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Why don't people review?

tremault

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Why is it so much trouble for people to write reviews? People message us and ask to see our work, and all we ask is that they take a moment to write a couple of words. I have shared my work with at least 6 people since I last had a review. I have shared with over 30 people and yet only 6 reviews. It really makes me want to just ignore people asking for a link.

how do the rest of you feel about this? how do you deal with it?

Am I really expecting too much? I'm not asking for an essay. :confused:
 

ArtisDead

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Welcome to fanediting. That's the unfortunate lopsided exchange. You share hoping they will. I'm guilty of it. I intend to review. It's harder now because I have taken a much more active role in helping first time editors get to the point of being ready to approve. I also find myself previewing a lot of edits before release for established editors whom I've known for years. It's time and prioritization.

I owe you a review. I will get on it. I apologize.
 

DigModiFicaTion

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Why is it so much trouble for people to write reviews? People message us and ask to see our work, and all we ask is that they take a moment to write a couple of words. I have shared my work with at least 6 people since I last had a review. I have shared with over 30 people and yet only 6 reviews. It really makes me want to just ignore people asking for a link.

how do the rest of you feel about this? how do you deal with it?

Am I really expecting too much? I'm not asking for an essay. :confused:
In all of the sharing of edits, I maybe have double digit feedback outside of project development in project threads. It's just not commmon. If you want specific feedback all you can do is ask. I've gotten used to not getting much feedback. It clouds my ability to know if my stuff is keeping up in quality so I just have to push myself to be more stringent on my end in terms of quality and cuts. Also, the more you share examples or ask specific questions about specific cuts in your project threads, the more likely you'll get direct feedback. I request way more edits than I'm actually able to watch due to real life requirements. They're on my to watch list, but I often don't get to them in a timely manner (sorry @The Scribbling Man I'll get to your Scribbling Man Who Knew Too Muchh soon-ish!). I think it's even moreso when it comes to writing an actual review. It takes time to give thoughtful feedback. In the hobby community, most of that time is probably taken up in trying to produce/edit. My recommendation is to ask about specific components of your edit in your project thread so viewers can give you the feedback you are looking for.
 

tremault

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@ArtisDead no worries, I wasn't being specific, I was just lamenting a bit because I got a private message today and i just thought, I keep doing this, but what for? but I guess I need to adjust my expectations. it can be a little lonely, I find.
I wonder if I ought to phrase my replies differently to get people to reply, but I guess that's not the right attitude. I don't have to share, and people don't have to review. yes it is true. and sure, I didn't make my edit just to get reviews. I don't know why it bugs me then.

edit: at the end of the day, more reviews increases the likelihood of people asking for a link.... so I don't really know what is going on in my brainbox
 

Malthus

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I feel your pain @tremault. As far as I'm concerned reviews are the currency of Fanediting. Edits are a labour of love and to give them out without any form of feedback afterwords is pretty soul-destroying. I make a concerted effort to request reviews when I reply to requests. I use a stock message that I amend based on how the initial message was composed. Here is an example:

Hey, thanks for reaching out. Here's the link to the edit. I hope you enjoy it.

You might like to read the project thread for it before hand so you know the intentions of the edit and can see its development. It is essentially an extended edit with a new colour grade and redesigned subtitles. I'm not trying to "fix" it so much as enrich the experience. I also rescored the sequence as John leaves the taxi. Please don't forget to leave a review afterwards, it's always nice to hear. You can review it here.


I definitely don't get a review every time but I get a pretty good hit rate. Typically around 1 in 5.

My bigger issue is reviews that are overly harsh, unfair or critique an edit based on what "they would have done" rather than on my actual intentions for the project but that a different story....
 

The Scribbling Man

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It can be frustrating, and I'm sure many can relate. But I think it's the nature of the beast. Like Malthus, I tend to tailor my responses depending on the manner of asking (and who is asking), though I try to keep it as brief as possible. I will often say something along the lines of "If you'd consider leaving a review it would be appreciated :) Thanks!". If a fellow faneditor or active community member asks for a link I will normally leave this out and give them the benefit of the doubt. I think leaving a message like this is effective, since some users who don't normally leave reviews have made the effort on occasion. I do also get people who say they will and then never do. But as disappointing as this might be, it's often good to think the best of people and assume there's a good reason for not doing so. I don't think it's always laziness. Some people I think are genuinely self-conscious about leaving their thoughts publicly, even if only a few words are needed. And obviously, there is the general busyness of life that we've all experienced and often forces us to neglect some things in order to make sure we prioritise what we need to.

