I mentioned in a recent blog post that I had visited Minatur Wunderland in Hamburg, and I have just uploaded a new YouTube video about what I saw to the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
It lasts approximately twelve minutes.
The video can be found here on the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
I recently watched a podcast that discussed the growing use of AI by some YouTube creators. One of the people involved in the discussion mentioned that they had evidence that some of their content had been copied without their permission and then reworked using AI before being uploaded. The plagiariser then earned income from the ripped off work thanks to the YouTube algorithm.
Another topic that was mentioned was the use of AI to create the thumbnails that creators upload to YouTube to attract viewers ... and that they all tended to look the same.
I decided to see what sort of job ChatGPT would do if I asked it to design a thumbnail for my most recent YouTube video. The thumbnail I created using the opening image of my video looked like this ...
... and ChatGPT's design looked like this:
I must admit that the end result is quite impressive ... but I'm not sure if I'll be asking ChatGPT to design my YouTube thumbnails in the future.
I have just uploaded a new YouTube video to the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
It lasts approximately six minutes.
The video can be found here on the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
I have just uploaded a new YouTube video to the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
It lasts approximately three and three-quarter minutes.
The video can be found here on the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
I recently wrote two blog posts that explained how I created my YouTube videos using MS PowerPoint and NCH VideoPad video editing software. I decided that it would be a good idea to use these methods to create a YouTube video about how I make my YouTube videos ... and that is exactly what I have done!
The video lasts approximately eleven and a half minutes and can be found here on the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
After cutting my teeth creating YouTube videos using MS PowerPoint, I decided to try out some video editing software. After looking at what was on the market and that seemed to be reasonably easy to use (and which allowed users to 'try before you buy'), I ended up selecting NCH VideoPad video editing software.
To show how 'simple' the process is, I have created a short video using this software and this is how I did it:
When I opened the program, I chose to create a 'New Project'.
The opening page then appeared on screen ...
... and I selected the 'Add File(s)' option.
I then selected two video files that I have previously shot on my bridge camera and used in an earlier YouTube video and added them to the 'Media Bin' on the left of the screen.
I wanted to add a title page and did this by selecting the 'Add text' option and choosing to add a 'Single text overlay'.
I then typed in the text of the title page ...
... and this was automatically saved in the 'Media Bin' on the left of the screen.
I then dragged the title page down to 'Video Track 1'.
I then dragged the first of my video files to 'Video Track 1' so that it abutted the title page ...
... and then did the same with the second video file.
I then dragged the title page to the end of 'Video Track 1'.
Because I wanted each section of the final video to seamlessly transition from one to another ...
... I used the 'Add transition option' and selected ...
... 'Dissolve'. I did this for each transition.
I then tested the video using the 'Play' button.
I decided that the video need some music, so I added a copyright-free music track to the 'Media Bin' on the left of the screen.
The program had already created an 'Audio Track 1' as the two pre-existing video files had soundtracks. I therefore created a second audio track (;Audi Track 2') and dragged the music file into it. I placed it so that it would start just after the title page ended and before the end page started.
I then set the track's volume to 25% ...
... and set the 'Fade In' ...
... and 'Fade Out' to five seconds.
I then tested the complete video again, using the 'Play' button.
I was satisfied with the result and chose the 'Export' and 'Video File' options ...
... before giving the video a file name and file destination before pressing the 'Create' button.
When the creation process was complete, the 'Export Queue' showed '1 of 1 Complete' message.
The end result of this process can be seen here on the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
I am sure that I’m not alone in issuing a sigh of disappointment when the word PowerPoint enters the conversation. I suspect that we’ve all experienced what is termed ‘Death by PowerPoint’ and sat through long and tedious presentations … often where the presenter has read out loud what is on their slides on the assumption that the audience is too numbed by the never-ending slide show to be able to read it for themselves.
However, like some many Microsoft Office programs, most users only utilise a small percentage of the programs features … and one of these is converting a slideshow into an MP4 format that can be uploaded to YouTube.
So how does it work? To misquote Mrs Beeton, first create your slideshow!
Stage I: Create a presentation
I began by opening PowerPoint ...
... and creating a title slide ...
