drivesitfar
Well-known member
Very cool tech and happy your little girl likes the challenge and results!!
Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Woody's Works Garage
- Thread starter Denwood
- Start date
Workspaces sized between 265 and 485 squarefeet.
I did some upgrading on the security cameras on the property over the last week or so. Reolink was kind enough to send a few of their cameras out for me test out, and I must say I'm impressed.
If you have a "dumb" motion security light and are looking for a replacement, they have taken things up a notch with a product (TrackFlex Flood WIFI) that wires up to 120V and works like a motion security light, but incorporates a WIFI connected, dual lens, actively tracking security camera. The awesome trick here is that it has three PIR motion sensors covering up to 270 degrees. Not only can motion within a 270 degree cone trigger the flood lights, but the camera will turn to track it! The implication is that if you have one mounted on the corner of a building, it can cover the complete field of view...very cool.
I also cover another product (TrackMix WIFI) here that uses two 4 watt LEDs to light up things, also tracking, but this one connects up a via a POE, or CAT5, or WIFI with a 12 volt connection used for power if not using POE.
These are really solid products, that do not require a subscription. There is a discount code (provided by Reolink) included in the video to save you 5% if you're looking to purchase any of their products
If you have a "dumb" motion security light and are looking for a replacement, they have taken things up a notch with a product (TrackFlex Flood WIFI) that wires up to 120V and works like a motion security light, but incorporates a WIFI connected, dual lens, actively tracking security camera. The awesome trick here is that it has three PIR motion sensors covering up to 270 degrees. Not only can motion within a 270 degree cone trigger the flood lights, but the camera will turn to track it! The implication is that if you have one mounted on the corner of a building, it can cover the complete field of view...very cool.
I also cover another product (TrackMix WIFI) here that uses two 4 watt LEDs to light up things, also tracking, but this one connects up a via a POE, or CAT5, or WIFI with a 12 volt connection used for power if not using POE.
These are really solid products, that do not require a subscription. There is a discount code (provided by Reolink) included in the video to save you 5% if you're looking to purchase any of their products
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I shot the induction pot testing vidoe over the weekend. I have time on my hands as our fire ravaged camp area is still closed to all travel :-(
Needless to say between the actual shooting, capturing thermal images, home assistant data capture and screen records it was likely the most technical of anything I've done so far. I'm trying to keep the entire video under 140 spoken words...
After days of editing, the induction cooktop experiments have been unveiled. It's 4 minutes long, answers many questions I had about induction cookware, and offers up some surprise findings too. I have to send some props out to @patlun for the interest in the video concept, and @nicholam77 for getting me curious about Home Assistant which was integral to the experiments.
4 minutes:
4 minutes:
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My YT buddy posted up a question about the thermal video images in the video so I thought I'd post it here as it summarizes a lot of what I learned in the few months of testing leading up to the video:
I just recently got an LG range with induction and some expensive Made In pans. I am shocked how fast it heats up compared to my old radiant ceramic cook top. My major question is how much does the radiation pattern if the cook top affect the heat pattern of the pan?
Thanks for the question In my research for the video, I learned a lot about Litz wire , which is the essential component of an induction hob coil...call it the burner. The hob is formed from Litz wire which is stranded copper wire, insulated, and coiled into mult-stranded bundles. The resulting hob coil is typically ~ 5mm high, and ~150mm across for a 6" small hob, and ~250mm (10")across for a large hob. One obvious take-away is that there is a center portion of every hob, where there are no coils and therefore a dead zone in the center with ALL induction hobs. The cheaper pans I tested typically have a magnetic insert that looks like a grid pressed into the base, and normally the center portion is bare. If you look at the thermal camera images, you can almost visualize these coils in the first few moments, but that pattern quickly disappears as the base heats up. Now I tested a LOT of pots and pans over the last month or so, and I'd say that this pattern is not signfificant with respect to the performance of the pan. The best predictor of performance I saw is how well the pan couples to the burner magnetically. In other words, how much magnetic material is in the pan base, and well is it matched to the size of the hob? The pan essentially becomes part of the circuit, if you will, when operating an induction cooktop. The cast iron pan pulled the most power of any of hte pots, at close to 3700 watts on the large hob but took a tiny bit longer to boil the water (about 3 minutes) likley due to the mass of the pan. This likely points to cast iron as the best possible solution for even heat (and it is for my thin Finn pancakes!), but it was the power hog in the test. The smaller 1.9L Tramontina pot boiled the liter of water fastest on the SMALL hob at about 2:37 minutes and pulled up to 2500 watts during the test. The same pot took 5 minutes on the large hob with a max of 1300 watts, likely as the larger hob's electronics throtlled power output.
This is a long winded way to say that the pattern you see in the thermal images is not important. What is important is that the pan balances overall mass, heat distribution in the pan core, and a healthy layer of magnetic material at the base so that you good good magnetic coupling with the hob, and therefore max possible power used by the hob. The Tramontina pots I tested show this balance I think, but they still don't max out the hob power output like the cast iron does. That said, the cast iron pan more closely matches the larger hob size vs the 2.8L Tramontina I tested. I suspect a Tramontina pan with the same sized base as the cast iron would test better.
