Stores are closed, traveling is restricted, and we are all doing our best to socially distance during this pandemic, but that doesn’t mean you have to take your foot off the gas to grow your business or personal brand.

Right now is the PERFECT time to start building that YouTube channel you have always told yourself you will start tomorrow, or next week, or sometime this year. Start it now. This pandemic has a silver lining. It is giving us lots of time at home to perfect a new skill and start a new project.

In this article, you will find an overview of what basic tools you need to get started, tips for filming, and how to edit your videos.

Assumptions in this article: You are a beginner and you will primarily be filming yourself or someone else talking.

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Setting Expectations

Your first few videos won’t be your best, but that isn’t a reason to not start. You have to train yourself to be comfortable in front of the camera. That means spending time figuring out how to tell your story and practicing. The only way to practice is to start filming and uploading.

Unless you plan to purchase some of the best filming equipment, hire an expert to come on-site to help set up the perfect lighting and sound, and hire someone to professionally edit for you, your videos won’t look like some of the top youtube channels or TV commercials, but that is OK.

The beautiful thing about YouTube is that your content matters most, not your video production skills.

There are plenty of popular Youtube channels that are filmed with an iPhone by a person walking around a city talking to the camera about a topic they are passionate about. Be happy with what you can produce today, and set goals to improve with each upload.

Basic Tools

Video Camera

You can’t film a video without a camera, but I bet you have one right in your pocket. I’m not going to get into which exact iPhone/Android/Pixel model you should buy because there are plenty of guides already online, but the key here is that your iPhone can work great for starting out on YouTube.

Alternatively, you can also purchase a compact camera that is capable of 4k video (high-resolution) with very accurate auto-focus (keeps you in focus even if you or the camera moves). Here is my suggestion for the best money can buy for an entry-level camera.

Sony A6400 with 16–50mm Lens ($998): Click Here

Sony A6400 w/ 16–50mm Lens

As you can see, a good entry-level camera still carries a hefty price tag. If you have a tight budget, focus on buying a nicer phone that serves multiple purposes beyond being just your camera.

Audio

Audio is more important than you think. If the audience can’t hear you, or a fan is humming too loud, or there is a lot of background noise, they will be distracted. That means less attention placed on what you are saying.

Even if you use a cheap camera and don’t have the greatest lighting, one of the biggest giveaways to amateur content is the sound quality. Bad audio cheapens a video more than a low quality camera.

Here is a decent $30 option: Click Here.

Solution? Purchase a cheap lavalier mic that can plug directly into your phone or camera. Lavalier mics are clipped to your chest and pickup sound that’s close to them at more ideal volumes.

Tips for Filming

You have your tools ready to go and are ready to start filming. Follow these simple tips to improve your video quality

Clean your lens! This is especially true if you are using a phone. The oil from your hands, a speck of dust, or some of your lunch crumbs can all obstruct the lens or make video appear blurry.
Not all motion is good motion. Whipping your camera around to point it at 10 different things in 10 seconds will make your video unwatchable and your viewers sick. In general, video is all about being as smooth as possible. Consider a tripod for no movement at all. Another option is a motorized gimbal to stabilize your video. Gimbals can be a little tricky to set up so if you feel like you already have enough to learn, purchase one down the road. DJI Osmo Mobile 3 Gimbal: Click Here
Horizontal or Vertical? If you are filming for YouTube always film horizontal. The only time I would suggest filming vertical is if you are making videos only stories on platforms like Instagram. If you are planning to post your videos across multiple platforms, film horizontal and crop the footage later to vertical if you need to. Filming in a high resolution like 4k gives you the flexibility to crop more, see camera settings below.
What you see is what you get. If you set up a shot and it looks way too bright or way too dark, there isn’t much software can do to fix it later. Many first time filmmakers think video can be corrected as easily as a photo can. Video is much more limited with the amount of correction that can be applied before the quality of the footage degrades. If the image is too dark or bright, tap your screen on the subject to help the camera/phone know where to focus and what to prioritize for exposing correctly.
Struggling to get your subject well lit? Avoid filming with a bright light source behind your subject like a bright window or the sun. A bright light from behind will silhouette your subject making them appear very dark in the video. Instead, use bright light sources like a window to your advantage. Sit yourself or your subject facing a window and use the natural light to illuminate your face.
Video looking very orange or blue? Most automatic modes on cameras and phones automatically correct for something called white balance. Not all white light is created equally. A light that looks white to you actually has a slight tint to it called a color temperature. A camera adjusts it’s white balance to account for this so your video appears natural. If your camera is struggling, it’s likely because you have two very different light sources (one a warm orange-white and one a cool blue-white) that are competing with each other. Try turning off and on sets of lights to figure out which one is causing the issue. Getting frustrated? Turn all the lights off and film close to a window with daylight only.
Video loves light and needs a lot of it. Your camera produces it’s best quality footage when there is ample light. If your video appears very grainy with unsaturated colors, it’s likely because you didn’t have enough light in the scene for your camera. Try moving closer to a bright light source, or see below for purchasing lighting equipment.
Avoid pinch-zooming with phones. When you pinch and zoom, you risk the camera digitally zooming which means the camera will just crop your video to make it look like you are closer. Some phones come with multiple lenses that give you a few standard zoom options. Those zooms are achieved optically with a physical lens and are ok to use. Switching between physical lenses is usually done tapping the 1.5x or 2x on your screen, but pinching can accidentally cause you to go too far into digital zoom. Need to get a closer shot? When in doubt, just move your camera closer to the subject.

