Retiring the Blog - Last Post

Well, it's been three months since my last post, and I think you'd all like to see more videos than blog posts, so I am retiring the blog. I will not delete the blog, but there will be no more posts. I want to focus more on making videos instead. Plus, with school and projects outside of my channel, I really don't have time to make blog posts for few comments. Sorry :(

On the bright side, there will be a new video Saturday morning at 10:30 EST with some very exciting news and 6,000 dominoes :), so keep an eye out for that!

More videos coming soon,
~Hevesh5

First Cartoon

I was reading about graphic/logo designers in art class and I thought it seemed like a fun job. Probably won't get into it though...but I was bored earlier so I made this. (First actual cartoon on Paint :D.) It started out as just a domino and then I added more stuff. Didn't really spend that much time on it :P (The style is supposed to look like it's drawn by a kid.) See the 'hidden message' the domino?

(Had to turn it sideways so it would fit the page)

So, what do you think?

...and yes, I am still working on domino videos.

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Things I Like to Build in Dominoes

Favorite thing to build: Free-hand projects! (With no planning.) Ones I really liked to build were the SOS fields (ghost and EpicMealTime), Domino FOOD, Christmas Domino Screen Link, and my giant in out wall domino line spiral.

Second favorite thing to build: Fallwalls and 3D/2D structures

Here's my top 10 list on what I like to build:

1. Free hand projects
2. Free hand 2D/3D structures
3. Fallwalls
4. 3D pyramids
4.1 Cubes/towers and Curved/random domino lines
5. 2D pyramids/walls
6. Sideways dominoes
7. Sonimod
8. Domino techniques/tricks
9. Straight lines and fields without a plan
10. Fields with a plan

Least favorite thing to build: Planned fields. I really hate building fields, especially ones with a plan. It's just so boring having to constantly look at the plan, get the colors, put the dominoes in the template, take the template out, and do that 100 more times.

What's your order on things you would rather build? Leave a comment below!

And another thing, what should I build next? (Except for a "big" something, or a "personal/world record" something)

Video Update: Building 5,000 subs special. Hope I can finish it this week, possibly. I'm also working on "History of Hevesh5" but I need a sort of uplifting, inspirational (uncopyrighted) song. If you know any good ones, please tell me! Thanks!

~Hevesh5

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Tips on Making Domino Videos - Tip #1 and #2

Here's a new fun little blog series. (Note these tips are just what I do; make your video however you want ;)

Tips on Making Domino Videos: 

Tip 1: Organizing Clips

To make a successful domino video that people will want to watch, you must capture your audience's attention. ALWAYS have one of the best clips at the beginning and very end of your video. The first clip will want to make the viewer want to keep watching and the last clip will be the "wow, that was really cool." *Like.* *Subscribe.* *Comment.* sort of thing. You want to leave the audience on a good note; not a clip with 10 dominoes and a break.

Another helpful thing is to mix up all your videos. For example, if you have a bunch of tests or small projects,  put them in order of maybe: test, small project, test, small project, medium sized project, big project, etc. Viewers may get bored after a lot of small things.

Tip 2: What Not To Do 

Do NOT...

• play every clip in reverse
• play every clip in slow motion
• be lazy and not edit the video so we have to wait 10 seconds for you to knock it down. (For example, the camera pointing at the starting domino and the hand finally knocks it down 10 seconds later)
• be lazy and not edit the ending so we are staring at 10 seconds of something that was just knocked down. (I don't mean after-views)
• show over 20 seconds of previews at one time - viewers will get bored VERY easily. They just want to see it fall down. Try to mix up pictures and video clips.
• have a ton of previews and after-views. 
• have a slideshow of pictures that last 4-5+ seconds each - it's better to play pictures fast (around 1-2.5 seconds) and faintly zoom in and out (should be barely noticeable)
• play timelapses for like, over 20 seconds - try to speed it up or only show part of it
• show every single possible camera angle that was filming if you have multiple cameras - only show the good views
• show replays of the entire project - just the highlights
• use a camera that has such bad quality that you can't see anything
• film in the dark
• zoom in so much that you can't follow the line
• leave the camera on a tripod the entire time if it's a big project that takes up a lot of space. (Depends on the project but a camera that is moving a little will be more interesting)
• build really, really long lines that just go back and forth numerous times (I don't mean back-up lines)
• have title slides that are way too long and keep you waiting
• forget to credit the artist of any songs used ;)

The most important step when editing a domino a video: 

Watch your video from the viewers perspective like you've never watched it before, and think, "is this something I'd sit through and watch all the way? Is it too slow paced? Am I skipping ahead at some parts?" Whatever you think, fix it, because your viewers will most likely think the same and leave.

Anyways, hope you found this information useful. I will make an actual "building" tip post some other time and I will still be doing "Save The Break". (A series where I show how to avoid breaks in the fall.) Domino Rally 19 should be out in a few days. Just have to save it... which could take hours...hopefully it will save correctly..

Please don't forget to post a comment :) I appreciate all your feedback. Thanks!

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10/11/12 Update

Hey, it's Hevesh5! So um, yeah...haven't blogged in a while...anyways, here's the update:

Haven't been building as much as I used to (or had access to the 'domino floor') since it's still the beginning of the school year and I'm at a new school. However, I do have a few videos planned...

If you didn't already know, you can see my list of future videos at the end of my channel description. (Click the "more" button to view the full description.) The next video will be Domino Rally 19 which is almost done! I just need to build a big rally and maybe a few smaller projects. Once that's done, I'm going to start building a new personal falldown record for 5,000 Subscribers! I now have 13,700 dominoes :D (11,400 Lamping) Make sure to leave a comment of anything you want me to build :)

Also, I'm thinking about doing a series called, "Save The Break - .....(#_)" and blog about various ways to prevent breaks in the fall. If you have any suggestions for that too, just let me know.

