I'd like to offer thoughtful reviews of your channels

Status
Not open for further replies.
Americanclue said:
If your still doing reviews, would you be able to do my channel? If your too busy that's fine!
Click to expand...

Hi Americanclue,

I’ve spent some time on your channel, and I’ve got some thoughts for you. I noticed you’ve been checking out my other reviews and it sounds like you’ve picked up some suggestions there. I really appreciate you doing that – I think there’s a lot in my other reviews that apply to many channels. I salute you for being proactive. On to your channel review…

What I’m about to type is a something to be excited about, and something I’m surprised that I can’t say about most channels I review: Your most recent video is your best. The truth of the matter is that most people like us (channels with less than 1000 subs) have a TON to learn about what we’re doing here. Most YouTubers, not just new ones, don’t know much about the ins and outs of video production or how to write a script. We’re winging it and learning as we go. In a way that’s part of the fun of doing it and part of the fun of subscribing to newer channels – you get to watch someone grow and improve. At this phase in the game for you and I, it’s a great thing if we’re just getting noticeably better as we go along, and you are accomplishing that amigo.

It took me a minute to catch on to what you were going for in your Different Types of YouTubers piece, but when I got it, I smiled and laughed. Comedy is hard in person, and it’s even harder when you try to translate that to video. It’s easy to whiff and whiff big, but you’re developing some timing and comedic sense that works. You need to keep at this. There are two aspects of comedic filmmaking that are hard to master but equally important in my opinion. First, there’s writing. Simply learning the art of the joke takes time and trial and error, but developing the ability to conceive of a bit from beginning to end in your head before you ever turn on a camera is vital. My tips here would be read lots of stuff on comedic writing and when you see something that makes you laugh, stop and think very carefully about why it made you laugh. Diagram the joke in your head. When you see something that was meant to be funny but wasn’t, do the same thing. Second, there’s telling jokes with your camera movement and shot selection. Rather than explaining it all out, I’ve attached a link to a great video on the subject (I love this piece and recommend it to everyone constantly). If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it and take notes. If you have seen it already, watch it and take notes.




You’re willing to sell out for a joke, which is pretty rough in those videos where the jokes don’t hit, but is really central to your success in those videos where they do. Your comedic style on camera is evolving and trending in the right direction. If you keep at it, this will evolve in good ways on its own.

Your camera work is hurting you right now. Watch good, funny movies and pay very, very close attention to how the shots are framed and how the camera moves. Rip these techniques off. Bad lighting and bad framing cause people to make subconscious judgments about your material before they even get to the parts you think are funny. If they’re out in the first five seconds you usually can’t win them back. Keep working toward looking cinematic. It will take time and money, but that should be your goal.

Also, you’d be wise to save pennies and buy a good mic, and then learn how to use it. Your audio often clips, and for people like me who watch on a TV with a nice stereo, that’s a deal killer. I hate hearing my speakers playing clipped audio and will immediately reach for the remote to make it go away. If you don’t know what to do to improve that, watch this video for some pointers. This isn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen, but you’ll get the idea.




You seem like a good dude, and I like that you include your friends and family in what you’re doing. You’re improving and having fun and that’s what matters for where you’re at in this process. Keep at it, and you’ll earn a larger audience that will take you seriously (in the comedic sense that is). I think you’re off to a solid start and I’m rooting for you.

Take care,

Matt
 
TMBH said:
Hi Americanclue,

I’ve spent some time on your channel, and I’ve got some thoughts for you. I noticed you’ve been checking out my other reviews and it sounds like you’ve picked up some suggestions there. I really appreciate you doing that – I think there’s a lot in my other reviews that apply to many channels. I salute you for being proactive. On to your channel review…

What I’m about to type is a something to be excited about, and something I’m surprised that I can’t say about most channels I review: Your most recent video is your best. The truth of the matter is that most people like us (channels with less than 1000 subs) have a TON to learn about what we’re doing here. Most YouTubers, not just new ones, don’t know much about the ins and outs of video production or how to write a script. We’re winging it and learning as we go. In a way that’s part of the fun of doing it and part of the fun of subscribing to newer channels – you get to watch someone grow and improve. At this phase in the game for you and I, it’s a great thing if we’re just getting noticeably better as we go along, and you are accomplishing that amigo.

