How should a youtuber start an FTB series?

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ThemsAllTook

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Jul 29, 2019
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For my own videos, I use a few rules of thumb to answer questions like this: Assume players know how vanilla Minecraft works already, and that they have at least a passing familiarity with the most common mods. Don't be too repetitive, and don't hesitate to cut the video if you have nothing to say and aren't doing anything new. Have a goal (or multiple goals) for each episode, of an appropriate size that allows you to get them done in half an hour/45 minutes/however long you want your episodes to be.

My first episode went like this: Start a world with a random seed. Goal is to find a forest biome, build a simple home in it, and build some sort of machine for ore doubling. I started in an enormous Ice Plains biome and had to walk ~2000 blocks from spawn to find the location I wanted. I showed a few quick clips of starting out and surviving the journey, but didn't spend much of the episode on it. Once I found my location, I did a montage of clearing out trees and building my starter home, then a few clips of caving, and spent the rest of the time crafting machinery. It went pretty well, but if I did it again today, I would try to find a way to cut it up less, and have more time during the episode where I can talk continuously while doing something interesting. There's such a thing as too much talking, but there's also such a thing as too little.

Some other tips, in case you're interested (feel free to ignore and do your own thing): Use a stopwatch to keep track of how long you've been recording, pausing it when you intend to cut a part of the video out. Invest in a high quality microphone, not just a cheap headset - the Audio-Technica AT2020 USB works great for me. Speak loudly and clearly and get a feel for how you'd like to sound on your audio recording. Be honest, and be yourself; it's easier to relate to a real human being who acts like one than someone playing a character.

Good luck!
 

The Mobius Archives

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Mar 31, 2013
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Hey guys, this is Blade, I've been playing with the Feed The Beast modpack quite a bit in the past few months, and I've tried multiple times to start up an FTB series. The problem I have involves having the materials to do everything with. Should I just give myself some items at the start and build, or should I start from scratch? And would it be a good idea to show everything I do and build? Please give some opinions, I would love to know what you think.

Hey Blade,

My personal inclination for YouTube Feed The Beast series is to do your first night video to establish your starting area. Go caving so that your viewers get to experience your discovery reactions when you come across new materials. Dig out the cave between videos or as a time lapse as mentioned above. Tech up as needed keeping your viewers in the loop as you go. Once you have a couple quarries going people will be less interested in where the materials are coming from. Some YouTubers also pick a piece of FTB and follow it as far as they can go be it Bees or Thaumcraft or GregTech machines on ultradelux hard mode.

You may want to avoid grinding on video, but discovering a cave and all it's secrets is often fun. When I post videos I prefer to bring my viewers along with me as I tech up and (sometimes) build.
 

The Mobius Archives

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Mar 31, 2013
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DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT repeat one word over and over and over again. I was watching a powercraft spotlight the other day, and the guy would not stop saying basically. Most annoying thing ever!

I think I'm a victim of ums and ahs personally. It's bad when you hear someone else do it, it's so much worse when you realise you yourself are doing it. Getting out of that habit takes practice and patience.
 

Ryiah

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Jul 29, 2019
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have a pc that can run both at a high fr
Personally I find nothing more annoying than having to watch someone's computer barely able to handle the program they're trying to showcase. Even a high-end computer may begin to struggle at times as shown during Season 5 of Direwolf's LP when he gets close to his base. So you may want to host the game world itself off a second computer or even a server.
 

Bellaabzug21

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I think I'm a victim of ums and ahs personally. It's bad when you hear someone else do it, it's so much worse when you realise you yourself are doing it. Getting out of that habit takes practice and patience.


Ums and ahs are good. They're short and normal people use them. This is called a substitute word. When you're thinking of something you say this word so you won't stop talking. It's almost impossible to get around. I find myself using the world "like" in such a fashion quite often. Nothing to be ashamed about.
 

Maldroth

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Jul 29, 2019
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I think I'm a victim of ums and ahs personally. It's bad when you hear someone else do it, it's so much worse when you realise you yourself are doing it. Getting out of that habit takes practice and patience.


A trick learned to deal with ums and ahs that I learned from Public Speaking class is to slow down your rate of speaking just a bit and speak with more purpose. The reason for the pauses is your brain is thinking faster than your speech and you are subconsciously making noise to fill the void. Having a small plan for what you are going to say in like a bulleted list can help solve the disorganized feeling that can create panic and cause the pauses as well.
 
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SatanicSanta

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Jul 29, 2019
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A trick learned to deal with ums and ahs that I learned from Public Speaking class is to slow down your rate of speaking just a bit and speak with more purpose. The reason for the pauses is your brain is thinking faster than your speech and you are subconsciously making noise to fill the void. Having a small plan for what you are going to say in like a bulleted list can help solve the disorganized feeling that can create panic and cause the pauses as well.

I figured this out an episode or 2 ago in my LP. Very handy, much less ums. Also talking to a real person can be very helpful.
 

TDKPyrostasis

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Jul 29, 2019
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Hey guys, this is Blade, I've been playing with the Feed The Beast modpack quite a bit in the past few months, and I've tried multiple times to start up an FTB series. The problem I have involves having the materials to do everything with. Should I just give myself some items at the start and build, or should I start from scratch? And would it be a good idea to show everything I do and build? Please give some opinions, I would love to know what you think.

Its a complicated question.

Personally for my YT series I take a bit of time to plan what I'm going to do and then do an introductory episode where I explain my initial thoughts and plans while doing a bit of mining. I then usually skip ahead till I've aquired enough resources to start basic building and from then on cut out most of the menial searching / hunting and gathering and focus on more big picture items like machine / factory design and deployment.

That being said every audience is different. My audience isn't all that interested in watching me mine they are more interested in me messing with machines and getting my butt handed to me on a platter by monsters... not watching me mine copper / rubber / iron for hours.

You'll have to develop your own style and see what works for you and your channel best.
 

Ryiah

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Jul 29, 2019
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When you're thinking of something you say this word so you won't stop talking. It's almost impossible to get around.
Or you could just stop talking. I'm going to second what Maldroth said because it is very good advice. Preparation is important as are keeping some short notes as to what you intended to talk about. If you still cannot think of anything to talk about, don't feel that you are forced to keep talking. Just stop talking and hope something comes to mind later.
 

TDKPyrostasis

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Jul 29, 2019
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Yes, but then there's an awkward silence and the viewers wonder if their computer is broken.

Commentary is a skill like anything else. When you first start its very awkward you constantly have to think about what your saying and its a real struggle. Over months and months of doing it daily it gets easier and easier and before long simply becomes second nature.
 

Bigglesworth

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Jul 29, 2019
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Well first of all if you start out saying "Im playn the Feed the Beast modpack!" youre already going to get rolling eyes and confusion. FTB is the name of the launcher/modpack aggregation. What actual modpack are you playing.

Second, try to resist doing the cheesy way of things. I see more interest on videos where people actually put effort into shit.