Why are video essays like this?

[Ikagura]

I noticed that in these last years there was a trend of long, deep analytic videos talking about the underlying sub-text of various media (from cartoons to movies while going through video games) as well as making a commentary about how "xxxx is an underrated masterpiece" for anything that didn't meet a certain popularity from people.

I also have seen how many videos online also had long intros that defines the origins or even explain the medium as if it acted as if nobody knew what it was about (we could still search about it online beforehand) so that they get quite stale and I wish they could get to the point (I don't need a history lesson about something if it's barely relevant to the main subject).

I'd also argue that many videos are also making famous quotes or engaging with a higher level of vocabulary to sound more intellectual or credible to its public rather than being more specific with technical terms.

I can understand that essays aren't meant to be short and that at school they expect you to reach a certain minimum amount of words to have at least some substance but when your video is 3 hours long it clearly shows that there is some padding to make it seemingly complete.

I wouldn't be anti-intellectualistic about people online (any form of art can get some fruitful analysis) but I also feel that these people think they're still doing a school assignment and forgot that sometimes simplicity can still be effective.

Here's a simple meme I remember seeing that perfectly represents what I'm saying:

 

[Yousef]

I noticed that in these last years there was a trend of long, deep analytic videos talking about the underlying sub-text of various media (from cartoons to movies while going through video games) as well as making a commentary about how "xxxx is an underrated masterpiece" for anything that didn't meet a certain popularity from people.

I also have seen how many videos online also had long intros that defines the origins or even explain the medium as if it acted as if nobody knew what it was about (we could still search about it online beforehand) so that they get quite stale and I wish they could get to the point (I don't need a history lesson about something if it's barely relevant to the main subject).

I'd also argue that many videos are also making famous quotes or engaging with a higher level of vocabulary to sound more intellectual or credible to its public rather than being more specific with technical terms.

I can understand that essays aren't meant to be short and that at school they expect you to reach a certain minimum amount of words to have at least some substance but when your video is 3 hours long it clearly shows that there is some padding to make it seemingly complete.

I wouldn't be anti-intellectualistic about people online (any form of art can get some fruitful analysis) but I also feel that these people think they're still doing a school assignment and forgot that sometimes simplicity can still be effective.

Here's a simple meme I remember seeing that perfectly represents what I'm saying:
View attachment 3418

If I could like this 100 times it still wouldn’t be to express my agreement
Only giving a short reply because it’s hard to add to any of this. It speaks my mind rather well. Maybe too well
Not gonna lie, the youturd meme is something I definitely needed

Though actually truth be told I’m slightly low on energy. I tend to say more during different hours.

 

[Waffles]

I hear you, man.

Even some of my favorite video essays are guilty of that and end up being movie-lenght monstrosities that could be cut in half without losing anything too meaningful... but I think I know exactly why they are padded the way they are: AD REVENUE!

About a decade ago, people would be pulling all sorts of tricks to stretch their videos to ten minutes... but imagine how many ads you can run in two hours.

 

[DunkeyKong]

This is so accurate lol, most of them are copy and paste too

 

[Ikagura]

If I could like this 100 times it still wouldn’t be to express my agreement
Only giving a short reply because it’s hard to add to any of this. It speaks my mind rather well. Maybe too well
Not gonna lie, the youturd meme is something I definitely needed

Though actually truth be told I’m slightly low on energy. I tend to say more during different hours.

Thank you, I tried to avoid myself making this first post too long (or else it would defeat my own point) but I've grown tired of these videos.

The worst is that I used to like them until I got an epiphany and saw how some were basically book reading of articles with no substance at all.

I hear you, man.

Even some of my favorite video essays are guilty of that and end up being movie-lenght monstrosities that could be cut in half without losing anything too meaningful... but I think I know exactly why they are padded the way they are: AD REVENUE!

About a decade ago, people would be pulling all sorts of tricks to stretch their videos to ten minutes... but imagine how many ads you can run in two hours.

When an analysis of a movie is longer than the movie itself it clearly shows there's a problem.

 

[Yousef]

I hear you, man.

Even some of my favorite video essays are guilty of that and end up being movie-lenght monstrosities that could be cut in half without losing anything too meaningful... but I think I know exactly why they are padded the way they are: AD REVENUE!

About a decade ago, people would be pulling all sorts of tricks to stretch their videos to ten minutes... but imagine how many ads you can run in two hours.

Sadly it’s even worse than revenue. It’s actually algorithm. I would know, I saw a certain weird thing consistently happen.

