Do you want to start or grow your own movie YouTube channel, but you’re not sure how to get hits? This is a common concern for would-be YouTube stars.
A lot of people notice that some movie-fan YouTubers get tons of hits, but their own channel plays to the sound of crickets. There are many sources to get YouTube accounts for sale. Also, many other long-term strategies are available to increase views, but YouTube’s algorithms respond quickly to changes in traffic, allowing more users to see popular videos in their feed.
For this reason, it can be very helpful to buy 500 views as a quick YouTube view boost while you begin building an audience. This will help give you the kickstart you need as you work on consistently producing great content like these YouTubers.
Use A Professional-Looking Setup Like YouTube movie critic, Chris Stuckman
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With just under 2 million subscribers and sponsorships by big-name companies like Sony, Chris Stuckman has an impressive audience on YouTube. He is primarily a movie reviewer, but also produces other movie-related content like an ode to his movie ticket collection or behind-the-scenes coverage of pre-production on unreleased movies.
If you sort by age, his oldest videos are from eleven years ago, and look much different than recent vids. Although entertaining, the older reels look more homemade – in fact, many appear to be shot in his own bedroom, and one is filmed outside of a local movie theatre that’s clearly closed for the night.
He doesn’t appear to have done much in the way of hair and makeup, and the picture quality is not always the highest. Compare that to more recent videos, and you’ll see that he has spent time and money constantly upgrading his channel’s visual aesthetic.
He now films on a professional-looking set decked out with neat rows of VHS or DVD movies in the background, as well as perfectly posed movie toys and knickknacks. His hair looks professionally styled and his makeup and lighting are also well done.
Now, it’s important to note that the earlier videos also don’t feature corporate sponsorships, so it’s highly likely that he’s able to invest in things like high-quality camera and lighting equipment, set décor, and stage makeup in a way that he wasn’t before.
But it’s clear that he always tried to make the most of the resources at hand, such as taking advantage of a real movie theatre by shooting late at night.
You can do the same by thinking of creative, lower-cost ways to improve how your videos look. Here are some more ideas:
- Consider if you want a static setup for all or most of your videos.
- If you have a little money to spend, look into getting a green screen so you can switch up your backgrounds or show still shots from films.
- A better camera (expensive) or even editing software (less expensive) for your smartphone can drastically improve your video quality.
- Think about what movie knickknacks you’d like to have in your set background and try positioning decorations in different ways.
- Take a picture when you find a configuration you like so you can easily replicate it.
Find A Niche, Like Cinema Sins or Every Frame Painting
Credit: Cinema Sins
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You’ve probably heard about “finding your niche” a lot.
But it really is true – general accounts dedicated to a broad topic are a hard sell today.
When they are successful, it’s usually because they started at a time when YouTube was less crowded.
In the modern world, it’s easier to gain traction if you find a particular angle of movie-viewing to focus on.
An example is Cinema Sins, one of the most popular movie channels on the site.
Their shtick is simple: They produce videos titled, “Everything Wrong with Movie Title in X Minutes or Less.”
Each video begins with a standard open, then the narrator launches into a fast-paced explanation of all the movie’s “sins.”
Relevant video from the movie rolls while he talks, and audio is spliced in as needed.
The narrator’s snarky, sarcastic delivery is perfect for sins like, “Wasting your breath on exposition while running for your life.”
Each sin is separated by a standard bell sound, keeping the pace moving.
Every Frame A Painting approaches their niche from a “how did they do that?” angle.
Each video explores the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, from physical comedy to a deep introspective on how a film editor thinks and feels.
Interviews with experts, relevant clips from movies, and explanations of different methods make up these insightful videos.
How should you find your niche? Consider these tips:
- Think first and foremost about your audience. Who are you making videos for and what do they want to see?
- Cinema Sins caters mostly to people who like to watch movies and enjoy comedy. They’re watching for entertainment.
- Every Frame a Painting is aimed at people with an interest in filmmaking itself. They probably also like to watch movies, but their main interest in the channel is to learn tips and tricks for making their own.
- These are only two potential target markets. Other groups might include fans of a specific movie genre, people interested in a particular job or jobs in the movie industry, those with an interest in various technical aspects of the business, etc.
- You can also consider subsets of larger groups. For example, Black Nerd Comedy examines geeky movies from the perspective of a person of color.
- Once you have your target market, think of all the popular channels already in this space. What isn’t being done? Is there some kind of video people keep asking for in the comments that you can’t find? Maybe that could be your angle.
- If that doesn’t bring inspiration, think about one aspect of the niche and try to come up with as many different ways of looking at it as you can. You might hit on something there.
Provide Thoughtful Analysis Like Lessons From The Screenplay or Lindsay Ellis
Sometimes the answer is to take a deeper dive into select movies.
Rather than just reviewing movies, where the narrator typically says what they like or dislike about a film, the thoughtful analysis approach offers a look at it through a specific lens.
Lessons from the Screenplay deconstructs the “moral of the story” for each movie, sometimes with the help of industry guests.
Lindsay Ellis discusses the sociopolitical and sometimes historical background of a movie and how these issues play out with the characters and plot.
Here are some ideas to think about:
- Again, be as niche as you can in what you analyze. If you’re just analyzing the plot of the movie, you’re pretty much doing what every movie reviewer does. Figure out what your specific lens is.
- Are you analyzing the movie as a linguistics expert? Maybe you could talk about the movie dialogue or the dialects of different characters.
- Maybe you work in or just like to hang around the local movie theatre. Your lens could focus on things you overhear as people come out of the movie theatre, or a similar angle.
- If you’re interested in acting or performing, you could analyze the actors’ performances, body language, vocal performance, etc. Other ideas would be looking at more behind-the-scenes work, like the cinematography or background music.
- You could even go super narrow and focus on one specific thing, like “Why did they choose that tagline?” or “What makes this the ideal image for the movie poster?”
- Whatever you choose, include background info in each video analysis, like why taglines are important, what the first movie tagline was, what words are common in taglines, etc.
Once you’ve found your channel’s mission, be sure to make this theme central in all your content.
Even if you do different series of videos, you should try to keep your general focus or topic in mind.
Having a common look or aesthetic for all your content, even if it’s just a logo or your chosen channel colours, also helps to let viewers know they’re watching your video and not one of the many other YouTubers’.
As for promotion, the best way to get people to watch is to…have a lot of people watch your videos.
It’s frustrating, but YouTube favours people who already have a ton of hits on their existing content.
When they make a new one, it pops up in a lot of feeds, and easily gets a lot of views.
The best way to help yourself gain views on YouTube is to use video marketing tips, while also promoting your content on social media.
Which is your favourite YouTube movie channel?
What do you make of this story? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages! And if you enjoy listening to film podcasts, why not check out our podcasts, Small Screen Stories and Small Screen Film Club wherever you get your podcasts!
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