New Grandeur of the Seas Daily Vlog Series (Looking for tips for Quantum!)

I know a lot of people have enjoyed my previous video series. Up to this point I have focused on the ship and ports. I've covered all of the events and made tours but I have never spoken or been visible in any of the videos. In fact with all of the videos I have done on YouTube and in school I have never once recorded myself in audio or video form. I've decided to change that though with this series. I always come home from a cruise with tons of photos and videos that simply don't fit into the regular video series. Their are also always people asking about menus and cruise compass activities as well as weather and other information. This series is designed to take care of all of that. I filmed this during the January 11th 10 night Western Caribbean sailing of the Grandeur of the Seas. Each episode includes a summary of the days compass with it scrolling in detail on the side of the screen as well as the ships location, weather conditions, and the menu for the night. I originally intended to premiere this series with the Quantum of the Seas this fall but decided to do a trial run first (the Grandeur tour was also a trial for Quantum and turned out to be a huge success). I know their are issues with it and I worked to make improvements the best I could during this sailing but am also looking for feedback from the people that will be watching.

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Known Issues:

1. Nervous leg. I know about it. I saw it the first night after looking over the footage and tried to hide it later but it's something I'm not consciously doing but will hopefully go away as I become more comfortable in front of a camera.
   
2. Confusion in where to go next. Not incredibly noticeable (only at certain points) but I knew it while filming. I corrected this on day 2 by writing all of my notes out on a second iPhone and using them as a guide.
   
3. Stiffness. Part of this was the comfort level while in front of a camera, but a lot seemed to come from holding the iPhone as a mic. I plan to have lapel mics by Quantum.
   

Concerns:

1. Too formal? After editing it I feel like it became very formal and I want it more casual. For Quantum some of the required changes due to Dynamic Dining will help, but I want the segments to be very formal and informative with more opinionated and casual hosted parts connecting them. I did work on getting some more opinion in as the days went by but I still would like more. Let me know what you think.
   
2. The opening is too advanced. It really adds onto the edit/encode time. That 40 second sequence takes 45 minutes to export on it's own. The entire 10 minute video takes 3.5 hours to export. I'm thinking of switching to a welcome segment listing the big segment topics, then a generic series opening (rather than unique to each day), and then the show.
   
3. The Cruise Compass is too much. It was a lot to type and looks a bit overwhelming. It was only the boarding day so that was empty. Should it be trimmed down to only include major events and activities?
   

What does everyone else think? The first episode took awhile to get done as I was trying things out and figuring out what graphics I needed and then making them. I expect it to go smoother from here. I also worked to streamline my recording process to ease the editing process so that will help as each day goes by. I have a few busy days right now so I will not be starting day 2 immediately so I would love any and all feedback so I can improve things. Anything related to the editing I can try to take into account for the rest of this sailing and anything related to filming I'll take into account for Quantum. I create these videos for others to enjoy and benefit from so I would love the feedback. Just don't comment on my video skills, I know I'm not good in front of the camera, I've never done it before. :o My skills have always been in the filming and graphical polish I lay over the videos. In that regard I have to say I am very pleased with how this first episode turned out but of course as the creator that is expected, so your opinion does matter. I just want to thank everyone ahead of time for the help. I have many exciting things planned for the Quantum series that I'm going to try keep a secret until then. :)

If you've never seen any of my previous video series please check my signature and in case your interested in my review from this cruise here is the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=42350488

WOW. This is beyond outstanding. We've been booked for a 4/19 sailing for over a year and your threads have been a mainstay in my prep and research for our cruise. Thank you.

First off, quit being so tough on yourself. The small things you've pointed out are easy items to alter. AND, you are exceptionally articulate and I don't think I heard a single um or er in your delivery. To your question about being too formal my answer is maybe, based on your intention. If your intent is to be informational, to the point of almost educational, then IMO its not too formal. However, I wouldn't be afraid to infuse some passion in your delivery to accent things you liked or may have disliked.