You see, YouTube NOW values watchtime above all else.
No need for elaboration here. This means exactly what you think.

 

[Ikagura]

Sadly it’s even worse than revenue. It’s actually algorithm. I would know, I saw a certain weird thing consistently happen.

You see, YouTube NOW values watchtime above all else.
No need for elaboration here. This means exactly what you think.

I know that Youtube encouraged people from producing daily videos for more visibility.

 

[Waffles]

I know that Youtube encouraged people from producing daily videos for more visibility.

It's pretty sickening.

One of my favorite YouTubers, CallMeKevin, once opened up about that and spoke about the kind of toll the "algorithm game" was taking on his physical and mental health. I can't imagine writing, editing and uploading a whole video every day just to stay on the game.

 

[tenkaistar]

Kitty Adventures Didn't Just Die | It Was Murdered

 

[Yousef]

I know that Youtube encouraged people from producing daily videos for more visibility.

Yup the algorithm is not very nice about this.

Also I’ll highlight my own hypothesis as to why videos like this are so spread out (beyond what’s already said in this thread):

1- false pretense of professionalism: the idea that being professional is being as dry as possible when it’s just being seasoned and experienced. It’s easy for really young writers (at least I presume most of these YouTubers are just sophomore college students) to think that’s how they should sound like without the substance to back it up. “I will be dry and non-witty so I’ll sound really smart”

2- the opposite issue exists where once they get “personal” they abandon all forms of professionalism and turn the video into an auto biography no one asked for. “Everything started…. When my life started. And once that happened, I fully realized the meaning of… starting”

3- discourse fatigue: this one is not really their fault but you owe it to yourself to realize when something you said in a 3 hour vid was said a million times and could be said in fewer minutes

 

[hembruh]

besides the oversaturation, my biggest problem with videos like this, it always seems to be about stuff that is maybe a little niche, but well known enough and every time a video like that comes out about something specific, like 50 more follow it saying the same things about the same games. it's like a more modern version of the Super Mario 2 thing where some basic fact/trivia gets presented by a bunch of people and there isn't really anything new to add.

 

[Ikagura]

It's pretty sickening.

One of my favorite YouTubers, CallMeKevin, once opened up about that and spoke about the kind of toll the "algorithm game" was taking on his physical and mental health. I can't imagine writing, editing and uploading a whole video every day just to stay on the game.

Youtube started to see their members as cash cow rather than human beings...

Kitty Adventures Didn't Just Die | It Was Murdered

"The anarchistic message of Kitty Adventure" because why not injecting opinions as if they were actually meant by the creator instead of just being a personal interpretation?

Yup the algorithm is not very nice about this.

Also I’ll highlight my own hypothesis as to why videos like this are so spread out (beyond what’s already said in this thread):

1- false pretense of professionalism: the idea that being professional is being as dry as possible when it’s just being seasoned and experienced. It’s easy for really young writers (at least I presume most of these YouTubers are just sophomore college students) to think that’s how they should sound like without the substance to back it up. “I will be dry and non-witty so I’ll sound really smart”

2- the opposite issue exists where once they get “personal” they abandon all forms of professionalism and turn the video into an auto biography no one asked for. “Everything started…. When my life started. And once that happened, I fully realized the meaning of… starting”

3- discourse fatigue: this one is not really their fault but you owe it to yourself to realize when something you said in a 3 hour vid was said a million times and could be said in fewer minutes

Even journalists are being told to not get too formal when writing articles.

I have noticed how some even added some "personal life" moments in their videos (like brewing and drinking coffee before starting) and doing scenes about them feeling sad about something to bring the pathos from viewers (I don't really like exposing personal life like that to potentially millions of people online).

Yes, we don't need to be reminded of what Disney is for western animation or the NES history for a Mario Galaxy analysis, these are for schoolwork.

Art analysis essays are not doctorate thesis after all.

 

[Yousef]

Bonus comment: how every video essay goes:

“My life begun when I was born. I don’t remember anything, since I was just born. But it was the beginning of my life. Albert Einstein once said, when life begins, you are born. This is indubitably what happened when Mario Kart 64 graced our green earth with its Lucius existence. This reminds me of when I was depressed for five days, but Mario kart lifted me out of my shell and helped me meet my girlfriend, who dumped me because I said sonic was better. That was the biggest miss steak of my life”

I could go on with this parody but I have to stop eventually

Post automatically merged: Dec 9, 2024

Youtube started to see their members as cash cow rather than human beings...


