While many of us in the Preservation world are familiar with the objects we preserve, how many of us are as familiar with and fluent in the art of what I'm calling "Digital Docenting" (where "Digital Docenting" means interpreting our artifacts for our audience through digital multimedia)?

This time, I want to focus especially on the multimedia format of digital video. One example of excellent video docenting/ advertising would be Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society's "Listen for the Whistle": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToegT_huCCQ

Another really powerful video I've found is this one about the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93dkx8nmDWU

The first example is a direct advertisement for the organization. The second example is really an independent work of art which still could act as a wonderful promotion for the railroad. Both works are excellent examples of excellent cinematography.

As I continue in my studies for my college degree in "Digital Technology and Culture", I have begun making some videos in a similar style, both for class, and for my Youtube channel.

Here is one I did for class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8KkjLjyV_s

Here is one I did just for fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFFdAtFOKJw

Eventually, I hope to do all of my videos in this more "artistic documentary" style, rather than just walking and talking with a camera in my hand (as is the style of many Youtube videos).

My question to everyone here is: In this world of constant multimedia messages, how are you/ your group getting the attention of your target audience? If you use video, how do you do it? Do you hire an outside company? Do you have a member or volunteer who is good with video production? What are your thoughts and ideas on the role and uses of video production as it relates to railroad preservation?

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ANYONE can do video production. You can produce stuff worthy of PBS, you need 3 difficult things:
- The curiosity to pick up a book and learn.
- The gumption to hump out there and shoot the raw video.
- The patience to edit until it's right.

The technical stuff is readily available, cheap.

Macs have been able to do it all out of the box for at least 10 years. PCs have caught up.

You can do it right on tablets with iMovie ($5) and Garageband ($5) and iPhoto ($5). Or equivalents ;) And tablets have HD video cameras onboard. so they're the camera too.

If you want more yet, get a Mac/PC and add the software the Big Boys use to make top-drawer TV shows and movies. Apple's software is pro versions of the consumer apps: Final Cut Pro ($300), Logic Pro ($200), Aperture ($80) and Motion ($50). Or, go with Adobe CS6 Production, which will cost a nonprofit $150.

(for sane prices otherwise, try Adobe Creative Cloud.)

It's unbelievable how these prices have fallen on the tech.

We've partnered with the guys who do the news show on the local cable access channel to record some oral history interviews at an event we started in 2011. We've put the videos from that first event on YouTube.

https://www.milwelectric.org/2012/09/2011-meal-videos/

We were more directly involved in asking the interview questions at the event last year. Once we get those from the cable guys, we'll put them online also.

It would be great to do more videos, particularly of a more documentary style. I've had some ideas, but too much on my plate to pursue them.

Paul Krueger
Secretary
Cascade Rail Foundation
"Remembering the Milwaukee Road in Washington"
http://www.milwelectric.org

The big shortcoming of many amateur video productions is the voice over work. If you don't realize how important the voice over is, try watching a television newscast with the sound turned off.

I'm the first to admit that I listen to voice overs very differently than a typical viewer because I have professionally recorded many different voice overs and much commercial copy in the past. (I have a six foot shelf of railroad videos with my voice on them).

Many railroad videos have horrible voice overs. They are hard to understand and frequently phrase the copy in ways that obscures the most important facts.

So rather than let good old joe from the museum record it, try to recruit a professional. Perhaps a local radio announcer will be willing to record for you in exchange for flattery and free tickets. The local public radio station would be a good place to start. Sometimes you may be able to recruit a volunteer from a local little theater group or college acting class.

Mind the previous poster. In fact he IS a professional, and not only one of the finest I've known, but also a face uniquely--- whoops, I mean a voice uniquely suited to voice-over for a historic museum. So I know he wasn't promoting himself, but just the same, don't hold back on the flattery and free tickets if he comes around :)

I once went on a road trip with a guy who produced TV. Every place we stopped, he'd point out all the mistakes the TV stations made in their news programs. Errors in framing, timing, camera cutting, fonting (overlaid text/graphics) etc. We made sport of picking out all these mistakes. He said you rarely see local stations that really get it right, though he was pleasantly surprised by Detroit.