I always aim to leave a review for every edit I watch, and I think I have only failed on that a handful of times, normally due to either an extremely busy season or because feedback has been given privately. If you know you've given me a link and have not had a review, I am sorry; chances are I have not gotten around to watching it yet. I try to grab links early while they're available, and then they go into a watch pile. Saves me having to track them down if an editor drops off the face of the earth.

(Zero worries btw, @DigModiFicaTion - there's no pressure :) )
 
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Moe_Syzlak

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I try to always leave a review, but there’s a handful (I can actually only think of two, but there may be more) that I didn’t review and that’s due to realizing it wasn’t for me before finishing. So I didn’t feel a review was appropriate. But I’m not always super timely in my reviews. For example, I recently requested two Hobbit edits after being persuaded to try more book-centric edits in a recent discussion thread. I watched and reviewed one but haven’t yet gotten to the second one as I feel I need some time in between. But I will get to that edit and I will review it. As someone who doesn’t make fan edits, I feel it’s my responsibility to share reviews if I request them.
 

Murikamir

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The same reason people don't rate every movie they watch, every restaurant they eat at, every product they buy or anything else. There isn't one reason for everyone, they can vary from laziness, to lack of writing ability, shyness, not wanting to offend someone, lack of caring etc...

A lot of people here put a lot of time, effort and passion into these creations, and when that isn't validated, it can make you feel worthless, trust me, I know. My philosophy is that I make it to please myself, and share it as a way to give someone something they might enjoy, in return for all the people out there who made things I enjoy.
 

Dwight Fry

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I try to review everything I watch, but life frequently gets in the way and I have currently quite a backlog of reviews to write (for anyone reading this: if I requested an edit from you, the review will eventually arrive). I do get why some people don't, though: it can feel like homework sometimes. For me, and I speak strictly about myself, knowing that people is interested in watching my stuff and enjoy it is enough of a reward.
 

Wakeupkeo

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Its a numbers game for sure.

In marketing, 3-5% response is considered pretty good in many mediums. And its true, in many review systems, only people who love or hate something put the time in to ever give feedback.

So definitely gauge your expectations, but also share to a wider audience.


When I share here within this community, every link gets this added note:
"Happy watching! Reviews are not required but are really and truly appreciated!"

And when I share on Reddit, they get:
Happy watching! Reviews are not required but are really and truly appreciated, which can be left over at

And I am nowhere near the 5% mark. But its still fun. A wise woman once said

“If You Expect Disappointment, Then You Can Never Really Get Disappointed”​

 

ArtisDead

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Sometimes, actually a lot of the time, it starts with your initial thread. If it's thorough and thought provoking, a nice poster, clear intention on the goal of your edit, a thorough change list, an exciting trailer, clips showing your unique contribution to the edit, etc; you will get more interest. If you keep the thread active while you are waiting for approval or polishing your diamond, that helps. I have literally seen this to be true multiple times. Hype can change the playing field for your edit in the beginning, which can resonate all the way to the reviews.

Once you have put out a few that people really like they will anticipate your releases and be more willing to review them. It takes a minute to become a @spence, @TM2YC or a @L8wrtr. A FEOTM helps, as well.

But ultimately, it could just depend on the movies you have chosen to edit.

Or...as others have mentioned...the people requesting the edit. In many cases, there is literally nothing that you can do. It's easier to hype something people are already excited about. It's much easier for an established editor.

Do what you love. Keep calm and carry on. If you are happy with it, others will be too. Don't let the amount of reviews that you get determine whether or not you are a good editor. You are. You were approved by the Great Molari (@lapis molari). They are an excellent editor.

😁
 
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Moe_Syzlak

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Honestly, it’s not super easy to leave reviews. I visit this site 99.9% of the time on my phone. But to leave reviews I go to my laptop. And the login is (was?) different. I say “was” because I think it’s better with the upgrade. But I’d be logged into the forums and the database wouldn’t be logged in. That and the fact that I believe a LOT of people who request edits aren’t regular contributors. I think the 3-5% review rate cited above (for people who aren’t regular contributors here) is way too optimistic. But I’d expect a very high review rate from the regulars here.
 

The Warlord

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I don't get upset, but I get a little disappointed that if people are interested in watching, they don't leave any feedback, despite requesting just a few short words.

For me, it's as much genuine critique or observations that people have, than any needless congratulations, that interests me. (When I perform in plays, I hate going to the bar afterwards with people praising me etc. A lot of it is customary/expected/false. I don't like the "well done!" approach.)