"The anarchistic message of Kitty Adventure" because why not injecting opinions as if they were actually meant by the creator instead of just being a personal interpretation?


Even journalists are being told to not get too formal when writing articles.

I have noticed how some even added some "personal life" moments in their videos (like brewing and drinking coffee before starting) and doing scenes about them feeling sad about something to bring the pathos from viewers (I don't really like exposing personal life like that to potentially millions of people online).

Yes, we don't need to be reminded of what Disney is for western animation or the NES history for a Mario Galaxy analysis, these are for schoolwork.

Art analysis essays are not doctorate thesis after all.

In rare cases, some video essays ARE college projects that are thinly disguised as YouTube vids which is all manners of silly

 

[MilkUser]

I noticed that in these last years there was a trend of long, deep analytic videos talking about the underlying sub-text of various media (from cartoons to movies while going through video games) as well as making a commentary about how "xxxx is an underrated masterpiece" for anything that didn't meet a certain popularity from people.

I also have seen how many videos online also had long intros that defines the origins or even explain the medium as if it acted as if nobody knew what it was about (we could still search about it online beforehand) so that they get quite stale and I wish they could get to the point (I don't need a history lesson about something if it's barely relevant to the main subject).

I'd also argue that many videos are also making famous quotes or engaging with a higher level of vocabulary to sound more intellectual or credible to its public rather than being more specific with technical terms.

I can understand that essays aren't meant to be short and that at school they expect you to reach a certain minimum amount of words to have at least some substance but when your video is 3 hours long it clearly shows that there is some padding to make it seemingly complete.

I wouldn't be anti-intellectualistic about people online (any form of art can get some fruitful analysis) but I also feel that these people think they're still doing a school assignment and forgot that sometimes simplicity can still be effective.

Here's a simple meme I remember seeing that perfectly represents what I'm saying:
View attachment 3419

Kitty adventures the underrated masterpiece

 

[Ikagura]

I am sometimes feeling that these people are adults that are ashamed to appreciate something aimed at a younger audience so they are desperately searching "deeper" meanings for every media they consume.

Sometimes it's nice to just admit that it's a simple yet fun adventure without any deep message (although I do appreciate when it's done in a smart way like in Iron Giant but it should compliment the main story and not the other way around).

In rare cases, some video essays ARE college projects that are thinly disguised as YouTube vids which is all manners of silly

I would excuse these more.

For those who aren't they are probably trying too hard.

Bonus comment: how every video essay goes:

“My life begun when I was born. I don’t remember anything, since I was just born. But it was the beginning of my life. Albert Einstein once said, when life begins, you are born. This is indubitably what happened when Mario Kart 64 graced our green earth with its Lucius existence. This reminds me of when I was depressed for five days, but Mario kart lifted me out of my shell and helped me meet my girlfriend, who dumped me because I said sonic was better. That was the biggest miss steak of my life”

I could go on with this parody but I have to stop eventually

I'd love to see a full video like that hehe. Okay, maybe not 3 hours long because the best jokes are also the shortest.

 

[RageBurner]

I guess it's because ultimately people seek validation, it's human nature. Going deeper, being more intricate and detailed tends to create an authoritative discourse. This, in turn, will more easily lead to an agreeable outcome.

 

[Yousef]

I am sometimes feeling that these people are adults that are ashamed to appreciate something aimed at a younger audience so they are desperately searching "deeper" meanings for every media they consume.

Sometimes it's nice to just admit that it's a simple yet fun adventure without any deep message (although I do appreciate when it's done in a smart way like in Iron Giant but it should compliment the main story and not the other way around).


I would excuse these more.

For those who aren't they are probably trying too hard.


I'd love to see a full video like that hehe. Okay, maybe not 3 hours long because the best jokes are also the shortest.

I love this one too

 

[Aziamuth]

Someone did it > someone liked it > someone replicated it > someone liked it > someone replicated it > ...

Sometimes I worry that my writing style might be too similar to those essays

 

[Wimmer]

I noticed that in these last years there was a trend of long, deep analytic videos talking about the underlying sub-text of various media (from cartoons to movies while going through video games) as well as making a commentary about how "xxxx is an underrated masterpiece" for anything that didn't meet a certain popularity from people.

I also have seen how many videos online also had long intros that defines the origins or even explain the medium as if it acted as if nobody knew what it was about (we could still search about it online beforehand) so that they get quite stale and I wish they could get to the point (I don't need a history lesson about something if it's barely relevant to the main subject).

