Notes on how to make great YouTube videos ## Gear Use a great camera in which you can at least edit ISO, colors, focus and have a great image quality. ## Lights Use lights in a way that it can light up your face from a different angle. We can stick paper on the light to create a kind of diffuser. Avoid being against the light or counterbalance with more light on your face. This is the most critical part and some minor improvements in light can really have a huge impact on the video result as we can see in this video : [How to make a $300 camera look pro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wqUWYx3UrY) ## Audio Use a great microphone to have a good audio quality. Audio is about 50% of the video experience. So bad video with a great audio is still better than good video but bad audio. Clipping mics for $20 exists and are a great way to start. You can also, for a better micing, buy an audio interface and a static microphone or even just a Zoom field recording. ## Camera position When you're shooting your video, start setting up the frame with a 3x3 squares and go into the middle, your head in the two  ## Background Tidy your room and try to have a clean and lighten background ## Focus Be sure that the focus is on your face before starting to shoot your video ## Scripting Based on : [How to make a good YouTube Video \(simple video script structure\)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCpvVDc0Glw) ### 1. Hook Start the video with a hook that just explain the subject that you'll be treating in this video and also the benefit. > What's up guys, Anthony here! Today we'll talk about how to make a great video. A great video will allow you to create more valuable content to your audience, improving retention and watch time. ### 2. Introduction Introduce yourself and/or the channel and go into more details about the summary > I'm Anthony from Limitless Exploration, don't forget to click on subscribe channel and check my website in the description below. In this video we'll cover the gear, lights, audio, framing and scripting. Let's jump into it! ### 3. Content Deliver the content you were talking about in the intro by keeping everything straight and have well proportioned time frames for each of the parts you're covering. This part is the more variable advice, because it really depends on the kind of content you're creating. ### 4. Bonus The bonus is the over delivering part. Deliver something hyper valuable for your audience like a guide, a link or another video that can solve a specific problem. > Great videos are made also via editing, go check out our new video/eBook/content in the description about How to improve your editing skills in 10 minutes. ### 5. Summary Summarize every point so the user can make a point on each of the advice > Here we are! Let's recap everything : to create great video, you need to > > 1. take seriously your gear setup > 2. take care of your audio setup > 3. create a great script for your video > 4. ... ### 6. Call to action End the video by calling your viewers to make a specific action whether it's subscribing, download a document, go to a website or watch the next video. > Hope you like this video, don't forget to click the Subscribe button and to go check out my other videos on the channel and I see you soon for the next video! ## Editing the video Based on : [Video Editing Tricks for YouTubers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKStCpi3-Oo) Linked plot : [Premiere Pro](Premiere%20Pro.md) ### 1. Cropping Use a large frame to allow you cropping video and create the illusion of having multiple cameras and creating more dynamic content. ### 2. Adding content with layers Add text to illustrate words and thoughts or image. You can even use photo, but make sure to edit it with the Ken Burns Effect, which is having an image and moving slowly in to create the illusion of a video by panning or zooming in. ### 3. Record clips instead of big long footage By recording shorts clip, you are more agile in the process of making your video. You can just preview clips separately and stick them together to create a more consistent video. It allows you to also rearrange the content easily to make the development more natural ### 4. Use template every time To edit faster, create template with your favorite window arrangement, tracks and videos settings, folders with your favorites songs, effects and images to gain in workflow productivity and improve consistency across your videos Links : * [Premiere Pro Templates](https://motionarray.com/browse/premiere-pro-templates) * [35 free YouTube Video Templates for Premier pro](https://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/40-free-youtube-templates-motion-graphics-for-premiere-pro--cms-34865) * [15 top templates for Final Cut](https://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/15-top-video-templates-for-final-cut-pro--cms-33012) ### 5. Edit colors Don't need to do fancy things, just improve the colors by adding a bit of contrast and a bit of saturation can improve the image. Automatic color correction plugins for video are also very valuable. Links : * [10 free coloraturas presets for Premiere](https://motionarray.com/premiere-pro-presets/10-free-color-presets-39944) ### 5. Plan your content Refer to the script your video chapter above. Scripting and planing your content will allow you to edit faster and know what to keep and what to trash. It also helps you to know when you need to cut the cam to create meaningful clips. ### 6. Take help of the sound waveform to make the right cuts Using the audio waveform will help you to discern and decide faster where to cut to shorten sequences and add a better rhythm to your video. ### 7. Have enough footage to choose It's better to have more clips than not enough clips so you can make the right choice and have a more natural and dynamic video. You can achieve that by shooting each sequence 2 or 3 times and trying to have different intonation, position, words etc, to create the best video composition when editing.