What Should we do with Production Classes?

I know there has been many comments but how about Patreon exclusive feedback to people's work? Meaning you'd give the viewers "homework" to create a X minutes video on topic Y and then you'd select say about 5 each time to review and critique. Thus even if our videos don't get chosen, we still get the practice in. Silly idea but just a random thought :)

I’m a new $5 subscriber and haven’t been on this journey as long as most so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Selfishly, I would love to see production videos free. I’m a video production major working at my local TV station but my job doesn’t afford me the opportunity to use my shooting and editing skills. Getting to see how you guys work would be wonderful inspiration to get out and start creating again.

Hard to say how many people on 20 USD tier would be interested in this series. That said I think that this is something that a lot of youtube viewers would be thrilled to see. Not a lot of places people can find this kind of information in a clear and concise manner.

Piotr Kostecki

I think you've set such a high standard with the quality of content you put out, showing aspiring creators how you do it will, hopefully, lead to more awesome content being put out by new people.

I would love to see this shared!

I love the idea of sharing knowledge so I think this is a solid one especially since YouTube is a great short term solution that solves the content hosting problem. However, it might not be a good long term option given their penchant for making unannounced feature changes and a toxic ecosystem that prioritizes click bait/controversy. Eventually, I'd love to see a Giant Bomb style site that highlights the work but I know that sort of thing is a ways off :).

Matt K

It hink putting them out for free is definitely the right option. Education should be accessible to everyone. It's not the core of this Patreon anyway and as you said, it might bring in some new folks.

Bavo Debraekeleer

(I’m sure this has been said many times, so forgive me for being lazy and not reading through the other comments. I also tried commenting earlier, but it didn't seem to take, so I apologize if this is a repeat.) 

I'm a $10 tier person. I chipped in because not only do I believe in your work and what you do, but I trust you specifically to do it because I watched you do it for years on The Point and other GameSpot videos. 

To put it in obnoxious marketing speak, I was already on board with the Danny O’Dwyer brand, and thus when you started NoClip, it was very easy for me to make the jump to supporting you financially. I feel that others need the chance to get to know you and NoClip on a similar level so that they can (hopefully) make the same leap. 

 So I say make them public. (I would also say that you should make more Bonus Level episodes for the same reason, but that’s me being pushy and passive aggressive about what I specifically want. Apologies.) Including NoClip, I support four projects on Patreon. I support these projects not only because I believe in them, but more so, because I care about the people who make them. It’s easier to follow your heart to your wallet, and any opportunity to forge that bond can’t hurt.
 Keep up the good work!


Uncle Jam

There's 85 comments so won't read through everything (sorry!) so guessing this idea has been put out there - maybe bring out episode 1 - and maybe another episode too - for free as an introductory thing, then upfront say further episodes behind a Patron tier, if you do want to go the Patron tier route? I've no idea what ways you have of quantifying how many of your patrons are students, if there any ways, but guessing it's the $5 and $10 for many.

Steve Fiori

Fwiw I think there are two aims here: producing the content everyone is happy contributing to and making it sustainable. We all know there are things you can do to grow interest more readily but that's not what noclip is about. I genuinely worry about how sustainable your model is based on the levels of pledge and presume you freelance on the side as it's clearly not a decent income for someone with your skills where you live. Maybe you could do some intros/tasters and then paywall the more complex items? I feel Patreon is more about supporting someone/content you believe in so doubt paywalling/tiering would make a huge difference but I haven't studied how Patreon audiences tend to react and imagine there is plenty of advice out there. I do feel it should be on a second YouTube channel as not gaming related content but that wouldn't help grow your funding base so happy to concede that.

I see your thought process of trying something significantly different to spur a significant change. Perhaps it simply depends on the amount of time and effort the Production Class videos would cost you? If they became another project on your list of many that might end up stressing you out or add excessive pressure to deliver on, maybe they would be worth charging more for. Or if they seem to flow fairly easily creation wise for you and aren't too costly time/effort wise, then maybe putting them out to everyone for free would be a feasible, worthwhile decision. As a self-taught (and always learning) video editor, I'm incredibly excited to learn from your technical and creative process behind my fav videos on the internet. Ultimately, if you could afford to, it'd be an awesome and inviting move for aspiring creators and fans like me, but if not, I do think most that would want to watch in the first place would still sub/back your efforts for them. Sorry for the novel, lol. As always, appreciate your transparency and authenticity.

