stand out as evidenced by any successful channel.
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My #1 current pet peeve with a lot of videos being posted to Youtube is how long they are. I am NOT going to watch a 10-minute video of you installing a new part on your bike, talking about the pros and cons, and attempting to figure out live on camera how to actually make it fit.
Cut, cut, cut. I have a hard time watching most of these videos for longer than about 2 minutes, unless the riding and the videography is truly phenomenal.
Edit: ok, who am I kidding? If I make it a full 60 seconds into the video, it’s already doing better than average!
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Yeah, that’s a really good point by Greg. I admit my attention span for videos is not very big either, and I imagine many viewers are the same. Make it short and sweet.
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