You said that there is no value for viewer watching you just hiking in silence. But there are lots of people, who would like to hike as you do, or visit those places you’ve traveled to, but for some reason they can’t. For those people your silent hikes are the treasure, because they can feel like travelling themselves. Thank you a lot for your work!
Yup!!!! I was thinking the same exact thing. The places he goes to, I don’t think I would ever get the chance to go to. So I just live thru watching his videos.
Exactly! And one more point: If you got a bad day and you can't go out yourself to find some peace... these videos will give that peace to you if you really sit down and immerse yourself. And that immersion only works because the videos are that silent and that well shot
I had a stroke 3 years ago. I used to hike and bike, I enjoy the outside world. Your hiking videos weren't boring to me, they were a great way for me to have at least a little taste. Going through your old videos gave me a little glimpse into your life and I found that I liked you and enjoyed seeing other parts of your life, even if we aren't family. For me it has been a little bit of therapy and I'm glad you shared it.
You doing okay? I hope so brother. Appreciate the transparency behind your mental process and approach to your various videos. As others have stated, it seems you are a bit torn acknowledging the potential of certain videos on certain formats, and the appeal may even ebb and flow for you on each of them. My answer would be to not try to merge them or compromise their integrity in the pursuit of providing a better or more rewarding experience for us. Truth is, as long as you are finding meaningful enjoyment or experience from it, your current system of doing things is NOT broken or inferior and doesn’t need a shake up unless it’s simply what you want to do. In fact, it’s why so many knockoffs and others inspired by your work even exist; because your content is good, different, and meaningful. The ‘vlog within a vlog’ at the end of long hiking videos are extremely helpful AND entertaining, so don’t feel you’re being gratuitous with it, and there’s honestly no limit on how beneficial your solo hiking films themselves are for the mind and soul. We all want you to be happy and stretching your creative muscles in new directions, of course, but never second guess what your past work has done for the audience. I have to say this to myself as well - there IS such a thing as being too introspective or self aware. Eventually the self-checks and critiques start coming too constantly and the higher standard you’re holding yourself to becomes an ideal you’ll never reach or be satisfied with, and that in itself can be addicting. It’s hard, but allow yourself to thrive here and there. Hoping you find your answers, that ya find peace, and that life goes well in all aspects for you. PS. Selfishly hoping and waiting for another silent film soon..
Your hiking videos are the best I have ever seen, the artistry is best, and the result is we share the experience with you in a way that is not possible with many others. That is enormously valuable, watching a masterpiece. Do what you love and everything will turn out well. Thank you so much for sharing your life with all of us. ❤️
After having bought my first camera this year, I decided to make full use of it, my incentive is always share my life. every time i edited my vlog, i'll share it to all of my best firends, most of them i can't meet up with very often, i think that is the sense. By the way, love your vlog so much, which means a lot to me, and i've learned pretty much from it. Thank!!!
Your videos saved me when I was depressed 2 years ago. I respect you so much and I’m sending you guys love from Tokyo 🫶🏻🥺🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵
Год назад
Hey Kraig! Been here since the beginning of Wedding film school. I understand where you're coming from with the "silent contract" idea, but maybe, just maybe you can let go of that idea. I've been here for you, and whatever you decide to do with your channel. There is no "silent contract", it's your channel. Your call. Don't lose yourself and keep creating for yourself, I think you always achieved a good enough balance, and because of that, we're still here.
Dope retrospective Kraig! I've been following you since your Wedding Film School days (even started a wedding company with some of my best friends), and you're work has always inspired me. Congrats on the 10 years!
I really love your vlogs here on youtube! It gives me more substance to who you are when I see you hiking up the next new mountain. Appreciate all of your content.