I loved the Compass and, if you could find a way to streamline the process, I think viewers would really enjoy this. Think of a cruiser prepping for their first cruise and seeing pics or video of things like the Belly Flop Contest or the World's Sexiest Man as this entry on the Compass scrolls by. I have a program on our scanner that converts printed documents to Word. This could be an option to make this easier.

Its a small thing, but what you captured for the parking there in Baltimore was dynamite. I am a ball of stress until my feet are on the deck of the ship and even where to park and getting the luggage on the ship are stressors. What you showed and how you articulated it is something I needed and would not have received if I had just read about it.

Thank you again and I am very much looking forward to the future editions of this!!

Derek, I'm sitting here in stunned awe at this video. You have provided such an enormous wealth of information that goes so far beyond what even the best cruise line adverts and websites provide, the lines should be falling all over themselves to acquire your expertise.

For first-time cruisers, what you're sharing is invaluable in conveying what it's really like to cruise.

As you say, your on-screen presence could do with some loosening up and a less monotone delivery, but that only comes with practice.

This project reminds me of videos I've seen done by the maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham, most notably, of the SS Norway. I think he'd be impressed by your meticulous attention to detail.

My only concern is that you are so exhaustively chronicling your cruises that you aren't actually enjoying them. But if this IS how you enjoy a cruise, then bless you. You're doing us all a great service.

I'll be on Grandeur to Bermuda for the first time in May, and I'm going to watch your previous work there as well.

THANK YOU!! :D

WOW. This is beyond outstanding. We've been booked for a 4/19 sailing for over a year and your threads have been a mainstay in my prep and research for our cruise. Thank you.

 

First off, quit being so tough on yourself. The small things you've pointed out are easy items to alter. AND, you are exceptionally articulate and I don't think I heard a single um or er in your delivery. To your question about being too formal my answer is maybe, based on your intention. If your intent is to be informational, to the point of almost educational, then IMO its not too formal. However, I wouldn't be afraid to infuse some passion in your delivery to accent things you liked or may have disliked.

 

I loved the Compass and, if you could find a way to streamline the process, I think viewers would really enjoy this. Think of a cruiser prepping for their first cruise and seeing pics or video of things like the Belly Flop Contest or the World's Sexiest Man as this entry on the Compass scrolls by. I have a program on our scanner that converts printed documents to Word. This could be an option to make this easier.

 

Its a small thing, but what you captured for the parking there in Baltimore was dynamite. I am a ball of stress until my feet are on the deck of the ship and even where to park and getting the luggage on the ship are stressors. What you showed and how you articulated it is something I needed and would not have received if I had just read about it.

 

Thank you again and I am very much looking forward to the future editions of this!!

Wow, thank you so much for the compliments and your comments on the compass are exactly what I intended. During this sailing their weren't many events on day 1, but for the rest I filmed about 30 seconds for each event I attended where it could be and took photos for the others (like you see for the evening show) so their will be lots of media to go along with it.

Derek, I'm sitting here in stunned awe at this video. You have provided such an enormous wealth of information that goes so far beyond what even the best cruise line adverts and websites provide, the lines should be falling all over themselves to acquire your expertise.

 

For first-time cruisers, what you're sharing is invaluable in conveying what it's really like to cruise.

 

As you say, your on-screen presence could do with some loosening up and a less monotone delivery, but that only comes with practice.

 

This project reminds me of videos I've seen done by the maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham, most notably, of the SS Norway. I think he'd be impressed by your meticulous attention to detail.

 

My only concern is that you are so exhaustively chronicling your cruises that you aren't actually enjoying them. But if this IS how you enjoy a cruise, then bless you. You're doing us all a great service.

 

I'll be on Grandeur to Bermuda for the first time in May, and I'm going to watch your previous work there as well.

 

THANK YOU!! :D

Thanks for watching. I enjoy connecting to the sea and exploring these ships. Filming these videos took about 30 minutes each night (10 minutes of prep work, about 15-20 for filming, and sometimes a surprisingly long time to find an empty venue, lol). I love editing videos and watching them later. It's like reliving the vacation over and over again for me.