Some tech stuff I came up with (not in the video) on basic construction of an induction hob:
I just recently got an LG range with induction and some expensive Made In pans. I am shocked how fast it heats up compared to my old radiant ceramic cook top. My major question is how much does the radiation pattern if the cook top affect the heat pattern of the pan?
Thanks for the question
In my research for the video, I learned a lot about Litz wire , which is the essential component of an induction hob coil...call it the burner. The hob is formed from Litz wire which is stranded copper wire, insulated, and coiled into mult-stranded bundles. The resulting hob coil is typically ~ 5mm high, and ~150mm across for a 6" small hob, and ~250mm (10")across for a large hob. One obvious take-away is that there is a center portion of every hob, where there are no coils and therefore a dead zone in the center with ALL induction hobs. The cheaper pans I tested typically have a magnetic insert that looks like a grid pressed into the base, and normally the center portion is bare. If you look at the thermal camera images, you can almost visualize these coils in the first few moments, but that pattern quickly disappears as the base heats up. Now I tested a LOT of pots and pans over the last month or so, and I'd say that this pattern is not signfificant with respect to the performance of the pan. The best predictor of performance I saw is how well the pan couples to the burner magnetically. In other words, how much magnetic material is in the pan base, and well is it matched to the size of the hob? The pan essentially becomes part of the circuit, if you will, when operating an induction cooktop. The cast iron pan pulled the most power of any of hte pots, at close to 3700 watts on the large hob but took a tiny bit longer to boil the water (about 3 minutes) likley due to the mass of the pan. This likely points to cast iron as the best possible solution for even heat (and it is for my thin Finn pancakes!), but it was the power hog in the test. The smaller 1.9L Tramontina pot boiled the liter of water fastest on the SMALL hob at about 2:37 minutes and pulled up to 2500 watts during the test. The same pot took 5 minutes on the large hob with a max of 1300 watts, likely as the larger hob's electronics throtlled power output.This is a long winded way to say that the pattern you see in the thermal images is not important. What is important is that the pan balances overall mass, heat distribution in the pan core, and a healthy layer of magnetic material at the base so that you good good magnetic coupling with the hob, and therefore max possible power used by the hob. The Tramontina pots I tested show this balance I think, but they still don't max out the hob power output like the cast iron does. That said, the cast iron pan more closely matches the larger hob size vs the 2.8L Tramontina I tested. I suspect a Tramontina pan with the same sized base as the cast iron would test better.
Some tech stuff I came up with (not in the video) on basic construction of an induction hob:
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Loving the tech info and happy to hear my old cast iron pans still do ok.
I’d almost bet you are an Aquarius.
I’m guessing once someone finds that your thread just isn’t about a garage they will spend days reading and enjoying all your cool projects.
Any idea when you will get to see your campsite in person or have you already been there? We are getting a ton of smoke this last week here from fires hours away but hopefully we’ll see the blue sky and non filtered sun again soon
I’d almost bet you are an Aquarius.
I’m guessing once someone finds that your thread just isn’t about a garage they will spend days reading and enjoying all your cool projects.
Any idea when you will get to see your campsite in person or have you already been there? We are getting a ton of smoke this last week here from fires hours away but hopefully we’ll see the blue sky and non filtered sun again soon
That video is pretty much crickets. Go figure as it reflects a few months of planning and testing :-(
On the camp, we're still not allowed to access, but at least now we have some prediction (2 weeks) for a timeline. Even the resort owner's requests for access have been denied. By the time we're out there, summer for us will be pretty much over...
On the camp, we're still not allowed to access, but at least now we have some prediction (2 weeks) for a timeline. Even the resort owner's requests for access have been denied. By the time we're out there, summer for us will be pretty much over...
drivesitfar
Well-known member
Maybe a different title cause as you now marketing is key to almost anything. As far as content your videos are amazing.
Unfortunately the world works off quick gratification and the majority don’t want to learn. Maybe do a short video under a minute or two and title it something like does your cookware measure up to old cast iron or use your words.
Sorry about the loss of your summer and we’ve lots a few months of ours the past few years with the smoke from the fires.
Unfortunately the world works off quick gratification and the majority don’t want to learn. Maybe do a short video under a minute or two and title it something like does your cookware measure up to old cast iron or use your words.
Sorry about the loss of your summer and we’ve lots a few months of ours the past few years with the smoke from the fires.
Funny thing about the vids. The ones that I just shot on a whim and spent nearly zero time on have done the best. A short I did comparing Milwaukee impacts to old school air has over 407K views. Shot in like 30 minutes, no script, verbal fumbles, no planning, no lighting:
I think the YT gods are telling me to stop giving a **** and just shoot stuff when I feel like it
drivesitfar
Well-known member
I don’t think you should fall into that trap of not giving a hoot because there are still more than a few of us that want to learn AND it’s good for your information too.
Keep on thinking cause that’s what you’re good at.
Does your daughter parking in the garage always get the green lights and I think that was genius on your part setting all that up.
Keep on thinking cause that’s what you’re good at.
Does your daughter parking in the garage always get the green lights and I think that was genius on your part setting all that up.
Bit of a shocking story. One of my old windsurfing pals had a serious fall mountain biking this week. A slow speed endo (over the handle bars) resulted in a broken neck and the week in ICU. I visited him for the first time yesterday and he was in good spirits, but not doing so well for any kind of arm movement. A care manager came in to check on him and his one request was a way to call a nurse that didn’t involve a touch pad, as he can’t use one.
