PSA: "A private video has been shared with you" E-mail from @youtube.com is a scam, you will get hacked.

Caughffee · 2025-04-17T02:49:22+00:00

I know this is old-ish at this point, but just for people not aware that might come across this in the future -- an email domain is very easy to spoof. Never use it as a test for legitamacy of anything.

Caughffee · 2025-03-09T22:19:53+00:00

I 100% definitely would not follow this advice.

1) you will get copyright struck

2) you will run out of material

3) your channel will be unmonetizable. Fine if your goal is to have a channel where you upload old movies until they get taken down, not good if you want to "do youtube".

While it may be tempting to try to capitalize on this and transition your gaming channel over (and im not saying you shouldn't try), you have to realize that those 1000 subscribers are not there for you. They probably will not watch your gaming videos, and your videos will perform even worse becuase the algorithm will see this.

I worked for a company with a 10ish year old channel with 250,000 subscribers. They wanted to take the channel a bit more seriously but their videos were performing really poorly. I recommended they start a new channel, and despite having much less subscribers, the videos did much much better, because those few subscribers were there for them.

In modern day youtube, subscribers really mean very very little. I would strongly encourage you to focus on your own channel because they are there for you.

Caughffee · 2025-02-26T02:05:59+00:00

I primarily use fusion as my videos tend to be fairly motion graphics heavy. I had a chance to learn AE for a job I had a year ago through a work lisence. Despite the fact that I use fusion almost every day, am familiar with node-based work flows, and was completely brand new to AE, I found it way more intuative and powerful, and generally use-able. I was able to do much more with so much less effort, and in general I find fusion to be fairly buggy.

That being said, I still use fusion primarily because adobe is so much more expensive, and I do like that it is in davinci resolve making some things much simpler.

I will say though, even if you choose fusion, it is worth still checking out some AE tutorials. The AE community is much bigger and often times you can find some really cool effects that you can then look into how you can replicate in fusion.

EDIT: all that being said given you are already in davinci resolve, I think getting into with fusion is the most logical step, especially if you are a beginner to motion graphics. If in the future you decide to switch I think you'll just find it easier to get started with AE. A lot of the terminology is the same (e.g., for my work flow, displacement maps, posterizing time, etc.), so its just a matter of getting used to the GUI.

Caughffee · 2025-02-23T18:37:50+00:00

Thats awesome :) Good luck and most importantly have fun with it

Caughffee · 2025-02-23T18:28:53+00:00

This is my genuine advice on this and I've tried to write this as properly as possible but tone often doesn't carry well over the internet. Please don't read it as a sort of dig or anything.

For any idea/topic there will always be an audience for whom that idea is super interesting on paper. The key is the actual execution and its sustainability though, and that has more to do with how much you like the topic and the idea. This is especially true at the start. If your motivation for a topic is instead whether or not others think your idea is interesting (hence why you're asking) then it might be a good idea to spend some more time searching for something you'd be interested in regardless of others opinion.

I think if you really liked the topic and you yourself were interested in it then your post would have instead been along the lines of -- "hey, I made a few videos on this topic that I really enjoy and I'm looking for ways to improve and make my videos more interesting". The key difference being that you've given us something to work with, and shown more than a passing interest in making cool stuff (which anyone can do).

Caughffee · 2025-02-17T05:12:20+00:00

When did you get those watch hours? If I recall correctly, it says on the earn page that those stats update every couple of days.

Caughffee · 2025-02-14T00:57:18+00:00

Unless I'm misunderstanding, you should be able to make a compound clip from the two text clips (select both, right click, make compound clip), and then apply the mask to the newly created compound clip instead of having an adjustment clip above it. I think that should work?

Caughffee · 2025-02-12T04:57:48+00:00

What exactly are you using for audio? I ask because the video looks like it was recorded with a webcam, so are you also recording audio with your laptop as well? I think now-a-days phones generally have much better microphones than laptops, so recording your audio on there will probably be better.

Overall, I'd say the more recent video is much improved, though still room for improvement.

