Jump to content

BZPower Set Review Feedback


Black Six

BZPower Set Review Feedback  

56 members have voted

You do not have permission to vote in this poll, or see the poll results. Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.

Recommended Posts

Hey everyone! Set reviews have been a fixture of the BZPower front page for a long time now, and we're always looking for ways to make them better. Today we're turning to you guys to get some feedback to help with that process.

 

To help clarify, a text/image review is the 'classic' BZP review format, for example xccj's review of 76022 X-Men vs The Sentinel.

 

A video review is fairly self-explanatory, for example my review of 41056 Heartlake News Van.

 

A lot of times we try to do both a text/image review and a video review for each set. But sometimes, due to time constraints or reviewer preference, we only do one (as in the examples above).

 

We want to get an idea of which you like more so we can make sure we're providing you with the content you want the most. As an aside, we'd also like to hear your thoughts on the speed-building some video reviews feature.

 

Moving aside from the poll questions, we're open to any feedback you'd like to provide on reviews in general. Do you like the formats we use? Is there anything we can do better? What parts do you like the best that we should keep doing?

 

We appreciate your help in improving BZPower!

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know that the ones I have written are fabulous.

 

More often than not, I will always go to the picture and text reviews. The still photography (even if it isn't a D.Viddy review) is generally better than paused frames. It's a lot easier to pick out the details.

Edited by Makaru
  • Upvote 4

20383310448_7d514f8ffa.jpg

 

Spoiler Alert

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I prefer text/image. Far more convenient to read in parts if you wish, easier to recheck parts you might want to read over again, easier to see details, etc...I never really watch the videos, tbh. I've only seen a couple, and i always preferred the text/image part. 

AXKP5KC.png


 


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As others stated above, I prefer texts and images since they tend to present better views of the set as well as better images and photography in general. I think video reviews do have their merits, though, when it comes to showing off certain set features that just can't be accurately depicted with still images (such as the ball-pop on the new Chima constraction sets, for example). Ultimately, though, I think the text/picture reviews are more valuable (and also faster to go through), and my own personal preference would be for video reviews to supplement them, and not have a video review all by itself.

 

As for the speed builds, I don't really have an opinion on them. They're fine as long as they're short, but I don't miss them if the reviewer doesn't include it.

 

The only real comment I have about reviews is the section on 'presentation.' I don't mind if the reviewer mentions any unique packaging as an aside somewhere, but I don't think a whole section needs to be devoted to talking about a box which most of us can see pictures of on the LEGO shop site. For that matter, most of the boxes aren't all that interesting anyway, and it's not why most of us read the reviews in the first place. I think reviews could easily do without it and not lose any valuable content.

Edited by Vorahk1Panrahk2
  • Upvote 1
BZPRPG
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I prefer text and image myself. I can read through them and skip to what I'm looking for and it helps me know whether the set is worth it. Some of the features of the set can be better portrayed in a video, though. But pictures give better view of everything. 

 

I also like it when we get a picture of all the pieces in an organized fashion, it lets me know what's in the box and whatnot. 

  • Upvote 1

3DS Freind Code: 1693-0634-1082 Name: Joey


I also have Mario Kart 7, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Pokemon Y and Kid Icarus: Uprising


PM me to add me. 


Steam profile


Click here for the BZP Destiny Group

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find the speed-build segments take up time, and time is of the essence when maintaining attention on videos. At that speed, the building techniques can not be seen and it merely shows what gets built first, second, third--maybe. Text reviews usually (should) talk about any cool building techniques or tricky or cool aspects to building anyway, and may be noted in the video once examining the set once built.

Does anyone else feel as I do?

(Plus they eat up my camera's battery when I've done them for set reviews. Not beneficial in the review process.)

 

I prefer the text reviews, though video reviews can be really fun too as they show the immediate reaction to a set and any play features in action. But the pictures are, IMO, the most important part of a review and then the text or video serve to enhance the review by talking about what I'm looking at.

 

-CF

nexo_shields_9.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love video reviews as a novelty, but when it comes down to it I rarely want to pause my music to look at any video at all. I'd much rather have text reviews that won't interrupt like that, but keep video reviews for big/important sets, or special occasions and whatever else. But for standard variety I'm all for text and image.

  • Upvote 1

E8c8QpP.jpg

The Toa's Hideout is once again open for business! We've been gone for a few years, but now BIONICLE's back and so are we. Click the banner to check out our friendly and laid back site where you can discuss all manners of things and chill with awesome people.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always prefer text/image reviews.  I like to browse the review at my own pace and really pore over the interesting images.   Occasionally a function will be better illustrated through a video, but otherwise I find the text/image reviews more helpful.

