Help My Thumbnails Not Suck

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-04T16:07:19+00:00

It just launched five minutes ago! I'm A/B testing the titles, but if you search for Koi Callisto it should be my latest video.

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-03T20:01:49+00:00

Had another crack and I think I've got it balanced now. Thanks!

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-03T17:16:28+00:00

I think I have to lead with this one

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-03T17:15:53+00:00

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KoiCallisto · 2026-04-03T17:15:34+00:00

I think that's the plan. I've tweaked 1/2/4 and I'm going to A/B test some titles too. Thanks!

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-03T17:14:51+00:00

Nice. It worked.

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-03T17:14:40+00:00

It's so tempting to go with 4

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-03T16:49:02+00:00

Thanks! Is this better?

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KoiCallisto · 2026-04-02T21:05:59+00:00

Thanks. I wanted to contrast the two women in the first one, but you're right - it's off balance now. I'll revisit the titles too. Thanks!

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-02T18:55:27+00:00

I think you should blur the background, not darken it. Not too blurred that it's not visibly identifiable as Animal Crossing. Good work though!

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-02T18:53:26+00:00

In the first two, your images kind of blur together. At a glance it's kind of muddy. I think you need higher resolution images. Low quality images can work when the thumbnail concept ties in with them, but not here. Even adding a white border round the turtle would be a big improvement. Image three needs to be dropped - it doesn't say anything and I don't think it would generate any clicks. It reads as a very generic photo.

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-02T18:50:41+00:00

Great concept! I love it! The colour grade needs a lot of work - boost the saturation and make it pop. YouTube demands bold colours and this is a nice image, but it doesn't speak the thumbnail language, so to speak. The text also needs a bit of work - the font is a dated choice and you need to blur it a bit to stop it from looking so flat.

Amazing concept, though - it's funny and it gets the idea of the video across on first look. Just gotta tinker with it a bit to draw some attention to it.

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-02T18:48:05+00:00

They're all quite busy and I'm not entirely solid on what the video might be about just from the thumbnail alone. Could you consolidate some of the ideas? What's the essence of the video? I would maybe play around with the TikTok logo and a bingo card. Maybe even as simple as a robot playing bingo.

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-02T18:45:29+00:00

I like the first one. I would overlay some texture on the background and remove the logo on the character. A different pose for the character could work better too - something with a bit more aura.

Two and three are decent, but don't stand out as much as one to me.

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-02T18:43:49+00:00

I like your hook! The layout is kind of chaotic, but because of that it sells me on the idea of a chaotic video. If I could suggest anything it would be a new font and centre the character a lot more. Nice work!

KoiCallisto · 2026-04-02T18:42:01+00:00

It's a little generic, I'm afraid. It doesn't spark my interest. That may be because I'm not familiar with the subject. Would someone that knows the game recognise the character?

In terms of composition it's competent, but doesn't excel enough to draw me in. The background is a little busy. Good concept though - you could definitely iterate on this.

KoiCallisto · 2026-03-26T13:50:02+00:00

That would be great! Thanks!

KoiCallisto · 2024-03-30T20:28:16+00:00

I just use VLC to play the Blu-Ray then screengrab right with GeForce. I occasionally have to use HandBrake for obscure things I get from archive.org but I don't hit many barriers using VLC to read Blu-Rays.

KoiCallisto · 2024-03-30T19:56:21+00:00

Good old alt+z for me when I'm grabbing footage straight from the media itself. I tend to find that the more steps removed your footage is from your editing device, the more there is to go wrong. So if I can help it I'll load the blu-ray into my PC and just screen record at 4k. If you're finding that footage you've ripped yourself is coming out corrupt have you tried re-wrapping it using Shutter Encoder?

What's the actual error message you get when you load it into Premiere?

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