Oh, and one more thing... If I don't get any comments, I don't know if anyone is reading my blog...and if nobody is reading my blog, I probably won't continue blogging...so please, leave a comment; it doesn't take very long :) (I don't even know how many people this post was sent to and I'm curious to see...) Thanks, and stay tuned for Domino Rally 19!

~Hevesh5

P.S. I made a new page called Popular Posts!

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Tips on Building Letters and Numbers in Domino Fields

First of all, there a few different ways to make letters/numbers in domino fields: uppercase, lowercase, bubble letters, and block letters. Personally, I think it looks best when every letter is uppercase. Either stick to all caps or all lowercase. Don't throw in random uppercase letters in the middle of a word, when the rest are lowercase...and vice versa. (With the exception of the first letter.) That just won't look good and makes it harder to read.

Now, when you look at text on a computer, every part of a letter is on a line. In the picture below, the red lines are the top and bottom of a letter, the yellow is the middle line (example: for an "e" or "s"), and the green line is a lower line for the g, j, p, y, etc. Since there is a middle line, you have to make the the number of rows of dominoes an odd number. I recommend having at least 5 rows. Any less makes it pretty difficult to read. One row would be for the middle line, and 2 rows above and below. (7 rows = 3 above/below the middle line, 9 rows = 4 above/below the middle line, etc.) This makes every letter even and look like text from a computer. If the letter you are going to build goes through the middle line, make sure you build that on the middle row of your field.

Not only do you want the length of each letter to be even, but the width too. The width of each letter can be any amount of dominoes. However, if you are building lower case letters, I recommend building it so it makes sort of a square like the picture below. Remember how I said you should have at least 5 rows? Well, the square should be the 5 rows. This is so you can build a lowercase "e" for example, because that letter goes through the middle line. (One line for the top, then a space, middle line, space, and bottom line = 5 rows.) 

-->  

For uppercase letters, just build the width until it looks right. (Not too skinny, not too wide...) It shouldn't make a square; otherwise it would look too wide. (Unless you want it to look like that. These are just my tips. Make your letters however you want ;)

To make block letters, there has to be a domino in every corner of the square. To make bubble letters, simply take out some of the corners. 

"o" in block letters

"o" in bubble letters

If you want to build cursive, fancy font, or any other lettering that isn't "basic", I would just plan it out on Timdomino's field planner. 

Another tip is to have a border around the word. When a field falls, sometimes the last line that topples will fall sideways and mess up the bottom of a letter. This usually happens there are no gaps between each row. Adding an extra line above and below the field will prevent that. It also looks nice with a border. If you have a slippery floor, the last few dominoes of each line will spread out when they are knocked down. You don't want a letter to be at the very end (or beginning), so add about 2 dominoes to the start and end of each line.

Field by Tardz13

The way I build numbers/letters: Most of the time I never plan words or numbers. (Unless I'm using a cross technique.) In those cases, I don't use a domino template/comb either. I like to build one letter at a time using just a ruler. Each domino is spaced about a domino width apart like the "o" pictures above. Using a template would mean planning beforehand where each letter will end, since I would be building all the letters at once. If you build using a ruler, you really have to think, "Okay, am I going to make it a capital letter or lowercase? Bubble letters or block letters? How does the beginning of this letter start sideways? How many dominoes should each letter be across? Is each domino spaced evenly?" It's all your decision. The width of some letters, such as w, m, or l, may vary, but most of them should be the same amount across. 

For letters that reach the lower line (like "g"), you can always tape the column of dominoes before the letter to make a field starter. *These fields have not been uploaded yet* - Sneak peak!

If it's hard for you to predict where a domino should go, I would stick with planning it on graph paper or TimDomino's field planner and using a comb/template. Here's the alphabet/numbers in 5 rows that I made on TimDomino's Field planner. (Click the picture to enlarge.) I've probably only used this once though because I don't like field plans :P

Spaces between each row: (This only applies if you are using a domino template/comb. There are no spaces between each row if you use the ruler technique.) It's always important to leave a space between each row of dominoes. In case you accidentally knock down a line, it won't topple the entire field. How big should the space be? Well, I've seen builders make the space a millimeter to a domino thick. I make the space a little bit less than a domino thick, just to be safe more than one line won't fall.

So there you go. Those are my tips on building letters/numbers. Not sure if it made any sense, but hope it helped! You don't have to follow this exactly...make each letter how you want, you're the builder. If you have any questions, just ask! Also, a comment would be much appreciated :) Have fun building domino fields!

Famous YouTubers in Dominoes (Part 1) should be uploaded this week! :D

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FIRST!

One thing that really bothers me on YouTube is when people comment "first!" or "second comment!" or "under 300". I mean, I get it if you are a little excited when you're first, but seriously, nobody cares. Just keep it to yourself. When someone comments "first", it usually starts a chain reaction (like dominoes) and the next person will comment "second", "third", etc. I mean, it wouldn't be that bad if people would at least say something about the video in another comment; but usually they don't. The uploader put lots of work into their video that they want to share with the world, and you give them a comment that's garbage. You might as well not even comment if you are going to say that. ~Hevesh5

Well, I'm done with my rant. Sorry, but I just had to get that out there. Feel free to reply to someone with this if you feel the same way. Currently building my new 2D pyramid record which will be 5,151 dominoes (101 stories) unless I run out of space. Also, I'm almost done with an epic trailer song.

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