jayforeman
patreon
Please help! Should we do option 1, 2, or 3?
🕑 Added 2021-04-10 19:30:07 +0000 UTCBecause I like you so so SO much, I've decided to give you a sneak peek at episode 17 of Map Men a full TWO days earlier than everybody else!
Well, actually, I do have a sort of ulterior motive for sending it to you this early. This version I'm showing you is a bit rough around the edges and still needs a little bit of finishing touches. As has become the tradition here on Patreon, you are welcome, nay encouraged, to get in touch and point out where we've made mistakes or left room for improvement. This time round, slightly unusually, Mark and I have a very specific question we'd like you to help answer.
This episode is not a very normal episode. There's rather a LOT of information in this one, and the words fly by very very very fast. Many people, more people than usual I expect, will benefit from YouTube's subtitles tool. So, what is the best of these three options?
OPTION 1. BURNED-IN SUBTITLES.
If the words really are too fast to enjoy without subtitles, we can add them indelibly on top of the video so that everyone sees subtitles without having to press any buttons. The disadvantage is, they might be distracting (there's lots more besides the words to take in) and it won't allow for translations. There's also the awkward issue of deciding exactly when the subtitles should start, or how they should look.
OPTION 2. NORMAL SUBTITLES
These are currently available on this video, just like all our other videos. They can be turned on, or off. The disadvantage is, some people may not know that the captions button exists, and they will miss out.
OPTION 3. ADD MORE TEXT GRAPHICS
Instead of subtitles, perhaps what would make this video a lot easier to digest is adding lots more text to the graphics. (i.e. put the name of each country). While this is probably a very good happy medium between the two, it is the biggest ball-ache and will probably mean I probably have to stay up very late getting it done. So, do consider that when you make your choice.
So, which is it? Option 1, 2, or 3? (Do watch the video first before deciding, by the way.)
(Also, please keep this a super secret until it goes public on Monday. Mark and I are really excited about everyone watching this, and for the first few seconds, thinking it's a completely normal episode of Map Men.)
Thank you thank you thank you please!
Jay
(Mark says hi!)
Comments
As a non-native English speaker I still understood the song quite well, so YT subs would be more than enough for me. And as a Czech person I really appreciate the joke at 1:51! :)
option 2, i.e. YouTube subtitles. And, as many others already pointed out, adding the names on the countries to the graphics could help
I think it's fine as-is! But I think adding the names on the countries to the graphics couldn't hurt.
I'd say option 2. If having all the info easily understandable, then having different translations possible is good.
I'd say YouTube subtitles are good enough. I watched it without subtitles and it was still OK.
Short answer: Option 2 Long answer: A lot of this is subjective, but I feel being able to run through the song once without worrying about trying to keep up with all the information provided makes the song more enjoyable, and plenty of people would then want to rewatch it with the captions enabled a second (and third and fourth) time to really dissect the finer points of the lyrics. Youtube captions manage to keep up with the song pretty damn well, can be disabled and, while translating a song aint exactly easy, some people will certainly appreciate that extra flexibility. Similarly to Yakko's world, just seeing the country does much more in terms of giving context then a caption could 😄 I agree its hard to tackle the problem of letting people know captions exist tho. Since "tell people to use captions in the description" is sadly not a super useful suggestion since it seems most people's eyes have evolved to never glance at that section of youtube, a pinned comment might be more helpful for anyone who scrolls down to see if they can find lyrics. Or there's always the option of just tossing the info that captions exist at the beginning or end of the video! My only suggestion is if you're feelin feisty and want to put in some option 3 level work before this goes public, visuals for the initial countries that are mentioned prior to the video going all out musical (all the ones mentioned before Kuwait) would be greatly appreciated. I've already gone and searched up what they look like, but it would save many like me from the same fate. Anyways, love the content as always! time to go give the song another listen
Option 3 I reckon
Dave Nattriss
Option 2, highlighted to users by either a graphic or you actually saying it, with Option 3 because they'll help too.
Dungeoneer
I use subs a lot on videos, for this one I switched them on but only needed to refer to them for the really quick bits. 1 wouldn't bother me but 2 worked fine for me, I'm not sure 3 would be worth all the extra work.
Craig P Steffen
I would use option 2a. Leave the complicated lyrics in the subtitles, but once the song gets going, flash up ONE burned-in title suggesting people click the "CC" button to see the lyrics as they go. Definitely gets the point across, doesn't clog up the video, fairly simple edit for you.
Option 3, Country names with flags
V
Option 2 or 3, I find burned in subtitles distracting. And it was not harder to understand than your other videos in my option (as non native speaker).
Kat H
If you're up for sharing your behind-the-scenes process, i'd love to know how you decided what each country looks like, then how you grouped them together to build the song... I'm imaging a spreadsheet 😁
Kat H
Option 2 for sure, and start the description with a tip about how to switch them on. Please don't do option 1: burned-in subs are terrible for accessibility, often useless on smaller screens, and I personally find them horribly distracting! Love the video by the way, had me cackling so much I'll need to rewatch to see what I missed 😄
Robert Lamacraft
I suggest going with option 2, with a little pop-up/banner burned into the video, that looks something like YouTube’s “i” card, that suggests turning on subtitles when the singing starts
2 for me, a native English speaker wh knows a lot of countries and doesn't want you to work this weekend. Also, have you been listening to John Finnemore 😉
Martin Deutsch
I was going to say option 2, but it looks like it's the most popular option anyhow. So I'll just add the fact that Brazil is the shape of the London Borough of Hackney.
3 and 2
That was a long but amusing way to answer a question I already knew the answer to. Oh, and option 2 methinks.
Julian O'Shea
Great video - what a banger. Think this will be v popular. Well done, Jay. (Option 2 for me - I found it easy to hear - but am a native English speaker.)