Camera Settings

Film in 4k if your camera or phone has it. 4k is a higher resolution which means more detail in your video and it also provides a greater ability to crop or zoom in on the video if you need to. Curious how to turn on 4k on your iPhone? Check out this quick guide: Here. Don’t have 4k? Shoot in 1080P.
What does 24fps or 60fps or 120fps mean? fps means frames per second and it’s how many shots the camera is taking every second to turn into a video. This is a large topic we can dive very deep into, but to greatly simplify things, a high fps is used for slow motion and a lower fps is used for a more cinematic natural motion look. If you are filming action like skateboarding tricks, shoot at 60 or 120 fps, if you are shooting yourself talking or making professional business videos, always shoot at 24fps. Filming people at higher fps can make their movement appear a little unnatural and it’s why 24fps is that broad standard for movies and general filming. Check out this quick guide for setting fps: Here (same guide as above).

Editing

The editing stage is where you can perfect the story you are trying to tell and clean up the footage, but it can also be more time consuming than many expect. It’s common to spend more time editing than filming.

I will outline 4 different editing options depending on how much time you are willing to commit to the process.

1. Film Everything in One Take and Post It

This is the simplest option. Practice and film yourself a few times and pick the clip that was your best. On an iPhone you can tap the video and click edit to open up a few options. The slider on the bottom allows you trim the beginning and ending from the video. Use the trim feature to remove the few seconds before you started and the ending while you moved yourself to turn the camera off.

Advantages: Fastest option to get content up on the internet with minimal editing

Disadvantages: Inability to remove sections in the middle of your video if you made a mistake, can’t edit umms and uhs out with jump-cuts, no ability for advanced editing to add music, transitions, graphics.

2. Use a Mobile Editing App

There are some powerful apps available for iphones and ipads that give you many more tools. They are surprisingly intuitive too. A free one that comes with your iphone is iMovie. It has many simple hand gestures to drag and trim clips if you want to mix multiple video clips together. These apps also allow you to add text, graphics, and music.

Mobile apps I recommend: iMovie, Adobe Premiere Rush

Advantages: More features to increase the production value of your video. From a software perspective, these apps are easier to learn when compared to desktop programs.

Disadvantages: Learning curve with each app. While you can add text and graphics, you are limited with customization and what you can do with them. If you are a more advanced user, these apps can feel slower compared to their desktop counterparts, but I love using them when I am traveling without my laptop.

3. Desktop Editing Software

Desktop editing programs give you even more control than mobile ones and they are faster to use once you get a hang of them. The downside is that all those extra tools can be intimidating and make the software difficult to learn at first. Start with the mobile apps and progress to the desktop ones. Many of the mobile editing apps are based on their big brother desktop version so it’s an easy transition to make when you are ready.

Desktop editing software I recommend: Adobe Premiere Pro, iMovie (less advanced and Mac only), Final Cut (Mac only), and Davinci Resolve (free version available to try out).

Advantages: Even more features and the ability to create very complex projects and edits.

Disadvantages: Steepest learning curve. Many menus, shortcuts, and processes to learn.

4. Hire an Editor

Filmed exactly what you want, but don’t have the time or patience to learn an editing program? Hiring an editor is a great way to outsource the workload so you can focus on making more content.

Editor recommendations: Us! Check us out at www.visualcaptive.com

Advantages: Takes the workload off you completely.

Disadvantages: Cost and requires some time investment upfront to establish an editing style with your editor, but once a style is established it’s smooth sailing.

Optional Tool: Lighting

If you are filming indoors and struggling to get enough light, you can purchase bright LED lights. Fair warning, artificial lighting brings its own challenges. It can look very harsh when incorrectly setup.

For a simple setup, position the light above the camera pointing directly at your subject. Sometimes you only need the light at 10% power so don’t assume it needs to be blasting at 100%. Adjust the power setting while letting your camera also adjust exposure to find a setting that appears the most natural.

Neewer 2x Video Light Kit with Stands: Click Here

A rule of thumb, the bigger the light source in relation to your subject, the softer the light will appear. Soft means nice faded shadows instead of harsh dark shadows. If you are seeing really harsh shadows, try moving your light closer to your subject while also turning down the power.

Summary

Take advantage of the extra time you have indoors to start that YouTube channel you have always wanted to make. You likely have some of the tools needed already at your disposal and it’s a great time to learn some of the editing programs available to you.

If something we discussed above was not clear, please leave a comment and we will address any questions we can.

Check out our website: www.visualcaptive.com

Find us on Instagram: @visual_captive

Author Biography: Phil Skulte is the owner of Visual Captive, a Minneapolis-based video production company. He specializes in commercial video work and enjoys sharing his knowledge with aspiring creators and business owners.

Tools & Tips to Start a YouTube Channel at Home During COVID-19