The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
How about joining this forum first though rather than see all sorts of stuff on U Tube ? ( some really bad )
This sort of thing exasperates me!
- Thread starter mrodoc
- Start date
Cantclimbtom
Well-known member
Not just young cavers, I've looked at YouTube videos to see what an entrance looks like (if you start down the wrong hole, the route just finding won't match up) or for a mine trip what the ladderway looks like for a through trip. Outside the world of clubs you might find nobody on the trip has been there before and be grateful of a glimpse of some key features beforehand, doubly so on solo trips
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Ooo Solo trips ?
Babyhagrid
Well-known member
A lot of us students have joined the forum. I was more talking about the new members who don't know the forum exists. And barely know caving exists. YouTube is already in a lot of people's lives so they tend to searches tuff up on there first
Caver Keith
Well-known member
What do I get from having a wider audience?
When I created my YouTube channel in 2008, I had no intention of uploading anything but a few clips I had taken on various caving trips. The intended audience was me and the people who featured in the clips.
Over time, very gradually my films got longer and I started to document some caves and caving trips. Again I had no concept of audience and never dreamed that the videos would gain any sort of popularity, but they did. There was obviously an audience out there for the sort of stuff I was producing, and that motivated me to produce more.
I never intended to add narration. After all, who would listen to my dulcet Black Country voice for any longer than it took to reach for the off switch. In 2010 I took some film clips in Ogof Craig A Ffynnon - the usual documenting the cave type stuff. After I had edited all of the clips together I started to add titles/captions, but it obviously wasn’t going to work. There were too many words to fit the clips. So I decided that it needed a narrator. I wrote the narration and trialed it by adding my own voice. The idea being that once I’d sorted out all of the timings, I would find someone else. I couldn’t find anyone. Eventually, to my acute embarrassment, I uploaded the film with my narration. Not only did it draw in a few thousand viewers, it also was my first video to attract a significant number of comments, all of them, I have to say, positive. I even had one complementing me on my narration!
The real revelation was when Mark, the star of many of my videos, began to get recognised by other cavers, particularly at Hidden Earth. It was obvious that I was producing videos that cavers, as well as the wider public, were actually watching. I also noticed an increase in views around fresher's week.
My films have not all been successful - witness the disaster of the HE 2018 opening AV, but that doesn’t matter, as deep down I really only make them for me. I simply love film-making. If other people like them, it’s a Brucie Bonus.
So what do I get from having a wider audience? A sense of pride and the satisfaction of knowing that I have made a difference. I’ve had some wonderful comments (see the Return to Aquamole thread) that have given me a real buzz, and of course the success provides me with the motivation to make more films.
As my viewers will be well aware, a lot of my videos are humorous or just plain silly. I love making these too. I do hope that I make it sufficiently clear that they are not meant to be taken seriously.
UKC does not host videos. They have to be uploaded to a video hosting site like YouTube, Vimeo etc. and then linked into a post and sadly very few cave videographers post about their films.
The key word in the sentence is ‘see’. One can read about caves on this forum, or see what it's really like. Photos are great but they don’t give the viewer a feel of what it’s like to be a cave explorer. That's another reason why I make my caving films.
But like the Old Ruminator, I too lament that YouTube has become a hotbed for over-sensationalised crap.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Thanks KK well I meant CK actually. Nothing in life should be taken too seriously even caving.
Caver Keith, not sure if it counts as ‘sensation’, but I remember an earlier event in your video making career. A Tuesday evening trip up from Dudley to P8 in early 90s for shots of us struggling up the first pitch in water on an electron, ready for the Grand Circle charity event. A bit before You Tube though!
Caver Keith
Well-known member
Yes, I remember that. It would have been right at the start and would have been recorded on VHS. I will have to see if I can dig out the tape, it's got to be around somewhere.
Thanks for the memory.
Keith
We have tried promoting the forum to students via CHECC, however continuity of contact is difficult for obvious reasons 😕