Luke Spencer

I like the idea of making them free. Maybe give them to Patrons early?

Making them public would be awesome, I would share these with my own students.

Frank Howley

I support more so because I love the content and believe in what you are doing Danny, rather than wanting to get something exclusive (although having my name in the credits of each vid is really nice! haha). Since you're putting so much time into doing these and because they could benefit so many, I think you should make them free. That's the best bit about NoClip, it's all free. Ultimately I don't think you'll get many more Patreon subs from making them part of it, but I think you will get more people such as myself (or maybe even just people who want the editing videos) who just want to support what you do because it's great.

Small addendum after reading other comments - seems like some patrons are willing to increase their pledge. The way I see it - making it part of a tier - will net you some incremental contribution from our base. Making it public, albeit slightly new for all of us - might yield you more subs, views, potential new patrons and new patrons can lead to the say the same incremental contribution but it will then be more wide spread across larger number of supporters which will hopefully add some factor of stability. Finally - you can always field test one or two videos for free and then make a more data did en decision based on the performance and yield from them.

Tohir Tillyaev

I think these should be public. I’m sure you know from your past career that SEO is a big thing. Education videos about editing/production will find a good audience and will be very SEO friendly. I can also see your point about younger audience and how they would seek this kind of material. Part of the reason why I am here is because I believe Noclip stands to benefit not just 4+ thousand of us, but that it has a potential to leave a legacy behind. Knowing that I was able to support you and your content then inspired several young kids to pursue career in video games, video production or journalism - would justify every single cent that I contribute. Long story short - I'm all for keeping it public!

Tohir Tillyaev

I think you're right, as a patron I get heaps of value and if you think putting more stuff out publicly will help with Noclip overall, then that's what I'd want you to do.

As a $30 patron for the past... 21 months or so, I personally have zero misgivings for making stuff available to the public if that makes the most sense. As long as you and the crew like the product and enjoy the process, feel free to experiment with it and feel out what works and what doesn't. I'm looking forward to it no matter the release strategy, as it's always nice to see The Process™. I also think it would be cool if, as a part of the Production Class series, you all went over some of the thought that went into establishing things like visual themes of the docs, important features of the logo design, etc., just some of the headier stuff that is easily overlooked but builds into important factors in the character and tone of the work.

Brandt Hughes

I'm been waiting for these production videos since the beginning so yea.. I'm excited. I'm trying to sell my friend on joining the NoClip family. He's into video editing so the teaser you put up on twitter got him interested. It'd be an easier sell if it was at a lower tier so I like the $5/10 tier for this. I don't think you'd need to put it up for free since the NoClip docs go up for free anyway. This could be a lil exclusive incentive to get ppl to sub who were on the fence. I'm sure you'll figure it out Danny. But just make sure you getting paid. I know you'd never wanna milk ppl but I think this is something worth paying for (My 2 cents)

I've been a $10 patron from the beginning and think your doing an awesome job, However if your thinking you want to grow an sustain the volume of patrons then adding it to the low tiers is probs your best bet. The high tier patrons are here to support you and feel part of the team that produces these docs, I think it's unlikely that you will get a huge amount of growth in the upper tiers and if the lower tier grows then purely by word of mouth the whole of noclip grows as well. On a side note my favourite aspects are the behind the scenes of which the new one was brilliant and I can't wait to view these videos as a new addition. Keep up the good work.

James Spibey

Open, public, distinct, I was actually going to recommend a second channel to help defend from any kind of copyright shenanigans.

Make 'em public. Your patreons aren't paying you for production videos, they're paying for docs. If you feel you can make those on the 'side' without affecting your doc schedule, they are yours to do as you please and no one here should feel 'owed' something outside the scope of their patronage. You may have a few-hundred patrons truly interested in these, while there are tens- or hundreds-of-thousands outside of this group who would be interested. Increasing exposure leads to more patronage which leads to more/better documentaries which is the content that your patrons want. Long story short -- patrons get more from making this content public than keeping it exclusive.

I recommend the branding "pilCoN" for a behind the scenes look at how the sausage is made at NoClip...

