Everyone's a Critic

I've talked before about YouTube's video editing abilities, which can come in handy for people who otherwise wouldn't have the tools to make changes to their videos, but for someone like me--with my own editing software, and some experience editing--they're sort of an afterthought. At least, they were until last week, when YouTube gave me a wake-up call. I was uploading a video for this blog when, out of the blue, a colorful bar popped up and alerted me that my video had bad lighting.

Even the machines are critics now. Flashbacks to film school in 3...2...(1).

"Would you like us to fix that?" it asked. Since this was a good learning opportunity, I clicked 'yes,' just to see how good of a job it might do.

I didn't even have to lift a finger. Could this mean I never have to reshoot footage again? Maybe.

YouTube did a pretty decent job, but it's certainly no replacement for shooting with proper lighting the first time. The colors are more vibrant, but it makes it look a little "Instagram-y."

This would certainly do the trick for a quick fix, though. And since smartphones still aren't the best cameras, especially when it comes to capturing color, this could help spice up a lot of amateur and nonprofit guerilla videos.

What do you think? Does YouTube get a "yay" or a "nay" here?