I'd like to offer thoughtful reviews of your channels
- Thread starter TMBH
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Badger Brown
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TMBH
Nice Man
Not a single problem, do not worry as I have all the time of the world, I already appreciate you doing this for everyone so I do not mind a single thing, take your time
Dear Captain,
You’re a patient man. I’ve had a busy summer on my channel and with some other things and the short version is that I’ve sucked at following through on my commitment to review channels. Well I finally made it happen, and I’m excited to share some thoughts with you about what you have cooking with Captain Delugo. My basic analysis is this. You’re just barely missing the mark. The jokes almost hit. The videos almost drive home a point. The channel almost feels cohesive. You’re close, but so far those almosts are what’s keeping your channel from really getting moving. I’ll explain what I mean…
I was immediately impressed with the effort you’d put into your channel art and trailer. Your channel clearly has a theme, a unified look, and a good amount of energy poured into it. Your trailer welcomed me to your channel with a booming, theatrical voice over and the first video had a perky well-timed intro with an ironic flare. I thought to myself, “hmm, this isn’t half bad.” Then I discontinued the video and looked up the subscriber count expecting to see A LOT, but it was 32. I figured, “He’s probably just getting started, and that’s why there’s no traction yet.” So I went to look at your video collection and saw a steady stream of uploads for nearly 4 months. This didn’t compute to me. All the immediate indicators suggested this channel should be doing better. All that was left was to actually dig into the content.
And therein lies most the issue. The content itself again seems so close yet so far from effective. You have a good sense of humor. You can do some cool things with your voice. You’ve got a knack for editing. You play a variety of games. You offer a variety of styles of video. On paper this should be working better than it is. Here’s what I think needs to be tweaked to go from almost to nailing it.
1) You need to do much more to bring new viewers in on the joke. The captain thing is quirky and fun, but I watched your videos for a big chunk of time, and I still don’t get the joke. And I, in part, write jokes for a living. Your trailer needs to introduce the joke and the theme of the channel. You need to reiterate it every episode.
Are you the captain? Are you actually a captain? Are you playing both characters? Is one of the characters a bad guy? Are these personas? At times I thought I knew, but then I’d feel like I didn’t.
This should be crystal clear from the outset for every new viewer.
2) Which brings me to my second point. The format (in addition to the shtick) needs to be clarified. I don’t think the format is a problem. You have a lot of talents and those are good to share, but beyond knowing that the channel has to do with gaming, it would be hard for me to characterize what you’re gunning for. We also need to know where the captain thing fits into the format.
3) The videos need stronger intros. We should know within 20 seconds what’s going on in every video for the time being. Some cover that, but not enough.
4) Just about everything could use tighter edits and a very clear point with a beginning, middle, and end. Right now too many videos just feel like I’m watching a contextless moment in a video game with some funny commentary. It’s fun at moments, but disorienting and detached from the larger channel most of the time.
5) What I’m saying is that you have this cool idea to play off the captain motif. You have the wit to execute it, but the idea isn’t formulated tightly enough yet so the channel lacks a sense of cohesion, and (caps for super emphasis, not yelling, just emphasis) CHANNELS THAT LACK A COHESIVE PURPOSE DON’T GIVE ANYONE A REASON TO SUBSCRIBE BECAUSE THERE ARE 8 GAZILLION CONTEXTLESS VIDEOS ALL OVER THE PLACE ON YOUTUBE. Unless you’re blowing people’s minds with amazing videography or offering some very specific value to viewers, they won’t click the red button unless they’re connecting with a personality that interests them.
This is the biggest reason I think your channel isn’t growing, and is unlikely to ever grow given its current trajectory.
Don’t misunderstand me. I say again; you are very close to hitting this on the head. I know this isn’t fun to hear, but I’d consider a relaunch with the subscribers you have on this channel. Put whatever format and shtick you want to lean on front and center throughout with clearly purposed tightly edited videos that all hyper-obviously advance that shtick. Your view count will suffer very little because people aren’t connecting with the current format anyway. I’m literally suggesting that you create five rock-solid, tight, funny videos that create a persona and a precise expectation, then set just about everything you’ve got to private, relaunch with your refocused new stuff, and then gradually make your old stuff public again after you’ve built your brand and redefined the feel of the channel.