Thank you for sharing your thinking process As much as Instagram reels are really popular right now, I don't think they offer deep connection between the creator and the viewer. One of the reasons I love your channel so much is because I get to see your experiences in beautiful places (or just in your day-to-day life) on the big screen and it makes me feel invested. I definitely do not get the same reward when watching a vertical video on IG. It can be entertaining and great looking, but it's forgettable and temporary compared to RU-vid videos I return to watch many more times. As someone who tries to make income from what he does, I appreciate you trying out new things and wanting to come up with the ultimate formula. Personally, I don't think it's one thing instead of the other. The value I got from your vlogs is much higher than entrainment. As you said, you provide value in your videos by giving a guide and talking about the experience, which enhances the visuals and add interests. Anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts. Appreciate your work and hope you and Mica have a fruitful and exciting year! ♥
There is a ton of value to hiking videos without the guide piece. Loads of people want to experience nature but can't do the hikes themselves. These videos are extremely relaxing and calming and great for those suffering from mental health issues. If folks are doing research on a hike, then both the hike part and the guide part are useful, but don't sell the hike part itself short. Also, for your own memories, please don't just shoot vertical and post to social media. That won't last, and then those reminders of your life and adventures will be gone. You'll really treasure the videos as you get older. Just my thoughts. Cheers from Maine. :) Paula
For what it's worth, I love your family home daily life vlogs the most of anything you've done, but I'll be here regardless of where you bring this channel!
Thank you so much for this. As others have said, your hiking videos are so beautiful and make me feel like I am there through your journey. It feel so lonely, which is absolutely beautiful same time. That's why I love your journey.
IMO theres a bunch of value of your hikes.The hiking content vids are so calming and bring me to another place. I think the value of those is much higher than short form tik toks and ig reels.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts Kraig ! I learned a tone from your wedding film school videos, and I've been following your journey ever since. I can clearly see the evolution of your vlog and you analysis is very interesting and some how wise
Kraig man I think you underestimate how amazingly cool your travels are to the rest of us. Like the Peru/ruins comment - that is really awesome to us because 99% of us have never done that. I think you’re a little flippant when talking about these adventures that are just dreams for most of us. We live vicariously through your videos until we get to experience these things for ourselves
I enjoy watching the vlogs a lot. When I watch a channel for specific items such as art modeling, hiking etc. I enjoy getting to know the artists more personally. It makes their other videos more endearing and meaningful :) Hope you get to keep vlogs in some capacity or other.
I will say I think you have a strong following for these hiking videos and they have strong value. I think you mentioned it but that’s the reason why I followed for sure but your life vlogs are interesting too. For me personally the RU-vid videos are where I see most of your work. Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts and continuing to make the best content you can! Cheers
The walking videos are great, they remind me of the ASMR/ambient relaxing style of videos. I also really enjoyed the calm classical music when you talk about the hike. If you were vlogging I'm not sure I'd watch that, but I'm sure others would. Some ideas off the top of my head. Do the hiking videos or some kind of project (check out ghost town living). Make 1 quality episode each month and then do quicker edit updates on tiktok/instagram. I think you do the whole ambient/relaxing thing well.
I loved seeing the vlogs and seeing all the cool things you do!! You seriously got me through the pandemic when I first discovered you with your hiking videos but then I've enjoyed all the other content you've put out - winter kraig and vlog kraig showcase your personality much better imo. Also baby kraig OMG!!! But seriously, you have no idea how many videos I take that are clogging up my storage just to go back to watch them. Sometimes I share things, sometimes I don't but it's always nice to know that I've got it captured. I feel like I have this fear of losing all of my memory if I lose all that footage, which isnt true BUT time does take away the details and being able to go back to see them is nice. As always, you're awesome. I'll be watching your stuff no matter what direction you decide to go!
I'm just a vlogging hobbiest with a brand new RU-vid channel but I appreciate your art and take inspiration from it. The way you tell a story via the shots you choose, to the awesome soundtracks, inspires me to be better and to learn what the heck I'm doing!
RU-vid videos serve widely varied purposes. In my dental clinic we put the TVs on mostly scenic videos for the patients to enjoy, though they are free to change the channel (youtube or prime). These people aren't there to watch a show or a story as it's not really possible unless it it like a 2 hour root canal. We can't have the sound on either. I've been playing your 7 hours of hiking video for about a year now. I'm into backpacking as are a lot of my patients. Other folks are just curious about the scenic locations. It becomes a topic of conversation for at least a couple people every day. They appreciate the timeline at the bottom to know where these places are. I like that it is a set it and forget it all day thing. This video is almost the perfect thing to play all day every day, and I'd be delighted to have more choice in this vein. Only negative is the patients ask me why show himself eating boring food so much lol.
I really hope you carry on with hiking and vlogging videos here. Yes it’s more work but I love catching up with the videos on tv instead of a phone. Your really relaxing long hiking videos are amazing for background viewing. I’ll have to find your podcast and follow there too. Congrats on 10 years!
