• From: Auckland, NZ
  • Registered: 2022-01-21
  • Posts: 345

Re: Post your videos here

Albert - I don't think mobile phones are one of the reasons for video clubs disappearing.

Years ago a serious video camera user would join a club to learn how to edit, make titles etc.  Editing involved scissors and glue or tape.  Titles used plastic letters on a coloured background.  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.

Years ago, on behalf of my club, I was involved in arranging exchange programmes with some other clubs by swapping DVDs.  Two of the UK clubs I dealt with have since disappeared.

  • From: Essex England
  • Registered: 2022-01-30
  • Posts: 210

Re: Post your videos here

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...

  • From: Kent and Mojacar Spain
  • Registered: 2022-02-02
  • Posts: 314

Re: Post your videos here

Albert Ross wrote:

Back here in the UK, it's bluebell time. For a complete change, we went to Riverhill Himalayan Gardens in Kent, Jill discovered it on the interweb https://www.riverhillgardens.co.uk/ It was a lovely summer's day and we had a wonderful day out, the terrain was a challenge for anyone over the age of 65 I guess, but we found ways around it!! Anyway I do hope you enjoy my video  https://youtu.be/ZXNfR-BVZ8Y A tad over nine minutes.

Yes it's very local to us, in fact Sue was up there on the 23rd of April with one of her friends but not in such good weather. A very colourful video showing how big it is and the quite extreme walks !  In fact it's possible to see our house (with a telescope) from up there !

804 Reply by GStree (edited by GStree 2025-05-07 17:34:14)

  • From: Kent and Mojacar Spain
  • Registered: 2022-02-02
  • Posts: 314

Re: Post your videos here

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.

  • From: Essex England
  • Registered: 2022-01-30
  • Posts: 210

Re: Post your videos here

I do hope that the likes of Sony and Panasonic are still making camcorders at a reasonable price, if not I don't know what I will do when my present camcorder hits the buffers. I cannot imaging having to use a smartphone on a gimbal, it's simply not natural, well not to me.

You can always tell when a video has been made using a smartphone, so much more camera movement is involved, but most of it is super smooth, however how do you edit such a video. I don't mean technically, but how do you trim a scene when the camera is part way through a pan and start the next clip with a similar camera movement, maybe with a dissolve I guess, there, I've answered my own question!! 

I used to enjoy editing my super 8 films, slicing them up and then cementing them together, happy days. You only got one chance though, there was no 'undo' buttons in those days. That was all we knew back then, having to wait until it got dark in order to show your film off, then half way through, the film decided to snap where you hadn't put quite enough cement on. 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.

806 Reply by GStree (edited by GStree 2025-05-07 21:56:26)

  • From: Kent and Mojacar Spain
  • Registered: 2022-02-02
  • Posts: 314

Re: Post your videos here

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.

  • From: Essex England
  • Registered: 2022-01-30
  • Posts: 210

Re: Post your videos here

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.

808 Reply by GStree

  • From: Kent and Mojacar Spain
  • Registered: 2022-02-02
  • Posts: 314

Re: Post your videos here

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 !

  • From: Essex England
  • Registered: 2022-01-30
  • Posts: 210

Re: Post your videos here

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.