Video learning curve

After the past summer of recording from my helmet cam and an easy to use consumer grade video camera I have learned that I need to learn a lot more! You would think recording video was easy and with today's technology would be a simple point and shoot affair but it's not.

This I am learning in the recording studio with my editor Todd Buhmiller. He has a lot more experience behind the lens than I and has been patiently teaching me not only better framing of shots but the type of shots needed for a show to flow smoothly.
Besides scenic video of stunning views and activities/events there is a need for shots that identify upcoming segments, show ID, segment closing and more. If you watch TV you see these shots daily whether you know it or not as the show flows nicely from one segment to the next. That is our goal here at The Planet Tour as well. Our latest video is starting to show this  change.

This coming season we will also have a story editor to keep all video segments in a proper order to keep you, the viewer, entertained and interested in the story, something I admit was lacking in the first few videos.
Why was this lacking? I'll take part of the blame for inexperience but the main culprit was funding. Let's be realistic, these things cost money and I did not have the funds I needed last season BUT, with Todd's direction we are fixing this by back selling last year's trip with current video closer to real time to tell the tale. This will eventually meld nicely by the time I start my travels this coming riding season so the travel is as close to real time as we can get.

The goal is have each episode no more than a week behind the actual shooting of the video and you can help make this reality happen. How? Share the video links with others and encourage your friends to subscribe to the show. I have mentioned subscribing often in my videos and on this blog. Why is this important?
Well for you the viewer it means instant update on new videos as well as special offers from product sponsors, contests, product give aways plus travel, safety and maintenance tips as well as information on cool destinations we think are worthy of sharing. By we I mean me and my support team.

For us subscriptions allow us to show potential sponsors some of the exposure they will receive when they come on board. The bigger the viewing audience the more companies will want to participate which comes back to a benefit for you the viewer. Sponsors mean increased production budgets thus giving you a higher quality product to view. Its win-win and that is the way I prefer to do business.

We don't sell the email lists and use those solely for The Planet Tour purposes. You need not worry about suddenly getting spam because you are a subscriber. Believe me, there is no one who hates spam, pop up ads and all the other garbage that the internet has spawned more than myself. Spam is created by people with little vision on how to sell so they use a shot gun approach by throwing tons of crap out there hoping to land a few suckers. Not me. I prefer to give a win-win solution to my viewers. If you see a product on my show or I mention one in my newsletter it is because my research has shown it is something I can endorse and thus I wish to share it with my Planet Tour fans to help make your life and travels more enjoyable. Part of my way of saying thanks for watching.
If you have a product that you would like to showcase on The Planet Tour please email us and we will take a look at it. For our viewers keep in mind that even if a company waves a HUGE amount of money in my face that does not guarantee we will use them. If I don't think the product fits our win-win guidelines I will tell them "Thanks but no thanks" as having ads about something I don't believe in is the same as spam.
Until next time, have fun, share the road with motorcycles and get out and see the planet.
Daryl