With all this talk about videos I wanted to try one out for myself. So I went down to the park with the kids, the dog and a handycam and put together this quick video of "Ï will always be there" written by myself and Floyd Jane in January. (Gosh time does fly). It is all a bit rough and shaky, (my daughter was filming me) but good fun all round. I hope you enjoy it and any comments are welcome.

YouTube video I will always be here

Joanne:

That's great that you did a video. Nice job.

How did you sync the video of you singing/playing with the actual recording?

I assume you played your guitar and sang in the park while listening to a CD playing on a boombox or something?

If that's the case how did you sync the two up and what software did you use?

Thanks and good luck.

John

Joanne,

This is excellent - the video add so much to the presentation of the song. Really enjoyed it.

Bob

Very nice. I enjoyed that better than any of the over produced reality show vignettes that pass for video now days. Simple and most importantly - it works.

Hi, Jo and Floyd !

Nice song and a video
that suits it nicely !
Congrats on a most
enjoyable performance !:)

Cheers
Dani

Jo! Woo Hoo! I loved the whole production! The video really did add a whole new dimension to the song! Plus it was great to see who you are (still photos don't represent a personality the way video does)

If only dogs had opposable thumbs, the dog could have taken some of the video so your whole family could be in the same scene. But, its part of the whole "no opposable thumbs for dogs" curse.

You're way too young to be playing old hippie chick music. But you sure do play it well!

Now that you've made your first video, I hope there will be more!

Joanne,

I love it! You're looking and sounding great. Beautiful family.

I don't know what video editing software you're using but some have a stabilize function that will steady the shakiness a little bit - I didn't really mind it tho, it added to the charm.

BTW, I had a Westie, his name was Toto - how I loved that dog. Yours looks so cute.

Super job. Go girl!

Wow that is good.
The shaky camera is very modern as that seems to be the new way to film over here in the UK. Many programs on the BBC have this form of visual effect.
I like the song, as well as the video adds that "personal touch"

Once thing I noticed was how clean the park was compared to the mess left here in the UK.

Alyn

Hi John
Thanks for watching. I used NCH VideoPad Video editing software. I tried to use Movie Maker but I don’t think it will suit something like this. Re: Synching the video with the sound. You are right. I had my iphone and a speaker that was blaring away. I played and sang along to that and then placed the video on the time line to match the imported MP3 of the song.

It was quite a mission and I did not get it exact. I need to learn how to shift a clip one frame at a time which I am sure the software can do, I just need to apply my brain. I had quite a job because I finished the video and then noticed that there was one shot with the dog lifting his leg!!! So I had to cut that clip short and then try and match up another one!

All good fun and now I know a little bit about it I intend to make some more videos

Hi Bob - Thanks so much for watching and commenting

Hi Bud and Janice- I suppose it is quite different. Simplicity is about all I can manage. Thanks for watching

Dani – Thanks for watching and commenting so nicely.


Pat – That dog is really a bit useless. Shoulda gotta cat! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUuw1sz_f_o
(Can’t find this in English but the guy says “Stupid dog! Shoulda got a cat” as he walks away)

Josie – Thanks for watching. My Westie’s name is Findlay. He is nearly two so still very naughty. He has the complete run of the house and even sleeps squarely between my husband and me on the bed!

Alwyn – Thanks. Yes the park was remarkably clean on this day. I don’t usually go there because the dog tends to go into the stream and get filthy so I generally go to another park where there is no water.

Hi Joanne,

That was wonderful! Like Pat said, the video added a whole new dimension to the song. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to and watching you sing.

It's two very enthusiastic thumbs up from me

Regards,
Noel

Hi Joanne.

Loved the video! It's so much more personal that just listening to the track on it's own.

Thanks for sharing.

ROG.

Hi Noel - thanks for watching. I must tell you that your videos have inspired me!

Roger - thanks for the kind comments. Much appreciated

Nice song and video. Well done. That floyd fellow gets around! Good songwriting, too.

I will say "Well done" to the video and the song.

I've played around a bit with some video. I even bought a video editor to use on my stuff but found it a bit difficult to work with so I went back to Windows Movie Maker and, while it's simple and not capable of some really fancy stuff, it gets the job done.

