VOLUME 12
|
ISSUE 02
YOUR HANDY GUIDE TO EVERYDAY
TECHNOLOGY
To
BECOMING
A SUCCESSFUL
YOUTUBER
Introduction
Your channel, your identity
Picking the right gear
Recording and editing videos
YouTube video manager
Gathering resources
Fair usage policy
Beyond the video
Making money on YouTube
Channels for inspiration
A 9.9 Media Publication
FAST
TRACK
to
BECOMING
A SUCCESSFUL
YOUTUBER
powered by
CHAPTERS
BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL YOUTUBER
FEBRUARY 2017
06
Introduction
14
Your channel, your identity
27
Picking the right gear
36
Recording and editing Videos
PAGE
PAGE
PAGE
CREDITS
The people behind this book
PAGE
Making videos for YouTube and earning money is easy. Becoming
successful takes a little extra work.
Standing out from the crowd is harder than you think. Try not to be
another ‘me-too’ and build your own identity.
If you’ve decided on what you’re going to produce, you’ll want to get
gear to make it happen.
You have a direction; you have the gear. Now it’s time to get your
hands dirty and work on your content.
EDITORIAL
Executive Editor
Robert Sovereign-Smith
Managing Editor
Siddharth Parwatay
Writers
Abhishek Balaji
Dhinoj Dings
Purusharth Sharma
Swapnil Rastogi
DESIGN
Assistant Technical Editor
Mithun Mohandas
Sr. Art Director
Anil VK
Feature Writer
Arnab Mukherjee
Visualiser
Baiju NV
Contents
3
48
YouTube dashboard and video manager
57
Gathering resources
66
Fair Usage Policy
73
Beyond the Video
79
Show me the money
89
Channels for inspiration
PAGE
PAGE
PAGE
PAGE
PAGE
Master tools to modify and manage your videos better.
There are some smart digital resources that would enhance the
quality of your videos/channel, some of them even free.
Producing videos might often require using snippets of someone
else’s work but be careful, you might get into trouble.
Building a YouTube channel isn’t as easy as it’s chalked up to be.
There’s a lot more that needs to be done.
YouTubing is a great way to make a living. You can literally make
millions, here’s how!
Got all the gear you needed? Don’t know where to start?
PAGE
VOLUME 12
|
ISSUE 02
YOUR HANDY GUIDE TO EVERYDAY
Free with Digit. If you have paid to buy this Fast Track from any
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Introduction
Your channel, your identity
Picking the right gear
Recording and editing videos
YouTube video manager
Gathering resources
Fair usage policy
Beyond the video
Making money on YouTube
Channels for inspiration
Free With Digit February 2017
Custom publishing
BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL YOUTUBER
February 2017
BECOMING
A SUCCESSFUL
YOUTUBER
02
A 9.9 Media Publication
COVER DESIGN: PETERSON PJ
Published by 9.9 Mediaworx
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form
or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.
TECHNOLOGY
To
FEBRUARY 2017
© 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt. Ltd.
4
Introduction
It’s buffering
O
f course, we are talking about your imminent fame and fortune
here, if you’re an aspiring YouTuber who has got what it takes
to make it big. Nobody really needs to be told anymore how big
a career it is - PewDiePie, the most subscribed YouTuber, has
a net worth of around $80 million and made $15 million last year itself.
And how did he do it? By making videos that showed him playing games
and reacting to them. Yes, PewDiePie’s example is used time and again,
because that’s precisely what YouTube could be for you - a platform to
show your greatness, if you know how. That’s exactly what this book is
going to be about.
Becoming a YouTuber involves a lot of aspects. To begin with, you need
to figure out what you need to do. You might feel that everything under
the sun has been covered - After all, YouTube has been around for twelve
years now. And with that kind of thinking, you could not be further from
the truth. New channels are springing up and tasting success everyday
and all you need is a great idea combined with your determination to
take it forward.
When it comes to the technicalities, there are quite a few things to be
figure out. First of all, YouTube is a video platform - and that means you
need to know how to make good videos. Whether you plan to shoot your
own original content, make reaction videos, stream your gameplay or
maybe even just break things with a hydraulic press (Check http://dgit.
in/HPChannel ), you will need the right gear like a video camera, audio
equipment or a capture card. And along with that, you will need a lot of
digital resources for your videos - after effects, stock footage, free-to-use
background music and more.
Introduction
5
After the idea and the technicalities, all that would remain for you
to do is to figure out YouTube as a platform (easy, right?). Everything,
starting from the way the YouTube backend works, to fair usage policy,
monetisation and even growing your channel beyond YouTube - all of it
needs to be mastered for you to eventually taste the fabled success that
comes with becoming a successful YouTube star. And before you put this
book down, check out the last chapter that contains a list of channels to
inspire you, irrespective of which category you want to make it big in. And
remember, even with all the information packed into this book, it comes
down to the special factor in you - that’s what puts the ‘You’ in YouTube.
6
CHAPTER #01
INTRODUCTION
Making videos for YouTube and earning
money is easy. Becoming successful takes
a little extra work.
T
hree young employees of Paypal came up with idea of creating
a video sharing website in 2005 when Jawed Karim, one of the
founders, couldn’t find some video he wanted on the internet.
The first video was uploaded on April 23, 2005 by Jawed only,
titled “Me at the zoo”, which had him visiting the San Diego Zoo. The video
has more than 35 million views on YouTube right now.
The site grew rapidly with more than 65,000 new videos being uploaded
daily within its first year of official launch. The service caught Google’s eyes
and the Internet giant bought the video sharing site for US $1.65 Billion on
13th November, 2006.
Introduction
7
More than a decade later, YouTube is the second most visited website
on the internet, ahead of Facebook and only behind Google.
There are a number of reasons why YouTube hit the big league. They
had a nice idea and good investment which led to a successful product. But
more importantly, it started a new revolution of sorts. It gave a platform to
everyone, from budding filmmakers who want to showcase their talents and
skills to your mom who just wants to share the funny things your dog does.
It gave rise to YouTube sensations. It helped people share their talents with
a global audience. It made people millionaires by just creating and sharing
their videos. And if you take a look at these stats, you might just get ready
to leave your job and start thinking about names for your channel and what
you’ll buy when you become a millionaire.
Hold on to your horses. We shouldn’t be getting ahead of ourselves. This
month, we’ll be showing you the ins and outs of YouTubing, how to keep
up with the trends, the gear required, and most importantly how to earn
money from your channel.
Though, before we start there are a couple of basic questions that you
should ask and we should answer. Don’t worry, we have listed out both, the
questions and answers here for you.
YouTube makes up for 77 per cent of all the content across video sharing and streaming sites
What is a YouTuber?
‘YouTuber’ was one of the 500 words added to Oxford dictionary last year
and it defines it as:
“A frequent user of the video-sharing website YouTube, especially someone who
produces and appears in videos on the site.”
8
Introduction
So, if you are a daily user of
YouTube and have a channel on
it, you already are a YouTuber.
But there’s a difference between
a YouTuber and a successful
YouTuber. So let’s move on to
the next question.
Youtube has a user base of more than 1.3
billion with an estimated 300 hours of videos
being uploaded every minute.
So how much do these
YouTubers earn?
We live in times when social media can help decide who will become the
President of one of the most powerful country on the planet and everyone is
probably just one viral video way from getting famous. YouTube has given
rise to a new breed of celebrities, the one who got world famous from their
YouTube videos. Let’s take a look at some of the most famous YouTubers
from India and around the world, and check out how much money they
are making through their channels.
• PewDiePie
Probably the most famous YouTuber, and a name that tops every ‘YouTube
millionaire’ list you’ve come across on the internet, PewDiePie is a 27–year
old Swede who started his channel way back in 2010 and posted videos
with funny commentary while he played various games. Probably, the first
and biggest YouTube celeb, Pewdiepie dropped out of college to pursue a
full time career as a YouTuber. In his early days, he used to supplement his
income by working at a hot dog stand. But things changed fast. He became
the most subscribed user on YouTube, only 3 years after starting his channel
on 15th August 2013, and since then has held on to that title. He currently
has more than 52 million subscribers on YouTube and an estimate put his
ad sales revenue in the year 2016 at more than $15.5 million (over `105.7
crores). If that wasn’t enough,he made it to Time magazine’s “The World’s
100 most influential People” list.