For me it’s really nice to see a full circle come about. I also experienced the Casey Neistat era and took inspiration from him to live in the moment and go on adventures. Then I got a little over that and wanted things to be less hyper and that’s when I stumbled on your hiking videos. And how you took inspiration from Casey. Because of you I’ve hiked TMB and Picos de Europa and I must say these are some of the best memories for me! I definitely plan on doing more of these hikes. So thank you Kraig! For someone I don’t know personally you’ve had a big impact on my life!
From someone who has watched your channel and growth, I come back because I I feel like I've invested in helping you grow and succeed. It's a creative partnership that benefits viewer and creator. I think that people are inherently interesting. The hiking videos seem to be your niche area. Probably because you use most of your skillset in creating them. I always look forward to your next video.
I am 3 years into RU-vid and watching all the things on how to get more viewers. I found your channel while searching hiking the resurrection trail in Alaska. Todays video has changed the way I think about making videos. Great video, thank you.
At least for me, this is what you would call a high value video. Otw to a hike right now and trying to decide my goals in terms of vlogging it. Thank you for such a thorough breakdown!
Thanks Kraig, the concept of value from the video is spot on. I love hiking in Australia and am starting to document the hikes as a guide rather than a basic nature movie. Also, i will be hiking the same place many times to capture the different lighting, seasonal colours, weather, etc in order to show the variety of conditions one could experience, hence one video may take 6-12 months to complete. Thanks for the inspiration dude
Love this stream of consciousness Kraig! Thanks for taking us on a journey through time, progress and a glimpse into what your film-making future might hold. Greetings from a fellow inhabitant of Colorado. 🏔
Lots of clarity. Lots of good perspective. Why did you stop shooting with real cameras? do you depend on RU-vid for income, or what is your main source? What do you miss about New York? RU-vid seems more focused on tutorials than artistic outputs. Also, I pay for RU-vid premium, so I do not see ads. I wonder if commercial interruptions are something that negatively affects viewership. Not sure if you read and answer to comments. But these are some of my questions
Interesting why people seem to watch your vids. I would have thought it was vicarious enjoyment, which is why I subscribed and watch. Mountain-oriented hiking outside the US isn't something I'll ever be doing, so the tutorial isn't the draw for me. I don't get bored looking at longer format vids of spectacular scenery, done well. I don't watch much on Instagram and Tik Tok. I think most of it is kind of inane and insubstantial. Good if you're bored (or have ADD), but I'm rarely bored. Anyway, if you keep making the longer formats, I'll be happy to watch!
I almost disregarded this video because of the vague title, but then I watched all of it. I'd describe myself as a creative person, but I have no drive to "make money" whatsoever, so it's really interesting to see the thought process of someone creative who also has that drive.
I started watching and loving your videos since that Japan mega vlog. I think it's private now but that is one video that I have watched at least 50 times!
Loved you sharing your journey with vlogging. It’s cool to see how you started and how your style has changed. And ultimately, the hiking vlogs ended up having SUCH an impact! I appreciated your thought process with your current and future videos because I often think about this too. I’m sure you’ll figure it out, and I can’t wait to see where your content will go!
believe it or not, but I actually prefer your vlogs over the hiking videos. I like the hiking videos, but I mostly enjoyed the behind the scenes vlog in the end of those videos.
Basically the moral of this is: do whatever you want to do no matter what any youtuber says. Who's to say whats valuable and what's not? Like they say art is in the eye of the beholder.
Absolutely love this, we vlog just as a hobby to let our friends and family where we are in the world. Its fascinating to watch your journey with vlogging and how the styles have changed over the years
I admire your filmmaking skills very much. Most of your hiking film imitators lack the lyricism of your posts. Also your honesty is refreshing. Sharing the nuts & bolts of why you post what you post is an interesting marketing decision and I suspect your style creates a nicer community than creators that carefully curate an idealized version of themselves. UGH. I'm overthinking again.
GoPro 11 has 8:7 aspect ratio lens so you can shoot for both RU-vid and TikTok at the same time. Easy with Davinci to change the aspect ratio and quickly export in your desired format - it also has a auto AI powered "keep the subject in center of frame" function so no manual adjustments needed though I do it manually myself as I like to maintain full control, but if short on time that's not needed and will save you time.