As someone said in an earlier comment, production classes are nothing new for YouTube - BUT - I think a lot of us support noclip because of you and your style, so seeing how you personally put everything together would be very appealing. How much time do you put into lighting? How do you capture audio while interviewing? To you, what makes for good B-roll footage? Do you have a fixed way of doing things (beyond interviewee and camera placement, which you've mentioned before as being very similar between projects), or do you sometimes find that a "run-n-gun" approach fits a shoot better? I'd like to see your take on things like that, not just because I'm interested in them from a production standpoint, but because I love the work you and Jeremy put out, and I'd like to see more of how you go about making the magic happen.

Korphyn

I say put it out to the public. I support on patreon to support the production primarily, not because of rewards. If these videos are useful educational resources then by putting them out publicly you're further supporting others that want to learn how to do what you do, and I don't feel like many people can really hate on that.

Ycros

I would like to see a second channel, a “behind noclip” or something like that. It keeps your main channel clean and then this could be the free content on the second channel. I doubt how I use YouTube is typical so this might not suit everyone. I guess I’m thinking of slowmoguys2 as an analogy.

More rewards is always great BUT in saying that giving out this kind of free content to the public will be great for more than a few reasons: Greater audience, great PR, positive reputation and lastly it'll attract more users to Patreon as well as spreading more word of mouth. I know quite a few blokes from Australia and my mates in the U.S who are going to subscribe soon because they love your content. So pumping out a little more free content will be positive and will hopefully bring a greater audience and as a side effect more revenue re Patreon.

Charles Guillot

As a freelance artist myself, I am a big proponent of spreading the knowledge around. I say make em, and make em public. You never know who you'll inspire.

I'm here to support the mission. The bonuses are just that, bonuses. I see nothing wrong with making those videos free. Stephen Radford seems to have a good idea, maybe making them early release for Patreons first would help assuage any concerns from Patreons that have them? I have absolutely no qualms with them going up immediately or getting early access. Either way is good with me.

Silver-Streak

I’d definitely be interested in them and think a lot of people would find real value in them. I don’t think I’m in favour of putting it behind a separate tier, just give early access to patrons and then release to the public. Hopefully it’ll be another avenue to grow the channel, attract more viewers, and potentially more patrons.

My 2 cents, it unlocks if you’re a member. It’s a little left of center of the main mission on Noclip (I could be wrong but it seems that way) and would be an amazing bonus for joining/ supporting. Love what you all do!

Ryan

Seems like a lot of production work for an already busy NoClip team but if it's sustainable, public is definitely the way to go, Danny!

Public

Jan Ivar Carlsen

I think you should make it public. If you can make the channel the place to go to on YouTube for in depth games industry content and then educating your audience about the processes you go through to make that content I think you will be helping to grow a whole raft of new games industry documentary makers as well as providing context for everyone else why you produce less content but at such a higher quality. Not to mention that if we are thinking further down the line if you can create this informed audience that can produce content at your level it could be a great place to source talent as well as expand the brand to fill what I believe is a major gap in the market which is in depth content on the games industry that isn't advertising.

Give it away. It'll help grow the brand and help folks just starting out who are strapped for cash.

Ron Hockman

I’m a proud 5$ patron and I agree giving it away could be a great way to grow noclip.

Patrick Scott

Look, I'm a Patreon not for the benefits. I've been watching your content since your Gamespot days, and I've always looked up to you as a journalist. I'm not going to have sour grapes over sharing more content outside the Patreon benefits. If it benefits the channel, then go for it! It's a niche that you and yours can fill with high quality videos, tutorials, and structured how-to, and it will draw more people into the amazing No-Clip ecosystem.

I would love love LOVE these production classes. Are you kidding me? Ship it. Ship it to my face. If it were to be public, then as long as it's very delineated from the rest of NoClip with its own playlist and thumbnail design....I agree it's a net positive for everybody, especially NoClip's growth. But by providing this service (and it is a service!) it lets people know WHO NoClip is; the blood and sweat that goes into this level of production value. You'll have people being interested in your Patreon just off the back of the Production Classes. Sure, you may worry that it's not within the initial remit of NoClip, but it definitely at least has the same ethos. It may also be of benefit in terms of mental well-being—sharing this often isolating process of editing and post-production is a win for you too, Danny. All the best fella

Liam Harvey

My vote is the production classes be public. Especially if it will bring new people into the patreon.

Gregory Hones

I don't send you money for the exclusivity of being in the club. I do it so you can hopefully continue to make awesome shit and I love sharing awesome shit. Release the videos, let them roam free.

Tom Southcott

Public is fine with me!

