What I Learned From Making a Horrible Video

CoolMoo5

CoolMoo5

I Love YTtalk
The Story
After several unsuccessful attempts at YouTube on different channels, on October 13, 2014 I started my current channel. Right before October 13, 2015 hit, I knew I wanted to make some sort of video to celebrate 1 year on YouTube. Unfortunately I was very busy (and lazy) and put it off until the last minute and it was the night of October 13, 2015. I grabbed my camera put it on a selfie stick and filmed a super quick video and then edited by cutting out my ramblings. I put the video up and made it public but it was I realized it was a horrible video, and once I uploaded my next public video I made this one unlisted.

The Mistakes
In the video I said I had 57 subscribers but I actually had 75. I also said I had 19 videos but I actually had 22 videos. At least I got the views right. Also there is the fact, that my bedroom was a complete mess and I didn't even bother to pick up. The lighting was horrible and the camera movements were the worst. I didn't have any prior planning for this video, besides the fact that I knew I wanted it to be about one year on YouTube. When I was done editing it, I didn't pay attention to how I formatted it because when it was uploaded to YouTube there were black bars on all sides.

Here are Some Key Things I Learned:
1) Always plan your video before filming and also tidy up the room you are filming in.
2) If you are presenting facts double check them before having them in the video.
3) Always watch the final video on YouTube right after upload because you might have set it to the wrong format in editing and so now it has the black bars on around it and looks bad. Or maybe something else? Who knows what?

I will always keep old videos up on my channel, but they won't be public. Any old videos I don't like I have been making them unlisted. But since every video I make is part of a playlist titled "every video ever" they can be seen again. I figure if anyone wants to see where I come from they can see every single video and learn that it takes time to improve.

I know success doesn't happen overnight, but I think sometimes all it takes one bad video to learn what not to do and improve your skills. So go ahead make a horrible video, you might learn something.

Don't be afraid to create.
 
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I have older videos on my channel that have since been made unlisted. They're a different direction to what my channel is going in now and cringeworthy in places, but I'm kind of attached to them because they were my first videos on the channel and I want to see them as a means of showcasing how far I've come.

I think it's great that you're able to view your content with an open mind. It can take years for some people to acknowledge that their content needs work. You're doing great!
 
Mainly YouTube is like a learning experience. You understand not only what works for you but what you like to give to the people/audience. We all make mistakes in the past but to grow and revamp from them is how you advance in your YT hobby. Glad to hear about your update.
 
I think we all at one time or another publish a rushed video and then look back and think what was i thinking!!! But its all a learning curve. With my old channel i rushed everything and ended up delivering poor content which in turn lost me subscribers. I learnt the hard way so now always plan my videos first. :)
 
Great lessons learned. I seem to keep having to learn some lessons over and over..l Checking sound levels has trashed a a good day of filming more then once. Looks like you are well on your way to unlocking your potential.
 
DONT..this is a touchy subject lol!...

NOTHING is as bad and I mean NOTHING is as bad as making a sketch video "MICKEY MOUSE EATS MY CHICKEN"...-_-

I have still got this video as public...its the worst cringiest video every made. lol :D
 
Thanks for sharing your story. I have a Halloween video that I put together because it was easy to do and posted it as my video for that week. Then I felt bad because I didn't think my subscribers deserved that as my contribution for the week so I made another video. The Halloween video is my most successful video thus far (as far as money made). Go figure! However, I want to do a new and better one next year!
 
I'm currently revamping my channel and while I was going through videos to make new thumbnails, I referenced one video that's currently like my second or third most viewed, so I watched it and ...it was rushed, the lighting and quality are terrible, it's just bad, so I'll be remaking that video probably within the next month or so, all of my other worst videos are private.
 
I think we've all been there - I have plenty of videos that I've posted that are either really old songs that aren't as good as they could be now, or videos that are just poor quality lol. don't think I'll ever set any videos to private or unlisted, but looking back at some covers I've posted compared to the vision I have for my channel right now is so cringe-worthy. I definitely have a better focus for my channel now, and am going to stick to it. Gotta say the one I dislike the most is where I didn't realize a watermark was in a stock photo I was using, woopsy XDD

Thanks for sharing your story! Definitely lots of tips to take from it :)
 
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