Video Creation Advice

[Astrionix]

I've recently posted two videos to YouTube now. I think they're pretty good myself, but they're not without flaws. For one thing, twenty to thirty minutes long. I think the problem is that I want to add all the shots into the video that I've made. In the second one, I condensed each shot in an effort to try to shorten the video, though the problem is that I repeatedly put very similar scenes (e.g. the space tug reentering the atmosphere and landing) into it, still making it too long for a normal video. You can watch the videos here and give me some constructive criticism and advice so I can note it down for future videos.

 

 

 

[Vanamonde]

These works of a fan have been moved to Fanworks. 

[Guest]

First off. Totally gonna subscribe. I like the content I am seeing so far! You should see two subscribers now

Now the things I recommend from my YouTube channel

1. Have an uploading schedule, the algorithm will boost up your video in recommendations that way, uploading too frequent though can cause people to get annoyed

2. Catch onto popular things. Right now, 1.11 is quite a popular thing to watch and Parallax videos are still getting people views.

3.  Ask people to subscribe and have an endscreen. I learned this from Matt, but people are 5-6 more times likely to subscribe if you ask people to subscribe.

4. And the most important one; have fun! I don't know any KSP youtuber that would really earn anything profitable from KSP videos. It takes a lotta luck to get subs so don't feel like having subs determines how hard you are working.

 

 

[dnbattley]

I concur with @The Doodling Astronaut that this is amazing footage, and while I have far less experience in making successful videos I would comment that it's important to be clear about your criteria for success.

If you are looking for purist recreations of iconic footage or just "doing something for yourself" then that will naturally be different (and probably longer) than if you are looking only to hit the "immediate wow"-style video, and/or grow a subscriber base. In my experience, people are only going to watch longer videos if there is dialogue or storyline compelling them to do so.

Here are some specific notes I've made in my own video work (to varying degrees of success) that might help:

Work to the soundtrack - bearing in mind the beat and any major shifts to match to the visuals. If you're trying to stay short them pick a good song and develop your video footage to match that.

Install and use the camera tools mod to create smooth, repeatable transitions.

For *really* slick video, combine cuts using transitions or static craft shots in different places so that the background changes while the craft appears "constant". This also gives a great effect of movement and time passing. If you can use software that offers a good "wipe" functionality that will help too.

Related to soundtrack, think about additional effects, like the reverse cymbal for a dramatic crescendo, to further spruce up the footage.

Don't be afraid to 2x or 3x your footage. Rocket movements are typically slow and rapid video is still relatively easy to follow.