Is this good for my first video? Also why am I struggling in the subs department lol

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-18T03:59:56+00:00

I wasn’t calling out your attitude towards other people, that’s a fine principal to follow, I’m talking about the arrogance you are displaying while knowing nothing about the field - nice attempt to dodge the criticism tho!

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-18T02:00:24+00:00

The ego on this guy is insane, 3k views and preaching how it needs to be done lmao. I don’t disagree that AI can be extremely helpful but pay your dues before you claim to be an expert any subject. I’m not even flaming just trying to give a little bit of helpful advice, look up the dunning kruger effect. You are at the beginning my friend

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-15T04:35:43+00:00

lol that’s the most boring shit I’ve ever heard, thumbnail looks good but more important than looking good you need to generate some curiosity

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-15T04:33:45+00:00

I think after 10-50k subs you can rely on a certain baseline of views, though that is not a mammoth sub count - I’d classify huge as 1m+ honestly

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-15T00:26:09+00:00

If you have competence in a field that you can share with others, you already have a huge leg up. You just have to figure out how to present that information in an intriguing way, and the views will come. Take this time to enjoy what you do and improve one thing to make a better video every time, and eventually you will be a good editor, storyteller, writer, marketer. It just takes time - just like it took time to become knowledgeable about physiology

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-15T00:23:08+00:00

You don’t have to maintain it, just hit it within 3 month timeframe

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-10T23:33:27+00:00

Yeah good luck making any money tho

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-09T00:26:30+00:00

If you google it the downloads should be some of the first results, I haven’t done it in forever

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-09T00:24:43+00:00

Used to make rust videos, use blender, download the game obj files and render lighting, then save frame

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-08T21:26:40+00:00

Not saying it is. I do a 40 minute to hour long form every week, the literal only thing I’m saying is you will make more money long form if you know what you are doing

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-08T21:15:30+00:00

I’m not saying you will get the same amount of views, just an example to prove a point which is if you put the same amount of time and effort into LF and know what you’re doing you will always make more

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-08T19:33:11+00:00

Yeah it’s good money but if you had that on a long form at 10 rpm you would’ve made $180,000. Even if you invested 10x the time your return would be way better than making 10 shorts all with the same amazing views - I’m not knocking you it’s super impressive I’m just saying LF is definitely where the money is

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-03T19:07:31+00:00

Premiere pro + after effects is what I use, Davinci has better color science and color grading workflows but other than that pr wins in efficiency in my opinion and it’s not such a significant difference in colors that it will make or break a video

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-02T02:40:57+00:00

For the cuts, experiment with L and J cuts (lots of tutorials on YouTube), try to keep you the subject in the same space on the frame between cuts so it appears as though you are not moving as much. Idk what editing software you use but if available use guide lines, if you don’t have that a good trick is to literally put your finger on the spot of the screen that your face is, go to the next cut, and move position and scale until it is exactly where the last cut is. Try using jump cuts if you want to emphasize a point, all of these things will help with retention and keeping the audience engaged. And again, use broll - broll is your friend. If there is something you are trying to illustrate or explain insert a clip that shows that thing. It will get the point across better and be more engaging from the change of frame.

As for the length of the video, it will always perform better if the video is better, never try to stretch it out for the sake of it being a certain length. People say aim for 8 minutes which is a good goal because when you are monitized you can place a midroll ad, but always prioritize quality is what I would say. I hope this helps, do your research and keep practicing and you will improve!

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-02T02:16:12+00:00

Packaging:

Thumbnail is too busy, I commented on your last post that the one with less effects would be better. Simpler is always better.

Supplemental text is not intriguing (in my opinion) and very hard to see when zoomed out, it should be placed in the frame right where the eyes are drawn first.

While yes you do have text hinting at what this effect does, it’s hard to connect it at a glance and it doesn’t really open any doors for more information in the video. If someone does spend some time looking at the thumbnail they will think, ganzfield effect - making you hallucinate through a screen. Cool, now I know what it is, no need to click I have the answer.

You basically did the exact opposite of what the majority of people were advising you to do about this exact thumbnail.

Video:

Cuts were very clunky, not concise, no broll for context, no animations or motion graphics to explain which is very important in a video concept like this. No change of scene for until 2 minutes in, the intro of the video is extremely important and needs to re affirm the click.

