FIRST specifically solicits song parodies and safety animations by way of contests.
Chairman’s videos are expected of every applying team but are not generally managed in any way (I expect they’re not even viewed in most cases).
And there’s no way to officially submit a reveal video or a team intro video (which I’ve seen played at some events, but have no idea who or how or when they got made).
Maybe this could start by having a way to officially submit robot reveal or “team reveal” videos, including Chairmans, to FIRST events for consideration.
I love the idea of playing the robot reveal videos for robots about to play in finals, or of playing the DCA winners’ chairman’s videos at a district championship.
The best of them don’t suffer very much from this problem, but some of them are very much insider references, and so we should be careful about where and how they are played. Inside jokes are not recruitment tools.
But, for those involved in their production, I still love your work.
Not sure if this is different in other areas, but at all tournaments in Michigan, the winner’s of all Chairman’s awards get their video played after they are announced.
Yes, at the Ontario District Champs the winning 3 teams got their videos played as they went up for high fives.
But there were 6 other teams who won Chairman’s awards at their district event. Each of those events would have played their videos when they won, but at District Champs there could have been an opportunity to acknowledge those other teams by playing their videos, if there was a need for “filler” content.
I agree! There have been a lot of amazing robot reveal videos this year. Teams 16, 118, 148 3309, and presumably many more had great videos this year. It’s a shame they don’t get as much publicity as they deserve.
This, along with playing chairman’s videos, are FANTASTIC ideas.
I don’t mind one parody every once in awhile, i cringe when they come on but I understand some people have fun with it. I think there’s just too many of them being played at events.
Well, when FIRST opens up feedback for events, let’s all be sure to make our opinions known. It won’t do any good to just sit here and complain amongst each other
This is a huge misnomer. I’d bet that every single FRC team, regardless of size, has at least 5 HD cameras kicking around (phones, I’m talking about your phones). Get a $100 “Smart Lav” mic. And use iMovie (now free on iOs). Buy some Royalty Free music for $50 from AudioJungle or make your own on Garageband (again: free on iOs). A one-time investment of $150 (Canadian) enables your team to make high-quality and professional videos.
Money isn’t the problem. The problem is not knowing what you’re doing.
(Don’t know what you’re doing? Check out my “How to Film your Robot” presentation in my signature).
Well, remember not everyone has a Mac with iMovie and GarageBand
That being said, I completely agree - I do happen to have a Mac and an iPhone, and we have been able to make some (IMHO :o ) pretty nice videos this year. We even bought the same mic that you suggested.
Money isn’t the problem. Time is the problem. It takes time to sit down and edit, and we struggle already to get everything else done in time for our competitions. However, learning to do good video is a very worthy investment.
Sure…but the Chairman’s Award is not an award for videography. The video or other presentation is supposed to just be a vehicle for describing the team’s accomplishments. The video itself is not part of the judging criteria. (As documented in that incredibly accurate FIRST documentary “Hitler’s FRC Team Stinks”, which is a different sort of FIRST parody that I really like, but which I definitely would not show at a competition.)
Based on your team history, you have personally won 0 chairmans awards, and haven’t created any valuable media that is worthy of similar accolades, so are you really qualified to be telling people what it takes to make a high quality chairmans video, or to even be correcting someone who has won two chairmans awards for two different teams in the last two years?
How does that have anything to do with him being qualified to be giving advice on how to make a high quality video? his advice is regarding good videography quality, not content that will appeal to Chairman’s judges.
Last I checked, no qualifications were nescessary to provide advice on a public forum. But incase they were, I believe the fact that he holds a University degree in Film, and has contributed to our Chairman’s Award winning videos for the past three years in a row, would suffice.
I see what you are saying. Your presentation is definitely a resource some teams should use! In the long term $150 may not be a lot of money for some teams. However, for teams that do need to put every amount of funds they have into building a robot, that is a substantial amount. I’m also not quite sure that phone cameras will provide the same quality as 3132’s video.
Additionally, judges already have VERY little time to look over EVERYTHING a team has done in the span of a year. Judging a team’s video would take time away from interacting with the students directly.
If you are unhappy with FIRST parodies, then make videos that are watchable, entertaining, and cool.
You don’t need expensive gear to make a video watchable and entertaining. You need proper understanding of how to edit and create a story with your shots. Simple as that.
If you check out Team 3309’s videos, they look nice because they have good editing technique and offer a variety of different angles and shots which break up the monotony/similarity of the content being shown. For example, cuts on action happen in sync with the music. And, these recaps make a story that you enjoy watching. All of these videos were made by one student on 3309, too. I work with him on just shooting ideas that haven’t really been done before.
Making a watchable and entertaining video involves proper editing technique, and you should only use expensive cameras when you need expensive cameras to attain the shots you need.
All I was saying is that “we can’t make good videos because we can’t afford it” is a dumb excuse for not putting in the time and effort to make a good video. Just like “we can’t make a good robot because we don’t have a sheet metal sponsor” is a dumb excuse for not building a good robot. Is it a factor? Sure. Is it the main reason? Nah.
Trust me, I’m aware that a lot of teams don’t place a high value on making dope videos - and that’s fine! But let’s not put up barriers that don’t exist.
Having been on one of those teams, I agree completely. Video production does not make sense for every FRC team, just like not every FRC team should try and build a swerve drive. But just like a swerve drive, I believe that if you’re going to try something, you should try to do it right!
No, iPhones will not produce the best looking videos. But it’s a start, and that’s what’s important! Using phones can be a good litmus test to see if a team is actually excited enough about video production to invest in an actual camera and other equipment.
I just came here to have a good time and i honestly feel so attacked right now.
Seriously though, it wouldn’t matter if I made Schindler’s List and turned it into a Chairman’s video because they aren’t judged. That shouldn’t stop teams from trying to produce (and take pride in) the best product they can. But as Tyler said, I have a degree in Film, I’ve worked on 2056’s (blue banner winning) Chairman’s videos, I’ve gotten projects into film festivals in Canada and the UK, and video production is literally my day job. I like to think all of that makes me qualified to talk about making videos.
Generally speaking, they’re filler. The staff does their best to fill in the time between matches, especially when there’s something holding the field up.
