Tried to make a uke video last night

Miss Michele

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I sat in front of my webcam last night and played my ukelele. It sounded awful! lol For some reason everything about my playing just didn't sound right. My uke didn't even sound good! Plunking noises all through the song. It sounded that way to me when I played the video back. UGH! And why is it when you aren't recording you sound great!?

My life has been on the crazy side lately, with my best friends dad dying, and me moving to a new place, I haven't had the time to pick up the uke. Poor Louie(my ukes name) has been sitting in his box for three weeks now. MY singing wasn't all that great either, though I know I can't sing. Not too worried about that. lol Hopefully, soon, you will get to hear me play! I promise :)


How many times does it take you to get a good enough video for the public to view?
 
How many times does it take you to get a good enough video for the public to view?

Too many, which is why I don't do it at this point. The minute there is a camera or other recording device in front of me, it all falls apart :) Oddly enough, I can play in front of *people* without messing up too badly. But video cameras are another story.
 
I had the same problem, I won't show you the first video I made, I still have it to remind me how far I've come, but let's just say it was embarrassing, even though at the time I was dead proud of myself!
 
It does take time to perfect recording, just like anything else. I like to think my vids are a little bit better than when I first started, but I have been doing them over a year now, and they still sound crappy to me. Webcams have notoriously bad microphones, so it could be that is hampering you too.

Doing both sound and video is a lot more work, if you want to make more than one take, mix audio etc. You might try just recording audio until you more comfortable.
 
How many times does it take you to get a good enough video for the public to view?
An infinite number.

I recently set up my camcorder to do just the same thing, working in my living room which lacks a door to close it off from the rest of the house. Put the camcorder on the table, pressed start, walked to the front of the camera, sat down on the couch and started playing. Chose a song I wrote, something I can play in my sleep, I've practiced it so often. Should be easy, right? one, maybe two takes and I'll have a YouTube hit!

Cat jumped onto the table in front of the camera.

Stopped playing. Removed the cat. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Started over.

Cat (a different cat) jumped on the couch and tried to sit in my lap beside the uke. When that didn't get attention, she rubbed her face against the uke. And purred. And dug her claws into my thigh.

Stopped playing. Removed the cat. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Started over.

The first cat decided she didn't like the second cat in the same room, so she returned and chased her. They started running around the living room, jumping on furniture, hissing and spitting, batting at one another, over the table, in front of the camcorder. My attention was distracted. My fingers slipped and stuttered. I swore.

Stopped playing. Removed the cats. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Started over.

It was the dog's turn the next time. She wanted to see what all the fuss was about and if she could get in on it. Tail in front of the lense, wagging happily while she waited for me to pet her. She moved closer, into the frame, capturning an exquisite shot of a dog's butt for posterity.

Stopped playing. Removed the dog. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Put the camcorder on a tripod. Started over.

Then the cats raced back into the room and the dog followed thinking it was play-time, a merry race of three animals. The cats managed to race between the tripod legs without hitting them. The dog wasn't so agile. The good news is that the camcorder didn't hit the ground. The video, however, looked like I was making Cloverfield in my home.

Stopped playing. Removed the cats and the dog. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Started over.

Managed to get through a whole song without cats or dog. Listened to it on playback.. Sounded thin and plinky. Went upstairs, got my amp, brought it downstairs, plugged it in and tried again.

This time it was too loud and boomy. Twiddled with the effects settings, added a smidgeon of reverb, dropped the volume. tried again.

This scenario repeated itself several times over the course of the afternoon. Twiddle, tweak, try again. Sometimes I stopped because I missed a note, or didn't like the way it sounded while I was playing. Or the phone rang. Or the mailman came by and set the dog barking in the hallway. Or I forgot to take something off the table and my foreground was a mess of papers and empty tea cups. Or the cord crackled unexpectedly. Or I moved my lips too much while playing and looked like a demented old man muttering to himself while playing. Or the sun reflected off the uke finish and created white glare spots in the video. Sometimes I just messed up.

My wife came home after work and asked me what I'd done all day. I showed her a few of the outtakes and told her I was practicing.

I figure a hundred or so more takes and I'll have it right.
 
By the way, there is a well known law of physics that says, "If you manage to do a perfect take for almost the whole song, you will mess up the last measure and have to start over again".
 
An infinite number.