Edited by Obsessionist

42687538174_213a004f2f.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. While I'm not opposed to video review, I prefer the text/images review over them. The videos just don't keep my attention, but that is just me.

 

2. Since I rarely watch them, I don't have an opinion on them.

Everyone is one choice away from being the bad guy in another person's story.


 


pc0lX6T.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is anyone excited about reviews for the 2015 Bionicle sets?


Hey everyone! Set reviews have been a fixture of the BZPower front page for a long time now, and we're always looking for ways to make them better. Today we're turning to you guys to get some feedback to help with that process.

To help clarify, a text/image review is the 'classic' BZP review format, for example xccj's review of 76022 X-Men vs The Sentinel.

A video review is fairly self-explanatory, for example my review of 41056 Heartlake News Van.

A lot of times we try to do both a text/image review and a video review for each set. But sometimes, due to time constraints or reviewer preference, we only do one (as in the examples above).

We want to get an idea of which you like more so we can make sure we're providing you with the content you want the most. As an aside, we'd also like to hear your thoughts on the speed-building some video reviews feature.

Moving aside from the poll questions, we're open to any feedback you'd like to provide on reviews in general. Do you like the formats we use? Is there anything we can do better? What parts do you like the best that we should keep doing?

We appreciate your help in improving BZPower!

Why do older BZPower reviews don't include videos, but newer reviews do include videos?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Why did it take BZPower so long to have a YouTube channel? When will BZPower have a Tumblr account?

We only have so much time to focus on making changes to the site, so it took us a while. We currently have no plans to create an official Tumblr account.

 

Why doesn't BZPower have plans to create a Tumblr account?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why doesn't BZPower have plans to create a Tumblr account?

First, please stay on topic, if you have further questions, you can send them to me via PM.

 

As to why we don't have plans - we don't see a need right now to reach out to the Tumblr community, as many of the Bionicle fans there are already on BZPower or YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter, where we also have presences.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Why doesn't BZPower have plans to create a Tumblr account?

First, please stay on topic, if you have further questions, you can send them to me via PM.

 

As to why we don't have plans - we don't see a need right now to reach out to the Tumblr community, as many of the Bionicle fans there are already on BZPower or YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter, where we also have presences.

 

All right then, I'll stay on topic and say BZPower should put their reviews on Biosector01 and Tumblr

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I prefer text and image as it allows me to analyse things more thoroughly if I wish and I can read them when I can't use sound. Also easier to refer something in particular that was said (don't have to try and find the point where a particular feature was shown or something interesting was said etc...)

photo-50441.gif

 

Credit to Pohuaki for the awesome banner! ^_^

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I prefer text/image based reviews and always have. Video reviews can be useful, it's true (it's hard to describe certain things, like light and sound features, without a video), but I much prefer reading to listening in many cases. You can't go back and correct errors after the fact very easily with video reviews (a big problem when a review is as prone to errors and guesswork as some BZPower reviews have been recently), it's hard to take in the details at your own pace in a video review, and video quality can be inconsistent from reviewer to reviewer (this is also true of photo reviews, but digitally adjusting the quality of photos is easier than digitally adjusting the quality of videos, so that helps level the playing field somewhat).

 

Text reviews make it easy to incorporate hyperlinks if you want to cross-reference with a database like Bricklink or Brickset. And commenting on text reviews (or multitasking in general while enjoying a text review) is easier for me than commenting on video reviews, because it's not as jarring for me to stop reading and pick back up where I left off as it is to stop and start a video while somebody's in the middle of talking about the set.

 

But if it means anything to you, BZPower's video reviews are some of the only ones I ever bother watching with the sound on, and that's partly because you guys are awesome and I know you have interesting stuff to say. Then again, that's also partly because it's hard to make out details visually in many BZPower video reviews — in reviews like the ones by ArtifexCreations on YouTube, the commentary is less necessary to get a feel for the set, since the build and the set alike are clearly discernable.

 

One thing I really like that I don't see a lot of here on BZPower is photo/text reviews that incorporate short videos to showcase the functions, like this one on The New Elementary (one of my favorite LEGO blogs). I'd much rather see a short video that shows off specific aspects of the set than have to sit through a lengthier video just to learn about the set.

 

As for the speed build portions, I think they're cute. Besides, when I've already committed to watching a video review I rarely care about the video's total length. I can trust most reviewers to keep it reasonable (which, for me, generally means under ten minutes for a review of a single set).

