You won't regret becoming a reviewer. It's a great way to learn how to be a better, more confident speaker while also doing something you love.

 

I've been a martial arts instructor for years so speaking is under control   But yes talking about things i love very cool  

 

THE most important and most overlooked aspect of doing transformers reviews in my opinion is lighting. If you have bad lighting, your video will look bad and people will shrug you off. Sound is also important, but in the case of video reviews for youtube and what not, it's not half the priority of lighting. Also spend some good time to study to the figure, and learn it's tricks. When I started making videos I would record, then once I was done recording I would realize there was some things I completely forgot to talk about, so be sure to make a list of everything you want to talk about because you easily forget once your recording. Also nothing is set in stone, so experiment, I'm experimenting every day when I film a review and things have only gone uphill.

Also there are plenty of haters on the internet, and trust me, you WILL run into them. Even the best reviewers like Optibotimus and Peaugh and SeanxLong, are prone to haters, don't let them get to you and you will do fine. Best of luck!!!!

 

THIS is the biggest truth you'll get. Even in this thread, that's meant to be helpful, i get attacked LMAO.

In all serious though, thank you very much for even mentioning me as one of the "best". It's a tremendous honor and means a lot. Thanks you

 

I love when people "attack" me. I use that as an opportunity to practice my wit. I've made some pretty good burns.

 

My advice based solely on personal preference as a viewer:

- Please stay BEHIND the camera and not turn it into your own little iPhone vlog talk show

- Keep things concise and to the point

- Make sure you've done the transformation and already know it by the time you review it

- Make sure you have good lighting and/or actually know how that aspect of videography works

- When doing figure size comparisons, make sure they actually make sense (ie: stand a TFP figure next to other TFP figures - not Movie or Classics figures... a bare basic concept which is apparently lost on a LOT of reviewers)

- Be objective AND honest if you're going to give your own personal commentary or opinions. If you don't like the figure and legitimately think it sucks, then say so and quit worrying about 'offending' anyone who might not agree. And vice versa about a figure you might like. Nothing is worse than hearing these reviewers fawn over pieces of shit figures as they try to justify their purchase out loud with us as the audience. There's several who are so predictable over EVERY figure they review that you can almost make a drinking game out of how often they call this or that "amazing", "fantastic", "excellent", "well worth the purchase", etc. even despite the figure(s) practically falling apart in front of them. If you only review figures you like, then say so at the beginning so the audience knows there's a theme or bias going into it.

- Don't try to be overly clever with your intro or outros - just get the job done.

Again, those are just MY personal preferences - obviously some people will disagree. If the couple of video reviewers who I am somewhat loyal to (all found on this site) better harnessed a couple of those points, I'd never have to video-review-watch-'cheat' on them again  

 

My advice:

• Don't worry about pleasing others; make reviews the way you want to do them. All the best reviewers have their own personal style, so find yours and stick with it. You'll be more comfortable on camera, and you'll enjoy yourself more.
• Go for quality over quantity. In particular:
  • Make sure your edits are clean. Fade-out edits are annoying.
  • Make sure the figure being reviewed is well-lit.
  • Make sure the figure stays in frame and stays in focus.
  • Make sure you've practiced the transformation a few times before filming the review.

 

There is a lot of good advice in this thread. There are also a few differing of opinions. What does that tell you? That there is no right or wrong answer to the OP's question. There are many different styles of reviews. Personally, I use 2 different styles. Why you may ask? Just depepnds on my mood and the figure I am reviewing. The point is, make your videos however you want. Over time you will develop your own style and you will figure out things that you like and things you don't like to do. If you enjoy what you are doing, what does it matter if you have 10 or 1000 subscribers. We all like our videos to be watched or we wouldn't do them, but just always make sure you're enjoying it or it will get old and stale.

Try to remember this as well...... think of Transformer reviewers as a community, NOT a competition. I have met and become good friends with people all over the world because of reviewing toys on Youtube and I value all of those friendships that I have made. It makes your experinences at Botcon or whatever conference you can get to much more fun  

 

^ Very much this. When I'm pining for a figure I will watch as many different videos on it as I can. I appreciate it when people put in effort to point out non-obvious aspects of the figure.

 

I know huh. guys this is a helpful thread, don't hate here... fools

for sure mate. its great to watch multiple reviewers, i usually watch 3,4 or even five different peoples vids on the same figure. It's the ideal way to do it in my opinion. And as optibotimus said, of course you want views. But don't be an ass about it, welcome cross viewer-ship and networking. It is a community everyone with the same interests. Don't know why people bother 'hating', if you don't like it don't watch it, simple. Constructive criticism or none at all.

