Thailand Expat Video Blog

[farangnahrak]

I decided to live in BKK for 6 months and to video document my crazy adventure. Its mostly targeted to explain what its like in 1st person to live in BKK. I plan to release two or three videos per month and I'll be uploading a few more in the coming days. Let me know what you think, and what I can change to improve it

Part I

Part II

Part III

[myauq]

keep up the good work man! nice to see some footage of bangkok and the stuff you find interesting. i like.

i don't know whether there are any other film producers/critics out there, but i've just got two small bits of advice for you to consider (nice you asked by the way ).

1) it would be great to see you in the shot, even if you just introduce the stuff you're about to film. it's always reasuring to see the voice behind the story, esp. for the first/camera-person narrative.

2) i'd like to see more of a story of all the vids. you've got some good footage, but it would be better if you fit it into a narrative of some sort - i.e. 'meeting nan for som dam', 'getting a bus to chang rai', 'practising thai at the bank' etc. if you take my advice, tell me when you do the one called 'visa run' and i will publicise it to the world, letting the civilised world know what a pain in arse it is being a working farang in thailand (btw - that would also be a good resource for the newbies who don't know what they have to do and how)

[RakJungTorlae]

HAHAHA.

That bird totally freaked out..

Its really lame.

RJT-the youtube critic.

[Birdman]

Man, what a crazy adventure.

[Seapok]

The footage is ok albeit a little shaky. The main thing that needs improvement is the commentary,

maybe shoot the scenes 1st then do a voice over adding music during the editing session....things to be avoided....here is my apartment, with a door thingy???

Those ice creams in a hot dog bun look interesting, I must try one of those when I'm around BKK next.

[jfchandler]

It's always nice to see someone showing the place where I live...

But.... the video quality is really weak, particularly in low light or motion situations, very pixelated... Dunno if it's your original camera or the way you're encoding it for YouTube. But if you're going to do more, you ought to see if you can achieve a better quality video result.

Gotta give you credit, though. Eating fish with chopsticks in one hand and shooting video of it with a camera in the other definitely takes some skill...

[enyaw]

Woosh! Some crazy mad shit there, akeepidy it comin'! btw the crazy green leaf thingy is called lettuce

[McLovin]

What CRAP..... Like the concept, but was bored sh*tless after 3mins.

The rolling commentary is 12th grade. Obviously zero thought has gone into your project.

Going back to the drawing board, do a bit of research, have your camera better placed/focused and you will do alot better.

Quote of the week ... "You can tell they are legit CD's because they come in cases"... Does that mean my Rolex from Patpong is legit as well....

[dingdongrb]

I watched 1 and 3/4 of the three.... I couldn't bear anymore. I thought they were lame and very poor quality. I suggest if you are going to be serious get a better camera as my $200 HP digital camera can make mpegs of equal or better quality. Get something that you can zoom in and out with. As someone suggested, dub over with a better narration of what you are filming. Use better terminology than 'thingie'. Oh by the way, my opinion, a "high class restaurant" is not where one can buy dishes for 4 or 5 dollars..... Those birds are called 'pigeons'.... Good luck on your filming and I suggest you don't quit your day job....

[JimsKnight]

Farang,

First the bad,

The clips look ragged, you need to sort that out.

You seem to give out the impression that you're just a tourist getting taken from place to place with a guide in tow so really this isn't going to appeal to TV posters.

This isn't a bad thing though, it just means you're only going to hit the surface level more than people who've been around a bit.

But your hearts in the right place and you're quite funny in a quirky kind of way

I hate to use Youtube as the encoding gives a middle of the road clip a poorer quality.

LiveVideo and possibly Google Video is a better choice.

I use LiveVideo, they usually allow low and high quality viewing modes.

A one-man-band type operation has a degree of appeal so this makes it more 'take note and watch' than the 'pro' stuff.

However the website url is pretty decent and the layout is fresh so he can improve on what he's done so far.

My first video attempts were (and still are a bit) amateur so keep rolling and getting footage, try and aim for the rawness but tidy things up a bit.

I always like to carry around a recording device in Thailand, you never know when something is gonna happen right in front of you and <WHAM> you need to rip out your camera and start getting shots and video rolling

I highly reccommend Sony Vegas for video editing.

