Made a YouTube video.... does it suck?

[DirtyComanche]

I'm looking for critical feedback.  This is only really the second video I've made.  What do you hate?  Is it boring?  Does my fabricobblication make babies cry?

 

 

 

Disclaimer,  I rendered and uploaded it and didn't actually watch it through to make sure it didn't corrupt. 

[HOrnbrod]

I'd like to criticize something, but found nothing to bash Dirty.    Both the audio and video was crisp and clear, the pace of the vid was steady and consistent, and it held my interest all the way through, which is rare. Excellent job building the bumper and documenting it. You are very skilled in both.

[Sir Sam]

What are you using to edit? The titles feel a little cheesy/not professional.

 

Video only shows 720p, is that the highest resolution you can shoot in or is it only showing 720p because youtube is still processing the higher resolutions?

 

Content seems good, my only recommendation might be to split it into 2 - 3 parts and then keep all the video in a playlist. Couple of reasons for that:

 

Shorter videos are easier to sit through. I struggle with this lots since I wind of with tons of great footage and information, but for brevity I have to cut it down. The sped up videos help out lots for this, but its hard to chop things away. Generally I go bloody murder on it and cut out a ton of stuff to get videos to watchable length.

 

Individual videos for one type of task make it easier for people to rewatch the section they need to focus on, example in case this playlist for the Jeep KJ diesel timing belt:

 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDbSTRhfMcEjDX0QMnrwIViobDPGbbwVD

 

 

See how thats in 6 parts? If you look at the play count some parts have many more views because they are needed by more people or they need to be watched in more detail.

 

This also has the added benefit of getting your watch count a little higher which helps with certain metrics.

 

Also consider at the beginning of the video during a quick before/after section, show me early on why I want to watch the video by showing me the final product.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mjeff87]

<<Nelson voice>>ON

 

HA HA!  You said prOject....

 

<<off>>

 

J/K.  Awesome vid, if a little long.  I did have to pause it to get another beer

 

Lighting, camera angles, narration....perfect.  For when I do get an XJ, shipping to 23831?

 

Good job, man.

 

[DirtyComanche]

6 hours ago, HOrnbrod said:

I'd like to criticize something, but found nothing to bash Dirty.    Both the audio and video was crisp and clear, the pace of the vid was steady and consistent, and it held my interest all the way through, which is rare. Excellent job building the bumper and documenting it. You are very skilled in both.

 

Thanks Hornbord.  I spent a ton of time trying to cut it down so it was fast enough to not be boring.  My worst fear was making some heavy breathing, white noise infested, long winded video with too much time spent on one thing or long awkward scenes of pretty much nothing.  I've still got a ton to learn, so most of this was really just figuring out the best way to film things, and the editing software, audio, etc.

 

2 hours ago, Sir Sam said:

What are you using to edit? The titles feel a little cheesy/not professional.

 

Video only shows 720p, is that the highest resolution you can shoot in or is it only showing 720p because youtube is still processing the higher resolutions?

 

Content seems good, my only recommendation might be to split it into 2 - 3 parts and then keep all the video in a playlist. Couple of reasons for that:

 

Shorter videos are easier to sit through. I struggle with this lots since I wind of with tons of great footage and information, but for brevity I have to cut it down. The sped up videos help out lots for this, but its hard to chop things away. Generally I go bloody murder on it and cut out a ton of stuff to get videos to watchable length.

 

Individual videos for one type of task make it easier for people to rewatch the section they need to focus on, example in case this playlist for the Jeep KJ diesel timing belt:

 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDbSTRhfMcEjDX0QMnrwIViobDPGbbwVD

 

 

See how thats in 6 parts? If you look at the play count some parts have many more views because they are needed by more people or they need to be watched in more detail.

 

This also has the added benefit of getting your watch count a little higher which helps with certain metrics.

 

Also consider at the beginning of the video during a quick before/after section, show me early on why I want to watch the video by showing me the final product.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did it in Davinci Resolve.  The titles were one of the first things I did since it was at the start of the video, and at the end I wasn't happy with them but decided to avoid redoing them for the time being.  There's definitely better ways to do them in Davinci.

 

It was filmed in 720P, I would have to buy a new camera to film in 1080 or 4K.  I felt if this went over well enough and I was happy with what I was capable of making, investing some money in better gear would be on the table.  To me there wasn't much point buying a nice camera and then going "Well, I sure hate doing that" and leaving it in a box until it was outdated and worthless.  The other problem is that what I am doing is hard on the camera, grinding/welding/etc isn't the nicest thing; I need to look into what guys are doing to protect their lens, etc when filming this stuff.  The other thing is you can clearly see the artifacting when welding, the camera simply isn't good enough to deal with the intense light output of the arc.  So, anyways, in summary the hardware I have is limited, I'll do the next video with it (it's already mostly filmed and partly thrown together) and then I will decide if an upgrade is in order or if this was a part of my life that will be forgotten in 10 years.

