So I started a YouTube Channel.. feedback?

Destin

Been spending a lot of time on here!
Joined
Sep 11, 2010
Messages
3,860
Reaction score
1,377
Location
Western New York
Can others edit my Photos
Photos OK to edit
Hey guys, I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own YouTube channel to review gear and post videos of my adventures.

I’m not terribly comfortable shooting or editing video, or talking on camera. But I’m doing this to get myself over these hurdles. I don’t really care if it ever gets big, I’m not trying to make money with this. Just trying to push my comfort zone to new limits and maybe help a few people out.

Posted my first video review a few days ago. If you guys could check out the video and let me know what you think, I’d appreciate it. Let me know how I can improve it! Thanks!

 
I don't tend to watch any YouTube videos, or any video gear reviews ... so ...
First comment, audio ... you need to work on reducing wind noise and also keeping the voice volume balanced throughout the video.
Overall not bad, I like the beginning/intro.

Suggestion:
For camera bags/pack review you should start indoors and layout all the gear an then put it into the pack.
The outdoor would be about how the pack feels/fits on the body, how big/small it is, and how to access the gear while mobile.
 
I don't tend to watch any YouTube videos, or any video gear reviews ... so ...
First comment, audio ... you need to work on reducing wind noise and also keeping the voice volume balanced throughout the video.
Overall not bad, I like the beginning/intro.

Suggestion:
For camera bags/pack review you should start indoors and layout all the gear an then put it into the pack.
The outdoor would be about how the pack feels/fits on the body, how big/small it is, and how to access the gear while mobile.

Thanks! I was thinking the same thing.. I don’t have a very good indoor location for this currently but I’m working on it. Definitely would have liked to have better audio quality. I have a lapel mic that I’m going to try for the next one.
 
I think it's great bud!
 
So a few thoughts

1) Ask yourself why you did this outside. What advantage is there for what you are showing in being outside as opposed to being indoors. It's not just the audio its the distracting out door elements; is the fact that you can't easily put the gear all nearly out on a table to show just how much it is all holding; you can't easily move or lay the bag around totally as you want as you might be able to do indoors with just a table.
Of course lighting is important; but even a table outside would have helped a lot.

2) Audio. As said audio needs to be crisp and clear and the volume level consistent. Nothing is worse than audio that is changing from quiet to loud and also when there's overlaying sounds that muffle and make it harder to hear what you are saying. If its bad consider doing the video slower and to a pre-written script. do the whole thing and talk through it then do the audio again indoors in a more studio like environment and impose it over the video.
 
So a few thoughts

1) Ask yourself why you did this outside. What advantage is there for what you are showing in being outside as opposed to being indoors. It's not just the audio its the distracting out door elements; is the fact that you can't easily put the gear all nearly out on a table to show just how much it is all holding; you can't easily move or lay the bag around totally as you want as you might be able to do indoors with just a table.
Of course lighting is important; but even a table outside would have helped a lot.

2) Audio. As said audio needs to be crisp and clear and the volume level consistent. Nothing is worse than audio that is changing from quiet to loud and also when there's overlaying sounds that muffle and make it harder to hear what you are saying. If its bad consider doing the video slower and to a pre-written script. do the whole thing and talk through it then do the audio again indoors in a more studio like environment and impose it over the video.

I’d rather try to keep most of it outdoors, it better fits the theme that I’m going for. My original plan was to do this at a picnic table in the woods but that location was far too windy, so I relocated to this bench.

In my next video I’ll try the lapel mic and see if I can get better audio quality. But I think I’m going to try and keep it outdoors for the time being.
 
Aye then consider doing audio separate from the showing. Sure it takes a little out of it, but it lets you keep it outside whilst keeping your audio clear and easy to hear. At least until you can potentially upgrade to superior audio recording gear which can better cope with the trials of being outside.

Of course choosing the right day is also important; a calm day without wind resolves your major issues with wind in itself.
 
I liked it.
For the front side big pocket, can you lay it down to show it just as you did for the camera side?
It kept falling back so I couldn't really see how great a storage area it could be. Looked like an IPad would fit ?
Just my .02
 
It's great to get clean audio during the shoot - it's great to expose the image file correctly and then the internet wouldn't be full of Raw verses Jpeg threads :048:. The point is there's a lot that can be done in post to clean up audio.

Last year I did a 5 month contract recording interviews in font of freezers that needed to keep the contents at -70, talk about horrible audio! With a little time in Audition I was able to separate the background noise and have usable interviews.

Granted it might require going into an audio software instead of just applying a basic audio noise reduction filter and tweaking the frequency levels.
 
For recording/editing voice-over audio you can use Audacity.


What did use use for audio, an external microphone or the mic in your camera?

I would suggest that when you were sitting on the bench the camera should have been a bit lower and framed so you were further camera left. That would put the bag closer to the center. Rule of 3rds works as well with video as it does with stills.

The color looks corrected, but the contrast looks a bit low because of overcast skies, so would I recommend color grading the video. color grading video - YouTube

Which videographers, if any, do you follow on YouTube?
 
Last edited:
First, good for you for getting out of your comfort zone! For your first video, it looks very good!

That intro! Awesome! LOVE it, and the music is great for intro. (ETA: it's a tad long, though...)

There are a few things I'd say:

Agree with the others that starting inside, or at least with an empty bag would be helpful for me. I personally want to see the inside of bags, the inside of pockets, etc, so that I can imagine my own stuff there. If I can't view it in person, the more I can see of the bag itself the better. Zoom in, move the camera around, or move the product around to show the pockets. I realize you already had it packed up, but in the future, maybe think about showing it empty for those that want to imagine their own gear in there.

You say that there's a small pocket that's useless. Maybe useless for you, but others might have the perfect thing to stash there. Think of ways that a user may find that pocket or other item as useful and point it out (like you did with the waterproof cover, but minus the "useless" language). Car keys, flashlight, compass, cell phone, SD card holder, headphones, pencil, pen, good luck charm, snack bar, spare change ... there are million different things that could go in there.

I don't necessarily mind outside shoots, but I agree that the audio needs to be much clearer. I don't listen if I can't hear it properly--as a viewer of the video, I can easily click away to another related video on the side of the website.

Also, I'm going to probably sound like a teacher, but watch the number of times you say "um" and "uh", and make sure you enunciate very well. Also also, add a bit of personality to your voice--right now, it's very stable, slightly monotone.

Did you think about having an "outro" similar to your intro? Maybe overlay your website/instagram/other social media items there visually on top a video of your car driving away or you putting your bag in your car or something?
 
Last edited:
I liked the cuts at the beginning. A small title bottom corner left with the name of your video/review for 10 seconds would be good to know that is the video the viewer is watching. I second all above about the audio. Check your levels and keyframe to get consistent through out. Audacity does an ok job. I hate to edit audio. What I have done on a windy beach is swap it out with other beach audio that was less windy. After you shoot your main footage, shoot some B roll of closeups to edit in. I thing people loose interest with too much of a static shot.

Overall great job & enjoy your new journey!
 
I WATCHED a good part of it. I liked the drone shot intro. Backpacks bore me to tears, I skipped around through it, and noticed the audio more than anything. Looks like a pretty good first effort. NICE to put a voice to the face!
 

Most reactions

Back
Top