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Popular low production quality youtube channels

Superking

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,619
i've always admired youtube channels that get incredibly successful despite having low production quality. when i say 'low production quality' i mean the kind where you don't have a ton of actors/crew, it's generally a solo effort, doesn't require a lot of fancy equipment of software, can be recorded and churned out fairly quickly, and is an otherwise incredibly simple concept/gimmick.

to start off, i recently discovered the Pitch Meetings series from Screen rant:


they're generally short, under 10 minute affairs, all done with one actor and one camera.


next, i know lots of people think cinemasins kind of suck (and they definitely do), but i can't help but respect the hustle. imagine making a career out of pointing out flaws in movies. it's what every nerd dreams of doing.


last example is planet dolan (previously danger dolan):


dolan made his name in one of the laziest gimmicks: top X list videos. while i personally don't think they're the worst things in the world (and used to be a bit of a guilty pleasure), they are very, very easy to make. all you need is windows movie maker, and audacity, both free editing/audio programs. i mean, the guy doesn't even have a professional mic!


Curious what other kinds of youtube channels like these exist.
 
MrKlaw

MrKlaw

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,038
I'm in a bit of a Techmoan rabbit hole recently ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5I2hjZYiW9gZPVkvzM8_Cw). Just seems to be one guy filming videos in his own house - usually in his small conservatory. Very basic, no flashy editing or effects and he mainly just looks at older AV tech, often buying old machines off ebay and fixing them up if needed.

Mix of straightforward approach, old AV stuff being fascinating to me, and some of weird products that came out make it interesting to watch for me at least
 
Dirtyshubb

Dirtyshubb

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,555
UK
Pitch meetings are Tight!

Ryan is very funny and creative, he even manages to make doing his sponsorships entertaining with little skits.
 

Dark1x

Digital Foundry
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
3,530
That's pretty much how I roll. I do all my videos from home by myself with limited gear while releasing tons of videos. It's tough but can be rewarding!

MrKlaw said:
I'm in a bit of a Techmoan rabbit hole recently ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5I2hjZYiW9gZPVkvzM8_Cw). Just seems to be one guy filming videos in his own house - usually in his small conservatory. Very basic, no flashy editing or effects and he mainly just looks at older AV tech, often buying old machines off ebay and fixing them up if needed.

Mix of straightforward approach, old AV stuff being fascinating to me, and some of weird products that came out make it interesting to watch for me at least
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Yeah, he's one of the best! Definitely one of my favorite channels.
 
Piichan

Piichan

Member
Oct 28, 2017
901
Tokyo
I'll never get old of Ashens reviewing random things or eating things that he shouldn't, above his nasty old brown couch.
 
master15

master15

Member
Nov 28, 2017
1,207
Dark1x said:
That's pretty much how I roll. I do all my videos from home by myself with limited gear while releasing tons of videos. It's tough but can be rewarding!
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No offence but the last thing I would call your videos are low production. Even though you do it all yourself, your editing, footage chosen and your script are usually on point, if anything I felt like last year your production quality went up.
 
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Keyser S

Keyser S

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
8,480
I recently fell down this rabbit hole

www.youtube.com

LockPickingLawyer

This channel aims to educate consumers about weaknesses and defects in security devices so they can make better security decisions. It should go without sayi...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

He is skilled at what he does, but all his 1000+ videos are mostly just him at a table (sometime in his garage)

He does have a good voice, and calm attitude. So I see why it works. Bob Ross of lock picking
 
SJRB

SJRB

The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
4,861
Pitch Meeting might be simplistic going by the metrics of your thread, but it really isn't.

The jokes and especially pacing and montage are top-notch, S-tier stuff.
 

Deleted member 82

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,626
Oblivion said:
when i say 'low production quality' i mean the kind where you don't have a ton of actors/crew, it's generally a solo effort, doesn't require a lot of fancy equipment of software, can be recorded and churned out fairly quickly, and is an otherwise incredibly simple concept/gimmick.
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I wonder: are there a lot of popular channels that tick all these boxes? Those might tick some of the boxes, but not all.

Case in point:

Dark1x said:
That's pretty much how I roll. I do all my videos from home by myself with limited gear while releasing tons of videos. It's tough but can be rewarding!
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Sure, John makes his videos by himself with his gear, but there's still a ton of effort put behind them, the editing is great, and while he says he releases "tons of videos", it's not like you can churn out one every week easily. Especially the DF Retro episodes. Unless John insists that they don't take that long to make? At any rate, most people here would agree his videos are not "low production quality". Quite the contrary.

