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Appreciation post: A viewer told me my 'day in the life' videos felt too staged
They said it looked like I was just doing things for the camera, not actually living. I switched to filming one continuous take with no cuts, and my retention jumped from 45 seconds to over 3 minutes. Anyone else get feedback that made you strip things back?
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violag804mo ago
The part where rileymartinez mentioned "our brains pick up on tiny cuts" really hit me. I think that's spot on because even when I can't put my finger on it, something about a heavily edited video just feels OFF to me. It's like there's this subconscious alarm that goes off when things are too polished. That's probably why your continuous take worked so well, it lets the viewer just sit with you and not feel like they're being sold something. I'm really glad you found that feedback helpful, it sounds like it changed the whole game for your content.
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ramirez.vera6mo ago
Honestly, that tracks. People can spot a fake setup a mile away. The continuous take works because it feels real, not like a show. Good move.
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rileymartinez6mo ago
Wasn't there a study a while back about how our brains pick up on tiny cuts? I read that even quick edits can make something feel less true, even if you don't know why. It makes total sense that a single shot feels more honest. You're right, it stops feeling like a performance. That's probably why so many documentary makers swear by it now.
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troychen4mo ago
My buddy Liam tried to fake a cooking video once with cuts and reshoots. It got like 50 views and people called it fake in the comments. Then he filmed one take raw and it blew up cause it just felt real.
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