nabs":168mnm12 said:
I am all for the free sharing of information, but I also recognise that good, well presented info takes a lot of effort to create.
It takes some effort, especially in the planning side... but not too much, especially once you've found your own rhythm and style. You don't need fancy editing, or anything and often not even top end camera kit. I'm sure Paul Sellers plans his videos, although it's basically just real-time footage of him working, which
somehow remains entertaining and engaging for 40+ minutes each time!
I think the key aspect in videos is being able to
show what you're explaining - It's kinda the point of video after all, right?
For me, that requires a reasonable resolution camera (even my phone is 1080p, which is good enough) and someone behind it who knows how to show both wide view and the close-up details the presenter is talking about. One of my favourite YouTubers (Mike Vapes) does this perfectly well with just a reasonable quality webcam and a decent, honest personality.
nabs":168mnm12 said:
Of course, how you pay is a different question - personally I would rather subscribe and pay for decent content directly rather than having the authors depend on tailoring their stuff to attract advertisers in order to earn a crust.
Can you not simply monetise your vid and get random ads slotted in, or would that not pay enough?
I know some YouTubers specialise in subjects and/or want advertisers who will also sponsor them directly, often going so far as to plug products directly and openly, like Linus TechTips or CarThrottle with their 20-second schpiel on "Our sponsors of this video", which I don't actually object to if it's relevant to their subject and/or they actually use these products themselves. It's like Victor Kiam advertising Remington because he owns the company (for those old enough to remember) and he's standing behind his brand, or Peter Strauss plugging MiracleGro products because he actually uses them a lot on his business farms.
I object to actors selling out and just advertising perfumes or clothing lines because they're paid to, though.
nabs":168mnm12 said:
I think the dilemma for Maquire, Sellers and co is how to differentiate themselves from the morass of free, and the answer is what you say above DW - much of it is rubbish and not worth watching for free, let alone paying for! If anything can make it work in the long-term it has to be an insistence on high quality, authoritative and well presented info.
I think the big part of it is just personality, really.
Richard has quite a quirky, 'Northern country lad' thing going with a few choice phrases and nuances that make him pretty memorable. In fact, it took me two or three videos to get where he was coming from, but I found myself really liking his style.
Sellers is proper Old School, as in this is how they taught your Dad, and his Dad before him, and his Dad before him - He's the kind of teacher many of us wish we'd grown up with.
Cosman is very skilled, but it seems you can only be that good if you buy his tools and his videos and his books and, and, and.... I dunno. Maybe that's how it works in Canada?
The one thing I take from all of these three, and anyone else I watch, is how they do it "their way".
They may or may not present it as The Way, or they might just say "it's the way *I* was taught", which I prefer as it doesn't preclude the audience finding other/better/more preferable ways.
But it does let me see how they do it and then decide if I like it for myself or not.
No skills":168mnm12 said:
The pay for content seems ever growing with the 'maker' crowd, in short term good for them - make extra money for doing something they like, long term is bad - Loose regular followers because any interesting content is pay per view and locked away.
The trick is to give sufficient free content that people like and respect you enough to pay for the really long and in-depth stuff. For example, Richard did a video on clinching nails - Never seen that anywhere else so far, noticed it done badly in some seriously overpriced Etsy products and always felt it looked naff.... Now I know why it was used, how to use it, how not to use it... and now feel much more qualified to reiterate that those Etsy items really were badly done!!
But having seen that clinching video, it gives me confidence that I'll be getting some great information from Richard's paid content, rather than a 3 hour sales pitch for Maguire Merchandise. Heck, I'm even considering his Workbench one, purely out of interest even though I might never actually make one!
nabs":168mnm12 said:
I do understand the value and desire to sustain the generous sharing of information for free (after all it is exactly that inclination that results in forums like this) but I don't see paid content as a threat to it - there is room for both.
The trouble I have, and the trepidation I initially had upon seeing RM was offering paid content, is that those I've known previously do the same were all about selling their brand - Even if they're awesome at woodworking and teaching, the continual ads and reminders cheapen things, IMO.
It's just another gimmick and sales technique, relying on the idea that anything free isn't worth anything - You can watch the free Tasky™ videos, where I'll make dovetails using the Tasky saw and cover the basics of the Tasky™ Technique that is taught in my Tasky™ DVD, but in the Tasky™ Paid Content we go fully in depth and teach the Tasky™ Advanced™ Technique™, along with Tasky™ Tips on sharpening, Tasky™ Tools™, how Tasky™ can enlarge your penis/breasts/bank account, how Tasky™ stands at the Workbench™, plus two dozen other methods ripped from old textbooks and slightly reworded to appear like Tasky's™ own invention.
Sounds like nadgers?
Possibly... But is it worth chancing the money to find out?
By contrast, the Sellers method of "Here's the swanky expensive kit what I use right now, alongside some old £3 eBay thing about a hundred years old that I still use more often, but if you like you can even make your own for 50p with a bit of junk wood and some sandpaper"... That same mentality of valuing the free stuff has me thinking, "Wow, if this is the free information, how good must that paid content be, eh!!".
, but I think Peter Parfitt is an example of this (mind you he may be sponsored by Festool, for all I know!) and a great example of how personality makes such a difference. Even though I have no intention of making any of the things he does I would watch his stuff just because he is a natural. Having said that, I am pretty sure it takes him a bit more to create his vids than just standing in front of a camera for 40 minutes :wink: 
