Allow me to gaze upon your channel...
- Thread starter Klink
- Start date
- Status
Poly Gamey
Active Member
First, let me just say that it is amazing that you do this for others.
Second, I would really like a review for my channel. I am aware that it has some video problems, I am just looking for specifics.
Second, I would really like a review for my channel. I am aware that it has some video problems, I am just looking for specifics.
Klink
I've Got It
First of all allow me to apologise for the delay in responses. This has been one hell of a week. Let's get started!
@Razz_
Yes, keep the end card at around 10 seconds. Short enough that it doesn't drag on but long enough for people to click on the links if they'd like.
@Diego Villarreal
Sweet, a magician! First things first, audio mixing is all over the place. In some of your videos, you have a lavalier/lapel microphone but it's completely blown out/peaking. You need to make sure the mic gain is set low enough that it doesn't peak (go in the red) but loud enough to pick up your voice. You can always increase your volume in post to the appropriate levels.
I suggest investing in a field recorder like a Zoom h4n or H6. You already have a camera man (recording on an iPhone?) so hooking him up with a field recorder shouldn't be too big a deal. You'd need to sync it up in post but with a field recorder, you're able to plug in an external shotgun mic with a windsock/dead cat to knock out the windy sound your current mic setup is picking up.
Your branding needs a lot of work. You've kept the 'Diego Villarreal' text consistent across all your videos but it's not reflected at all in your channel header, avatar or thumbnails. I like the black face of the deck of cards you own (also shown in your channel header). At the moment I take it that's your 'signature'? If so, try to incorporate that more as your unique brand, perhaps having the face of the card acting as a background for your thumbnail text.
@Lia
Love the simplicity of your logo in your channel header and avatar. Absolutely fantastic. Try to include that logo in one of the corners of your thumbnails so viewers know the videos belong to you.
In your Outlast series with the facecam, your audio quality is substantially lower than that of your Minecraft and Call of Duty videos. It's as if you're not using your good quality microphone and simply relying on the built in microphone on the webcam.
Overall though, your voice is clear and easy to understand and the videos themselves are very well edited. Branching out into different games is great, as the more variety you have on your channel the more your audience has to watch and be entertained. Make sure to keep a frequent upload schedule and your channel will grow.
Great job!
@Poly Gamey
The way your channel homepage works at the moment is counter productive to your audience getting to your videos. There is no way to click on the 'Videos' top bar menu item like in other channels so users need to click on 'Uploads' just to isolate your own content. There is an option in your YouTube or channel settings to set up a decent homepage that is much easier to navigate.
Your logo is simple but effective, yet it's only being used in your avatar. Your channel header and thumbnails are not reflective of that logo or your channel/branding as a whole. When users see your logo they should instantly assosiate that with 'Poly Gamey,' so incorporating it into your thumbnails will help with that.
By far the biggest issue with your content at the moment is your microphone. The quality is absolutely terrible for a commentary channel like yours. Save up and invest in a decent condenser microphone. You may also want to consider using royalty free music as a backing track to your videos to liven them up a bit.
As for your video presentation, that too needs a lot of work. Some of the sprites you're using are lazily cut out with white borders/artifacting still present. Having them and the content animated at 1-2 frames per second doesn't help either. Having a slideshow on YouTube with a commentary track laid over it can work, provided the slides are interesting to look at for your viewers. Perhaps you could commission an artist to help you create a signature look for your videos and to help create slides that compliment your audio track while being visually impressive to look at.
@Razz_
Yes, keep the end card at around 10 seconds. Short enough that it doesn't drag on but long enough for people to click on the links if they'd like.
@Diego Villarreal
Sweet, a magician! First things first, audio mixing is all over the place. In some of your videos, you have a lavalier/lapel microphone but it's completely blown out/peaking. You need to make sure the mic gain is set low enough that it doesn't peak (go in the red) but loud enough to pick up your voice. You can always increase your volume in post to the appropriate levels.
