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Hi guys, we are back from Spain for a while to enjoy our countryside residence and sort out various "things". The worse being cutting the "jungle" down that has grown up in the last couple of months while we were away !  I haven't been doing any filming until yesterday when we went for a walk across the fields from our house to the local cemetery and have a look around. It's amazing how many of our younger friends (including scoolfriend's) are buried there and I often wonder how long it will be before it's my turn ! Sandy Gall's plot is unfinished and probably won't have a headstone for some while.  I decided to make a short video (4mins), it might be a funny thing to film but I am always thinking of different things to shoot.  https://youtu.be/MgdyQEMh0kk

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Ok we are back in the UK after delay after delay and change of airports from Almeria to Murcia. We got home at 1.30am this morning and have actually come back for the funeral of the Newscaster Sandy Gall who I have been friends with for over 50 years and lived just down the road, the funeral is today at 12.30 in Tunbridge Wells and burial in a tiny graveyard that we can see from our house.

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Well the last thing that I expected to happen to us in Spain was an earthquake ! Although our area does have minor tremors this was a big one ! We were in bed at the time at 7.13 am and yes the earth did move !! Luckily we seem to have got away without even a broken glass.

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Incidentally this is the singer as he normally is on stage!
https://i.postimg.cc/wRjBMSnq/Screenshot-2169.png

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ericlnz wrote:

Thanks Gordon, well done.

How's the temperature where you are? Seeing reports of heatwaves in Southern Europe.

Hi ericnz, it has been up to 40c at certain times of the day, however that is not that unusual in Mojacar. When we first came down here in 1973 I had never been to a place that is that hot for days on end !    At least our pool doesn't need any heating !  the water was 30c at 10pm last night !

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Albert Ross wrote:

That was great Gordon, I loved it, what a really good voice, shame about the hair, but I guess you can't have everything! How do you manage to record him in three or four different locations and in each case the lip sync is perfect. I expect he has to sing the song in its entirety in each location, then you decide what part to put where when doing the edit. Must be quite painstaking, but oh so rewarding when its put together like that.

You can't be a heavy rock singer with no hair! and mine is even longer than his !! just think of the money that we save in not having a haircut !!
Yes it's as you thought, you film the person lip syncing in each location and just put the complete timelines on top of one another in sync with the recorded song on the bottom. You can then cut out various parts of the timelines to edit it and everything "should" keep in sync. He recorded the sound track in his studio and I simply played it back via my phone and Bluetooth speaker while he mimed to it.                     
I decided to also put in the sound of the sea at a low volume to add to the final audio mix and it was filmed on the beach in front of our place.
Kev Moore lives just up the road to me in Spain and flew out yesterday to do a gig in the UK today (Saturday) in a rock tribute band.

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Hi guys, as you well know I film loads of bands performing down here in Spain and most of it will not be to your liking, however I got one of my mates down here (who is a professional musician and a heavy rock singer) to make this little number ! Like it or not here it is !!! https://youtu.be/-Td_NwqenFg

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Albert Ross wrote:

Thank you Gordon, three very different videos. I do remember the opera singer and your 'trek', but the one which really struck me was the last video of the never sold properties, it looked like a scene from the BBC daytime programme called "Homes Under the Hammer" where property developers buy up dilapidated buildings, work on them for a few months then sell them off for a decent profit. Maybe the BBC could do a Spanish version of the show.

I often wonder why they build these places without doing their homework as to whether people are actually going to buy them !
Someone obviously looses money ! building firms/speculators or even criminals. We overlook a valley behind us that had an access road put in and groundwork started with plots measured out. This was about ten years ago and is now all overgrown, however it could all start up again in the future. The massive hotel between Mojacar and Carboneras that was almost finished has stood empty for years as it was built illegally ! obviously it was built overnight in the dark ! The local councils have all said that it's going to be demolished but don't know who is going to pay for it !

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This probably shows why you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover !
I filmed this a while back.                               https://youtu.be/a_QNn2x5VXQ
                                                                                                               I may have put this one on before
https://youtu.be/DvcJtVjWmqA

And this !
https://youtu.be/9VPD1SNeo88

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Albert Ross wrote:

This is my last video of the series, filmed at Leonardslee in West Sussex https://youtu.be/7mlxLVBUL9g I have never posted a picture of a frame before, but I thought this was particularly charming.

