How NOT to make a YouTube sitcom video

[Sal]

Yesterday, I went on YouTube for my normal round of primetime binge watching and I was excited to see that someone had posted the first 4 seasons of "The Donna Reed Show". I previewed one of the episodes to see if I would add it to my signature below and I was disappointed to discover that the video was not only badly edited but the sound was speeded up to such a great degree that it made the rest of the video unwatchable and unbearable. I wondered why someone would do this since it seemed like such a waste to have all those great episodes at your disposal and then completely butcher them while trying to share them with the rest of the world. In searching through other videos, I noticed that other people were also tampering with their videos in different ways. Whether this was to avoid getting caught for copyright infringement or whether they thought this was legitimate, I don't know, but it just does not seem right. If you want to download one of these episodes and save them to your private collection, you may not realize until it's too late that you have ended up getting taken. Here are some examples of videos that were clearly done by amateurs and deserve to be seen on the cutting room floor:

Note: I'm just using one or two episodes for each example. There are many series on YouTube that have been done this way.

1. The Extended Director's Cut

A typical Andy Griffith episode on DVD might be around 25 minutes. On TV Land or ME-TV (so I've heard) it may run 21 minutes. On YouTube, some wise guys have decided to run it up to 35 minutes or more. This is done by posting the episode at its normal length and then once it ends show the same episode again and end the video after around 10 minutes. Unsuspecting viewers may look at the added time and think they're getting bonus footage. Sorry, think again!

Andy Griffith Show - Manhunt 51:40


2. The Chipmunk Effect

This is when you have a normal full video that's about 25 minutes long and it gets reduced to 20 minutes---but with every scene still intact. This results in everything getting speeded up, especially the character's voices, which sound like Alvin & The Chipmunks. This is most noticeable if you're watching a show like Bonanza and suddenly Lorne Greene is talking like Ariana Grande. Trust me folks, that's not good!

Donna Reed Show - Weekend Hike

3. You've Been Framed

I've used 2 videos for this example to show how common these problems are and how it's not just one user that's doing this. Here, you see a number of mistakes in the same video. The time is extended, the voices are slower and deeper, the screen shrinks to an unmanagable size, and the whole screen is surrounded by a background image showing a photo from the series. The entire result is one big mess.

Green Acres - Pilot

WKRP - Pilot

These are the most common mistakes and annoyances that I've seen on YouTube and they seem to be more common recently the more I've looked. If you can think of other things that you don't like you can mention them below. I would like to end this on a positive note and show you a video that is done right. It was taped off a Me-TV feed which explains the 21 minute time, but everything else, from the look to the sound, is brilliant!

The Danny Thomas Show with guest Joey Bishop