I'd like to offer thoughtful reviews of your channels

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If you're willing to review my channel I'd certainly appreciate it.
In general I'm not entirely sure what/if I'm doing something wrong in my videos. I've improved on my lighting, speaking up more, trying to be more enthusiastic, & other such things that have been pointed out to me. I'm not entirely comfortable in front of the camera but I'm trying to be.
My main worry is being boring by talking too much about myself or about things no one cares about. I also don't want to be annoying or lame with my humor.
 
TMBH said:
Good morning,
I've checked out your channel and I have some thoughts. I apologize in advance that my review may seem comparatively short - I've got some catching up to do on some life stuff and need to tick a few things off my list today. Here's the bullet point version of my thoughts.
- I'm a sucker for a good channel intro video and I saw that you just posted a new one a few days ago. I like it. It told me what you'd be doing, how you're different from other gaming channels I look at, and it gave me a little sense of who you are (though not enough - more on that in a minute). The music is catchy and makes loading your page nice instead of annoying. Good job with the production value on that video as well. As a matter of personal taste I don't care for the old "hey guys" intro on Youtube videos. Maybe you were being sarcastic by throwing that at the beginning, but I'd encourage you to think of a more original way to welcome your audience. I know that last point is super nitpicky :)
- You are good at Advanced Warfare. I play on the Xbox one, and I'm competitive in that I'm a consistently in-the-positive player, but you're just casually slaughtering people - impressive. The one-shot video was fun.
- This leads me to my larger point. You seem like you're good at video games which I think is important to having a video game channel. I think you'll do well to highlight your skill in a certain subset of videos that give people the chance to see the best stuff you can do.
- That said, I also like that you put up a video of you clumsily murdering a patient on Surgeon Simulator. Funny and gangly is good for gaming videos too, and I'm glad you seem to have both. Some of what you posted also served as being informative/opinion oriented (like your piece on the difficulty or lack thereof of Bloodborne). Show off, funny, informative, and opinion all have their place and I'm glad you're doing them all. I think it's wise to have a very clear and good reason for every video you post. If viewers feel like you just threw something up there for no good reason and feel like you expect them to watch you meander around; they'll bail. Your videos generally have a point, and that's important.
- I'm glad you're getting a camera on you soon. Viewers want to get to know the host and that's harder when they don't see you. You've got a good voice literally and figuratively and you're wise to bring that further forward in your mix so that people can track with you better.
In summary, I think you've got good stuff going. Your production value on your intros is good. I like your theme music. Your thumbnails are good and give me the sense that each video is different. You have good variety. The big hurdle you've got to overcome is the same one that everyone else in your genre has to overcome: The fact that there are ten gabizjitrillion gaming channels on YouTube. I'd suggest watching others and being not like them. Keep looking for your own angle, and even though you come off as interesting and very capable, just you being you isn't enough to differentiate yourself. Almost no one on Earth is singularly interesting enough to play video games while talking and utterly dazzle an audience. It's just not an interesting enough engagement in and of itself to win people. The gamers who have huge channels did one of two things:
1) Found a really unique spin to put on their videos, channel, production, and style. They offered something (an angle, a bit, a gimmick, a look, something) that no one else was, or they did stuff other people were doing but way, way better.
2) Basically won the lottery by having their not-special channel be the one that just happened to catch on. For every one like this, there must be hundreds of thousands that run for three months and then die.
My point is this: Be like group one. You are in control of the fate of your channel. If you like doing this and you want your channel to grow, you can make it grown by flexing your creative muscles and doing something others don't in a way that's a ton of fun. You seem like you have the talent to make that happen. If growing your channel a ton isn't your ambition, but you enjoy putting together good videos that are enjoyable for friends and a few followers to check out, then I think you're doing pretty much great as you are. Your stuff is very watchable, better than most of what I see, and you come off as a decent person who's easy to root for.
You've got a good start here, and I think where it goes next is entirely within your control. I'll check back in from time to time to see how it's coming together for you.
I wish you the absolute best moving forward!
Take care,
Matt[DOUBLEPOST=1428769193,1428687033][/DOUBLEPOST]
You're up next Stoobs. I should have something for you today.
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That is awesome feedback, thanks so much for taking the time to look at my channel and everything, I really appreciate it :)
 
