Helpful hints for YouTubers making firearms vids...

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desmobob

desmobob

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upstate NY - Lake George region
I don't have cable or network TV; just the Apple TV device. I watch mostly YouTube shows and videos.

When watching firearms videos, there are certain things that immediately call into question the credibility and firearms knowledge of the makers. I'd like to get a running list going to help potential YouTubers from making mistakes.

Here are some things I can remember at the moment:

- It is probably better to refer to your shotgun, handgun or rifle as a firearm, not a weapon.
- Learn the definitions of "extractor" and "ejector".
- It's ambidextrous, not "ambidextrious".
- It's a Patridge style sight, not a "Partridge" style sight.
- Learn the definition of hammer block vs. transfer bar safety mechanisms.
- Racking the slide of an auto pistol rapidly several times is not a substitute for pulling back the slide and visually and/or physically checking the chamber to insure safety.
- Keep your finger off the trigger when not actually shooting.
- Hornady is pronounced Hor'-nuh-dee, not Hor-nuh-day'
- Polygonal is pronounced poll-lig'-in-uhl, not poly-gahn'-uhl
- Leupold is pronounced Lew'-pold, not Lee'-ah-pold.
(My pronunciations aren't written properly, but I hope you'll get the idea.)

There are many more things, for sure.

I'm not making fun of anyone or nit-picking... I love to see people enthusiastic enough about their hobby to make videos. We're all in this together, and I think anyone going public with a video is sort of representing us all and needs to try to be as accurate and well-informed as possible.

Thoughts? Anything to add?




 
Yeah, write it down. I am not an audio-video type and rarely stick out a YouTube.
Luckygunner posts a transcript of their videos. That gives me the option of skimming over the light stuff and studying the serious material.
 
Your nit-picking....and I agree with most of what you have.

I used to say less talking more shooting but many have come around to that.
 
earlthegoat2 said:
Your nit-picking....
Click to expand...

*you're
;)

earlthegoat2 said:
...and I agree with most of what you have.

I used to say less talking more shooting but many have come around to that.
Click to expand...

Poking aside--I am a bit of a stickler, considering my reading and writing habits--I'm all for using the correct spelling, pronunciation, and punctuation. It makes further research easier if your search works the first time.
And I don't need more shooting in a video. Clear, close, possible slow-motion camera work conveys more in ten rounds than watching someone's shoulder does in a hundred. As long as there's enough to show the function, I'm all for more more useful talking.
That's why I don't follow a couple of the popular gun youtubers. They seem like someone I'd happily have a beer with, but I'd rather watch the 10 minute video than the 25 minute one if they're going to have the same amount of relevant information.

edit: I was going to mention various safety issues, but that's going to be covered by everyone else.
 
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earlthegoat2 said:
Your nit-picking....and I agree with most of what you have.
Click to expand...

Some of the things are very minor, for sure. Things like the fingers-on-triggers-when-they-shouldn't-be and other safety issues are more serious. But the difference between the really good vids and the also-ran vids (and between a good impression and bad impression?) are the lack of obvious mistakes and mispronunciations.
 
Well I’m sure guilty of some of the points you made.
I too do a most of my tv viewing on YouTube. A wide variety of channels. Sitting in front of a camera giving a 10 minute dialogue before moving into the gist of the subject will lose me every time.
 
earlthegoat2 said:
Hahaha!!:rofl:

Managed to walk right into that one by being an ignoramus
Click to expand...

Don't worry about a thing! I'm the nit-picker who started this thread and I'll be called out in a half-second when I inevitably make a grammar error or typo! :uhoh:

I don't worry about grammar or pronunciation much but when someone decides to go public with a video, I believe they may have a bit of a responsibility to try to get everything right. Say, for instance, you decided to take up basket-weaving. You did some preliminary reading and then watched a bunch of basket-weaving videos. If video after video had blatant mistakes, mispronunciations, grammar errors, and showed unsafe practices, what would you think of basket-weavers as a group?

Times will continue to get tougher for firearms enthusiasts. There can't be any harm in trying to improve our image, even among ourselves...
 
Lots of things bother me. “Ambi-dex-tree-ous” is a fave. As is “bore access.”

Tons of profanity to prove you’re a “real operator” is a turn-off.

Watching the muzzle dip just before each shot in slo-mo vids of industry handgun shooters makes me roll my eyes.

people getting bent about “weapon” or “weapon system” or “rifle” or “gun” I don’t understand, but it bothers me when people call cartridges or rounds “bullets.” I’m a hypocrite, I know.

“BOOLITS” would be an instant death sentence if I were elected supreme dictator.
 
1KPerDay said:
people getting bent about “weapon” or “weapon system” or “rifle” or “gun” I don’t understand, but it bothers me when people call cartridges or rounds “bullets.” I’m a hypocrite, I know.

“BOOLITS” would be an instant death sentence if I were elected supreme dictator.
Click to expand...

I don't get critical about using the words "gun" or "rifle" or "pistol" or "revolver" appropriately but, to me, describing them as a "weapon" implies that their sole purpose is to kill or hurt someone... while which in some cases is perfectly true, it's not good for the overall image, right?
 