I'm amazed to hear all this filming takes so little time (although scouting out "clean" locations must be the lion's share of it).

I'm watching your June 17, 2013 Grandeur video right now because that's the cruise I'm taking my father on in May. I've already send him a link to it.

As you can tell by my screen name, I love connecting with the sea, too, and watching your stroll along the outer decks gives me goosebumps, in a good way. :)

I'm going to be spending a lot of time viewing your growing oeuvre of videos. We also have Carnival Victory in common.

Karen

Great job and I am impressed that you found a awesome way to communicate your enjoyment of taking a cruise.

Here is some feedback for your next episode:

1) your location was too dark. Points given for having the pool deck in the background, but the Viking Crown was much too dark, and of course the movie screen was too hot to get the right balance. Frankly however, I can not think of too many locations that would not suffer from wind, crowd noise, etc, so I look forward to seeing your creativity in the next location.

2) I think the menu and compass are much too detailed for the video format. I suspect that most viewers, like me, simply watch in place on Cruise Critic, which means a 640x480 view at most. It just isn't possible to read the menu or even the scrolling text you added. You might want to consider static images with text or better yet, simply post companion photos.

3) You might consider doing multiple locations, to break the scenes and to add interest. Watching you on the couch isn't that thrilling. Standing up and walking will likely help with the stiffness as well.

4) keep going, its great!

I thought it was very well done.

I think you could have broken it upon where Part 1 would be the info about the Grandeur & embarkation from Baltimore (which were both helpful/interesting)

And then have the 2nd video be the day 1 with the muster, food/menus (really liked those) & a highlight of activities. This way you could have included the venue walk-through like you wanted to.

Great job and I am impressed that you found a awesome way to communicate your enjoyment of taking a cruise.

 

Here is some feedback for your next episode:

 

1) your location was too dark. Points given for having the pool deck in the background, but the Viking Crown was much too dark, and of course the movie screen was too hot to get the right balance. Frankly however, I can not think of too many locations that would not suffer from wind, crowd noise, etc, so I look forward to seeing your creativity in the next location.

 

2) I think the menu and compass are much too detailed for the video format. I suspect that most viewers, like me, simply watch in place on Cruise Critic, which means a 640x480 view at most. It just isn't possible to read the menu or even the scrolling text you added. You might want to consider static images with text or better yet, simply post companion photos.

 

3) You might consider doing multiple locations, to break the scenes and to add interest. Watching you on the couch isn't that thrilling. Standing up and walking will likely help with the stiffness as well.

 

4) keep going, its great!

Thanks for the tips.

1. Yeah, I have about 3 days with this issue. I always film when I'm done for the day so I don't actually miss anything. That usually means it's between 11:30pm and 1am so most venues are dark, especially if they are empty. For the darker venues (which some seemed like great shots) I always looked for a light shining on a char or moved a chair under a light. Unfortunately while it looked bright in my setup shot and from a distance seemed bright while sitting to film, once I got home I could see that some shots were darker than my camera had me thinking. Now that I know that I'll have to be even more careful about it. I was trying to change locations every day and did for 9 of the 10. I would have loved to use the specialty restaurants but wasn't allowed.
   
2. I think for the detail of the video I try to go for HD. If I used annotations to offer a link to a photo or other resource that was easier to see on other devices would it be helpful?
   
3. I considered that, but stuck to once location to save time. I am looking at a second camera for Quantum though. That means that when I go to edit I will be able to slice between a close shot and distant shot which should help liven it up a bit. I'm picturing this as being the current angle as primary and then a distant one showing the full setup for secondary.
   
