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Why don't people review?

Personally, I'm thrilled to get any type of feedback. I've also come to realize that just because I'm excited about a project, doesn't mean the general viewing public matches that.

I put more effort in to Dune than any of my other edits, maybe combined, and I'm sitting at 6-7 reviews. But I'm certain that I've given the link at least 30 times.

However, those 6-7 reviews have all been positive, which to me indicates that generally those 30 people who got the link and watched it, liked it. That's enough for me.
 
I will review. I will review. You definitely put a lot of work into Dune. The pan and scan to crop it alone...
 
PanteraSteel said:
I have seen some fan edits that I haven't reviewed. The reason I typically don't review is if I have very little nice to say. That hasn't happened on this particular site yet as I'm new but with other edits I just didn't want to be negative or be phony. I watched a fan edit recently and the gentlemen spent a great deal of time (years) on upgraded visuals and special effects (stuff I don't know how to do yet) but the actual edit was incredibly jarring. Really bad music cues and transitions. It kind of surprised me to be honest.

I'm relatively new to editing. I started about a year ago. In my case I've spent a year purely on the EDIT. All my time has been spent on getting proper smooth, seamless transitions. To me it seemed logical to get the EDIT complete then AFTER that I could learn about special effects and visual upgrades. In my first year in the general fan edit community I find way too many people are too focused on visuals and the actual transitions are getting the short end of the stick big time. I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just being honest with my experience to date.

For me as a newcomer I don't really want to criticize someone that is so passionate about their project and has spent years on it. As a new guy with a limited skill set it seems kind of strange to be telling some experienced editor that can make upgrades I can't even dream of to go back and spend a few months on their transitions. I guess in a nutshell, if I don't have anything nice to say, I don't say anything at all. Thats why I don't review sometimes.

To be clear I have requested ONE film so far off this site and I'm NOT.....NOT....talking about that particular film. That film I will review eventually.
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You nailed it. Transitions are the backbone to an edit. If it flows, it works. Don't be afraid to share your thoughts. There are plenty of tactful ways of addressing issues you see/hear. It also helps us improve collectively and individually :)
 
So, I'm new here (and to fan edits as a whole) and was wondering what do you all look for and value in a review? Are simple reviews still valuable to the editor? I understand that these are labors of love so it makes sense that the least I can do as someone who is only a consumer of these edits is to leave a review, but I'm also not Roger Ebert or anything in my prose or insights haha.
 
KamenRaida said:
So, I'm new here (and to fan edits as a whole) and was wondering what do you all look for and value in a review? Are simple reviews still valuable to the editor? I understand that these are labors of love so it makes sense that the least I can do as someone who is only a consumer of these edits is to leave a review, but I'm also not Roger Ebert or anything in my prose or insights haha.
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I'm new also but my best guess is people are simply looking for positive feedback and if necessary, constructive criticism.
 
PanteraSteel said:
I'm new also but my best guess is people are simply looking for positive feedback and if necessary, constructive criticism.
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It's not just positive, we genuinely want to know what you thought.

At the same time, it's worth remembering that we are hobbyists, not professionals. We are working with what we have. So knocking points/talking down an edit for it not being super ultra 4K Atmos DTS X 11.2 surround perfection is kind of unhelpful.
 
spence said:
Personally, I'm thrilled to get any type of feedback. I've also come to realize that just because I'm excited about a project, doesn't mean the general viewing public matches that.
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So much this. We're quite a small niche of people, who share a similar hobby, but with a narrow focus on our personal interests and projects. With how thoroughly you sweep through the footage to make these things, basically no-one is going to be as invested as you are. I'm always super grateful to receive people's thoughts cause I know I'm often too lost in mine to contribute to others'.

I did a 'screening' of an edit for my brother the other day and it was fun. It's often an underwhelming experience from a feedback perspective. He doesn't have the detailed thoughts I do on each transition because he's a normal human being ha, and of course if I'm editing well enough he won't really have noticed anything.
 
spence said:
It's not just positive, we genuinely want to know what you thought.

At the same time, it's worth remembering that we are hobbyists, not professionals. We are working with what we have. So knocking points/talking down an edit for it not being super ultra 4K Atmos DTS X 11.2 surround perfection is kind of unhelpful.
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Do you think people should point out any and all bad transitions with jarring audio? To be honest as of this moment I'm thinking I may reach out to a particular editor privately if I have a lot of criticism of their work. That way I can be honest without crushing an edit publicly. Thoughts?
 
henzINNIT said:
So much this. We're quite a small niche of people, who share a similar hobby, but with a narrow focus on our personal interests and projects. With how thoroughly you sweep through the footage to make these things, basically no-one is going to be as invested as you are. I'm always super grateful to receive people's thoughts cause I know I'm often too lost in mine to contribute to others'.