Maybe a mid tier of $15 for production class would work

I would love to see your production content, but if I'm being honest, I could never subscribe at $20/month. I adore your content, but I can't justify the $300CAD/year expenditure for the possibility of joining in on your production chats and getting these courses. It's just not an economically viable thing for me. I'm sure there are folks that spend that for plug-ins or assets, but I'm a different audience. With your current model, I would probably wait until the library got built up, splurge on a month of that tier and suck it all up for the month. I have questions/additional thoughts: 1) I wonder how your $20 patrons would receive that change. Your offerings are generous but I wonder if they would ask for a make-good requiring more work from you? 2) For Year 3 of Noclip, would you consider revamping the tiers? You've added the podcast and Bonus Level and those aren't explicitly built into the tiers. Would there be an opportunity to quantify all of the "unwritten" value you provide while opening the production stuff to a lower tier? 3) Instead of opening the program to a lower tier, what if you did a sort of yearly "Noclip Scholarship Program"? Interested content creators could write you a little essay or make a 30 second video piece explaining why they want your courses and you give 10 people a year lifetime access? Just an alternative thought. Thanks as always Danny!

Jacob McCourt

I think it should be free for public as there are many tools out there and tutorials on the "mechanics" of using those tools, but not many quality videos talking about the process of conceptualising a sequence and all the elements that go into it along with practical software mechanics examples. Since all the docs are available for the public, I think it would be cool to see the way you create them in a production class scenario.

If you're willing to put in the extra effort to produce these, I think it would be cool to give it a chance on the main YouTube channel, at least as a trial run. My main concern would just be that it's such a departure from the usual documentary content, but I suspect they would be released infrequently enough that people wouldn't feel like their feeds were overwhelmed by Noclip content. I say give it a go and see what happens.

Ben Visness

Hey Danny! I love the idea of video production educational videos. I've been interested in your editing process since I noticed we both were still using Final Cut Pro X like five years ago after you tweeted a screenshot of a timeline. (I've since moved to Premiere since then!) As someone who isn't in a financial position to increase my pledge above $5, I selfishly hope you will consider putting the videos out either for free or at the $5 tier. I'd really love to watch and learn!

I also like the idea of releasing the production videos free to the public or at least the first one to gauge the response. One way to "monetize" these videos is to offer "live-chat sessions" with Danny and the "crew" for patrons only (level?). One thing I worry about attaching the production videos to a Patreon-level, is that some people may become patrons just to access those video (and not the game videos). What this might do is to create an expectation that these production videos would be coming at some regular interval. As we have seen with the Bethesda Doc (they were great!), you and your small team may need to focus on something else for time and not release a production video for sometime. They may be discouraging for who became patrons only to view the production videos. My observations from your amazing body of work so far (Gamespot, NoClip), is that you are very passionate about video games. These production videos, although probably amazing too, are a side project and really should not be an extra thing to worry about! My $0.02 from the Great White North and keep up the good work!

More broadly I think releasing something on a regular basis would be very helpful to stabilizing and growing your fan base. The full length docs are epic and awesome but they are released at irregular intervals. Having something smaller but more regular like the noclip podcast could help provide a baseline to build upon. Predictability of new content gives people a reason to check back at a certain frequency. Keep up the great work!

Scott Shawcroft

As far as making the video production videos paid or not...I say just make them free. If you draw in more patreon supporters because of it, then great!

ColonelWEKurtz

Danny, I think sharing the production videos is a great idea. Teaching is super valuable.

Scott Shawcroft

I support you because I want to see you succeed. If you think publishing publicly will help the cause, definitely do it.

Derek Rawlings

If you continue to create a series of Production Class videos, I'm curious what the focus will be. The first video you put together sounds like a focus on post-production editing (which I'd love to see), but do you plan on covering other aspects of your production process. Here are some things I'd like to know about your production process: - How do you conduct interviews? Do you have scripted questions? What are some challenges with this? - Before producing a documentary, you must have some idea what you want to capture, but also have no idea how it will unfold. I want to know what this is like! I'd imagine you want to stay focused on your mission of providing great video game documentaries. I'm curious how you can make Production Class videos that still align with this focus. Sorry, this doesn't help with the paid/free tier dilemma.

Ash

Releasing these to the public sounds like a brilliant idea! You've given us a look at how video games are made, seems only right we (and the general public) get a look into the production of Noclip's videos too. Especially if it's going to help the channel grow!