It took me a minute to catch on to what you were going for in your Different Types of YouTubers piece, but when I got it, I smiled and laughed. Comedy is hard in person, and it’s even harder when you try to translate that to video. It’s easy to whiff and whiff big, but you’re developing some timing and comedic sense that works. You need to keep at this. There are two aspects of comedic filmmaking that are hard to master but equally important in my opinion. First, there’s writing. Simply learning the art of the joke takes time and trial and error, but developing the ability to conceive of a bit from beginning to end in your head before you ever turn on a camera is vital. My tips here would be read lots of stuff on comedic writing and when you see something that makes you laugh, stop and think very carefully about why it made you laugh. Diagram the joke in your head. When you see something that was meant to be funny but wasn’t, do the same thing. Second, there’s telling jokes with your camera movement and shot selection. Rather than explaining it all out, I’ve attached a link to a great video on the subject (I love this piece and recommend it to everyone constantly). If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it and take notes. If you have seen it already, watch it and take notes.




You’re willing to sell out for a joke, which is pretty rough in those videos where the jokes don’t hit, but is really central to your success in those videos where they do. Your comedic style on camera is evolving and trending in the right direction. If you keep at it, this will evolve in good ways on its own.

Your camera work is hurting you right now. Watch good, funny movies and pay very, very close attention to how the shots are framed and how the camera moves. Rip these techniques off. Bad lighting and bad framing cause people to make subconscious judgments about your material before they even get to the parts you think are funny. If they’re out in the first five seconds you usually can’t win them back. Keep working toward looking cinematic. It will take time and money, but that should be your goal.

Also, you’d be wise to save pennies and buy a good mic, and then learn how to use it. Your audio often clips, and for people like me who watch on a TV with a nice stereo, that’s a deal killer. I hate hearing my speakers playing clipped audio and will immediately reach for the remote to make it go away. If you don’t know what to do to improve that, watch this video for some pointers. This isn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen, but you’ll get the idea.




You seem like a good dude, and I like that you include your friends and family in what you’re doing. You’re improving and having fun and that’s what matters for where you’re at in this process. Keep at it, and you’ll earn a larger audience that will take you seriously (in the comedic sense that is). I think you’re off to a solid start and I’m rooting for you.

Take care,

Matt
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! This really helped a lot with timing and shots, (I have a mic but it broke a bit recently so I'm going to replace), and the review was really good! Thanks for helping everyone out!
 
YorkshireYank said:
Hey Matt, I'd also love for you to check out my channel and give me a frank review. I've only been doing it for a very short time, but I still can't shake the feeling that I'm not growing as fast as I should be, and that my views per video and retention stats are abysmal. Any objective advice on what I might be doing wrong would be awesome! Thanks! :)
Click to expand...

Hi Yorkshire Yank,

In your review you request you mentioned that you feel like you’re not getting traction as fast as you were hoping. I can tell you’re putting a TON of work into this thing along with your wife. I’d like to help. I’ve thought about what you said a lot as I watched, and I have some thoughts. I really appreciate the sincere request for honest feedback you put out there. I know that's a risk (especially on the Internet). The truth is, I think I see much of what is holding you back and I'd like to offer some direct but collegial critiques as well as some constructive proposals.

In general, very little about what you're producing really stands out. Let’s consider myself as an example of a potential subscriber. I’ve been a gamer forever, and you’re playing exactly the kind of games I like, so you’d think I’d be into it, but after watching portions of several episodes I found myself disinterested. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I am willing to share the reasons it didn’t work for me. First, when I load the page there’s a wall of good looking, but identical thumbnails that all have significant time counters on them and very few views. What that says to me is that others also felt overwhelmed by the prospect of sorting through all that to figure out what’s going on and to catch up, that they chose not to watch. I watched anyways, and what I found was a host who seems to genuinely like the kinds of games he’s playing, and I liked the theme of appreciating some lesser known games from a genre I like. However, the commentary usually lacked energy and/or humor. It seemed reserved and cautious, which might be okay if the videos were 2 minutes long, but large numbers of people just aren’t going to watch that much material with that kind of pacing and energy level. With these factors in place, the heart of your audience will end up being kids who can’t afford the games you’re playing and have nothing else going to the degree that they’ll sit and watch an entire play through. Nothing against such kids, they’re young and figuring things out, but they’re not the kind of audience members who can really drive a channel to where you want it to go anyways.

To put it succinctly, I know you care about growth and have ambitions for your channel, which is why I’m suggesting to you that your format is missing the mark. What you’ve done is perfectly fine if you’re looking to connect with a small niche group and just have fun, but considering your remarks and the huge amount of work you’re clearly putting into this, I think you want more than that out of your show and that’s good. Here are some suggestions that might help you get where you want to be:

- Consider posting less. I know that’s counterintuitive, but I think you’re posting too often and that is overwhelming to your potential audience. If you want to post nearly daily, just do much shorter stuff that’s better.

- Consider post much shorter stuff. The length hurts. Your best stuff gets spread out so far at 20 minutes, but if you edit ruthlessly, your videos would be much stronger.

- Consider adding a little variety to your thumbnails so that it’s easier for viewers to feel like they’re making progress.

