Creating a skiing video series. Would love some community feedback! :)

[KeithAndLindsey]

For me, the Shiffrin video is about the simplicity and precision of her movements. A world-class skier doing drills we can all do but not nearly as proficiently. The ease and fluidity gives us mortals something to strive for in our skiing. I’ll never huck cliffs intentionally but I will try to ski a groomer as effortlessly as possible.

Ok. Now I get why you like that video so much. Thanks for the clarification! It is pretty cool to see her recovery process in action.

 

[James]

The picture quality is good.
Actually the wide angle pov works better when it's just filming and not covering the partner from ant in a box size to, oh...he just went by. Don't need to see that again.

Not everything everyone says should be recorded and played back. I might make an exception for @Drahtguy Kevin when he's on a roll.

 

[fatbob]

Yeah. I get that train of thought. However, I am not trying to make a "best of" video or anything like that. There are plenty of other skiing videos out there that highlight a particular run, terrain park jump session, etc. I am going for a more immersive action vlogging experience for the viewer. I want them to feel like they are skiing with me. Does that make sense at all? I don't think that this sort of series would work if the episodes were only a few minutes long each.

Fine . It's your choice but bear in mind that you are basically creating a diary for yourselves rather than anything third parties will seek out. I can see even friends and family might get a little bored. Not sure that meets the definition of immersive.

 

[KeithAndLindsey]

Thanks for everyone's feedback but I don't think that you guys are my target audience. You all seem to want more of an "instant gratification" style video that shows a few quick clips from a highlight reel. I personally don't think that people would subscribe to our channel if that was the type of video that we put out. Yeah, we may get people to watch one or two of those style videos but they wouldn't subscribe and stick around for more. I am a pretty good skier and I can ski some steep and technical terrain but I am not an Olympic or extreme athlete. I won't be throwing myself off cliffs each video or racing down a long groomer with a follow-cam behind me. I feel that people would quickly get bored with our channel, not the individual video itself but our overall channel, if all we put out were 2-3 minute clips of a specific run or runs.

I do appreciate everyone's feedback and will keep this info in mind when we are putting together our highlight reels towards the end of the season.

 

[Tricia]

Unfortunately, I think that you skipped past all the content that you were hoping for. During that video, we hit a gate-accessed area call the Bassackwards Bookends. That gate led us to beautiful scenery and steep/deep runs. We also highlighted the Peruvian Tunnel which is a totally unique feature to Snowbird (hence the thumbnail).

This is why the edits need to be shorter if you want people to watch them.

 

[Dwight]

Look at what a friend is doing here. Look at the whole channel.

You can look how he started a few years too what he is currently doing. 10-15 min video do have a captive audience.
If you are trying to hook people in then some shorter videos are necessary along with the longer ones.

1. Make content
2. You will learn how to edit it for your "voice"
3. If it is a passion, keeping making content.
4. If number 3 is sincere, doesn't really matter what we think.
5. Diary videos evolve.
6. Good luck and a have fun.

 

[AmyPJ]

Who IS your target audience?

 

[James]

Putting the trail names on the video is nice. Maybe a map/ski track app picture would be good also. If the idea is to be like a guide to places you ski.

 

[fatbob]

Who IS your target audience?

Good question. Given that there a fair number of people who have responded who consume an undue amount of ski media and spend probably disproportionately on skiing and/or ski travel I can see we might set a high bar. But the real question is how do differentiate yet another ponderously edited POV video featuring average skiing to gain an audience. There are literally thousands of similar videos out there from would be auteurs and its the reason why still many more of us having viewed our first POV footage immediately sold the gopro or never bought one.

 

[Drahtguy Kevin]

I watched the entire video. As a fella who worked in television and outdoor programming, it is too slow moving with a plethora of rambling commentary that doesn’t add info to the video. Lots of editing could tighten it up a bunch without taking away from your message. Much of the footage is similar meaning much is not needed.

More description of the particular runs (rolling groomer, steep and chalky, firm bumps, etc.) would be nice. Also info about the particular resorts, what they’re known for and what you like/don’t like would be helpful as well. Your audience needs to build a relationship with you to keep them coming back.

Your idea is a good one and your videos will get better as you go. You’re new at this and the learning curve is steep. Keep plugging away.

My $.02, keep the change...

 

[KeithAndLindsey]

Look at what a friend is doing here. Look at the whole channel.

You can look how he started a few years too what he is currently doing. 10-15 min video do have a captive audience.
If you are trying to hook people in then some shorter videos are necessary along with the longer ones.

1. Make content
2. You will learn how to edit it for your "voice"
3. If it is a passion, keeping making content.
4. If number 3 is sincere, doesn't really matter what we think.
5. Diary videos evolve.
6. Good luck and a have fun.

Thanks! I think you understand what I am going for with this series. I appreciate the link to this series. It has provided some good content to compare my content with in order to see if there are better ways to edit my content down to keep my story more interesting.

 

[KeithAndLindsey]

Who IS your target audience?

I am trying to build a community that wants to follow us along during our ski season which will eventually evolve into mountain biking, hiking, and backpacking season. I want subscribers that are in it for the long term and that want to get involved with our stories. I don't want to just make clickbait style videos or one-hit-wonders. I am modeling this series off of BKXC and The Singletrack Sampler. These two YouTubers focus solely on mountain biking and have created quite a community around their channels. I have linked their channels below for reference.