I noticed during our visit that his feet were tapping away and he does have some leg movement. I came up with this, sort of an adjustable foot plate that we’ll attach the call pad to. Hopefully he can use his foot if he needs help. This will go at the foot of his bed.
I noticed during our visit that his feet were tapping away and he does have some leg movement. I came up with this, sort of an adjustable foot plate that we’ll attach the call pad to. Hopefully he can use his foot if he needs help
. This will go at the foot of his bed.Attachments
Turns out the contraption works, maybe too well. I think I may be blacklisted from the local hospital as in testing I think we called the nurse a dozen times.. The important thing is my pal can call for help now by using his feet. This must not be a common situation as the call pad cord is pretty much too short to go at the foot of the bed, and apparently they don't have extensions....
The induction video I spent months playing around with, building test gear, Home Automation dashboards, more testing, then shooting for a few days and editing for a few more....was a total flop. 21 plays in 2 days. I used AI (chatgpt) to help tighten the dialogue and shot sequence so there were only 120 spoken words etc. and it honestly was total crickets. I'm shooting a follow up with the title (oh, the irony): "I Let AI Tell Me How to Make This Video. It Bombed." This time though I'm going it my way..ha.
Garage setup for the follow up shoot...
The important thing is my pal can call for help now by using his feet. This must not be a common situation as the call pad cord is pretty much too short to go at the foot of the bed, and apparently they don't have extensions....The induction video I spent months playing around with, building test gear, Home Automation dashboards, more testing, then shooting for a few days and editing for a few more....was a total flop. 21 plays in 2 days. I used AI (chatgpt) to help tighten the dialogue and shot sequence so there were only 120 spoken words etc. and it honestly was total crickets. I'm shooting a follow up with the title (oh, the irony): "I Let AI Tell Me How to Make This Video. It Bombed." This time though I'm going it my way..ha.
Garage setup for the follow up shoot...
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I posted the link up in the electrical forum, but throwing it here for journalling purposes
The first crack at this was 4 minutes, super concise, and an epic fail as far as YT is concerned.
24 plays in 4 days. Ouch. Not just crickets but deafening silence.
The longer re-edit (I shot new intro and conclusion sequences) is doing a lot better. This in turn is a bit easier on my fragile ego as I spent about 3 months testing, building test rigs and then 3-4 days shooting and editing it The family is only just beginning to forgive me for taking over the kitchen for half a day...
The first crack at this was 4 minutes, super concise, and an epic fail as far as YT is concerned.
24 plays in 4 days. Ouch. Not just crickets but deafening silence.
The longer re-edit (I shot new intro and conclusion sequences) is doing a lot better. This in turn is a bit easier on my fragile ego as I spent about 3 months testing, building test rigs and then 3-4 days shooting and editing it
The family is only just beginning to forgive me for taking over the kitchen for half a day...drivesitfar
Well-known member
The very best thing about your videos you make is that I’m pretty sure you learned something and anything else is a bonus.
The last two days have been incredibly long, 12-13 hours laboring away at a project long overdue. When we purchased our home it had a basement apartment. Two meter bases, and two 100 amp panels…with fuses. Aside from the extra meter charge ($37/month) the two panels also conflict with future solar plans and were otherwise overdue for replacement. My brother in law is a sparky, and a great one at that. I handled tagging circuits and removing the old 100 watt panels while he tended to the new 200 amp service.
Power was disconnected to the house at 1 pm Tuesday. My brother in law focused on getting the new meter base and 200A service tied into the new panel.
Today (Wednesday) the ESA inspector showed up and green lit the installation for reconnection to the grid… which was done by 1pm. Then Mike turned his attention inside and worked his magic on the 200 amp panel.
Pretty much 14 hours later, it was done.
Before:
Dual 100 amp meter bases replaced with one 200A service. The good news is that the existing conductors in the stack were long enough as otherwise we have had to pretty much replace the entire 20 foot stack.
Both 100 amp panels out and the 200A ready to go. I tagged all the wires and circuits but man was it a mess.
Out of the chaos came order. I think a good electrician has artistic skills blended right in.
Tomorrow I’ll install an Emporia Vue3 to monitor all of the circuits and clean up my disaster of a network cluster.
Looking great outside too.
Power was disconnected to the house at 1 pm Tuesday. My brother in law focused on getting the new meter base and 200A service tied into the new panel.
Today (Wednesday) the ESA inspector showed up and green lit the installation for reconnection to the grid… which was done by 1pm. Then Mike turned his attention inside and worked his magic on the 200 amp panel.
Pretty much 14 hours later, it was done.
Before:
Dual 100 amp meter bases replaced with one 200A service. The good news is that the existing conductors in the stack were long enough as otherwise we have had to pretty much replace the entire 20 foot stack.
Both 100 amp panels out and the 200A ready to go. I tagged all the wires and circuits but man was it a mess.
Out of the chaos came order. I think a good electrician has artistic skills blended right in.
Tomorrow I’ll install an Emporia Vue3 to monitor all of the circuits and clean up my disaster of a network cluster.
Looking great outside too.
Attachments
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
Wow this is a huge deal for old homes and lucky for you your brother was. It only knowledgeable but skillful too. I’m sure your helping hands and your own skills played a good part in how quickly the job progressed so congrats to both of you!!!!!!