• HolaSoyGerman
Started by German Garmendia, the channel is not only the largest spanishspeaking channel, but also one of the most subscribed channels on the whole
of YouTube with more than 30 million subscribers right now. His first run
of success came with a series of videos titled ‘Las Cosas Obvias De La Vida’
Introduction
9
which translates to ‘The obvious things of life’ and has him showing different and often times funny approaches to various everyday problems in
life. He makes around $5.5 million every year.
• Smosh
Smosh is one of the earliest hits of the phenomenon that YouTube has
been. Started by Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, two friends, the channel
currently has more than 22 million followers and an estimated net worth
of $11.8 million. Their videos consist of them and their friends making
parodies of various famous and popular movies, games and TV shows.
They also created the niche which led to a number of future YouTubers
following in their path and posting similar contents but few able to match
or surpass their success.
• TheFineBros
The brother duo jumped onto the YouTube bandwagon early and found
huge success. They started the trend of “reaction videos” with their series
of videos where they recorded people’s reaction while watching random
trailers, videos or movies. With more than 14 million subscribers, their
estimated net worth is $8.5 million.
• Jenna Marbles
With more than 16 million subscribers, she is the most followed
female YouTuber. Her videos
are generally about the life of
“Young millennial women” which
are funny, quirky and different.
She has an estimated net worth of
$2.5 million.
Top Indian YouTubers
People from around the globe are
earning gold from this phenomenon. Even back home there is a new
generation of YouTube celebs who
are earning well. Quite well. And
they address a wide audience too.
Jenna Marbles has more than 16 million
subscribers
10 Introduction
• Geeky Ranjit
A fellow Geek, Ranjit was a hyderabad–based programmer who has a passion
for everything tech. He started his channel with videos reviewing smartphones and other gadgets. He currently has more than 6 lakh subscribers
and has an estimated monthly earning somewhere between 1-to-16 lakhs.
• BB ki Vines
Bhuvan Bam started BB ki Vines in 2015 and quickly rose to fame. In his
videos, he himself portrays multiple characters and family characters, in a
crude yet hilarious way, reenacting various
scenarios and daily conversations. Currently,
he has around 1.8 million subscribers and
his estimated earning is somewhere between
4-to-30 lakhs.
•
Sanjay Thumma
A trained chef from USA, Sanjay Thumma
moved back to India in 2008 and soon started
uploading recipe videos on YouTube for his AIB featured in Forbes 2015 list of
top earning celebrities in India
friends and family. His videos slowly became
popular and he started uploading more of
them. Almost a decade later, his channel on YouTube, ‘Vah-chef’ has more
than 8 lakh subscribers and his average monthly income is expected to be
somewhere between 1-to-20 lakhs.
• Scherezade Shroff
The pretty YouTuber from Mumbai, Scherezade Shroff is the go-to-girl for
fashion advice. A full time fashion and beauty blogger, she knows how to
interact and engage with her audience well and has gained around 1.5 lakh
subscribers in over 2 years. Her estimated monthly earning is reported to be
between 0.5-to-1.5 lakhs.
And the list goes on and on.
How do I become a millionaire creating videos?
WRONG QUESTION.
Don’t go around thinking that you’ll get your million quickly and live the
leisure life. It’s not that easy. Every individual mentioned above are the
top YouTube earners and form a very small percentage of the YouTube
Introduction 11
You can earn money through youtube but making enough money
will requires time and efforts
community. You should start a channel, work on creating good content and
then market your channel well. And slowly but steadily money will start
pouring in through advertisements. Maybe you get a branding contact or
sponsorship and a couple of your videos get viral. And then you can think
about joining that top earners list.
So instead of asking the obviously ambitious but far-fetched questions
like the one above, you should be more focused on your content and equipment. Figuring out the what, when, how, why of your YouTube channel is
key to being successful.
And we have the answers to all these questions in further chapters. But first
you need to know what it takes to become a successful YouTuber, don’t you?
Okay, so tell me what does it take to become a YouTuber?
Let’s get a few things out of the way. No you don’t need a great camera or
professional video editing skills. You are good to go even if you just have a
decent smartphone and learn the rest along the way. And no, you don’t need
to come up with a completely new wacky idea that will make your videos
go viral instantaneously (though if you have something like that already
in your mind, then you are good to go.)
You need to figure out your niche, the type of content you want to put
out, whether they’re funny videos of your dog or a travelogue. You need to
be consistent and put out frequent videos. You need to engage with your
12 Introduction
audience and take their feedback seriously (albeit not too seriously). You
need to be ready to put in time and effort, just like any other thing. Most
importantly, you need to enjoy what you are doing. After all, that is one
thing common in the success story of all famous YouTubers.
Can I turn this into a career?
Well generally speaking, yes, it is possible to turn not only YouTubing but
almost anything into a full-time career. A recent survey puts average freelancer’s annual income at $39,000, which is higher than average annual
income for the more ‘traditional jobs’. A number of people from around
the world are successfully earning good money through their blogs, vlogs
and social media.
Start alongside your day job till you get enough subscribers
But quitting your job right now because you want to make a YouTube
channel isn’t advisable.
You need to have a sizable amount of subscribers before you can start
earning some real money. But still not enough to sustain you as your primary
source of income. Google has a rewarding ad-revenue sharing program, but it
requires a lot of views and most of the successful YouTubers earn the majority
of their money from branding deals. Also, money isn’t all you get from this. You
get to test the latest products, gadgets, dresses and at times even keep them.
So yes, it is possible to turn YouTubing into a full-blown career but it will
not happen overnight.
Introduction 13
Okay so where do I start?
Well, everything you need to know to start your YouTubing career is given
in the subsequent chapters. You probably have an idea in mind about the
type of content you want to do. So check out multiple similar channels,
note down what they are doing, think of new ways to do it. If you don’t have
any idea, then go and explore YouTube. There are more than 500 million
channels on YouTube with possibly every type of content you can imagine
and you will come up with something or the other. Once done reading this
FastTrack you will be armed with all the knowledge you need to become a
successful YouTuber. Though there are some ‘golden rules to becoming a
successful YouTuber’ that you should always keep a few things in mind:
• Know your target audience and what exactly they want
• Be authentic. Chances are there is already somebody doing what you
are doing online. It’s all about doing things differently.
• Don’t try to be or do everything. Decide on what you want to focus on.
• Listen to what your viewers are saying. Interact with them and keep
learning what you are doing right and what you are not.
• At the same time, don’t get disheartened because of less views or
some rude comments. Follow the golden rule of the internet: IGNORE
THE TROLLS.
• Be creative and try new things. Many successful YouTubers started
their own new trends which nobody thought would grow so huge in
such little time.
Have fun while doing it. Well that is important right?
14
CHAPTER #02
YOUR
CHANNEL,
YOUR
IDENTITY
Standing out from the crowd is
harder than you think. Try not to
be another ‘me-too’ and build your
own identity.
Your channel, Your identity 15
T
he cult of the personality is the mainstay of the age in which we
live. From taking selfies to getting bespoke products, the trend is
definitely about expressing who you are and what you stand for.
It’s no secret that video is one of the most popular formats that
people use and share over the internet. This makes YouTube a great way
to express yourself and your ideas to a wide audience. For some reason,
our abiding enthusiasm for the moving pictures hasn’t left us even in the
internet age.
But while creating a YouTube Channel may be technically not as daunting
as you may think, the key is having a unique identity for the channel, something that will make the channel interesting and also stand out in a crowd.
(And you better believe that there is a crowd out there!)
It would be presumptuous to say that you can create an identity for your
channel based solely on a list of tips. But certain pointers would help you
avoid pitfalls and hasten the process of becoming a YouTube celeb.
So, without further ado...
YouTube channel trends
If at all you are confused about a starting point, you can always refer to the
popular trends that are already visible on YouTube. Chances are high that
one (or maybe a few) of these categories would pique your interest, giving
you ideas of your own.
Here, then is a look at some of the most popular YouTube trends.
Animals
Cats and honey badgers are only the beginning of the story as far as cute
animal videos on YouTube are concerned. From dogs that swim in the
pool with kids to ponies dressed
in sweaters, animals are your
best friends if you want to
make money on YouTube. To
give you a perspective, there
are more than 10 million cat
videos on YouTube. And that’s
just cat videos!
Beauty tips
Everyone likes to look good.