Americanclue said:
If your still doing reviews, would you be able to do my channel? If your too busy that's fine!
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I am still doing reviews and I'd be happy to take a look at your channel. I'm trying to make these reviews professional-grade so it may take a few days to catch up. See you soon!
Matt
 
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! :)
 
TerryByte said:
Same here! I'll ask humbly and only if you have the time, what do you think of my channel?
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Okay, I missed about three promised deadlines on this review and I apologize for that. I've been under the gun to get some content finished and uploaded for my channel and I've been slow in getting back to people this week. Thanks for your patience.

There’s a lot I like about your channel.

- First and foremost, you’re funny. Lots of Internet people think they’re funny, but you’re actually funny and it very much sets you a part from others who are trying to do the same kind of thing you are. In your most recent video you do a really solid job of satirizing the overly-serious Smash community without coming off like a jerk. Most of your jokes hit, and you move past the ones that didn’t quickly enough. At times your delivery is clunky, but it’s much smoother than what you posted six months ago. You’re scripting is very close to being crisp, but still has room for improvement in the turns-of-phrases. In sum, your humor carries your videos along, you’re getting better at cracking sharp, tight jokes and wisecracks, and you even come off as likable when you’re critiquing. Nice work.

- Your stuff is effective without it coming off like you’re trying super hard. You’re clearly putting effort into your planning, filming, editing, and humor, but you play it cool and that sets a nice tone for everything.

- Good job going with variety. You review and highlight lots of types of games and that broadens your appeal.

- Your channel doesn’t take itself too seriously, and, in a way, you seem to be arguing for a more laid-back approach to gaming and talking gaming in general. I like the way that value pops up subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) from time to time.

- I like your icon.

Here are some places where I see opportunities for improvement:

- I’m sure you already know this, but the production value could use a boost. You’ve got some serious white balance/lighting issues on some of those videos (like the opening gag of the BMX XXX video). At times it’s so out of whack that it kills the joke you’re delivering at the time. I think there is and should be a lot of leeway for YouTubers when it comes to camera/technical problems, but when it disrupts or obscures a good joke or a key point in your train of thought it’s gone too far. If you don’t catch something like that when filming but see it in post, you should just shoot it again – you did all the work to script your show so you should do what it takes to make it right. Usually your stuff looks watchable, so I’m not trying to critique everything here.

- You have good ideas that will only come off better as you learn more about filmmaking. I’m not saying you should go learn how to direct a Hollywood style feature, but there are some simple tricks you can pick up that will strengthen your delivery. I’m far from being an expert, but I have been writing/acting/directing for about 10 years and tons of what I’ve learned in that time has come for reading articles and watching videos about how to film and edit better. You’d especially benefit from grabbing a few pointers on filming for comedic effect – again, your stuff is already funny, but I offer this suggestion because there are simple technical things you can do to make it funnier. Here a link to a somewhat sophisticated, but very useful video on the subject that focuses on the comedic directorial style of Edgar Wright.


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- I’m a pretty busy guy and I bet you are too, so this suggestion is one that you might just need to blow off, but here goes anyway. Your videos are increasingly well-received and you’re improving at your craft, so it might be time to put out content more regularly. People seem to really dig your last couple of videos (and they should because they’re solid), and I don’t think you’ve reached a point of overexposure with your channel. You could try mixing in some quick-hitters in between big releases to build your brand and stay connected with your subscribers.

- I've reviewed a few other gaming channels in this thread, and I'd refer you to them for some big-picture observations I have about the nature of the genre and what you can do to separate yourself from the pack.