Find out why Jill was smiling, it may surprise you!!

Yes Albert I liked that video !, as for the wallabies !! There was a rich aussie family that lived on the outskirts of our village in Kent that kept loads of them, sometimes you would be driving home (day or night) and one or two (or more) would suddenly appear on the road just like the deer do. Several times I have gone round to their house to tell them and finished up helping catching them. This was in my younger fitter days of course about 50 years ago and we used to use their tennis court net !

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Albert Ross wrote:

This panelist enjoys all kinds of music, not being a music expert, it's difficult for me to describe the kind of music I enjoy most. Probably something with a tune that can be hummed in the shower, what you might call "middle of the road" music.The only music I don't like is "heavy metal" and "rap".

Anyway, back on topic. This is my latest offering of Sissinghurst Castle Garden, just over 8 minutes https://youtu.be/5fpIWbXsTcs You may need your sunglasses to watch as it was quite a bright day.

Albert, I'm all flowered out again ! We have been to Sissinghurst in the past but a long time ago. Although you said it was "quite a bright day" it looked perfect for making that type of film without full sun but it looked a bit windy in places.
Have you ever been to Holland in the tulip season ? and been to the villages that make those amazing mosaics out of them. Sue and I used to go to Holland a lot in the 70s as we had friends there, and although we have been to Keukenhof Gardens a couple of times we found these villages quite by accident. I would have shot them on S8 cine film at the time that I still have gathering dust in the attic !
Before you get too old I would recommend you pop over and take a look ! At this moment I am editing a "longish" 3 camera video in 40c heat that I have been asked to make for one of the locals down here. I just hope my laptop doesn't blow up because it gets "very hot" creating proxy files for 2 hours of the main backing video track.

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As a matter of interest, what type of music does the panel like ?
Being the age I am my formative years would have been mid 50s to most of the 60s, although I don't mind decent classical music as we have a personal friend in our village in the UK that is a well known worldwide viola player . I also like guitar instrumentals and decent female singers. I will "endure" other types as I am often asked to make videos for them.

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Albert Ross wrote:
GStree wrote:

I might have actually put this on before ? however it's probably not suitable for you folks on this page ? but it's only just over 3 minutes long, and it has had over 1k views !
https://youtu.be/bZd8IJo8mpc

Quite right, Gordon, not suitable at all, what a truly disgusting thing to subject us oldies to, I nearly fell out of my bath chair and had to be resuscitated by my good lady wife - what an experience that was!

I enjoyed reading the comment how one of your viewers said that it's been on repeat for two hours - where do they get the money from to afford the leccy?


Time now for one of my pills, and nurse says that it's time for bed - night night...

Albert, Sorry about that. we are just off out up the coast to El Calon for a while. The nearer I get to 80 I seem to have more energy !

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I might have actually put this on before ? however it's probably not suitable for you folks on this page ? but it's only just over 3 minutes long, and it has had over 1k views !
As you know I film a lot of bands down here in Spain and often we have to find a singer that can sing a certain type of song for an event.
We organized a "Hippy" evening for charity but were lost in tryin to find a female lead vocalist as the guy on the right is the singer and bass player as it's normally a 3 piece band. However the girl we asked said that she wasn't too sure but she would give it a go. We were so pleased that we asked her !! Of course we all dressed up including my long suffering wife (who appears at the start)
Go easy on me guys as I am no spring chicken (my wife keeps me young though)                                  https://youtu.be/bZd8IJo8mpc

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Albert Ross wrote:

Nice video Gordon, from your description of it I didn't expect that good a video; how wrong I was, I wouldn't even say that it was "rough around the edges", all edges were nice and smooth IMHO!!

I have another video for you all, it's quite embarrassing to say that it is yet another one of the gardens at good 'ole Hyde Hall in Essex. https://youtu.be/NpoxlvmXjnY

We went there with our chum Richard which was his first visit here since the pandemic. We took him to Sissinghurst and Leonardslee, both sets of rushes are residing on my hard drive waiting for me to do something with them...