You have good ideas and talent. You should stick with this. I think you’re only a few degrees off course (see what I did there with the nautical word images?) and that you can easily get this thing dialed.
On a somewhat related note, I loved the Gerudo remix. That’s my favorite score from the N64 and the remix is cool.
I like your start and I’m excited to see what happens next for you.
Offered as a colleague and fellow Internet citizen,
Matt
CaptainDelugo
Even Blackbeard is scared of me!
Hey there Matt!
Thanks for the review, I appreciate it alot, and even though it's quite construction, I'll do my best to take the most out of it.
Let me give a quick reaction and whats-next on your review!
The reason I first left the idea with the Captain and the curse was because the videos were a chaos, the jokes didn't make any sense, and both of the characters weren't playing in on each other. Since then I just continued as myself, a.k.a. Captain Delugo (without curse) but in the meantime I've been thinking about bringing that old concept back but then newer, and better.
Though that didn't happen yet I am still planning on doing that, I am willing to continue with the following upload schedule:
Monday - Normal videos without curse
Wednesday - Random fun video
Friday/Saturday - Captain with Curse videos.
I am going to continue this schedule but I want to make a good new start with these Cursed Captain videos, I was thinking of doing this by planning the jokes, but this would get rid of the fun, planning my "objectives" in the game I'm playing, so I actually have a beginning and a goal in the video, or the last thing which would be the best, converting the idea into a more kind of multiplayer aspect with other players, the Captain and the Curse could play in on other people which would make the other people laugh, triggering a laugh in the viewer, and the reactions of the other people would help and support the concept as the Captain and the Curse would be able to interact with these other players by making fun of them, or just shouting at each other while the other people are standing by.
I am certainly gonna work on the intros, I am certainly gonna work on the format, as stated above here, I am gonna work on the goal of the video, what I want to achieve with the video, what I want to bring to the viewer, and last but not least, I'll rehab the idea of the Captain.
I am not sure yet about the whole relaunch thing but I might consider doing that, though the chances are small.
My first step on bringing the Captain and the curse back is by changing the channel trailer, and making a new one. The current one is okay, but I'm going to make a new one with the same concept (epic voice etc) but this time it'll be introducing the concept of my channel. "One man, One curse" something like that etc.
I'll be busy for a while but I am gonna do my best to stick to a new concept.
Once again, thanks for your review, and tell me what you think about my "structure" of giving new shape to my channel.
Regards
Frank,
TMBH
Nice Man
I've started watching your videos and I'm having fun. I enjoyed the 100 sub Q&A. I should have a review for you soon.
Thanks,
Matt[DOUBLEPOST=1440746938,1440746777][/DOUBLEPOST]
Hi Frank,
Thanks for the thoughtful reply! Like I said, I think you've got a lot of solid ideas that you're close to executing well. I'm very interested to see what you come up with moving forward, and I'll check in from time to time to see how it develops.
Take care,
Matt
echoraven
I Love YTtalk
Been reading the feedback. Like many have stated; wow. Your through. While like most here I'd love to have you look at my channel, but only have 3 videos up. 2 of them were really technical exercises and the 3rd (and most popular) proof of concept. Super kudos to you for doing them.
TMBH
Nice Man
Hello Fury Gurus,
I love your channel. I don’t say that often, but yours is unique and delightful. Here’s what I like:
1. You aren’t trying to do anything crazy complicated. You put your pets on camera and show us the fun things they do. It’s enjoyable and we don’t need a bunch of other stuff. It’s okay to have a highly specific channel.
2. Everything you present looks great. You’ve put thought into a look for everything about your channel. It’s cohesive and the design elements match the mood of your videos. Your cover art is fun and tells us a lot about what to expect when we watch, and your font is appropriate for the feel of the show.
3. Your lighting and camera work are generally good. Everything has a slightly reduced contrast look to it that conveys the same gentleness that you and your pets do on camera.
4. You yourself are rarely on camera, but when you are, you’re gentle, kind, natural and pleasant. YouTube can often feel like a lot of yelling, and that makes your approach all the more enjoyable.
5. Your pets are entertaining. Too many pet videos are dull. Yours feel unstaged and endearing.
6. Your videos are short and sharable (something I do poorly).
Here’s a couple of thoughts that might be helpful as you move forward.
