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New to This Forum, I am starting to post Videos on YouTube.

#1

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Nathan Bishop

Hey everyone, my name is Nathan and I'm a 22 year old guy who fixes all sorts of engines as a side gig while I'm not working my regular job. I find all sorts of free or cheap engines and repair them. Pressure washers, water pumps, lawnmowers, generators, chainsaws, weedwackers, and a ton of other things. Figured I'd put a link to my channel out there if anyone is interested or has any advice for me. I am one of those people that has a natural ability to work with my hands, I am a commercial electrician but love working on engines and teaching people outside of my regular work. Thanks! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAo_BQY4dQ8cS7xj1YnxbA


#2

7394

7394

Welcome Aboard.


#3

Catherine

Catherine

Hi Nathan. Welcome to the forum!


#4

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bertsmobile1

Nathan,
If you are going to try & make videos then we need to see what you are doing not the back of your head or the back of your hands.
That means you have to plan out what you are going to do , work out camera positions before you start to film and mark the tripod positions on the floor with tape.
Rushing through the most difficult parts like getting the carb mounted with all of the part in the correct orientation & order is what will make people want to sit through the whole boring 20 + minutes .
If you are going to show things like a blocked fuel tap then we need to see it, not some shadows in your hand so that needs auxiliary lightening or a pen light .
Again you need to do it once for practice then agin for real.
Walk arounds with the camera in hand just make the viewers sea sick/
The very least thing that works is some fishing line secured to a swivel in the roof . A floor rail is of course better o even a dolly with the tripod secured to it.
In reality none of them should have been any more than 6 minutes and most viewers who are not fiends or family would have gone elsewhere after the first 30 seconds .
Unless you are pushing the "make money by fixing trash" no one needs to know where you got it from or how much you paid for it.
What they want to know is what was wrong with it & how you fixed it .

If you are an electrician and can read a circuit diagram then use what you know best and show the idiot masses how to test faulty mower wiring , locate the fault then fix it .
That is the sort of stuff that is desperately needed .
Even better if you go to the effort of printing out wiring diagrams very large, pasting them onto a board then use a pointer ( not your fingers ) to show the viewer what you are gong to test in the next few seconds .
Just about every one knows how to clean a carb
Less than 5 % seem to know how to test simple things like solenoids
And spend a few $ on some good editing soft wear then learn how to cut when editing, it is not all that hard to do.
Don't try to talk the viewers through what you are dong unless you have written a script.
Better to film with sound off and add the narration latter after the final cut.
There are loads of rubbish useless videos out there on Boob Tube no need for you to add to them .


#5

J

Jhl

Welcome Nathan. I'll check out your channel.
jhl


#6

B

BrianSki

Great info Bert... Make it short. Not a lot of long winded speeches. A good CLEAR closeup detail on the complicated stuff. Linkages, inside of carb, the screw nobody can find, etc. Hold the camera STILL.

BTW you can pick up a lot of stuff free. Most of it is carburetor problems. Once you figure stuff out, you can open up a carb, blow out passages, clean well and put back together. That will probably fix most stuff. Most of the time cleaning a carb does not need a carb kit, if you are careful. (Very small engines, weed whips and chain saws, do usually need a new diaphragm.) You will also find out parts can make a repair more costly that a replacement.

Have fun. Nice to see a younger person tearing into stuff.


#7

NorthBama

NorthBama

Hi Nathan Welcome I subscribed to you channel


#8

N

Nathan Bishop

Nathan,
If you are going to try & make videos then we need to see what you are doing not the back of your head or the back of your hands.
That means you have to plan out what you are going to do , work out camera positions before you start to film and mark the tripod positions on the floor with tape.
Rushing through the most difficult parts like getting the carb mounted with all of the part in the correct orientation & order is what will make people want to sit through the whole boring 20 + minutes .
If you are going to show things like a blocked fuel tap then we need to see it, not some shadows in your hand so that needs auxiliary lightening or a pen light .
Again you need to do it once for practice then agin for real.
Walk arounds with the camera in hand just make the viewers sea sick/
The very least thing that works is some fishing line secured to a swivel in the roof . A floor rail is of course better o even a dolly with the tripod secured to it.
In reality none of them should have been any more than 6 minutes and most viewers who are not fiends or family would have gone elsewhere after the first 30 seconds .
Unless you are pushing the "make money by fixing trash" no one needs to know where you got it from or how much you paid for it.
What they want to know is what was wrong with it & how you fixed it .