 

The audio also was not as good as I would have liked, due to two distinct hardware limitations.  The camera I filmed with being one (it struggles with the sounds of the arc, and a few other things), and the other that I actually have a proper condenser microphone for recording narration, but I forgot a needed cable and couldn't source one in a timely manner, so I used a much cheaper microphone and spent more time and labour cleaning it up to be acceptable.

 

I know what you're saying about the length, but I am totally unwilling to cut a video into two parts when it is focused entirely on one subject.  However, this project spiraled a bit I intend to keep the next one at around 10 minutes max, which I think is a little more reasonable for most casual viewers. I'll also try to keep the projects organized and limited to a scope that allows this.

 

I'm torn on spoilers, IMHO leaving the preview thumbnail as that is something of a spoiler and hopefully work without outright showing the finished product...  I actually intend to upload as a proper thumbnail instead of a Youtube generated one at some point, and to do so in the future with any other videos I upload.  It's something I will play with though.

 

1 hour ago, mjeff87 said:

<<Nelson voice>>ON

 

HA HA!  You said prOject....

 

<<off>>

 

J/K.  Awesome vid, if a little long.  I did have to pause it to get another beer

 

Lighting, camera angles, narration....perfect.  For when I do get an XJ, shipping to 23831?

 

Good job, man.

 

 

Thanks man.

 

The cross border shipping would kill you though.

 

[DirtyComanche]

I think my take on video length may differ from others because I primarily view Youtube as entertainment, I rarely go to it to answer how to do something.  When I watch stuff on Youtube I will ride my stationary bicycle (it's like a town bicycle but less fun), and watch for a half hour to two hours.  Hence some of the things I have suggested in the Youtube thread on here are typically staggeringly long episodes (Bad Obsession Motorsports, Isaac Arthur) or they're something where you can easily just watch 5 or 6 different videos from one videographer.  I didn't really intend for this video to function as any sort of a how-to, it was more of a "this is what I did" and there's enough information that if you know the basics of fabricobbling you could do something similar (or better).

 

I actually hate short videos and only make a few exceptions in what I normally watch (Vintage Space because Amy is hottt).

[Sir Sam]

38 minutes ago, DirtyComanche said:

I'm torn on spoilers, IMHO leaving the preview thumbnail as that is something of a spoiler and hopefully work without outright showing the finished product...

 

I guess it depends on why you are putting videos on youtube, do you want a successful channel that people come to and check out and view videos? Or do you just want to put out a technical video but gont give a F if you get much traffic. Do you want to monetize your video, build a following?

 

Because if I came across a 15 minute video and I'm not drawn into it in the first 30 seconds I'm likely not going to stick around, as is I have to skip to some point at the end to see what it is, and if I even want to watch the video.

 

To get people to watch the video you need to give them a reason to stick around and watch the video, and with a long video they need a damm good reason. When you build ANYTHING, legos, ikea furniture, etc, you get a picture of what your are going to build BEFORE you build it.

 

I've had to switch my MO for youtube, before I was content to monetize my few videos and get enough money to cover the hosting expenses for my website, but youtube recently changed the rules and you need to have 1000 subscribers to monetize your account. This means I need to switch my MO to try and keep my channel operating in the same way, part of that is doing things more like the above.

[johnj92131]

I watch the video with interest.  No problems following it.  720P did not bother me at all.  It kept my interest all the way to the end.  Quite sure I will get even more out of it the second time I watch it.

 

Also have to say I admire the steady hand with the cutting wheel.  Good looking work.

[coolwind57]

Good work on both the project and making the video.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  like others said, it held my interest throughout.  Good job, man.  

[Jeep Driver]

Cable is for monkeys.

I stream everything and much of it is YouTube. I watch to learn, being entertained is a plus but if I'm not learning or picking up new ideas, I drop the channel like a bad habit. 

 

DC, you have a tremendous amount of talent, you appear to be the technical type, don't worry about length, we all have a FF button, detail is good. 

 

Keep it up, I expect you'll do well. Your first vid was excellent. 

 

BTW, you have a voice for radio. 

[Minuit]

I enjoyed it. I had no problems watching the whole thing. You clearly know what you're doing and I enjoy watching skilled people work. Based on the editing, commentary style, and especially the camera angles, you're clearly influenced by Bad Obsession Motorsport. In fact, if I had to guess, that's probably what you were shooting for. If so, you did a great job. That watched just like an episode of Project Binky.

 

Only editing things I'd mention is to maybe cut the welding segments down a little bit. The first one about 7 minutes in where you finish welding up the bracket goes a little bit long, but the other ones are better. As far as the title screens, that's just something you get a better feel for the longer you work on them. For the type of video, the title screens are fine as is. That's not the point of the video, it's the fabrication that matters.

 

If I had to b*@$£ about something, it would be the narration, more specifically the inflection. It doesn't quite sound natural in parts. If I had to pick a word, sometimes your inflection seems almost a bit nervous, I guess? Not a huge deal, and narration is another one of those things that comes from practice.

 

For me, 16 minutes is nothing for a YT video. I'd watch an hour long video if the subject was interesting enough and I had enough time. Considering this is your second video, you did a great job.

