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I saw someone accuse Mr Beast of using non-linear progress bars (my words) during their ad spots. So I thought I would knock together some terrible python code to be able to track ad progress bars.

The above example is taken from the Mr Beast video "Ages 1 - 100 Decide Who Wins $250,000" starting at the 18:03 mark. The green box is the region my code is analysing. The red line is where the code thinks the progress bar is up to, and the red number is the pixel count from the edge of screen.

The bar is blatantly moving much faster at the beginning than the end. If you're curious, below is a rough plot. I think there could be a fun video about analysing data to quantify a theory, as well as looking at derivatives (yes, the bar is actually accelerating at the beginning!).

I'm going to check a bunch of other Mr Beast videos and see if there is enough interesting data to maketh a video. But I don't want to just be dunking on Mr Beast.

Can anyone recommend me videos from other content creators who use a progress bar? Would be great to get more who mess with the speed, and maybe even some who do move the bar at a fixed velocity. Comment below with a video link and time code!

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OverSoft

“I like to make stuff” also uses progress bars during ads, but I think he uses nice linear progress bars.

Dom M

If this is a widespread phenomenon, I'd be curious to know how much is deceptive behaviour vs how much is an animation designed to last half a second being stretched out over multiple minutes.

Rick Rubenstein

Steve Mould tried to make a non-linear progress bar but he couldn't get it to work in 2D with colored water and acrylic, so he didn't see the point.

Rick Rubenstein

That's just nonlinearity caused by curved spacetime near a supermassive black hole. ;-)

TheDekalibrierer

Pretty sure this one on a RIP Felix video is also linear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PavJe4EThe8 I am starting to wonder, however, how many of those that appear linear (and have no reason not to be) might secretly be nonlinear. Matt, you have now casted doubt and I hope I will sometime regain the ability to trust linear-looking progress bars. You better fix this by making that video and confirming that all linear-looking progress bars that appear on YouTube videos are indeed linear. I want to be able to believe my eyes again.

Cubey

TLDR News uses a progress bar at the start of their videos for their self-promo spot. It "looks" linear and is only about 10 or so seconds ... But might be a good control.

Tim Goddard

The most extreme dodgy progress bar (not in a video) I know is the games built in to the Temu app. They slow down so that you asymptotically approach a "free" reward, and it's all incredibly deceptive.

Péter Mernyei

Could get creative and apply the same analysis to something outside video, like download progress bars where the software might be making some bad initial assumptions / estimates?

Paolo Ricciuti

SuperCarlinBrothers used the same trick in the past, then one video I think it stretched too far, people noticed and they stopped doing it since then. In that video half of the progress bar filled literally the first second.

Landon Kryger

Evan and Katelyn use a progress bar during their ads. I've never suspected them of being non-linear. The progress bar doesn't show up however until partway through the ad, which I guess is kind of non-linear. https://youtu.be/83aqTTzSIgU?t=1300

Dan

Corridor crew have countdown timers in the top right, at least on some of their vfx artists react videos.

Squiggs

Johnny Harris uses an ad progress bar. On the latest video (Inside the Most Prepared Country on Earth) the ad starts around 17:00. It appears to progress linearly.

Nick Ramstead

It's been a while but I have seen ones that run across the bottom of the screen, then turn up the right side, continue backwards across the top, then complete by running down the left side to meet itself at the starting point. I don't have any examples though.

Peter -jag- Annema

Veritasium does a progress sector (circle) for their ads.

Rory Collier

SuperCalinBrothers used to have an atrociously non-linear progress bar. Not to take all the credit but I kicked up a fuss in the comments and now they've stopped doing it. I had no idea that other creators were doing it too but it doesn't surprise me.

Phil Brady

It's off-topic, but I'd like to see someone analyze the Windows progress bar, because that thing doesn't even know how to spell linear. My peer group speaks about "Microsoft minutes". Five Microsoft minutes is anywhere from 20 real minutes to 2 seconds. ☹

NeunEinser

German Creator Simplicissimus uses progress bars, e.g. https://youtu.be/6WpW7yWSwCw?t=141 has two ad sections, one at 2:21, one at 15:37 If you prefer English channels, they do have an English channel too with different uploads, also with progress bars: https://youtu.be/RzEJqbsFK8U?t=217 at 3:37 They look linear to me, however they do show up a bit late, technically the introduction/transition to the ad starts before, and then they show the progress bar only when the brand is mentioned the first time.