An instructor of mine once told me to write like a skirt, long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep everyone’s attention.

#1 for me is a 10 minute video with 2 minutes of intro, music and other BS, 7 minutes of talking, then hopefully 60 seconds on the actual subject of the title.

I could care less about pronunciation and such, if they know what they are talking about and can convey the knowledge, without putting me to sleep.

I won’t even get mad if you call a magazine a “clip”, if you own one...

C042C788-DE0C-4FCE-8981-60F3E2280D98.jpeg
 
“ Seven hundred bucks, and it’s SAko, not SayCo”, I was told with distain.

“They’re called Dollars, not Bucks.” I said, as I laid the rifle back down.

I don’t take grammar lessons from someone that treats a SeventyFive Hunter like a Savage Axis...
 
This is all well and good but times are about to get real exciting on You Tube with all the terms of use crackdowns to come next week. We'll see how many 2A/firearms posts are left.:uhoh:
 
This nit is directed more at the commenters rather than the video makers: Just because the person making the video DOESN'T show the firearm is clear doesn't mean they've lost all credibility. These folks who comment along the lines of "This whole video is rubbish! The dude doesn't know what he's talking about! He didn't even show the gun is clear!". Yep - we all know it needs to be clear. And we all need to check. But you don't have to prove your vast gun knowledge by pointing out the simple fact the person didn't show clear for the camera.

I, too, like to see shooting. And closeups ESPECIALLY when takedown is being demonstrated....or some other type of work is being done.
 
My little channel has stayed up without major issues for some time. However, I am just doing it for the halibut, as it were. I make mistakes all the time with grammar and such, but I'm having fun, and if somebody enjoys watching it, all the better. The BIGGEST complaint I get is adding music - sometimes it gets boring and needs a little spicing up! :D
 
desmobob said:
Hornady is pronounced Hor'-nuh-dee, not Hor-nuh-day'
Click to expand...

[Rant on] This is a sore spot for me. It really shouldn't be, but it certainly is. The rub is that it's so darn common that it spreads like a rash to other, less knowledgeable folks.

"Everybo-day should reall-ay learn how to pronounce Horna-day, okay?". There's only one A in Hornady and let's keep it that way.

Thanks for allowing me to vent... today ;) [/Rant off]
 
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desmobob said:
I don't have cable or network TV; just the Apple TV device. I watch mostly YouTube shows and videos.

When watching firearms videos, there are certain things that immediately call into question the credibility and firearms knowledge of the makers. I'd like to get a running list going to help potential YouTubers from making mistakes.

- Hornady is pronounced Hor'-nuh-dee, not Hor-nuh-day'
- Polygonal is pronounced poll-lig'-in-uhl, not poly-gahn'-uhl
- Leupold is pronounced Lew'-pold, not Lee'-ah-pold.
(My pronunciations aren't written properly, but I hope you'll get the idea.)

Thoughts? Anything to add?
Click to expand...

Sorry, but your critique caused me to question your credibility and knowledge due to your inability to write pronunciations correctly and your use of the double standard that it is okay for you to err if you think folks will get the idea of what you are talking about, but not for others to do it.

desmobob said:
I'm not .... nit-picking..
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I don't think that word means what you think it means. You are absolutely nitpicking some parts. By the way, you spelled it wrong. There is no hyphen.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nitpick
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/nitpick

Yes, I just nitpicked your nitpick, showing excessive concern for an inconsequential detail.
 
One of my favorites has been a guy in Tulsa building a big steel boat in his front yard. I mean hats off to this kind of American can do. I toyed with the idea of supporting until he made a comment on it.

The man likes to lecture viewers on various subjects that is starting to wear on me. Just me I reckon.
 
All of these are good tips, but I think a more fundamental piece of advice is to have a specific audience/interest in mind and a specific purpose to serve. Once the maker has that identified, it's a lot easier to figure out what content to provide - and what content to skip.

For instance, just "showing" a gun being held is a guy's hand and him narrating while he holds it and dry-fires it, and lists the same information that can be found on the manufacturer's page... pointless. Watching a guy of generic skill level doing some square-range shooting with no particular focus, metrics, etc.... pointless. If it were really fun to just watch average joe shoot his gun, gun ranges would be full of spectators with no relation to the people shooting. It isn't, and they aren't.
 
armoredman said:
My little channel has stayed up without major issues for some time. However, I am just doing it for the halibut, as it were. I make mistakes all the time with grammar and such, but I'm having fun, and if somebody enjoys watching it, all the better. The BIGGEST complaint I get is adding music - sometimes it gets boring and needs a little spicing up! :D
Click to expand...
Funny, I frequently complain to YouTube channels who add annoying music to their videos, particularly if you can’t hear them talk or shoot over the sound of their horrible industrial metal or royalty free corporate crap-pop. If what you’re saying or shooting isn’t interesting on its own, music isn’t going to do anything but hurt IMO. ;)
 
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