Uploaded November 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Wherein Earl finds himself in Dire Straits.
Part 1: Earl-y Morning Drinking
youtu.be/0OS0rEItq88
Nothing much to add to this, except... perhaps.. a recurring invitation I like to give out whenever I put one of these compilation type videos together. These are great fun to do, and not particularly difficult these days. Some of you reading this will have never created or uploaded a video, but you might have always wanted to if only for a subject, and a way to gently ease yourself into the mysteries of uploading. If that describes you then read on, please.
Well, the subjects and the materials are right in front of you. Think of YouTube as an enormous box of audio-visual Lego just waiting for you to dip into and rearrange. Whatever you come up with will be necessarily unique to you.
This video, as an example, was pretty time consuming. I watched several hours of Earl's back catalogue before I even opened my video editing software. But I knew the first scene and the music to go with it before I even got that far, so when I came to start compiling this clip I already had a skeleton to work with and all I needed to do was start adding clips as I went along. Some clips determine what comes next, and the music dictates the rest. It's just like painting a house: the structure is there, just pick your colours and get stuck in.
It can be slow going and occasionally frustrating when you can't find the right visual or you can't figure out how to do what you want to do. That's ok. That's just a normal part of the process. And the process is fun dammit!
You won't be happy until you're done and you won't be done until you're done.
(ha! you were expecting an antimetabole there, weren't you? You may not know it yet but you're only a brief google away from seeing I'm right!) ;¬)
There's no point going any deeper than that here. If you're new to all of this and are starting to get even slightly curious about the process, then send me a PM and I'll happily offer any help I can. The only extra point I'd make to you is that my computer and the free video editing software on it are about a year older than YouTube itself. As in 9 years old right now. They're vintage. They're outdated and under spec'd. They don't like talking to my camera, and nothing is straightforward with my kit and nothing on it is impressive. But there are ways to deal with those problems that don't cost money. Bang up-to-date technology is *not* needed. Making do is good enough.
So why bother? I'm afraid I can't answer that for you, but I can promise an experience that will give you a whole new perspective on YouTube. It's estimated that something in excess of three quarters of all internet users are lurkers*. For whatever reason, they choose not to be active participants. I'm not sure why that is. The only way to make the internet more 'you' shaped is to put yourself right in it. Putting yourself into it can be an exhilarating ride, and something I'd recommend to anyone.
Music:
Dire Straits
The Man's Too Strong
From the album 'Brothers In Arms'
A note on music:
I will not be penalised for using this, or any other song. As I type this in the upload window the video has already finished uploading and is sitting in my video list as a private video. When I'm done here I will go to my Video Manager page and I expect to see that a copyright claim has been made on the music in this video. I will be asked to click a button stating that I acknowledge that claim. The only consequence of that will be the appearance of an ad on or near this video that I presume goes towards royalties or some such. That's fair enough. Lawyers will not being beating down my door, and I wanted to use *this* song. Royalty free music is fine, but it just isn't the same.
* to examine the accuracy of this figure you will need a flashlight and a pair of latex gloves. And plenty of lube. ;¬))
Wherein Earl finds himself in Dire Straits.
Part 1: Earl-y Morning Drinking
youtu.be/0OS0rEItq88
Nothing much to add to this, except... perhaps.. a recurring invitation I like to give out whenever I put one of these compilation type videos together. These are great fun to do, and not particularly difficult these days. Some of you reading this will have never created or uploaded a video, but you might have always wanted to if only for a subject, and a way to gently ease yourself into the mysteries of uploading. If that describes you then read on, please.
Well, the subjects and the materials are right in front of you. Think of YouTube as an enormous box of audio-visual Lego just waiting for you to dip into and rearrange. Whatever you come up with will be necessarily unique to you.
This video, as an example, was pretty time consuming. I watched several hours of Earl's back catalogue before I even opened my video editing software. But I knew the first scene and the music to go with it before I even got that far, so when I came to start compiling this clip I already had a skeleton to work with and all I needed to do was start adding clips as I went along. Some clips determine what comes next, and the music dictates the rest. It's just like painting a house: the structure is there, just pick your colours and get stuck in.
It can be slow going and occasionally frustrating when you can't find the right visual or you can't figure out how to do what you want to do. That's ok. That's just a normal part of the process. And the process is fun dammit!
You won't be happy until you're done and you won't be done until you're done.
(ha! you were expecting an antimetabole there, weren't you? You may not know it yet but you're only a brief google away from seeing I'm right!) ;¬)
There's no point going any deeper than that here. If you're new to all of this and are starting to get even slightly curious about the process, then send me a PM and I'll happily offer any help I can. The only extra point I'd make to you is that my computer and the free video editing software on it are about a year older than YouTube itself. As in 9 years old right now. They're vintage. They're outdated and under spec'd. They don't like talking to my camera, and nothing is straightforward with my kit and nothing on it is impressive. But there are ways to deal with those problems that don't cost money. Bang up-to-date technology is *not* needed. Making do is good enough.
So why bother? I'm afraid I can't answer that for you, but I can promise an experience that will give you a whole new perspective on YouTube. It's estimated that something in excess of three quarters of all internet users are lurkers*. For whatever reason, they choose not to be active participants. I'm not sure why that is. The only way to make the internet more 'you' shaped is to put yourself right in it. Putting yourself into it can be an exhilarating ride, and something I'd recommend to anyone.
Music:
Dire Straits
The Man's Too Strong
From the album 'Brothers In Arms'
A note on music:
I will not be penalised for using this, or any other song. As I type this in the upload window the video has already finished uploading and is sitting in my video list as a private video. When I'm done here I will go to my Video Manager page and I expect to see that a copyright claim has been made on the music in this video. I will be asked to click a button stating that I acknowledge that claim. The only consequence of that will be the appearance of an ad on or near this video that I presume goes towards royalties or some such. That's fair enough. Lawyers will not being beating down my door, and I wanted to use *this* song. Royalty free music is fine, but it just isn't the same.
* to examine the accuracy of this figure you will need a flashlight and a pair of latex gloves. And plenty of lube. ;¬))