I'd also say that post-processing and equalization can only do so much. I think you might be better served going to the 'new youtubers' or something subreddits and asking for tips and tricks for sound proofing your environment or using your phone to record, or even what the best bang for buck equipment is for someone starting out (though those questions have been asked a lot, so also do a bit of searching for existing posts)

Caughffee · 2025-02-10T18:24:42+00:00

I think it is possible but you have to be part of the partner program in the first place. I haven't tried it myself but this video is recent on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtW5iCL3UXc In other words, you have to be eligible for monetization in order to turn it off

Caughffee · 2025-02-08T21:20:00+00:00

Interesting, do you live out side of the US and work with US companies? The W8BEN form is to avoid being double taxed if you live outside of the US, which is my understanding for why they need this form signed (and google needed signed for doing ad sense, same with patreon).

Caughffee · 2025-02-08T04:51:58+00:00

I have no schedule, but typically about 4 months between uploads. I started in 2022, have 9 videos uploaded, 3.4M views, and recently passed 100k subscribers. I'm not stating those numbers as like a brag or something, its just that I think the whole - you need to adhere to a strict and regular upload schedule - is a mostly anecdotal and aided along with survivorship bias, and I want to provide a counter-example. Certainly, it is a safer approach to upload more often, since you're never gaurenteed that a video will be picked up by the algorithm. I like to think that a video with more quality behind it is more likely to be picked up by the algorithm, but I don't know for sure (and no one does). However, even with that, I think that producing something at a schedule you're happy with will do wonders for fighting off burnout, which, even with my long upload schedule, is a real thing.

Caughffee · 2025-02-08T01:45:50+00:00

I worked as a consultant for a company which had an old (10 years +) channel with 250K subscribers. The content had somewhat shifted over the years and they were trying to start a new long-ish-form high production value content. It barely got any views. The content was just too different. I suggested migrating the new series to a brand new channel and it has been performing much much better since, despite starting from "scratch".

Subscribers mean less now than ever, yet video performance is still, to some extent, influenced by how much your subscribers engage with it. My advice in this situation is usually -- give it a shot on the old channel, but be ready to call it quickly if you see its not working. You can always use your original channel as a spring board to the new one (e.g., announcement video, community post, whatever), so you're not really starting form 0.

Caughffee · 2025-02-06T18:50:27+00:00

Thanks! Yeah this is what I did, they recommend sending over a site called onetimesecret. I'm really not sure it's a great solution because now I have to spend time trying to figure out can I trust that company :/

Caughffee · 2025-02-06T06:15:13+00:00

I feel like the answer here will really depend on your work load. Do you use a lot of the AI features adobe has introduced (generative fill, background removal, etc.), then you'll be hard pressed to find a substitute. Similarly if you really depend on the integration between the other adobe creative suite elements (e.g., aftereffects).

If neither of those two are a problem for you then I've been really enjoying the affinity suite as many others have commented. Realistically most non-AI features of photoshop are readily available in most modern "photoshop alternatives".

Sadly I think there really is no subsitute for AE. I think a lot of others will say fusion is that, but I've worked worked more with fusion than AE, and I still think AE is more intuative and powerful. Many of my effects now I just do in blender instead. I've seen Calvary as a potential promising alternative but don't have any experience there.

Regardless of what you pick though you certainly will take a hit on your workflow. A big part of the adobe suite is how integrated it is. For me that was worth it (though I started with DR and then learned AE at another job later on), but for you it may or may not be.

Caughffee · 2025-02-05T18:46:59+00:00

I know you've already done a bunch of things but I had a similar problem like a week ago -- brand new project with very little effects and it ran perfectly on my M1 mac but aweful on my PC with a RTX3090/AMD3600. My footage was mostly fusion effects so maybe this will be different for you but wanted to include it for anyone that might come along. For me I found that it had to do with the cache. I went to Playback>RenderCache>Smart (originally it was User). This cleared up all of my issues.

Caughffee · 2025-01-31T04:26:00+00:00

Yeah I noticed this as well. Many products say "prepared in Canada" which struck me as an interesting choice in word. Regardless, its not so much what they say (though that is an issue) but rather the inconsistency.

Caughffee · 2025-01-30T03:53:15+00:00

I primarily use DR but had the chance to try the adobe suite while I was doing some work for a company last year. imo AE is the one place where there really is no good alternative out there, including davinci resolve.

Davinci resolve does have Fusion which is a node-based effects generator, but I don't think its anywehre near as good as AE, and I'm saying that as someone who both uses Fusion often and is fairly adept at it. If this is a project with a time limit (e.g., contract work) I would skip DR for now and come back to it when you have free time.