I figure another 8 hours in labelling the panel and installing two Emporia Vue 3 energy monitoring systems. These use CTs (current transformer) clamps to detect power use on each monitored "hot" lead in the panel. For 240V loads, you either clamp one lead and double it the software, or clamp both legs if the device has 120V controls, or something like my garage sub panel where you want to monitor both legs of the sub-panel connection.
This mess would not work (and this is with one VUE unit only!) but fortunately you can shorten the CT leads.
This is with two Emporia VUe 3 units installed, and all 32 CT leads shortened. Each unit can only host 16 clamps (plus the two L1/L2 clamps). The 2nd unit does not require the L1/L2 clamps, and you combine it with the "master" in the app so that the 32 clamps all show up as one system. These version 3 Vue systems have a LAN cable port as well as WIFI. If you use WIFI, they provide external antennas that you install in a 1/2" knock-out. You can see the two antennas installed at the bottom right of the panel.
Now, I can pull power use from almost every circuit. There are few surprises there that I will need to look at further.
One big "discovery" was how little the heat pump dryer actually pulls (1100 watts) and how efficient the ECM furnace fan is. I have it running constantly and it shows 50 watts of use set to 350 CFM. That's pretty amazing. A typical dryer is around 4000-5000 watts, and furnace fan typically 400-500 watts.
The VUE system uses the larger clamps around the L1/L2 main feeds to the home to calculate total consumption, then compares that to what the smaller clamps are seeing. Anything not monitored shows up as a the "balance". We have two EVs charging (one on EV plug, 2nd in Garage) right now, so you see usage is up there at 8.197 kW.
The Emporia Vue system has some very interesting automation (including integration to Home Assistant) but if you install an Emporia EV wall charger, and you have solar, it can dynamically send excess solar power generated to an EV. John Molberg (who used to post here) has that exact setup and his Tesla is happly soaking up excess solar power from his system.
This mess would not work (and this is with one VUE unit only!) but fortunately you can shorten the CT leads.
This is with two Emporia VUe 3 units installed, and all 32 CT leads shortened. Each unit can only host 16 clamps (plus the two L1/L2 clamps). The 2nd unit does not require the L1/L2 clamps, and you combine it with the "master" in the app so that the 32 clamps all show up as one system. These version 3 Vue systems have a LAN cable port as well as WIFI. If you use WIFI, they provide external antennas that you install in a 1/2" knock-out. You can see the two antennas installed at the bottom right of the panel.
Now, I can pull power use from almost every circuit. There are few surprises there that I will need to look at further.
One big "discovery" was how little the heat pump dryer actually pulls (1100 watts) and how efficient the ECM furnace fan is. I have it running constantly and it shows 50 watts of use set to 350 CFM. That's pretty amazing. A typical dryer is around 4000-5000 watts, and furnace fan typically 400-500 watts.
The VUE system uses the larger clamps around the L1/L2 main feeds to the home to calculate total consumption, then compares that to what the smaller clamps are seeing. Anything not monitored shows up as a the "balance". We have two EVs charging (one on EV plug, 2nd in Garage) right now, so you see usage is up there at 8.197 kW.
The Emporia Vue system has some very interesting automation (including integration to Home Assistant) but if you install an Emporia EV wall charger, and you have solar, it can dynamically send excess solar power generated to an EV. John Molberg (who used to post here) has that exact setup and his Tesla is happly soaking up excess solar power from his system.
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drivesitfar
Well-known member
Sorry I was asking the group on my organization thread that is more a diy or my to do list about changing out a few breakers in my 50 year old service panel to more modern ones. Geesh looking at yours confused this old guy who thought he was kinda handy but your stats are amazing.
I doubt I’ll ever get to your level or want to try at my age but it is sure fun watching you and seeing you figure stuff out.
Thanks again and hope this new panel solves a few more of your old home moving into the 21st or maybe 22nd century.
You mentioned a siding repair or maybe a new project on my thread and while I’m far from a professional I have sided our home twice so take a few pics and ask questions here if you’ve got any questions or problems and I’ll be happy to help if I can snd maybe others will chime in dine this thread has over a million views.
I doubt I’ll ever get to your level or want to try at my age but it is sure fun watching you and seeing you figure stuff out.
Thanks again and hope this new panel solves a few more of your old home moving into the 21st or maybe 22nd century.
You mentioned a siding repair or maybe a new project on my thread and while I’m far from a professional I have sided our home twice so take a few pics and ask questions here if you’ve got any questions or problems and I’ll be happy to help if I can snd maybe others will chime in dine this thread has over a million views.
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nicholam77
Well-known member
Wow, the Vue data will be awesome! As I'm sure you know, HA has a built in electricity / grid consumption dashboard, and you can make some pretty cool graphs and visualizations of your usage. You're all in, now!
I still need to catch up on some of your YouTube videos, but I'll comment on the ones I watched recently.
The Tree Cutting video
I found it interesting, especially since I've had a large tree removed before. That's some neat machinery. I liked the intro, and some of the text on screen (like pointing out the two Corey's, that adds a fun personable touch).