As cute as it gets!
16 Your channel, Your identity
Makeup, hair styling, fashion
content make up for over 5 billion hours YouTube content.
And you better believe than
there’s more content to be consumed than most other topics.
Cover songs
Talented musicians can think
of covering songs and putting
them on YouTube. Using already
famous songs has the advantage
of bringing a set audience to you.
The audience looks to look better!
Dance
If you can shake a leg, why not
do that in front of the camera?
More than 24 million YouTube
dance videos exist. But we are
pretty sure that not all moves
have been covered.
There’s always a tune to play
Fail-videos
The second ever video on YouTube was that of a person falling
off a snowboard. Since then,
there has been no dearth of fail
videos on YouTube. Let’s admit
it- we can’t help but laugh at
other people failing at the most
simplest tasks.
Move in style!
How-to videos
Some of the most popular
searches on the “how to” category include “how to kiss”
and “how to get a six pack in 3
minutes.” But that doesn’t mean
Even failure has its place!
Your channel, Your identity 17
those are the only things to learn
for which people would turn to
YouTube. There are more than
135 million how-to videos out
there. So, definitely a trend!
Comedy-skit
Let’s be thoroughly honest here:
most of the video watching on
YouTube happens at work.
And while at work, the principal reason you turn to videos
is to take out the stress. And
what better way to do it than by
watching some comedy? And
that’s the reason why comedyskits or anything comedic
would have a loyal audience as
long as people have to work for
a living.
Spread the gyaan!
Laugh your way into the audience’s heart
Kid videos
Kids are cute/funny at practically whatever they do. So, keep
the camera trained on them
and you are sure to get enough
material to get the kid loving
population out there popping
their eyes in glee.
Little but cute!
Game play
So, you are an expert at killing
the enemy faction in ‘Call of
Duty’ or maybe are awesome as
Batman in ‘Batman:Arkham’better even than the real Batman!
You can show off your gaming
skills and hopefully build an
Play to the audience’s delight!
18 Your channel, Your identity
audience on YouTube. There are
already quite a few celebs in this
arena – the likes of Markiplier
and Vanoss.
Reaction videos
The idea is to capture reactions of people while they are
pranked, presented with a surprise or maybe while watching
a video (even a YouTube video!).
A few years back, no one could
have said that this would become
a thing.
From ‘Eww!’ to ‘Woww!’ and everything in
between
Singers
There can never be enough
music in this world. So, all you
singers out there, bring out your
vocal prowess on camera and let
the world enjoy on YouTube.
Give voice to music
Time lapse videos
For some reason, a large number
of people like to watch things
that happen over a long time
compressed and presented to
them in a short running video.
It takes a bit of patience to pull
this off. Okay, it takes a LOT of
patience to pull this off.
When time is on your side
Your everyday life
No, seriously. This is a bona fide
trend on YouTube. Of course,
you should either have a very
exciting life, or a very interesting
way of looking at life.
Finding interestingness in the mundane
Your channel, Your identity 19
Tips on picking your ideas based on your area of interest
Now that you are familiar with the major trends that are seen among
YouTube channels, you might have seen that a broad area of your interest
intersects with one of the trends. If that’s the case, then how would you
further home in on the precise idea that you want to adopt?
Here are a few pointers that may help.
Funny
If you have a funny bone that’s particularly robust (or ticklish, whichever
way you want to look at it) and you don’t know how to take things from
there, you can perhaps make a
choice from the following:
• Funny kids
• Funny mistakes
• Funny accidents
• Jokes
Technology
If you are a tech geek (which
you probably are since you are
reading Digit!), you can consider
the following categories for your
channel:
• The future of technology
• Gadget reviews
• Applying technology in
daily life
• Major tech news
No joking matter if you can get eyeballs
Speaking about the future..
Gaming
For the gaming expert in you,
there are quite a few things
you can communicate to a like
minded audience:
• Game reviews
• Game hacks
• How-to play video guides
• Cheats
Get.Set.Play!
20 Your channel, Your identity
Tutorials
So, you have a flair to teach. Then, these are some things you can look at:
• Tutorials to develop a particular skill- like, er..., kung-fu?
• Language lessons
• How to do something (Cooking, crafts, etc.)
• Explaining how something works
Celeb culture
If you are a close follower of
celebrity lifestyle and culture,
YouTube can be a great place
to present:
• Short bios
• Celeb gossip
• Focusing on one aspect of
celebs. For instance, celebs
who are also philanthropists,
upcoming movies of celebs,
birthdays of celebs, etc.
• Best / worst works of celebs
For the love of teaching!
Growth tips
If you are someone who believes
that one shouldn’t stop growing
(not necessarily in the physical
sense), you can share your
knowledge with others via YouTube. Here are a few options:
• Relationship tips
• Tips to grow business
• Tips for a greener
environment
Motivational
The worshipper and the worshipped!
Give a hand to growth
Who could actually go through an
entire life without having the need for motivation every now and then? If
you can provide that, there’s a big audience who would be thankful. And
here are some ways in which you can do that:
Your channel, Your identity 21
•
•
•
Sharing success stories
of professionals
Producing motivational
short videos
Motivational speech (But try
to avoid wearing plaids!)
Health and wellness
There is no doubt that good
health is the most important
asset of all. And if you can help
others attain that, it’s one of the
best things that you can do. Over
a YouTube channel, you can do
this by providing different types
of information:
• Tips for better general health
• Tips specifically for body
building
• Diet tips for optimal nutrition and weight
Go, light a fire for someone!
Good number of takers for good health
Business and Marketing
Often, the reason for the failure
of a good product can be lame
marketing and vice versa. It’s
when you marry the principle
of building a good product with
The art of business
savvy marketing then you get a
good solution. If you have the right ideas and the zest, many people could
benefit from your knowledge. Here are some arenas you can consider:
• Tips for better managing an office
• Tips for using different marketing avenues effectively
• Tips for better investment as a business firm
Travel
If you are someone who travels frequently, you can consider filming your
rides and the edited videos could be up there on your channel, along with
22 Your channel, Your identity
info about the routes, best time
sto visit, etc.
Beauty and Fashion
This one never goes out of
fashion(no pun intended). So,
if you are a professional when
it comes to transforming someone’s appearance, you can share
your knowledge and tips with
others, helping make a world
filled with more stylish people.
These are just some of the
broader categories that may
interest you. Do explore your
interests to the fullest and discover the most exciting facet
about it.
Play to the audience’s delight!
Glamour is always in vogue
A few general tips on
building/sustaining a
good YouTube channel
Once you have a good idea on
what sort of content you need
to put up on your channel, it’s
good to know about these general tips that would help in
building and sustaining a good
YouTube channel:
Tips to keep it rolling!
Update the channel regularly
It’s a good idea to create a schedule to upload videos – this way, your viewers
would know when to tune in for your next video.
No matter the topic, try to inculcate some jokes
Okay, forcing yourself to be funny could be counter-productive. But if you
have a genuine feel for the topic and the people you are communicating to,
a few jokes would go a long way in making them feel at ease.
Your channel, Your identity 23
Solving common problems
If you run a ‘How-to’ channel, you should always ensure that you provide
solutions to the common issues first. (If you are in a niche category, try to
solve the most common problems in that category first). The numbers simply
work out as the common problems are the most likely to be searched and
will help people discover your channel.
Freebies
It’s a good idea to give away freebies once in a while even if you have a paying
audience. It could be download links or some extra content (or anything
else that your inventive mind could come up with).
Be careful not to misguide
Be extra-cautious about not putting out misguiding/wrong information.
Once credibility goes down, it will be hard to rebuild.
How to come up with original ideas
It’s pretty obvious that there are just too many YouTube videos in the world,
regardless of the category that you choose. Unless you are able to stand out
in this clutter, there’s all the possibility that your channel will get drowned
in a plethora of others.
The solution obviously is to have an original idea in your channel (For
perspective, if ‘man’ is a common enough idea, ‘Superman’- someone who
can fly and has strength no
mortal can aspire to would be
the original idea).
However, notwithstanding
the heading of this section, there
aren’t any sure-shot tip(s) that
you can follow to achieve it.
But we reckon it can be safely
said that original ideas almost
Think fresh
always come from something
that you have experienced in your own daily life. Maybe it’s an issue that
your friend asked you to help solve that’s to become the basis for your
YouTube channel. Or maybe it’s something malicious that happens in your
neighbourhood which inspires you to start a channel – one that would focus
exclusively on social issues in neighbourhoods.
