I am a beginner. Do people need a computer or laptop to shoot YouTube videos? I don't have either Ed
People shoot video with all sorts of equipment, from simple smartphones to professional movie cameras. Prices range from £ 50 to over £ 40,000. As always, it depends on the task. Some people take selfies for Facebook and others take blockbusters for movies.
Selfies are usually taken with a portable smartphone and uploaded directly with little or no editing. It takes a few seconds. Blockbuster movies are usually filmed with a team running a special camera on Dolly. To add CGI (Computer Generated Image), extensive editing is done that may require a room full of computers. It may take months if not a few years.
Many amateur YouTube videos are posted by video bloggers (video bloggers) and consist mainly of & # 39; speaking heads & # 39 ;. People can blog about 10 years ago with minimal equipment. Since then, quality standards have risen significantly with potential returns. Today, YouTube channels can earn millions of dollars per year. Those competing at that level are willing to spend the money they need to get professional results.
Quality issues
We say “content is king” and quality content can transcend technical flaws. With unique images of terrorist attacks, floods, major fires and other disasters, terrible technical quality means authentic. But the quality is important for a handful of posters with original content out of millions of YouTube posters.
It doesn't have to be Stanley Kubrick. You only need stable level It provides the camera, good lighting, clear images, and clear sound in order.
Vloggers are expanding the market for add-ons and accessories due to their attempts to make better quality movies. This includes tripods, gimbals and special grips for smartphones. Soft boxes and LED lighting arrays; Boom microphone, lapel microphone and separate digital recorder.
Cheap webcams have been largely replaced by standalone digital cameras, especially mirrorless and DSLR products that provide high quality video.
Bloggers also had to buy computers with enough skills to develop editing skills and perform post-production. Many video bloggers have edited without posting actual performances, except for "topping and tailing." In other words, they will add a subject title and some credits (or call-to-action) at the end (subscribe to my channel, go to my blog, follow me on Twitter and register for an email list). Today, we start with scripts and storyboards and start again to make mistakes or replace the parts that made the blockers.
A vlogger with enough charisma to break original words and rules still stands out against the new standard, so you can get away by shaking your smartphone. Similarly, the Blair Witch Project worked in part because technical quality differed significantly from standard Hollywood production values. But no one tried to disappear by wind, gosford park or gravity using the Blair witch technique.
Smartphone for video
Most smartphones can now shoot video. In fact, 1080p is good enough for YouTube, but you can shoot good quality 4K videos. Smartphones are easy to carry and almost always handy, which makes them very useful for travel and "reporter named" applications. This is why media companies like the BBC are interested. But whenever possible, you should use it with a tripod or gimbal to stabilize the movement.
Buying two-handed Zeadio smartphone video equipment, grip stabilizer cell phone tripod holder – £ 10.99 (or £ 10.99) or something like that, attach a microphone, lights, etc. and get much better results. Unfortunately, we have lost the popular idea of pocket smartphone video, and you can also use the appropriate camera.
Smartphones also have some drawbacks to "talking head" blogging. The main features are the low quality self-portrait lens on the front, allowing you to see yourself on the screen and limited sound quality. The microphone built into the smartphone is designed to get good results when you are near your mouth, not 3 meters away. The best solution is a lapel microphone with a long lead that usually connects to the phone's microphone socket or USB-C port. The lapel microphone keeps the audio level constant as the subject moves.
You also need some kind of grip to hold your phone or tripod mount adapter for use on a tripod. As mentioned above, window lighting is very variable, so you may need soft box lighting or an LED array. Compensating for these problems makes the smartphone less convenient.
You can use an app like Filmic Pro to manually control your smartphone's video settings, but Android users need to make sure their phones are supported.
The screen is small and, in some cases, lacks processor power, which makes it very difficult to edit video on your smartphone. Fortunately, as the performance and memory of high-end phones increase, the quality of the smartphone video editing app is improving. It is not ideal, but it is possible if it is devoted enough.
Video notebook
If you've used Skype, you know that most built-in webcams don't produce high-definition video. They are also in the wrong place. To blog, you need to have the camera's eyebrow height or slightly higher. No one wants to see the nose, and when tilted slightly down, it is more flattering.
When I answered a similar question three years ago, I suggested Logitech's C920 HD Pro webcam was a good solution. There is a new C920 for £ 84.99 for £ 54.99 but still it is. With both devices, you can very easily create high quality Full HD (1080p) "talking head" videos for YouTube, especially if you place your webcam on a tripod and add lighting.
The biggest advantage of the laptop is that with a powerful processor and more than 8GB of memory, it is a much better platform for video editing.
An obvious disadvantage is that it is limited to "talking head" video and video conferencing. You won't carry your laptop and webcam for selfies, interviews, or action videos on the street.
digital camera
Most YouTube bloggers use digital cameras to capture video. The most useful camera features are articulated screens and microphone ports. You can see that the screen has changed and entered the frame. The microphone port allows you to use an external microphone. This is important because the camera microphone can be much worse than the smartphone microphone.
Unfortunately, there are very few inexpensive compact cameras. However, many mirrorless cameras and DSLRs have a microphone port.
The vloggerpro website has a list of the six best options offered by the Canon EOS M50 (5959.98 lbs), which is aimed at bloggers as a kit. I agree with the “Panasonic G85 is probably the best choice for most bloggers” but in the UK it is sold as DMC-G80MEB-K (£ 599). Of course the Panasonic GH5 (aka DC-GH5MEB-K) is what you really want, but it's over £ 1,481.56. The Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i is a good DSLR for finding a second hand.
Canon's G7 X compact camera was popular with bloggers until Canon added a microphone jack to the latest Mark III version and built a blogger kit.
Otherwise, the user must record the sound separately and add it at the editing stage. This is an additional task, which means you need to temporarily remember the clapperboard for synchronization purposes. You can pretend to be Cecil B DeMille, but it doesn't increase spontaneity.
It's the most expensive way to make a YouTube video, because you'll need both a camera (common tripod, microphone, and lighting) and a computer for editing. But both cameras and computers are more common, they serve different purposes and produce the best results for money.
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