Just starting a YouTube channel, would like some feedback.

[AlmostLikeLife]

My buddy and I started our YouTube channel - DUMPSTER GAMEPLAY - last December. We have 22 videos up and just passed 500 total views today. We have 9 subscribers but they're all our personal friends. Most of our videos struggle to get to 15 views. I would like to take the channel to a new level, but my friend doesn't want to change anything.

 

We don't record in HD and we play some no-name indie games just for laughs. One person I talked to suggested getting a HD PVR, taking all the existing videos down, and starting fresh. I came around to the idea fairly quickly, because we have no subscriptions outside of our circle of friends so it doesn't really matter. My friend on the other hand feels that removing all the videos is a bad idea because he wants to show "how we evolved" and doesn't feel HD is necessary because "we're known for crap quality". He doesn't want to wait to do new HD videos because "we don't get views if we don't have any content up", even though we hardly get views now. He also doesn't think word of mouth promotion ever reaches past our circle of friends.

 

I have been trying to talk him to at least a middle ground, but he's steadfast on not changing a thing and being content with only 10-15 views on any video we post.

 

Anyway, I digress. Please, if you have some time to kill, could you look up the channel, check out some of the videos and let us know what you think/how we can improve.

[Alyxx Thorne]

A link would be nice.

[AlmostLikeLife]

Duh. My bad. Here ya go: http://www.youtube.com/user/DumpsterGameplay

[Alyxx Thorne]

Regarding HD... I don't think it's absolutely necessary especially if you have limited space since raw HD footage can take a LOT of space.

 

Otherwise, I think your videos are pretty good and pretty fun since they are loose and unscripted and I think you should just keep making shit and sharing it, it's the only way to get known. As long as you enjoy what you do, that's what matters.

[AlmostLikeLife]

Okay, so over the last 24 hours I've been going back and forth with my buddy about the different feedback we've gotten and how we can apply it. Here's how it's gone so far.

 

- The goals we have for the channel are almost completely different. I would like it to be a genuinely entertaining channel with a wide audience that enjoys the videos we make. Whereas his was to just have a channel that uploads regularly that our "die-hards" (aka friends) watch.

 

- I pitch going HD. He shuts it down and says it's not necessary because "we're known for our crap quality".

 

- I pitch cutting all our old stuff and basically hitting the reset button. He shuts it down, saying he wants to keep the old ones up to "show our evolution" as a channel.

 

- I give up ground, agreeing to keep the old videos online, but put them on an alternate channel. Nope. Then I agree to keep them on the main channel, but put them all together in a separate playlist. That seemed okay with him.

 

- I suggest re-recording our Metal Gear Solid 2 playthrough, which we've only done an hour of so far and haven't posted any of it yet. Nope, because he doesn't want it to "go to waste".

 

- I concede, agreeing to keep doing it the way we're doing it, but to integrate the new HD stuff with our regular schedule. Still says it's not necessary. Decides that we could use the HD PVR for N64 games and there's "no other use for it". (the capture device I have now doesn't capture N64 for some reason)

 

- I make one final push for HD. Saying that, at the very least, HD footage makes for a good looking thumbnail in searches that people would be more apt to click on. He counters with "Why don't we make thumbnails then? saves money. can't be hard to do."

 

 

I gave up all my ground in this argument, and now if he's going to start getting bitchy about it, then fuck the entire channel.