24 Your channel, Your identity
The bottom-line is to keep your mind open about the things that you
perceive/ experience throughout the day. An incident may not feel like much
at the time but it could be the seed for a strong YouTube idea.
Tips to present similar types of content in different ways
So that we aren’t fooling ourselves, let us acknowledge that not everyone
strikes upon an original idea.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing- provided you still have a topic
that you feel strongly about. It doesn’t matter if the topic is something that
is already discussed/presented. What matters in this context is bringing
a freshness to the presentation. So, here we look at some ways in which
similar types of content could be presented in different ways.
Change the medium
Yes, it’s still videos that we are
talking about. But the point is
that some types of content may
look more interesting in a different medium than the one it
was originally created in.
For instance, let’s say that
you have a pie chart that you
want to explain in the video. By
A little change makes a whole lot of
difference
using some simple tools, you can
add little movements to the chart
and what would have been a boring 2D chart would transform into an
interesting 2D (or 3D) chart! Add some voice over and you are good to go!
Look through the prism of
another
This, in fact is a technique that
has been used by storytellers
for decades. The idea is simple:
you need to present something
as though it’s from a different
genre. For example, think of how
a typical Bollywood action film
involving fun antiheroes and
Get a different perspective
Your channel, Your identity 25
nasty villains would look like if it were made like a Hollywood western?
Why, you will get Sholay, and wasn’t that an exciting flick?
Or think about how a dance movie in which people have to contest would
look like if it were conceived as a space film?– there will be a lot of slow
dancing in vacuum, we guess; and that’s probably not such a good idea.
But the point is to look at your material through the prism of another.
So, if it’s cooking videos that you are making, you can maybe consider
having it in a space-age setting (“Food that will help you live long enough
to see the space age?”). Or if you want to teach your audience Spanish, you
can maybe think of it in terms of a romantic movie in which the hero (who
doesn’t know Spanish) wins the girl of his dreams (who is Spanish), with
the aid of language learning, of course. We know this sounds tacky but such
offbeat methods do work.
As you have seen, you can have an awful lot of fun doing things like these
and making videos of the same for your YouTube Channel.
Make use of the power of editing
Editing is a powerful tool in video-making which is rarely used to its full
potential. But the fact is that by simply altering the sequence, or by introducing unexpected shots,
you can enhance the quality
of a video, way more than you
may have thought possible.
While learning the techniques of editing is necessary,
it would also do you good to
closely watch and learn the
way in which some of the
Never under-estimate the power of editing
most popular videos and
films are edited.
A few examples of the weirdest channels which became
huge successes
One of the more feasible ways to strike upon an original idea is to take your
thinking towards the weirder side of things. While not everything weird
may be appreciated by an audience, if you can balance the material well
enough, you could hit the jackpot.
Here are a few examples that could inspire you:
26 Your channel, Your identity
iJustine
Justine Ezarick’s brand of weirdness has
earned her a dedicated fan following on
YouTube. With over 1,700 videos and
five YouTube channels, she is nothing
short of a YouTube phenomenon. Her
weirdness is in the unexpected stunts
like randomly dancing in Apple stores.
Her usual repertoire includes a whole lot
of activities from video blogging about
her own life to product reviews. Her
popularity had even helped her land a
couple of acting parts!
Weird can work!
Talking Animals
This channel shows us what pets are really thinking. Or so they say.
Annoying Orange
Annoying Orange showcases talking fruits and vegetables. The Orange
– the main character usually roams around the kitchen looking for other
fruits and veggies to pester. And yes, it’s a massive hit. The characters have
already been turned into toys and video game characters.
Improv Everywhere
The idea here is simple – have a bunch of ordinary people go into popular
public spaces and do weird things such as standing still for five minutes
at the Grand Central Station in America. Part performance art, part gag,
all wonderfully weird.
Hydraulic press
Everything from truck toys to books and diamonds get crushed with a
hydraulic press. That’s it. And boy, did it make the creator an overnight
sensation! Told you, weird works!
Hoping for a great channel from your end, here we end this chapter.
CHAPTER #03 Picking the right gear
27
PICKING THE
RIGHT GEAR
If you’ve decided on what you’re going
to produce, you’ll want to get gear to
make it happen
T
o be able to produce any content, you’ll need some basic gear to
start off with. If you’re looking to produce audio only content,
you’ll need some basics such as a microphone and a rig to process
the audio and upload it. To be able to do video, you can choose
between using motion graphics or shooting in real life. While you can get
away with using a decent rig for motion graphics, you’ll need to invest in
a good camera to start shooting good, clear content. We have categorized
28 Picking the right gear
Crisp, natural sounding audio works wonders
the gear you’ll need based on your level of expertise and the investment
you can put in.
Microphones
Microphones are an important piece of gear for YouTubers as there is a huge
emphasis on clear audio and video. When recording video, the camera’s
in-built microphone may not do a good job of capturing the audio clearly
and free of noise. Having an external microphone lets you separate the
streams of audio and video which can make it easier when editing the video.
A dedicated microphone also lets you position it optimally to eliminate
background noise and get good directional sound.
Some video producers prefer to record audio after shooting the video
as this can give you a better control for syncing the audio with the video.
To start off with you can get a simple microphone. You have the choice of
interfaces when it comes to microphones and can choose between USB,
analog ports and XLR. While USB and analog ports are the most common
choice, XLR is the way to go if you’re recording professional grade audio.
USB microphones are inexpensive and produce high quality recordings.
Often, you’ll find headphones bundled with microphones for recording
and these are great options as well. They are very commonly available and
Picking the right gear 29
unlike XLR microphones, you don’t need an additional interface to connect
it to your computer.
When shopping for microphones, it is important to look at a lot of things.
First, you’ll need to find one that fits your budget. It is not worth looking
for microphones they cost thousands of rupees unless you’re really serious
about producing content for YouTube. You can get away with using one
that does a decent job of capturing audio and clean up much of the noise
using a production software.
Another thing to look for is the use case. The type of microphone you
need to get depends on the content you want to produce. The microphone
which a podcaster needs to use will be different from one who is making
music and producing videos. If you look at the types of microphones, they
can be categorized broadly into three – Dynamic, Condenser and Ribbon.
Dynamic
Dynamic microphones are the most common type and are pretty inexpensive to produce. These are great for studios where there the requirement of
sound sensitivity isn’t much. Dynamic microphones are best for recording
medium to loud sounds.
Condensor
Condenser microphones are
more complex and expensive. They are not the most
practical ones as they are
very sensitive and can even
pick up the sounds of a person’s breath when producing
sound. They are good in
professional studio settings
for recording high quality
audio, which will undergo
a lot of processing.
Ribbon
Ribbon microphones on the
other hand are more classic.
They were used for high
Sennheiser PC 8 Over-Ear USB VOIP Headphone with Mic
30 Picking the right gear
Pick the microphone suited to your needs
quality recordings in the 1950s and continue to be loved for the smooth
sound they input. A ribbon microphone is best for someone who wants
to add a dash of vintage to the recording. For all practical purposes, you’re
better off with a condenser or a dynamic microphone.
Another aspect of selecting a microphone is the polarity. A microphone
can be unidirectional , bidirectional and omnidirectional.
Unidirectional
A unidirectional microphone is one which picks up sound only from one
direction. If you’re recording audio from a person, you’ll have to direct the
microphone towards them in order to capture the audio properly This can
be seen as an advantage as the microphone does not pick up sounds from
other directions and eliminates most background noise. If you’re hosting a
single man show or a talk show, you’ll need to set up several microphones
to capture the audio streams effectively.
Bidirectional
A bidirectional microphone solves this problem, by picking up sounds from
both adjacent directions. This is great to for desks where you have multiple
people speaking. So if you are going to be running a podcast with guests
coming for each session, then a bidirectional mic is good to start with. Move
on to two unidirectional microphones later on.
Picking the right gear 31
Omnidirectional
An omnidirectional microphone is mostly used on stage, to pick up all the
instruments and singers. In a studio setting, an omnidirectional microphone
may not work well as it can pick up and introduce much background noise.
Now that you’ve taken a look at the types of microphones, we show you
some gear you can pick up for varying budgets.