Kevin Marsteller

It's gamification to retain viewership, similar to how sign-up forms now work. 1. One field, my email address? Sounds easy! 2. Oh, they need to verify my email..yeah that makes sense.. 3. Now they want some more fields like Name..okay ... N+1. Finally being asked to supply a password... In the case of user-signups, because any one screen is less intimidating than the sum of all screens, you're more likely to begin sign-up/continue signing up (as opposed to "I don't have time for this!"). The non-linear progress bar is the same concept - you see it moving quickly, so it seems the video will be relatively short ("sure I got 5 minutes!"), and you're more likely to continue watching. By the time you realize this isn't a 5 minute video but a 30-minute video...it's too late and sunk cost pushes you to just finish the video as otherwise the first 20 minutes were truly a waste of time!

Fuat Baran

MacOS upgrade progress bars. That final minute can take ages...

Origami Alice Zhang

Someone fact-check me on this, but I could swear someone I work with (Maybe even you Matt? :P More likely Veritasium? Maybe Steve? idk...) did it at some point... Not as obvious as Mr Beast, but half was not half and I was just shaking my head in disapproval.

Norman Rasmussen

I was going to suggest Dr. Becky's videos too as a "I think they look pretty linear".

John Leith

On one of their scam busting videos, 'Corridor Crew' showed a video with an extreme case of this the bar started of looking like it would be a few seconds and it inded up being more thna half an hour if I rember rightly. I haven't found the video on a quick search but I'll have another look for it.

standupmaths

Let me know if you find it! I met Wren once and he was lovely, so I could probably chase it up.

standupmaths

Definitely not me. If you find out who it was: let me know!

standupmaths

That's great. Reminds me of years ago when I started a live show with a countdown from 10 which went through 0 and then kept counting negative numbers.

Keith Moser

Time Machine backup estimates… when it says 43 mins remaining but it takes 4+ hours!!!

standupmaths

Do you have a link to that video? Would love to compare their egregious video to a recent one if we can find one of each.

standupmaths

Do you have a link to that video? Would love to compare their egregious video to a recent one if we can find one of each.

Harmonia

Donut Media has used linear and non-linear progress bars. I swear I’ve seen non-linear ones, but I got lost in their back catalog when I tried to track one down.

Adrian Cowan

Another one that looks linear, Marcus House this time. https://youtu.be/XmPvTanmdYc?si=dVIvjzsgqZYTLibe&t=640. Spent way too long back when you first posted looking through my recently watched videos and didn't find a single one with a progress bar, finally came across one by chance. Edit: Just noticed that, for me, that youtube has a 'Jump Ahead' button that skips to the end of the ad read. It appears a few seconds in. For reference I have YT premium so might be an experiment. Edit2: When skipping ahead it shows a 'P' in a red box with the text 'Jumping ahead...' Screenshot of button -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AIcRg_dpCzm6EHrHV8T7BJveoog62zfF/view?usp=sharing

C.J. Smith

I've definitely gotten some mobile game ads that do this. So not really a content creator, but might be able to get a screen recording of one.

chylex

It's "VFX Artists Break Down the Latest AI Scams". There are several ads with manipulated progress bars in the "False Celebrity Endorsements" and "30-min Magic Prayer Ad" sections, they explicitly mention progress bars just after 5:59 - https://youtu.be/UMw8gqFd_ME?t=358

Keith Moser

This won’t help your progress bar video (but that might be a problem for past Matt) but I do have a fun Easter egg for you where you appear for a second in the latest Captain Disillusion video! This should have the proper timestamp to see yourself (and other math people)

Origami Alice Zhang

Oooh totally forgot about this... Soooooorry. Nice video today though. I'm assuming. I haven't watched it yet...

Seth Arnold

Nighthawkinlight is trying really hard to so some math education on his latest video but he confuses catenary curves with parabolas (after a few too many pints, who hasn't?) and then gives a second construction method that is very fishy but maybe it's a "second point at infinity" or something neat? Anyway, it feels like an opportunity to introduce yourself to his community and vice versa! https://youtu.be/8zlAI32MSsQ

Craig Fransen

In the area of "unintended benefits" I think, I would put the fact that I, an experienced computer systems developer with decades of experience, took inspiration from your work analyzing video streams with Python. I processed a video stream of images produced by an 8mm film projector in which individual film frames were sometimes replicated in multiple video frames and some video frames contained "interstitial" junk where the projector was advancing the film. The Python program (originally created by ChatGPT) watches a region on the side of the frame between the socket holes and rejects any frames that have anything but black in the rectangle. I'm processing footage from the 1940's of a family who lost their son Elwyn in a POW camp in the Korean War, but has now been identified by the Army and is coming home to Tacoma. The footage will make its way into news reporting of the event