Music is always subjective. I feel strongly that first and foremost you need to like your video work, and that includes the sound and music. You can take input from your family, or youtube commenters, or Garage Journalers, but at the end of the day I feel like it's going to be the strongest piece if you like it. That goes for everything in the video, but just use your instincts and don't feel like you automatically have to switch the music because someone doesn't like it. That said... it's important to at least consider feedback, because sometimes it's valuable. I also think with an underscore during a montage like that, the tone and pace of the music usually informs the style and pace of your edit. The first music you had was slower and more contemplative and you could burn those drone shots longer. The new music is more funky and energetic and upbeat, and you can use that to bring the pacing of your edit up and keep things moving. Neither one is "correct", it's just a different feeling.
I think the tree montage does the job of showing off the equipment and location. I do think it's a bit long and a bit slow given the music. Also, with a montage like that, don't be afraid to get funky and reframe shots (push in), put a slow zoom on a shot if it's static, try a split screen, do some quick cuts to the beat of the music where appropriate, etc. If you want. It could spice it up further. You could also easily take a minute out of the montage and still absorb everything and get the point. I get that you're sort of doing it for a company and trying to show the whole process, but if you ever wanted to do more of a sizzle, it could be tightened.
Induction Cooktop Videos
Don't listen to A.I.!!!
Or at least don't be fully beholden to it. Use it as a tool, get ideas, augment or create on screen graphics... but most of these subjects you're covering are fairly niche and I think one of the interesting reasons to follow along is you, the host. You're an interesting person with a lot of unique knowledge, and I think when you remove yourself from the equation and have a super truncated script on a complex topic, it's impersonal and hard to follow along. I think that's what happened with the first induction pan video.
ALSO... you gotta realize that induction pan science is just probably not that hot of a topic. And collecting data with probes and piping into home assistant etc. To us nerds and tool freaks, yes, but to a wide audience? It makes sense that many more would be interested in Milwaukee impact driver torque.
But unless you're only in the game for clicks and advert money, I would keep making the videos you want to make. That interest you. Genuinely. And make them the way you want to. They have the most personal connection. You do a good job explaining complex topics. YouTube algorithms are mysterious and tough (at least that's what I've read), so it might take a bit of luck and not just cracking a formula. But if I think about all the channels I enjoy, they all have a creator that shares something they are passionate about. I have no idea if it will guarantee results, but I know these videos take a lot of effort to make, and if I were you instead of chasing what YouTube likes, or what other people expect, I'd try to keep refining your own brand and stay true to the projects and information you want to tell, the way you want to tell it. Hopefully people will find it and connect with it.
P.S. I actually did find the pan stuff quite interesting, and I am always amazed at the tests and jigs you come up with to test these experiments
Keep up the good work!
I still need to catch up on some of your YouTube videos, but I'll comment on the ones I watched recently.
The Tree Cutting video
I found it interesting, especially since I've had a large tree removed before. That's some neat machinery. I liked the intro, and some of the text on screen (like pointing out the two Corey's, that adds a fun personable touch).
Music is always subjective. I feel strongly that first and foremost you need to like your video work, and that includes the sound and music. You can take input from your family, or youtube commenters, or Garage Journalers, but at the end of the day I feel like it's going to be the strongest piece if you like it. That goes for everything in the video, but just use your instincts and don't feel like you automatically have to switch the music because someone doesn't like it. That said... it's important to at least consider feedback, because sometimes it's valuable. I also think with an underscore during a montage like that, the tone and pace of the music usually informs the style and pace of your edit. The first music you had was slower and more contemplative and you could burn those drone shots longer. The new music is more funky and energetic and upbeat, and you can use that to bring the pacing of your edit up and keep things moving. Neither one is "correct", it's just a different feeling.
I think the tree montage does the job of showing off the equipment and location. I do think it's a bit long and a bit slow given the music. Also, with a montage like that, don't be afraid to get funky and reframe shots (push in), put a slow zoom on a shot if it's static, try a split screen, do some quick cuts to the beat of the music where appropriate, etc. If you want. It could spice it up further. You could also easily take a minute out of the montage and still absorb everything and get the point. I get that you're sort of doing it for a company and trying to show the whole process, but if you ever wanted to do more of a sizzle, it could be tightened.
Induction Cooktop Videos
Don't listen to A.I.!!!
Or at least don't be fully beholden to it. Use it as a tool, get ideas, augment or create on screen graphics... but most of these subjects you're covering are fairly niche and I think one of the interesting reasons to follow along is you, the host. You're an interesting person with a lot of unique knowledge, and I think when you remove yourself from the equation and have a super truncated script on a complex topic, it's impersonal and hard to follow along. I think that's what happened with the first induction pan video.
ALSO... you gotta realize that induction pan science is just probably not that hot of a topic. And collecting data with probes and piping into home assistant etc. To us nerds and tool freaks, yes, but to a wide audience? It makes sense that many more would be interested in Milwaukee impact driver torque.
But unless you're only in the game for clicks and advert money, I would keep making the videos you want to make. That interest you. Genuinely. And make them the way you want to. They have the most personal connection. You do a good job explaining complex topics. YouTube algorithms are mysterious and tough (at least that's what I've read), so it might take a bit of luck and not just cracking a formula. But if I think about all the channels I enjoy, they all have a creator that shares something they are passionate about. I have no idea if it will guarantee results, but I know these videos take a lot of effort to make, and if I were you instead of chasing what YouTube likes, or what other people expect, I'd try to keep refining your own brand and stay true to the projects and information you want to tell, the way you want to tell it. Hopefully people will find it and connect with it.
