Help me determine what parts of the video I should cut out?

[young rapids]

What: I am doing Food Review videos where we try and rate our eats on whether we would Walk, Run, or Fly to them.
Need feedback on:

1. is the first 30 seconds engaging enough for you to keep watching? what can be improved?
2. are there any parts of the video style that you would cut out? (i.e. keep reviews to under a certain timeframe? use certain descriptions, etc.)

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKT4JhtRcFw

[frigid badge]

Ok so this isn't a request for a full review right?

You only want those two numbers addressed? I can do a full breakdown or only those questions

Either way let me know!

[young rapids]

if you can do a full breakdown, id really appreciate it!!

im really just trying to find our style and something that would resonate with a Foodie audience

and currently we dont have a ton of "reps" in yet, so any feedback is super crucial at our early stage 🙏

[frigid badge]

Ok! One moment, give me a bit to watch/review and then I'll flood this thread with emojis 😈

[frigid badge]

Disclaimer:

Keep in mind I am ALSO a tiny tuber who is ALSO asking for advice so... D:

I HAVE NO IDEA IF ANYTHING I SAY WITH CONFIDENCE IS THE COMPLETE, CORRECT ANSWER.

Please feel free to disagree or correct me! I'm here to learn too!

✅: No comment! Acceptable!

☑️: Acceptable, maybe you can improve this but really it's ok as is as well

❌: I have a biased opinion on how you could make changes here

⚪ : Not Applicable

+-+-+-+LITERAL QUALITY+-+-+-+

✅ ----- HD quality offered (Is 1080 HD offered? This is non essential but nice to have)

☑️ ----- Audio clarity (Is the audio crisp enough to note different sounds apart and clearly understand words?)

☑️ ----- Lighting (Is the room's lighting balanced? Ie no white-outs, over exposures, zero-data noise)

✅ ----- Camera work (Is the camera work clean, interesting, and consistent? If still, is the subject in frame)

☑️ ----- Sound levels (Do your ears bleed? Is it too quiet? Perhaps both?)

☑️ ----- Background noise (Is there notable noise or distracting background noises that aren't intended or part of the video)

✅ ----- Editing Style (Is there a consistent editing style? Does it add to the video without distracting?)

✅ ----- Transitions (Are transitions smooth and appropriate?)
✅ ----- Pacing (Is the pacing of the video comfortable and engaging?)

✅ ----- Use of Effects/Graphics (Are any effects and graphics used effectively to enhance the video?)

+-+-+-+CLICK QUALITY+-+-+-+

☑️ ----- Click-Through Rate (CTR) (Is this a very "clickable" thumbail/video in general?)

✅ ----- Attractiveness (Are the thumbnail and title visually appealing and compelling?)

✅ ----- Relevance (Is the thumbnail and title relevant to the topic and correctly inform the viewer?)

✅ ----- Topic (Is the topic interesting and relevant to the target audience?)

✅ ----- Curiosity (Does the topic or thumbnail/title create curiosity and intrigue to encourage clicks?)

✅ ----- Color (Are the colors in the thumbnail eye-catching/complementary without being overwhelming?)

☑️ ----- Contrast (Is there a clear contrast between the elements in the thumbnail?)

☑️ ----- Simplicity (Is the thumbnail simple and focused? Are assets limited to one or two main focuses)

❌ ----- Readability (Is the text on the thumbnail easy to read? Are they as few words as possible with high contrast, avoiding repetition of the title?)

⚪ ----- Faces and Emotions (Do faces added express strongly? Are they realistic and accurate to the video?)

☑️ ----- Clarity and Relevance (Is the thumbnail clear and directly related to the video content? Would it stand out?)

✅ ----- Unique Selling Point (USP) (Does the thumbnail reflect your niche and topic uniquely without blending in with similar content?)

☑️ ----- Title Value (Is the title short, relevant, and captures curiosity?)

+-+-+-+ENTERTAINMENT QUALITY+-+-+-+

✅ ----- Presenter Delivery (How effective is the presenter's delivery and on-screen presence?)

✅ ----- Energy (Does the presenter bring sufficient energy to keep the audience engaged?)

✅ ----- Audience Retention (Does the video keep the viewer's attention throughout?)

NONE ----- Time You "Lost me" at

❌ ----- The Hook (Is the first 5-10 seconds hooking the audience?)

✅ ----- The Intro (Is there a quick intro that preps the audience that doesn't go longer than 30 sec?)

✅ ----- The Clingy Minute (Does the next minute keep the viewer clinging to the video?)

☑️ ----- The Outro (Does the ending have a smooth transition, a goodbye to the viewer, or another outro?)

✅ ----- Relevance to the topic (Does the video contribute to the topic or is relevant in its category, i.e., gaming?)

✅ ----- Unique Selling Points (What makes the video stand out from similar content?)

✅ ----- Viewer Benefits (What benefits does the viewer gain from watching the video?)

✅ ----- Coherence (Is the video logically structured and easy to follow?)

❌ ----- Flow (Does the video transition smoothly from one segment to another?)

+-+-+-+COMMUNITY QUALITY+-+-+-+

✅ ----- Connection with Audience (Does the presenter connect well with the audience?)

❌ ----- Calls to Action (Are there effective calls to action, e.g., like, subscribe, comment? Or an endcard to CTA?)

⚪ ----- Interactive Elements (Do any interactive elements, e.g., polls, questions support the video and aren’t distractions?)

✅ ----- Branding Elements (Are intros, outros, and graphics consistent with the channel's "Name?")

✅ ----- Overall Style (Is there a consistent overall style across videos?)