If you’re starting out you can get a headset that comes bundled with
a microphone for VoIP and calling. A popular one is the Sennheiser PC
8 [http://dgit.in/2k2mD5h]. Alternatively, you can also try out the Logitech
H390 headphones with mic. These two options are dead simple to use and
are plug and play, so you don’t have to worry about additional interfaces
and drivers.
If you’re not looking for headphones, you can buy standalone desktop
microphones which will not cost you more than `1000. You can even purchase stage microphones and use them with a stand on your desk. For a more
professional approach, you can check out Blue Snowball condenser microphones [http://dgit.in/2jq3gUG] , which are highly recommended for YouTube
content. These are much higher
than the basic desktop microphones, but offer a lot of functionality. It is good to invest
in a good microphone like the
Blue snowball which will not
only produce solid recordings,
but give you more versatility
than cheap ones. This is a basic
condenser microphone with a
tripod shipped in the box. You
can plug these into your computer through USB and have
it record instantly without
needing any drivers.
For someone with a little
bigger budget, you can get the
slightly more expensive version
of the Snowball, the Snowball
MW. [http://dgit.in/2iU8EB3].
Blue Microphones SNOWBALL-MW USB Microphone
They have a few design tweaks
32 Picking the right gear
over the capsules and includes pads to dampen noise. A better option would
be the Blue Yeti.
The Blue Yeti are much more advanced than the Snowball and come
with multiple configurations possible. They have three condenser capsules
and can go cardioid, bidirectional, omnidirectional and stereo. These are
recommended for vocals, musical instruments, podcasting, voiceovers,
interviews, field recordings, conference calls. You will find several such
microphones on the market for a variety of price ranges. For professional
audio, you should look at custom solutions from Sennheiser or Harman
Kardon, as they might be able to provide you your signature sound.
Anything that can capture video should do the work
Cameras
To shoot good quality video, you’ll need to invest in a good camera. A good
camera can even be your smartphone, if it’s one of the latest flagships. They
do a decent job of recording content for social media and YouTube, but you’ll
need to invest in a good stabilizer or tripod to get clear, stable video. Most
flagships record 4K, but 1080p is good enough for most starters. Make
sure you have a good amount of memory in your phone as high quality
video recording can consume quite a bit of storage, especially if you decide
to shoot in 4K.
Picking the right gear 33
If you’re not going to shoot video at all, but are interested in giving
audio commentary over screencasting, you should consider a platform like
Twitch or YouTube Gaming, which are good options for someone looking
to screencast and record commentary.
For more professional video you can get a compact camera from Sony or
Panasonic and other brands and record good videos in 1080p. The microphones on the camera will not be adequate and you’ll have to use the audio
and video streams separately on software. You can find several compact
cameras like the Sony CyberShot series and the Nikon Coolpix. Both of these
series are excellent in daylight, but struggle in lower lighting conditions. If
you really care about the video quality, you should get adequate lighting or
light pads to supplement your existing lighting set up.
Someone more advanced can
go for a dedicated DSLR or a
handheld video camera. A DSLR
will work very well for photography and still video. You can’t
shoot on the go with these as they
won’t have good video stabilization. For shooting on the go, you
can try the GoPro series, or something less expensive such as the
Xiaomi Yi series. The Yi series
is built dangerously similar to
the GoPros and even share the
same accessories so, you’ll find
that most, if not all GoPro accessories will work with the Yi. The
Xiaomi Yi Action camera
GoPros and the Yi cameras are in
a category called action cameras, which are compact cameras for recording
POV or similar video for adventure sports and live action sports. These are
great for adventure enthusiasts, who want to show off their long bike rides
or skillful skateboard tricks, but are not adequate enough to record really
good quality. While the flagship GoPro and the Yi come with support for
4K recording, you’ll be limited by the amount of control you have over the
video. These devices are for quick video recording, by pressing one button
and no more steps. They are also built to be resilient, and hence, will at least
be water and dust resistant. Some higher priced models of GoPros have
34 Picking the right gear
accessory kits that even let you shoot underwater video when scuba diving
or deep sea diving. They also have head straps and helmet mounts when
you want to document that incredible hike or the long road trip.
If you choose to get something more than a compact camera to record your
video, you can get a DSLR. A DSLR coupled with good lighting and versatile
lighting would be more than sufficient to record good video. Most cameras
will record upto 4K and can be directly hooked up to a computer to stream
video as well. For someone really
serious about making a career out
of YouTube, you should be able to
invest lakhs of money into equipment and have enough audience
to make it back by monetisation.
You can get something like
the Canon mark III 5D or similar
models from RED. These cameras
Canon 5D Mark III
are for the best of the best professionals, who’ll be shooting in
various locations and need high level of control over the recordings. The
higher end cameras also come with several accessories, which can make
video recording a breeze.
You’ll need to invest in a good tripod to keep the camera steady when
shooting video. A recommended product is the Joby Gorillapod. These have
extensible arms, which can be adjusted to balance the camera on uneven
surfaces and shoot from unreachable locations. Alternatively, if you’re
gonna be shooting a lot of POV videos, you’ll need to get a selfie stick or a
monopod. For professionals, you can look at the offerings from the drone
maker DJI, which has a good monopod called the DJI Osmo Mobile with a
stabilizer that reduces shaking to a great extent. These also let you comfortably hold the camera in one hand and reduce shaking.
Other Camera Accessories
With video gear, there are tons of accessories to pick from. There are several
lenses you can pick for your camera, such as cine lenses and add filters to
block out certain tones or colours. To move the camera around, you can get
a slider or a camera rack, which keeps the camera stable as you move. You
can also choose between several microphone attachments to cameras and
these are good for outdoor recording, especially if you managed to invest
Picking the right gear 35
in a good boom microphone. You also have remote shutters and triggers
available for cameras and some advanced models even let you control the
zoom and focus using the remote.
If you shoot a lot of video outdoors, you should consider getting a drone
with good photography capabilities. Drones allow you to capture unique
perspectives and you can shoot events and gatherings with minimal efforts.
As we talked about GoPros earlier, you can find several straps, mounts and
accessories which let you mount your GoPro anywhere from your head to
the side of your car to record video.
You’ll also want to get some high capacity storage cards for your camera.
These are not very expensive and you can easily add 500 GB without
breaking the bank.
Software
The most important part of producing content these days, software has
grown in terms of adoption among relatively novice YouTubers. A lot of
producers are now using professional grade software to edit and publish
their content. Right from cleaning up the audio from the microphone to
adding motion graphics, text and logos on to the video. For starters, you can
pick something simple such as Windows Movie Maker or Apple’s iMovie.
These are great for simple editing and allow fairly good control over your
video. iMovie can be used for advanced editing as well. For good audio
production, you can pick something like Logic Pro. For professional editing,
you’ll find the standard suite of options from Adobe, Sony and for Mac. You
can get Adobe’s Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro X or Sony’s Vegas Pro 13. All
of them standout at one thing or two so one might be better suited for a task
than the other, You should check the trial versions of the software before
deciding to invest in the software. Additional software like Adobe Photoshop
or Illustrator might be useful to create graphics for your content. You can
import these on to the video editing software you’re using and easily add
overlays and motion graphics to enhance your video.
CHAPTER #04
36
RECORDING
AND EDITING
VIDEOS
You have a direction; you have the gear.
Now it’s time to get your hands dirty and
work on your content.
B
efore you run for your camera, knowing the stages of video production is vital. It gives you an efficient and effective way to reach
your output. Over the years, through experience, many filmmakers
have developed a specific layout of these stages. This layout is
Recording and Editing Videos 37
called a production pipeline. This pipeline is divided into three segments
- pre-production, production and post-production.
Pre-production is the ideation and preparation phase. Production is
where the shooting happens. And in post-production, you bring everything
together to create the final output.
Pre-Production
To make your video making process efficient it is critical to plan beforehand. Although planning doesn’t guarantee a smooth process, it brings
down inconveniences to a great extent. Pre-production involves coming
up with the idea for your video, making a script, creating a storyboard and
preparing for the shoot.
Once you have your idea ready you should write it down as a script. A
script is a way of writing a story with a set format. There are many formats
for writing a script, but all of them exist for two common goals. When you’re
not the only one working on the video, which most likely won’t be the situation, it’s easy to communicate your story with a set format, so that everyone
is on the same page. Also, writing down your story in an organized manner
prevents you from losing track of the details. In the heat of production and
amidst the storm of issues you’ll come across, it’s easy to lose track of your
story. The script helps you stay on your vision even when tension rules over.
