Q&A,  YouTube[r]

Q&A: “what do you use for recording and editing your videos?”

anonymous said:

If you don’t mind my asking, what do you use for recording and editing your videos? I’ve thought about doing youtube before but have little idea of what kinds of equipment to invest in.

i don’t mind at all, anon.

actually, i wouldn’t recommend investing too much, if anything at all, into YouTube starting out. a lot of people have really strong intentions starting out and rush out to buy a nice camera, but end up not continuing with their channel for whatever unforseen reason. also, until you’ve actually given YouTube a try, it’s hard to know what exactly works best for you in terms of equipment, setup, etc.

having said all that, to finally answer your question, i use some relatively high-end equipment that isn’t at all what i started out with, nor what i’d recommend to someone just starting out. i have a Canon 5D Mark III that i bought years ago for photographic purposes with YouTube being an afterthought. lens wise, i usually shoot videos with either a 50mm lens or wide angle zoom set to 35mm. i also use a tripod and more recently (ie. starting this past year) i’ve been using a RØDE VideoMic Pro, but for years i made due with my cameras’ built-in mic. a remote trigger comes in handy for thumbnail photos, but you could easily just use a camera’s built-in timer; i just happen to have a remote, so. *shrugs*

for video editing, i’ve used the free version of Lightworks for years. in terms of free software for Windows, it’s among the best imho. while there is definitely a learning curve to using it, i highly recommend it to anyone looking to do video editing, who is willing to put in the time needed to get the most out of it. that said, i’m really, really hoping to be able to afford to upgrade to Adobe Premiere in 2018. *fingers crossed*

i really want to stress again that i have most of the equipment that i have first and foremost because i’m a wannabe photographer
who ironically does most of their photography these days via their smartphone wtf and that one doesn’t really need the setup that i have in order to have a YouTube channel. most phones these days are capable of shooting very high quality video– to the point that one doesn’t even really need an actual camera anymore. with a good phone, a decent computer (RAM!!! the more the better!) and free video editing software, literally anyone can make a YouTube channel with HD quality video content and this is the route that i’d recommend anyone without equipment take when starting out on YouTube.

hope this helps. best wishes!

YouTuber and Blogger, Vesper is an American expat currently living in Japan.

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