Feel free to put it out in the open for everyone to enjoy.

Spare

I suspect supporters are here for the mission not exclusives. That means more eyes benefit everyone. Some will turn into supporters, again not for exclusives but for the mission. People that support for the mission usually gives less but for longer. Gives you a stable platform to work on. Free for the public with early access for Patrons.

Anders Warming

This is a great idea ! I'm all for it being open to anyone on release. It's educational and you do an incredible job with your editing, so getting to see behind this process would be super helpful to me and im sure many, many others.

kyle disanjh

I'd continue support either way, but please put me down in the "if it helps grow the subscription base, go for it, but if it takes too much effort for no benefit, feel free to drop it" camp. Your instincts seem to serve you well in this endeavor.

Sam Ruffner

That aside, talents as a writer and host open a path into explaining the abstract stuff that is hard to find without experimentation or lots of time in the chair- matching on action, evoking theme in inserts over narration, “hard outs,” ring outs, good use of stingers, etc - there isn’t much that dares to get into the weeds on what adds fit and finish to material. If only as an experiment, I say put it out for free in bite-size portions with bumpers to the latest work and the piece you reference in the example, see what traffics, and maybe the numbers will suggest the demand for a longer, more in-depth piece introduced at a paid tier down the line.

Wow, that's a tough one. For one thing I am so pleasantly surprised at your generosity. Most channels would not go out of their way to hit a funding goal they haven't reached just because many of their current funders want it. I'm not really sure about what to do (so useful, I know haha). The "making of" feels like it should be something exclusive yet I totally get what you mean about who it would benefit the most. I see others say you should give a bite size version out first which is a good compromise but it also seems like a tease. I'd rather you take it one way or the other.

Amir Rangnekar

I agree that folks who would most benefit from them would be younger folks and students. I'm a Patrons supporter to help you produce high production value free content without advertisement. Put it out there and grow your user base is in my opinion the best you can do for everyone.

Could you produce an trimmed down, bite size version as a tasty morsel and publish that for public consumption or publish the first in a series as public?

Colby Perry

Chiming in to concur with a few of the suggestions that the opportunity for these as a public resource AND a consistent platform to promote the work is worth exploring. There are a ton of instructional videos out there, but I’ve found them to have narrow focuses on functionality, NLE specific features, or “tasters” for larger curriculums with a cost barrier equal to a subscription for AVID (a bargain by any standard as of a few years ago, but as a deterrent to anyone picking up the gig now, I get it).

That's a difficult one. It is not just in your best interests, but also in my best interests if you are profitable in the long term. Why not both? Maybe provide a free Digest version that contains the most important information, and a full version available at a paid tier.

Free for the public with early access for Patrons would be ace! There aren't that many in depth tutorials for video production at least not ones that would have the same diversity and depth that will undoubtedly come with the sort of work Noclip does. As someone who has produced small form factor content on YT for over 6 years I would love to learn from folks who are top of the class in long form content. As for growth I'm sure there are many others out there who perhaps don't even know of Noclip who would find value and in turn, even discover Noclip through these classes. Keep on crushing it guys <3

Sounds good on all fronts. I think you're right that the kids would be most interested in the prod classes. And I've always thought that you and the noclip team have more to contribute beyond fantastic docs. Sounds like a great course correction.

Ship it! Sharing knowledge is always good in my book.

This feedback has been amazing, thanks so much. I've still reading through them but what I'm beginning to land on is early access for Patrons and eventually free for everyone else. But please keep the feedback coming, this is very helpful.

Noclip

I think it's a great idea to make them freely available. You can put them out for early access to patrons at whatever tier you see fit if you like but I'd be cool either way.

Free.

Editing and production "class" videos are of great interest to me as I've had some cursory interest in being able to edit after some hands on experience in college. So regardless if they are public or Patron-only, yes, I really would like to see them. As for which area, I can see it both ways. You make it public, it provides a glimpse into the process, entice potential Patrons to sign up, and from an outside perspective, it appears you're adding to the channel when in between major projects. On the other hand, keeping them behind the paywell ALSO entices people to become Patrons for getting a vast assortment of goodies. I do have a suggestion though: How about creating another promotional video for the entirety of NoClip? I rewatched the year one review currently on the front Patreon page, and you do an excellent recap. Have you considered doing another, with the addition of highlighting a couple of the tiers? For example, "If you are considering becoming a Patron, five dollars gets you access to the Patron Show, Early Access for the Podcast, Behind the Scenes looks at filming and editing and much more! If you are really generous, there are higher tiers you can support getting you Early Access to every doc, and even your name in the credits..." I really enjoyed how much you stressed in the recap currently posted how you made zero on ads and other neat stats. Just a thought that occurred to me. I apologize for going off on a tangent, but I really think something to that effect could help. All of this is to say: I don't believe either choice is a bad one. Sorry if that really isn't any help.

