Am I the only one annoyed by the prompter ?

[mov2k6]

Hello Linus !

 

I thoroughly enjoy your youtube channel, the WAN shows, techquickie, etc. even though you kind of dropped the unboxing part of them. I really enjoyed taking us on a journey by unboxing a product and getting you first hands-on impression/oppinion.

 

However, I noticed that you are using some kind of a teleprompter (monitor maybe) in order to say what you have to say, and, for me, this is killing the fun . It is a pain to watch your eyes move as you read, what you need to say, and it gets even worse when you "make a joke" that was obviously on the script.

 

You are not a puppet or a text-to-speech device. You are an intelligent person with tons of experience and, in my oppinion, the whole ideea that made you better was the "garage" feel of your videos. I don't mind having the unboxing interrupted by one of your cats or a loud truck passing by. I don't really appreciate sterile and rigid information, as I enjoy your natural knowledge and battle tested advice.

 

I like the camera work but I would prefer you were actually talking about a product, even though you may be wrong. It makes you feel more human.

 

The WAN show is great because of this very reason. I learned a lot of stuff from you, and it was easy to do so because I really felt that you were teaching me something from your knowledge. Now you seem to do, what you do, just to get it over with.

 

Anyway, this is my oppinion and I hope it is not insulting. Please excuse my English (I am not a native speaker), I may have made some mistakes.

 

PS: Remember when you were doing unboxings outside, and every now and then you would crack a joke about someone around you or the weather or something ?

 

Thank you !

Vlad

[WiiManic]

I dunno, I'm okay with it.

 

He does so many videos, I don't expect him to remember every single spec or piece of info about each and every product.

[Jaybird]

I am fine with it. plus he has to come up with 15-20 minute video of solid words. so when he is doing this every week several times a week that can be overwhelming to the brain. 

 

you have 5 post and no profile pic. who are you? 

[mov2k6]

@WiiManic - I agree with you, it is hard to remember every single thing and I am okay with having notes on a laptop. But, in some videos, he is reading every single word he says He looks like he is not paying attention to the viewer but to something else (the script ?). IMO it would be better, and perhaps faster, to just start filming with some basic notes, like in the old times

Now it's like making a presentation, with a Powerpoint slideshow, but instead of talking about the subject, you read everything from the text cluttered slides.

I will add a profile pic in a sec

[tezza192]

Linus has gone too professional, his channel has also turned into one big product promotion junket aswell - tech tips has gone right down hill since he went independant, I miss the days of random informal videos which were not necessarily about flogging a product for one company or another and he was more concerned more about making an entertaining/informative yet informal vid than just pure production value.......... but hey its all about money with these youtube guys now so what can you do

[helping]

I don't have a problem with it, almost everything else is like this so why treat it differently? If he were spontaneous in all of his videos with how much he puts out, filming and editing would take much, much longer.

 

I've never even noticed it being prompted. He's gone as far as to mention the script in numerous videos, even from a very long time ago. 

[mov2k6]

@tezza192 - Yeah... To be honest, besides the WAN show, I find the videos, that he does for NCIX, easier to watch and not be distracted by the comercial part. Oh well, there is still the WAN show And thank goodness that he is still impartial and objective about the things he presents.

 

@helping - I agree with what you say, but IMO his channel was unique and different from the other channels because he was trying to help everyday people like me and was not struggling to make something professional and enterprisey. He had no fancy intro with loud music, no fancy name, no fancy language just for the sake of it. He was all like : "look, I know how to do this ! let me show you how I got to understand it and what I learned from it".

[Vitalius]

I dunno, I'm okay with it.

 

He does so many videos, I don't expect him to remember every single spec or piece of info about each and every product.

 

I'm ok with it, but begrudgingly so. I don't watch his videos anymore for this very reason (not the teleprompter, but what came of it). 

I agree we shouldn't expect him to remember everything, but that was part of his charm early on. The multiple cuts in a video as he discovered a product with us was infinitely better than just spewing information at me making it feel like nothing more than a slightly polished commercial.

I am fine with it. plus he has to come up with 15-20 minute video of solid words. so when he is doing this every week several times a week that can be overwhelming to the brain. 

 

you have 5 post and no profile pic. who are you? 

 

I have 5,500 posts and I agree with him. I'm Vitalius.

Linus has gone too professional, his channel has also turned into one big product promotion junket aswell - tech tips has gone right down hill since he went independant, I miss the days of random informal videos which were not necessarily about flogging a product for one company or another and he was more concerned more about making an entertaining/informative yet informal vid than just pure production value.......... but hey its all about money with these youtube guys now so what can you do

 

This. I know he needs money, and I am fine with most of his efforts towards getting more, but this is the one thing that pushed me away. I just wish he would've done it differently.

I don't have a problem with it, almost everything else is like this so why treat it differently? If he were spontaneous in all of his videos with how much he puts out, filming and editing would take much, much longer.

 

I've never even noticed it being prompted. He's gone as far as to mention the script in numerous videos, even from a very long time ago. 

Because that's not why I started watching his Youtube channel. I watched it to learn about products and be entertained at the same time. Other than the one-off special commercial, I'm not entertained anymore, and I can get the information elsewhere. 