 

 

[HOrnbrod]

Just now, Minuit said:

If I had to b*@$£ about something, it would be the narration, more specifically the inflection. It doesn't quite sound natural in parts. If I had to pick a word, ...

 

If I had to pick a word, or two, they would be out (oot) and about (aboot). But that's just natural from any Canadian I've ever talked to. I've always been curious if there are widely different accents in Canada throughout the provinces like there are here in the States. Like someone from Maine can hardly communicate with someone from rural Alabama. Do you guys in Canada have similar differentiating accents?

[DirtyComanche]

 

1 hour ago, Minuit said:

Only editing things I'd mention is to maybe cut the welding segments down a little bit. The first one about 7 minutes in where you finish welding up the bracket goes a little bit long, but the other ones are better. As far as the title screens, that's just something you get a better feel for the longer you work on them. For the type of video, the title screens are fine as is. That's not the point of the video, it's the fabrication that matters.

 

If I had to b*@$£ about something, it would be the narration, more specifically the inflection. It doesn't quite sound natural in parts. If I had to pick a word, sometimes your inflection seems almost a bit nervous, I guess? Not a huge deal, and narration is another one of those things that comes from practice.

 

 

1 hour ago, HOrnbrod said:

 

If I had to pick a word, or two, they would be out (oot) and about (aboot). But that's just natural from any Canadian I've ever talked to. I've always been curious if there are widely different accents in Canada throughout the provinces like there are here in the States. Like someone from Maine can hardly communicate with someone from rural Alabama. Do you guys in Canada have similar differentiating accents?

 

 

I have an accent that's a bit weird because I live and work in northern Canada but grew up in the southern BC interior.  So it's mostly a western Canadian accent but I say some things... differently.  I slowed my speech down a bit for it as I think there is people that would have trouble understanding me, but that's a bit of a fine balance and something I want to work on.  Again, learning experience.

 

And yes, the difference between my accent and an eastern Canadian accent is fairly apparent.     Then we have the Quebecois and the Newfies, I'm half convinced that a Quebecois speaking French is closer to what we would call English, than a Newfie speaking 'English' (Newfanese) is. Throw in the natives (who I spend lots of time talking with) and it gets really weird.

 

 

And in retrospect that welding scene dragged on...  The actual time it took to weld that dragged on.   I cut the others down more, and you're right, I probably could have dumped a fair amount of that.

[DirtyComanche]

5 hours ago, Sir Sam said:

 

I guess it depends on why you are putting videos on youtube, do you want a successful channel that people come to and check out and view videos? Or do you just want to put out a technical video but gont give a F if you get much traffic. Do you want to monetize your video, build a following?

 

Because if I came across a 15 minute video and I'm not drawn into it in the first 30 seconds I'm likely not going to stick around, as is I have to skip to some point at the end to see what it is, and if I even want to watch the video.

 

To get people to watch the video you need to give them a reason to stick around and watch the video, and with a long video they need a damm good reason. When you build ANYTHING, legos, ikea furniture, etc, you get a picture of what your are going to build BEFORE you build it.

 

I've had to switch my MO for youtube, before I was content to monetize my few videos and get enough money to cover the hosting expenses for my website, but youtube recently changed the rules and you need to have 1000 subscribers to monetize your account. This means I need to switch my MO to try and keep my channel operating in the same way, part of that is doing things more like the above.

 

I don't care at all if the channel is a 'success' (save getting a few views and hopefully not too many thumbs down) or I make money.  I'm filming this while I'm working in the shop, which costs me some time but I actually enjoyed doing it.  Almost all the editing is done while I'm at work on standby (can't go anywhere or really do anything, have a laptop but don't always have internet).  I'm doing this because I like making stuff at the end of the day, and as much as I like the format of forums I've realized there is a massive amount of people that probably have good insight that do not use them, so I'm going to slightly diversify where I post my projects (I still refuse to put anything on Facebook).

 

If I was going to try to chase the Youtube dream and try to monetize the channel I would do reviews on kids toys, make clickbait titles or thumbnails ("You wouldn't believe that you've been using this wrong!" with a picture of a winged waffle iron or something), or follow the advice of another channel "Do really stupid stuff really often, people will watch."  Realistically I will never break even doing this, assuming I can even get to the point the channel is monetized (they will likely move the goalpost again), and I'm fine with that, and I'm not to try to appease Youtube's idea that you need to upload weekly or whatever to be held favourably in the search results or suggestions.

[DirtyComanche]

9 hours ago, saveevryjp1998 said:

Whatever your reasoning keep it up. Your skills with an angle grinder, WOW! I could not hold my twitchy hands that steady for those cuts maybe its in the water here. If I had to find something to complain about it would be you sounded nervous and would say drink a couple beers before you do the narrating next time to relax for your shop skills give you nothing to worry about🍻

 

Thanks!

 

I recorded the narration while at work, and it was between radio calls (and being walked on by the radio, I'd start to record something and I'd hear "Hellooooooo PANTEON!  Thiz iz ENN-EHH-KAY!!!!" constantly from the Quebecois pilot ), so having a beer would have been frowned on.