An international forum for garden railway modellers in all scales and gauges. It is free to join and is funded through voluntary contributions by its members. Many thanks to all those who keep it going.
thornmini wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 12:58 pm
I think (without thinking ) we just naturally gravitate to an engine or train that approaches our ideal of "perfection" --- an engine that runs, sounds, responds exceptionally well or a train that projects an exceptionally wholesome look about it or fits so well into the "home" we created for it. Whatever reason, they give us that great feeling of serenity as they trundle down the track -- and we love them.
Blimey! That's deep and philosophical. But I suspect there's an element of truth in what you say.
I really love loco No. 5. She's a model of my favourite ever real loco - one of the beautiful little Southwold Sharp Stewart locos. However, I had to use a Playmobil loco motor block as it more or less matched the wheelbase and driver diameter of the loco in 16mm scale. However, the Playmobil chassis is not the smoothest runner (with a 3 pole motor) and so, although I really like my model of the original, she doesn't perform quite so well on video and so I probably avoid filming her, although I might run her more frequently than film her.
The latest production. About three times the length of my usual video and definitely one for loco spotters .....
I suggest a glass or cup of your favourite beverage is a necessary accompaniment - unless you are feeling particularly masochistic
I did enjoy your video Rik, very much! I think it's time we moved north as the weather is clearly so much better there.
What a collection you have, some lovely stock there, and all your own work. A real sense of pride and satisfaction is obvious.
As I have said before, some videos, even those from TV series, often have music or sound effects which completely obliterate narration, which I have experienced with your video also. It would be interesting to hear from others whether this happens to them too, or whether it is a fault on my settings.
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?
A lovely video Rik -- enjoyable and very relaxing. Besides having a wealth of locos to choose from for your running sessions, (if I hadn't said it before) your layout is a genuine pleasure to ride about. I never tire of seeing you loving your trains "puttering" in their world. Thanks. Mike
Enjoyed all the info and the presentation of it — and it’s all sharp!
Didn’t have any problems with the audio — I don’t think you speak over any noisy background or music(?). And you couldn’t have taken us through so much info without a voiceover... Triffic.
Hi folks. Thanks for the feedback.
I spent a long time trying to get the soundtracks balanced. This is V3 of the video - each version was further tweaked for sound. This is the best my editing package can manage without reducing the video sound to zero.
It seems to be a problem with how the edited video is rendered. The balance of sound in the editor was fine but, for some reason, it can't seem to properly balance the sounds when the video track goes over a particular level (eg in the intro and when loco #2 was close to the camera).
Peter, did you also struggle to hear the voice over through the rest of the video?
I think the only way I can do it would be to get rid of the video soundtrack completely which I think would sound odd. Alternatively, I could try reducing the sound on each clip in another editing package and import them into VideoStudio - but this would be very time consuming.
I suppose the easiest solution is to ditch the voiceover and go back to captions.
Hi all - particularly Peter
I'm experimenting with a feature of VideoStudio called "audio ducking" which automatically drops the video sound when it detects a voiceover.
Here's the opening scene now with audio ducking. Can you let me know if this is an improvement?
Hi Rik, that is brilliant, you have cracked it! The sound of the locomotives reduced dramatically and the voice-over remained constant.... perfect.
That doesn't explain the problem I have with some videos, even professionally produced, made-for-TV. I have been watching the TV series of 'Restoration Man' on my laptop and most are OK, however, occasionally they become unwatchable (whole episode) due to musical volume completely drowning out narration..... strange.
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?
Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed Mar 24, 2021 10:32 am
Hi Rik, that is brilliant, you have cracked it! The sound of the locomotives reduced dramatically and the voice-over remained constant.... perfect.
That doesn't explain the problem I have with some videos, even professionally produced, made-for-TV. I have been watching the TV series of 'Restoration Man' on my laptop and most are OK, however, occasionally they become unwatchable (whole episode) due to musical volume completely drowning out narration..... strange.
That's good news. Too late for the last video, but I'll use it for future videos. The process is a bit convoluted, but doable. I'm going to contact Corel to suggest how they could make the process easier ..... But don't hold your breath!
That's a really useful feature Rik. I use Adobe Premiere Elements when I make my occasional videos, and could probably achieve a similar result by lowering the volume on the main audio track when overlaying a second audio track, with for example, a commentary. Not 100% sure, as I've never added a commentary to a video
Great video Rik.
I didn't realise how many little diesels you have.
Do you have a little elf that gets inside all your models to fit all that RC and sound equipment? What you fit in is amazing.
Re the sound levels. I use Movie Maker which has a options to 'emphasise narration etc for the whole video, and you can also adjust the volume of the video, narration and music separately.
Lonsdaler wrote: ↑Wed Mar 24, 2021 4:19 pm
That's a really useful feature Rik. I use Adobe Premiere Elements when I make my occasional videos, and could probably achieve a similar result by lowering the volume on the main audio track when overlaying a second audio track, with for example, a commentary. Not 100% sure, as I've never added a commentary to a video
It's called audio ducking - ie you choose a track which you want to duck underneath another, set up the parameters (sensitivity and amount of ducking from 0 to 100) and off it goes. It does require some. Additional tweaking to fine tune it, but it is useful - if it works (see below)!
gregh wrote: ↑Wed Mar 24, 2021 10:08 pm
Great video Rik.
I didn't realise how many little diesels you have.
Do you have a little elf that gets inside all your models to fit all that RC and sound equipment? What you fit in is amazing.
Re the sound levels. I use Movie Maker which has a options to 'emphasise narration etc for the whole video, and you can also adjust the volume of the video, narration and music separately.
Thanks Greg
It's why I like Deltang stuff. He squeezes so much into each receiver though soldering on to the pads on the board is a challenge sometimes!
Thanks for the heads up on Movie Maker. I might try to track down a legacy version. I spent most of yesterday afternoon re-editing the video to set up audio ducking. Each video clip had to be set up individually in VideoStudio. It then took about an hour to render. When I played it back, it hadn't worked!!!! The clips with the loudest video sounds still drowned out the narration. I went back and re-edited those sections, this time reducing the video soundtrack to zero. Rendered again and it hadn't made a scrap of difference. A quick look at the forum for VideoStudio revealed I'm not alone with this problem - which has been reported for several years and despite annual re-releases (for a fee) it's still not been fixed!!! As you can imagine, I've loosed off an email to Corel suggesting where they can shove VideoStudio!
I'm now on the lookout for a video editing packing which does handle audio ducking reliably but won't break the bank!
A brief history of the Peckforton Light Railway - Part 1
Hopefully, I have sorted out the problems with the video soundtrack drowning out the commentary - let me know if not ......
Just wonderful Rik. Story factual and entertaining, images timed perfectly to coincide with the information, sound level perfect. Can't wait for number two!
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?
Ditto's all around along with Peter. Very envious of how easy you seem to make videos not only come together but constantly improve. Waiting for Part 2 with baited breath.
) we just naturally gravitate to an engine or train that approaches our ideal of "perfection" --- an engine that runs, sounds, responds exceptionally well or a train that projects an exceptionally wholesome look about it or fits so well into the "home" we created for it. Whatever reason, they give us that great feeling of serenity as they trundle down the track -- and we love them.
