Started a Youtube gun channel

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Hammer059

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A friend and I recently started a firearms friendly gun channel on youtube. We're mostly just having fun and experimenting with making some firearm related videos.

Here are the links to two of the "reviews" we made today. I'd love to hear your feedback, and any recommendations on things to include in the videos or ways to improve. We'd like to make more and keep getting better. Thanks!


S&W 617 video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzKpccuNr6Q

Glock 22 video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba2DlWVaQzU
 
Why do you say that? Considering how many people watch Hickok and Nutnfancy reviews that are close to an hour, I wouldn't think a 10 minute video is too long.
 
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Hammer059 said:
Why do you say that? Considering how many people watch Hickok and Nutnfancy reviews that are close to an hour, I wouldn't think a 10 minute video is too long.
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no one sits all the way through a Nutnfancy video......you start watching it, then you skip ahead 15 minutes and see if hes finally moved on from his first talking point..

hickhock is a little better....but i still find myself skipping through his videos and waiting for him to get to his table top segments.
 
I'm with you on the nutnfancy videos... He can get pretty long winded. I don't think I've ever gotten bored watching a Hickok video unless it's about a gun that I'm conpletely uninterested in.

Regardless, I don't feel like sub 10 minute videos are going to be too long, but point taken. If we go over 5 minutes, we will try and keep it as concise and on-point as possible.

Dekibg- thanks! Glad you enjoyed them.
 
I checked out your channel and subscribed. I to make YouTube videos and you are welcome to check out my channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/fatmantolly/featured

I do quite a few tutorial type videos and will break them into segments, trying to keep them about 10 minutes or so, then put them into a series. If someone wants to skip parts they can. 10 minutes seems to be about the limit. I'm gonna be doing a shout out video this week and I'll include your channel.

I'm not a huge channel by any means, a little over 800 subscribers, but I can get the word out for you.
 
Hammer259 - some people (like me) use DSL and even low-res vids tend to "stutter". As a result, we can quickly lose interest or get annoyed and a balky video.
 
Awesome, thanks srtolly!

Nice channel, by the way. Very well put together. I subscribed as it looks like it should keep me entertained for awhile.

JTHunter: Thanks for the input. We will keep that in mind, for sure.
 
Only a few hundred videos to watch but some of my early ones aren't very good. I do it for fun mostly, certainly won't get rich.
 
Good work for a novice YouTuber!

Don't worry about long videos, not everyone is your customer. Remember that. I personally could have watched for 15 minutes or so. But don't chain yourself to a set length. Yeager just posted two videos in the 2-min range. Keep it fluid.

Table-tops can get boring when too long, you nailed this one well (Glock vid). I think if you'll work on lighting/background (you were sitting with the sun in your face, better to be in the shade), location (large space works well), reactive targets (so we can see your hits, I know this will cost $$), maybe intro/outro (keep them quick or leave them out altogether), you'll do fine.

Your start is a decent one, don't give up.

Work from an outline. Looks like you probably did. Plan your work and work your plan.

The channel name is perfect; wish I had thought of it!
 
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, BK. They were very constructive.

You mentioned using reactive targets. Funny you mention that, because normally we shoot at a range where there are plenty of steel plates (and room for targets too) so it's a lot more fun and would make for a good video. So in the future, most of the shooting footage in our videos will be at that range.

Unfortunately, the range was completely taken up by their annual centerfire steel plate challenge. So we had to turn around and go shoot back at my buddys place. However I am very thankful to have a backup place to shoot, and not always be limited to a range.
 
BK said:
Work from an outline. Looks like you probably did. Plan your work and work your plan.
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I agree. But I also think if one does this, there's no need to go longer than 5-ish minutes. The longer ones are typically longer because the reviewer is extemporaneously jabbering on without much of a point. After enduring it to the end, I normally find their point is simply they think it's a cool gun. That's not helpful or much of a gun review.

As far as the shooting and targets go, I'm likely in the minority, but my feeling is that I already know what a gun being fired looks like, so just rapping off some rounds doesn't tell me anything new. Nor does shooting reactive targets - that's just a gimmick that doesn't have anything to do with the gun. If you're going to shoot, do it to demo something specific about the gun. For instance, if your point is that a particular gun is accurate, shoot it for accuracy, and show me some good groups on a bullseye target. Or you could demo a .357mag revolver's versatility by shooting .38SCs, .38LC, .38spls and .357mags. Or you find a gun is fussy about what ammo it's being fed, so show me.
 
Why all the criticism about keeping videos under 5 mins. I posted one video that was over 5 minutes- by 40 seconds...

I think we're gonna try and be as concise and to-the-point as possible, in as short amount of time as possible that still allows a good video. However, we're not gonna be tied down by some magical rule about 5 minutes because a couple goobers out there have a ridiculously short attention span.

Otherwise, I appreciate all the advice. Thanks for the input guys.
 
Well, lemme clarify - kudos for keeping it to the point. Keep it up.

There's nothing magical about the 5 minute mark, but too many gun reviews just ramble on.

IME, there are 2 big rules for effective communication: 1) Have a point, and 2) get to it. Most gun reviews ignore one (or both) of these rules, so just keeping these 2 rules in mind will make your site one of the better ones. Just something to be aware of.
 
I'd agree with MrBorland, I'm not so good at it but I don't do many reviews. People will also watch longer videos if you can throw in some humor.
 
Hammer,

Well done on the intro. It's perfect.

The typical splash screens, music and loud intros are completely unnecessary.
 
Hammer059, I subscribed to your channel (anything to help a brother). I don't know much about youtube, but I just uploaded a video

https://youtu.be/Ak1gh8otgbU

Please check it out. It would be nice if you could put it on your channel. That way, I'll know where it is later.

Thanks. THR rocks.
 
Thanks, LoneGoose. I'll check out your video here momentarily.

We just uploaded our latest video today. I think this one is a bit of an improvement. Check it out and let me know what you guys think!
 
Hammer059 said:
I think this one is a bit of an improvement.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

One technical comment not related generally to your vid per se: Others may disagree, but staging the DA trigger isn't generally held to be the best technique for DA shooting. It amounts to timing the shot (and inevitably jerking the trigger), which generally doesn't lend itself to optimal accuracy. Just pull straight back, smoothly, and through the break.
 
That's what I do when actually shooting it. It was more of an attempt to try and demonstrate the trigger pull, which is hard to do through a video. When shooting my 642, I shoot it exactly as you described. I don't want to practice by staging a trigger, then have to use it in self defense and not know how to shoot it quickly with reasonable accuracy. In the opening scene of the video, this is evident.
 
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