I recently set up my camcorder to do just the same thing, working in my living room which lacks a door to close it off from the rest of the house. Put the camcorder on the table, pressed start, walked to the front of the camera, sat down on the couch and started playing. Chose a song I wrote, something I can play in my sleep, I've practiced it so often. Should be easy, right? one, maybe two takes and I'll have a YouTube hit!

Cat jumped onto the table in front of the camera.

Stopped playing. Removed the cat. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Started over.

Cat (a different cat) jumped on the couch and tried to sit in my lap beside the uke. When that didn't get attention, she rubbed her face against the uke. And purred. And dug her claws into my thigh.

Stopped playing. Removed the cat. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Started over.

The first cat decided she didn't like the second cat in the same room, so she returned and chased her. They started running around the living room, jumping on furniture, hissing and spitting, batting at one another, over the table, in front of the camcorder. My attention was distracted. My fingers slipped and stuttered. I swore.

Stopped playing. Removed the cats. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Started over.

It was the dog's turn the next time. She wanted to see what all the fuss was about and if she could get in on it. Tail in front of the lense, wagging happily while she waited for me to pet her. She moved closer, into the frame, capturning an exquisite shot of a dog's butt for posterity.

Stopped playing. Removed the dog. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Put the camcorder on a tripod. Started over.

Then the cats raced back into the room and the dog followed thinking it was play-time, a merry race of three animals. The cats managed to race between the tripod legs without hitting them. The dog wasn't so agile. The good news is that the camcorder didn't hit the ground. The video, however, looked like I was making Cloverfield in my home.

Stopped playing. Removed the cats and the dog. Stopped the camcorder. Erased the file. Started over.

Managed to get through a whole song without cats or dog. Listened to it on playback.. Sounded thin and plinky. Went upstairs, got my amp, brought it downstairs, plugged it in and tried again.

This time it was too loud and boomy. Twiddled with the effects settings, added a smidgeon of reverb, dropped the volume. tried again.

This scenario repeated itself several times over the course of the afternoon. Twiddle, tweak, try again. Sometimes I stopped because I missed a note, or didn't like the way it sounded while I was playing. Or the phone rang. Or the mailman came by and set the dog barking in the hallway. Or I forgot to take something off the table and my foreground was a mess of papers and empty tea cups. Or the cord crackled unexpectedly. Or I moved my lips too much while playing and looked like a demented old man muttering to himself while playing. Or the sun reflected off the uke finish and created white glare spots in the video. Sometimes I just messed up.

My wife came home after work and asked me what I'd done all day. I showed her a few of the outtakes and told her I was practicing.

I figure a hundred or so more takes and I'll have it right.

:rofl: so hard I may have an accident!
 
I sat in front of my webcam last night and played my ukelele. It sounded awful! lol For some reason everything about my playing just didn't sound right. My uke didn't even sound good! Plunking noises all through the song. It sounded that way to me when I played the video back. UGH! And why is it when you aren't recording you sound great!?

My life has been on the crazy side lately, with my best friends dad dying, and me moving to a new place, I haven't had the time to pick up the uke. Poor Louie(my ukes name) has been sitting in his box for three weeks now. MY singing wasn't all that great either, though I know I can't sing. Not too worried about that. lol Hopefully, soon, you will get to hear me play! I promise :)


How many times does it take you to get a good enough video for the public to view?

This is why I keep my videos (I say this like there is so many of them) private/unlisted and only view a certain few (mostly newbies, but not all) to view them. At first it was only 3 people now there is maybe 8. They new criticize and you all always give constructive feedback...

try again, or just let me see it. I have showed you mine!! :)
 
I think the minimum number of takes I've done for a video (not counting the ones with my band that were recorded at gigs) was 3. I can't tell you the maximum number because the human brain mercifully blocks out such trauma.

Keep plugging away at it. And relax. Remember: a) the camera won't bite and b) you're not required to put the bad takes out into the public eye.
 
Maybe you can try the bathroom for better acoustics? I think we are our own worst critic, don't you think?
 
I usually just turn the camera on and play until the battery runs down (almost two hours) or until each successive "take" is getting worse than the last. I've only done a handful of videos but I'd say that I probably average ten to fifteen "takes" before I get a good video - and if you've seen my videos you know that I use the term "good" very, very loosely... LOL

I guess there is an advantage to being married, employed but eligible for disability, and old - I just don't much care what people think of me so I don't have a problem with making a fool of myself on video! I've reached the age where I figure it is my solemn responsibility to embarrass my children at every opportunity, and my grand-children love that they have a nutcase for a grandfather, so life is good.

John
 
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