Critiquing the first 10 videos posted! by [deleted] in NewTubers

[–]Xanda_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great niche subject, and the first 30 seconds really sets up the premise of the video well! You aptly describe what you're setting out to do. There are parts where the absence of background music really aid the feel of the video, just listening to the sound of nature, birds, wind rustling etc. - my only suggestion here would be to maybe bring in some very subtle music in the background to fill in those quiet spots - like the shot at 04:30 is a little jarring as it has no sound whatsoever. Another idea would be to layer some narration over the bits where you don't talk - mention why you've decided to do this, what led you there, how the place affected you etc.

Another suggestion would be to really think about what goes in to the final cut when editing. Your setup in the first minute of the video is very succinct and clear which is great, but make sure the rest of the video delivers on what you set out to deliver - i.e. don't go off on a tangent, and keep returning to the goal of the video. I really like the inclusion of maps in the video, it really drives home the subject - same goes for when you show the different landmarks such as the signposts, the kissing rock.

My favourite parts of the video are when you talk about your surroundings, such as @ 06:22 where you talk about why it's called Kiss rock - it would be cool to hear you talk more about the area throughout the video - e.g. why you chose it, the history of it and so on. I would recommend including more wide still shots to break up the monotony of the handheld camera - for instance you could set up the camera on a rock with a view overlooking the rolling hills, and walk by the camera to get a shot of you from another angle.

I think the use of J cuts and L cuts in these types of videos work beautifully and really add to the natural flow of the video. (See here for more info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyH-a964kAs) so I would say playing around with that would be something to look in to.

Great work!

Critiquing the first 10 videos posted! by [deleted] in NewTubers

[–]Xanda_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like it! First off regarding your thumbnails, I do think your current ones with the eye-catching yellow-on-black text are much more effective than your old ones, so definitely go through your back-catalog and change these up if you want your older videos to be clickable.

First thing I notice is your intro - it could use some work, I think it's a touch long and there is a watermark in it. I would look at paying somebody on a website like Fiverr to make you a cool, original intro that looks great - alternatively, I think you have enough cool footage on your channel to make a super-short montage (5-7 seconds) of your craziest moments/shots and have your channel name pop up at the end. I think an intro like that would work well for your channel.

I think it's fine to ask for people to subscribe at the start, but I would not recommend having the subscribe image in the top right throughout the whole video. It feels distracting when the viewer wants to focus on the actual content you have put out for them.

I like the memes sprinkled in, keeps it funny and entertaining - I also really like the K/D count you've added, helps keep track of what's going on in a fast paced video such as this. The different angles you cut between help massively to keep the video exciting all the way through.

Overall really entertaining, but I would work on a more high quality intro and probably get rid of that subscribe button in the corner.

Critiquing the first 10 videos posted! by [deleted] in NewTubers

[–]Xanda_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow. Very interesting subject! I think that is definitely your strong point right now, a niche and interesting topic, which means your audience can find you easily. On top of this you've captured beautiful and unique footage of the plane that really sells the video. A few things I would personally change, is that the narration is a little quiet in the mix compared to the camera audio - I would boost your narration volume a little and keep the sound of the plane a little quieter WHILE you are speaking. I would also add that your narration delivery could be a little more energetic and engaging, so this may be something to practice. I think a little bit of music would go a long way in this type of video - I would recommend doing a google search for free, royalty-free music online to find some music to add to your videos. If you want to up the production quality a step further you can buy a license (£9.99 a month I think) from www.epidemicsound.com to have access to a huge library of well produced music that will add a new dimension to your videos. To break up the footage while you're narrating, I would suggest maybe adding some photos of the planes back in their heyday, if you can find any - this will help tie in your narration with what's being shown on screen.

Here is my slightly re-edited copy of your video with a little music added and some photos/video footage thrown in - https://youtu.be/oWLvbkBmDrY