Should I give up?

somber

somber

Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
2,161
Okay... that was a bad topic line for a blade forum, but...

I hope that in no way is this simply seen as a shameless plug, or an attempt to try and become the next cutlerylover or nutnfancy! But I just did a video review of a knife that I absolutely love (maybe that's too passionate?), by a company that I greatly support and I'd like to know what you think! What do you think? Is there something that I did wrong? Should I just delete it and give up? I wholeheartedly welcome your criticisms!


The Video:
[youtube]lRtIph0HSJU&hl=en_US&fs=1&[/youtube]
Youtube Link
The knife:
4327774115_aac9df346b.jpg
 
You will do the best if you do it for the fun of it. Don't worry about what other people think about it, just do your best. Then you will get the best results.
 
slimshaneee said:
You will do the best if you do it for the fun of it. Don't worry about what other people think about it, just do your best. Then you will get the best results.
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That is some solid advice.

If you really want to make it big you need to think about what people want to see, and what prevents people from pointing and clicking at the next video. Also keep in mind that this should be honest and fun (what else is the point?).

Think about what you are going to say (make a list of bullet points to look at for reference). This will eliminate dead space.

Think about what you are going to do. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of guys interspersing knife data in between "uhhh"s as they diddle a knife in their hands out of focus in front of a cluttered desk.

Think about what you are going to show. A nice (but not too busy) backdrop that is pleasant, offers contrast to your subject, but not so interesting as to distract.

Then do something with the knife. Even a mall ninja doing fast draws seems more interesting than an afi fingering a knife for 10 minutes. I suggest cutting stuff, demonstrate carry, demo a discrete use (as you may in a crowded public arena), polishing/sharpening/modifying/destroying is sometimes interesting.

If you stumble onto my videos you can see some great examples of what to NEVER do!

My BEST videos (that I like, anyway) started out as 10 minutes or more and either got completely re-done, or edited down to about 1 minute. Most stuff you see on TV (commercials) take more than an hour to produce a 30 second spot...good commercials are great examples (IMO) of how to convey a lot (or "enough") of info in a very short time in efforts to hold your audience.
 
i make my own knife reviews on youtube as well, I just do it for the fun of making the video and having something to do to keep me busy on my days off. I just try to state my honest opinions about the knife and give my .02 cents on the matter. I really dont worry about if i have lots of viewers or subscribers but i have noticed that i am getting alot lately. Most importantly just have fun with it


Here are some things I try to do

Keep my backdrop simple yet somewhat elegant

Keep on topic about the review, i see alot of reviewers go to review something and end up talking more about something else other than the knife they were actually meaning to review.

Keep it short as possible, I know i dont like watching 20 minute reviews on a knife
 
slimshaneee said:
You will do the best if you do it for the fun of it. Don't worry about what other people think about it, just do your best. Then you will get the best results.
Click to expand...

Exactly, make them for you, not for everyone else, I post my cartoons on youtube, I spend a lot of time drawing and coloring them and I enjoy doing it. However, no one really watches them, but I still post them when I finish one.
 
i do youtube videos as well, are they "reviews", to me they arent, i dont call them reviews. i basically just make videos on the new knives i get and it is nice to have those videos for posterity.
 
never give up on something, except if you don't like to do it.

If you enjoy making these vids you'll get better in it, the first vid is the hardest ;)
 
Not that it matters to me but if you watch the more popular blade reviewers they have a lot of enthusiasm and go off topic to make it more interesting. You seem very knowledgeable but at the same time very dull.
 
If you like the knives and like doing youtube videos, keep doing them. There are always going to be critics who bash your reviews or products...don't worry about them. Just have fun doing what you like to do.
 
Foryou said:
Not that it matters to me but if you watch the more popular blade reviewers they have a lot of enthusiasm and go off topic to make it more interesting. You seem very knowledgeable but at the same time very dull.
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See, this is something that I wasn't sure about, and what made this video so difficult. There is just so much to go into about the specifics of: fixed blades vs folders, forged vs stamped, laminated vs just carbon steel construction, and even then, the purity of the steel and how much of an advantage that gives you when compared to other steel (ie blue super/white steel has only .001/.004 sulfur vs .03 % sulfur of western carbon steels, how this affects the metal (iron sulfide)), etc. After a certain point, either by stumbling upon something that I couldn't properly explain and having to research the idea behind these processes to be able properly explain the significance, I figured that wouldn't be as enjoyable.

Thank you, this is a lot of very good insight.
I think that I'm going to sit down for a while, write out what I really want to accomplish by my videos (I kind of wanted to just give a different perspective of the things I love and love to do) and how to aspire to make them more enjoyable, and not just showing off or trying to play a part I'm not (weekend warrior).

I did try and make this in a one take sort of way, I don't have any editing software, I made a lot of other 'versions' with more information here and then I messed up, or a part that was exciting but became dull after I was trying to hammer it together in the final product (hence the monotone) after so many attempts, and even in the beginning of this process I did not know how much I said "Ummmm...." and "Uhhh....". It became such a conscious effort at the end to simply not say "UMMMmmm".

Are there any free, or if not free, but the best video editing software to help the final product?

Everyone-- thanks! It difficult to get quality criticism.
 
