Video Optimization: Getting The Money Shot

Michael Gray

By Michael Gray
In video  


Have you ever wondered “How can I control the thumbnail image on YouTube” here’s a quick and easy example

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{ 20 comments }

Jim Kukral March 19, 2007 at 11:33 am

I missed it, or did I not understand. Did you say exactly how to get YouTube to use the clip/screen I want?

Michael Gray March 19, 2007 at 11:42 am

It’s a timing/editing thing you edit in the shot you want as the thumbnail to appear at exactly (censored) seconds …

Joe March 19, 2007 at 11:55 am

Where’s the tip? lol. We already knew they choose a section, which section? I thought you were going to tell us what part of the video they use.

Michael Gray March 19, 2007 at 12:05 pm

>I thought you were going to tell us what part of the video they use

I did even better, I showed you exactly how to figure it out yourself, teach a man to fish and all that jazz …

Rae March 19, 2007 at 12:48 pm

LOL… I’m gonna take a wild guess…

clues… stopwatch, youtube takes the same timespot of all videos to take the thumbnail from… michael had his picture show xx amount of seconds into the video…

One would be left to assume that michael is saying to time HIS video and when his image appeared and you’ll have the answer.

Tyler Banfield March 19, 2007 at 1:15 pm

Your thumbnail comes from the middle of your video, as described in Renetto’s I cracked the YouTube Code

Michael Gray March 19, 2007 at 1:33 pm

No it doesn’t come from the middle, it’s a fixed point

tacimala March 19, 2007 at 2:18 pm

Looking at the Renetto video there, it does look like it comes from the very middle of the video and not a fixed point. Your thumbnail came at 30-33 seconds while the Renetto video came at about 1:29-1:30. If it was a fixed point, then how would videos under 30 seconds long get a thumbnail?

I always wondered this though so thanks for bringing it to light!

Jim Kukral March 19, 2007 at 2:32 pm

Bah, I cannot do math. I’m sitting here trying to calculate it into my head and I can’t. Just tell me!

markus941 March 19, 2007 at 2:44 pm

Nice tip. BTW, what do you use to edit your videos?

Seo Practices Guide March 19, 2007 at 3:49 pm

Michael thanks for the information, but it would be really nice if you tell us exactly how to get YouTube to use the thumbnail image we want for our videos to show.

Jim Kukral March 19, 2007 at 3:53 pm

Ok, I did my own test, results here:

http://www.jimkukral.com/?p=227

Thanks for this GW!

esoomllub March 19, 2007 at 3:57 pm

A regurgitated tip! Perfect timing given your last vpost. lol

As someone who would not have found this on YouTube… I do appreciate finding it here. I’m starting to enjoy video posts as it puts a face on an opinion. Please, please, don’t sing ala Shawn Collins though.

wo8dff88 March 19, 2007 at 8:07 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyt95gwC1AQ
(hmm not sure about the timing, it is originaly a 25-fps).

Carsten Cumbrowski March 20, 2007 at 12:59 am

wo8dff88: upload it 2 more times with a different name and see if it generates the same thumbnail.

Then do the same with a shorter version and compare the 6 results.

wo8dff88 March 20, 2007 at 5:04 am

@Carsten thx for your comment. I put two new videos. So yes the thumbnail is taken from the middle (doesn’t depend on the content, the name or anything else, depends just on the length):
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=yod2c94e
Just replace that frame (it will be hardly visible) and you get a nice thumbnail.

seorookie March 20, 2007 at 9:44 am

The Renetto video is painful to watch.

Bulbboy March 23, 2007 at 12:50 am

A shorter ‘blink and you miss it’ subliminal type shot would be really cool.

Do you think Youtube could just change the goalposts slightly in the future to disrupt people using this technique?

wo8dff88 March 23, 2007 at 5:09 am

@Bulbboy:
1) yes (changing one frame is enough)
2) yes (if it becomes common practice)

Darkside October 29, 2007 at 5:02 am

Great, thanks man, i am going to try this

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