WOW! This seems like your definitive vlog to watch with no need to watch any other coz we got the gist of 'what's it all about (Alfie)*' with this vlogging game. Btw, still wonderin' what happened to that doggie that followed you up into the snowy, cold Himalayas that disappeared from your vlogging that you never, as far as I could see on following vlogs, told us about whether doggie trotted back down the snowy mountain and to home or fell off the icy Himalayas to his doggie death. Anyways ~ thanks for a very instructive video. _*Insert of 'Alfie' quote maybe only UK oldies understand._
This felt like part home movie and part therapy session 🙏 Honestly though, I think content on Insta, TikTok and the likes only has temporary and short-lived success. RU-vid is more of a future-proof scenario, where one might come back to the library and rewatch videos from years ago. The others are more post, like, and forget…
Wow. Thanks. I needed this. Edwin, from Refugious Salkantay in Soraypampa, recommended that I view your content and this is my first glimpse into your world. I lived in both buffalo New York and colorado before moving to Peru in 2022. There seem to be similarities in our Paths that excite me to seek solutions to problems I may have in your content. Thanks again for sharing and helping solve problems. ~kbh
I have been 'following you' (weird term) since the wedding film school, and appreciated especially your silent hiking videos and how-to guides. They are just interesting even I wouldn't plan to go the places ever. I prefer beautiful images from drones and Sony cameras to daily action recorded with iPhone. This essey was interesting.
I totally agree how awkward it is shooting videos in vertical! Always loved the traditional horizontal way! Only on drone shots I feel ok for instagram!
Good thinking! Lets start with the end in mind. What are you trying to achieve? What's your goal? Why? What do you expect success to look like and how will you measure it? Now lets work backwards and determine whether you can formulate 2-3 well thought out strategies to bring that to life. You can test those out over the next 2-3 months and see how you feel, before committing to the one/s that works best for where you're at in your journey/evolution.
It’s really interesting that you have the perspective that every day life blogs is be boring, but there’s an entire market on RU-vid for really chill every day life vlogs. But you definitely have to go outside and do things orals the daily vlogs would just be too repetitive
Have thought about some of the format stuff a lot. Filming 8x7 with the new GoPro and cropping accordingly for whichever platform you’re uploading could be good. Small setup, vertical and landscape in one take
I have to say that the silent hiking part is the highest value in your videos for me but that may be different for most viewers as I can hear it from your experience.
Thanks for the cool insights! Speaking for myself, I am muuuch more interested in the awesome solo hiking videos. I have rewatched the old one (Alaska, Laguna 69, ...) so many times. The home vlog stuff is fine, but not my thing. Thanks for your work :)
Not that you need my low value feedback content, but here goes- how about four or five flagship silent hiking videos to attach sponsorships to and a personal vlog every quarter, maybe around six minutes in length. Thanks for letting us hear your thoughts. Keep the passion alive.
Subscriber's feedback is never low value. I wish I had more comments on my channel so I knew what to improve, which is why I'm always floating around in Kraig's and others comment sections to better my own work. I think your suggestion is a good balance, lets the audience get to know Kraig without damaging the algorithm within the channel. Its like a snowball and more momentum the more it grows, a weekly vlog which probably hurt his channel a lot.
It seems the real “value” is you sharing the beauty of nature. RU-vid’s brilliance is individual authenticity in creating content. What are you personally seeing and learning?
RU-vid feels like a photo album you dive into with a cup of tea. Insta/tiktok feels like single photo's being framed for a moment. Personally, I value youtube content more :)
I think the value of a hiking video is skewed to one side or the other of the spectrum. A silent film offers relaxation for people who can't find that in their lives, if it's on the other side of the spectrum its following an interesting story. A hiking video with some walking shots, some talking to the camera but the audience can't follow who, what, where or when then they feel lost and disengaged. A hiking video with a good story is just like watching anything else entertaining on netflix or youtube at least that's how I interpret it and the reason I've focused my hiking films solely on the story telling of it. As an additional support I make sure I'm mastering the craft so selling clips and getting sponsored will require the shots to be top tier.
in the case of Casey... his days were all different and interesting/entertaining... but he didn't just "go out and find stories in NY", he worked them. That was him referring at some point to the "my way or the highway, I don't have time for friends or any other activity that doesn't add to the vlog". The amounts of times on his years of daily vlogging he had called somebody or someplace that offered him content for the vlog once and said: "OK, I accept your offer, we will do it tomorrow. Sorry for the short notice but it's tomorrow or never"
So glad you made this video, I’ve been watching your channel evolve and always wondered who you really were 😂, are you the “life of the party” lives in NY guy or are you the “peace in the wilderness guy.” Now I see your the “press record and make something” guy. 😄
maybe i’m the weird one, but i tended to just skip the tutorial/guide bit at the end of your silent hike vids. i prefer to just watch the walks - that’s the value for me. it’s a visual/audio relaxation, not a ‘how to do this walk’. i guess what i’m trying to say is that that there are people out there that do watch purely for the escapism of it and not to be educated/guided.
