Overly Critical or Insulting Feedback ?

I am happy to receive feedback of any nature on my videos as as long as it's relatively constructive with a few minor gripes from the viewer. Though a recent commentator on one of my videos took my breath away with his damning verdict on my 2020 compilation video. I Would love to hear the opinions of other forum members and photographers and where they would draw the the line in regards to constructive feedback or insulting feedback. Apparently I have shown total disregard for the appropriate weather conditions !!

I have pinned his comment to the top of the page on my YT video.

Comment


Highlighted comment
Peter Roberts11 hours ago (edited)
OK, if you're happy seeing 13 or 14 coaches pass the lens, preceded by one or two generally anonymous steam loco's . . . . which it seem's your mostly amazingly uncritical viewers are . . . . . . just a shame you don't use appropriate lenses and get some decent focused Loco close up's. ID'ing locos in print shouldn't forgo pictorial confirmation / presentation, seem's far too much 'at any cost' filming here with total disregard for appropriate weather conditions. 'At any cost' should mean using the weather forecast to locate the good weather, then go there, and use it. Very few films here, if any wd find buyers on the open market, probably due too many proverbial pats on the camera holders back in the foregoing comment's. After all if the majority are happy with this standard of filming why should you change just to get better?

Video link

 

Sounds like somebody who has never tried to film steam and publish it in any format. They've been watching too many of those VHS compilations that were myriad in the 1990s with a filming budget, multiple professional camera operators and selective editing (as well as years of footage to cherry pick from). I briefly dabbled in railway filming, and it ain't easy! But in answer to your question, no, it's not 'constructive' criticism aimed to help you. It's criticism of the wider 'railways on Youtube' community not living up to his unrealistic standards.

 

To be honest, I would file it under 'Jog on mate' criticism.

There is the style of the criticism and the content.

It is not how I would give feedback. I try to 'feed forward' by that I mean that I will tell people what they did well and what could be done to make it better. I would couch my feedback as a suggestion and explain why. So to re-write the comment I would have said.

'There are some good shots here, you might want to consider cutting away rather than showing the whole train. This would sharpen up the clips. Something else to consider is the weather, perhaps looking for good weather days and focusing on them, this is especially true if you were looking to sell these as good weather film tends to sell better, Less is sometimes more.'

So in short - what is good/starting point, what can you do differently or more of, and what is the benefit to you of doing it.

Strip away the knuckle dragging macho style, do you think the substance of the criticism is valid? If not, ignore it and move on. They are your films not their's, if they want short cuts, good weather and to sell it then they can knock themselves out. If you are doing your own thing because you want to and it is your style and your interest, then carry on.

 

I too enjoy what you have filmed and my advice would be not to take too seriously or personally what someone you will likely never know, says over the internet, a place full of egos and poison at the best of time. In my opinion, he here fails to demonstrate the basic skills of providing constructive feedback. As my old gran used to say, 'if you ain't got something nice to say, best say nothing at all'

These things are always very subjective and unless you were aiming to win some world filming awards (there's nothing wrong with your filming in my opinion by the way) then who cares? I bet you enjoyed yourself getting out and filming all of those rail tours and that's all that matters tbh.

 

If you put your work in the public domain you must be prepared for all kinds of feedback. This will range from those whose sole response to anything uploaded is "fantastic shot" regardless of quality, through to those who are too full of their own importance and consider themselves the fount of all photographic knowledge and the world's greatest film critic. If he likes to see the numbers on the locos, he obviously has a very limited view of photography.

 

I would work on the basis that of 20'000 views just one negative comment is an incredibly good ratio. You will never please everyone so just don't lose any sleep over it.

 

I think it all depends on what one wants from a railway video. If the requirement is perfect shots of a loco in perfect conditions, that can be done. Once achieved such perfect filming can be catalogued and never need be repeated, so no need to take any more shots of the loco.

What I want from a video is the vicarious experience of what I would have seen, had I been there on the day, standing where you were. Your videos do that for me. I quite like to see the rake of coaches roll past, because that's what I would have seen. It also gives me the chance to smile or grimace, depending on whether there is a diesel on the back. As regards the weather conditions, I'm not sure what you can do about that, except photoshop the whole thing.

Please keep on filming in the same way, I enjoy your videos.

 

A comment from someone with NO videos on his 'channel', I note.

Well, in order to satisfy him you'd better go and approach one of the professional hire companies (like, say, VMI) and hire, let's say, a Sony F55 (from their 'CineAlta' range) and some prime lenses along with a professional heavyweight tripod and a Vinten pan and tilt head too - something like a Vision 250 should do it. Oh, you might need a friend to act as focus puller so don't forget the kit to do that.

Then once you've recovered from the mere hire costs of that (easily into four figures for a day), make a Venn Diagram of 'running days' with 'good weather'.

Don't forget the investment in a copy of DaVinci Resolve (there's a free version, but the hardware to run it effectively...) for your editing!

What utter nonsense.

Carry on, I say - you're doing a grand job of providing many subscribers and others with the chance to see trains they can't see in locations they may never be able to get to.

 

I never comment on railway videos as I know how much better most are compared to my rubbish. However, I greatly dislike being ordered to "Enjoy!".

 

How many companies would kill for a positive feedback ratio like that?

Also, naturally our eyes and mind are drawn to the negative comments rather than the positive ones.

The other problem is that these things are all entirely subjective about what is 'good'. For example a fuzzy shot in bad weather might actually be a rare recording of an event and far more interesting than say a perfectly lit 3/4 shot of which there are countless other shots. I used to read a US railway photography site and forum, in short, all photos were screened before being uploaded. It went through the pretence that this was an objective process. It wasn't photos could be rejected for all sorts of reasons, more often than not the reasons were spurious and down to the subjective personal preferences of the screener. To get your photos on the site you had to photograph the way a group of 5 or so people thought was good. What that meant was the photos on the site became generic shots of the same type. Which made it a very boring site to look at.

Like food, wine, music, literature, art etc, what you like in a photograph or video is what you like and not everyone likes the same thing.

 

I have not watched your compilation yet, but have enjoyed many of your others, and as someone who likes images and videos of steam in bad weather it is something I will now add to my list to get around to watching. Whilst good weather is fine, it does not reflect our climate Shap, S & C etc are renown for poor weather, as I can vouch for from numerous tours so that is stating a fact of what occurred.
Without seeing the content my only issue was how much travelling was done in a year when personally I believed people should have been cutting back and staying home (a discussion we have already had) and any free advertising a certain tour company (who I personally believe "bent the rules" by their interpretation of legislation) may gain from it.

 

I think he was expecting a documentary like video, either way some of his gripes were unheard of, especially the weather etc

 

I'm always prepared to listen to constructive cristiscm and have had plenty of it but usually there's a 'thanks' at the end of it, not just a full tirade.

 

I just thought I'd gauge an opinion on his opinion, as his criticisms were new on me. I;m Always happy to receive any type of feedback and I certainly wont lose any sleep on said comment.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

Thanks very much, I enjoyed your response.

 

Feedback noted