So yeah, there's an art to it, and not one easily mastered. I believe we were previously talking about podcasts, and if you've tried listening to any railfan podcasts, they make Mr. Krock's point. It's not beyond the capacity of an amateur, but the amateur has to put some energy into learning.

I mean here, compare these two. They're like night and day.

http://theinstance.net/2012/06/280-the- ... f-markets/ (look for the "play" button or hit "The MP3 file").
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/letstalktr ... e-been-too (cue forward to 1:45)

Compare the voice performance, timing, pacing, subtle pauses in voice... etc. nevermind the music and effects. Just listen to the voices. One of them is just a pleasure to listen to. WHY?

Well, send me some samples! I have some projects coming up ;)

Listen to what the guys up there say.

Anyone can take pictures. That doesn't make them a photographer. Anyone can sing; that doesn't make them a singer, as almost every karaoke night will demonstrate.

I have a rail associate who is one of those "walking encyclopedias" of rail and model rail knowledge, a terrific guy.... and he's never been able to take a competent photograph to save his life. I swear, you could put him at one of those "Take your Kodak Moment Photo Here!" signs at Disney World or the Grand Canyon, and he'd STILL find a way to muck it up. Auto-everything cameras and digital did him no favors.

Anyone can recite or read a script. I've heard voice-overs that literally made me cringe. Go listen to someone delivering a paper or speech that reads haltingly from the page, like the old geezer delivering a paper to the county historical society--then vow never to do that. For the love of all that is holy, get a voice professional, or at least an experienced voice guy. Our NRHS Chapter had a radio news anchor and program host who seemed senile and timid if he was simply speaking for himself, but set a script before him and he was stunning, as if he had just had a personality transplant. (Still miss ya, Ken.)

Another bit of advice: Production values, shots, and emphasis are going to vary wildly between the railfan videographer, the public relations videographer, the video journalist, and the Public TV/"Ken Burns" documentarian. There are reasons the PBS "specials" ignore the terrific runby locations in favor of extreme wide-angle distortions, dizzying zooms, and the hokey guitarist signing "I've been Working On the Railroad" to the riders in the coach. They're shooting for different markets. If you want to sell only to railfans, go ahead and recruit that guy who's always trackside with a video camera. But if you're targeting a more general audience, get someone from outside the organization. Listen to his or her ideas, and ascertain that s/he listens to you as well, so you have both contributed to the production. Of course, if you can find a professional videographer who is also a railfan, all the better--I have access to one that works for Amtrak.

I work at times with entertainment professionals. One of them has an "instant studio" set up in his basement where, on short notice, he can instantly be a guest on, or even HOST, a talk radio show on the other side of the country. When you do this for a living, you have $500 headphones a $1000 microphone, a multitude of $20 soundproofing panels on the walls, and top of the line computer monitors, interface equipment, etc. I got some of his hand-me-down headphones, and I've "converted" several folks into pro-grade headphones with just one listen to "walkie-talkie" radio communications or a "junk" CD or MP3 player.

The difference between pro-grade equipment for video, sound, etc. is the same as the difference between chartering 3751 and private cars at Los Angeles for a movie set in the 1940s, versus going to the little rail museum and thinking you'll get away with the Lackawanna commuter car being pulled from the freight station by an 0-6-0T. You get what you pay (or bargain) for.

Incidentally, I know of one broadcast pro in the metropolitan New York City area who is also a railfan: http://www.bwcommunications.net/ or if that's still crashing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Wagenblast (I get no compensation from him or his masters for this. We both owe each other a couple beers when we finally meet up.)

Go to http://www.rossmoor.com and listen to the Rossmoor Video. That is a fair example of the type of reading that I would use on a railroad video. However the producer is king and there are literally dozens of equally valid different ways to read the same copy.

