Thanks Renat and Dave, your comments are very helpful. I had no idea the audio was so bad--that was probably willful ignorance on my part, but I certainly want to address it. I actually started out with a lav mike but found it was actually worse (if you can believe it, it sounded like I was at the end of a really long tunnel).
I think many of the production quality things--graphics, sound, etc.--are contingent on my being able to put a bit more cash into the site, but it's good to know where to start. In terms of my energy: recently I went back and watched the first episode of WineLibraryTV and compared it to a more recent ep, and was pretty blown away by how much the presentation had evolved. I'm hoping that as I get more comfortable I'll naturally get looser, more spontaneous, etc. Or speaking of wine, perhaps I should drink a few glasses before filming :) I really appreciate your comments and hopefully I'll be able to reflect them soon. Many thanks! Kirstin --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, David Jones <david.jo...@...> wrote: > > On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 9:36 AM, pageflex2001 <innom...@...> wrote: > > > > Welcome to the gang Kristin! > > > > I am going to give constructive criticism; > > > > 1. Site layout gets 4 stars. Why? Though the interface is clean and direct, > > the nav buttons below the video are not consistent/on par with the rest of > > site's buttons. > > > > 2. Presentation's content is interesting but lacks energy and spontaneity > > (acting skills?). > > > > 3. Audio is terrible. Consider getting rid of the echo your first priority. > > It makes you sound very unprofessional. Suggestion; clip-on lavaier > > directional mike. > > > > 4. Video graphics and story inbetweeners need more innovation and pizzaz. > > Consider hiring an innovative artistic video FX artist to create the shell > > of your show. You can learn to do it yourself but it will take time. > > > > 5. Why use Vimeo for video hosting? Youtube has smartened up in video > > quality and even offering HD, plus the visitor-base with youtube is way > > higher than with vimeo. > > > > 6. "More episodes" link leads to a page that has no TV box around the > > latest video and the eye is confused where the latest episodes are, wanting > > to find the below that video but then noticing the iPhone. To tell you the > > truth I thought it was an ad, like in Pandora. You should use the TV box as > > your user interface and perhaps use the right side, where the TV dials are > > - right below them, for inclusion of "More episodes" thumbnails. > > > > Over the years of videoblogging this is what I learnt; > > The show to be success must have a host that is charming with great acting > > skills, smart and spontaneous, happy-go-round type with his own original > > style. All that without great zesty content is nothing to make this work, > > and it must be consistent in every episode. Audio must be pristine, I am > > not even taking about the video... And of course the show must have a very > > good video editor/FX artist that is not afraid to innovate. The site of the > > show must be designed in a user-friendly and themed approach to make it > > memorable to the end-user. It must contain only the things that are > > functional and useful, hiring a talented graphic designer/wp theme guru is > > a must. > > > I hope this helps > > > > Renat Zarbailov > > I N N O M I N D. O R G > > > > --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Kirstin" <kirstinbutler@> wrote: > > > > > > Hi everyone, > > > > > > I wanted to introduce myself because I'm just joining the list. Many of > > > your names are familiar, though, and I'm so excited to be here. > > > > > > I bought Secrets of Videoblogging right when it came out but it took me > > > until this year to get up enough courage to actually start my vlog. (Yup, > > > that means I sat on my hands for three years--pretty crazy.) In any case, > > > I've been posting videos regularly for the last four months or so and > > > it's great to be joining a community of other vloggers. > > > > > > Any feedback on my vlog and site are much appreciated. It's at: > > > http://youdigest.com. I definitely have technical issues to work out, and > > > I'm hoping to migrate it to digest.tv soon to strengthen the branding. I > > > really would be grateful for thoughts, ideas, and criticism. > > > > > > Thanks and it's a pleasure to meet you all! > > > > > > Kirstin > > I concur with Renat, audio should be your #1 priority. You can clearly > hear the DV tape noise, it's awful. > I had this on my blog and got so many complaints that I went and got > an old crappier SD DV camcorder that had an external mic connection > and I used a cheap $30 shotgun mic and have never looked back. > I happily sacrificed video quality for audio, audio was that important. > > Your blog page presentation is very professional and first rate, so > don't touch that. > > I agree, being on YouTube is important, that is a huge audience you > are missing out on. At least a quarter of my audience subscribe to me > directly via YouTube, and many people find me via YouTube searches for > certain keywords. > > Have you thought about Podcasting on iTunes?, about 25% of my viewers > watch a smaller 320x240 podcast on their iPhone/iTouch/iPod etc. > > I also agree, more energy and spontaneity is needed. My blog for > instance is unscripted, but that's definitely not for everyone! > > Dave > www.eevblog.com >
