Oh No!...I'm getting cranky again

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ErnieM

Ernie
Corporate Member
Like a lot of you, I watch a lot of woodworking videos on the internet machine. Lately, I've noticed what, to me, is a disturbing trend - videos with no narration. So you sit there and watch some guy cutting wood, drilling wood, sanding wood, gluing wood, etc. over, and over, and over again. You have absolutely no idea what he's doing, why he's doing it, and why you're watching him doing it. Sometimes the video guy speeds up the action so you have to accelerate your confusion to match the video speed. I love that! When, at last, the video ends, he wants me to subscribe to his channel which is unlikely as I am usually sound asleep by this time and miss his pitch. All in all, a total waste of time, unless you count napping as a suitable use of same.

As a result, I refuse to watch a video that has no narration. The thought has struck me (or did I dream it?) that maybe he's not talking because he doesn't know what he's doing either. Why he thinks that watching him rip 17 pieces of wood is somehow educational to his viewers is beyond me.
So I made it a rule: If you don't talk - I walk! So far, the only exception I've found are the excellent videos put out by Timothy Wilmots. He doesn't narrate his videos but does put captions on the screen to let us know what and why he's doing something. Beside that, his machinery is fabulous to look at and drool over.

Am I just getting cranky again, or what?

Ernie
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
Perhaps the video authors are trying to appeal to the international community that doesn't speak their language. I too have seen some non narrated videos but they were mostly from Scandinavian or Japanese origins, areas for which I have no language proficiency.
 

danmart77

Dan
Corporate Member
Unless I am doing a brake drum repair and I forgot how a spring goes back together, I don't watch more than one Youtube video per day.

I can eat up valuable "doing time" while sitting on my tail just viewing. Lots of good stuff and lots of junk so you have to be selective.

Like you I prefer some explanation while viewing-- so no I don't think you're cranky. Maybe we both are??

I avoid the no narrative with music that just doesn't get it with me. Off they go.

just me
 

Raymond

Raymond
Staff member
Corporate Member
No one is being cranky, if there is no explanation, verbal or captions, I quickly shut it down. I don't have time to view something (without explanation of what they are doing) when I am looking a solution or a way to do something that I am not familiar with. Even if I am familiar, I still want to hear or read what they are doing different. Yes, I can do without the music too.
 

nn4jw

New User
Jim
The other extreme has the guys who just blather on stating the obvious over and over. Or spend 2 minutes explaining they're going to build some thing while not actually doing it.
 

PeteStaehling

New User
Pete
The other extreme has the guys who just blather on stating the obvious over and over. Or spend 2 minutes explaining they're going to build some thing while not actually doing it.
I actually find these more annoying than the ones with no narration. I really hate it when I have to fast forward through 10 minutes of a video and see nothing changing on the screen. A lot of videos I have seen lately could be replaced by 3-4 still pictures, IMO.

I tend to focus on the concept first and foremost and worry about the details later if at all, so I often am looking for the idea of how something is done rather than the exact detailed steps they used.
 

Tom from Clayton

tom
Corporate Member
I normally turn the sound off the first time I watch. If I need any explanation I go to that point and turn up the sound. That's just me I guess. Some prefer to learn by watching, others by listening.
 

NOTW

Notw
Senior User
I agree with Tom, that different types of videos appeal to different viewers. Everyone learns differently, some people can read a book and retain the information on the first time, other people read the same book and don't get half the information from it. I personally learn best by doing and second by seeing so non narrated videos are fine for me. That's the beauty of the internet and Youtube specifically if you don't like a video skip it and move on to the next, most likely there is another video with similar content.
 

AllanD

Allan
Corporate Member
Maybe it's my OCD or am too hyper but I prefer the videos that are sped up. I find myself fast-forwarding on most of the narrated ones. Once I see the purpose of the project and see how it goes together I'm done, probably 30 seconds of it. Some of these guys show cutting several identical parts.

I do similar when reading the newspaper online. I skip over the opening paragraph a lot of the time and scan the article quickly to pick out the meat of it. Seems like most articles can be condensed to two or three sentences.
 

