Where do YouTube film and media analysis channels get their clips?

February 3, 2022 10:46 AM

Samples inside. How do the big, fancy Youtube media criticism channels get the media they need to build their videos around? Are they ripping entire blu-rays just for a few seconds of clip? That seems so long and arduous.

(And if so, can somebody MeFiMail me about the software they use for that?) What about for TV or other media that's not being released that way -- are they using video capture cards and ripping streams? Are they getting access to EPKs or something? They seem to have a ton of material that wouldn't be in those.

Videos like this one from Every Frame a Painting.

Or this one from The Cinema Cartography.

Or this Dune one from Now You See It.

Or this one about Succession.

Where are they getting the high-quality video samples they use for these essays? Same for the people who do unofficial new trailer edits for movies. I'd like to do more of this kind of editing myself but I genuinely don't know where they're getting the content.

Thanks!

posted by penduluum to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

Are they ripping entire blu-rays just for a few seconds of clip?

I haven't worked on a video essay like this, and I don't have insider knowledge, but to be honest, in all likelihood, yes, they are. Unless they go in having a very clear idea of exactly which few seconds of footage they want, it's likely quicker to do a rip and then play the media off of a hard drive with faster seek times so they can scrub the video to where they need it without waiting for slow optical drive seeks or network buffering for a streaming service. And especially if you're going to watch the entire film in preparation for doing the essay anyway, why not do that work up front? (Not to mention, if they're cinephiles, they likely would like to have a ripped copy that they can play off of something like a Plex server anyway.)

For stuff that only exists as video or stream, there are ways to download that video (like youtube-dl for most video sites) or capture it (using something like OBS), though capturing usually does incur a loss in quality when the video is re-encoded.
posted by Aleyn at 12:03 PM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

not sure if this is still the current practice, but this 2015 article about the daily show came to mind immediately . looks like the company snapstream still exhists. not sure if there are others.

for unauthorized trailers, i think people are downloading & ripping unauthorized content into editing programs

finally, using tools like streamyard and OBS to do the picture in picture bits.

not an expert, but that's what i have gleaned from pals who make stuff like this (ish).
posted by wowenthusiast at 12:07 PM on February 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

I imagine a lot of them are using HDMI recorders. They can send the output of whatever streaming device they have into the recorder, then load those files into their video editing software.
posted by jonathanhughes at 12:30 PM on February 3, 2022

I have to imagine that a significant portion are just using pirate rips. It's a much smaller scale but when I want a screenshot that iOS blocks me from capturing in the HBO or Netflix apps I will often download, snap, and delete the file (since I pay for it through the service and don't need it one random episode littering my Plex).
posted by supercres at 1:27 PM on February 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

Some of these types might get their clips from a PR firm or a studio EPK.
Nearly 2 million views is a decent number.
Lewis Bond is ripping from Blu-ray almost certainly.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:40 PM on February 3, 2022