I suggest investing in a field recorder like a Zoom h4n or H6. You already have a camera man (recording on an iPhone?) so hooking him up with a field recorder shouldn't be too big a deal. You'd need to sync it up in post but with a field recorder, you're able to plug in an external shotgun mic with a windsock/dead cat to knock out the windy sound your current mic setup is picking up.
Your branding needs a lot of work. You've kept the 'Diego Villarreal' text consistent across all your videos but it's not reflected at all in your channel header, avatar or thumbnails. I like the black face of the deck of cards you own (also shown in your channel header). At the moment I take it that's your 'signature'? If so, try to incorporate that more as your unique brand, perhaps having the face of the card acting as a background for your thumbnail text.
@Lia
Love the simplicity of your logo in your channel header and avatar. Absolutely fantastic. Try to include that logo in one of the corners of your thumbnails so viewers know the videos belong to you.
In your Outlast series with the facecam, your audio quality is substantially lower than that of your Minecraft and Call of Duty videos. It's as if you're not using your good quality microphone and simply relying on the built in microphone on the webcam.
Overall though, your voice is clear and easy to understand and the videos themselves are very well edited. Branching out into different games is great, as the more variety you have on your channel the more your audience has to watch and be entertained. Make sure to keep a frequent upload schedule and your channel will grow.
Great job!
@Poly Gamey
The way your channel homepage works at the moment is counter productive to your audience getting to your videos. There is no way to click on the 'Videos' top bar menu item like in other channels so users need to click on 'Uploads' just to isolate your own content. There is an option in your YouTube or channel settings to set up a decent homepage that is much easier to navigate.
Your logo is simple but effective, yet it's only being used in your avatar. Your channel header and thumbnails are not reflective of that logo or your channel/branding as a whole. When users see your logo they should instantly assosiate that with 'Poly Gamey,' so incorporating it into your thumbnails will help with that.
By far the biggest issue with your content at the moment is your microphone. The quality is absolutely terrible for a commentary channel like yours. Save up and invest in a decent condenser microphone. You may also want to consider using royalty free music as a backing track to your videos to liven them up a bit.
As for your video presentation, that too needs a lot of work. Some of the sprites you're using are lazily cut out with white borders/artifacting still present. Having them and the content animated at 1-2 frames per second doesn't help either. Having a slideshow on YouTube with a commentary track laid over it can work, provided the slides are interesting to look at for your viewers. Perhaps you could commission an artist to help you create a signature look for your videos and to help create slides that compliment your audio track while being visually impressive to look at.
ImAtTheBridge
Member
Review, please? I'd really appreciate a critique. Thanks a ton, anything to add..Id like to think im doing things fine, but another view?
asmaze
Active Member
Please do me www.youtube.com/mazelee
Klink
I've Got It
@ImAtTheBridge
Audio mixing in your videos is sketchy. Some clips have you speaking softly, others have it peaking while a few segments have the music completely overpowering everything. You need to mix the audio so that the volume is uniform across the board - your voice levelled and the music used softly as a backing track.
You also need get yourself a decent lighting setup as the clips of you in your latest videos are completely dark. In your earlier videos, while they are brighter, are still underexposed. That or invest in a camera with decent low-light capabilities. Some of the photos you edit into your videos are low quality and blowing them up only enhances the artifacting. Editing is quite mixed as well. Sometimes you add cuts and other times you use fades/dissolves when they aren't really neccessary.
All my criticism really comes down to a lack of consistency. Find a signature style of editing your videos and mixing your audio and stick to it.
@asmaze
Channel art and your latest 8 video thumbnails are spot on. Simple, clean, modern and beautiful. Fantastic work!
The quality of your videos are great. You've got a decent camera, your editing skills are phenominal and the colour grade you've applied in post is amazing. I would recommend getting a stabilising rig for your panning and running shots but I'm well aware most of your content is run-and-gun like my own. While not neccessary it will definitely help smooth out some of your shots.
If you haven't already, you might also consider investing in a shotgun microphone to try and help knock out some of the background noise in some of your shots.
At 27,593 subscribers you really don't need my advice. Like others in this thread, you know exactly what you're doing and you're doing it well. I wish you and your family all the best!
