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Debacle, Explanation, and Apology

4/2/2013

22 Comments

 
Here's the scene: I'm out of town for the weekend, but April Fools' is right around the corner, and I'm due for my yearly YouTube prank. I've got an idea in mind, and some video footage recorded, but I'll need to do some recording when I get home from my trip on Sunday night.

I get home later than expected—around midnight—and decide that, given my track record of taking 2-3 hours to record and perfect a 10-minute video, I should probably go straight to bed. Instead of rushing the video or staying up until stupid o'clock working on it, I decide that I'll finish recording after I get home from work on Monday. It'll still be April Fools' day, and it might even catch people off guard if they think they've already seen everything the Internet had to fool them with.

So far, so good.

Recording proceeds as planned, and I manage to have a completed video together in an hour—probably a new record for me. Having agreed to spend some quality time watching anime with my wife, I set the video to process and then upload privately while my attention is directed toward a pasta dinner and the first few episodes of Squid Girl.

Then tragedy strikes. The punchline of the video is the old bait-and-switch—it's supposed to look like Part 1 of my long-delayed Mega Man 7 playthrough...but after a minute or so, it turns out to be something completely different. YouTube offers me three thumbnails for the video, all of which give away half the joke. I have three options:

1.) Go ahead and release the video with the spoileriffic thumbnail. (No.)

2.) Monetize one of my videos and figure out how to become a YouTube partner so that I can hopefully get instant access to the button that allows me to pick my own thumbnails...while trying to keep my attention focused on Squid Girl. (No.)

3.) Re-edit the video to strategically place an appropriate image that YouTube will capture as the thumbnail instead. (I guess.)

My first solution is a quick fix: Shove a second or two of black screen into the point in the video where one of the original thumbnails came from. Easy enough to write it off as a graphical hiccup, when it's really an excuse to have an innocuous black screen for a thumbnail. After three attempts—each one longer and more disruptive of our couple's time than the last--I determined that YouTube actively dances around having a black screen for a thumbnail. Short of inserting a whole minute of dead air in the middle of the video, this first solution wasn't going to work.

However, it did give me an idea.

Desperate to post something while it was still April Fools' Day somewhere in the world, and eager to put this to rest so I could finally sit down and spend a proper evening with my wife for the first time in a week, I copy/pasted the footage of the MM7 title screen about two dozen times, until an entire half of the video was nothing but MM7 title screen. So help me, if YouTube didn't pick up on that as a thumbnail, I'd have to throw out or redo the whole thing.

During the process of researching how best to get a desirable thumbnail, I came across an article suggesting that you could intentionally let your video run too long, pick the desired thumbnail from the end of your video, and trim out that extended section so that the footage is no longer present in your video, but the thumbnail you've chosen from that section remains. I figured I'd give this a shot.

I've always been wary of YouTube's post-upload editing options. It was bad enough to insert properly-timed comment bubbles the one time I did that for comedic effect in a video; physically cutting out sections of a video with YouTube's editor seemed like a very bad idea. But hey, I was holding up my evening trying to get this to work, and I really didn't want to have half the video be the title screen—I only wanted that image, and I'd rather pad the video than ruin the surprise with a spoileriffic thumbnail. Maybe I could have it both ways. A quick self-taught crash course on how to use the editor, and my video was successfully trimmed down to just the part I wanted (with the extended title screen footage completely cut out), and the thumbnail of the MM7 title screen to throw people off the scent. YouTube informed me it might take a while for my changes to take effect. Satisfied, I posted the video publicly and went to watch anime.

Two hours later, I checked in on the video comments to see what people thought. At first, I was pleased—a few people are always sore about April Fools' pranks, but the vast majority seemed to really enjoy this one. Then, instantly, the comments turned from positive to scathingly negative. "YOU SUCK," "This isn't funny," and "Unsubscribed." My heart sank as I went through comment after comment like this. I expected there to be some folks who didn't approve; suddenly, it was everyone.

Until someone pointed out that it was four minutes of the title screen, and some random split-second clip of a totally unrelated video. YouTube retained the end of my video that I thought I'd trimmed off, and cut out the actual video. Stars alive, no wonder my subscribers were angry.

I quickly got to work writing a personal apology to anyone who got upset, trying to restore the video to how it was originally uploaded—to heck with trimming anything out; I'd rather have people scratch their heads at the surplus footage than get angry for my ineptitude at handling the YouTube editor—or at YouTube's ineptitude at applying the changes I requested.

To anyone who caught the wrong version of the video: I'm sorry. Next time I upload a video—especially an April Fools' prank—I'll make sure my attention's not focused elsewhere until everything is definitely finalized.

Alternately, shame on you, April Fools' day, for interrupting Squid Girl.
22 Comments
Sara Face
4/8/2013 03:10:13 pm

Unsubscribing?? That seems awful harsh doesn't it? I saw that video too but thought, given your usual caliber, that it was simply an editing error. Besides, it was for April Fool's day...we couldn't lighten up since it was a joke to begin with?

Reply
Nathaniel
4/8/2013 04:29:26 pm

Some people REALLY don't like April Fools' Day (these people should really know to stay away from the Internet on April Fools' Day), and some people took it personally that I would dare release anything other than a real MM7 video, especially one passing itself off as such. ESPECIALLY one that's just a lazy recording of the title screen. *ESPECIALLY* after waiting more than a year for the real thing.

