web Thoughts on YouTube Commentaries

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

No I don't mean something like a let's play or a reaction video, I mean the type of videos more akin to a response video. Someone will respond to another user usually in a way of providing constructive criticism by breaking down the video piece by piece, kind of like a review.

 

One thing I've noticed about these commentaries is that they don't really have a whole lot of general appeal on YouTube. A lot of these channels dedicated to them will have like a few thousand subs at most, while the actual commentaries have like 1500 views but only like 100 people voted. And I rarely see their audience grow passed the other people who make them.

 

While it's nice to provide constructive criticism to other users, it's pretty hard to build a big audience on these videos alone. The most views you'll get is from the audience of said user you're commentating on (and they probably only clicked on the video in the first place because they saw said users name). 

 

So what do you guys think?

[Megas 27,786]

I always thought they were a good alternative for discussions with certain Youtubers as opposed to comments considering how uncontrolled and disastrous the comment sections usually are 

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

I always thought they were a good alternative for discussions with certain Youtubers as opposed to comments considering how uncontrolled and disastrous the comment sections usually are 

I guess they can be. Especially if the user subject blocks comments. I see TamashiiHikora get a lot and I can see why seeing as she blocks comments.

[Overlord0909 479]

Well, for me personally, I am starting a commentary channel, but before that I looked to commentators to get a better understanding of the video I'm watching. Sometimes a joke is made, and I don't understand it, and they sometimes will explain it, and along the way will also notice things wrong with videos (Just restating the criticism part).

 

I also like commentary people, because they go over a whole lot of videos, and so they give me free suggestions of what I should watch next, relating to a subject I enjoy (ie. MLP).

 

Other than those three points, I don't think I can make anymore comments about em'  (Ones that haven't already been said)

Edited March 2, 2016 by Overlord0909

[Black Sabbath 2,486]

Eh, I do enjoy some of them but the majority is mediocre at best.  

[Unr3alGamer 230]

I work on a commentary channel myself:

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/RagePlayRecording

 

We do video game commentaries, discussion videos (once in a blue moon), and now, we read and commentate on bad fanfiction.

 

Criticism and Requests on our videos are welcome.

 

 

Although a commentary on someone else's video? Yeah, nobody really makes a YouTube career off of criticizing other youtube channels. They probably don't get many views/subs because people either don't like their opinion or they simply don't care.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Unr3alGamer

[Zantetsuken 364]

The sort of commentaries described remind me of a group of people I know of that call themselves "The Commentary Community" which really amounts to a group of tightly knit youtubers/ friends who all make the same style of commentaries, this being cut-away commentaries.

 

The term cut-away is used because every time the commentator has a point to make they would cut away to a still image of a character from an anime, show, or what have you they choose to represent them self and alternate images depending on what they saying, and just in case you are curious, yes, there are cut away commentators, quite a surprising number actually, who use ponies from the show as these representative characters. These cut-away commentaries mainly consist of criticizing the video for its flaws, sometimes very harshly, while mixing jokes into the points for good measure.  

 

So even thought this "Commentary Community" I know of has gone through drama after drama, I still find enjoyment in cut-away commentaries. I generally enjoy seeing some idiot get served a slice of cold logic, especially if that person deserves it. This cut-away style was highly popular from 2010-2014 and since 2014 it has not been seen as much. Don't get me wrong, these cut-away commentaries are still around, but just not as common as they once were, that community community sort of tore its self apart.

 

More modern commentaries, at least from my experience and what I have seen, blur the line between commentary and reaction videos. They show a part of the video and cut back to the "commentator" making a joke or reacting to it is some humorous way, usually with game play CoD, CS:GO, or some other shooter game playing on screen. These videos are OK but I don't like them as much as I like traditional commentaries. These people seem more focused on making jokes and poking fun of the video and that's fine but... Can you really call them commentaries? You say commentaries and someones mind will snap to what I just described and they call them commentaries, but honestly they feel more like reaction videos to me.

 

So, In summary, I enjoy commentaries and I have no issue with them, but I feel the word commentary is getting muddled with to the point where people are getting confused as to what an actual commentary is, which is annoying. 