You can really make sloppy footage into a half-decent clip at best to impress most people if you learn it right.

Think of using still camera images / graphics too and sprinkling them in (use a video editor for this) for good transitions and introductions.

You don't have to use your own voice, in fact, I never do as I can usually use text and other mediums to tell the story

Good luck and hope to see the next sections soon

5/10

Edited November 22, 2008 by JimsKnight

[lazygourmet]

Please, something a little bit more torrid to entertain me on a weekend home alone...

[AlexLah]

The first thing that comes to my mind is the place where you stay.

You can find much better places for your 300 USD.

Check here: http://www.mrroomfinder.com/

The suggestion made about filming a visa run could really make your video Blog interesting and valuable.

I have looked all three of your vid's and was a bit dissapointed.

But!

I do not know your background, maybe this is the first country outside your own you have ever visited, so indeed a big adventure.

You say you intend to stay here for six months, I wonder what your "Plan" is, and why you choose Thailand as your destination.

[JimsKnight]

I agree, 6 months in just Bangkok will get very tiresome for most, he needs to rove and travel about. The border areas are always interesting I find for newbies and grizzled farang alike.

There is an almost 'child-like' way / appeal to these clips which may garner interest as well.

[Misplaced]

Don't listen to all the critics. If you are having fun than that's all that matter.

Keep making the videos and I'll keep watching. Thanks

[Seapok]

Don't listen to all the critics. If you are having fun than that's all that matter.

Keep making the videos and I'll keep watching. Thanks

If you look and read what the OP says...he is asking for advice. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism, know one is really slagging off his efforts just trying to help the geezer out for his next update of life in Thailand.

Edited November 22, 2008 by Seapok

[Misplaced]

Don't listen to all the critics. If you are having fun than that's all that matter.

Keep making the videos and I'll keep watching. Thanks

If you look and read what the OP says...he is asking for advice. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism, know one is really slagging off his efforts just trying to help the geezer out for his next update of life in Thailand.

you mean constructive criticism like this "What CRAP..... Like the concept, but was bored sh*tless after 3mins".

now I see what you mean

[McLovin]

Don't listen to all the critics. If you are having fun than that's all that matter.

Keep making the videos and I'll keep watching. Thanks

If you look and read what the OP says...he is asking for advice. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism, know one is really slagging off his efforts just trying to help the geezer out for his next update of life in Thailand.

you mean constructive criticism like this "What CRAP..... Like the concept, but was bored sh*tless after 3mins".

now I see what you mean

Hey, I never said mine was constructive criticism ... I just called it how I saw it, it is crap and I was bored sh*tless. If you like it, good for you ... download it and tell your buddies ....

[Misplaced]

Don't listen to all the critics. If you are having fun than that's all that matter.

Keep making the videos and I'll keep watching. Thanks

If you look and read what the OP says...he is asking for advice. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism, know one is really slagging off his efforts just trying to help the geezer out for his next update of life in Thailand.

you mean constructive criticism like this "What CRAP..... Like the concept, but was bored sh*tless after 3mins".

now I see what you mean

Hey, I never said mine was constructive criticism ... I just called it how I saw it, it is crap and I was bored sh*tless. If you like it, good for you ... download it and tell your buddies ....

I guess you can do better? I would be happy to read your suggestion(s).

[Birdman]

Don't listen to all the critics. If you are having fun than that's all that matter.

Keep making the videos and I'll keep watching. Thanks

If you look and read what the OP says...he is asking for advice. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism, know one is really slagging off his efforts just trying to help the geezer out for his next update of life in Thailand.

you mean constructive criticism like this "What CRAP..... Like the concept, but was bored sh*tless after 3mins".

now I see what you mean

Not even a minimum of interest in the videos. They are extremely boring. Sure for someone, who never left home it might be something. But an average package tourist could to better.

So my advice is: Consider, that Thailand and it's culture is not unknown to the world. It is very well known. Millions of tourists come here since decades. Countless material re. Thailand is available everywhere since many years.

Do not show and comment things everybody know, respectively know much better than you do.

Consider as well: TV is the most competent Thai expat forum in the net. Some members know things about Thailand better than many Thais.

And: Do not try to to make a reportage about Thailand, because you are not an expert. Just report about your experience and your personal impressions about this country.

