Roast My Challenge Video!

[plucky trench]

Give me your most brutal honest feedback!🙏…Don’t worry I can take it😂 Playing around with better audio options until I can afford a high quality clip on mic, is the audio better in this video compared to my previous ones? I use the free version of CapCut for all my editing currently…so if any suggestions, keep that in mind😂
https://youtu.be/HS_Zf7lA-Ts

Also how is the Thumbnail?

[little crater]

I would make the water person bigger, and the reaction smaller on the thumbnail.

[plucky trench]

Yeah I was trying to figure out how to make him bigger but keep his whole body in the frame but that’s the best I could get it, every time I made him even bigger and put only part of his body in the frame it looked odd (both pixelated and just odd overall….I tried to get the reaction the same or similar size to other reaction photos I’ve seen in MrBeasts and AirRack’s Thumbnails

[little crater]

Oh, okay. No problem. I get it!

[lilac radish]

Ok, the kernel of this video is so underrated. I have a busy morning but I sat and watched the whole thing and loved it! I have some technical feedback that I think would make this video more engaging for general audiences.

1. We know the first moments of the vid are super important. During your intro of you talking to camera, after 1-2 sec play b-roll of a closeup of you standing there with the sign on your body, over you talking. When I started the video, I didn't plan on staying, but once I saw you standing there with the sign, I was hooked! We need to see you standing there with a sign ASAP.

2.Update the thumbnail to be simply you from your torso up, so we can clearly read the sign, and a person next to you reading it. In the video you never react, so to see you with an extreme reaction in the thumbnail seems like a disconnect.

3. Set your camera exposure so it doesn't blow out the hilights, and crop in more so we clearly see the writing on the sign for the majority of the video, especially when you introduce a new sign.

4. IMO some faint playful music would make this better for general audiences.

5. This one may not be possible but when choosing a shooting location, pick one with the least amount of noise. If not possible, apply a noise gate to your audio so we can clearly hear the people's reactions

6. I think you should do more of these vids, and in the future, break character once the person completes the challenge. People want to connect with you, and if they take the reward and get excited but you stay in character it feels like a missed opportunity

7. MAKE SOME SHORTFORM VIDS OUT OF THIS! That's where this can really shine right now.

I'm excited for you man, I don't know if this is an original idea or not but it's the first time I've seen something like it, and you're sitting on some viral content if packaged the right way. Great job!

[plucky trench]

Some of the best feedback I’ve ever gotten so far! 10000% Appreciate it💯 A lot to review and respond to so once I’m done editing my current vid today I’m definitely getting back to you! For now, appreciate the support and thanks for the sub, looked at your channel as well and definitely subbed! Ngl your type of content is one of the very few I actually go out of my way to search for on YouTube, I love those searching for treasure videos!! So definitely glad you responded and gave me advice and a whole new channel to watch!

[plucky trench]

Scratch that, I need to implement a lot of that in the current video I’m editing😂…1st, I use a Sony A7iii and the free version of CapCut to edit, is there a way to fix the camera exposure after in editing or can that only be done when filming (which Ill also need to figure out😂) and I’m shooting with a Prime 35 lens on a tripod rn so in order to get the widest view to capture everything I set it up at a distance making the sign difficult to read from a distance or pixelated on camera when I zoom in in editing so when i put a new sign up I edited the on screen captions of what it says in order for the audience to know, do the on screen captions at those moments not help?

[lilac radish]

ah thanks 🙂

A7iii is an amazing camera, you'll want to be shooting in 4k. (I assume you've been shooting in 1080p if you're saying it got pixelated when you crop in. unless that's a capcut limitation, I haven't used capcut.) But shooting in 4k will open up a whole new dimension for you with the social experiment content, because it will allow you to punch in on people's facial reactions, which is the main draw of this type of video. as far as how to get consistently good results when the lighting conditions are inconsistent, these guys are really helpful https://youtu.be/JESA88Gnn84

it helps to see the on screen captions, but in my opinion it would be that much better to be able to read the sign. Think of when you're watching family feud with steve harvey. He re asks the question each time he moves to the next player. Yes we can probably all remember the question but it feels better to re hear it each time

[plucky trench]

Gotcha! 2nd, not sure what a noise gate is tbh (pretty difficult to avoid the noise), I assumed that once I can afford a more professional clip on mic that that would help improve the audio and eliminate unnecessary noise🤔….I actually like your thumbnail idea much better, thoughts though, instead of a person next to me reading it, use one of their reactions to reading the sign or them mid challenge?🤔…Aside from that I do actually break character afterwards and talk to them, I’ve just been cutting that part out since most of the time it’s them just asking me what the video is for or me showing them my channel where the video is going to be and I didn’t think people would want to repeatedly see that part😅….And yep I’ve been clipping each separate challenge into shorts, so on it there💯

[lilac radish]

Oh I didn't realize you weren't using a mic on your body, so it's attached to the camera? Yeah that's your first priority IMO. low hanging fruit that will instantly boost your video quality significantly! Yeah I think that idea would be cool too, but in your original thumbnail it's really hard to notice that the person is pouring a water bottle on their head, so you will want to either cut them out and do something to make them stand out more, or just have them standing there reading the sign. I'm not an expert on thumbnails, that's something I'm trying to improve myself, but I do see ways to make yours better

yeah I see why you didn't include all the convos after you break character. Maybe in future shoots, after they complete the challenge you could immediately congratulate them "congrats man!" "there ya go, don't spend it all in one place!" "wow thanks! how did you get that so fast??" "OHHHHHHH! Good job man!" you know, just short congrats, then show their initial reaction, then cut to the next person.

[plucky trench]

I have a rode mic on my camera, but I learned that the closer I am the better that works the farther not so much, so it’s just there now for just in case/last resort, I’ve started using the voice memos on my phone for my mic now (much clearer and less background noise), so on the list for upgrades once I can💯…Thumbnail wise, totally agree, if I can would rather get them in the action or their reaction first, and if not then definitely reading

[plucky trench]

I like that idea, will have to remember to try a few different ones out💯

[hasty gorge]

Nice video. Maybe add some music in the background and setup up two to three cameras to get long shot, up close, etc. One of the cameras can be a cell phone. You'll have more choices in post production and have a better end result.