Start any content creation process with a storyboard
38 Recording and Editing Videos
Where script becomes a reference for your story, a storyboard is a reference for each of your shots. Storyboard is a set of simple drawings to
illustrate all the shots you’d be taking for your video. This is where you
visualize what shots would work for your video. Different types of shots
and their advantages would be discussed in the next section.
Initially, it is difficult to understand the importance of a storyboard. In
fact, it’s an arduous job to make one. So if it’s your first time making a storyboard, it’s fine if you skip thinking about some details. Through the experience of making videos, the storyboarding process would become clearer.
The script and storyboard together help you to also foresee the props,
equipment and actors you’ll be requiring for the shoot. This allows you to
plan your budget.
Now that you have a story and an idea of how to turn it into a video, it’s
time to make the shoot happen.
Production
Before you press the record button, you’ll have to set up your camera for
the shoot. The exact number of camera settings you’ll be allowed to change
depends on the camera you’re using. But there are two settings that need
attention and are available to be changed in all modern cameras. Resolution
and frame rate. These two are core specifications of a video and it’s consid-
Resolution and frame rates should be prioritised first
Recording and Editing Videos 39
ered best to not change them while editing. Obviously there are exceptions,
but for starters, it’s best to make this choice beforehand and stick with it.
Resolution
Resolution is not just a measure of the quality of the video but also the file
size. If you don’t own a decently powerful system or a strong internet connection it would be hard to work with higher resolutions like 4K. So making
an optimum choice which suits your infrastructure is required. Although
it is also important to keep in mind the current quality expectations of the
industry. In the time where the world is transitioning to 4K, making a 480p
video is not a great choice.
Another aspect of resolution is the aspect ratio. Aspect ratio determines
wideness of your video. The ratio is between the width of the image and its
height. The most common aspect ratio is 16:9. The 1080p resolution is part of
the same family – 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high. The ‘p’ stands for
something which has become irrelevant in the modern age. But just for the
sake of knowledge; ‘p’ stands for progressive. It is one of the two ways a screen
displays images. The other one, interlaced is when the rows of pixels are
displayed in two groups, to reduce the load on the screen or projector, that’s
the ‘i’ in 1080i. Progressive displays all the pixels in one go. As the modern
display systems are quite powerful, interlacing has almost become obsolete.
Other than 16:9, 21:9 and 4:3 are common aspect ratios, though 4:3 is not
as common on YouTube due to the type of content prevalent on the website.
The choice of aspect ratio is also widely based on the genre of your video. A
narrower aspect ratio is suited for a dramatic and domestic video. On the
other hand, a wider aspect ratio is used for more action packed or large-scale
shots. The larger frame estate gives enough breathing space (remember this
term) for the dynamic nature of shots in such films. Because there aren’t
many slow-baking dramatic videos on YouTube or epic scale of a giant
budget, 16:9 is seen as the ideal aspect ratio. But obviously, there’s nothing
wrong in experimenting. Keep in mind, YouTube’s player is natively 16:9,
everything else would be displayed with black bars.
Frame rate
Next core specification of a video is the frame rate. It is the speed at which
each frame of a video changes. Universally this rate is accepted to be frames
per second or fps for short. The choice of frame rate is again a bargain
between content and file size of the video. Higher frame rate means more
40 Recording and Editing Videos
frames would be packed in a single second of video which thus means a
larger file size. And as discussed before, a larger file size of a video might
not be an optimal option for everyone.
You need high frame rates only when you’re shooting fast actions, as low
frame rate makes the actions appear blurry. For something like a dialogue
between two people, high frame rate becomes unnecessary. This is another
example of where your planning makes the process efficient or effective.
Knowing that you’d be making a comedy slice-of-life video, lower frame rate
will save up on the file size and if you had action-packed scenes, a higher
frame rate would make it more effective.
An interesting creative tip if you’re making a movie about a person
who lives two lives. One side there’s an average person, regularly going
for a job and then, on the other hand, the same person is a crime fighter.
You could give a subtle differentiation between the two worlds with two
different frame rates. Slow one for the monotonous job and higher for the
crime-fighting action.
Your camera is now set and ready to record a viral. But it still needs
something, a support. Handling the camera is also a creative choice. You
can either stick the camera on a tripod for something like a tutorial or an
explainer video. Or you can go handheld if you want your viewers to get in
the action with the characters. This choice, unlike resolution, aspect ratio
and frame rate, is solely based on content.
And now you’re ready to shoot. But what will you shoot? What angle
or how much of a scene will you shoot? This part here is called framing. It
is basically decided what part of the scene goes where on the frame and is
viewed from what angle from what distance. Remember the storyboard?
Those drawings of all the shots you made will now become a guide to your
framing. Obviously, you couldn’t have drawn or planned the whole video
with just drawings, so be free to make some changes on how you frame
your shots.
Camera framing and movement is an incredibly vast topic. There are literally months of college programs and then years of experience attached with
this. Therefore, covering this topic in detail would be impossible through
this article. Instead what I would do is, kick-start the thought process.
Camera Framing
The primary rule of framing or composing a shot is the Rule of Thirds. The
rule requires splitting a frame into nine equal rectangles using two vertical
Recording and Editing Videos 41
The simplest of all techniques is the Rule of Thirds
and two horizontal lines. The four intersections of these lines are the heart
of this rule. Putting your subject on any of these points gives it emphasis.
You can also put the subject on any of the vertical lines between the two
points on either left or right for a similar effect.
But the rule of thirds applies to almost every type of shot. Scenes where
you have to depict something which is calm, stable or related to perfection,
a symmetric shot gives better results.
Deciding how much of your subject character is shown in a shot is a
thought provoking decision as well. Broadly there are three types of shots
designated for characters. Long, medium and close-up. Long shot is the
only shot where you show the whole body of your character. It is used to
present the environment the character is situated in and also highlight
full body languages. Medium shot shows the full character only cut from
a little above the knees. Bringing the camera closer makes the audience
focus a little more on the character than the background. Actions which
involve torso, arms and facial expressions, but not legs are best captured
with this. Interactions with people also become a little more intimate with
this framing. Finally, in the close-up shot, the camera only shows the head
of the character and some of the shoulders. This one is solely to show the
expressions. Mixing a long and a close-up shot is a good way to introduce
the scenario and the character stuck in it. Like showing a kid sitting outside
the school principal’s office and then cut to a close-up, showing his tensed
face. You instantly understand what’s happening in this shot, without
42 Recording and Editing Videos
a single dialogue. Another interesting way to use close-up is with two
characters. Putting in two characters’ heads in such a tight frame gives
the feeling intense love.
Remember the term ‘breathing space’ we had mentioned when talking
about aspect ratios? It means the area around your subject and the size
of this area is based on what emotion you want to evoke from the shot.
More breathing space depicts a relaxed state, reducing the breathing space
intensifies the situation. Lead room is an important use of breathing space.
If the character or characters are looking in a direction, leaving majority of
breathing space on that side of the frame conveys the characters’ attention
in that direction.
Framing or composing a shot is as artistic as painting a scenery. It is
important to provide the most amount of details while providing focus to
the right parts.
Clothes or costumes, as it is referred in filmmaking, can be used in
framing. A good rule to remember is contrast takes all the attention in the
room. If your background has too many props or depicts a messy environment, making the characters wear a color which is not part of the background
can bring them out. You can also plan on your background beforehand and
try to put objects of similar colors in it. This would give your background
a unified tone and therefore make it easy to let the character stand out. A
quick tip, do not make your characters wear narrow stripes or any other
intricate patterns. This might confuse the camera and create wavy effects
on the clothing.
Camera Movements and Shot Variety
A video which is single long static shot is one of the most boring things to
watch. It’s not impossible to make a long static shot interesting, but due to
how difficult it is to undertake, it is not-recommended for beginners.
So what do you do? Use multiple cameras to create a variety of shots
and move your camera around.
The variety can also be achieved using a single camera. But it would
require multiple retakes and proper alignment of the characters so that the
continuity is not lost. This would result in more time consumed so planning
it in the pre-production phase would save a lot of hassle.
