A little project help/feedback?

[bigfoot]

Hi All

just wondering if anyone could spare 5 minutes to do me a favour.

Over the last year we have been trying to get a youtube channel up and running. It's not for gain, just a project between family and friends.

Our latest series for our Spain and Portugal trip is now half way through and can be found here




But we don't seem to be getting many views.


If any of you could spare 5 minutes to take a look and give us some feedback on the conttent that would be appreciated


Thanks in advance

[JJay51]

How honest do you want the feedback

[minkyhead]

had a look and tbo a lot of the footage will only be of interest to you and your freinds on the trip ..there are some nice clips in the episodes but tbo there are some pretty boring clips too ...
by all means keep the videos you have done to share with your freinds but id condense the whole thing down to ten minuts of yor best footage .....
title it with bikes and use the tag box in edit i/e dl1000 vee strom ect and youll get more searches hitting
try mixing it up with ridebyes ..selfie sticks and different angles .. watching headcam footage can be pretty uninteresting unless you have some epic scenery to enhance it which in places you certainly do ..but passing a parked trailer in layby or a derilict street in boondocksville isnt that appealing ........ you can see it diminsh in views from episode 1 to 4 ,,theres simply too much imho

i just do mine for me own amusment but ive had a few with 12000 or more views and ive picked up 330 odd subscibers over the years .. .. im not actually bothered as its just mainly to share with me mates and for me to look back on occasionally when its dark and pissing down ..i should really cut out all the rubbish ones and concentrate on the trip rides ect but im not bothered ..thre are good tutorials on you tube how to up numbers monterize and all that ..but theres far too much really good channels out there ..

just keep a loose timeline ..like 10 seconds on the motorway ..10 seconds riding on the boat 10 seconds arriving at port ..it does the same job tells a story and keepsit moving

...i can spend 15 days away and condense the best shots down to 10/15 mins and dont get hung up on what clip is from what day ...no one will really know where you are or care much if they do ..i try and get just the best bits epic views and funny bits in and just bin the rest
keep it shorter and bang in your best stuff title it with the bike ,see what happens

i have a two quid sefie stick with a spike on and just bang it in the embankment and take a ride bye or stick it up and hold it for a minuite when its safe ... it only takes like two miniuts to get some alternative views ..try not to rely all on headcam ..imho some of my best shots are not on headcam at all

just started with a drone but i run it into a tree and smashed it so thats on hld now its in bits in the garage waiting for parts ..oops ... oh dear
just a few ideas to mix it up with differnt shots ..

IMG_20180827_030321 by minkyhead56, on Flickr

[daveuprite]

Sorry, but it's a bit boring. It needs at least a sneezing panda or a young teacher with big tits to get you some subscribers.

As a literal, moment by moment record of how you rode into Portsmouth harbour and queued for a ferry, it's brilliant. As entertainment, it's not.

Nobody wants to watch the mundane. Everyone wants to watch the unusual, the spectacular, or dangerous, or foolhardy, or titillating. After all that's what the proles are used to seeing on youtube and that's what they want. They want to be able to laugh at your stupidity, reassure themselves from their armchair that they would never be so stupid, and then cringe at your injuries. They want to be able to share the video with others, accompanied by the thinking 'He he, look at this plonker and watch him chop his own finger off!'

Sadly this requires those videos that do not contain gory footage, moronic behaviour or exceptionally daring stunts to stand out in other ways. You will need to learn ruthless editing, fast paced plot and varied angles. Cut out the dross, let the pictures tell the story instead of telling us what we are looking at. Don't film yourself doing dull things. When did you last see anyone on Eastenders go and and take a crap? Similarly no-one wants to watch you riding slowly and carefully in hi-vis jackets around the Brittany Ferries departure terminal.

Take a look at anything done by Henry Cole and do the opposite - that's a good start.

[AlanHolt]

It took a few brutally honest friends to say that my long videos were boring, but cutting the footage right back is difficult. I've since become friends with people who make videos for charities, and it's brutal how much cutting they do, but it works. High impact short videos work. My friends said they could cut my 20 minute video down to 3-4 minutes. Watch Races To Places and you will see how much cutting can be done and still achieve great results. His 8 weeks filming in New Zealand was condensed to about an hour on screen and it's great viewing, split into 10 minute episodes, and that could be reduced to 8 minutes if they didn't recap so much.. Someone else I follow on YouTube is TWAAP (two wheels and a ponytail). Great little videos, 5 mins long. Everyone can find 5 minutes, very few people want to sit for half an hour watching traffic on the roads. Your 25 minute video could easily be chopped down to 3-5 minutes. It demotivated me, the thought of filming for a few days just to make a 3 minute video, but as has already been said, you can keep the longer videos for you and your friends, but the short ones will get more interest.

[AlanHolt]

Having just posted my reply, I reread your post and you highlighted your own mistake: if any of you can spare 5 minutes to take a look!

How can people spare 5 minutes to watch a 25 minute video. You know people will give 5 minutes, less will give you almost half an hour without first knowing you are entertaining, which is why you need to condense the video to that. By all means, offer an extended video for those who want it, but short and entertaining is what we both need to master if we want to attract regular followers.

[Brenhden]

Morning,

Just had a little look. The video opening frame (that you see before it plays needs to be carefully chosen so it's enticing, yours is grey sky's and a queue of traffic.

Like others have said 25 mins is too long unless you have a intro and treat is like a film. If you want some inspiration check out how these guys did this:



I find editing video is terribly time consuming so this must have taken forever. They have a 'presenter' which makes a big difference.

I've just had a look through my vids to see which is the most popular and it's this one where I do something really stupid and trash my perfectly clean and set up bike...



People like to see real life and have something to laugh at.

[bigfoot]

Thank you for both taking the time to watch and being honest.

All feedback appreciated