I did a 'screening' of an edit for my brother the other day and it was fun. It's often an underwhelming experience from a feedback perspective. He doesn't have the detailed thoughts I do on each transition because he's a normal human being ha, and of course if I'm editing well enough he won't really have noticed anything.
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That's the goal! It's a weird thing, but the only way to tell you're good at editing is when nobody can notice your edits.
 
PanteraSteel said:
Do you think people should point out any and all bad transitions with jarring audio? To be honest as of this moment I'm thinking I may reach out to a particular editor privately if I have a lot of criticism of their work. That way I can be honest without crushing an edit publicly. Thoughts?
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I think it's more polite to reach out to an editor before giving them a review below 5 or 6 stars and ask them what's going on.

I don't think you need to point out every bad cut, but I also have people I trust watch a preview of my edits to catch those sort of things before I release it. Just mentioning "many jarring cuts" is probably enough.
 
KamenRaida said:
So, I'm new here (and to fan edits as a whole) and was wondering what do you all look for and value in a review? Are simple reviews still valuable to the editor? I understand that these are labors of love so it makes sense that the least I can do as someone who is only a consumer of these edits is to leave a review, but I'm also not Roger Ebert or anything in my prose or insights haha.
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even a line or two is fine, always nice to hear that people have seen the edits and what they thought, doesn't have to be in depth unless the reviewer wishes to go further. that's my view anyway.
 
KamenRaida said:
So, I'm new here (and to fan edits as a whole) and was wondering what do you all look for and value in a review? Are simple reviews still valuable to the editor? I understand that these are labors of love so it makes sense that the least I can do as someone who is only a consumer of these edits is to leave a review, but I'm also not Roger Ebert or anything in my prose or insights haha.
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I think even if somebody says "it was okay, I saw what the editor tried to do but it didn't work for me" then that is good feedback because it at least demonstrates that people are seeing my work and that makes me feel less lonely XD. My last review was in November and I've had 10 people request links since then, but I have no idea if they've even watched it or if there is anything I could possibly improve on. So I think if you consider the editors position as a human being who is trying their best and wants to improve but also to feel validated, then I am sure any words you say would surely be kind and constructive :)
 
I've just decided I'll follow one simple rule from now on - if someone asked me for an edit, got a link and then didn't say a word about it (no post on the forums, a PM with some feedback or review), that person won't get another one from me.
 
If you really want feedback, you can always follow up with everyone you send your edits to - maybe ask them a month later, what did you think? That's what I did in the past. The answers would vary between "I haven't watched it yet," "I watched it and this is what I thought," or "I watched it and will leave a review." Following up with viewers shows them that you value their input, opinions, thoughts, etc. If feedback is really what you want, then this is what I recommend doing.
 
I guess I'm as guilty as lot of people in this server who don't review I get so busy in life with family and work that I forget to review. I'm trying to fix that soon. I made it a new years resolution to review more edits. I just forget sometimes.
 
Gieferg said:
I've just decided I'll follow one simple rule from now on - if someone asked me for an edit, got a link and then didn't say a word about it (no post on the forums, a PM with some feedback or review), that person won't get another one from me.
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That seems... really silly. Eventually you'll just be giving your edits to like 3 people with that attitude.
 
Possessed said:
That seems... really silly. Eventually you'll just be giving your edits to like 3 people with that attitude.
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I agree. I want my edit seen by as many people as possible, denying people access for petty reasons does seem really silly.
 
If you really want feedback, you can always follow up with everyone you send your edits to - maybe ask them a month later, what did you think?
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Well, I will ask them when they ask for another one :)
That's usually the best time to do it. It's not "You didn't review my earlier work so piss off" attitude but "I'd be really interested to know what you think of my earlier work, so how about few words about it before we speak about another one?". Tried it few times and it worked well.
 
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I prefer to think most people visiting this site are operating under good faith, so I realy hope nobody thinks I made this topic with the intention to cause guilt or anything like that. It was purely to reconcile my own feelings and potentially gain a different perspective. I hope everyone else feels the same ^^
 
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