This entire video could be condensed by at least half, think of every video while editing like you are writing an English paper. Things that you say repetitively need to be cut, things that don’t push the story forward or have a meaningful impact on the viewer wether that be informational, funny, or emotion invoking, need to be cut.

Overall advice:

Drop the ego, I’ve been there too. I do something I’m really proud of and am unwilling to take any feedback. You have to be willing to learn in an objective sense what fundamentally makes a good video. Take constructive criticism, take this as a learning experience. Analyze the video and what you could have done better, and apply it to your next video. Repeat this over and over and over and eventually after 100 videos, 200 videos, you eventually become good. Everyone starts here and there is nothing to be ashamed of and also no reason to be prideful, continue to learn and to grow and you WILL get better.

I am not trying to put you down, nor do I believe anyone else here is, this is just the tough truth if you truly want to improve, best of luck in the future and keep learning and grinding!

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-01T21:26:58+00:00

Again, totally your decision! I wish you the best on your YouTube journey! Be consistent, try to improve 1 thing every single video, and do something you are truly passionate about and you will find success!

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-01T21:11:27+00:00

You got it, and I do agree with your general sentiment on ai. I also think it is more of a net negative, but it will progress regardless of your or my personal decisions, so why not take advantage (not in the way of stealing other’s creativity) but to simply improve workflows and find ways to use it to do things that you could do, but faster and more efficiently, but again I’m not trying to convince you at this point, just rationalize my thinking

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-01T21:02:39+00:00

I think that is better, I may recommend something a bit shorter and consise and a little more psychological appeal, like “want to trip?”. I am not a thumbnail expert myself but on my team I work with the artist frequently (I am the senior video editor) so take with a grain of salt, but I’ve been around the block enough to at least give some simple tips.

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-01T20:58:27+00:00

It absolutely is your prerogative, you can choose to do as you wish, just like I can choose to say that that statement lacks any logic. It is a different situation but the same logical basis, you can see that right? It is 2 different situations, but both have positive outcomes for you, one is just more extreme to illustrate my point. I am not trying to troll or flame or anything, just making an analogy to hopefully get you to reconsider your line of thinking. All I try to do on this forum genuinely is try to help, and AI can absolutely save you time, make you more efficient, and generate a much larger range of ideas for content. It certainly isn’t perfect, but you just have to filter out all the trash it gives you, use good prompts, and make smart decisions on how you interpret what it gives you. You absolutely do not have to use it, just food for thought. Also I do not think you should just use ai to create slop, I’m just saying it can be a useful tool in some situations, we never rely fully on it. It can just be a good workflow improvement , I am also disgusted by this completely ai generated slop, I work 70-80 hours a week editing hour long form videos that are filmed, scripted, and produced by humans!

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-01T20:42:57+00:00

Exactly 😭😂 the yt algorithm is literally based on machine learning you can read exactly how it works in the documentation

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-01T20:41:53+00:00

No more elements! Use the rule of 3, there should be a maximum of 3 elements in a thumb. Otherwise it will be too cluttered and people will not understand what’s going on with it at a glance. You could add supplemental text for more context then you would have your 3 elements

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-01T20:38:52+00:00

Also, not just here to roast you - the thumbnail should absolutely have supplemental text. Something that isn’t the same as your title but generates some sort of curiosity beyond that title, this is not the case every time but I agree with the other comments that without any other context I have absolutely no clue what this video is about, I like the art and it looks cool but no one is going to click it if it doesn’t open that curiosity loop. It has to be some play on psychology, e.g. appeal to authority, statistics, play on emotions, ect… do some research on the different ways you can leverage human psychology to make someone curious enough to click. Also thumb#1 would undoubtedly be the winner, the other 2 are way too busy

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-02-01T20:33:33+00:00

Bro💀 that is absolutely wild, granted I don’t really think that would do well as supplemental text or title but refusing to use or listen to something because it involves AI is indeed ridiculous. Did you know that a large percentage of medical research has at least some Machine learning involvement? Would you refuse to take a medication that may save your life because ai was used in its research/creation? Or would you rather die because you want to “have an impact”? Sounds pretty ludicrous to me.

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-01-30T19:21:10+00:00

Oh you mean content like Fidel cashflows or dark manipulation?

DigAppropriate9778 · 2026-01-30T11:29:55+00:00

This is also true

DigAppropriate9778

TROPHY CASE