I really don’t have anything terribly negative to say about what you’re doing. It’s a good channel. I’m not surprised that it’s growing. I think you’re getting better at what you do and you’re blessed with the innate ability to crack a joke. What you need to do to improve will mostly happen organically and be driven by your own creativity as you grow as a videographer, writer, and editor. You have the same production issues that almost all video game centered channels of your size seem to have, and I think you’d be wise to get crackin’ on improving that now instead of when you have a larger following. I don’t know what kind of team you’ve assembled, but you seem like a cool guy who might be able to rally some other people to the cause to more quickly grow your brand and audience. Whatever you do, I hope you stick with it, because I think you’re off to a good start and you show good potential for growth.

I like your stuff and I’m rooting for you.

Take care,

Matt
 
TMBH said:
Okay, I missed about three promised deadlines on this review and I apologize for that. I've been under the gun to get some content finished and uploaded for my channel and I've been slow in getting back to people this week. Thanks for your patience.

There’s a lot I like about your channel.

- First and foremost, you’re funny. Lots of Internet people think they’re funny, but you’re actually funny and it very much sets you a part from others who are trying to do the same kind of thing you are. In your most recent video you do a really solid job of satirizing the overly-serious Smash community without coming off like a jerk. Most of your jokes hit, and you move past the ones that didn’t quickly enough. At times your delivery is clunky, but it’s much smoother than what you posted six months ago. You’re scripting is very close to being crisp, but still has room for improvement in the turns-of-phrases. In sum, your humor carries your videos along, you’re getting better at cracking sharp, tight jokes and wisecracks, and you even come off as likable when you’re critiquing. Nice work.

- Your stuff is effective without it coming off like you’re trying super hard. You’re clearly putting effort into your planning, filming, editing, and humor, but you play it cool and that sets a nice tone for everything.

- Good job going with variety. You review and highlight lots of types of games and that broadens your appeal.

- Your channel doesn’t take itself too seriously, and, in a way, you seem to be arguing for a more laid-back approach to gaming and talking gaming in general. I like the way that value pops up subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) from time to time.

- I like your icon.

Here are some places where I see opportunities for improvement:

- I’m sure you already know this, but the production value could use a boost. You’ve got some serious white balance/lighting issues on some of those videos (like the opening gag of the BMX XXX video). At times it’s so out of whack that it kills the joke you’re delivering at the time. I think there is and should be a lot of leeway for YouTubers when it comes to camera/technical problems, but when it disrupts or obscures a good joke or a key point in your train of thought it’s gone too far. If you don’t catch something like that when filming but see it in post, you should just shoot it again – you did all the work to script your show so you should do what it takes to make it right. Usually your stuff looks watchable, so I’m not trying to critique everything here.

- You have good ideas that will only come off better as you learn more about filmmaking. I’m not saying you should go learn how to direct a Hollywood style feature, but there are some simple tricks you can pick up that will strengthen your delivery. I’m far from being an expert, but I have been writing/acting/directing for about 10 years and tons of what I’ve learned in that time has come for reading articles and watching videos about how to film and edit better. You’d especially benefit from grabbing a few pointers on filming for comedic effect – again, your stuff is already funny, but I offer this suggestion because there are simple technical things you can do to make it funnier. Here a link to a somewhat sophisticated, but very useful video on the subject that focuses on the comedic directorial style of Edgar Wright.


(
)




- I’m a pretty busy guy and I bet you are too, so this suggestion is one that you might just need to blow off, but here goes anyway. Your videos are increasingly well-received and you’re improving at your craft, so it might be time to put out content more regularly. People seem to really dig your last couple of videos (and they should because they’re solid), and I don’t think you’ve reached a point of overexposure with your channel. You could try mixing in some quick-hitters in between big releases to build your brand and stay connected with your subscribers.

- I've reviewed a few other gaming channels in this thread, and I'd refer you to them for some big-picture observations I have about the nature of the genre and what you can do to separate yourself from the pack.