P.S. I actually did find the pan stuff quite interesting, and I am always amazed at the tests and jigs you come up with to test these experiments
Keep up the good work!
@drivesitfar , thanks as always for the very kind words. I will 100% hit you up for siding repairs when I need them!
We finally got out to camp and the devastation there is shocking, and almost random. Our little area is like nothing happened, and a few hundred feet away, total loss. Everything flattened and heat sufficient to melt the aluminum boat hulls. Our fridge out there sat for over a month with no power, so it was, uh, interesting to clean. We drove out, assessed any damage (none), cleaned up the fridge and left it to air out for a week or so with a few boxes of baking soda in.
Wow, the Vue data will be awesome! As I'm sure you know, HA has a built in electricity / grid consumption dashboard, and you can make some pretty cool graphs and visualizations of your usage. You're all in, now!
I still need to catch up on some of your YouTube videos, but I'll comment on the ones I watched recently.
The Tree Cutting video
I found it interesting, especially since I've had a large tree removed before. That's some neat machinery. I liked the intro, and some of the text on screen (like pointing out the two Corey's, that adds a fun personable touch).
Music is always subjective. I feel strongly that first and foremost you need to like your video work, and that includes the sound and music. You can take input from your family, or youtube commenters, or Garage Journalers, but at the end of the day I feel like it's going to be the strongest piece if you like it. That goes for everything in the video, but just use your instincts and don't feel like you automatically have to switch the music because someone doesn't like it. That said... it's important to at least consider feedback, because sometimes it's valuable. I also think with an underscore during a montage like that, the tone and pace of the music usually informs the style and pace of your edit. The first music you had was slower and more contemplative and you could burn those drone shots longer. The new music is more funky and energetic and upbeat, and you can use that to bring the pacing of your edit up and keep things moving. Neither one is "correct", it's just a different feeling.
I think the tree montage does the job of showing off the equipment and location. I do think it's a bit long and a bit slow given the music. Also, with a montage like that, don't be afraid to get funky and reframe shots (push in), put a slow zoom on a shot if it's static, try a split screen, do some quick cuts to the beat of the music where appropriate, etc. If you want. It could spice it up further. You could also easily take a minute out of the montage and still absorb everything and get the point. I get that you're sort of doing it for a company and trying to show the whole process, but if you ever wanted to do more of a sizzle, it could be tightened.
Induction Cooktop Videos
Don't listen to A.I.!!!
Or at least don't be fully beholden to it. Use it as a tool, get ideas, augment or create on screen graphics... but most of these subjects you're covering are fairly niche and I think one of the interesting reasons to follow along is you, the host. You're an interesting person with a lot of unique knowledge, and I think when you remove yourself from the equation and have a super truncated script on a complex topic, it's impersonal and hard to follow along. I think that's what happened with the first induction pan video.
ALSO... you gotta realize that induction pan science is just probably not that hot of a topic. And collecting data with probes and piping into home assistant etc. To us nerds and tool freaks, yes, but to a wide audience? It makes sense that many more would be interested in Milwaukee impact driver torque.
But unless you're only in the game for clicks and advert money, I would keep making the videos you want to make. That interest you. Genuinely. And make them the way you want to. They have the most personal connection. You do a good job explaining complex topics. YouTube algorithms are mysterious and tough (at least that's what I've read), so it might take a bit of luck and not just cracking a formula. But if I think about all the channels I enjoy, they all have a creator that shares something they are passionate about. I have no idea if it will guarantee results, but I know these videos take a lot of effort to make, and if I were you instead of chasing what YouTube likes, or what other people expect, I'd try to keep refining your own brand and stay true to the projects and information you want to tell, the way you want to tell it. Hopefully people will find it and connect with it.
P.S. I actually did find the pan stuff quite interesting, and I am always amazed at the tests and jigs you come up with to test these experiments
Keep up the good work!
@nicholam77 , I can't thank you enough for the detailed analysis after taking the time to critique the vids. There are a lot of excellent tips in there and I will definitely incorporate them all in my workflow. I use to cut only to beats on certain pieces and now pretty much ignore them. I think it's time to throw a bit of the spice in there. This is where a creative mind like yours, combined with your experience is such an asset in editing.
I will someday (or never!) be able to correlate my own (sometimes intense) interest in certain topics (the rabbit hole specials) with the general viewing public out there. For example, in discovering why a certain pan performs so poorly on induction, I assume that lots of others are seeing the same thing and MUST be wondering why...ha. That is the disconnect. You are 100% right in that I should just do my own thing, and focus on enjoying the experience. That will likely lead to more success in the end anyway. I need some mental discipline to detach from time and effort on a project (induction was a big one) vs the "reward" of the audience enjoying or finding the material useful. That is the pay off for me in many ways as it sure isn't dollars...ha. Since reaching the monetization threshold, the channel generates about $130/month in shared ad revenue from YT. As you know, being a pro, that likely works to around $3/hour, maybe less. In any case, your comments here are exceptional, encouraging, and very much appreciated!
drivesitfar
Well-known member
I’m very happy your things survived (except maybe the food in your fridge and other small stuff. That said I’m very sorry you and your friends and neighbors had to deal with this tragedy.