I'd also argue that many videos are also making famous quotes or engaging with a higher level of vocabulary to sound more intellectual or credible to its public rather than being more specific with technical terms.

I can understand that essays aren't meant to be short and that at school they expect you to reach a certain minimum amount of words to have at least some substance but when your video is 3 hours long it clearly shows that there is some padding to make it seemingly complete.

I wouldn't be anti-intellectualistic about people online (any form of art can get some fruitful analysis) but I also feel that these people think they're still doing a school assignment and forgot that sometimes simplicity can still be effective.

Here's a simple meme I remember seeing that perfectly represents what I'm saying:
View attachment 3419

I personally highly dislike video essays it makes less people actually play the games in question and remove any type of personal thinking since everyone that has watched the video will just repeat what they heard, I find them a waste of time and they could just use that time to actually play the game or even better, write their own opinion.

 

[CaptainToad]

I wish more were like Matthewmatosis just because he did a few things I find the popular ones don't do (or at least do rarely).

#1, he made his video essays on specifically for people who've played the game. So much of the padding and emptiness from the bigger channels is them recapping the game and dumbing down points to be understandable to people who haven't actually played the game. Talking about games to people who haven't played them is fine, but mixing it with in-depth commentary leads to these drawn-out videos trying to please everyone and maximize viewers.

#2, he seems to be fairly offline, or at least isn't terminally online and 'meta' when talking about games. I've noticed recently that a lot of essays and critiques are talking about what other people are saying about a game. Like, Elden Ring essays all feel the need to address whether they like Elden Ring "community" or not and why. Again, sometimes this part might be interesting but every game essay talking about how a game is broadly talked about on the internet isn't that interesting and consists of people talking around the game rather than the game itself. It's also like swatting at shadows because it's really laborious to define internet phenomena with evidence in an argumentively compelling manner 99% of the time.

#3, he talks about games from a gamplay/interactive mindest first. So many other videos will either divide the game apart into categories like "visuals" "audio" "story" "gameplay" or recap it like a story and pepper in talking about the actual act of playing it sometimes. Which in story-heavy games makes sense like Uncharted, MGS4 (sorta'), Last Of Us, Life Is Strange, etc. But the majority of games are basically a ball of various components all meshed together and it's tricky to take it apart and analyze it in a meaningful and fun manner so many take the easy route and dissect the game like an autopsy and list all the components they like or dislike.

#4, he seems to play games and make videos with commentary in mind first and then if he thinks he has something interesting to say he makes a video. The big channels needs to pump out videos at a regular pace and so they choose a game first to play and then just write down every pro and con they can thing of and bundle it together into a video and call it a day. Joseph Anderson seems to do this, and while he's probably the best at doing it this way it's still a deeply flawed way to actually talk about art.

 

[ATenderLad]

I was just watching a video Youtube suggested to me about Final Fantasy VIII, a retrospective. Then after ten minutes I noticed it was four hours long, closed the tab, and found this thread, serendipity!

I don't think I'm as hostile to this stuff as the rest of the thread, I've watched a seven hour video on Resident Evil (twice, send help), but there's definitely some criticism to be made.

I reckon the problem with long, drawn out, ultimately boring videos is a combination of things, liiiiiike:

- Formulaic essay structure, particularly with most things "retrospective." You need an intro statement, then the game needs an intro, possibly some backstory and history on the company and creators behind said title, the release, reactions upon release, a synopsis of whatever happens in the game, and then maybe you can actually say what you made a whole video to express.

While some amount of foundation is good for a larger audience, more folks need to keep focus on the point they're making.

- It's Youtube! Almost entirely amateurs, literally anyone can make a video. It's just to be expected...don't mean we can't complain, but don't go buying a sandwich and being surprised by Bread.

- Literally......talking...........slooooowly. Oh my god some people talk like I've got nothing else going on. If I can crank it double speed and still make you out clearly, it had best be worth a listen. Probably, this relates to the previous point, speaking clearly and concisely, on camera and into a mic no less? It's a skill, a skill that takes practice, and some are further up that road than the others, naturally. I've heard this is a thing actors have to learn in TV and film too, though I'm told it's because newer performers are hoping to be on camera more if they drag it out.

- Style choices, and who they're fixing to emulate. For a non-Video game example, I just watched a video on Chaebols and their influence on South Korea, and it was designed and edited to look like popular doc's on Netflix, with splashes of Vice. A whole section of the video was literally just summarizing a Vice video, the hubris! It was lavish looking, the creator clearly has chops editing videos, but he kept talking about "his research" and "what he uncovered" and he Literally! repeated news headlines and information from Wikipedia. "No journalism was attempted in the making of this video."