[frigid badge]

+-+-+-+COMMENTS & SUGGESTIONS+-+-+-+

🟡 🟠 🟡 ** SKIP THESE ** 🟡 🟠 🟡

☑️ ----- Audio clarity

☑️ ----- Lighting

☑️ ----- Background noise

• You could make some small changes to fix these in your final thoughts section, but for the most part this isnt very adjustable with your video style without tons of money/time
• Maybe color grade to save the lighting after words and ajdut your audio below

🟡 🟠 🟡 ** AUDIO ** 🟡 🟠 🟡

☑️ ----- Sound levels

• Your audio is a bit too quiet to YouTube, YT compressed it for you. A tiny bit of sound work could fix that

🟡 🟠 🟡 ** THUMBNAIL** 🟡 🟠 🟡

☑️ ----- Click-Through Rate (CTR) (Is this a very "clickable" thumbail/video in general?)

☑️ ----- Contrast

☑️ ----- Simplicity

❌ ----- Readability

☑️ ----- Clarity and Relevance

☑️ ----- Title Value

• I think your thumbnail is great!
• Maybe up the contrast between the food the background and the text. It's a bit muffly
• I'd remove the text. Honestly, since this is a cam channel with two personalities (or maybe one main and a co-host, I'm not sure) I'd use one or both of you reacting to the food as you eat it. Like take a few thumbnail shots of you holding the food up going "WOW!" or "MMM!" Or other notable face. This will distinctize this as a food travel vlog and not a recipe/cooking video or a video on the food itself
• I think if you want to keep the text, use less. Maybe even one word. the food does everything your text is trying to do. It looks flavorful, squidy, etc. It looks like itself and looking is faster than reading and no one wants to reas on a thumbnail much, epscially if theyve already processed that info in the image nex to it.
• I'd also really shorten and emphasize your titles a bit more. "An entire menu cooked with wood, fi..." it's too long. Maybe "Cooked with Wood & Smoke" Then sperate the location. Something with that
• I will say curiosity is a bit lacking in the title. most Americans/westerners/Europeans (is that your target audience?) know about cooking with wook/smoke/fire as a common thing so it's not a shock. We almost expect our meat to be smoked or cooked with wood (even our cheapest meats have lables that say such).
• Instead i'd lean into the fact that it's squid! Squid is such a hard thing to cook with and it's rare to most people outside asia and even inside its appreciated.

🟡 🟠 🟡 CONTENT 🟡 🟠 🟡

❌ ----- The Hook

☑️ ----- The Outro

❌ ----- Flow

❌ ----- Calls to Action

• I think the hook was a bit too long and abit too.. Not hitting?
• The guy saying theres no MSG could be a good line, if you shortened it and made it more "hooky/shocking/curiosity priming", but to be honest it sounds more like a jab at him to include it like that without context and it seems a bit insensitive.
• I'd remove the giant wall of text at the end. Few people to no one are likely going here based on your video (no matter view count! Its a common thing vloggers have when they travel). People come to watch these videos to see what they can't or likely won't see. I'm a huge traveler myself and I've never been to a location I've watched in a travel vlog (yet, I have a fe win mind, but out of 100s, only a few are actually interested me enough to consider after having seen it on video). So an indepth review in text isn't needed.
• Instead, maybe shorten the text wall to a list or a check marker and include it while you're saying your final review. Switch back to yourselves for the final bit of the review and your outro.
• Also, include a call to action and a goodbye. You two are likley trying to be personalities. People dont register you as a personality as much if you dont say hello/goodbye and instead view the video as purely informative. Acknowledging the viewer is a huge thing to letting them know you're speaking to them!
• I'd also make the tasting scenes more cinematic. Make them a bit more beautiful, with better angles like you did the rest of your footage.
• The ending is less edited, and more personal, but it's a bit too dry as a result. Maybe jazz it up with the photos/b-roll you as you did before.

🟡 🟠 🟡 PERSONAL NOTES 🟡 🟠 🟡

• Ok, this is a bit of an odd one, so bear with me here.
• For starters, I’m sorry since this will be rather harsh. I mean you both individually no disrespect. I’m all open to hearing your side and explanations. This is my opinion as a viewer. I’m sure you both are lovely people.
• I don't like how you conducted your interview. This could be a one off, maybe it's because the interview required something the man wasn't giving, but I personally didn't see it like that.
• I saw an excited chef trying to explain his food, his ideas, where the passion comes from, and then I see the interviewer overspeaking. Explaining her views/opinions of her experience like a food critic. This is absolutely fine, in it's own time or own section, but not when we first meet the chef. Instead its better to do cut aways (like you did) to the interviewer or others trying the food and THEN after the chef does the passionate talking, the backstory/details that give the food a personal touch, and answering your questions (which shouldn't be leading if you can help it) then you as an interviewer can say your opinions. Doing so before or during puts a bad taste in the viewers mouth because you're not as passionate as this man and he should be the one saying these things. That's why you cma eot interview him. But the viewer can tell in delivery and body language that you wanted to speak and then you spoke. It breaks the moment and takes away from the chef's time. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to rub the wrong way.
• It's ok to have a tasting section with your thoughts! THIS is when we want to hear intial thoughts and critic. This is when you go "Ohhh my god the noodles are cook perfectly!" or the "flavors pair up so well with each other!" or "this taste reminds me of___" etc.

Otherwise??

Amazing video, amazing delivery, and you both have incredible potential!

Also random note, oud (meaning both a specific type of wood but also just wood in general) is one of my fav scents!

[young rapids]

Wow thank you sooooo much @frigid badge

My goodness this is so detailed that we will have to spend time digesting it all and deconstructing it

Really really appreciate you spending the time and energy to help us with our video by giving candid feedback

Tbh that’s what we need to grow - objectivity

🙏🙏🙏

Will spend some time w the feedback and see how we can improve!