If you are an electrician and can read a circuit diagram then use what you know best and show the idiot masses how to test faulty mower wiring , locate the fault then fix it .
That is the sort of stuff that is desperately needed .
Even better if you go to the effort of printing out wiring diagrams very large, pasting them onto a board then use a pointer ( not your fingers ) to show the viewer what you are gong to test in the next few seconds .
Just about every one knows how to clean a carb
Less than 5 % seem to know how to test simple things like solenoids
And spend a few $ on some good editing soft wear then learn how to cut when editing, it is not all that hard to do.
Don't try to talk the viewers through what you are dong unless you have written a script.
Better to film with sound off and add the narration latter after the final cut.
There are loads of rubbish useless videos out there on Boob Tube no need for you to add to them .
Thanks! I’ll get better at filming with the angles and try to make the videos shorter. I understand what you are saying. So many people make videos in different parts or they make them last way too long. I understand how the camera angles would help a lot too and not my arm or my head haha. This is what I wanted, I wanted someone like you to tell me the truth and be honest that way I can make the videos better


#9

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Nathan Bishop

Hi Nathan Welcome I subscribe to you channel
Thank you! I’ll get better at making the videos as I go on


#10

N

Nathan Bishop

Great info Bert... Make it short. Not a lot of long winded speeches. A good CLEAR closeup detail on the complicated stuff. Linkages, inside of carb, the screw nobody can find, etc. Hold the camera STILL.

BTW you can pick up a lot of stuff free. Most of it is carburetor problems. Once you figure stuff out, you can open up a carb, blow out passages, clean well and put back together. That will probably fix most stuff. Most of the time cleaning a carb does not need a carb kit, if you are careful. (Very small engines, weed whips and chain saws, do usually need a new diaphragm.) You will also find out parts can make a repair more costly that a replacement.

Have fun. Nice to see a younger person tearing into stuff.
I am starting to notice that more and more, as long as I’m careful and don’t mess up the gaskets all I need to do is clean the carb and check the air filter. And I will make the videos shorter with better camera angles.


#11

R

Ranamow

Hey everyone, my name is Nathan and I'm a 22 year old guy who fixes all sorts of engines as a side gig while I'm not working my regular job. I find all sorts of free or cheap engines and repair them. Pressure washers, water pumps, lawnmowers, generators, chainsaws, weedwackers, and a ton of other things. Figured I'd put a link to my channel out there if anyone is interested or has any advice for me. I am one of those people that has a natural ability to work with my hands, I am a commercial electrician but love working on engines and teaching people outside of my regular work. Thanks! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAo_BQY4dQ8cS7xj1YnxbA
Hi Nathan.
I started out in a similar way, just a hobby. Then word got around and now i can't keep up with the demand.


#12

B

BrianSki

I am starting to notice that more and more, as long as I’m careful and don’t mess up the gaskets all I need to do is clean the carb and check the air filter. And I will make the videos shorter with better camera angles.
I didn't get to look over your videos. Just in general. 5 minute videos are good. 10 minute are ok, if there is good info to keep a person following. I do see some that run 40 minutes or more, with a lot of narration. Everything from talking about their dog, to rambling while driving. If I want information from a video, I am kind of to the point guy. It does not hurt to have another video about your situation, but it is long winded to have it in all the information videos. Now this is just me, and talking about utoobs in general.


#13

NorthBama

NorthBama

Thank you! I’ll get better at making the videos as I go on
your doing great. Its good to see a young man that likes to get his hands oily and greasy working on things. carry on


#14

R

RGS03833

Here is what I've learned in 3+ years in YouTube land. Depend on the people watching. Some want longer videos, some want shorter, like under 1 minute, LOL. It's best to stick to your own style or even edit down and post 2 videos. If people complain they are too long, give them the shorter version, LOL.

Remember something important. Always be yourself and let people love you for who you are. It's YOU that is important and in the end it's you that counts.


#15

C

CitizenJohn

Nathan, It is important to work at something that you love during your lifetime. You have found your niche ! I have long said that someone with your mechanical skills could do well to work on old farm tractors, for example. Just get a service truck and drive around to the farms, the tractor dealerships often charge double a car dealership because there is no competition and it is expensive to load up a tractor to drive to the shop for something as simple as a tune up. A tractor can stay in the shop for months, they don't care. If these farmers are like me they also have a dozen other motors that they would have you work on. There is a need for talented mechanics . Move to WNC, I'll keep you busy !


#16

mitchstein443

mitchstein443

I have a few years experience in the video production industry (like 35).

I'll give you a few suggestions, but keep in mind, this is your project not mine, so you do wht you feel is best for you.