I will be happy to work on railroad video projects to further the cause of rail preservation. I can supply an audio file via e-mail or a CD of the copy. Prices are very negotiable because this is a labor of love. Contact me off line via my address with RYPN.

No no no. You don't need any of that stuff. I appreciate the enthusiasm but I don't want to discourage people, or make them think they have to "kit out" before they start. You definitely want a reasonable-fidelity set of earbuds etc. ($30), so you can hear what's going on. Then your ears will tell you what you need.

Mostly you'll need to tune your skills. Improve, listen, critique, improve again. Equipment is probably not going to be the limiting factor until that's tip top. Constantly compare to people who are good (that's why I sent you to a World of Warcraft podcast done by competent amateurs, rather than to NPR).

You should be re-recording and editing like crazy. Don't go thinking every production will take this long, this is the learning curve.

Go "wow, I sound nasal" and find your radio voice.
Get your pacing/timing into a listenable state.
Deal with ambient noise, you don't need $20/panel soundproofing, towels can quiet the hotspots in your room.
Edit properly, LOL on the railfan podcast with 5 minutes of the guy digging through his photos to find something to talk about.
Use effects correctly. Seriously that first recording, do you think Veronica Belmont really sounds like that? (no she didn't record in her bathroom, that was added.)

Do as I describe, yes, as you get good, you may eventually become limited by your equipment. You'll know when that happens, and nobody'll need to tell you what to buy. That's what happened to Sandy's friend, but he's hardcore.

No, he's professional. He makes his LIVING doing this stuff. People PAY him to do this, because he's good at what he does--national level. He's had to turn down radio hosting gigs because he's already been booked for another show.

Again, you don't need to BUY this stuff. Even the pros know when to go and RENT their equipment from professional video houses, camera stores, and whatnot, and if you're resourceful you can even "borrow" the production guys. When I had a photo shoot at the White House, I rented a $600 Nikon flash unit that integrates with my DSLR for only $30. I know a musician that, as part of a deal, "rents" more specialized sound equipment from the rather large church with which she works and worships.

"Hollywood" and "broadcast journalism" have repeatedly demonstrated their ignorance about railroading and rail preservation, and it makes us cringe. We don't need to demonstrate our ignorance about video production in a similar fashion.

Submitted for critique, from one of my mates overseas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBJw3VT9-bs

>> he's hardcore.
> No, he's professional. He makes his LIVING doing this stuff.
Right. Professional is a flavor of hardcore, and as you say, he has the skill to use the difference in gear. Gear does not make you good.

> Again, you don't need to BUY this stuff. Even the pros know when to go and RENT their equipment

Humbug. I don't want people either
a) afraid to produce for fear that they need fancy gear, or
b) thinking a toybox full of good gear will replace learning.

I think at this point pretty much everyone has enough gear to shoot video. A computer with webcam and mic, editing software, household lamps, smartphone and/or digital camera of some kind. Then you iterate on learning, shooting, and doing post mortems, improving as you go. Figure out lighting, framing, editing.

At some point, you will be schooled to the point where you'll outgrow your equipment. I figure the first three things you'll need are.

1. Lights. The #1 supplier of cinematic lighting is your garage. #2 is Home Depot.
2. Cinematic gels and diffusers. For these you need to go to a film house, but they're about $8 for a 20x24" sheet.
3. A better quality mic, like the Snowball if you're attached to a computer, or any of several mikes made for DSLR's.

And remember, if your digicam has adequate video but poor audio, and you also have a good audio recorder, you can record with both, and replace the junk audio with the better source in edit.


You can't fix ignorance with gear.

That may not be easy to get. I once was told by a well-known DC area broadcaster/railfan (whom many of you here would know, or know of) about just this thing, and he told me that AFTRA (now SAG-AFTRA) rules prevented him from doing gratis voice-over work for such projects (at least while he was actively working). I will concur that voice-over on a video production can make or break the final product.