... before adding additional slides that suitably display the visual information and images I wanted to include in my video. (In this example, I used 'Design Suggestions' to format the slides.)
I always end with an exit slide. This is often based on the title slide.
Stage 2: Add Transitions and Animations
I then added the 'Transitions' (i.e. how each slide transits into the next) ...
... (In this case, 'Morph' 'Words') ...
... and any 'Animations' of text and/or images that I wanted to use.
These helped to make the video a bit more interesting to watch and helps maintain viewer engagement/interest.
It made sense to save the file at this stage and then test it by using the 'Slide Show' function.
Stage 3: Record the voiceover
Once I was happy with the slide show and I had my script or notes ready, I began the process of recording the voiceover.
I selected the 'Record' function ...
... and when I was ready to record, I pressed the red button at the top of the recording screen.
I used headphones with an attached lip microphone to record what I wanted to say (it helped to reduce the possibility of unwanted background noise being picked up) and the mouse to advance each slide as and when necessary. When I did this, it automatically saved the timing for each slide transition and how long each slide was displayed.
When I had finished recording the voiceover, I pressed the red button to stop the recording process.
It was important to remember that when I moved from one slide to the next, there was a slight recording delay and it was important to allow for this otherwise the end of a word and the beginning of the next might be inaudible.
If I made a mistake, I cleared any recording I had made on an individual slide or slides by using the 'Clear Recording' button on the toolbar.
Once I was happy with the recording and the timing of the presentation, I saved the file and tested it using the 'Slide Show' function.
Stage 4: Save as an MP4 file
Now that I had a PowerPoint presentation that had a voiceover and had the timing of each slide transition in place, I then exported it as a video.
The end result of this process can be seen here on the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
I was recently asked how I created my YouTube videos ... and this gave me pause for thought as the process began somewhat haphazardly and it is only recently that I've begun to play around with using video clips that I have filmed and proper video editing software.
Firstly, I need to explain that to date only my shorts - which were filmed on my iPhone - show me as a talking head. Now, I know that quite a few wargame videos feature people talking directly to camera ... but frankly, the thought of my ugly mug appearing on screen in my videos was not something that I wanted to inflict on potential channel subscribers. I look at myself in the mirror every morning ... and its not a pretty sight, especially as my father seems to be staring back at me when I do!
So, from early on, I looked around for a simple method that even someone as unskilled as me could use ... and I ended up starting out with a program that I have been using for years, Microsoft's PowerPoint. Most of my early videos were produced using this program, and it still is my 'go to' for certain things like intros and outros.
More recently, I've begun to use my iPhone and bridge camera to record video in MP4 format and then using video editing software to create videos. I am still learning how to use this program, but once I had begun to understand its basics, the time it has taken me to make a video has become much shorter.
It is therefore my intention to write a couple of blog posts that explain how I have produced my videos, and I hope that it will encourage some of my regular blog readers to try their hand at doing this as well.
Back in late June, I wrote a blog post about the generous gift of 009/HO9 locomotives and rolling stock I was given by Richard Watson.
Once I was able to use my toy/wargame room again, I decided that as soon as an opportunity arose, I would set up my Mucking Flats & Fobbing Marsh Light Railway layout and run as many of the locomotives and rolling stock as I could. The results can be seen on the following YouTube video.
One of the locos proved a little recalcitrant and needed a prod to get it going (hence the appearance of the Hand of Bob at one point!), but once it was properly run-in, it flew around the track. Some of the longer rolling stock – particularly those that did not have twin bogies – had problems with the tight curves on the layout and proved impossible to run. I will have to leave these until I build a bigger layout.
My favourite locomotive and rolling stock is the Minitrains 0-4-0 Fiddletown & Copperopolis tender locomotive and carriages ... and although they are a bit large for the layout, I hope to run them regularly on it until I can build a suitably larger one.
The video lasts approximately five and a half minutes and can be found here on the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel
.I have just uploaded a new YouTube video to the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
It lasts approximately twelve and a half minutes.
The video can be found here on the Wargaming Miscellany YouTube channel.
Over the past few weeks, I have been uploading a series of short videos about the Spanish Civil War and Woolwich. They are based on a lecture that I delivered to a group that has an interest in local history.
.jpg)
