Videos with no words. It could be pure genius.

[Baldbiker]

There was a challenge put out by Bikes, Beards & Brews a few months back that challenged viewers to come up with their own wordless video - I did one for my channel

-John

Well John, this is my honest feedback, meant purely for learning purposes, so don't take anything I say the wrong way. It's just my personal reaction and others may have a different view.

I watched one of your recent videos where you are just driving around and talking. Your topic was "time management". The talking went on and on, and the driving went on and on, but that was it. So I got kind of bored and clicked out at around the 4 minute mark.
Then I watched your silent video, and found myself watching it until the very end. This is exactly what I'm talking about. At least, for me, sometimes just showing speaks louder than words, and can keep the viewer interested in continuing to watch. I'm not trying to say non talk videos are "better", but they definitely have some original appeal to the normal motovlog. They come across as more "artistic". Definitely something I want to try working with a bit more this summer.

 

[Drakhen99]

Well John, this is my honest feedback, meant purely for learning purposes, so don't take anything I say the wrong way. It's just my personal reaction and others may have a different view.

I watched one of your recent videos where you are just driving around and talking. Your topic was "time management". The talking went on and on, and the driving went on and on, but that was it. So I got kind of bored and clicked out at around the 4 minute mark.
Then I watched your silent video, and found myself watching it until the very end. This is exactly what I'm talking about. At least, for me, sometimes just showing speaks louder than words, and can keep the viewer interested in continuing to watch. I'm not trying to say non talk videos are "better", but they definitely have some original appeal to the normal motovlog. They come across as more "artistic". Definitely something I want to try working with a bit more this summer.

I think you're right - regular motovlogs, if not telling a compelling story, can drive viewers to stop watching early. I try not to do that. I break up the subjects with music sections or something else. I end up cutting at least half my talking when I do that, and still try to keep the vids moving along at a good pace. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't... it's just the nature of the beast I guess. If you remember which vid that was, I'd like to know so I can go back and view it again for myself, to try and improve future vids. The Poison Ivy vid, at least, told a story in a succinct fashion.

-John

 

[Baldbiker]

I think you're right - regular motovlogs, if not telling a compelling story, can drive viewers to stop watching early. I try not to do that. I break up the subjects with music sections or something else. I end up cutting at least half my talking when I do that, and still try to keep the vids moving along at a good pace. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't... it's just the nature of the beast I guess. If you remember which vid that was, I'd like to know so I can go back and view it again for myself, to try and improve future vids. The Poison Ivy vid, at least, told a story in a succinct fashion.

-John

NP, it was around your 4th latest, I just chose it at random because it looked like a driving around vid. You were talking about time management. Not that it's a bad topic, but after a while I started snoozing lol. Now that could just be me, I get like that if someone is talking to me non stop for an extended period of time. Its from years of having the wife yapping in my ear, except with her I can't just click to the next video, instead I just learn to tune it out after a while. Glad you are not offended, I always appreciate constructive feedback when I get it too. It is the best way to help us improve our skills

 

[Drakhen99]

NP, it was around your 4th latest, I just chose it at random because it looked like a driving around vid. You were talking about time management. Not that it's a bad topic, but after a while I started snoozing lol. Now that could just be me, I get like that if someone is talking to me non stop for an extended period of time. Its from years of having the wife yapping in my ear, except with her I can't just click to the next video, instead I just learn to tune it out after a while. Glad you are not offended, I always appreciate constructive feedback when I get it too. It is the best way to help us improve our skills

LOL, I'm not easily offended - I just try my best. I also try to cut as much dead space out of my vids as possible. I'd rather not spend someone's viewing time watching and listening to me gather my thoughts as they get rather jumbled while I ride and try to record a vlog - I just cut that part out and jump to where i got my stuff together in my head and am not um-ing and ah-ing so much.

Sure, I ramble on a bit - that's probably something I can work on, but TBH, for most of my vids, I have an overarching thought in mind when I go out riding, and want to share that thought/tip/experience with the viewer. If they're not into it, no big deal, they can click off, but if it's something they're interested in, they can stay for the whole video.