4. I will!
   

For anyone interested here is a list of my filming locations and featured venues for the rest of the series:

Day 1

Location: Viking Crown Lounge

Featured Venue: Grandeur of the Seas

Day 2

Location: Outside at the Aft area of the Promenade deck (unfortunately dark, will have to lighten it in post edit)

Featured Venue: Centrum (Centrum, R Bar, Library, Next Cruise, Online)

Day 3

Location: South Pacific Lounge

Featured Venue: Palladium Theatre

Day 4

Location: Schooner Bar

Featured Venue: South Pacific Lounge/Schooner Bar

Day 5

Location: Main Dining Room

Featured Venue: Viking Crown Lounge/Izumi

Day 6

Location: Centrum Deck 6 (Unfortunate shadowing, going to be a bit difficult to correct this one)

Featured Venue: Ocean Connection (Promenade Deck/Jogging Track/Observatory)

Day 7

Location: Adult Solarium

Featured Venue: Pools (Main Pool/Movie Screen/Solarium)

Day 8

Location: Centrum Shops

Featured Venue: Casual Dining (Windjammer Cafe/Park Cafe)

Day 9

Location: R Bar

Featured Venue: Formal Dining (Great Gatsby Dining Room/Chefs Table)

Day 10

Location: South Pacific Lounge

Featured Venue: Fee Dining (Chops Grille/Giovanni’s Table/Cafe Latte-Tudes)

I know it's been awhile. I'm happy to say though that it was not the video that caused the delays. I had to make a second set of graphics for the opposite videos (standing on the right rather than left) which added some time but not much. The main holdup was just a lot of things going on in my personal life that prevented me from being able to work on it. When I can work on them they go quickly and I am excited to say that day 3 is almost done. Just have to do the Palladium Theater tour and type the compass.

Today's video though, is day 2 which was filmed on the amazingly calm and quiet aft end of the promenade deck outside and features the Centrum.

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Once again, if you have any questions or comments please let me know. I've been planning some exciting concepts for Quantum and have and idea of the general format of the next series figured out. I have to hold some things back though until we get closer and I can get them more finalized.

All I can say is WOW! these are really great. Fantastic!

Cathy

Have only had a chance to watch a portion but I have watched is really good.

Nice job on the videos. I'm looking forward to seeing more!

So awesome! Having cruised on the Grandeur, it's fun to look back.

Look forward to your Quantum cruise. I'm sure many will be watching that one also.

Thank you for doing this!

You're making me so excited for this cruise! We are going on the same one in December! Excellent job!

Thanks everyone for watching.

You're making me so excited for this cruise! We are going on the same one in December! Excellent job!

Have fun, your going to love her. Not a small ship person but the enhancements are incredible, especially the centrum. Looks like your on for New Years, I've heard they do a big party and balloon drop in the centrum at midnight. It really is a vertical promenade.

Can't wait for day 3

Time for Day 3, hope you enjoy!

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I've already got day 4 done with the exception of the venue tour so that should be out next week (I've learned narrowing down beyond that is dangerous, lol).

We're sailing this same itinerary on 11/1/14 so this series is very appropriate! Thanks for posting.

We sail on Grandeur in 6 days. Great to watch

Glad everyone is enjoying the videos. As we move on to day 4, the Quantum hype machine is in full swing now. Hope everyone enjoys it. Day 5 will be the first port of call in Cozumel.

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It's time for day 5, the first port of call as we arrive in Cozumel, Mexico along with some more rough weather.

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For this video based on some of the feedback I've received I changed the way that the compass scrolls. Instead of the text scrolling up the screen with a band in the middle being zoomed in on, the text now skews towards the center of the screen to enlarge it as it goes up and then back to normal once past the mid point. Let me know who you think of this style compared to the other version.

Wow, such detail. Great job.

Waiting for more to come

It's day 6, in Grand Cayman! Today we also have a bit of a different kind of venue as we look at the outside sea connection rather than a specific physical venue. As an added bonus we get a glimpse of the Allure of the Seas sailing by off in the distance.

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Just like with day 5 this video features the new skewing text for the daily compass except the left side variant this time. Let me know what you think of it compared to the previous one. Should I try it without any kind of morph in the next one to offer another comparison?

Day 7 is another port of call, Falmouth Jamaica! Along with that we take a look at the pools onboard the Grandeur.

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Hope everyone enjoys and let me know if you have any suggestions. As an aside to go along with the new episode of theCruiseView in case anyone wasn't aware of it, I also have a Falmouth port tour video available:

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