I really don’t have anything terribly negative to say about what you’re doing. It’s a good channel. I’m not surprised that it’s growing. I think you’re getting better at what you do and you’re blessed with the innate ability to crack a joke. What you need to do to improve will mostly happen organically and be driven by your own creativity as you grow as a videographer, writer, and editor. You have the same production issues that almost all video game centered channels of your size seem to have, and I think you’d be wise to get crackin’ on improving that now instead of when you have a larger following. I don’t know what kind of team you’ve assembled, but you seem like a cool guy who might be able to rally some other people to the cause to more quickly grow your brand and audience. Whatever you do, I hope you stick with it, because I think you’re off to a good start and you show good potential for growth.

I like your stuff and I’m rooting for you.

Take care,

Matt
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I pretended this was about me and it actually helped a lot!
 
TehPickelz said:
Check my channel out man and let me know what you think I appreciate you helping people out !
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Hi Teh Pickelz,

Thanks for waiting so graciously for me to get back to you. I spent some time on your channel today and I have some thoughts I’d like to share. Here we go.

- You have a clear introduction video in which you state who you are and what you’re going for with your channel. Whether you’re writing a book, giving a speech, or making a YouTube channel it is so important to lay out your thesis and objectives right up front, and you did that very well. Nice work.

- On the other side of that coin, it’s here that we run into what I think will be the biggest problem with your channel moving forward. It only took about 30 second of your introductory video for me to feel like I really wouldn’t enjoy listening to you. While you did a great job of making a clear channel vid, you did a very poor job of using the video to sell viewers on why they should want to watch what you do. The humor didn’t hit and you came off as smug and rude. Now, please stick with me here, because I don’t want you to get discouraged. I watched more of your videos and came away with the impression that you’re a fun and decent guy, but in your intro video you chose to go the tough route and it just didn’t play well. When it comes to YouTube and gaming channels, there are about a zillion choices out there and people are usually going to invest their time only in watching someone they root for and like. You are the star of the channel and you’re the reason people will watch, but that means that if the channel isn’t doing very well it’s also because of you.

- In light of this, I’d encourage you to reconsider how you’re presenting yourself. You don’t have to be over-the-top nice, but you might consider reframing your presentation so that viewers feel like they’re more in on the jokes and trolling. Right now the tone feels more like we’re on the receiving end.

- One way to build a connection with your audience and to make them like you (even if you are doing some light-hearted trolling videos) is to let them see you. If you show your face and speak to your audience they’ll feel less like the butt of your jokes and more like they’re having a laugh with a friend about funny things from the world of gaming.

- I’ve mentioned this in other reviews, and it’s just a matter of preference, but I’ll throw it out there again anyway. I consider dialing the swearing back a lot. All words are useful in one way or another, but certain words wear out their welcome more quickly than others, and hard profanity fits that description. It just doesn’t sound sharp or witty and, even though you might not feel the same way when you watch, it’s a turn off for a large portion of your audience. I’m not proposing a squeaky clean Sunday School channel, I’m just suggesting that your channel might benefit from using certain words more sparingly.

- You’re a good player. I particularly like the moments in your videos that highlight that. It’s fun to see someone who’s good at something doing it very well. I’m a respectable COD player and have been for a long time, but you’d absolutely shame me if we played.

Clearly you’re at the very beginning of this thing and still developing your brand and approach. You’re talented and have some good ideas percolating here. I mean no disrespect when I say that I think you should reimagine the tone of your channel before you go much further with it. I believe the persona you’re choosing to present won’t attract the kind of viewers you’ll need to generate buzz and advance your channel. I think you’re at your best when you are a little more human and coming off like a big brother who’s invited a younger sibling to watch him play games and rib gamers online. I think you struggle the most when you sound gruff, harsh, and cocky.

Everything I’ve thrown out here is meant to be constructive and is intended to genuinely help you improve your following and develop as a YouTuber. You and I have different tastes and that’s okay. My opinions aren’t necessarily the right opinions, they’re just the thoughts of one guy who was willing to take the time to offer some suggestions.