Hopefully the others didn’t lose things they can’t replace eventually cause if it’s just stuff and money can fix it we used to say it’s only a temporary problem.
Good luck and of course I wish you all well up there in your version of paradise.
Hopefully the others didn’t lose things they can’t replace eventually cause if it’s just stuff and money can fix it we used to say it’s only a temporary problem.
Good luck and of course I wish you all well up there in your version of paradise.
The basement theater has been a disaster for a full week now during the panel upgrade and network reorganization.
Previously, the LAN/network portion of the electrical room was just loose runs to a switch on a wire shelf. It was chaos.
Now, not so bad for a house well over 100 years old. I cut back all the LAN feeds and terminated them in a patch panel, then mounted everything up low profile on the 3/4" ply backing board. There is room to actually work in there if needed.
This "before" picture was actually with all the network stuff pulled out...so imagine it, but worse! There were two wire shelves on the right piled with network stuff and LAN cables everywhere.
Previously, the LAN/network portion of the electrical room was just loose runs to a switch on a wire shelf. It was chaos.
Now, not so bad for a house well over 100 years old. I cut back all the LAN feeds and terminated them in a patch panel, then mounted everything up low profile on the 3/4" ply backing board. There is room to actually work in there if needed.
This "before" picture was actually with all the network stuff pulled out...so imagine it, but worse! There were two wire shelves on the right piled with network stuff and LAN cables everywhere.
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nicholam77
Well-known member
Wow, that looks GREAT! Super clean.
I'm jealous how you have everything in one room. My internet comes in the house in the mechanical closet, but my main switch and ethernet drops to all the rooms happen in a different central storage closet in the basement TV room. And my electrical panel is on the complete other wall of the basement. I don't like how it's all fragmented and it's not as easy to do a setup like you've done in the storage closet where most of my gear is (switch, synology, HA pc, hue hub, my old NVR, etc). And nothing is labeled
Anyways that looks like it was a big effort, and nice results!
Side note: now that I've started collecting blu rays again, I keep thinking back to your theater and how awesome it would be to have a larger screen and TV / projector combo. Would be a huge project that I don't have time for at the moment... but maybe someday.
On the video editing stuff...
No problem!
Just to clarify, my opinion on cutting to the beat is you should do it purposefully, and each project is different. I think a lot of people when they start out editing, they like to time every cut to the music. Which isn't inherently wrong, but it's kind of a crutch and it can undermine cutting for other reasons (storytelling, emotion, pacing, etc) if you're just locked into that one rhythm. It can also make switching music tracks difficult if you've timed everything out to a certain piece of music and then the bpm changes with a different piece of music. And sometimes it can even be distracting. Instead, I like to cut to key moments in a music track, and only if the music is a driving part of the current section of the video (like a montage with no voiceover or dialogue). And the rest can just be loose. Like maybe if there is a beat drop, or a build up, or a punchy drum roll, you could do something that syncs with the track. And then the rest of it can be however it needs to be. Less is probably more.
I'm going to link this video which shows off this concept really well, in my opinion:
You'll see right from the beginning the introductory landscapes are NOT synched to downbeats, but key moments like when the guy starts skateboarding ARE. And there are jump cuts locked to beats. And also just moments... like skateboard slides that happen within a shot that are synched to musical moments. But it is definitely not just cutting on the downbeat throughout the piece. There is a natural flow to it, and then there are satisfying moments where the cuts or action align with the track to elevate it. Obviously it's quite a bit different tonally than what you're doing, but I just think it's a solid example and might give some inspiration!
Ha! I think it's ok if you don't win over the general viewing public. You definitely have views on your videos, so people are interested, including myself. You have a variety of topics which might have different audiences, or there might be some overlap.
Oh trust me, I can resonate with that. Sometimes detaching is important, and don't beat yourself up — some videos might resonate, some might not as much. But that's why I think if at least you are happy with how they turn out and make them to your liking, you can be proud of what you put out there no matter what.
It happens to me all the time in the advertising world, where I have to collaborate with people and receive endless feedback from agency creatives as well as the end client's marketing team. You would be surprised at how rarely things all align and I'm truly happy with something I've made in the end. But that's why we say "one for a meal and one for the reel". They can't all be perfect projects, and that's ok. On to the next one.
As long as you're having fun and enjoy the filmmaking process, I'd just keep doing your thing and creating!
I'm jealous how you have everything in one room. My internet comes in the house in the mechanical closet, but my main switch and ethernet drops to all the rooms happen in a different central storage closet in the basement TV room. And my electrical panel is on the complete other wall of the basement. I don't like how it's all fragmented and it's not as easy to do a setup like you've done in the storage closet where most of my gear is (switch, synology, HA pc, hue hub, my old NVR, etc). And nothing is labeled
Anyways that looks like it was a big effort, and nice results!
Side note: now that I've started collecting blu rays again, I keep thinking back to your theater and how awesome it would be to have a larger screen and TV / projector combo. Would be a huge project that I don't have time for at the moment... but maybe someday.
On the video editing stuff...
No problem!