I especially liked the shaky video which gives it the feel of a "home movie" shot by hand. Seeing that guitar leaning precariously against the tree gave me chills..... I would never lean a guitar like that..... but I guess for the video, it was OK.... I would always lay it in it's case, and close and latch the lid..... dogs are so unpredictable in what they "mark"..... yup.... saw that actually happen..... to a new shiny Gibson

All in all, nice work. the style and voice reminded me of Judy Collins and some of the other lady singers of the 60's.... very nice.

Joanne:

I think you did a very good job of syncing the video and audio, especially considering you have to get it to within 1/30th of a second to sync perfectly.

I want to try a video where I'm singing along to the song and I've been wondering about the best way to sync the video and audio.

One idea I had was to sing along to a version of the song that has exaggerated beats before the song starts (kind of like the count-in from band in a box) You could clap to those beats and use that to sync. Of course, the clapping/beats would be edited out.

And yes, you're right. The software needs to allow you to shift either the video or the audio by frames so that everything will line up.

Anyway, I think the video is really good. It fits the song very nicely.

I look forward to seeing more.

John

Joanne,

Wow! This is cool!

I had almost forgotten about this song. It's great to hear it again.

I LOVE the video! It is WAY better than a lot of what is attempted. It works! Fantastically.

It would look really cool if you could add text in a lower corner at the beginning and again at the end. Title, writers, producer (tee-hee!). The way music videos are labeled...
It would add to the overall feel of the video - a "we-shot-this-as-a-documentary" feel...

Cute family and dog! And you looked so natural singing...

Awesome.

floyd

Hi Joanne,

I loved the video, too. As Rog said it's so much more personal than just listening to the track.
If you mind the shaking what do you think of a tripod?

Guenter

Hi Kevin, Herb, Guenter and Floyd
Thanks for the listen and comments

Guenter, I was just discussing the tripod with my daughter. I think if I am going to be doing a bit of this it will be worth the investment.

Floyd, do you have a link of a sample of what you are thinking about for the "credits" thing?

Since you aren't familiar with what I'm talking about - and I had to look at something really old to find it... it shows how out of touch I am...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF4pT1Kdm4Y

Look at the end. They used to do that at the beginning as well. And they used to list the writers and the producer either on the beginning one or the end one...

Here's a current example...

http://vimeo.com/36880293

What a wonderful video, Jo! Thanks for link.

Hey Floyd

Loved BOTH those video links you sent...will see if I can upload a new version of the video without loosing the likes, play count and comments (most important..ha..ha).

Don - so nice to hear from you again. Glad you enjoyed it...

if you upload it as a separate version (without changing the first one) you can add the play counts and likes together to retain a full understanding of how many people watched and liked the two songs. It may increase the count because a lot of us will watch BOTH videos.

Also, if you're going back to the video editor to add credits anyway, I noticed that the software you're using DOES have a way to reduce shakiness (as Josie mentioned previously). You may want to experiment with that too. Or not, your call. Even though I loved the video, I almost had to stop watching due to the extra motion.

Thanks Pat. I did stabilize the video a few minutes ago. YouTube had a facility to perform this function so I hope it is better now

I just went back and watched the video again.. wow.. whatever they do to stabilize movement really does a good job!

I'll bump your hit count again when you post the version with credits

Joanne,

I thoroughly enjoyed this! The video gives it a very nice feel, and I just simply like the song. Sort of has a Peter Paul and Mary "Leaving On A Jet Plane" feel to it (but a happier song ).

Thanks for sharing this one.

Steve

Jo,

This was a wonderful touching production. I loved every aspect of this project.

Later,

Hi Steve and Danny
Thanks for watching! Appreciate the comments.

Hi Joanne,

Guenter

very impressive! well done both song and video!

I glad I caught it, much enjoyed!

What a lovely song. You have an excellent voice and I loved the video. Thank you so much for sharing it..

Hi Jo
You may remember my empathy with this song from the first version which got you in a bit of "hot water" back home.
Its still utterly wonderful and hits all my nerve endings in one Go.
Great video now to go with it.
Still Love it to bits!
cheers
ian

Hi Lawrence, Scott and Ian. Thanks so much for listening and commenting. Yes, Ian, I did get in a little hot water over if!

Really enjoyed this marriage of film and music. Had a real and honest feel about it. The little Westie seemed desperate to get on that roundabout! Thanks for posting.

Rich