The cuts can be used in similar ways as the example of a kid waiting
outside the principal’s office. Or if your videos involve a tutorial aspect
to it, using a medium shot to show you performing the actions and then
Recording and Editing Videos 43
cutting away to a close-up of what exactly you are doing can do the trick
as well.
While shooting the characters, it’s also important to shoot B-roll footage.
B-roll are shots which don’t show the characters, but they’re related to your
video. Things like shots of the background, props or the product you’re
reviewing. These help in breaking the monotony of constantly looking at
the actors.
In the camera movement department, there a few terms too. These are
basically names of the movements of the camera. Panning is turning the
camera horizontally and tilting is turning the camera vertically. Both happen
without moving the camera around, just turning on the pivot. If you have a
budget to purchase a dolly or a slider, you can also take trucking and tracking
Tracking shots create a parallax effect to your videos
shots. Trucking is when you move the camera forward or backward. Note
that trucking and zooming are two different things. Zooming is when you
use the lens to move your frame closer to the subject, but trucking requires
physical movement of the camera. How are the results of both different?
The most difference is seen when your scene has depth in it. Trucking in
would create a parallax effect which would further strengthen the depth.
Whereas zooming would not give a similar result. Tracking is when you
44 Recording and Editing Videos
move the camera from left to right or vice versa. These four are the primary
camera movements and therefore suited for beginners to use. If you require
some other camera movements, you can combine these to attain results.
Just like framing, even camera movements are content specific. Different types of movements for different scenes open doors to a plethora of
emotional impacts. In the principal’s office example, instead of cutting the
shot from a long to close-up, trucking in the camera on the character would
build tension slowly. Almost like opening a gift box of terror, one flap at a
time. You can even present the same scene in a different way by trucking
out from a close-up to a long shot. This would invoke a sense of revelation in
the audience. There are tons of ways you can use these four camera movements in a variety of scenes. It’s best to try and watch your scenes, again
and again, to understand their impact on you as an audience, better if you
can find someone to watch and review it.
When you’re shooting, do not start the acting just after pressing the
record button. It takes around a second for the recording to start. These
extra few seconds you spend doing nothing in the scene are part of a preroll. You can cut this bit while editing.
Post-Production
Welcome to the final stretch of your project. This is where your video comes
into existence from the pile of footage that you’ve shot. The process of taking
your footage, cutting it and places it in an order which creates a story or
your output video is called editing. Take the videos of all of your shots and
dump it on a computer inside a single folder.
Folder management is important at this stage. Create a folder for your
project. This is where everything related to your current video will go.
Create another folder and name it something like ‘footage’. This is where
you’ll keep all your recorded videos. Next, create another folder you editing
software project file. Editing software usually have temp files and other
kinds of files along with the actual project file. Keeping it in one place will
increase organization. If you plan to add some sound or music (you should),
create another folder for that as well.
Alright, it’s time to make a video.
Editing
In modern times, editing happens through a software. In the good ol’ days
of negative films, parts would be cut and pasted together into a new reel
Recording and Editing Videos 45
which would become the final product. And as it sounds, it was a tiring job.
The word ‘cut’ is derived from the cutting of the negative reels.
Editing is the process which brings everything you’ve produced till
now to one counter. This is your kitchen, you have the ingredients, time
to cook something.
Before we begin, you’d need to have an editing software. There are obviously too many out there. But here is a list of some of the most favorite of
the industry.
Adobe Premiere Pro is an insanely popular and equally powerful editing
tool. The massive add-on support makes it an even more lucrative option.
It also supports addition of text with basic animations.
https://www.adobe.com/in/products/premiere.html
Apple’s Final Cut Pro has been around for a while, also a hugely popular
software. As you would expect from Apple, it’s only compatible with macOS.
https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/
DaVinci Resolve is known more prominently for its colouring features,
considered the best by many. Recently it has developed its editing capabilities to a great extent, therefore becoming an all-rounded option.
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve
DaVinci Resolve
46 Recording and Editing Videos
Magix Vegas, originally by Sony, is also a great line of editing software.
They are split into two series - Vegas Pro and Vegas Movie Studio. The Pro
variant as the name suggests is intended for professionals and Movie Studio
version is simpler and less expensive version.
http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/
Adobe After Effects is a true all-round media software. Though editing
might not be as comfortable as in other software, it covers the largest gamut
of features. As the software is originally intended for VFX and animations,
you can easily add them to give your videos an edge.
https://www.adobe.com/in/products/aftereffects.html
All of the software mentioned above have a free version. So that you can
give them a spin before deciding on one.
If you’re planning to make tutorial or review videos, a good option is to
have shots from multiple angles and B-rolls. This will break the monotony
for the viewers.
If you want to work on story-based media, then things become a little
dense. Best advice is to read about editing techniques used by most or major
filmmakers. But just to kick off a few things, here are some tips. Remember
that placement of shots on the time line define your story, as it was made
clear with the example of principal’s office. Pauses help to develop a scene.
Giving audience time to analyse the situation and making them think,
immerses them more into the story. The first shots of every scene or the
whole film are called establishment and it is important to use this as a hook.
The most establishing shots are either those that declare the environment,
panning through a street or trucking in closer to a house where the story
takes place. They can even be tight close-ups. Such establishing shots build
tension and are best used for thriller stories.
After you’ve laid down your shots in a story, you can use the editing
software to add some background music and sound effects.
Done, you have your video ready. All you now need is to export the video.
Rendering
Rendering is the process where all of your graphics, effects, audio and edited
shots are compiled to become a video file. A lot of software have presets to
render for YouTube at different resolutions. If your software doesn’t, here’s
what you need to know. There are three most important things to take care
Recording and Editing Videos 47
of when rendering - format, bitrate and resolution. YouTube accepts - .MOV,
.MPEG4, .AVI, .WMV and .FLV. These are called containers, so if you see
that option, pick any of them. In the video codec option, select H.264. Bitrate
is the rate at which a video’s data is loaded by the player. Bitrate requirements increase with resolution and framerate. The table below should help
in picking a bitrate.
TYPE
SDR
SDR
HDR
HDR
Bitrate
(24-30 FPS)
Bitrate
(48-60 FPS)
Bitrate
(24-30 FPS)
Bitrate
(48-60 FPS)
2160p (4K)
35-40 Mbps
53-68 Mbps
44-56 Mbps
66-85 Mbps
1440p (2K)
16 Mbps
24 Mbps
20 Mbps
30 Mbps
1080p
8 Mbps
12 Mbps
10 Mbps
15 Mbps
720p
5 Mbps
7.5 Mbps
6.5 Mbps
9.5 Mbps
480p
2.5 Mbps
4 Mbps
Not Supported
Not Supported
360p
1 Mbps
1.5 Mbps
Not Supported
Not Supported
In the case of audio bitrate - 128 kbps for mono, 384 kbps for stereo and
512 kbps for 5.1.
Hit render and voilà! You have your first video ready for YouTube.
Conclusion
Filmmaking is an art and thus requires time to develop. Learn from others
and keep reading about different techniques. The tips mentioned above are
just a gateway. Cinematography and editing are two massive subjects in filmmaking and have more than a century’s worth of knowledge available. Over
time you’ll be able to come up with your own style, your own combination
of shooting and editing techniques. Welcome to the world of filmmaking!
48
CHAPTER #05
USING THE
YOUTUBE
DASHBOARD
AND VIDEO
MANAGER
Master tools to modify and manage
your videos better
Using the YouTube dashboard and video manager 49
U
p until now, you were learning and trying to understand how
you can get to shooting your first video. And by now, you must
have figured that part out. All the research into channel ideas,
equipment, editing now has to start coming together as a video.
But before that is done, you need to know more about the platform where
it is going to be uploaded. And when it comes to YouTube, two of the most
important tools are found within the Creator Studio as the Dashboard and
the Video Manager.
YouTube offers the YouTube Creator Studio on the platform as a unified
interface where you can manage everything related to your videos in one
place. To make your channel a success, this is an indispensable tool that you
not only need to use, but master as well. To reach the Creator Studio, click
on your profile image on the upper right corner of the home page and click
on ‘Creator Studio’ in the drop down. In this chapter, we’ll walk you through
two of the most important sections - the Dashboard and the Video Manager.