Brandon K Gann

Personally, I'm not interested in production videos, but I'm not a Patreon because I think every video is going to be for me, I'm a patreon because I believe in the work you do and the mission of NoClip. I agree that the people that would have the most interest in how-to videos are less inclined to have the cash to throw around, but that seems like the point to me. Production videos are also a great platform to re-iterate the mission statement of NoClip, plug the Patreon and pull in some of that sweet YouTube Premium money, so I really see releasing them publicly as a win-win situation.

I'm honestly not a fan of locking things behind paywalls. I support you because I'm fortunate enough to be able to, not because I'm eager to get content that others don't have. I say make it free.

I'll keep it simple - I think adding it as a free video series to the YouTube channel is completely fair. To your point about the mission of NoClip, enabling creators to see how to tell these stories and produce quality product is something that can only help the community. I have no problem being a patron and seeing this content for free.

Craig

If it's a thing that can grow the channel and bring in a bunch more potential patrons then put it out there! I can only speak for myself but I pledge to support your work, not so much to get exclusive goodies. Different folks have different thoughts of course but that's me. Also I'm gonna watch the hell out of this!

Paul Puccio

If you think it can bring in more subscribers and patreons, give them away for free. More people need to find their way to noclip. Also, awesome job on the bethesda doc.

Thomas Kaspersen

Hey! So the way I see it is that aside from the special goodies here-and-there, we Patrons tend to not think of our support as "purchasing of a good or service" but rather "helping out a content creator that we like and admire." It's rooted in that pseudo-friendship/familiarity thing you get with content creators that you follow often. You start getting used to the way they talk; you laugh at their jokes ("Halt!" had my wife and I in stitches); you start thinking of these people as your friends, and with this content in particular I feel like I'm helping a group of friends realize a project and its just super cool. So I'm sure you'd get some people who would pay $20 (or whatever) to watch a "Making Of..." doc, but I would wager that those wouldn't be the people that would stick around.

Connor Swenke

I think you outlined the angles of the content problem pretty darn well. YouTube and gaming has always been a great big parallel system of two way communication - neither thrive nearly as much in a one-way channel. IMO the best YouTube channels open up a space for their community and those wanting to join it, especially at a level that is accessible. And your fireside chat style is a great jumping off point into further opening up a space for community. Don't take this the wrong way, but production classes and lighting info are nothing new. However, opening up the noclip way I find is in line with noclip's mission, to document gaming in the way that it deserves. THAT'S valuable - your (noclip and Danny's) thought process thru style and careful production. In addition, there are not many highly produced gaming shows out there right now; not many with budgets and flown-to interviews. Imagine how many more noclips you could encourage - not just Dunkeys or Game Grumpses, which serve their own good purpose, but more The Gaming Historians and Matthewmatosises. In addition, I think that sharing freely is a great way to garner views and attention. As you mention, more content more often is better too, and while I did say production tutorials aren't new, they're also constantly in demand I feel like, ha. Of course, no paywall doesn't always work for an organization. The GDC archives are a good example of content that is rightfully paywalled. I think certain deep dives, deleted scenes, and extended cuts still fit behind that paywall. Idk. Those are my thoughts. Keep creating!

Logan

Honestly, I’m okay with either making them free or putting them as patron only. I do agree that making them the $20 tier is maybe much. I know it seems like the higher tiers might need more incentive, but I like the idea of the lower tiers being the bread and butter. A lot of people pitching it at $5 vs a few at $20. It’s easier for most people on budgets to justify 5 bucks here and there. So making most of the content available at that tier, or possibly even the $10 tier makes sense. That said, making them free for anyone is also a cool idea that I’d be behind as well. It’ll probably grow the audience and benefit the most people looking to learn more about production. Might feel like it’s messing up the YouTube “brand” at first, but once Bonus Round and the podcast becomes more regular, I think people will understand that Noclip is a more than just the docs now.