In the meantime, please do enjoy eight minutes of your life that you will never get back again - assuming you manage to get through it!

Thank you Albert ! I had to film her simply because of her facial expressions (and of course her voice)!
Yes your video really shows what a good year it's been for just about all the flowers and the backing track certainly added that "jovial" feeling. I am now all flowered out ! 
Because of the weather down where we are at the moment ie (hot n dry) unless people water everything we don't get loads of different coloures together like that ! Obviously we have plenty of things like cactus that will flower even if it doesn't rain for a year ! however some people use their washing up water and the big hotels along with the council use timed sprinkling systems. Things like roses grow all the time throughout the year. It also looks like we don't need to be in Spain to get a bit of heat looking at the UK weather at the moment ! although it's 34c in the shade at our place as I type.  Unfortunately I haven't made any videos (apart from my usual band/group music that I don't think is suitable for me to put on, so I will give that some thought.

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ericlnz wrote:

Thanks Gordon.  I've possibly asked you this before, but are your local bar customers Spanish locals or Brit "refugees" like yourselves?

Hi mate, it can change from day to day ! normally it's a complete mixture of people from different parts of the world, some local Spanish and Brits that live here and passing holiday makers. You never know who you are going to meet up with including Russians !!!

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ericlnz wrote:

It's quiet here so perhaps time to replay some old videos.  Like this one https://vimeo.com/423408318 to remind us of five years ago.  We'd started to forget but then the world is in another mess right now with wars and troubling leaders.  Plus a nasty plane crash in India a few hours ago.

I hate the world that we are living in today, and just try and chill out in our Spanish abode and forget what's happening !
We just wander down to our local bar in the evening and see what's going on to entertain us, and very often we get this young lady.
I literally grabbed my camera and took a quick video. It's not that brilliant as it was getting on a bit with failing light but it cheered me up !! https://youtu.be/skiRTMYgaeY

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ericlnz wrote:

Another five minute "garden/park" video https://vimeo.com/1089466515.  "In Search Of Nature".  Apart from the water shot it's all taken around my retirement village.
Yes, getting colder tonight.  Winter's on its way.

Yes phones can be very good, as you say they are very good at close ups. However they do have certain drawbacks but once you get to forget all about F stops and shutter speed they can do a good job, plus you have normally got it in your pocket.
Presumably you didn't edit it on the phone ?
As I have said in the past part of my family packed up their camera/camcorder repair business simply because very few people buy and use them now so the writing was on the wall unfortunately !
I liked the video especially the colourful close ups.
At this moment we are in Spain and I am in the middle of editing a long two camera musical with a separate recorded sound track of a huge Hippy party that was on last Saturday evening.
My long suffering wife has a friend of hers stopping with us for a couple of weeks and want's me to take them to see all the local sights, so I am burning the candle at both ends at the moment !
At least we have amazing hot weather and even our unheated swimming pool was showing 27c today !!!

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ericlnz wrote:
GStree wrote:

Just a bit of fun. The Blue tits are busy feeding their young at our house at the moment and this is 38 minutes condensed into 90 seconds.
https://youtu.be/h6UZuh1QoVQ

Thanks Gordon.  They don't hang around long for your camera and only just fit the hole?  What happens when they get fatter?

Eric the hole size is 25mm, this is what has been recommended and is the standard size for most commercial supplied ones that are for sale and they all seem to get in and out. This stops any predatory birds from entering the box and making a meal of the eggs and the young !!  We have witnessed sparrows (that are a predatory bird) having a huge fight trying to get in  to get an easy meal several times over the years, and if they do they will even build a nest on the top of the one in there. Nature can be very cruel !
Luckily I had my camera on a decent tripod and there was not a breath of wind that day, otherwise the cuts on the original footage would certainly have shown. Incidentally this is a pair flying in and out that have different markings.