[Misplaced]

Don't listen to all the critics. If you are having fun than that's all that matter.

Keep making the videos and I'll keep watching. Thanks

If you look and read what the OP says...he is asking for advice. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism, know one is really slagging off his efforts just trying to help the geezer out for his next update of life in Thailand.

you mean constructive criticism like this "What CRAP..... Like the concept, but was bored sh*tless after 3mins".

now I see what you mean

Not even a minimum of interest in the videos. They are extremely boring. Sure for someone, who never left home it might be something. But an average package tourist could to better.

So my advice is: Consider, that Thailand and it's culture is not unknown to the world. It is very well known. Millions of tourists come here since decades. Countless material re. Thailand is available everywhere since many years.

Do not show and comment things everybody know, respectively know much better than you do.

Consider as well: TV is the most competent Thai expat forum in the net. Some members know things about Thailand better than many Thais.

And: Do not try to to make a reportage about Thailand, because you are not an expert. Just report about your experience and your personal impressions about this country.

Best suggest yet!

Edited November 22, 2008 by Misplaced

[Jingthing]

I am impressed some people got past the first 30 seconds ...

[AndyBlueEyes]

I congratulate you for taking the time and making an effort to share your video of the Thai experience with others. Since you asked for ways to improve your videos, I will try to give you some suggestions on some of the most obvious problems that I observe with your videos. Your video is very shaky and rough which makes it very difficult to watch. Smoothness is one of the keys to making a good video. You must learn when you are filming to try to hold the camera very steady and when you pan it is important to do it very slowly. Your video is not well stabilized . Most good quality video cameras have a stabilization mode that can be turned on. Your camera either does not have it or you do not have it turned on because your video has the jittters. It appears that you could use a better video camera if yours does not have a good stabilization feature. I also think more informative and better narration will make a big improvement to the quality of your videos.

Forget the critics and naysayers. The important thing is that you are having fun and enjoying filming your experiences. With a little work I think your technique will improve with time. The subject of your videos is Thailand which is something that I enjoy watching. Keep working at trying to make your videos better and best of luck to you.

[farangnahrak]

For those who asked about me . . . I'm in my mid-twenties, run a successful company in the US, and can basically travel the world running it by email and phone calls to my employees/customers. I already 'quit my day job'

I speak decent Thai, and can type it faster than many Thai's I know. I'm no 'tourist'.

As I spend most of my real efforts on my company, I just dabble around with other hobbies. I neither have the time nor interest to produce Discovery Channel quality video, although I have done quality videos in the past:

I promise those with short attention spans will love those two above vids. Unfortunately the farang in those videos ran off with my $500 professional camera and other stuff. Since then I haven't been motivated to drop any more cash on it, or spend the large number of hours developing new videos like it. So I'm stuck using my Sony Cyber-Shot which obviously pixelates during fast video motion.

My goals were to make it blog style, to differentiate from the billions of text-based blogs. There are only a few others like this online, and they all follow the same style I did. Its not meant to be a thrilling experience, but a 'what its like to live over here on a day to day basis' video. The previous three videos were more of an intro, although many of you mentioned I could have done much better. I agree. I mis-spoke a lot (day to day life isn't scripted! ), but I'm working on it.

And for the trolling critics, I'd like to see your better Thai vids (seriously I'm interested to watch, not a challenge or sarcasm!).

That being said, I'd like to present my newest three vids. Much of it I filmed before I read all the suggestions here, but I tried to do a much better job on editing, cutting out the slow parts so I won't lose any more people with short attention spans

Suraburi and Nakhonratchasima Provinces (mostly small-ish water falls)

Meung Boran (Ancient City)

Loy Krathong 2008 (with fireworks at Thaksin Bridge)

[t.s]

What CRAP..... Like the concept, but was bored sh*tless after 3mins.

The rolling commentary is 12th grade. Obviously zero thought has gone into your project.

Going back to the drawing board, do a bit of research, have your camera better placed/focused and you will do alot better.

Quote of the week ... "You can tell they are legit CD's because they come in cases"... Does that mean my Rolex from Patpong is legit as well....

hear hear!

tedious, trite and tragic.

as for speaking decent thai, congrats, now if only you could understand it.

ditch the mobile phone and buy real camera