I think a cleaner audio track would improve the appeal a lot

and carter neck knives are pretty awesome I must say


my guess is if you wanted to keep the videos on point it probably would be good to do a format that is broken down into a few key areas. Same idea of doing an interview or a speech is not writing a script but coming up with a flow and some topics before hand and following a general itinerary.

like spend a little bit discussing very general info about the knife

spend a couple minutes on impressions of it from the box

perhaps do a video over a couple days and do some use and resharpen and discuss resharpening for a minute and durability

and at the end of it all do reasons about why you like a knife or dislike a knife and try to use some specifics

also if the videos drag on for extended periods of time they tend to be skipped through I know I for sure don't mind a 5-10 min video but past 10 and it is a little much for me.


and most importantly make the video for fun if you are not having fun it isnt worth it.


also important I subscribe to a couple video blogs and time of day the recording takes place and any voice over work is definitely seen in the finished product. The best videos are typically recorded early in the day as opposed to after a full day of work or the like
 
gundude73 said:
i do youtube videos as well, are they "reviews", to me they arent, i dont call them reviews. i basically just make videos on the new knives i get and it is nice to have those videos for posterity.
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Hahaha..I thought the name sounded familiar..Nice vids:thumbup:
 
I watched about 10 seconds of the vid. Once I saw it wasn't a folder or a hard use fixed blade I lost interest. I think that is the best advice, if you want to be popular, review knives that a lot of people are interested in. I usually look up "xxxxx knife review" on youtube, not some particular reviewer.
 
pros:
-Your voice! You don't stutter, say "umm" all the time, don't talk either too slow or too fast (talking too slow is a personal pet peeve). You're also not too loud or too quiet. All in all, you have a very good voice for narration.
-Thanks for comparing it to another knife. Sometimes it's hard to judge a knife on its own. On the other hand, you didn't go crazy comparing it to every knife you have, which can be annoying.
-You showed the knives off in the camera well. Some reviews have the camera out of focus, or the narrator tries to point something out that the viewer can't see while he's talking because the knife is angled incorrectly. Your technique of slowly twisting it really showed off the knives.
-You didn't go on and on about a certain feature. You mentioned a lot without dwelling on any one thing, which made it seem shorter than it was.

"cons":
-This is a personal preference, but I'd rather have videos stick to what is gained from its first hand appearance, not just list off its statistics I can read online (unless it goes towards making some point about the first-hand appearance.) You do this a bit, like going on about the steel. Rather than talk about its composition or ability, show it in action or talk about when you did use it and how it exhibited the traits you list ("hold an incredibly hard edge for a long period of time", "elastic durability", etc.). Again, this is a preference, and some might disagree with me.
-Keep the knives you're going to use closer so there's less dead airtime with nothing going on. When you put the second knife back, there was awhile where nothing was going on, but the rest was good.
-Do a little more with the knife in hand. I don't think you showed it in your grip, which is something I watch videos to see, since most pictures online only feature the knife. Towards the end you grab it as if you're going to use it, but your back of the hand is pointed towards the camera, so I couldn't see how it fit.


All in all, I'd definitely watch you again. Please keep making videos!

Also, contrary to vonhizzle, I was more interested in this than nutnfancy&co. because a lot of the knives they review get talked about here on bf so regularly I feel like I know the pros and cons of them like the back of my hand and don't need to see a video. I'm not too familiar with Murray Carter's knives, so I was interested in the review.
 
I also do reviews on youtube under ZippoThisKnifeThat and that's what I'm about. Zippos and knives [mainly].

It is definitely a progressive thing. It takes a while to develop your own personality for these knife reviews. Over time you will see your own mistakes and where you can improve or edit. I know there is definitely progress in the quality of my reviews from video one to whatever amount I am at now.

You will start to make your own identity using often the same pattern or style of review. Once you are comfortable with yourself and your videos everything will just flow together. Like others here already stated, do it for your own enjoyment and the best results will be derived from that.

Be coherent, be concise, and above all be honest. Be sure to throw in the dislikes and not just the likes. We are not just trying to "market" a knife with just positives, people watch these reviews to also know the negatives.

My 2 cents.
 
Once I saw it wasn't a folder or a hard use fixed blade I lost interest. I think that is the best advice, if you want to be popular, review knives that a lot of people are interested in.
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Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I generally try and stay away from the "general consensus" train of thought, though. I try and find things that can add a lot to my life particular in the best way possible, not just what's popular, but the two sometimes are the same. Thanks for the advice.

-This is a personal preference, but I'd rather have videos stick to what is gained from its first hand appearance, not just list off its statistics I can read online (unless it goes towards making some point about the first-hand appearance.) You do this a bit, like going on about the steel. Rather than talk about its composition or ability, show it in action or talk about when you did use it and how it exhibited the traits you list ("hold an incredibly hard edge for a long period of time", "elastic durability", etc.). Again, this is a preference, and some might disagree with me.
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Thanks! I think that in the future I'll try and do something with the particular knife and talk about the aspects of the knife at the same time, explaining what happens to the knife as I'm doing these tasks. Great advice, I greatly appreciate it! Thanks for the compliments, too.

I was actually going to do a video on a BM940 because of the S30V steel, I was going to try and get it to chip on some hard plastic and copper/steel wiring, and I rolled the edge from the wiring, but no chipping. So, I took the opportunity to film a quick sharpening demonstration and I cut myself! :eek: Pretty funny, actually.

Regardless, I kept a lot of the aspects everyone gave me in mind, so thank you!

Later
 
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