 

One last thing: I don't particularly mind reviews that include both video and text/photo options. However, I tend to ignore reviews like the recent Heartlake News Van review that feature ONLY a video and a list of pros and cons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But if it means anything to you, BZPower's video reviews are some of the only ones I ever bother watching with the sound on, and that's partly because you guys are awesome and I know you have interesting stuff to say. Then again, that's also partly because it's hard to make out details visually in many BZPower video reviews — in reviews like the ones by ArtifexCreations on YouTube, the commentary is less necessary to get a feel for the set, since the build and the set alike are clearly discernable.

See, while I admire the technical prowess of those Artifex videos, they seem like pretty poor reviews. I don't really get much information out of them that I can't get from the LEGO Shop@Home page - the figures it includes, the action features, etc. There's no opinions, just pretty pictures. I see the purpose of the review as being sharing the reviewer's thoughts with the audience.

 

I definitely agree that we have a lot of room to improve our video and picture quality, and it's definitely something I personally try to improve all the time. For example, the Exo-Suit review video was shot at 1080p with our new GoPro (thank you everyone who donated!) and doesn't feature any of that annoying auto-focus on minifigs and individual elements.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

See, while I admire the technical prowess of those Artifex videos, they seem like pretty poor reviews. I don't really get much information out of them that I can't get from the LEGO Shop@Home page - the figures it includes, the action features, etc. There's no opinions, just pretty pictures. I see the purpose of the review as being sharing the reviewer's thoughts with the audience.

In my case, I watch video reviews mainly to see the set and its features in action and from various angles, not to get the reviewer's opinion. Now, in many cases, a reviewer's opinion can be useful... for instance "this set is bigger/smaller/heavier/lighter/flimsier/sturdier than I expected". But most of that opinion information is stuff I could get and respond to just as easily — arguably, MORE easily — in a text and photo review.

 

I like Artifex's videos because they show you every single step of the build, every detail of the minifigures, every play feature, etc. This is stuff that would make a text/photo review terribly cluttered. In video form, though, it's incredibly fun to watch, and he does it without a lot of fumbling with the set or holding it still while he blathers on about his opinions. He uses video reviews to do things that couldn't be achieved with a photo review, not just to offer people the option of listening instead of reading.

 

Now, I think there's definitely a middle ground. All you'd need to do to mix some opinions into one of those sorts of reviews would be to add a voiceover describing the experience being shown on-camera. And I honestly think that would be something interesting to watch, since recording the handling of the set and the voiceover separately would have lots of advantages. The reviewer would be less distracted, so the voiceover could be less awkward and the handling/videography less wobbly. More attention could be paid to both the sound quality and the picture quality, instead of dividing attention between both. It would be easier for the reviewer to refer to details like the piece count, price, which pieces are new, etc. without guesswork, since they could have the information in front of them while they record the voiceover.

 

I definitely agree that we have a lot of room to improve our video and picture quality, and it's definitely something I personally try to improve all the time. For example, the Exo-Suit review video was shot at 1080p with our new GoPro (thank you everyone who donated!) and doesn't feature any of that annoying auto-focus on minifigs and individual elements.

The Exo-Suit review definitely feels MUCH more professional than many of the reviews earlier this year. And it's not just a matter of the video and picture quality. The details of the set are well-researched (like the mention of the basis for the Pete and Yve minifigures), which is a big improvement over some of the other reviews I've seen this year. There are still some things that frustrate me, like awkward pauses in either the speech or action, or moments where your hands obscured the objects you were holding. These things don't RUIN a video review, but they do detract from it.

 

It's not like these can't be fixed in future video reviews, but they're problems that are much easier to avoid in photo/text reviews. Even if you were able to "rehearse" multiple times for a video review (not really possible if you want things like opening the box and emptying the contents for the first time to feel genuine), it's not the same as being able to tweak and edit a photo review for as long as you need to get it just right before posting. So while I'd LOVE for BZPower to continue posting video reviews and improving your reviewing skills, I don't think they'll ever be able to really effectively take the place of a text/photo review, and I think I'll always go to the text/photo review before I go to the video review.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So while I'd LOVE for BZPower to continue posting video reviews and improving your reviewing skills, I don't think they'll ever be able to really effectively take the place of a text/photo review, and I think I'll always go to the text/photo review before I go to the video review.

Based on the feedback here, I don't foresee our text and image reviews going anywhere. :)
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...