What makes a good race video?

When I make mine I used the Weber Cabin videos as a guide. They were to the point and showed the race action down the lanes. I also think the slower racing makes for better videos.

Bump to revisit this topic.

After doing the 2 live shows for the Pro Series, I'm once again trying to find a happy balance between effort, time and pay off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLvrNgWZy0c 

I really enjoyed figuring out the format for my live results show and I think it turned out well, but it simply doesn't scale well. Any more than 12 cars running and things start hitting a point of no return...especially if the racing is best 2-of-3 heats, that doubles things instantly.

So...just brainstorming here...what if a shorter, highlight-style video was the format but it only covered the dramatic/important races for each racer?

For example, lets say there are 20 cars racing. There would be at least one race highlight for each of the cars, so at least 20 clips. The cars doing the best would probably get more air time but this way everyone gets a chance to see their car(s) at their best for the tournament. 

But then again, I've also wondered how important it is to give everyone screen time in the first place. I know it's cool to see your car run (even if it loses) but highlights should be just that - the high points - and not necessarily every moment. Baseball shows home runs and close plays... racing shows passes, crashes and victories... hockey shows goals and fighting... to me the action of diecast racing are the close moments where it's not a blow-out or where there's an underdog win.

Anyway...if anyone has any more thoughts on this topic, please share. And if you watched the Pro Series live shows from this past week, let me know what you thought of the format and time and everything. Like I said, it was fun to do but I don't think it's practical for every race. 

I hear you when it comes to the effort of videos. I'm not nearly as concerned with screen time as I am with performance. The reason I like full videos is selfish and simple. I want to know how far off the pace my cars are vs the top runners.  

I thought the pre-show, and coverage for this event was well done. 

I enjoyed what you did!  I bet it took hours to put together so I applaud your work.  I doubt I would have the time to put it together like you did if I was to host.  I don;t know what you are using for video editing, but the editing/rendering of what you are proposing may be a ton more work!

That said, as a newbie to racing, I enjoy seeing all the races in each event.  I get to see what cars/body styles perform well.  How about showing all the prelim/elimination races at full speed, perhaps overdub a little commentary, then do the slow motion for only the Semi-Finals and Finals as those would be the most important races?    

Has anyone ever tried to do a live broadcast of the races via Periscope or on YouTube?  It would seem to me to be a multi-person job...someone to watch the computer, someone to shoot video and work audio, a couple people to manage the cars and keep track of the standings...sounds like no fun for the host but it would be an interesting experiment.  

imo...

 maybe take nice staging pix before the race... make a drag strip style diorama for the original pairings pix... then every racer gets to see his / her car on a nation stage...  then depending on bracket size video the 1st round, quarter, semi and finals... ? 

 OR ....

  as far as the 2 out of 3, or must win 2 in a row, it started as the powers that be at the time wanted the fairest racing possible... it is...

 a RLD host told me he ran 2 cars 30 times to get a winner [fair to the racers but not fair to the hosts]... and nowhere else in drag racing do you see anything like that...

so maybe in a series heet the ;

[1]  #s are originally issued by random,

[2] brackets pairings are also random picks...

[3]  flip a coin to see if the higher or lower # races in lane 1 for all of round 1...

[4] swap the hi / low  - lane # for each round thereafter...

if there is a fast lane, the random #s or lane choice should help keep things fair,

  if the fast lane helped a racer win, he must then race in the slow lane next round... so no racer keeps getting the fast lane...

this can cut the racing down to 1 pass per pairing...

if so, then having only 1 videoed pass per pairing would cut the time span down to being manageable...

again its the host's "home ground rules", but they should be able to do more / better video if they don't have to make more than 1 pass per... that is if they have video skill... i don't...

... only my opinion...

Okay, where to begin...hmmm. Well, first of, I think you did a good job l, Brian. It's not easy keeping the brackets and the individual races straight. So, again, good job...the event went very smoothly.

But, do I think a running commentary and chat is necessary...nope! I really just want to see the races...that's it. I realize I'm probably in the minority with this sentiment, but a picture showing who is racing who before the race and then the race...no comments required.

As for the length of the races, this is why I post my races round by round...it keeps the videos shorter. And at a real drag race, a round will run and then a different class will run while the guys go back and get their cars ready for the next round. That's why I like to do it the way I do...it's like a day at the races.

As for cutting people out of the race footage just to keep the video shorter...no. Everyone that sends a car in worked just as hard as the next guy and deserves to see their car in the footage...even if they are getting beat by 10 lengths, they deserve their air time. I know I'd be pretty pissed  if I sent a car in and didn't see it.

Sorry for rambling on, but there is one more thing...for a car to get a win, it needs to win on both lanes. It isn't just best 2 out of 3, switching the cars back and forth. The winner needs to win 2 races in a row, one on the right lane, one on the left. Sometimes, if the lanes aren't even and the cars are close, it might take 10, maybe 20 or more races. Now, I don't think you need to show all of those races in the video, but I enjoy those battles when I am running the cars..

Now, maybe an answer would be for you to create a 'highlight reel' for the people that don't want to use up their whole data plan all in one race. But still upload all of the races, so everyone can see their cars run.

Sorry for the ramble...it's a little more than my two cents, maybe more like 25 cents :)

Thanks for all the input, great food for thought on all accounts. I know I can't make everyone happy so it's just finding a balance.

This is something I've spent some time thinking about. I think that for the racers and hard core fans of racing (I'm in the second category) you have to post each race. I do think there's room for a highlight reel or summary, which is where I'm trying to go with the 64s Racing Channel. I'm getting started by laying groundwork for new viewers, with a goal of helping them understand the universe of die cast racing. Eventually, I'd like to turn the Hot 64 into a highlight reel of the week's action, but first, I have to explain to folks how it all works.

Re-reading some of the feedback again today, I'm realizing that we (I) really need to come up with some common rules and processes for racing. It seems pretty clear that things are little more wild west than I thought (or want).

I'll find some time soon to write up some things and pass it around to some folks for feedback, or maybe just post here in the open to get the public's input too. 

But it's nothing to do with videos, so we'll keep this discussion going in another post...