I genuinely wish you the best as you grow in your skills as a YouTuber and as a gamer.

Take care,


Supertraff said:
I would love a review on my channel. My goal is to get as popular as possible :)
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Hi Supertraff,

Thanks for requesting a review. I enjoy seeing what other YouTubers are up to, and it’s a privilege to offer an opinion on someone else’s work. In your message you said that your goal is to grow your channel and to do so quickly. I really appreciate you mentioning your goals, because it makes it easier for me to give you quality, honest feedback. I’m going to level some pointed criticisms, but I’ll follow those up with lots of constructive suggestions, so please stick with me through the entire review.

Truth to be told, I don’t think you have much cooking right now, and I think you’ve got a very long way to go before your channel has any chance of gaining traction. The bottom line is that there’s no reason for any non-League of Legends player to ever watch your videos, and potential viewers who do play League of Legends are very unlikely to watch your videos because there are hordes of vastly superior channels out there. What that leaves you with is basically zero potential audience. Here’s what you can do to change that.

- If you’re committed to being a League of Legends channel, then you need to find a way to be different and better than the others.

- In the past you did some stuff on other games, and if that’s your plan, you’d be wise to create playlists to sort those out. It might also be good to create a few show formats that would generate different points of connection for audience members.

- With your current format you have no chance of beating other channels, because most your videos are completely contextless and personalityless. There is literally nothing interesting or distinguishing about most of them other than the thumbnails. However, if you added introductory remarks explaining what we’re looking at, some face time from you, enjoyable commentary, informative gaming/community news, and interaction with your audience, people would have a reason to watch.

- Those videos where we do hear you speak at length are your strongest, but your recording equipment is hurting you. The quality is so poor that it makes listening to you difficult. Better recording gear and more of you will help a great deal.

- As it stands right now, your recent League of Legends videos are the equivalent of someone being dropped out of the sky into the middle of a sport they don’t understand for 45 seconds at a time. That’s not fun or funny. It will generate indifference at best and a hostile reaction at worst. That said, you can address this by playing the role of commentator and educating your audience while also riffing on what’s going on in the game clip you’re showing.

- Currently, your channel has no brand, no host, no format, and no point. Not many gaming channels that lack those things are going to land more than friends and family pity subscriptions. All of that is fixable though, but it takes work. Just throwing some gaming footage on the screen is meaningless, but if you find patterns and points of interest and then present them to viewers, they’ll like you for your insights that take them deeper into something they already have an interest in.

- Again, the number one solution to all these weaknesses it YOU. More you makes the channel better. You can inject your videos with more humanity by being verbally and visibly present in your videos or by being highly creative in your editing. Shows need a star; a main character to succeed, and right now the main character is pixelated characters on a screen. That’s not compelling enough to make people watch. You need to be the main character, and you need to bring value to your viewers (humor, knowledge, comradery) to really be an effective main character.

In a way, I sort of feel bad giving feedback, because you really haven’t done much yet and I don’t want you to feel discouraged. You’ve posted a little game footage and some channel art, so you’ve dipped your toe in the water and that’s good; it means you’ve got some motivation and the savvy needed to grow your skills in this area. Making a channel people want to watch with their very valuable free time is work, and if you want to do it right you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you. The thing to consider is how invested you want to be in this. If it’s something you’re really going to tear into, then I’d say you’re in the right place (YTtalk that is). There are tons of people, including me, who’ll be glad to offer advice and kick around ideas with you.

I’m clearly not a YouTube expert so you can take my advice here with a grain of salt, but I have a ton of experience in film, writing, branding, and communication, so if I can help there please let me know and I’d be delighted to think it through with you.

I hope you get what you’re looking for out of your time as a content producer on YouTube, and I’m happy to continue the conversation in the future if that would be helpful.

With humility and respect,

Matt
 
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