I know it would take longer, but to me, that's just part of what made me enjoy his shows before. I felt entertained and engaged, as if we were discovering the cool parts of the product together. I don't want to watch commercials about products I never intend to buy. I used to watch all of his videos, but now I don't for that very reason.

I've made posts about this before. I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices it. 

[Foxxer]

Who will remember each spec, price, old version of each product in the market? Not even company staff do recall. The amount of information that he speaks of is tremendous, that I sometimes replay the video over.  :huh:

[mov2k6]

@Vitalius - I totally agree with what you said

 

@Foxxer - Indeed, it's very hard to remember everything you said, but IMO his videos are not about that. Now it feels like a lecture held by a professor too much in a hurry to just personally explain to you the things he teaches.

[SirReallySam]

Look at that storm-trooper review though... The end was just pure LTT goodness But honestly I haven't been noticing any of these changes until you guys said! woops!

[Dudenstein]

I feel that its become stagnant. Yes those things have changed but overall they are still doing the same general things they have always done just with more professionalism.

I want to see more in depth testing of products with a much deeper overview of the item from the user's perspective. I don't want to watch a video of the specs of something just being recited to me or a review of a product the first day it is out. Give me an in depth overview of how the product was after a month or so of regular use. Similar to the I switched series but make it a longer video instead of several short ones.

In regards to the WAN show I liked to casualness of the old style like when slick was first participating in it. I've slowly lost interest in watching the show live because of the guests. Having guests is cool and all but I like the banter between Linus and slick more than the guest most of the time. Make the guest thing a special event instead of a regular segment. I've found myself just watching the archive so I can skip the guest portion .

Like many independent endeavors LMG has progressed in some aspects and regressed in others. Am I totally happy with where they have gone? Not necessarily. Do I think they have improved overall? Yes, they have definitely improved in the grand scheme of things. All that we can really do is sit back and watch the ride and hope that the destination they they choose is the same as the destination where we want to be

I think I may have gone a tad off topic lol

[bobhays]

I like them because his videos are still informative and fun to watch, but I have to agree with the OP. The teleprompter took out a lot of the personal engagement and sacrifices entertainment value, for production value. I don't expect him to memorize every spec, but just the most important ones. He can add them in the description, even edit them on while he's talking.

[Yummychickenblue]

I feel that its become stagnant. Yes those things have changed but overall they are still doing the same general things they have always done just with more professionalism.

I want to see more in depth testing of products with a much deeper overview of the item from the user's perspective. I don't want to watch a video of the specs of something just being recited to me or a review of a product the first day it is out. Give me an in depth overview of how the product was after a month or so of regular use. Similar to the I switched series but make it a longer video instead of several short ones.

In regards to the WAN show I liked to casualness of the old style like when slick was first participating in it. I've slowly lost interest in watching the show live because of the guests. Having guests is cool and all but I like the banter between Linus and slick more than the guest most of the time. Make the guest thing a special event instead of a regular segment. I've found myself just watching the archive so I can skip the guest portion .

Like many independent endeavors LMG has progressed in some aspects and regressed in others. Am I totally happy with where they have gone? Not necessarily. Do I think they have improved overall? Yes, they have definitely improved in the grand scheme of things. All that we can really do is sit back and watch the ride and hope that the destination they they choose is the same as the destination where we want to be

I think I may have gone a tad off topic lol

I don't think they do guests regularly anymore

[gatecrasherlok]

I personally don't mind the prompter, okay maybe for the jokes but if it helps him purvey the point across to us, then fine.

[mov2k6]

Look at that storm-trooper review though... The end was just pure LTT goodness But honestly I haven't been noticing any of these changes until you guys said! woops!

 

Yeah but if you watch the video (before he "test drives" the costume) you will notice that he is somewhere else and not with us. He is either not paying attention, or is not excited enough (which would make no sense) or something is going on. I had high hopes for the presentation and I felt a bit dissapointed. I felt no energy being transmited through the screen (like in the olden days; pepperidge farm remembers )

 

I feel that its become stagnant. Yes those things have changed but overall they are still doing the same general things they have always done just with more professionalism.

I want to see more in depth testing of products with a much deeper overview of the item from the user's perspective. I don't want to watch a video of the specs of something just being recited to me or a review of a product the first day it is out. Give me an in depth overview of how the product was after a month or so of regular use. Similar to the I switched series but make it a longer video instead of several short ones.

In regards to the WAN show I liked to casualness of the old style like when slick was first participating in it. I've slowly lost interest in watching the show live because of the guests. Having guests is cool and all but I like the banter between Linus and slick more than the guest most of the time. Make the guest thing a special event instead of a regular segment. I've found myself just watching the archive so I can skip the guest portion .

Like many independent endeavors LMG has progressed in some aspects and regressed in others. Am I totally happy with where they have gone? Not necessarily. Do I think they have improved overall? Yes, they have definitely improved in the grand scheme of things. All that we can really do is sit back and watch the ride and hope that the destination they they choose is the same as the destination where we want to be

I think I may have gone a tad off topic lol

 

dat reply! I totally agree!