1. Your subscriber count is disproportionate to your view count. Your outro slates are pretty good and could keep people bouncing around in your channel, but a nice on-camera request for subscriptions could help. You don’t need gimmicks, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask more than you are.
2. The videos with you are good. You should be in more. Not all, but more.
It’s hard to criticize your approach, because your channel is very self-aware. You set out to achieve a certain feel and you’ve done that. I could offer production value suggestions for where to go next, but you’ve evolved wonderfully on your own and you’ll continue to do so.
The thing that you’re getting right that I hope everyone in these forums notes and tries to imitate is the positive, unified feel of your channel. It feels good to watch your videos. Users are left with a smile. There are no loose ends. Feel matters, and it’s that intangible thing that makes people want to come back because they like the way it felt to watch what you do. If we knew the recipe for this, we’d all do it every time, but since we don’t know the recipe, all we can do is strive for it and then ride it out when we come across it.
I have no idea whether what you’re doing will take off or not, but either way it’s good stuff. You’re on to something here.
Take care,
Matt[DOUBLEPOST=1445671580,1445665768][/DOUBLEPOST]
Hi Hana,
I’ve watched several of your videos this evening all with the questions you asked in mind. I enjoyed what I watched and I have a few thoughts.
First of all, I’m not surprised that you’ve made some headway with your channel. You bring a lot to the table. You have knowledge to share which provides value, and value is what ultimately will give channels a shot at success. You have smart titles that are very searchable and that clearly point out the question you’ll be tackling. You have a lovely voice that’s easy on the ears for all types of viewers and you present yourself very well on camera. That’s a good list of strengths.
I don’t feel like your videos are benefited nor harmed by your editing or production value in general. What you’re doing feels vloggish, so the audio weaknesses and below average lighting are something I think you can get away with. Some of your edits are extra choppy even for a vlog-style YouTube video, but, again, I don’t think any of those things are what’s holding you back at the moment.
In response to your questions, here are the things I think might be hurting you.
1. I’m not sure you post frequently enough for some viewers to see the value in subscribing. What you’ve posted is generally useful and strong, but it doesn’t seem like your channel has every really find a rhythm. As I go back through the history, I’m picturing what it would be like to be a subscriber who’s been with you for a long time. If it were me I’d feel like it’s always fun when you do post, but I could get a cultural vlog, a nerd-culture event vlog, a personal beauty how to, cooking tips, or a cool science lesson. You do them all very well, and you’re a delight to listen to, but people tend to subscribe to channels with absolutely loud, brash, electric personalities (which is not how your present yourself), or to channels where they get predictable, valuable content. What you’re doing falls somewhere in between.
2. Your content is very informative, but there are some things I think you could do with your presentation to be clearer to more people.
a. A clear, enthusiastic intro and outro where you summarize what we’ll be learning would help. A nice illustration or hook on the front end can grab viewers who otherwise might think this information isn’t for them.
b. Your graphics are helpful (as in your episode on binary) when you employ them, but I think more would be better. Some of your subject matter is complex, and anything you can do to make it even more accessible to your viewers will help. You want them to think of you as their smart friend who explains hard but interesting stuff in ways they can understand.
c. Camera motivation. You change camera angles a lot, but you don’t have a narrative reason for that most of the time. If moving the camera or changing angles doesn’t help make your point, then it just serves as a distraction and takes viewers out of your video.
3. It sounds like you’re doing a lot with social media. I don’t know how much Twitter factors into your plan, but however much it is, it’s not enough. Follow a bunch of people and interact with them if you really want a boost. So many people are trying to get the stuff in front of the world, but those who take the time to invest in others stand out from the crowd. Of course, just making good video after good video is the best way to grow your brand.
Hana, I think you’re getting a lot right. You could excel with a cultural/how to vlog or with a science show, but I don’t think you’re in a place where you can do both. You’re very smart and talented and I don’t think you should give up. I think nailing down what you want your focus to be and then putting a ton of thought into how to make your presentation spectacular is the right course of action. In my opinion you’re close to seeing more of the progress you want, and you have some results to show that. It seems like your observations about where your channel is at are spot on. Your growth has stagnated a bit, but you’ve got a lot invested in this, and I think that if you double down on your efforts and think about what it would take to bring your presentation to the next level, you’ll be glad you did.
You’re a talented person, and I look forward to seeing where all this goes for you.
Take care,
Matt
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