@Tranxify
Your branding is inconsistent. Your avatar, channel header, thumbnails and logo sting are all treated differently. I recommend using the text/style from your logo sting as your main branding.
Glad to hear you're getting a new microphone, although you need to mix the audio so that your voice comes out clear. In your latest video you mixed the audio so that your voice comes out of the left channel while your friends' voice and ingame audio come out on both channels. Try to keep the audio mixed on both channels unless you can find a way to isolate each audio track (your mic, your friends' mic etc) so it's easier to mix.
Content wise, editing is pretty good and your videos are entertaining. Keep a regular upload schedule, keep the branding consistent and fix the audio mixing and your channel will do alright.
Audio mixing in your videos is sketchy. Some clips have you speaking softly, others have it peaking while a few segments have the music completely overpowering everything. You need to mix the audio so that the volume is uniform across the board - your voice levelled and the music used softly as a backing track.
You also need get yourself a decent lighting setup as the clips of you in your latest videos are completely dark. In your earlier videos, while they are brighter, are still underexposed. That or invest in a camera with decent low-light capabilities. Some of the photos you edit into your videos are low quality and blowing them up only enhances the artifacting. Editing is quite mixed as well. Sometimes you add cuts and other times you use fades/dissolves when they aren't really neccessary.
All my criticism really comes down to a lack of consistency. Find a signature style of editing your videos and mixing your audio and stick to it.
@asmaze
Channel art and your latest 8 video thumbnails are spot on. Simple, clean, modern and beautiful. Fantastic work!
The quality of your videos are great. You've got a decent camera, your editing skills are phenominal and the colour grade you've applied in post is amazing. I would recommend getting a stabilising rig for your panning and running shots but I'm well aware most of your content is run-and-gun like my own. While not neccessary it will definitely help smooth out some of your shots.
If you haven't already, you might also consider investing in a shotgun microphone to try and help knock out some of the background noise in some of your shots.
At 27,593 subscribers you really don't need my advice. Like others in this thread, you know exactly what you're doing and you're doing it well. I wish you and your family all the best!
@Tranxify
Your branding is inconsistent. Your avatar, channel header, thumbnails and logo sting are all treated differently. I recommend using the text/style from your logo sting as your main branding.
Glad to hear you're getting a new microphone, although you need to mix the audio so that your voice comes out clear. In your latest video you mixed the audio so that your voice comes out of the left channel while your friends' voice and ingame audio come out on both channels. Try to keep the audio mixed on both channels unless you can find a way to isolate each audio track (your mic, your friends' mic etc) so it's easier to mix.
Content wise, editing is pretty good and your videos are entertaining. Keep a regular upload schedule, keep the branding consistent and fix the audio mixing and your channel will do alright.
Lorenzo Pacis
Member
Any chance you could give me some feedback?
https://www.youtube.com/c/WarchyldeGAMING
https://www.youtube.com/c/WarchyldeGAMING
Klink
I've Got It
@Lorenzo Pacis
My only real criticism with your channel is in regards to your branding, not the quality or your content itself as you have shown noticable improvement with every video.
Your channel header, avatar and end card all have different logos, text and styles. You need to have a logo or style that you use for everything that users can easily associate with your channel. Incorporating that logo/style into your thumbnails is also a good idea and on the topic of thumbnails, they definitely need work. At the moment they look really cheap and bland, to the point where I can't tell that the videos belong to you at all. Having a logo in the thumbnails or a style that you keep consistent per series will help your channel in the long run.
My only real criticism with your channel is in regards to your branding, not the quality or your content itself as you have shown noticable improvement with every video.
Your channel header, avatar and end card all have different logos, text and styles. You need to have a logo or style that you use for everything that users can easily associate with your channel. Incorporating that logo/style into your thumbnails is also a good idea and on the topic of thumbnails, they definitely need work. At the moment they look really cheap and bland, to the point where I can't tell that the videos belong to you at all. Having a logo in the thumbnails or a style that you keep consistent per series will help your channel in the long run.
Lorenzo Pacis
Member
Awesome, thanks for the advice!
- Status