Hey Andy, if you aren’t happy with the question raised below, feel free to delete the thread... Those of us who follow YouTube know that to date no major YouTube channel with influence on video gear purchases has reviewed the Movi. Why is that? It’s certainly clear that manufacturers of other gimbals have “enlisted” influencers, and in the case of at least one popular gimbal vendor, free product and payments seem to be applied very liberally. My gut reaction, perhaps incorrect, is that YouTube “influencers” want to see free product and cash up front, and that Freefly isn’t prepared to co-operate. Any other explanations? I’m raising this because I think it raises a question about where YouTube is going and the integrity of the people behind popular channels. How hard is it for a manufacturer to resist this game? On a personal level, I decided to purchase a Movi after coming across Mark Spencer’s review. Whatever the technical shortcomings of his review, which he pointed out himself in the comments, he is not a shill. I had a quite different reaction to Moment’s “collaboration” on its anamorphic lens with Peter McKinnon and others. As far as I am concerned, the main question is how much Moment had to pay McKinnon to shill its product. We appear to be at the point where companies like Zhiuyn and Moment are trying to turn YouTube into the Shopping Channel, but with less transparency.
I think you’re spot on. Everyone is having ‘ambassadors’ and ‘influencers’ and so on. Canon have messed up their ambassadorial programme that used to have incredible talent on. Now there’s hundreds of them who no one has heard of. It’s all going to come to a peak sooner or later. I’m sick of seeing shills on YouTube being ‘super excited’ and ‘honored’ To have the latest product from whoever. I want to see real experts or professionals using the kit. I’d rather see someone who produces real work or uses the product in a real life environment than someone on an electric skateboard with a face like a rat telling me how ‘super cool’ something is then sitting in his wooden lined YouTube studio with Polaroid photos of himself all over the walls describing how he doesn’t like the colour of the box. I say good on Freefly for not going down this route. I just hope it doesn’t affect their sales.
No problems at all, Rorick. It was an interesting set of questions that you raised regarding "social media" -- and I am including YouTube, and any other "channel" that allows individuals and/or companies to "broadcast" their (or the company's) ideas, effectively acting as a shill or a sock puppet for someone other than themselves. "I saw it on the Internet" is a meme that never really had any credibility unless it could be corroborated with other data -- which can be from the Internet from other reliable sources. The "web of trust" on which the Internet used to operate back in the 1980's has long since been eroded. We'll all have to subscribe to Internet 2, I guess. Forensic Software & sUAV / Drone Analyst : Photographer : Videographer : Pilot (Portland, Oregon, USA): Trees=2, Ground=1, Props=11. The Ground Is The Limit™ ---------- Forensic Drone Analyst : Forensic sUAV Analyst : Forensic Unmanned Aircraft Analyst : Forensic Drone Expert
The only legitimate explanation that I can think of for the fact that major photo/video sites are ignoring the Movi is that Freefly asked them to hold off on reviews until Movi Studio is released. Failing that, there’s a lesson here about what is happening with YouTube, and it isn’t a pretty lesson.
Anyone who cares about the continued development of the Movi or about where YouTube is going as a platform.
I don't want to be Influenced, I want to be Inspired. I've seen plenty of reviews of this device, I bought it mainly based on Freefly's advertising and comparison shopping. Jury is still out if it was worth the money.
The first review of the Movi from a site that has a significant following has now come out. It’s from No Film School, and I’m pretty amazed at how superficial it is. The only upside is that, while there are brief clips on YouTube, they haven’t (yet) turned it into a full YouTube video. I think that the reviewer has no idea what she’s talking about, but that is beside the point. This is not a particularly positive review of the Movi, and is not going to help sales. Personally, I think that for a smartphone or a Sony RX0 the Movi is in a different league from competing gimbals, especially given the development of the Movi Studio app. It’s also pretty clear that it’s possible to develop a mount for the GoPro, which has been elusive for other gimbals due to the GoPro’s wide lens. But No Film School’s review just might be read by more people than this post.
Hey guys, I think some background on Freefly and our philosophy might help explain this. I feel there are a few key points to convey Freefly is a self funded company with no external investors. I kicked in 30K to start Freefly back in 2011 and we were off to the races! We have no intention of selling or otherwise exiting the business. We love building products and intend on building a 100yr business that substantially out innovates the marketplace. With the above 2 points in mind, we try and make very long term decisions. We aim for alignment with our customers. This means delivering true value for them! Our product must deliver some multiple of their cost in value for customers to be overjoyed. Thus far I think we have achieved this in large part and this is part of why people love Freefly to what I call "an unreasonable degree" One of the key values I reinforce with the team is transparency. Paying people to say nice things is the opposite of this. Our marketing strategy is to create customers that love our products, and hope they tell 10 friends We are not jockeying for quarterly revenue, an IPO, etc. We are focused on building products that add as much value to the world as possible. True 'influence' only happens when people genuinely love a product so long story short, you won't see Kim Kardashian posting about Movi with a #Ad anytime soon Thanks to you all for taking a risk on Movi! Tabb
I love the way you guys work, I love the Movi, still have to learn a lot, but who cares, it's a great product!
THIS! There's always been something that comes across in your products and and they way you talk about and use them. It feels genuine. You actually use the products you make and care about how they work. That focus is visible in everything you do. So thank you to you and your team for making great products! On the youtube reviews front, I just came across one that was enjoyable.