If Capcom had "released" Mega Man 11 on April 1st, and it was just a title screen, I'd either laugh at the joke, be massively disappointed at getting my hopes up, or assume a bonehead programming move of massive proportions. I wouldn't throw away all my other Mega Man games in anger.

Reply
Sara Face
4/9/2013 02:15:39 pm

I know the common complaint is that people get annoyed with waiting for new videos, but people forget you don't get paid for this work. You spend personal time aside from a normal job (i'd imagine) making very good videos! Poor Z-Saber just wants to watch some anime! In any case, I'm glad you don't rush your videos. They're always worth the wait. Barney was a nice touch :)

Nathaniel
6/7/2013 06:28:56 am

Thanks; glad you approve. :)

Aaron Page
6/24/2013 12:11:37 am

youtube is definitely not being nice with editing, especially swapping cut with split. I blame them not you, but seeing the video I'd just put "why stop it now? I still need help on that stage" or something like that

Totally not Stellarman link
11/25/2017 12:38:17 am

I made a dark and gross joke about nunchucks after I watched, It's a sign of me thinking that it Sucked, was funny, and weird at the same time

Reply
Coliflowerz
4/23/2013 02:18:59 pm

I still love you. Hope you find time to grace us with your show-offery.

Reply
Nathaniel
6/7/2013 06:29:36 am

Aw, thanks. I am indeed finding time now! I've been trying to record at least one stage a week if I can possibly help it.

Reply
Zeroground7
4/26/2013 12:12:20 pm

What doesn't make since is that it clearly says: APRIL FOOLS. I don't get why people are so annoyed. I actually found this funny.
It was also posted on my birthday! :D

Reply
Nathaniel
6/7/2013 06:30:19 am

Yay! I have a knack for posting on people's birthdays. NOW it says APRIL FOOLS', but initially it didn't, as that would've given away the surprise. Glad you enjoyed!

Reply
Nico
5/5/2013 04:28:29 am

Nathaniel, I like the idea of the joke, Really. :)
But I can also relate to all the people that got angry.
Having to wait such a long time for MM7, and then just seeing the title screen would piss off some people.
( I personally thought of it as YouTube being glitchy, with the title screen.)
But again, I can relate to those who have gotten their hopes up, and getting this instead to be pissed off.
One day, all of us will look back on this joke and laugh about it.
Thinking: "Hahaha, Nice one, Nathaniel!"
I'm glad you don't rush your videos, they are always worth the wait.
Even if it takes YEARS to finally get Part I of Megaman VI, I will still be finding stuff to keep myself entertained in the meantime.
Such as watching some of your older videos, thinking of your show-offery and stuff like that. ;)
Which reminds me, I'm gonna be going back to watch your MM2 Videos right now.
So yeah. :)
~Nicodapeek2

Reply
Nathaniel
6/7/2013 06:31:13 am

That's the proper response, going back to rewatch my other videos instead. ;)

Reply
Richard
5/11/2013 03:10:41 pm

Bah, I saw the original video and actually ASSUMED it was a youtube gaff. I have seen way odder things on Youtube. When I checked back and it was the same video the worst you would have gotten from me was "Meh, you got me." then go about my day.

I'm still laughing at "I love you too, mega man." The whole video was deadpan, but that especially tickles my funny bone for some reason. Anxiously awaiting the real deal :)

Reply
Nathaniel
6/7/2013 06:31:52 am

Thanks—I think that's probably my favorite part.

Reply
Dan
6/13/2013 05:25:31 pm

Dude! People can be such prudes. I got such a tickle out of Barney suddenly popping up on my screen when I expected actual MM7 gameplay! Of course I was one fortunate enough to catch it labeled as [APRIL FOOL'S]! But even if I wasn't, I wouldn't have been so utterly pissed off. Obviously it was a joke, and if one pays attention to your videos, one would know how you like to be funny!

Any way, great work! Keep it up! I will be a forever fan, loyal to the end.

Dan

Reply
Nathaniel
6/17/2013 02:35:30 pm

Thank you, kind and loyal Dan. I'm STILL receiving hate mail over the video; it's just mind-boggling.

Reply
Fighterbuilder
9/9/2014 12:11:57 am

I kind of understand why the people got angry. A still screen is kind of boring after all. But I got over it, and went on with my day. A little while later, I checked the video again, and I got a good laugh out of it.

Reply
Yasir
10/29/2014 03:26:39 pm

Jeez, whats the big deal? Its just a joke... I dont know why theres so much hate... And by the way, IT CLEARLY says April fools in the title. So there is no reason to watch it.

Reply
Kidsview
10/29/2014 03:27:37 pm

By "no reason to watch it" i meant no reason to watch it IF you dont like april fools

Reply
Nathaniel link
10/29/2014 03:34:49 pm

Well...NOW it says "April Fools'" in the title. Initially it didn't, because that would've given away the surprise.

Kidsview
11/6/2014 09:25:14 am

Oh, TITLE EDITING!

And by the way, when will Megaman 7 be finished? Im dying for megaman 8!

Kidsview
11/7/2014 03:44:12 pm

Oh and the top comment of what i said by "Yasir" was mine.

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    This work by Nathaniel Hoover is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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