 

I like them because his videos are still informative and fun to watch, but I have to agree with the OP. The teleprompter took out a lot of the personal engagement and sacrifices entertainment value, for production value. I don't expect him to memorize every spec, but just the most important ones. He can add them in the description, even edit them on while he's talking.

 

Your idea is really good. He could talk about the really interesting parts and offer a link towards precise in-depth technical information.

 

I personally don't mind the prompter, okay maybe for the jokes but if it helps him purvey the point across to us, then fine.

 

I thing I mind the most, is seeing his eyes read the info Sorry for paying attention to such puny details, but I cannot help it. Even his voice tone is dull (compared to the way he sounds during WAN Shows).

 

There is a video with 2 pilot videos regarding some new topics and, even though I like both of them, I prefer the toy related one. The main reason being that Linus seems full of energy and willing to show how awesome that salt shotgun is. He is like your buddy who is excited to show you something, in comparison with Slick's more serious and rigid approach. He sounded like a teacher at a course, and I quickly got bored, even though the info was very interesting.

[gatecrasherlok]

Your definatly entitled to your opinion at the end of the day. I can understand it from your point of view and I understand it also from Linus and Luke's point of view. On one end of the scale being spontaneous about the topics that are on the program certainly would seem more intimate for the viewers or as you put it more buddy like. However on the other hand sourcing topics as a professional like they are day in day out it can be hard, hence the Prompter. It'll allow them to make sure all points they have sourced throughout the week prior to the show is not left out as I'm sure it can be an arduous task. 

[ygohome]

I think the scripting varies quite a bit from vid to vid.  The recent Salt-Gun proof of concept vid was pretty much freestyle.  Police arrived, all that jazz.  Can't get much more lively than that.

[DrVendetta]

Hello Linus !

 

I thoroughly enjoy your youtube channel, the WAN shows, techquickie, etc. even though you kind of dropped the unboxing part of them. I really enjoyed taking us on a journey by unboxing a product and getting you first hands-on impression/oppinion.

 

However, I noticed that you are using some kind of a teleprompter (monitor maybe) in order to say what you have to say, and, for me, this is killing the fun . It is a pain to watch your eyes move as you read, what you need to say, and it gets even worse when you "make a joke" that was obviously on the script.

 

You are not a puppet or a text-to-speech device. You are an intelligent person with tons of experience and, in my oppinion, the whole ideea that made you better was the "garage" feel of your videos. I don't mind having the unboxing interrupted by one of your cats or a loud truck passing by. I don't really appreciate sterile and rigid information, as I enjoy your natural knowledge and battle tested advice.

 

I like the camera work but I would prefer you were actually talking about a product, even though you may be wrong. It makes you feel more human.

 

The WAN show is great because of this very reason. I learned a lot of stuff from you, and it was easy to do so because I really felt that you were teaching me something from your knowledge. Now you seem to do, what you do, just to get it over with.

 

Anyway, this is my oppinion and I hope it is not insulting. Please excuse my English (I am not a native speaker), I may have made some mistakes.

 

PS: Remember when you were doing unboxings outside, and every now and then you would crack a joke about someone around you or the weather or something ?

 

Thank you !

Vlad

I would say it would be necessary for tech quickie. It's all about having a concise answer, which needs pre-planning.

[wjdobie]

PS: Remember when you were doing unboxings outside, and every now and then you would crack a joke about someone around you or the weather or something ?

I used to love the outside unboxings - the first video I saw was the Sennheiser Momentum one - that was outside, though I guess no more unboxings means no more outside

[Scionyde]

 

-snip-

 

Guests have actually been pretty rare for the last couple months. Linus/Slick banter is back to an all-time high!

[SirReallySam]

Your definatly entitled to your opinion at the end of the day. I can understand it from your point of view and I understand it also from Linus and Luke's point of view. On one end of the scale being spontaneous about the topics that are on the program certainly would seem more intimate for the viewers or as you put it more buddy like. However on the other hand sourcing topics as a professional like they are day in day out it can be hard, hence the Prompter. It'll allow them to make sure all points they have sourced throughout the week prior to the show is not left out as I'm sure it can be an arduous task. 

This is best reply so far.

[JLCitadel]

@Vitalius - I totally agree with what you said

 

@Foxxer - Indeed, it's very hard to remember everything you said, but IMO his videos are not about that. Now it feels like a lecture held by a professor too much in a hurry to just personally explain to you the things he teaches.

 

I don't feel this way about it.

[IdeaStormer]

What gets me is, why not just have two monitors side by side with the camera in between, one for Slick one for Linus, computer can be a desktop, laptop, Pi whatever and then use keyboards on their laps much like the laptop and that way they will always be looking forward into the camera as they browse the web for what ever they need, instead of constantly looking down at their laptops. Then, when and if they need to get up they just need to rest the keyboard/mouse/trackpad-keyboard combo on its side and get up. Drop the cables under a mat so they don't get tangled up at their feet or use bluetooth.

[gibbsy81]

I think its ok just for something like specs but not for the entire video.