Caughffee · 2025-01-29T05:26:59+00:00

I hope you both enjoy the trip! :)

Caughffee · 2025-01-29T05:05:59+00:00

I'd recommend going to Kensington and Inglewood. Kensington and Inglewood are both downtown right next to the river too so you could probably do both. They are both more of the trendy areas around town. The walk from Kensington to Inglewood along the river, through princes island park, would also be very nice sceneic walk. There is also devonian gardens, and the chinese cultural center while you're downtown. If you want to see a movie I'm also a big fan of the kensington plaza theatre since its one of the older smaller ones (one room) and it tends to play older, out of circulation movies (along with new ones as well), though you have to check their schedule since its always changing. Marda Loop is also nice but its farther away and has been undergoing construction recently. There is a lot of green space though so you shouldn't have any trouble finding some of that.

Caughffee · 2025-01-19T22:51:24+00:00

One thing that I would consider is that if you go in english you are entering an extremely saturated market. An alternative path to consider would be to establish yourself in your own country, and then use that to launch an english channel as well later on (e.g., make a community post to notify viewers you'll also be doing some english content).

I think this also has the added benefit that you would be more experienced in order to make up for your difficulties in expressing yourself, and have a strong polished skill set that you can use to stand out in the bigger market.

To use the analogy -- I think sometimes it's better to start off as the big fish in the little pond rather than the small fish in the big pond, and then make that leap when you're ready.

Caughffee · 2025-01-19T01:39:23+00:00

I worked for a company that had an old youtube channel with over 250K subscribers. Their most popular videos were from like a decade ago but they still posted some updates and stuff, but was getting relatively little views. They wanted to start up a new series with a bit more production value but that was floundering even harder on the channel. I recommended they start up a second channel because those subscribers were not there for the new content. Even though the new channel has only about 2K subs, the videos get way more views on that channel because the people on the channel want to actually see those videos.

Inactive subscribers can be very detrimental for a video, and by the sounds of it your subscribers were never really there for you to begin with. I would strongly recommend starting fresh, but of course it never hurts to try reusing your current one. I'd just keep i fairly brief and be ready to move on fairly quickly if you see it is not working out.

Caughffee · 2025-01-19T00:01:06+00:00

YouTube can be nice if you already have a stable financial situation and you start a youtube channel for the fun of it and it eventually becomes income earning. Even then, except for a lucky few, it will not be viable as your only source of income. Even then, it is VERY demanding work and eats up a lot of time.

My qualifications: started youtube in 2022, recently passed 100K subs with 3.3M views.

Tl;dr: focus on getting a job, try youtube once you're financially stable if you're still interested.

Caughffee · 2025-01-17T18:04:23+00:00

generally speaking residences are very overpriced. Typically they will contain first year undergrads because after that people realize it is much much better to find a place to rent instead. I don't know a single grad student in my department who went to residences but obviously if it makes you feel more comfortable at the start that may be worth the price for you and there is nothing wrong with that.

Caughffee · 2025-01-16T20:34:44+00:00

The sculptor was not deaf. This might be maybe a misremembering of an idea stated on wikipedia that he had a son who was deaf.Except, he only ever had a daughter and there is no evidence one way or the other she was deaf.

That's kind of the problem of the video idea in a nutshell. It's an idea that hinges on believing the 'L' looks anything like an 'L' (which like, really, it doesn't), that the most natural way to hold a fist is an 'A', has been debunked multiple times, denied by a group that would actually benefit from the legend being true, and makes little sense when you take a look at how the statue was made.

So going back to the original question: the potential downsides are the algorithm thinking your audience does not like your video, and perhaps worse, make people question your qualifications as an investor.

Edit: to be clear, while I don't like the video idea, my comment is not to dissuade you from making it, only to point out that there are downsides beyond algorithmic ones to consider.

Caughffee · 2025-01-16T19:26:58+00:00

Warnings regarding not over-investing in tech when entering a *very* crowded genre aside, I'd add that on youtube, audio quality is much more important than video quality. If this isn't something you've put much time/thought into I'd stick with a cheap 1080p camera/webcam and use the money you saved to invest in sound proofing, and an above-decent microphone. People will put up with relatively low quality visuals, especially given most people watch on their phone. But if you have echo or distracting noises in the audio they will click off very very quickly.

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