survey Picture versus Video Reviews

[4WD]

I really love picture reviews because you get some really beautiful, detailed images of the set you want. The only disadvantage is getting the angle you want of each set, but even in videos that is troublesome. Plus you can always ask and (hopefully) get the picture you've been craving!

[Henchmen4Hire]

In theory, a video review should be a quicker more streamlined look at a product than a picture review because the item can be shown in action, cutting down dramatically on the words needed to explain what it is, how it functions, etc.

However, either kind of review can be crappy or great depending on the reviewer, and if the product itself lends itself well to the particular type of review.

The thing with video reviews is that you have to be a good speaker and comfortable in your own skin to make a good one, or else your awkwardness is going to wreck the video and set everyone and their pets on fire. Picture reviews are way more forgiving, you can write in whatever voice you want, throw in funny pictures, give quick access to certain features, etc.

For all you reviewers out there, figure out which type of review you're most comfortable with and stick with it. If you can write and keep people enetertained, go with that. If you have a horrible personality, please dont even bother making reviews, unless they're so over the top bad that they're hilarious to watch lol

The most important thing to keep in mind is that no one really gives a shit about toy reviews. Your review isn't going to dramatically change someone's desire to get a toy or not, they make that decision moments after having seen the toy. Make reviews as a form of entertainment for yourself, don't feel like you have to follow some boring pre-made review layout. Why would you want everyone reviewing the same things in the same way? That's incredibly boring. Find your own voice.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Henchmen4Hire

[BimmerBoy]

I tend to prefer picture reviews. I can follow the review at my own pace (focus on pics and descriptions that interest me, scroll past pics and descriptions that don't interest me), but video reviews have the advantage of showing how functions work.

For EuroBricks, I think pic reviews are great. If someone is really interested in a set reviewed on EuroBricks, they will seek out more information and look for video reviews. Of course, I would not mind a mostly pic review that included a short video showing how functions work (if the set being reviewed has functions beyond basic "fire the flick missile", etc.).

[Legopicler]

Generally I much prefer pictorial and verbal descriptions which are great for idle browsing and the details on the images can be enjoyed at leisurely pace. Occaisionally vids are helpful for if there is elaborate motion to demonstrate.

[Withacee]

Although video can add to a review sometimes, I really prefer some nice hires images and some informative accompanying text.

[Roger_Smith]

I prefer pictorial reviews. There regularly were some great ones on here when I first joined 18 months ago, and I had a lot of fun reading them, even if they concerned sets/themes that were of little to no interest of them.

Over the past months, they becanem rarer and rarer (or maybe they just weren't highlighted on the front page as much?), and I would really love to see more of them again.

[TheLegoExperience]

I like written ones better.

However, just2good is my favorite video reviewer, in fact the only one I watch.

[Anio]

I love The Brick Show's reviews, but they serve a completely different purpose than Eurobrick's reviews.

Let me guess... Given that their purpose is definitely not to do interesting reviews... I would say...

Making money with the ads ?

[just2good]

The most important thing to keep in mind is that no one really gives a shit about toy reviews. Your review isn't going to dramatically change someone's desire to get a toy or not, they make that decision moments after having seen the toy. Make reviews as a form of entertainment for yourself, don't feel like you have to follow some boring pre-made review layout. Why would you want everyone reviewing the same things in the same way? That's incredibly boring. Find your own voice.

This is a very interesting topic, and I cannot agree more with this statement.

However, just2good is my favorite video reviewer, in fact the only one I watch.

Wow, that means a lot. Thank you very much!

[tomdobs55]

I prefer picture reviews for the reason that I don't generally have the attention span for a 20 min video. That being said, Jangbricks on YouTube is amazing and I'll watch his reviews of anything

Edited August 16, 2014 by tomdobs55

[ummester]

I don't have a preference - there are up and down sides to both. But it look's like the picture 'ayes' have it.

[CamelBoy68]

Picture reviews please. As has been mentioned, the quality of the writing and photos set these reviews apart from others.

[Darth Dino]

Hi

simple question, simple answer: Picture reviews.

You have to put a LOT effort and work into a good picture review - to get the same quality in a video review it takes a lot more!

I dont like video reviews from people who hardly know to make a good picture. If they dont know anything about lightning, picture editing, who can they think they could make a good video review? It even harder to mKe a video review and archieve the same quality as in an picture review.

