Exploding the myths
It is the demystification that appeals to Claire Burgess, who has been making
videos of her allotment in suburban Surrey since 2007 (youtube.com/user/clairesallotment).
“I wanted to help people who are starting out and don’t know how to approach
the task,” says Claire, who has no formal training. “Book explanations can
be a bit confusing. I wanted to show how to do something which may not be
the ‘traditional’ way, but that still works.”
Claire’s videos range from how-to guides to sharing joyful moments on her
plot. Recent examples include harvesting broad beans, advice on saving water
and footage of a family of great tits that took up residence.
Claire now has more than 2,600 regular viewers who subscribe to her “channel”,
and her videos have been watched nearly 800,000 times.
Her style is casual and chatty. She films the unscripted videos herself,
generally in one take, using a digital video camera on a tripod. The films
are then edited by her husband Mark. “I try not to ramble on, but that’s the
joy of editing. Mark isn’t a gardener, so if it makes sense to him, then I
know it’s OK.”
She has subscribers from as far afield as the United States and Australia with
whom she swaps tips. She also updates via a blog, Facebook and Twitter. She
says gardeners must be willing to respond to changes on the plot and the
weather. Next, she’s planning a video on slug control.
Warts and all
Flexibility is the key to a useful video for Terry Walton, the allotment
expert on Jeremy Vine’s Radio 2 show. He posts his monthly video “Tales From
Terry’s Allotment” through Gardenersclick.com,
an online community for gardeners and allotmenteers. “You can script it,
then you get to the garden and something could have eaten the crop you were
going to talk about, so you have to deviate. If something’s failed, we’ll
show it, warts and all.”
That quality is precisely why Sean James Cameron believes that there is an
appetite for watching the work of amateur gardeners. He is a freelance
television producer and founder of The Horticultural Channel (thehorticulturalchannel.info),
a site which is a viewing platform for a number of different YouTube
channels. “Viewers love to be told when a gardener hasn’t done something
right or a crop has failed. It’s real life and that attracts a following,”
says Sean.
His belief in the popularity of the YouTube gardeners is such that last year
he produced a self-funded show, Amateur Gardener, broadcast on Sky
Digital using the YouTube gardeners – including Claire – as presenters. He
is now attempting to raise sponsorship for a second series. In the meantime,
he believes that The Horticultural Channel is offering the best of the
amateur YouTube gardeners on the web.
A point of reference
One regular YouTuber who has built up a solid following is Dan Unsworth, (youtube.com/user/allotmentdiary)
a potter from near Settle, North Yorkshire.
He has been sharing pottery videos for five years and, as a keen vegetable
grower and competitor in shows, he decided to chart his progress on video
and a blog. His laid-back approach (he thinks nothing of munching on his
freshly harvested veg as he films) has attracted hundreds of thousands of
hits. Dan is currently gearing up for the Harrogate Show in September.
“I put up a video about my potato blight and people told me they had it the
month before me – it was reassuring to know I at least had some decent spuds
and they had none,” he says.
“The videos are good for reference too. You can look back at where you were at
this point last year – depressing this year, thanks to the rain.” He also
shares some of his favourite growing tips. A star video was one showing how
to grow new potatoes in containers, which produced great yields for him and
some of his followers who tried it.
“I look forward to people’s feedback; that’s what makes it worthwhile. I’m not
doing it for any other reason; I have no designs to be the next Alan
Titchmarsh.”
For now, the amateur gardeners’ efforts are unlikely to eclipse their
mainstream television counterparts. There is still some scepticism in the
industry – NSALG hedged its enthusiasm by suggesting viewers cross-reference
videos with material by “horticultural experts”. And no one is in it for the
money. Dan and Claire make nominal amounts from their videos through the
Google ads which surround them, but they’re certainly not quitting the day
jobs.
“Maybe if I put up a video of me tripping over my giant marrow and hurting
myself, that would go viral and I’d make millions,” says Dan. “For now I’ll
stick to spud blight. It’s more rewarding in other ways.”
Tips for first-time video gardeners
• Keep videos short and sweet – around five minutes will
hold interest.
• Make plants the star of the show – people want to see the
fruits of your labours, so keep the focus on that rather than on you.
• Show detail – one long shot isn’t very useful. Make sure you
do close-ups so viewers can see the size of seeds, or condition of the
crops.
• Don’t over-script it – think about what you’re going to say,
but be flexible, react to the season, what’s happening that day and feedback
from viewers
• Set yourself a broadcast day and time. If viewers can rely on
you to put up regular material, they will keep coming back.
• Be yourself – if viewers can see the real you, your videos
will be more memorable and will stand out.
• Use social networks – once your videos are up and running,
promote yourself via a blog, Facebook page or Twitter. The more exposure,
the better.
To create your own channel on YouTube, see youtube.com,
select “Upload” and follow the instructions
Speak Your Mind