-John

 

[Moto Mengy]

I think you're right - regular motovlogs, if not telling a compelling story, can drive viewers to stop watching early.

That's the challenging part about motovlogging: telling a good story in the motovlog format. Itchy Boots does this well, but many "big" motovloggers don't IMHO and yet they do well anyway. I find it hard to portray a good story while riding on a bike and talking, but I keep trying to get better at it.

Your silent vid did a good job of telling a story and I think that's why it worked well.

 

[Drakhen99]

That's the challenging part about motovlogging: telling a good story in the motovlog format. Itchy Boots does this well, but many "big" motovloggers don't IMHO and yet they do well anyway. I find it hard to portray a good story while riding on a bike and talking, but I keep trying to get better at it.

Your silent vid did a good job of telling a story and I think that's why it worked well.

I think you're right about telling a story while riding - and I know of at least a few motovloggers who are taking Casey Neistat's classes in order to improve their videos.

And thanks

-John

 

[Guest]

That's the challenging part about motovlogging: telling a good story in the motovlog format. Itchy Boots does this well, but many "big" motovloggers don't IMHO and yet they do well anyway. I find it hard to portray a good story while riding on a bike and talking, but I keep trying to get better at it.

Your silent vid did a good job of telling a story and I think that's why it worked well.

There are a few reasons why people watch your content:

1) Informative - You're sharing a review, teaching them how to do something, whatever. In short, you know something they want to know.

2) Entertaining - You're exploring someplace different, riding a motorcycle they like, being charismatic. If I have to explain this I can't help you.

3) Affection - For some reason, people are into you. You'll see an army of simps dotting over the latest female moto vlogger who knows nothing and can't ride for shit, but they want to bone her, that's affection. Another example would be when you call up your mother, she doesn't tell you anything you don't already know, so it isn't informative, her stories are boring and dry and take a long time to get out, so it isn't entertaining, but you love the old bat so there's affection.

Many of the established motovloggers, or vloggers of any type, have built a relationship with their audience, so they get the views out of affection, even though the quality is trash.

I guess as a follow up to this, you should always know what your video is going to do, to draw in your audience and keep them captivated on arrival. Try to tick as many and whichever boxes are appropriate.

 

[HippoDrone]

I think we all watch and enjoy different things, with our common ground being motorcycles and recording rides... but it doesn't mean we will enjoy all varieties of motovlog. It is a bit like a cruiser guy not watching sportsbike vids, or a sportsbike gal not watching dirtybike vids.
I tend to skip through sections of videos where there is music, mainly because I am more interested in what the person has to say than listen to music, I'd put a CD on if I wanted to listen to music. Others will prefer raw bike audio on an uncut ride, and others will only watch bike review vids. We are all different, and that is pretty awesome!

 

[Guest]

Would you really put on a CD though? lol

 

[HippoDrone]

Would you really put on a CD though? lol

Hahaha... actually no, I subscribe to YouTube Premium, which includes YouTube Music, so I would just put on YT Music!

 

[Drakhen99]

I think we all watch and enjoy different things, with our common ground being motorcycles and recording rides... but it doesn't mean we will enjoy all varieties of motovlog. It is a bit like a cruiser guy not watching sportsbike vids, or a sportsbike gal not watching dirtybike vids.
I tend to skip through sections of videos where there is music, mainly because I am more interested in what the person has to say than listen to music, I'd put a CD on if I wanted to listen to music. Others will prefer raw bike audio on an uncut ride, and others will only watch bike review vids. We are all different, and that is pretty awesome!

And, several times I have called you out when I am about to do a music section, just 'cause I know it ticks you off

I do it in jest, just like all my videos. Add laughter, take away sadness.

-John

 

[Baldbiker]

That's the challenging part about motovlogging: telling a good story in the motovlog format. Itchy Boots does this well, but many "big" motovloggers don't IMHO and yet they do well anyway. I find it hard to portray a good story while riding on a bike and talking, but I keep trying to get better at it.

Your silent vid did a good job of telling a story and I think that's why it worked well.

