Create Good Videos on YouTube

If you want to become a YouTube favorite, you have to create quality videos— it's as simple and as complicated as that. Creating good videos is key to obtaining more subscribers and viewers on YouTube. This article will guide you through the process of creating great YouTube videos.

Steps

Getting the equipment

  1. Invest in a good HD camera. This is very important. There are good HD cameras available for around $250. However, some smartphones have really good quality cameras on them. The LG G4, for example, has an excellent quality camera.
  2. Get good, high quality audio. This is more important than video. The typical viewer can stand a lousy video camera but if they can't hear you, they'll probably click off your video. You can buy an OK microphone for around 15-30 bucks. However, if you're looking for excellent audio on a budget, consider investing in a microphone in the $100-$200 range, i.e. the Rode VideoMic.
  3. Choose lighting. This will improve your video quality by making your video less noisy. Make sure your room (or wherever you're filming) is full of lights. For a tutorial on how to get good lighting, search on YouTube or Google.

Choosing video concepts

  1. Design the whole concept before filming. Don't simply film something without having an idea of what you want it to be about and explain to the audience; unless you're very talented, making it up as you go will not sound very convincing as you film.
  2. Make videos that people want to watch. Try to make your content original and funny, as it will help you retain your audience. Talk about something that interests you. This could be a news story, your opinion on something, or even about your hobby. You could also make some comedy skits with your friends.
  3. Keep the videos short. Make your videos short. One to three minutes is good (especially when starting out). Remember that most people on YouTube get bored fast. If they don't like what they see in the first 5-10 seconds they'll leave the video, so draw them in fast.
  4. End with a call to action. This is a must! Ask your audience to like your videos or subscribe to your channel to get more updates. Annotations are handy tools for this.

Making the videos

  1. Set up your camera. Make sure you set it up in a location with good lighting. Lighting can be improved easily by YouTube's lighting correction feature.
  2. Make the video in HD. Using the correct settings in Movie Maker, you can make your video into a HD video. Just google it to find the correct settings.
  3. Use jump cuts sparingly, if at all. Jump cuts help, but can draw the viewer away from the video if used too often. Most of the top YouTubers use them. However, if you are going for more of a professional look, try to avoid jump cuts.
  4. Make sure that the sound quality is good enough to hear. Think of it this way. If you find that the microphone on your camera doesn't pick up the sound sufficiently, buy an external microphone.

Editing the videos

  1. Download a editing program. This is what you are going to use to put all of your footage together and make it look and sound better.
    • A good free editing program to use is one that comes built into all Windows machines - Windows Movie Maker. It allows you to easily edit your own video. And if you're on Mac, you can just use iMovie!
    • If your looking for a more high end solution, you can use Sony Vegas if you use Windows, and for Mac you can get Final Cut Pro X. Please note that you will need to pay for both of these programs.
  2. Edit. Load all your clips into your computer and into your editing program. Make sure your editing is nice and smooth before posting on YouTube.
    • The utilization of titles and cool effects really makes a difference. Don't use too many, though, or viewers will click off your video.
    • As stated previously, using excess jump cuts can draw viewers away from your video.
  3. Upload your video to YouTube, making sure you give a good video title, description, and tags. This is what users are going to use to find your videos and even get you some views, depending on how good the title description, and the tags are.
  4. Keep uploading. Don't stop uploading new content. That is how you grow your subscribers.
    • Ensure quality over quantity. It is better to have 10 great videos than 10,000 lousy videos.

Tips

  • Publicize your videos by using social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.
  • Be consistent with your video uploads and let your subscribers know when you'll upload. YouTube viewers enjoy regular uploads and like to know when to expect videos!
  • Always have fun making your videos. Your enthusiasm will spill over into your video and help the audience to enjoy watching them.
  • How-to videos are essential so take this advantage to integrate how-to with the topics/keywords you're optimizing for. That way you're not only helping viewers but you're also helping your videos to get ranked higher in SEO.
  • Make sure you have a "pattern interrupt" introduction to get and maintain the viewers' attention right from the start. Don't forget to mention your brand while you introduce the subject you're going to talk about in the video.
  • Keep the videos short and sweet.

Warnings

  • Don't turn back on your community of followers. Don't back stab them and remember to keep making videos and to be loyal to your fans.
  • Don't upload too many videos at a time. This will annoy your subscribers and they may unsubscribe.

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