Series Review

[LytaneVS]

Hey everyone!

When I first started YouTube there were other creators and shows that really made me want to get into making videos and one of them was Tabletop, the show with Wil Wheton where he plays through board games. I too wanted to make something worth while like him but I don't have the budget or the crew or the expertise that he has access to but that hasn't stopped me.

What I'm looking for is an honest opinion of the quality of the show and where I can make improvements. I know that the sound isn't 100% yet but I'm working on different ways to capture it in the future to make the episodes better. I'm talking more about the look of the show, the editing and what can I add or change in order to make it better.

I spend a lot of time and effort on these episodes (more than just about everything else on my channel) so I want to know what I can do to improve.

Thank you all for your time!!

 

[LostTrigger]

I dont know how long that intro sequence with the cat was but with the already long intro actual channel/video intro we're a minute in before even starting the video, thats way to long imo, most people hate 20 sec long intros and would have clicked off by now. jesus christ is that a 2 minute long intro sequence?

after making someone wait that long you shouldnt then explain the game to them. if you want to explain the game do it with every present as your starting the game so I can atleast get to know everyone while your doing this. seeing how everyone interacts with each other is the point of watching videos like these. and people who dont care that much about the people and just want to see a video on the game wouldve been turned off by how long it takes.

the game, which we clicked on the video for, doesnt start until 5 or 6 minutes in. your going to really hurt your viewer watching time with this. and low watch time will push your video further back in the youtube system.

i dont think the audio quality is bad, i just cant really hear the two guys on the right, i can for the most part hear you and the woman but not so much the other 2 guys. also when everyone is talking over each other its hard to understand whats being said.

also watching the video it feels a bit to professional. i cant really explain it but listening to you guys talk/play the game nothing about it feels casual. kinda like your talking because your making a video, instead of playing a game and happened to be recording. idk, maybe thats how you guys normally talk to each other but it feels a bit fake/forced. you also dont seem to be playing off eachother that much and for the most part reacting on whats happening in game

 

[LytaneVS]

Thank you for taking the time to watch my video and to reply with your feedback.

You aren't the first person to say that the intro (the one with the music where it shows us) is too long. I treat this as more of like a show and most shows have a "cool" introduction to build the hype but I think I'll cut it back to just the end with the logo in order to save on time in the future.

Also have you ever watched an episode of Tabletop? While I know I need to be more original I mostly pull from the format of that show which has "Intro story of the game - Animated Intro - Rules - Introduction of Celebrities - Bit of fluff - Game play" With that bit of fluff part sometimes being there and other times not. I tried to cut out the fluff so the game starts straight away and I cut out the intro of Celebs because, well we aren't celebs. Most of the time it runs for about 5-6min before game play starts. With one episode being like 8min!!

I am in the mindset of "Why introduce ourselves when we aren't famous or popular." I don't think that people would even care for who we are in that context. The only person that they might care about right now is me as it's my channel but still. That was part of why I had that min long intro, show the players having fun and enjoying games as well as establish who we are and our names so when you watch the rest of the episode you at least know that.

But from reading your reply I don't think that it even had that effect on you as you didn't use their names when writing your feedback but that might have also been for time. Anyway as I'll be cutting all of that out I think a very very brief introduction of who is playing might be used in the future.

I can also cut down on the rule explanation though it's hard to judge how much of the rules I need to state before the game starts. If I don't say anything then only people familiar with the game will understand what is going on at first. If I have too much which isn't needed then it just pads out the time and, your right, might bore people before the game begins. It's a very hard line to walk. I also do them solo because I film them afterwards and my friends are already pretty camera shy and aren't the best at remembering a script and when I teach them new games it takes a LOT longer than what's on film due to questions and people double checking rules so I don't think that would be as entertaining and it would also be harder to edit as well.

As for our "fake/forced" feel I assure you that it isn't scripted or anything and it might have part to do with the fact that my friends are shy and not used to being in front of cameras. This was the first game we recorded together as that group (The previous video Ghost Stories was film after but released before in order to fit with Halloween) so that would also contribute. I am also unsure about why you think we aren't playing off of each other much. We are talking to one another, stealing, being paranoid and all reacting to one guy using 4 copies of the same card etc. Also in this game it is a very reactionary game to play, that's mostly part of the fun, so reacting to what is happening is natural.

How would you go about making it feel more natural? I know having them in front of the camera more would help. Once again, referencing Table Top, most of what they talk about and the jokes are in reaction to what's happening to them in the game. It's much like a Let's Player reacting to things whilst playing games.

 

[LostTrigger]

Thank you for taking the time to watch my video and to reply with your feedback.

You aren't the first person to say that the intro (the one with the music where it shows us) is too long. I treat this as more of like a show and most shows have a "cool" introduction to build the hype but I think I'll cut it back to just the end with the logo in order to save on time in the future.