Edited March 2, 2016 by Zantetsuken

[Alex Z 848]

I used to watch them a lot from 2011-2013 but nowadays I only watch them occasionally

Edited March 5, 2016 by Darkness Nightmare

[Trixie Heartstrings 434]

From around 2013-2014, I watched a decent amount of these commentaries. Because of that, it was common to find someone with a pony avatar (that's what they're called), or an MLP related commentary. The thing I've noticed about them is that there's often

bandwagon jumping in the commentary community. There was a time when Guptill89 was the bandwagon. Especially his list of "Top 10 Hottest Sonic Characters". I think the other big bandwagon was Joshua8428.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

From around 2013-2014, I watched a decent amount of these commentaries. Because of that, it was common to find someone with a pony avatar (that's what they're called), or an MLP related commentary. The thing I've noticed about them is that there's often

bandwagon jumping in the commentary community. There was a time when Guptill89 was the bandwagon. Especially his list of "Top 10 Hottest Sonic Characters". I think the other big bandwagon was Joshua8428.

Ah the bandwagons. Usually happening whenever a low hanging fruit user comes around. The ones I remember seeing were Guptil89 and Benthelooney. A lot of the commentaries on them I saw were hard for me to differentiate because they said more or less the same things.

[Zantetsuken 364]

From around 2013-2014, I watched a decent amount of these commentaries. Because of that, it was common to find someone with a pony avatar (that's what they're called), or an MLP related commentary. The thing I've noticed about them is that there's often

bandwagon jumping in the commentary community. There was a time when Guptill89 was the bandwagon. Especially his list of "Top 10 Hottest Sonic Characters". I think the other big bandwagon was Joshua8428.

 

Oh shit! you know your commentary community, I thought I was the only one.

 

You are right about Guptill and joshua but I can name you a few other bandwagons through the years like

 

Salormoonred1 (guy who like to play with dolls in front of a webcam)

LifeInATent (thumbs up for epic earthquake LIAT-2011)

TheGemOf99 (more recent bandwagon, he just makes bad comms)

Meta527ii (Stalker)

GurigorloX (smaller bandwagon, just another idiot)

Chirs Chan (if you don't know who Chirs Chan is you haven't been online for too long)

Eddythefalsepriest (another recent bandwagon, don't know much about him)

 

All of these people have been rather violently ripped apart by the commentary community, though today you don't see many bandwagons because they usually all gang up on someone in one huge Co-op (See a channel on youtube called BunchOfPusdoIntellectuals or BoP for short)

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

Oh shit! you know your commentary community, I thought I was the only one.

 

You are right about Guptill and joshua but I can name you a few other bandwagons through the years like

 

Salormoonred1 (guy who like to play with dolls in front of a webcam)

LifeInATent (thumbs up for epic earthquake LIAT-2011)

TheGemOf99 (more recent bandwagon, he just makes bad comms)

Meta527ii (Stalker)

GurigorloX (smaller bandwagon, just another idiot)

Chirs Chan (if you don't know who Chirs Chan is you haven't been online for too long)

Eddythefalsepriest (another recent bandwagon, don't know much about him)

 

All of these people have been rather violently ripped apart by the commentary community, though today you don't see many bandwagons because they usually all gang up on someone in one huge Co-op (See a channel on youtube called BunchOfPusdoIntellectuals or BoP for short)

On top of that, a lot of their, 'criticisms' really don't feel like them. While there is the occasional correcting of facts, there are also them attempting to be humors, which just comes off as more mean then funny. I'm just sitting there thinking, "The person you're commenting over really isn't gonna take you seriously when you're just yelling and insulting them."

[Trixie Heartstrings 434]

 

 

Salormoonred1 (guy who like to play with dolls in front of a webcam) LifeInATent (thumbs up for epic earthquake LIAT-2011) TheGemOf99 (more recent bandwagon, he just makes bad comms) Meta527ii (Stalker) GurigorloX (smaller bandwagon, just another idiot) Chirs Chan (if you don't know who Chirs Chan is you haven't been online for too long) Eddythefalsepriest (another recent bandwagon, don't know much about him)

I know most of these, I don't know the recent ones(TheGemOf99 and Eddythefalsepriest), and I don't think I know Meta527ii.

[Xylosian 140]

Commentary channels are becoming the new gaming channels. So many people are trying to jump on the bandwagon but most content in this genre of videos are usually medicore at best.