 

I both agree and disagree. Yes, we are a community and we should be civil and makes friendships, but this is also a competition. The key is it should be a friendly competition, though that can be hard at times because money is involved.

I've seen multiple instances of reviewers fighting because "they wanted to review something first," which makes sense because being the first to review something means you get a hell of a lot more attention, subscriptions, and ad clicks. It's childish but why it happens makes sense.

There are downsides to the competition, but there are also upsides. For example, viewing it as a friendly competition is incentive to get better, to reach out to more people, and to keep going. When I first started reviewing I had a competition with my brother to see who could get the most views in 4 months and the winner would receive $50. Because of that I often did 7~15 videos a day, which really helped me to improve. Currently I am challenging myself to become as popular as Peaugh, Optibotimus, Baltmatrix, Vange1us, and TJ Omega.

I think the upsides to seeing it as a competition far outweigh the downsides, which can easily be avoided by taking a deep breath.

 

there is some very good advice here, a lot of which i will remember and use in my videos.ive been watching Optibotimus ,Peaugh and sean long since this all started.it might sound creepy but even if i dont talk to them or meet them i want them to know i have a lot of respect for them.they gave me a chance to see what i wanted before i bought it,and still to this day i use their reviews as a deal breaker. it weird but they have had a big influence on my life. if i had a bad day at work/school i would come home and theres a new video i can watch and it makes me feel better. i do reviews because they are fun.my sense of humor is very out of left feild and i love hearing how someone laughed when in my toyrun video i talked to a rabbit for 2 mins.


and the haters cloud peoples judgement sometimes.

it annoys me how people bash others for the smallest things.i keep getting reminded of how i need a new camera to the point of "i know, you wanna buy me one?"
i know i need a new one but i dont just have the money to buy a really good one.

i know about the compitition too. i was the first to have a review of dotm legion crankcase and the amount of views really exceeded my expectations.i dont do this to be popular.i review becuase i enjoy doing it and i enjoy the positive feed back from collectors everywhere.

i apologize as my post didnt offer anything to the thread. i just wanted to get some things off my chest and vent a little.its been a rough few weeks for me.

 

Actually, my advice wouldn't be about style, but basic shooting rules.

1. Shoot your review in a quiet, well-lit place. A white backdrop is best. Get a couple of lamps to make sure there's plenty of light (Fuzzy quality can sometimes just be the camera desperately trying to compensate for crummy lighting conditions)

2. Do a couple of rehearsals. Plan out what you're gonna do and say in your review. This will also help you get comfortable with the positioning of things and keeping the figure in frame.

3. Use a decent mic. I know not everyone can afford top of the line equipment, but... clear audio is really important. If it's easier, maybe add the audio track in post production. Nothing will kill your reviews faster than having them unpleasant to listen to.

 

What do you think of Microphones? My camera has a microphone out option as well as recording in-camera.

 

That's fine. Everyone has a slightly different viewpoint. I think by nature it may be a competition but I choose not to view it that way. I try to improve because I want to be better, not because someone else is better than me or does a review a certain way.

 

Okay, Looks like I'm doing about 80-90% of the suggested already, that helps, guess it's just the fact that I'm new at reviewing.

 

^ Reviewing takes a LOT of work before it starts paying off. Just stick with it.

 

This is a very true statement. People like me, Peaugh and Sean Long have been doing this a long time to get to the point we're at. People seem to think that they can do some stuff for a couple weeks or a few months and start getting noticed. It doesn't happen that fast at all. People have asked me personally for advice before. And i honestly tell them that unless they really are planning on sticking with it. Just don't bother trying. Sooooo many people do it now that it's very hard to get noticed. When the three of us started, very few people did it. We got in at the "sweet spot" time to start doing these. Now it's even harder. You have to remember that a lot of people will not watch your stuff because they can go to someone else they know and have supported for a long time. It's taken me almost 5 years to get to the point i'm at now. Most people now don't have the patience to wait that long. We're an "instant gratification" sort of society. And a lot of people don't like putting in the work. Now granted, the majorty of those people that try, are kids. Adults have a much different outlook on things. So you have to remember, if you want this, be patient. The best of us it's taken years to get to our level now. It will NOT happen any quicker for you.