Who reads video descriptions?

AquaSky · Post by **AquaSky** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 6:15 pm

I usually like to read the entire thing, unless it is lyrics (as mentioned above) or a technical documentation of how the editor did X and Y effect, which program they used, their system specs, etc. I don't really need to know which model of processor the editor has; I'm more interested in what they have to say about the actual content of the video.

godix · Post by **godix** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 6:49 pm

If I can't understand the video by just watching it then there is a problem with the video. I'll read the description on any video I op, AFTER I've viewed the video at least once. I'll occasionally read the decription on a video I like enough to want to know more about. Otherwise I figure if the video didn't speak to me then reading a couple paragraphs isn't going to change the fact that the video didn't carry it's central idea well.

Quiet Cannon · Post by **Quiet Cannon** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:22 pm

Sometimes the video description can determine if I want to download a video or not. If the description is short enough or I am unsure about a video, I will read it before I download. Otherwise I often just skim through to get a basic idea and come back and read the whole thing if I liked it.

rubyeye · Post by **rubyeye** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:23 pm

If there is a (lengthy) description, the video might be worth looking at ... it shows the editor has put alot of thought into "presenting" their piece.

If the video is decent -> good, then I go back and read what the creator has to say about it. I treat it like commentary tracks or translation notes on DVDs. It's behind the scenes info that can expand on the viewing experience and overall impression of the video.

Scintilla · Post by **Scintilla** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:35 pm

I usually read the whole thing first, unless it's really long... especially now that I've seen things like opinions for "The Prescott Affair" complaining about how we should have picked a better movie from which to take the trailer.

oldwrench · Post by **oldwrench** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:34 pm

I generally read the discriptions, I like knowing why a person did what they did. As for lyrics, I like having them there. I may not read them at the time, but if I don't understand part of a song I go back and look it up. I included the lyrics with mine so people could do just that. Some songs are just hard to understand the lyrics. One case is the opening song to .Hack "Obsession" I didn't even know it was in English for sure till I looked it up. Maybe My hearing is just getting bad.

Voices_Of_Ryan · Post by **Voices_Of_Ryan** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:42 pm

Scintilla wrote:I usually read the whole thing first, unless it's really long... especially now that I've seen things like opinions for "The Prescott Affair" complaining about how we should have picked a better movie from which to take the trailer.

Double what he said...

The Wired Knight · Post by **The Wired Knight** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 9:19 pm

I do read it, mostly because it gives me a decent idea of the video before I watch it. It provides the creator's mindset and what I should expect from the video to begin with. Also there is often some interesting info in there.

jasper-isis · Post by **jasper-isis** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 9:32 pm

Years ago, before the Donut and even the Carrot, I used to read all video descriptions from beginning to end before I go to hunt for the downloads, as I had to make sure that a video was worth my search. Now with local hosting, it's become easier for me to download any video that vaguely catches my interest, and as a result I usually hold off on reading descriptions until after I've watched the videos - but that's only if I'd liked the video enough to go back. x]

In any case, I always read what a creator has to say before leaving any kind of feedback.

Bakadeshi · Post by **Bakadeshi** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 9:55 pm

it depends on the video, if it interests me enough with just the anime/song, I may view it first, then read the description. Or I may just skim the description first till it interests me enough to download it, view it first, then reread the description if I see the need to understand something more. Otherwise, if nothing else grabbed my interest yet, I may read the description in its entirety to see if it makes me any more interested in getting the video.