Also have you ever watched an episode of Tabletop? While I know I need to be more original I mostly pull from the format of that show which has "Intro story of the game - Animated Intro - Rules - Introduction of Celebrities - Bit of fluff - Game play" With that bit of fluff part sometimes being there and other times not. I tried to cut out the fluff so the game starts straight away and I cut out the intro of Celebs because, well we aren't celebs. Most of the time it runs for about 5-6min before game play starts. With one episode being like 8min!!

I am in the mindset of "Why introduce ourselves when we aren't famous or popular." I don't think that people would even care for who we are in that context. The only person that they might care about right now is me as it's my channel but still. That was part of why I had that min long intro, show the players having fun and enjoying games as well as establish who we are and our names so when you watch the rest of the episode you at least know that.

But from reading your reply I don't think that it even had that effect on you as you didn't use their names when writing your feedback but that might have also been for time. Anyway as I'll be cutting all of that out I think a very very brief introduction of who is playing might be used in the future.

I can also cut down on the rule explanation though it's hard to judge how much of the rules I need to state before the game starts. If I don't say anything then only people familiar with the game will understand what is going on at first. If I have too much which isn't needed then it just pads out the time and, your right, might bore people before the game begins. It's a very hard line to walk. I also do them solo because I film them afterwards and my friends are already pretty camera shy and aren't the best at remembering a script and when I teach them new games it takes a LOT longer than what's on film due to questions and people double checking rules so I don't think that would be as entertaining and it would also be harder to edit as well.

As for our "fake/forced" feel I assure you that it isn't scripted or anything and it might have part to do with the fact that my friends are shy and not used to being in front of cameras. This was the first game we recorded together as that group (The previous video Ghost Stories was film after but released before in order to fit with Halloween) so that would also contribute. I am also unsure about why you think we aren't playing off of each other much. We are talking to one another, stealing, being paranoid and all reacting to one guy using 4 copies of the same card etc. Also in this game it is a very reactionary game to play, that's mostly part of the fun, so reacting to what is happening is natural.

How would you go about making it feel more natural? I know having them in front of the camera more would help. Once again, referencing Table Top, most of what they talk about and the jokes are in reaction to what's happening to them in the game. It's much like a Let's Player reacting to things whilst playing games.

i've never watched tabletop but i have watched trading card games played in the same format, and i've also watched alot of totalbiscuits and the co-optional podcast as they do alot of tabletop and board games called the co-optional lounge. they likely have a new player on each episode and total biscuits wife who is in none of his main content shows up for the table top games, i had never seen her before watching the lounge. sure they do everything online but the first 3 or so minutes is them explaining the game and everyone is kinda just doing there own thing and I really get to know their personality before the game even started. i'd recommend watching a co-optional lounge just to get an idea where i might be coming from, i've binged through maybe 20 episodes in a few days of them haha

just watched episode 8 of the table top, they're playing fiasco. I didnt mind the intro at first, the game sounded preety complicated and having never heard of it before i understand the reason for the intro, but that intro was 6 -8 minutes long. i cant imagine myself sitting through that every episode especially for a game that might be a bit simpler. Also being famous actors and such they get to get away with these longer intro because its almost like "omg the writer for a starwars book is playing a table top game". I mean i still skipped around because jesus that intro was long lol but again that aside I feel like I enjoyed watching them play because it was more so about what they had to say/do then the actual game. The game is just a medium for their antics. The same for totalbiscuit. The same way when me and my friends would do funny gameplay videos the game was just a medium for us to be dumb and scream and such. Maybe it was just the game you guys were playing or that some of them are camera shy or a combination of both. But thats sort of what i meant, just kinda felt like i was watching you guys play a game instead of watching a group of friends who happened to have exploding kittens infront of them.

hope that makes since and i doesnt come off as harsh. i guess i didnt answer your question about how to be more natural lol. when i first started doing videos i was camera shy and often didnt really be myself unless i got caught up in the moment. its probably something that comes with practice, or maybe try taking the lead everyone else will follow. when my friend started cursing, yelling, saying nonsense i'd be having so much fun that i almost forgot i was making a video and vice versa when i started being myself i could tell that he came out some to. we're so drawn into what we're doing that no one really thinks about that its being recorded. i mean im not saying to just start being obnoxious but hopefully you get the point lol. listening to you guys talk it sounds like you know your on camera. there your friends and you know hw you guys act around each other, if whats in the video isnt realistic then thats one thing, if it is more or less the same then it might be possible im just not a fan of your personalities that much. so my advice might not be the best for your case but i hope it was constructive none-the-less.

i've played games like dungeons and dragons and the group is usually a bit dull until my antics go into full force and everyone is laughing and having a good time haha