I think it's one possible route, but others have different styles. If the motovlogger has a very likeable and outgoing personality, extremely funny and/or attractive, they can just do their own thing and people will enjoy watching them even without a story. For not-so-attractive, boring people like me, I think I will have to rely on a story lol.

 

[LoneWolfer]

I'm not a dog or a cat, so I can't stand videos that are just the visuals with 99 percent crappy music and sounds/sound effects. I don't even like it when people have extended parts with just music, because I usually can't stand what they chose for the music and its just boring - I tune out and pick up my phone usually to search for something else to watch on youtube (I watch Youtube content either on the computer or on the tv in my living room). LikeHippo said, if I want to listen to music, then I put on music. When I want to watch a vlog about something I want an immersive experience that includes visuals, instructions, tales of glory/defeat, interaction through oral/aural communication and description of the environment that I cannot receive because we only have two senses interacted with from a video. I can't taste, smell or touch what is on the screen, the storyteller has to describe that stuff and when they don't they are failing to immerse me completely. Along with motovlogs, I watch a lot of camping/bushcrafting videos and if they waste 20 minutes of their video only showing me how they set up their tent and don't interact with the camera, then I'm out. Or if they hike out somewhere and have ten b-roll shots of them walking in the woods, which means they arleady walked it, set up a camera, then walked by it again, then I'm out. I can also do without the whole using one's palm to transition between cuts/scenes or as a fade to black. That also makes me not want to come back. But again Hippo nailed it on the head, "We are all different, and that is pretty awesome!" Cause if there were more people like me I would hate more people. But you should be making content that you want to see more of, not chasing an algorithm.

 

[R-Rated]

I'm not a dog or a cat, so I can't stand videos that are just the visuals with 99 percent crappy music and sounds/sound effects. I don't even like it when people have extended parts with just music, because I usually can't stand what they chose for the music and its just boring - I tune out and pick up my phone usually to search for something else to watch on youtube (I watch Youtube content either on the computer or on the tv in my living room). LikeHippo said, if I want to listen to music, then I put on music. When I want to watch a vlog about something I want an immersive experience that includes visuals, instructions, tales of glory/defeat, interaction through oral/aural communication and description of the environment that I cannot receive because we only have two senses interacted with from a video. I can't taste, smell or touch what is on the screen, the storyteller has to describe that stuff and when they don't they are failing to immerse me completely. Along with motovlogs, I watch a lot of camping/bushcrafting videos and if they waste 20 minutes of their video only showing me how they set up their tent and don't interact with the camera, then I'm out. Or if they hike out somewhere and have ten b-roll shots of them walking in the woods, which means they arleady walked it, set up a camera, then walked by it again, then I'm out. I can also do without the whole using one's palm to transition between cuts/scenes or as a fade to black. That also makes me not want to come back. But again Hippo nailed it on the head, "We are all different, and that is pretty awesome!" Cause if there were more people like me I would hate more people. But you should be making content that you want to see more of, not chasing an algorithm.

Friend, I missed you mentioning how much you enjoy watching someone eat on a video. Did that change? If so, more ideas for the moose hunt.

 

[LoneWolfer]

Friend, I missed you mentioning how much you enjoy watching someone eat on a video. Did that change? If so, more ideas for the moose hunt.

View attachment 6303

I can tolerate seeing people eat in a vlog with their mouth closed, but if they talk with their mouf full or I hear them eating I'm out!

And the Moose Hunt will certainly include at least one stop over at a favorite BBQ joint of mine that does deserve some exposure on the Youtubes.

 

[Guest]

LMAO. I am literally eating a pastry at 24x speed while warming up a customer's bike before an oil change in the video I'm editing now. If you want to see a man eating very fast and proceeding to give instructions on how to change oil on a Honda CB500F with chocolate pastry on his face, do not watch it lol.

Truth be told, I lack the creativity to do anything silent.
Shit, me speaking can barely get a consistent 60% retention time, imagine I took the words away?
It would just be me, eating a pastry, with chocolate on my face, and you wouldn't even know why.
I'd probably fall asleep just editing it. My audience might hurt themselves from nodding off and hitting their heads.
Not the right fit for me, but good luck to all those more creative types. That's all yous.