Another example is leftist YouTuber Shaun. His videos are all just him literally speaking in a mic with a static background, with pics and video excerpts. He never appears on camera, never films anything, doesn't add music. It's just a his voice. Yet, as he pointed out recently on Twitter IIRC (can't find the tweet at the moment), his videos do require a ton of work, and definitely involve other people, if only to find some of the rarer sources he uses throughout his videos.

Most examples of popular channels - as in, channels with hundreds of thousands of views per video - I can think of which also have really low production values are, surprise surprise, alt-righters. They just churn out abysmal hot takes with no script, research or, really, effort at all, sometimes multiple times a day.
 
Dirtyshubb

Dirtyshubb

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,555
UK
SJRB said:
Pitch Meeting might be simplistic going by the metrics of your thread, but it really isn't.

The jokes and especially pacing and montage are top-notch, S-tier stuff.
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Yeah Ryan does put a lot of effort into his videos and especially script.

My favourite is probably the Pitch Meetings video for Pitch Meetings (100th episode).
 
Aztechnology

Aztechnology

Community Resettler
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
14,134
I'm most envious of that Unbox Therapy dude. He now just gets free stuff, opens and sort of reviews it. And makes bank.
 
OP
OP

Superking

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,619
Dark1x said:
That's pretty much how I roll. I do all my videos from home by myself with limited gear while releasing tons of videos. It's tough but can be rewarding!
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are you talking about your DF videos? ive seen them, dawg. and they are by no means low effort. begone from this thread! :P

Kilrogg said:
I wonder: are there a lot of popular channels that tick all these boxes? Those might tick some of the boxes, but not all.

Case in point:



Sure, John makes his videos by himself with his gear, but there's still a ton of effort put behind them, the editing is great, and while he says he releases "tons of videos", it's not like you can churn out one every week easily. Especially the DF Retro episodes. Unless John insists that they don't take that long to make? At any rate, most people here would agree his videos are not "low production quality". Quite the contrary.
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agreed! which is exactly why he's banished from this thread.

Another example is leftist YouTuber Shaun. His videos are all just him literally speaking in a mic with a static background, with pics and video excerpts. He never appears on camera, never films anything, doesn't add music. It's just a his voice. Yet, as he pointed out recently on Twitter IIRC (can't find the tweet at the moment), his videos do require a ton of work, and definitely involve other people, if only to find some of the rarer sources he uses throughout his videos.
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it's funny you mention shaun cause he was also someone i've figured "mostly" fit the bill for the longest time. i do agree with you here as well.
 
selo

selo

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,108
I really enjoy Davie504's channel. He uses cheap editing effects but his content is great so that's kind of part of the charm.

I'm not even a bass player but I love his videos due to his humor and how he always gives back to the bass community and general community and helps promote less popular channels.

That and he's Italian and plays a great Giorno Giovanna theme!

 
Aldi

Aldi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,634
United Kingdom
selo said:
I really enjoy Davie504's channel. He uses cheap editing effects but his content is great so that's kind of part of the charm.

I'm not even a bass player but I love his videos due to his humor and how he always gives back to the bass community and general community and helps promote less popular channels.

That and he's Italian and plays a great Giorno Giovanna theme!

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I like Davie, unfortunately i think his increased fame is going to be his demise. I liked his early videos where he would troll Fiver and Omegel, but most guitar/bass players on those platforms know who he is now.
 
Volimar

Volimar

volunteer forum janitor
Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,325


Steve1989MREinfo

One dude, very chill, reviews MREs and military survival equipment.

Let's get this out on to a tray. Nice, okay.
 

Deleted member 82

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,626
Aldi said:
I like Davie, unfortunately i think his increased fame is going to be his demise. I liked his early videos where he would troll Fiver and Omegel, but most guitar/bass players on those platforms know who he is now.
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Eh, most of his videos aren't him trying to go incognito, so he'll be fine.
The one reservation I have about Davie504 is that he references PewDiePie a bit too often for my taste, and not in a mocking way. I wouldn't be surprised if he did a collab with him at some point.
 
Teenage Fansub

Teenage Fansub

Member
May 24, 2019
22,182
I know he eventually got staff and then went crazy and self destructed, but I loved the hell out of Mark from Classic Game Room back in the day.


edit: I don't know if this is the best example of the channel, but I sure associate him with Truxton. Maybe look for any random video from about five years ago where he's in front of the camera.
edit 2: Watch all his Vectrex videos.
 
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SwitchedOff

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,516
If you like to see a guy repairing combustion engines, lawnmowers, snowblowers, etc and sometimes assorted old vehicles and the like then try Mustie1 -


Just him, a camera and whatever he's working on - he's not loud and annoying, there's no irritating music, no quick edits. It's a really great channel.
 
bananab

bananab

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,854
Robert Dyer! Ulillillia would have qualified here too, but he left YouTube some time ago.
 
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