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Just a bit of fun. The Blue tits are busy feeding their young at our house at the moment and this is 38 minutes condensed into 90 seconds.
https://youtu.be/h6UZuh1QoVQ

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ericlnz wrote:
GStree wrote:

Anyway I made a quick 3 minute video today of our local store in Penshurst and got a free drink !! https://youtu.be/cQGsfdu9XMY

Thanks Gordon.  A great short vid. I'm a Dad's Army fan.  Sadly the last member, Ian Lavender, passed away last year.

Cheers Eric, I happened to have my camera handy when I went in there, my brother and I ran the old Forge as a car repair garage from the mid 60s until I left in 1988 to run my own business before it was turned into the post office and the village shop a few years back. Where Sue is looking at the notice board, the guy with her (in the red jacket and pointing) is my brother now 85 and still living in the village.

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Albert Ross wrote:

Thanks Gordon, my question regarding mobile phone being able to edit video was really rhetorical, but I thought somebody on this forum may have had some experience of such things. The problem I have with mobile phones in general, is that if you don't touch the screen every 7 or eight seconds, the blooming thing turns itself off, which must make editing videos extremely difficult to say the least. Oh well, I think I will stick to my desktop and mouse for now.

I know exactly what you mean !! I very rarely use it for videoing and probably only 2 or 3 times a year. They are handy if you have nothing else to hand though !
Anyway I made a quick 3 minute video today of our local store in Penshurst and got a free drink !! https://youtu.be/cQGsfdu9XMY

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Albert Ross wrote:

How on earth can a phone edit videos? The screen is so small, is there room for a time line, a preview window and all of the raw footage, not to mention the transitions and effects? I know that there are apps for the phone, but I cannot imagine how it can be done and why bother if you have a proper computer with a nice big screen and a mouse with the ability to download music from the internet.

Sorry Albert as I said at the end, I simply download any phone footage onto my laptop and edit it like I do with all my videos !

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Albert Ross wrote:

Who knew that just a few short years later you could take video which could be shown on a TV screen, only thing was we had to wait another four or five years before we could edit it and take all of the tedious scenes out.

I had a B&W "video" camera in the early years and I also had the editing gear for it. I think that if I cleared the attic out I might just have it !!!
As for editing videos taken on a phone, there are apps for doing it or I simply download it to the laptop and edit it with MoviePlus.

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Albert Ross wrote:
ericlnz wrote:

The evolution of computers and video editing software plus the internet, where answers to problems can be found, has made it unnecessary to join a local club.  Plus YouTube etc for posting videos.

That is kind of sad though isn't it? You can only ask so much using forums such as this one, if you don't understand the answer to your problem the conversation can go on for ages before the penny finally drops, so to speak. Having somebody physically alongside you and demonstrating things and giving examples is worth a million Google searches, and so much quicker.

I really do wish I had a video club local to me where I could get a few ideas on how to make different kinds of videos, I do understand that most of my efforts are very similar - a bush followed by a tree followed by a few flowers etc etc...I was not blessed with a very good imagination I'm afraid, and even if I was, I don't think I would have the necessary expertise to put any ideas I may have into practice. Oh woe is me...

I agree with both comments, however as both of you (like me) started on "proper film" all those years ago I don't miss all the cutting/editing/striping sound track business !
I once joined a local film club in my teens in the 60s but was very disillusioned with it, as most people seemed to only show how much money they had by bringing the latest "gear" and wasn't interested in my clockwork 8mm stuff !
Now of course most people have (on their person) something capable of taking and showing very good quality videos and still pictures, I say "capable" meaning the phone and "not the person using it"  (as we can all see looking on the internet at most of the rubbish) !!  I have said in the past that part of my family ran a camera/camcorder repair business for years but wound it up because of lack of work and now repair printers and associated "things".  Even some of my friends that had (and still have) camcorders/cameras have taken to using top of the range mobile phones for making some of their films because of the convenience of not carrying equipment about with them !  Obviously if they go out with the purpose of making a decent "epic" they will use their original equipment.
I don't actually know if the major manufacturers are still making basic camcorders ? (apart from the type that the high end film and TV brigade use) I know that you can still buy them new, but how long ago were they made ? My Sony AX 53 was announced in Jan 2016 and it has not had any updates or been superseded since just like the AX700 (Oct 2017) that I also have.