Short, everyone likes short instructional videos, BUT, they do not give you much recognition, in otherwords, there are dozens of people mking short instructionl videos of high quality and very knowledgable. and I couldn't tell you one of their names.. However, nd if you do not know of him already you should google him, Terryl Dactyl, has made a huge impac not only on Youtube, but also on the small engine repair industry with his videos. He introduces personality as well as ridiculous funny drama into every video he does. (lookup "Blademan")..

Then there is Chris Fix. WHo never shows his face and only the back of his hands but has one of the largest followings and probably second best to Teryrl when it comes to knowledge of fixing.

both of those guys whom I have featured on my streaming services in the past make long entertaining videos that keeps viewers engaged and coming back for more.

Basically, do YOU, be humorous if you feel humorous, be long winded if your passionate about a topic and wear emotion on your sleeve..

Also develop a catch phrase. always end the instructional part f your video with the catch phrase.

Short, bland, here's the problem and here are the steps to fix something are great for a classroom full of lemmings, but in the rel world people want information and entertainment as well as good camera angles nd good sound..

Be yourself, most of all and have fun doing it...

"and There's your dinner"..

This is my humble but well experienced opinion in the video industry, use as you like..
'Mitch
www.TVByDemand.com


#17

R

rcleone

Hey everyone, my name is Nathan and I'm a 22 year old guy who fixes all sorts of engines as a side gig while I'm not working my regular job. I find all sorts of free or cheap engines and repair them. Pressure washers, water pumps, lawnmowers, generators, chainsaws, weedwackers, and a ton of other things. Figured I'd put a link to my channel out there if anyone is interested or has any advice for me. I am one of those people that has a natural ability to work with my hands, I am a commercial electrician but love working on engines and teaching people outside of my regular work. Thanks! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAo_BQY4dQ8cS7xj1YnxbA


#18

B

bertsmobile1

AS you probably know You Tube requires a viewer to be there for 15 seconds
So the basic format is a quick hello introduction as to the content then the title screen graphics.
I fast forward past them all to get to the meat because it is the information I want .
When I started Taryl Fixes All & Donnyboy73 were a god send.
I watched their entire channel start to finish.
You would be well advised to do the same.
Some on here like Steves Small Engine Saloon, who uses beer as his sting so I don't go there because booze & wrenching should never go together.
Note Donny Boys narrative ( put you to sleep material ) so you have to force yourself to watch, however he does interact so people subscribe to hear their own names or see if he answers their specific question.
Taryl just picks a current job and makes the video on that, not as powerful a pull as Don.
Please avoid falling into the trap of laying out all of the tools you are going to use then describing them
We all know what a ratchet or open ender looks like and the only time we need to see a tool is when it has been modified, like a ground down 1/2" open ender to remove carb solenoids.
Telling people you are using a 3/8 ratchet wrench on the rear blower housing because a socket won't fit or will jamb when the screw is 1/2 way out is good
Showing them on the bench is bad & boreing .
If it is all about you, then like Taryl, show yourself, if it is all about what you are doing then don't show yourself.
Lots of videos out there by company techs who can not show their faces lest the get sacked .
OEM part numbers are a waste of time as they change all the time as is the contents of kits unless you know the kits are not complete .
B & S used to put cam followers & gaskets in with their camshafts, now they don't.
Telling people they do then having them find they don't will earn you the reputation of being a fool
Telling people where you got parts from is always a good idea, but don't make it look like a commercial
Things like the fuel intake O ring that does not come with a Nikki carb kit is worthwhile telling people the size & where you got it from is good


#19

S

SmallEngineHead160

Welcome to the forum.
(Still new here myself by the way lol)
I'm also 22 years old. I fix a lot of stuff most people would think is beyond repair. (I'm sure most people think I'm crazy)
Most of the comments on here are pretty good but I would remember to keep in mind that people will always have there opinions. What one person says is stupid or boring may not be to another.


#20

N

Nathan Bishop

Here is what I've learned in 3+ years in YouTube land. Depend on the people watching. Some want longer videos, some want shorter, like under 1 minute, LOL. It's best to stick to your own style or even edit down and post 2 videos. If people complain they are too long, give them the shorter version, LOL.

Remember something important. Always be yourself and let people love you for who you are. It's YOU that is important and in the end it's you that counts.
You’re right, I am doing it the way I want to but I’ll definitely listen to input. I am doing it as a hobby and figured some people might like watching it. At the end of the day I’ll stick to what I want to do and stay myself


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