I'm sorry you have doubts about the intrinsic value of your silent hiking videos. I enjoy them without the "value add" tutorials. I just enjoy watching the beautiful vistas captured beautifully. It's astounding that you call them "boring." Having said that, you should pursue your own happiness.
Why not vlog snippets of your daily life on social media, and keep the hiking content on RU-vid? I feel like those are 2 slightly different audiences, and the daily life snippets are better suited for short form content and vice versa with the hiking. Just a thought. Regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with next!
That is the tough part about youtube, once your channel gets locked into one thing... it better be what you love to do. I started this channel clean because I knew from day 1 it would be hiking films and gear reviews. I have 2 other channels that are pigeonholed into their niches.
Thanks for the interesting upload. Now I feel I wish to comment a little here, maybe as a feedback, which I „owe“ you as a viewer over the past years, haha… feel free to delete… I found your channel when I was looking for Vlogs on Tokyo and was amazed about the way your editing tells a story without words. For me at least, my favorite vlogs are the one in Tokyo, in Paris/ Amsterdam with India and an early hiking video with Kurt, that has incredible fast editing (don’t find it here anymore), the juxtaposition of the Paris vlog and then many of the hiking vids, Chile, Montblanc, to name a few. And I am maybe one of the viewers who enjoyed watching Solo-hiking just for the hiking experience. I think what is unique to me in comparison to others is your view on nature, which is not only very personal but sharing an intentional idea of a paradise lost, as we are facing climate change and a strong call for preserving these wonderful landscapes. Now as a filmmaker you will probably always have this moment of reflection, of „what am I doing here?“ etc. which is I believe rooted in your perfectionism. This can be problematic for you, but I guess you will find a way around again. Following your passion and reflecting on its general use for „your audience“ is a good way to stay healthy and bring others along - certainly me. Storytelling in the most abstract sense, to me, is an essential gift you have - you are a filmmaker. The future will tell if that is a concept you want to challenge. So I think there is also no reason of feelings of excuse when you mention you wanted to make money. As the world is, what it is, that’s how it is. To me, your most personal video so far is the Hornstrandir video (quite a successful one). This a a clarification of your former reflections on how to go in the future. It is an obvious step back into more traditional editing to find a new way of storytelling that is at state with your personal situation. I can see a point of deepest discomfort in the Bali vlog; probably a turning point, but you had to get there first… And I guess videos like this one, help people to follow and reevaluate their own perspective on what they might be doing (I hope). As long as you are questioning your work/ way in this way, there is a value in what you are doing apart from yourself, but also for others, I strongly believe. I believe also, the only way of growth is through personal growth, which is what I can see here and which is why I am still here - a valuable thing for all of us, thanks of taking the effort!
That is a good point , What is the value of your video? , I see some people that start a RU-vid channel that is a copy of others channels( that is ok, no one owns of the idea ) but they are just doing a copy of the video idea or style, even they ussualy don't do the thing that they are filmaking ,they aren't doing by the same value or goal , I thing is most important do something with a purpose than just copy an idea to get views
16:9, RU-vid, 30 minutes max...please. Do the work. Occasional long form. Hiking, life, interesting places, all kinds. We would all appreciate it. IMHO
As a viewer from the NYC vlogging and WFS days, I was super stoked to see this video come up. I reached a similar conclusion to you: Casey Neistat’s vlogging was the catalyst for a whole subculture of creators feeding off each other for content. When I tried vlogging at my midwestern college, I realized that the average person has a very uninteresting life. I found a lot more personal value recording clips here and there throughout my year and turning them into a “christmas card” vlog that I could show family. The time I managed that, it became one of my favorite personal videos. I feel like that’s my deal now. I don’t make vlogs for other people. I make them for myself, family, and friends. And that’s how I enjoy them most.
