Inés Feedback - Videos part 2

[squeakcode]

I'm a huge YouTube geek - so these are little tweaks I can suggest to make it awesome:

I can recommend getting a YouTube plug-in, they allow you to do nifty things (which I'll come onto later). I use vidIQ. I've also heard people rave over TubeBuddy.

Having 'branding' on the YT channel is a most. I think something a lot like this channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/powerm1985/videos would work really well. Have a side bars with the colours of WeRockTech and something that distinguishes the different series. As the main image, you can have a picture of the person perhaps, or the concept you're talking about. It makes it more enticing to click :) Likewise optimising the cover and avatar to YouTube are a good idea too

Add tags / metadata to your channel (can be done from Dashboard) and to your videos. In fact, in general I'd recommend exploring the entire channel dashboard and the little gear symbol and check out all the features YouTube has to offer. :) also fill in descriptions well with a snippet as they appear in search and can also help video rank better (which you've done and is great!)

Minor nitpickiness from myself, but I suspect Sandra González has the accent on the 'a' (I'm one of those people who gets grumpy when Inés is spelt as Ines :p). Can help to ask people on camera at the start of the interview to say name, spell it, pronounce it and say pronouns.

Optimise titles. Only first 60 characters come up in search - so I think rather than:
"WeRockTech CFGOnesToWatch2016 Elizabeth Chesters" a title like:
"Elizabeth Chesters - Ones to Watch 2016 | WeRockTech"
or
"Ones to Watch 2016 - Elizabeth Chesters | WeRockTech" might work better for people searching for a particular video. When there's a list of titles, people will look at the first word to find what they want so it helps for WeRockTech to be at the end. This is my personal opinion though! :)
The teaser ones you could have [TEASER] at the start or end of the title to distinguish it clearly from the others.

Go to your channel and click "Customise layout". This was, there will be a page where you can see all the videos and have different sections you can customise - so you can add in the Playlists in the order you want and even add a Channel trailer for unsubscribed people

I see you've made PlayLists and playlists are excellent!! :) In fact, if you can link to videos in playlists, it is always better!

From a Videomaking perspective...

Although Google Hangouts is a great service, I would actually avoid using them where possible. That is, in those videos where you've been able to meet the people in person, I'd make the recordings straight onto a camera or a computer. Hangouts tends to distort the video and the audio depending on connection and on some of the videos it affects the quality somewhat, which may deter people from viewing the entire thing.

Audio is always the most important bit. In the MumsRockTech video the audio isn't great even though there is a good microphone there and I'm worried it might be because the recording was done through hangouts. If you have a compact digital camera, you can record the sound on the Blue Yeti Mic, and take the video on the camera, and then edit together on the computer, and you won't lose as much sound and video quality. I know this isn't always possible - but where you can try to do it! :)

The video has a good angle though happy to offer more tips for filming interviews if you want - but current set up works really well. :)

You on camera:

I actually think you're pretty good on camera - or at least, certainly not bad. Your voice is clear and natural.

It is noticeable that you and the person you interview look at the viewfinder (or your images on the laptop), but ideally you should avoid that after checking you're in frame and look into the webcam or at each other. Pretend the webcam is a third person. When looking at the other person, it is good to try and also face the camera which is hard and basically turns into a drama act - but the angle at which the chairs are anyway makes this work pretty well. :) The camera may be set slightly too far up though, or you may both have to make a conscious effort to look up, as it looks like you both look down and shy away but I actually think it is due to the camera angle (like a person standing up watching on two people sitting down). Bringing it down to eyelevel might be more immersive and help with that - or just remembering to look up. :) Both work!

Interview Questions
I think most of the questions (looking at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aQALs4ZHoI) are good. General pointers are:

Ask open questions to start out to get personal comfortable and talking (and avoid closed questions that are answered with just yes or no because they mean they will say yes and you will immediately have to ask another question).
So - "How did you get into coding?" "How are you finding your first hackathon?" are good questions, the second perhaps sliiightly vague but not a bad question. "This is your first hackathon, right?" is a closed question but it fit well into the conversation, as in touching base with the facts and moving on. (though with people who speak loads closed questions are good to get them to slow down a bit :p)

Avoid interrupting the other person. You don't do it a lot and I actually think you are quite natural and give the interviewees space to speak, but there are a couple of occasions where you both speak at the same time. Sometimes it is important to cut someone off if they waffle a lot and move on to the next topic, but in general I'd suggest letting them speak and then just cutting down what they say. Also with editing, it is easier to do with spaces in between exchanges IMO. :)

For interviews you are leading a conversation somewhere, so it is good to know what questions / route you're going to follow - not all questions but this is what I picked up on:

How did you get into coding? [backstory]
How are you finding this hackathon? [present]
What advice would you
Did you come alone?
What would you like to learn?

I feel the questions could have a slightly different order (I'd have the advice one at the end perhaps, and maybe something like, "overall opinion?" type question) to follow that story route more, but honestly, for a first go I think this is fantastic stuff. :) practice will make perfect and I think you come across as likeable on camera, you set a good mood and a good atmosphere (and tbh, you're almost certainly more practiced and natural at interviewing than me).

Very good at the end looking back at the camera and the viewer and wrapping up!