SteveHall

Steve
Corporate Member
It's easy to critique, but I find video and sound production very difficult to do well. It's challenging to shoot well-lit video, with quality sound, that's correct, expeditious, has continuity, and is enjoyable to watch. The advent of selfie and and video chat-capable smartphones is related to the preponderance of static, drone, and confusion on the host of internet outlets now available. ;)

Shooting, recording, mixing, editing, narrating, titling, ripping, and uploading watchable video is as much effort as the woodworking itself!
 

ntboardman

New User
Nick
Like a lot of you, I watch a lot of woodworking videos on the internet machine. Lately, I've noticed what, to me, is a disturbing trend - videos with no narration. So you sit there and watch some guy cutting wood, drilling wood, sanding wood, gluing wood, etc. over, and over, and over again. You have absolutely no idea what he's doing, why he's doing it, and why you're watching him doing it. Sometimes the video guy speeds up the action so you have to accelerate your confusion to match the video speed. I love that! When, at last, the video ends, he wants me to subscribe to his channel which is unlikely as I am usually sound asleep by this time and miss his pitch. All in all, a total waste of time, unless you count napping as a suitable use of same.

As a result, I refuse to watch a video that has no narration. The thought has struck me (or did I dream it?) that maybe he's not talking because he doesn't know what he's doing either. Why he thinks that watching him rip 17 pieces of wood is somehow educational to his viewers is beyond me.
So I made it a rule: If you don't talk - I walk! So far, the only exception I've found are the excellent videos put out by Timothy Wilmots. He doesn't narrate his videos but does put captions on the screen to let us know what and why he's doing something. Beside that, his machinery is fabulous to look at and drool over.

Am I just getting cranky again, or what?

Ernie

Ernie, I don't think you're cranky but maybe we should consider the different audiences and functions of youtube. The creator may not care about the technical woodworking aspects of this project but rather may be providing a client the ability to view the overall process of how their item was made. I don't necessarily love the videos that don't describe what they are doing but I am looking at youtube as an educational experience rather than an artistic experience. I like a little bit of variety, but recognize i don't often watch a youtube video unless stuck.
 

JohnW

New User
John
Ernie, I don’t think anyone as talented as you can be “cranky”. If anything, I’d say you might be fashionably ornery, or eccentrically irritated.
 

Bas

Recovering tool addict
Bas
Corporate Member
Yeah, you're just cranky :) I think when you turn 65 you have to choose whether you want to be a geezer, a curmudgeon, or an old coot. You clearly chose option (b).
Not that your crankiness isn't justified of course. I don't like those videos either.

Hmmm, that should be your new form of address, "Your Crankiness" :)
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
of the hundreds of videos people have asked me to watch (i don't go looking on my own) I have actually learned something from 3-4 of them. My favorite being a British gentleman who very thoroughly demonstrated and explained the use of a skew. I could stand to see some other subjects from him.
 

Pop Golden

New User
Pop
Having spent 18 +- years in the video trenches I'm here to tell you that back a few years ago there was a gadget called the Video Toaster. It let anybody produce video. Couple that with 1000s of camcorder cowboys on the loose and you have crappy TV. Some produced good stuff the rest was,junk. Producing good TV takes effort, but most of all it takes creativity, good equipment & the knowledge to use it.

Pop
 

gritz

New User
Robert
According to my ex-schoolteacher bride, people learn in different ways. Some are visual learners, some are audible learners, some are hands-on learners. No Y'allTube video hits all those notes. Personally, if I can see it done, then see it in my head, I can do it.
 

Barry W

Co-Director of Outreach
Barry
Corporate Member
of the hundreds of videos people have asked me to watch (i don't go looking on my own) I have actually learned something from 3-4 of them. My favorite being a British gentleman who very thoroughly demonstrated and explained the use of a skew. I could stand to see some other subjects from him.

Is Mike Waldt the person you speak of? You may have seen a video in his Beginner's Guide series.
 
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Phillip Mitchell

Phillip
User
I think it all depends on what you're looking for. If the video is well shot, edited, and produced I'll take no narration any day over listening to somebody's voice explain what they're doing while I'm already watching it.

If I'm looking for some solution to a specific problem (fixing a problem/repair that I'm unfamiliar with), then yes, narration is helpful, but for general viewing and enjoyment, I'd rather just watch somebody work their magic and form my own thoughts from what I'm seeing. Then again, I'm always getting into trouble with my wife because I complain about too much repetition and talking....so maybe I'm the crank!

The style might kill you, but you should check out Ishtani Furniture's youtube channel and watch a video or two of his. He has some drool worthy machines, is very proficient in his methods, builds beautiful furniture and produces some very artistic and powerful videos of his woodworking process.
 
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