The above irked me more than a little, but it makes sense that it happens. You watch a thing, someone making or doing something, and think "That could be me, I could do that." We learn by imitation, and a lot of Youtube is people figuring out their style, by mimicking another creator that inspired them. Imagine Guy Ritchie, he can make The Gentleman or Wrath of Man now, but he had to get there by pretending to be Quentin Tarantino first, with Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

 

[kamille]

These kind's of videos just can't get to the point. Many times i see people ramble on and on repeating topics in them. Why is that? I do not understand.

 

[Skeetos]

I noticed that in these last years there was a trend of long, deep analytic videos talking about the underlying sub-text of various media (from cartoons to movies while going through video games) as well as making a commentary about how "xxxx is an underrated masterpiece" for anything that didn't meet a certain popularity from people.

I also have seen how many videos online also had long intros that defines the origins or even explain the medium as if it acted as if nobody knew what it was about (we could still search about it online beforehand) so that they get quite stale and I wish they could get to the point (I don't need a history lesson about something if it's barely relevant to the main subject).

I'd also argue that many videos are also making famous quotes or engaging with a higher level of vocabulary to sound more intellectual or credible to its public rather than being more specific with technical terms.

I can understand that essays aren't meant to be short and that at school they expect you to reach a certain minimum amount of words to have at least some substance but when your video is 3 hours long it clearly shows that there is some padding to make it seemingly complete.

I wouldn't be anti-intellectualistic about people online (any form of art can get some fruitful analysis) but I also feel that these people think they're still doing a school assignment and forgot that sometimes simplicity can still be effective.

Here's a simple meme I remember seeing that perfectly represents what I'm saying:
View attachment 3419

I have a few youtubers i've followed that have done long format stuff for longer than it's been popular. They seem to not be so bad. Everyone else is a gamble whether or not they are actually talking about something that they are actually passionate about or if it's just regurgitated poop that they saw in 50 other videos on the topic. Those Iceberg videos were a pain. YouTube just has a horrible slop problem because it's not about making cool little videos anymore. It's a business. I went back to just watching YTP's for most of my content. Much better lol.

Post automatically merged: Dec 9, 2024

I have a few youtubers i've followed that have done long format stuff for longer than it's been popular. They seem to not be so bad. Everyone else is a gamble whether or not they are actually talking about something that they are actually passionate about or if it's just regurgitated poop that they saw in 50 other videos on the topic. Those Iceberg videos were a pain. YouTube just has a horrible slop problem because it's not about making cool little videos anymore. It's a business. I went back to just watching YTP's for most of my content. Much better lol.

Actually now that I'm on the topic. I think that the Horror community has it real bad with this. You had these dudes like Nexpo and Night Mind that did long format way before everyone else and now everyone else tries to tap into that and just end up all talking about the same thing. I can only watch so many videos on the new Bingus Files hidden meanings before the psychosis kicks in. Don't get me started on the ones that just spit negativity no matter what topic, just hating for no reason. Stuff is much more enjoyable when you don't let your favorite online personality tell you it sucks for no reason other than "this is my opinion, it's the correct one, listen to me I know what I'm yappin' about."

 

[fake]

I have nothing to say except I agree with you people.

 

[-無明-]

Yup the algorithm is not very nice about this.

Also I’ll highlight my own hypothesis as to why videos like this are so spread out (beyond what’s already said in this thread):

1- false pretense of professionalism: the idea that being professional is being as dry as possible when it’s just being seasoned and experienced. It’s easy for really young writers (at least I presume most of these YouTubers are just sophomore college students) to think that’s how they should sound like without the substance to back it up. “I will be dry and non-witty so I’ll sound really smart”

2- the opposite issue exists where once they get “personal” they abandon all forms of professionalism and turn the video into an auto biography no one asked for. “Everything started…. When my life started. And once that happened, I fully realized the meaning of… starting”

3- discourse fatigue: this one is not really their fault but you owe it to yourself to realize when something you said in a 3 hour vid was said a million times and could be said in fewer minutes

The issues you list sound like a fundamental misunderstanding of what it is (or at least should be) to create content. Most people who put a lot of effort into making really long videos (which is usually inherent to the longform video content) are making content because they want to make things that are meaningful and significant to them.

People liking content that creators produce is usually just a happy side effect of a creator making something they want to make, they're not making content specifically to pander to you or a general viewing audience.