Intro help for Newest vid

[hybrid marsh]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX6CCybHrrQ

I'm working on a new vid with a newish style. I need feedback on everything. I slowed down the pace a bit from my older vids and I want to know if it hurts the retention because of it. Any and all feedback is welcome!

[random zenith]

hey uh you linked music instead of your video.

[hybrid marsh]

lmao tthank you

[random zenith]

I dig it. I think it serves as a intro pretty well. If someones interested about some what ifs about steam/valve they will probably be hooked.

[hybrid marsh]

I appreciate it! Any critiques?

[random zenith]

No i dont think so. Personally id watch it based on the intro so far.

[hybrid marsh]

Ok sweet thats the goal! Are you hooked so far?

@lusty narwhal Thanks for the help I love your feedback

[lusty narwhal]

I am here! I found it!!

I’ll give this a go when I get back home

[hybrid marsh]

Ok thank you so much!

[flat laurel]

title and thumbnail?

[hybrid marsh]

title is "Steam Won’t Survive Without Gabe Newell" and thumbnail is wip

[flat laurel]

wip?

[hybrid marsh]

work in progress

[flat laurel]

hmm, imma comment on the visuals once you have the thumbnail if thats okay with you

[hybrid marsh]

visuals of the vid?

[flat laurel]

Yeah... like the cuts, images, etc.

Can't really comment on that personally without thumbnail

[hybrid marsh]

that's fine but why do you need the thumbnail to comment on that

[flat laurel]

Because Ideally a good intro backs the thumbnail up

I know alot of people when they talk about packaging, its just title and thumbnail, but really if you want the full picture its about the first 30 seconds, title, and thumbnail.

[hybrid marsh]

This is the wip one so far but im going to hire a professional to make one when the video is closer to done

[flat laurel]

dang

if with the thumbnail guy you're also gonna go for that style

with the steam logo and the guy in the back

pretty good honestly

[hybrid marsh]

so you think the thumb is good?

[flat laurel]

See how the first two scenes of the intro visually back up the thumbnail?

its a good thing

[hybrid marsh]

oh ok nice thank you

do you think i should still hire a professional

[flat laurel]

I don't really think its necesary at your size

its better to learn the basics yourself first and experiment with thumbnails by yourself first so that you know what works what doesnt, and what style you want to aim for

for the intro, for the pacing and scripting, all good

it never felt slow in my opinion

For the title though

Steam Won’t Survive Without Gabe Newell
^ I'm not sure how many people know who Gabe Newell is

[hybrid marsh]

Yeah ive thought about that a lot and im hoping the "steam wont survive without" and the picture of the man will intrique them enough to want to figure out who the man is

then figure out why without him steam wont survive

but idk

[flat laurel]

ig it could work

[hybrid marsh]

what would you do

[flat laurel]

but I think thinking of options that don't rely on gabe newell would be good too just in case

[hybrid marsh]

I also thought about the version of "Steam will die without this man" but i feel like thats too vague and uninteresting

[flat laurel]

something like "One Man Behind Steam's Sucess" or "This Man Keeps Steam Alive", "Steam Won't Survive Without This Person"

but I mean again, just keep other non gabe newell titles in mind as a secondary option

although I'm kinda worried about adding his name, I don't think its too much of a barrier

[hybrid marsh]

ok i for sure will and ill sub it out if the vid isnt meeting expectations

also i feel like his name holds a lot of value in the deeper gaming community and these vids talking exclusively about him have decent views

the IGN one is an outlier because its ign but the others are smaller youtubers

[flat laurel]

Hmm, I'm not really super deep into the gaming community, so if you think it will resonate with your audience feel free to keep it. Ideally the creator should know their audience best, so feel free to make the call you think is right.

[hybrid marsh]

I appreciate your feedback

do you have a channel of your own

[lusty narwhal]

Oh wow! So much feedback!!

I’ll read through it first, make sure I don’t repeat lol

[hybrid marsh]

Yeah I’m glad from about the amount of feedback

[lusty narwhal]

Ok here’s a few minor responses based off reading the advice already given before the giant hell wave of chaos I’m about to unleash:

Your thumbnail supports the first few seconds of the intro:

• yeah this could be a good thing, but let me put it this way, if your first few seconds suck, so will your intro then and vice versa. The thumbnail has to be based on the entire videos “curiosity trigger” which could be really anything and then after that your intro should “sum up” or “lead into” the next stage that will trigger the curiosity.
• Example of that in gaming would be having the monster in the thumbnail but not having it in the intro (that’s actually really common and CAN be bad) or having a key breaking point in the thumbnail of a documentary and then building the viewer to experience that break to come in the intro set up.
• Your intro and thumbnail have specific functions and while they both relate to the same thing (your video) they don’t have to line up perfectly all the time (they can, but it’s not required)

Your title:

• A lot of people know gabe in our field, indirectly, OR they know Steam, so either way your original title could work
• the most important thing about a title is that it has to have your curiosity point emphasized no way the viewer can understand what type of video this is as well as what they should be wondering when they enter it.
• If they know Gabe they’re going to be wondering “wait, what COULD happened to steam, my beloved game checkout place?!!!”
• If they don’t know Gabe, they’ll be wondering “wait who is this Gabe guy and what does he have to do with steam my beloved game checkout place?!!!!” Etc

Professional hires:

• personally I’ve never liked it when people who don’t know what they want start hiring people unless it’s purposefully to figure out what they want (haha that’s me!! I did that!! Whoooo!!)
• HOWEVER, I think you “know” what you want, generally in some areas, and you’re trying to “recreate them”