Early Access for patrons is what most seem to do, and then later releasing to public. IMO this is the best option.

Alxa

More than happy to see this made public. Maybe a days early access for backers or something. I dont really mind though. I back you because i want to help fund your work not really worried about having stuff only i can see so much but i get thats important to get backers at higher levels etc. I can't wait to see these tbh :)

Matt Nelson

No that's a totally fair thing to say. It was on my mind all year as we trundled along with the Bethesda thing. We're gonna make sure that doesn't happen again. But I also understand how that would affect the value proposition of this whole thing. Thanks for the honesty!

Noclip

Yup, I totally agree. Your Docs are SUPERB and I wanted to become a Patron as soon as possible to support your work (Been a massive fan since Gamespot and The Point), but I think getting Production videos out on Youtube will net you a slightly different audience and will most likely push more people to do what I did. Dig the work and therefore support the channel, even if they're not interesting in games necessarily. I think it's a great idea.

Andrew McMillan

Hmm... That's a tough one. I personally feel like part of the mission of NoClip is to keep the content free and and let people support it by pledging whatever they think it's worth. I like the idea of it being free. I'm not one of those people who think "my content is only good if nobody else can have it!" But at the same time, it's not the main content of NoClip and definitely feels a little "bonus featurey" so it's entirely reasonable to charge for it, and it might be one of those things that makes some people pledge higher. IDK. I think I might be in favor of locking it behind a paywall for a few weeks and then releasing it to the public later. That way you get the extra channel views that might increase patron count, but it still acts as a benefit to ongoing patrons.

Josh Carrero

Why not continue with your current tiers and release them a month early for early access tier? With every free video would be the option of at least one $10 donation to get the next one.

Graham Robinson

I don’t see a problem with adding it to the $5 tier. It just adds even more bang for the buck. And I really don’t wanna be -that guy- who complains that the first half of this year felt a little sparse, but adding this just makes it so you have more content to use to keep complainers down. (Again, I’ve been plenty happy and completely understand how much time and work goes into everything. I just don’t see the point of adding -too much- to one tier.)

ブレーズ

Hey Danny, I think you have some good options here. Increasing the value of some of the higher tiers might be a good way to encourage people to become higher tier patrons, but releasing them for free seems more useful to me. Since your video quality is so much higher than other YouTube channels, you necessarily have content droughts right now, and people forget until your next thing comes out. I think using these videos to fill that gap could solve that problem, though it's certainly not the only way. Other options might include some easier-to-record videos, like simple streams, podcast discussions, or online interviews. Best of luck, love your work.

Hey Danny, I'm really excited about the addition of these new videos. Personally, I would be willing to raise my contribution to $10 (and possibly $20) if you decided to put it at those tiers. That said, I agree with you that it could be a great way to bring new viewers to the channel and I know this is the kind of series I would have eaten up while I was in college or high school. Not sure if this helpful, other than to say that your instincts are probably correct, and as a Patron, I have no issue with putting them out for free.

Josh Squires

Hey Danny! From what I understand your audience is one comprised of people that are hungry for knowledge, so releasing these BTS production videos could fit well within the current public Noclip catalog imo. Personally I'm super stoked for this series of videos and will be happy whether they're free or not. They're definitely the kind of content that I would raise my pledge for (currently at $5) if that's the direction you go. Hope all is well dude!

Alex Van Aken

I dig this plan. Give them away! Gets the Noclip brand out there further in a positive way that engages gamers and non-gamers alike that are interested in production and editing, and still leaves the "juicy" exclusives behind a paywall for those are are fans of the gaming subject matter.

I really think putting them out publicly will net you more subscribers / fans / patreons in the long run. If you're scared of shooing away your YT subscribers, you can still post it here publicly and set the video on YT to "unlisted."

Philipp Lehner

I personally think all of your content should be free, but only if it can be fully financed by existing patrons and sponsors. As long this works, "free" content is the best choice in my opinion. Otherwise build a pay wall as big as needed to keep you guys going! (I am a low tier Patron so maybe people who pay top tier would disagree).

Personally these videos would be a push to move me from $3 to $5 tiers, although I wouldn't be able to reasonably budget more! I absolutely think it is reasonable to keep them behind a paywall - after all they aren't the core of NoClip content