Just to clarify, my opinion on cutting to the beat is you should do it purposefully, and each project is different. I think a lot of people when they start out editing, they like to time every cut to the music. Which isn't inherently wrong, but it's kind of a crutch and it can undermine cutting for other reasons (storytelling, emotion, pacing, etc) if you're just locked into that one rhythm. It can also make switching music tracks difficult if you've timed everything out to a certain piece of music and then the bpm changes with a different piece of music. And sometimes it can even be distracting. Instead, I like to cut to key moments in a music track, and only if the music is a driving part of the current section of the video (like a montage with no voiceover or dialogue). And the rest can just be loose. Like maybe if there is a beat drop, or a build up, or a punchy drum roll, you could do something that syncs with the track. And then the rest of it can be however it needs to be. Less is probably more.
I'm going to link this video which shows off this concept really well, in my opinion:
You'll see right from the beginning the introductory landscapes are NOT synched to downbeats, but key moments like when the guy starts skateboarding ARE. And there are jump cuts locked to beats. And also just moments... like skateboard slides that happen within a shot that are synched to musical moments. But it is definitely not just cutting on the downbeat throughout the piece. There is a natural flow to it, and then there are satisfying moments where the cuts or action align with the track to elevate it. Obviously it's quite a bit different tonally than what you're doing, but I just think it's a solid example and might give some inspiration!
Ha! I think it's ok if you don't win over the general viewing public. You definitely have views on your videos, so people are interested, including myself. You have a variety of topics which might have different audiences, or there might be some overlap.
Oh trust me, I can resonate with that. Sometimes detaching is important, and don't beat yourself up — some videos might resonate, some might not as much. But that's why I think if at least you are happy with how they turn out and make them to your liking, you can be proud of what you put out there no matter what.
It happens to me all the time in the advertising world, where I have to collaborate with people and receive endless feedback from agency creatives as well as the end client's marketing team. You would be surprised at how rarely things all align and I'm truly happy with something I've made in the end. But that's why we say "one for a meal and one for the reel". They can't all be perfect projects, and that's ok. On to the next one.
As long as you're having fun and enjoy the filmmaking process, I'd just keep doing your thing and creating!
Thanks for the kind words. Now very few people ever see that room so I guess it’s just between me and garage journal…ha.Wow, that looks GREAT! Super clean.
I'm jealous how you have everything in one room. My internet comes in the house in the mechanical closet, but my main switch and ethernet drops to all the rooms happen in a different central storage closet in the basement TV room. And my electrical panel is on the complete other wall of the basement. I don't like how it's all fragmented and it's not as easy to do a setup like you've done in the storage closet where most of my gear is (switch, synology, HA pc, hue hub, my old NVR, etc). And nothing is labeled
Anyways that looks like it was a big effort, and nice results!
Side note: now that I've started collecting blu rays again, I keep thinking back to your theater and how awesome it would be to have a larger screen and TV / projector combo. Would be a huge project that I don't have time for at the moment... but maybe someday.
On the video editing stuff...
No problem!
Just to clarify, my opinion on cutting to the beat is you should do it purposefully, and each project is different. I think a lot of people when they start out editing, they like to time every cut to the music. Which isn't inherently wrong, but it's kind of a crutch and it can undermine cutting for other reasons (storytelling, emotion, pacing, etc) if you're just locked into that one rhythm. It can also make switching music tracks difficult if you've timed everything out to a certain piece of music and then the bpm changes with a different piece of music. And sometimes it can even be distracting. Instead, I like to cut to key moments in a music track, and only if the music is a driving part of the current section of the video (like a montage with no voiceover or dialogue). And the rest can just be loose. Like maybe if there is a beat drop, or a build up, or a punchy drum roll, you could do something that syncs with the track. And then the rest of it can be however it needs to be. Less is probably more.
I'm going to link this video which shows off this concept really well, in my opinion:
You'll see right from the beginning the introductory landscapes are NOT synched to downbeats, but key moments like when the guy starts skateboarding ARE. And there are jump cuts locked to beats. And also just moments... like skateboard slides that happen within a shot that are synched to musical moments. But it is definitely not just cutting on the downbeat throughout the piece. There is a natural flow to it, and then there are satisfying moments where the cuts or action align with the track to elevate it. Obviously it's quite a bit different tonally than what you're doing, but I just think it's a solid example and might give some inspiration!
Ha! I think it's ok if you don't win over the general viewing public. You definitely have views on your videos, so people are interested, including myself. You have a variety of topics which might have different audiences, or there might be some overlap.
Oh trust me, I can resonate with that. Sometimes detaching is important, and don't beat yourself up — some videos might resonate, some might not as much. But that's why I think if at least you are happy with how they turn out and make them to your liking, you can be proud of what you put out there no matter what.
It happens to me all the time in the advertising world, where I have to collaborate with people and receive endless feedback from agency creatives as well as the end client's marketing team. You would be surprised at how rarely things all align and I'm truly happy with something I've made in the end. But that's why we say "one for a meal and one for the reel". They can't all be perfect projects, and that's ok. On to the next one.
As long as you're having fun and enjoy the filmmaking process, I'd just keep doing your thing and creating!
I understand and thanks for posting up the clip
The editor (you??) makes very effective use of silence too in the slides. I will never be a skilled editor, however I do enjoy learning..and with visual media it seems the challenges are endless.It’s ironic that I ran a company selling equipment to filmmakers for 13 years yet was always in front of the camera..never behind it.