- I know this one isn’t easy, but I’d encourage you to try to get in touch with the version of you that’s loosest and funniest. You don’t need to yell and jump up and down, but your commentary seems so muted and cautious that it makes you hard to listen to except for the moments when your volume, confidence, and energy are highest. It might be worth doing some exercises to just get looser and warmed up before you record. I’m not a pro, but I’m way better when I get loose before hitting record.

- On some of the videos you’re silent for far too long. When I’m watching a gaming channel I want the host to be doing something. If you’re not talking, I’m not watching.

- You offer some good insightful nuggets in the course of your commentary. I think your channel would benefit if you did a series of shows that just offered tips, reviews, or information in a quick dense format. This is a strength you have that you’re not currently highlighting.

- You’re good at snarky and it’s fun when you crack clever one-liners. This is another strong suit, and you should try to highlight this more.

For me, the bottom line is this: You need to think in terms of bringing actual value for your audience. I mean no slight or offense when I tell you that right now this isn’t happening. You clearly have a strong work-ethic and the ability to offer useful commentary and insights; now all you need to do is channel those strengths into something that will better connect with an audience.

As you craft you material moving forward try focusing more on questions like: Why should people watch? What can you give them? What can you showcase for them? What can you teach them? How can you connect with them? What do they want, and am I giving it to them? Is this fun? If you’re asking those kind of questions when you create a video it will completely change the tone and effectiveness of your program.

I understand that this review might initially seem like a harsh critique and downer for you, but please don’t be discouraged. You sought advice and I’ve offered my best, and I do so in a spirit of a teammate who’s pulling for you to succeed. I’ve got a ton to learn, and my work has its own list of shortcomings I’ve got to improve upon. I hope some part of what I said can be helpful to you as you move forward.

Take care,

Matt

Infinite Paths said:
I'd like to hear anyone's thoughts, yay or nay! Thankyou!
Click to expand...

Dear Infinite Paths,

I like your channel.

I’ve recently developed an interest in reviewing YouTube channels, and so I’ve gone and looked at what more experienced reviewers say when they look at channels. One recurring theme is that channels should be focused, and I theoretically agree, but then I saw your channel, and now I’m reconsidering that.

To me it looks like you have a thriving interest in the life of the mind and the soul (we have that in common), and I like that you just seem to post whatever seems relevant to that as you feel like it. Almost everything pertains to the life of the mind and the soul, so you post very disparate material. But even though there’s a huge variety, I can see the theme through all of it.

It’s hard for me to tell what is original content and what isn’t, so I won’t offer any feedback on the videos themselves other than to say that whether you make them or aggregate them, they provide value to the audience and that’s what matters.

My only suggestion for now would be to consider making a clear welcome video to express the values of your channel so people can interpret what they’re encountering with that in mind.

I enjoyed my visit to your channel.

Best of luck,

Matt
 
Thank you so much for the awesome review Matt, it's exactly what I was looking for. Your concise thoughts about what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong will help me tremendously going forward. I have been thinking about cutting down the length of the videos and have started to edit them more vigorously to that end, but I agree with everything you said.

I'm encouraged, not discouraged so thank you again.
 
TMBH said:
Dear Infinite Paths,

I like your channel.

I’ve recently developed an interest in reviewing YouTube channels, and so I’ve gone and looked at what more experienced reviewers say when they look at channels. One recurring theme is that channels should be focused, and I theoretically agree, but then I saw your channel, and now I’m reconsidering that.

To me it looks like you have a thriving interest in the life of the mind and the soul (we have that in common), and I like that you just seem to post whatever seems relevant to that as you feel like it. Almost everything pertains to the life of the mind and the soul, so you post very disparate material. But even though there’s a huge variety, I can see the theme through all of it.

It’s hard for me to tell what is original content and what isn’t, so I won’t offer any feedback on the videos themselves other than to say that whether you make them or aggregate them, they provide value to the audience and that’s what matters.

My only suggestion for now would be to consider making a clear welcome video to express the values of your channel so people can interpret what they’re encountering with that in mind.

I enjoyed my visit to your channel.

Best of luck,

Matt
Click to expand...

Thanks man I appreciate the feedback. Yeh I did think of making a few focused channels but then couldn't be bothered lol hopefully it works out like this! The original content is the guitar stuff and the music, most of the other stuff is public domain audio and video from archive.org. Also all the isochronic tones and binaural beats I made myself. Thanks for the suggestion I might make a welcome video with that in mind. :D
 
Can you please review my channel? I mainly do Theatre reviews, and Disney/travel vlogs and have recently hit 1K subscribers. But I feel like my subscriber growth has slowed down suddenly. Would appreciate any feedback :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top