Channel review request

[CWA]

Looking for some feedback on my channel. I am concerned about branding, stickiness, SEO and overall video quality. I've tweaked it a few times since I joined by learning more about SEO and video editing. Link in signature as I am not sure if I can link in the description.

Thank you.

 

[Mithril]

1. I like the trailer, it's pretty polished and does a good job explaining what the channel is about
2. The intro is way too long (25 sec!) and it just seems like a generically generated one. A quick flash of your logo would be fine. I like the logo and it suits the channel well.
3. The thumbnails look too casual. It looks like a photo snapped on your phone in yellow-y kitchen lights. They need better lighting, color correction, maybe some text over the top. The thumbnails and video titles don't seem very compelling to me. Maybe "Quick and Easy Creamy Steak Parmesan Steak Penne" or something like that would be more attention grabbing.
4. You're reading the name of the video off camera somewhere and that's a little off putting. Maybe just record that line separately and do a cut so you look into the camera the whole time. Or use video of something else and voice it over (perhaps while showing a video of the finished product?) It just seems unprofessional to not know the name of the dish.
5. There's a lot of echo in your audio. It might do you well to get an external mic for your camera.
6. Not a fan of the "Like and Subscribe" graphic at the beginning and end. Ask your viewers, don't put up a graphic.

Hope this wasn't too harsh. I know it's a lot, but you only need to work on one thing at a time really. The first (and easiest) is trim the intro wayyyyy down. Especially since the majority of the time the intro doesn't even have your channel name/brand anywhere on it. Also, ditch the "Like and Subscribe". Hope I helped. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[CWA]

Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it. The pics are with a Cannon 80D, so I assumed it would be decent enough for photos and videos. Since I am reading the instructions and titles from the recipes, it's a bit hard to do it when they are long and/or in different languages. Thus, I sometimes have to look off camera to get the names right. The echo is from the kitchen, so not much I can do on that. I will look to shorten the intro and remove the like & subscribe graphic. Titles are the names of the recipes, so again, hard to change them. On my own recipes, they are a bit more creative.

 

[Mithril]

Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it. The pics are with a Cannon 80D, so I assumed it would be decent enough for photos and videos. Since I am reading the instructions and titles from the recipes, it's a bit hard to do it when they are long and/or in different languages. Thus, I sometimes have to look off camera to get the names right. The echo is from the kitchen, so not much I can do on that. I will look to shorten the intro and remove the like & subscribe graphic. Titles are the names of the recipes, so again, hard to change them. On my own recipes, they are a bit more creative.

The pictures are fine. They just need the colors adjusted since the lighting is yellow (I'm assuming) and they need to be more exciting! Put some words over it! I don't know. Right now they look like...my dinner table. You can minimize the echo by using a mic closer to your face. You can avoid having to look off camera by saying the recipe name in voice over over other footage. You can name the video things other than the exact recipe name.

 

[buzzcuts]

My honest first impressions, take 'em or leave 'em:

- Very professional branding and presentation, and good amount of content.
- I didn't find the intro bumper WAY too long but I agree it could be trimmed.
- Asking for likes and subscribers before they've even been introduced doesn't make sense.
- You will likely find much better retention by doing at the dialogue intro before your bumper.
- Watch your enunciation. I likely only noticed this because I, too, mumble and have sub-bar audio, and I know in combination they really hurt.
- You might find some good tutorials on taking beauty shots of food for your thumbnails. I think some more dynamic lighting, open aperatures and lower/closer shots would make them look much more appetizing and professional. Add in some channel branding and you're golden.
- Trailer is pretty enough but doesn't really convey what the channel is LIKE (only what it's ABOUT). It has no personality because you're nowhere in it, and it doesn't include any clips from any of your videos so it doesn't really represent your unique brand. Instead it looks like a TV commercial for a grocery store. I suspect if you could merge a more personal, filmed trailer with some of the motion graphics you have it would do more for appealing to new subscribers.

Do you know why some of your new videos are getting less views? I'm not suggesting it's anything you could change, just genuinely curious as it's hard as a non-foodie to tell why.

Good luck with the channel - seems like you're doing pretty dang well all things considered!

 

[CWA]

My honest first impressions, take 'em or leave 'em:

- Very professional branding and presentation, and good amount of content.
- I didn't find the intro bumper WAY too long but I agree it could be trimmed.
- Asking for likes and subscribers before they've even been introduced doesn't make sense.
- You will likely find much better retention by doing at the dialogue intro before your bumper.
- Watch your enunciation. I likely only noticed this because I, too, mumble and have sub-bar audio, and I know in combination they really hurt.
- You might find some good tutorials on taking beauty shots of food for your thumbnails. I think some more dynamic lighting, open aperatures and lower/closer shots would make them look much more appetizing and professional. Add in some channel branding and you're golden.
- Trailer is pretty enough but doesn't really convey what the channel is LIKE (only what it's ABOUT). It has no personality because you're nowhere in it, and it doesn't include any clips from any of your videos so it doesn't really represent your unique brand. Instead it looks like a TV commercial for a grocery store. I suspect if you could merge a more personal, filmed trailer with some of the motion graphics you have it would do more for appealing to new subscribers.

Do you know why some of your new videos are getting less views? I'm not suggesting it's anything you could change, just genuinely curious as it's hard as a non-foodie to tell why.

Good luck with the channel - seems like you're doing pretty dang well all things considered!

Thank you for the comments. I am going to work on trimming the intro a bit and remove the like & subscribe button after the intro as well. I tend to mumble at the beginning and then during the cooking clips I am told it doesn't happen as much. I sometimes thing my brain processes faster than my mouth can spit out. LOL. I am looking into learning about how to make better thumbnails. Problem is, it's hot food, so time is of the essence. I will be re-launching a new trailer soon. Yes, my views are less as I took off for five months as my real life's job had consumed more of my free time. I received so many messages to bring the videos back, so I started them up again at the beginning of the month. I used to do 5 - 6 a week, which was just too much. I now do about 3 a week and I should be able to continue doing it at that pace without any fallout from my real life job.

Just going through the motions and seeing what works and what doesn't. I guess it would be easier of I had a background in audio and video production lol.[DOUBLEPOST=1522528246,1522528155][/DOUBLEPOST]

The pictures are fine. They just need the colors adjusted since the lighting is yellow (I'm assuming) and they need to be more exciting! Put some words over it! I don't know. Right now they look like...my dinner table. You can minimize the echo by using a mic closer to your face. You can avoid having to look off camera by saying the recipe name in voice over over other footage. You can name the video things other than the exact recipe name.

Certainly going to work on it. Trying to make it look and sound as professional as possible.

 

[buzzcuts]

Wow, it's amazing you were able to do 5-6 videos a week with a job. I'm working very part time and struggling to make 2-3.

 

[CWA]

Wow, it's amazing you were able to do 5-6 videos a week with a job. I'm working very part time and struggling to make 2-3.

I usually do it while I am cooking. However, the editing takes more time than the cooking. LOL. I am still going through the backlogs of videos I've recorded. It was tough to upload 5 - 6 cooking videos a week. Hence, I had to slow down and take a break. The bad part was that I lost a lot of subscribers. Who knows how long it will take to get the views I had. Hopefully, not that long. LOL.

As long as you are doing it because you enjoy doing it, then it will be worth it in the end. At least, that is what I believe.

 

[buzzcuts]

Yeah, definitely better to enjoy the process and make it sustainable than push yourself and burn out. Good luck with the channel, I think you'll do well.