Second, some (pic) reviewer spend a lot of time in what they write and how the write it. On the other hand there are many video reviewers that hardly can speak fluent for a minute without repetition or "ums" and "eeeeeeh" ...

Dino

[Tariq j]

I prefer picture reviews. I can read and look at the pics at my own pace - not the persons. I also feel video reviews drone on for too long an end up being 30 minutes long.

[Osuharding1]

The most important thing to keep in mind is that no one really gives a shit about toy reviews. Your review isn't going to dramatically change someone's desire to get a toy or not, they make that decision moments after having seen the toy. Make reviews as a form of entertainment for yourself, don't feel like you have to follow some boring pre-made review layout. Why would you want everyone reviewing the same things in the same way? That's incredibly boring. Find your own voice.

This statement pretty much sums up this topic... what else can be said or written on this topic that is more perfect than this?

[Bonaparte]

The most important thing to keep in mind is that no one really gives a shit about toy reviews. Your review isn't going to dramatically change someone's desire to get a toy or not, they make that decision moments after having seen the toy.

I'm not agreeing with this statement.

For example, I wasn't at all planning on buying Benny's spaceship, but after seeing the Rufus review on this set I decided I wanted one. So I did give more than a shit about this review and it dramatically changed my desired to get this set.

Also I've read on several occasions that people decided to buy a set after seeing more about it in a pictorial review.

[Zerobricks]

What if you'd make a viedoe review that would use annotations as an index so you could skip through the phases and onto pictures, etc... Might be worth a shot to try...

[TheLazyChicken]

I prefer picture reviews over any other type of reviews. I sometimes watch video reviews only if there isn't a picture review for that set.

[Matthias]

I do like both, but I have noch soundcard at work, therefore pictures

[Bart]

I prefer picture reviews over video reviews. Not that I don't like video's. but just as people above say, its easier to skip ahead, scroll back, stare at the same detail for an hour, and scroll past things I don't like.

but video's can be a nice addition, when the reviewed object/set has some motion things, like a spring trap or a swing arm, you want to show.

Bart

[Foton]

Only benefit from video review (good and short of course) is that you can see think You interested in but reviewer not. For example some construction detail when camera si moving. On photos you lost this opportunity.

But most of vidoe rewievs are horribly loooooooong, so many transitions and titles.

So I preffer pictures. Many of them.

[klinton]

I have an odd aversion to watching people play with toys that I want, so video reviews drive me up the wall. They actually annoy me to the point of getting physically agitated. I have a friend who seriously doesn't understand this and is always clicking open vids to show me of sets that he's hyped on.

I kind of resent when I Google reviews for a set that I'm considering and all I can find is videos. Hahaha.

Give me some clean, crisp images from various angles. I don't even care if you don't have much to say (as I find a lot of the waxing 'filler' chatter in written reviews completely unnecessary). I just want to see the assembled set.

One thing I do wish LEGO reviewers were more inclined to do is to post ensemble or comparison pics with similar sets or other sets in the same series. I'm accustomed to action figure reviewers where this is common practice. It kind of gives you a feel for how the set will fit with your own collection.

All told, the reviews on Eurobricks are top notch. That's what brought me here initially. I actively include the word 'eurobricks' in my Google searches for reviews. :D

[Sid Sidious]

I mainly use reviews to see new, useful, or repetitive parts in a set. It's easier to see new or useful parts when they are separated by the reviewer (as opposed to a Bricklink inventory), and it is more meaningful to see the picture of a pile of 500 1x2 plates instead of seeing an inventory say there are 500. With a picture review I don't have to search through 15 minutes of fluff and aspects of the set I don't care about to find two or three good shots of the parts. If the set has a cool play feature, a video will demonstrate that better than pictures, but this can be achieved by linking to a 30 second Youtube clip instead of creating an entire video review.

[Dr Leg O Brick]

I much prefer a picture review, because I can savour the pictures of the set. I don't have to pause or fast forward though the review to get to the part I want, and sometimes the video is poorly done (In the dark, being filmed on a carpet etc). But that's not to say I don't love some of the exceptional video reviews done with impeccable skill, not meaning to name drop, but I regularly and religiously watch just2good's, Jangbricks, and a few others Youtube videos.

[Zerobricks]

I tried making a working navigation on youtube, and here's a little experiemntal video.

I think the concept could be very usefull for vide reviews so you can just simply skip between pictures without searching and watching whole review.