• this is at the cost of your time, money, and lack of skill BUT to the benefit of INCREASING TIME, MONEY, and SKILL in the long run and better equipping you to work with editors/hired pros down the line (trust me, your hired pros will want you to have a good basis over working with a complete newbie)
• for those reasons, I’d say if you’d LIKE to hire someone, AND YOU CAN AFFORD IT, go ahead, it’s your money. You know the costs, just know what you’re talking about!
• as for “do you need to hire a pro for this exact video or in general because you think your thumbnails are bad” though, I’d advise no. Focus on learning thunbnailing and mastering them

OK!! Now for hell fire, one moment

[hybrid marsh]

Thank you for the excelent feedback so far. Ok im glad another gamer knows gaben i feel like hes a prominent figure in this area. Im so excited for the hellfire

[lusty narwhal]

He is, enough, indirectly. Like ask me for a fun fact about him and I’ll run a blank

But STEAM? Oh yeah, everyone in this field knows steam, “loves” steam, and doesn’t want it to become similar to other sites which are a bit cough cough epic cough sputter

[hybrid marsh]

Exactly thats why i wanted to make this video its going to go over 3 possible scenarios that steam could become after gabe is gone

oh wait you watched the intro so fingers crossed you knew that unless my intro was that ass

[lusty narwhal]

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!
**
✅ : Great

☑️ : Good

❌ : Work on this

⚪ : Not Applicable

Pfffftttttttt don’t be scared

I had an error love, it’s ok

That was someone else’s review (I copied the wrong one!! You def didn’t have all reds in the categories I just praised you in omg lol)

.........

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ __LITERAL QUALITY __ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

✅----- 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?)

.........

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ __CLICK QUALITY __ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

"☑️----- 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?)

.........

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ __WATCH QUALITY __ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

✅----- 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?)

N/A --- ----- Time I would click off if this wasn't a review (with my frantic ADHD brain)

✅----- 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?)

.........

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ __COMMUNITY QUALITY __ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

✅----- 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?)

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

[hybrid marsh]

I was so worried for a second 😭

Thank you for the feedback as always Luna i love your feedback style

if you had to give a grow and a glow what would it be?

[lusty narwhal]

.........

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ __COMMENTS __ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

I’m going to assume this section is what you mean by Grow and Glow? Such a cute name I love it!

Most out your “issues” were actually “good” areas I think could be a smidgin improved, like increasing your audio a tad, setting your loudness normalization to -14 LUFs, and course some minor point outs in your thumbnail (minor, I repeat, minor!!! I am also a very biased person when it comes to thumbnails) that I think are actually based on the x’s.

So thumbnails!!
❌----- Color
❌----- Contrast

• thumbnails are easily the hardest bit for a long long time. I have worked with professional thumbnail artists as a complete newbie before and I will say at the time it felt like they were seeing things I just couldn’t see but in time I eventually was able to kind of see what they were seeing. (Though I’m still working on it!! Ahhh!!!)
• your thumbnail doesn’t have the best color scheme to allow for the contrast to work, as it doesn’t highlight the subjects (Gabe and steam) or their issues clearly.
• as for contrast, again it think it’s part of color. They’re kinda intermixed here. If the colors were bolder, it would stand out more, etc etc.
• so questions to think for thumbnails: If I stared at your thumbnail for less than a second, would I know exactly what this video is about? And would I be able to notice this thumbnail in less than a second if I put it in the middle of a hub?
• and to touch on the “goods”, this is why you have a great in simplicity, clarity, and readability but a good in CTR

[hybrid marsh]

Thank you again! Youre always amazing with the feedback luna. Ill take this criticism and hopefully use it to make the vid better. If you want me to review a vid or whatever sometime just ping me. I get really busy and am not able to check discord so a lot of the times im just not actively looking so id miss it if you just put it up so if you want my help feel free to ping me. Thanks again!

[lusty narwhal]

Thank you so much Ero!! And also thank you for the offer! I’ll ping you next time but please don’t stress it!

[hybrid marsh]

I did some minor adjustments is this any better than the one before?

[lusty narwhal]

It is MUCH clearer! I like it

[hybrid marsh]

Any direct improvements I could make? Other than the red line at the bottom which I’ve fixed now

[lusty narwhal]

Maybe (maybe) change the background or make it more distinct (swap for a pattern/fill that is contrasting to the foreground red and black, or make it obviously a steam page, but it think that would be a bit too cluttered), and maybe put the steam in front of Gabe? So it’s clearly steam is the main effect after Gabe.

lol maybe have Gabe coming out from behind steam and give steam a anime sweat emoji like he’s going to end steam 😭💀

lol I’m so sorry but this came to mind

Hahahahahaha

But I think your thumbnail is good!

[hybrid marsh]

i kind of like that lol

imma experiment

[hybrid marsh]

@fierce tapir I feel like your advice is really solid if you have a chance could you look over the thumbnail and intro?

[fierce tapir]

Intro looks solid, same with the title, after checking the thumbnail quickly, I feel like the Steam part of the thumbnail doesn't stand out as much as it should. I think that like Luna said, putting it in front of Gabe would help, but I would also say that you probably want to use a blue version of the logo since the it will create better contrast with the other half that's more red. The main thing I'd be careful about if you tried those changes though is making sure that it doesn't blend with the background more since it looks like the colors might get a bit more similar

[hybrid marsh]

Ok I took your advice and tried to apply it. I tuned down the saturation of the background to try to make the contrast higher

any thoughts on this version?

Messed it up slightly heres the fixed version

[fierce tapir]

Much better imo