Music in off-road videos 😡

Toycrusher

New member
I personally can't stand YouTube videos from a trail (or most anything automotive) that play loud annoying royalty free music. Does it not occur to anyone (major journalist publications too) that we might ACTUALLY WANT to hear the engine struggle or roar, the tires squeal for traction, the crunch of a rock on a skid plate, the puckered up expressions of the driver who isn't nearly as confident halfway-up as they were at the beginning of the climb?

Sorry, rant over
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
LOL - we use music and find that a vast majority of people who watch our videos enjoy the music. It helps to edit things down and really, rock crawling can be pretty damn boring to watch for more than a few seconds at a time. Of course, that's just me.
 

Toycrusher

New member
LOL - we use music and find that a vast majority of people who watch our videos enjoy the music. It helps to edit things down and really, rock crawling can be pretty damn boring to watch for more than a few seconds at a time. Of course, that's just me.

I tend to be a minority in most things... My .02 or whatever the going rate is these days is for music during time lapse/ffwd between obstacles and oration but mechanical "noise" is music to my ears and I'd much rather get the full experience in technical sections.
 

NFRs2000NYC

Member
From a creative standpoint, speaking as someone that owns their own photography and editing company, without music, the viewer would get bored. Since Eddie chimed in, I'll use his and Cindy's videos as an example. Say they have a 20 minute video....if you watch it carefully, you'll notice that the music is ducked (technical term for lowering volume) in situations where, as you say, hearing the ambient sounds (be it engine struggling, parts snapping, someone talking, etc) is of importance. However, during general B roll, it's just boring. To illustrate my point, look at WAYALIFE's youtube channel and find the video of moby bombing through the desert with rock music....and watch the video on mute. It completely loses it's ambiance. The reason why you use music, say in a holywood horror movie, is to lead the viewer into an emotional state you want them to be in....be it suspense, sadness (think titanic), excitement, etc. Music is a critical part of any production, no matter how small, to keep the viewer engaged, especially when we are talking extended periods. To be frank, it separates the amateur from the professional. Futhermore, music, transitions, effects (ie Cindy's supercuts of Eddie opening boxes) add that little bit of something to make an otherwise boring thing (a guy opening a box) something interesting to watch. If you watch a low quality video about jeeping, you'll see the typical "hey guys, it's XYZ...so today I got these new tires, blah blah blah." Boring as hell. Now sure, some people overuse any and all of these "effects" which also makes the video annoying to watch, but overall, a good balance of all of the above is critical to making engaging content. A prime example (and I use it when I teach people proper video editing techniques) is to watch the WAYALIFE keep it tight series, vs the professional camera crew shooting a JKX event. It shows clear as day that no matter the equipment, the fundamentals of storytelling are basic, and can't be overcome if they are wrong with rancy RED cameras, $5000 Inspire drones, and $10000 rig mounted gimbals. It's an art. Finally, don't confuse a storytelling video vs a technical instruction video.
 

Jdofmemi

New member
From a creative standpoint, speaking as someone that owns their own photography and editing company, without music, the viewer would get bored. Since Eddie chimed in, I'll use his and Cindy's videos as an example. Say they have a 20 minute video....if you watch it carefully, you'll notice that the music is ducked (technical term for lowering volume) in situations where, as you say, hearing the ambient sounds (be it engine struggling, parts snapping, someone talking, etc) is of importance. However, during general B roll, it's just boring. To illustrate my point, look at WAYALIFE's youtube channel and find the video of moby bombing through the desert with rock music....and watch the video on mute. It completely loses it's ambiance. The reason why you use music, say in a holywood horror movie, is to lead the viewer into an emotional state you want them to be in....be it suspense, sadness (think titanic), excitement, etc. Music is a critical part of any production, no matter how small, to keep the viewer engaged, especially when we are talking extended periods. To be frank, it separates the amateur from the professional. Futhermore, music, transitions, effects (ie Cindy's supercuts of Eddie opening boxes) add that little bit of something to make an otherwise boring thing (a guy opening a box) something interesting to watch. If you watch a low quality video about jeeping, you'll see the typical "hey guys, it's XYZ...so today I got these new tires, blah blah blah." Boring as hell. Now sure, some people overuse any and all of these "effects" which also makes the video annoying to watch, but overall, a good balance of all of the above is critical to making engaging content. A prime example (and I use it when I teach people proper video editing techniques) is to watch the WAYALIFE keep it tight series, vs the professional camera crew shooting a JKX event. It shows clear as day that no matter the equipment, the fundamentals of storytelling are basic, and can't be overcome if they are wrong with rancy RED cameras, $5000 Inspire drones, and $10000 rig mounted gimbals. It's an art. Finally, don't confuse a storytelling video vs a technical instruction video.

Very well said!

And, thanks for the education as well.
 

Toycrusher

New member
Well said!


Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app

I do agree too. I was not referring to Wayalife videos. I had just tried but couldn't finish watching what would have been an enjoyable video. The trail was challenging and he had great camera angles including a quality drone that did a good job showing the actual steepness of the climb.

Unfortunately it was all ruined by this incessantly repeating probably 45 second loop of loud garbage techno. I just couldn't do it. It got me thinking how often music drowned out what I really wanted to be hearing. Even outfits like TFL or Motortrend do it a lot. Why wouldn't I want to hear a V8 screaming through a canyon, or worse, their greatest drag races with 10 cars side by side at wide open and all you can hear is music :doh:

Ok I'm ranting again
 

jddk

Member
the official proof of old age. Someday Samsung or Apple will invent some sort of sound control device on these media devices whereby the controller can modulate the sound to personal preference...someday.

Sent from my Android using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
 

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