BKXC
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3DFdy_qc-cqgKCyQTHLGzA

The Singletrack Sampler
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfUGBBnxQYezwJM9wi3F-Lg

 

[KeithAndLindsey]

I watched the entire video. As a fella who worked in television and outdoor programming, it is too slow moving with a plethora of rambling commentary that doesn’t add info to the video. Lots of editing could tighten it up a bunch without taking away from your message. Much of the footage is similar meaning much is not needed.

More description of the particular runs (rolling groomer, steep and chalky, firm bumps, etc.) would be nice. Also info about the particular resorts, what they’re known for and what you like/don’t like would be helpful as well. Your audience needs to build a relationship with you to keep them coming back.

Your idea is a good one and your videos will get better as you go. You’re new at this and the learning curve is steep. Keep plugging away.

My $.02, keep the change...

Thanks so much for the feedback! This is super helpful and exactly what I was looking for. I think you are the first respondent to actually give me direct feedback on the style of video series that I am shooting vs. trying to push me down an entirely different path. I will definitely take these suggestions into consideration for future videos. Thanks again!!!

 

[KeithAndLindsey]

Putting the trail names on the video is nice. Maybe a map/ski track app picture would be good also. If the idea is to be like a guide to places you ski.

Being a guide is a small part of the equation. I like the idea of more infographic style overlays. I will see if we can find a way to integrate that into our editing workflow without causing too much editing pain.

 

[Corgski]

Hey PugSki crew! My wife and I have been working to create a skiing series of our adventures skiing Utah's finest resorts (as well as some backcountry skiing). We would love to get some feedback on the series so that we can fine tune it over time. So far, we have visited Snowbird, Alta, and Solitude. We try to highlight various aspects of skiing these resorts in each video. Sometimes the focus is the weather, sometimes it is the powder, etc. Any feedback on this series would be greatly appreciated!

Hmm, this is awkward, well,......, er, I actually kind of liked it (well the bits I watched anyway). Part of the reason may be that I have never skied out West and presenting it in the personal way you did had a certain appeal. I can certainly see how people who ski those areas and that sort of terrain regularly would have little interest but if I was planning a trip and working out potential destinations I would watch something like this. Each destination probably needs a short and long version and you will work out any number of improvements with time.

I'd probably echo @Drahtguy Kevin's advice.

 

[Lauren]

@KeithAndLindsey - My two cents...

- I agree with the GoPro comments...POV for short time frames are good, but clips that are too long can get a bit monotonous.
- You don’t need a huge film crew to change things up, take out your phone occasionally or take the GoPro off to take video and mix in other types of shots (Use a pole mount for selfie stick?).
- Maybe vary the GoPro frames. Not sure what GoPro you're using but most of them allow you to set to "wide", "medium" or "narrow"
- Face the camera occasionally...I like to see the face of who's talking.
- Use voice overs occasionally so you can edit out some of the "skiing sounds".
- Try playing with music...sometimes as background and sometimes instead of the commentary.
- Mix up the length of clips more...most of the clips seem to be 10+ seconds long...IMHO, that's a long time...it's fine for when you're describing something or commentating. But mix in series of short 2-4 second clips.
- More whoops, hollers and excitement is wanted (for me)...I know this isn't a stoke video, but I still feel like you should leave your audience stoked...even if it's just excited for your next video.

 

[fatbob]

Thanks! I think you understand what I am going for with this series. I appreciate the link to this series. It has provided some good content to compare my content with in order to see if there are better ways to edit my content down to keep my story more interesting.

Can you recognise the differences between your video and this one? Similar running times but the non ski one is packed with content. I only dipped in and out but I got jeep, dogs, girl in bikini, guns, chickens, camping set up, face to camera. A whole lot more than some run, some other run, chairlift, some chatter about not knowing the area too well.

 

[AmyPJ]

I am trying to build a community that wants to follow us along during our ski season which will eventually evolve into mountain biking, hiking, and backpacking season. I want subscribers that are in it for the long term and that want to get involved with our stories. I don't want to just make clickbait style videos or one-hit-wonders. I am modeling this series off of BKXC and The Singletrack Sampler. These two YouTubers focus solely on mountain biking and have created quite a community around their channels. I have linked their channels below for reference.

BKXC
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3DFdy_qc-cqgKCyQTHLGzA

The Singletrack Sampler
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfUGBBnxQYezwJM9wi3F-Lg

OK, so, why would we want to follow you? I'm not trying to be a jerk here. I really want to know what your intent is, or why YOU vs. the other I don't know how many youtubers out there, or (for me) why not just go do it myself? I mean, I ski the Wasatch already, I bike the Wasatch already, so why would I want to watch videos like this when I just get out there and do it myself? Is your goal just to get youtube hits and earn money, or are you trying to guide and educate somehow, or?? If you want to get a following, you really need to create an image, a personality, something that engages people and people feel connected to.

FWIW I can relate better to the "Average Joe's" out there who aren't hucking cliffs or heli skiing BUT a video needs to entertain and be engaging. So, a unique personality, massive humor, a few crashes, some educating mixed in, and yes, shorter formats.

As to the links above, I would never sit and spend the time to watch that. Unless I get rid of Netflix and books, I suppose. I DO spend the time to watch short instructional videos or funny, entertaining short videos.

 

[Lauren]

Oh, one more thing I'd add to my list is for you to YouTube "ski vlog"...find other SKI vlogs. Which ones would you follow? Why? Do they entertain you? Why? Take note of how they produce their content....commentary to music ratio. Length of clips. Etc...

 

[VickieH]

You may want to connect with @Alba Adventures ... seems you are doing similar things. Watch their videos, chat with them, share ideas.