A few technical notes about the video, first. In the past, I've been using YouTube's own video editing software to build my videos. It was only after reading some of the how-to's that I discovered that my annotations are not visible on tablet or mobile versions of the video. I've use the annotations a lot because I'm not one to talk much, and I'm not a vlogger - I'm sure no one wants to hear me rattle on about stuff. There are plenty of other bikers out there to fill that need.
So, I took the leap and started to learn some of Adobe's Creative Cloud software. I began with Premiere Pro, which is a video editing tool. It allows me to add titles and annotations that should be visible across all platforms. It is pretty powerful - I've only scratched the surface, but I'm quite pleased with what it can do. What it can do in educated hands is surely better than what I can produce, but hey-ho. I learn as I go.
I produced this video with the intention of having a 1080p resolution - they look the best. I've been using a (relatively) cheap helmet cam, purchased from eBay, which does 1080 but looks terrible - so I have always recorded in 720p, with a frame rate of 60fps. The result is a video thats passable, but not amazing. Now when I assembled this video, I had set the preset to 1080p resolution, and when I imported the 720p videos, the result is video that does not fill the frame. Ugh.
Please forgive me - I am still learning how to use the software!
Keen viewers (of which there are not many) may also notice I've made a logo! Thought it would be a good way for me to learn some other software. I created most of it in Photoshop, and then added some animation effects using After Effects - both Adobe apps. Again, I had no experience with AE, and about an hour's worth of PS experience, so the result is pretty naff, but its an early attempt! I will try and update it a bit too, when I have some decent footage of the bike to use.
I have now purchased a groovy Drift Ghost HD camera, which will be attached to my helmet for all future rides. The cheap camera I was using before I thought might be useful as a rear facing camera, so I've mounted it on the back of the bike. I'll have to see how that looks.
There are many reviews about the Ghost HD camera, giving specs etc, so I won't go into that; however I may do a small test video and write a post about my experiences with it after a few weeks of real-life usage.
Okay, so onto the video - arguably one of my worst efforts, having dredged the bottom of the barrel for usable clips. One of the clips is from September, when I had been riding for only about a month!
Next up is a roundabout near Crystal Palace. I don't often go this way, and the timing was such that I was behind a van, and we both had the right-of-way. A car was waiting to go, and was intent on slipping in behind the van - only to find a small motorbike in her way. Her evil plans for traffic domination in tatters, she backed off and conceded my right of way.
I put this here because I often am stymied by people at roundabouts - either they don't see me, or they think I'm going too slow for their Need For Speed, so they cut me up. It's all about road presence!
This is followed by a short clip of a driver stopping for no obvious reason, after having just turned. Being a cocky know-it-all motorcyclist, as soon as I saw the green light, I entered the junction. A bit of a no-no, particularly when there are still vehicles in the junction, and other cars may still try and run the red light!
After completing his turn (and the driver behind had as well), the driver of the black VW just....stops.
I think, maybe, he wanted to have a chat with the driver in the blue Astra, heading the other way. So, he just stops. And I nearly drive into the back of the car behind him.
The lessons here are important:
- Don't enter a junction just because the light is green - there may be other traffic not paying attention.
- Don't assume that every other road user has the same intent as you - e.g. accelerating.
- Keep your distance. I was far too close, and the end result was I nearly crashed, and did end up putting myself at risk.
Next up, I accelerate away from a red light, only to discover my bike suddenly sounds awesome! Of course, its a fast bike behind me - for a second there, I thought I was going to get run over. Before I had a chance to react and get out of his way, he was past me anyway.
On pretty much the same stretch of road, a few days earlier, I happened to meet a friend as he rode in. He rides a really nice Kawasaki Ninja 250, which he claims is so fast, he often gets to work before he even leaves his house. If you look carefully as he beats me off the line, there is a subtle blue-shift - just like the stars accelerating in space travelling at the speed of light.
Finally, I was riding near Park Lane, when I saw a tunnel. Having watched many videos of awesome YouTubers like Royal Jordanian make some awesome noises in tunnels, I thought I'd give it a try.
Needless to say, keeping to the 30mph speed limit combined with a factory exhaust on a tiny 125cc bike, the results are....disappointing. You can almost - almost - hear my engine wind up as I give it full throttle. I even open my visor to try and hear it myself as I ride - nope, still sounds like something manufactured by Singer.
Anyway, its all fun, and I hope you can excuse the lameness of this video - it was a trial, to learn about video editing, and an excuse to post the last of my low-quality video footage. From now on, I hope its only high quality video for you!*
*(Technically high quality, I give no warranty as the quality of the content.)
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