A lot of my edits are viewed by non-editors/less well-known users, so I don't always expect the feedback.

I would probably say only a select few actually take the time to leave feedback.

Also, I suppose if people genuinely like an edit and don't really have anything to say, then is there a need for any feedback? It doesn't mean an edit is good or bad, just that no comments have emerged from watching.

Like others have said, it's simply the way it works.
 

Heavisyde

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Also, I suppose if people genuinely like an edit and don't really have anything to say, then is there a need for any feedback? It doesn't mean an edit is good or bad, just that no comments have emerged from watching.
in my opinion, this is why the IFDb would benefit from having a "watched" option on fanedits, which would publicly show how many people have seen the edits (just as page views are visible), in order to increase audience engagement without requiring people to write reviews if they don't want to or have nothing to say. similar to letterboxd.
 

The Warlord

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Good idea. I have had a heart react but no feedback on one edit. Not sure what the point of those is..?
 

The Scribbling Man

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^^ the heart I think just means someone has added it to their favourites.
 

tremault

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I feel your pain @tremault. As far as I'm concerned reviews are the currency of Fanediting. Edits are a labour of love and to give them out without any form of feedback afterwords is pretty soul-destroying. I make a concerted effort to request reviews when I reply to requests. I use a stock message that I amend based on how the initial message was composed. Here is an example:

Hey, thanks for reaching out. Here's the link to the edit. I hope you enjoy it.

You might like to read the project thread for it before hand so you know the intentions of the edit and can see its development. It is essentially an extended edit with a new colour grade and redesigned subtitles. I'm not trying to "fix" it so much as enrich the experience. I also rescored the sequence as John leaves the taxi. Please don't forget to leave a review afterwards, it's always nice to hear. You can review it here.


I definitely don't get a review every time but I get a pretty good hit rate. Typically around 1 in 5.

My bigger issue is reviews that are overly harsh, unfair or critique an edit based on what "they would have done" rather than on my actual intentions for the project but that a different story....
Thanks Malthus, that is really useful and certainly better worded than mine.

my response is usually a customised version of this :-
Hi,
sure thing ^^
I really hope you enjoy it and I'd really appreciate a review when you're done!


I'm not great at writing or self promotion type stuff, so maybe this is not right. If it's okay, I'd like to adapt your message? :)
 

addiesin

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People really like to give feedback, or at least they like to be heard when they're interested. They lose interest quickly and it's not their fault, there's a lot of media to consume out there. I haven't released my first edit yet, so I can't speak to the "after" side, but while in progress I find I get a lot of feedback on images and clips, not a lot of feedback on plain text. Also the same people who express interest in something tend to return with reminders.

So maybe work with that, lean into it. Garner as much feedback as you can on the "before" end, get people invested in the process. Every time you post about your project, include an actionable request, even if it's as simple as "what do you all think?" or "does this work or does this NEED work?" the idea is that people are welcome to respond and you are looking for feedback rather than praise, and always include a visual aid, even if it's a still image though a video clip is great.

Speculating on release strategy, bear with me if these are bad ideas but again I'm not there yet;
1 perhaps out of sight, out of mind applies, maybe continue posting in your edit's thread after it's released to post relevant additional info about the release but also keep it in viewer's minds.
2 when responding to requests, politely make it clear that a review is important to you (even if the review is not positive), and make it easy for the requester to know how to do the thing you want (provide an ifdb link)
 

tremault

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I don't get upset, but I get a little disappointed that if people are interested in watching, they don't leave any feedback, despite requesting just a few short words.

For me, it's as much genuine critique or observations that people have, than any needless congratulations, that interests me. (When I perform in plays, I hate going to the bar afterwards with people praising me etc. A lot of it is customary/expected/false. I don't like the "well done!" approach.)

A lot of my edits are viewed by non-editors/less well-known users, so I don't always expect the feedback.

I would probably say only a select few actually take the time to leave feedback.

Also, I suppose if people genuinely like an edit and don't really have anything to say, then is there a need for any feedback? It doesn't mean an edit is good or bad, just that no comments have emerged from watching.

Like others have said, it's simply the way it works.
I feel the same. I always appreciate someone feeding back on specifics and I enjoy criticism because it feels like the communication is two way. my editing is my efforts to communicate something and my work is an extension of my soul in a way.

even if somebody says " I didn't like it because x y z" then that is a communication and it tells me what I might be able to improve on and so it is a gift.
 
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