Dashboard
The first screen/tab that you will see when you open the Creator Studio is
the Dashboard. As the name says, this tab will show you an overview of
your channel with multiple widgets presenting information from multiple
aspects to you. On the top you will see some basic information related to your
Dashboard - this is where you start
50 Using the YouTube dashboard and video manager
channel like the total number of Views, Subscribers and the ‘Add widget’
button. And when you click on that button you will see a list of widgets
that you can add along with the ones that have been added. Each widget
has some of the few standard sections on them which include:
• Move section: Hover over the grid icon and drag the section to where
you’d like it on the page.
• Remove section: Click the X to remove the section from your dashboard.
• Customize section: Click the gear button (Comments and Videos sections only).
The widgets that you can add include:
• Videos - This widget offers you basic information about the most recent
videos on your channel. The number of videos being shown in this
depends on the value set in Customize section for the widget, which we
will go into later. Below each video title you can see the number of Views,
Comments, Likes and Dislikes and also the Edit button. Clicking on this
button takes you to the video editing page in the Video manager, which
will also be covered later in this chapter. The drop down menu beside
the button lets you directly go to a specific tab in the Video manager for
the particular video instead of the default ‘Info and Settings’ tab.
• Analytics - The analytics widget shows you some of the most basic statistics over the last 28 days related to your channel in a small view. The
stats include the total watch time in minutes, Views, Subscriber change
(growth/reduction) and the estimated revenue in dollars. All the stats
are accompanied by graphs beside them that reflect the overall trend
over the month. Clicking on the View All button below the widget will
take you to the dedicated Analytics page.
• Comments - This widget shows you the latest comments on your channel
across your videos. Basic information like how long ago the comment
was posted and the name of the video on which it was posted are also
visible. Clicking on ‘Reply’ takes you to the comment on the video page
with a reply box ready for you to type.
• Tips - In the Tips widget you see some suggestions based on your channel
that could help improve it.
That’s about it for the different widgets that you can add. The Videos
and Comments widgets have a Customize section that lets you modify a few
parameters about the widget. For the comments widget, it’s pretty simple
Using the YouTube dashboard and video manager 51
with the number of comments that can be displayed on the widget being
the only parameter. But with the video widget, it offers a few more things.
You might have noticed that you can add two Videos widgets on the
Dashboard. To begin with, this might seem redundant if you do not explore
the Customize section. Using this section you can modify one (or both)
the widgets to show you certain types of videos based on parameters that
you can modify in this very section. For example, a certain widget
could be dedicated to track a certain
‘Series’ of videos that you have been
uploading on your channel apart
from the other content on it. This
is the very reason that this section
allows you to set a custom title for
this widget.
A few basic video filters that
are available as a part of the dropdown are - Public, Unlisted, Private
Use filters to sort and manage videos
and Custom. Choosing the custom
option (or simply typing into the box below the ‘Video Filters’ dropdown)
lets you define an ‘advanced search’ that could be used to make the widget
as specified in terms of content as you want to. There are quite a few parameters that you can put into this field, and you can check them out at http://
dgit.in/AdvSrchYT. .
Video manager
This is the treasure trove for all your videos - the
one place within the Creator Studio that lets you fill
and modify every single detail about your video. On
its own this section has four subsections - Videos,
Playlists, Copyright Notices, and Submit Retraction. The last two will be covered later in Chapter 7.
The Playlists tab essentially lets you view all your
playlists in one place and clicking on ‘Edit’ takes
you to the standard Playlists page of your channel.
The Videos section is where all the action is.
To start with, the Videos section shows you the
total number of videos on your channel on the top.
Use the actions tab to affect changes in a single go
52 Using the YouTube dashboard and video manager
The list of videos that you can see in front of you and the accompanying buttons let you perform a lot of actions. For instance, select one or more videos
on the list and click on the ‘Actions’ drop down to take common actions on
all of them at the same time, like Monetise, set the privacy, license and delete.
Clicking on ‘Add Actions’
shows a list of action that
you can add to that drop
down like Ad breaks,
Embedding, Syndication
and more.
For each video there
is an Edit button beside
the thumbnail and a drop
down that goes with it.
Like other drop downs in
Get information about individual videos
the Creator Studio, this
one also lists the tabs that you will get in the Video editing screen that you
will reach once you click the Edit button. Along with that you have two
additional options that let you download the video in MP4 format and
Promote it as a dedicated ad campaign. Once you click the Edit button, you
reach the video edit screen that will appear confusing to begin with. Pay
attention to this part as each of these is very significant to make or break
your video’s popularity.
Info & Settings
You start off with the Info & Settings section that has a main section and
four subsections.
Thumbnail
The main section lets you chose the thumbnail out of YouTube’s suggestions
or upload a custom thumbnail. Be careful about the thumbnail you chose it should be the most interesting frame of your video without giving away
any suspense that might make the viewer open the video. A lot of popular
Youtubers chose to put additional text on the Thumbnail that behaves in
the same way that a leader or a Snippet works for an article. On the other
hand, do not put a misleading thumbnail as it will get you views in the short
run but will damage your reputation and chances of getting subscribers
in the long run.
Using the YouTube dashboard and video manager 53
Basic information about each video including simple metadata
Basic Info
This section is exactly what it says it is. This is where you can put in your
title, description, tags, video credits (if any), privacy, playlist (if any) and
you can also directly share it to Google+ or Twitter.
• The title depends on the type of content that you will be regularly posting
but it’s a good idea to plug in keywords and keep it descriptive. For
example, adding ‘Video’ to the title makes it easier for it to be listed on
general Google searches, and ‘Skoar-Hitman Mission One Gameplay
Part 1’ will do much better than ‘Skoar - Hitman’.
• For the description, Always use
the http:// prefix
on any external
links, refer to your
keyword research
when writing copy
- especially the
long-tail keyterms,
Tags add to your video’s visibility in search results
use at least a couple
of keywords in the
opening sentences, link out to your social media profiles, Use the transcript of the video if you have one and link to other parts of a series if
they exist.
• The tags should be most used keywords around the topic. Start off with
the main keywords around the topic before going onto the general ones.
54 Using the YouTube dashboard and video manager
For example, on a Witcher gameplay video, ‘Witcher’ will come before
‘RPG-game’.
Translations
You can enter a translated description for your video which will be visible
to people who are using YouTube in that specific language, rather than the
default translation. You can also buy Professional Translation for the same.
Monetisation
This section lets you chose the types of ads that will show on your video
page, including ad overlays and skippable video ads. To find out more about
the types of ads that can be shown on your video, checkout this lesson from
the YouTube Creators Academy at http://dgit.in/YTMonet.
Advanced Settings
This section lists out a lot of advanced parameters related to your video.
Some of the important ones include the ability to let people comment on
your video and the default visibility of those comments, the content license
for that video which lets you choose between Standard YouTube License
and Creative Commons - Attribution, Syndication to allow the video only
on monetised platforms, Distribution option to allow embedding, Specify
if the video is in 3D and define parameters about the video and more.
Enhancements
The enhancements section lets you edit the visual appearance of your video
Use the enhancements tab for a quick fix
Using the YouTube dashboard and video manager 55
in a lot of ways, while showing you a side by side preview of the final version. The tools available are clubbed under Quick Fixes, Filters and Blurring
effects and comprise of the pretty standard but useful tools. In fact, if all
you need is basic visual changes in light, color, speed, that are applicable
to the entire video, you could rely on this section to fulfil that need entirely.
And even if you have a published video, you could save the edited version
as an entirely new video.
Audio
The Audio section lets you choose an audio track for your video from a
list of almost 150,000+ tracks from YouTube’s library that spreads across
many categories and are eligible for monetisation. Choosing a certain track
shows you more options like selecting the weightage of the track versus the
original audio, and also positioning the audio to start from a certain position in your video and play only a certain portion of the track. This will be
really helpful if you’re looking for some common background music for
your videos as the library is huge and will satisfy most of your music needs.
Don’t let there be dead air, have some soundtrack in the background
End Screen & Annotations
This section, as the title says, comprises of two subsections that let
you put an end screen and annotations to your videos. Each of these
is essential and can help drive viewership to other content or provide
additional information.
56 Using the YouTube dashboard and video manager
•
•
End Screen - YouTube allows you to use standard templates or import
from a specific video to define an end screen for your video. End screens
are a part of the video that show during the last 5-20 seconds of a video.
You can add up to four elements to promote your content, channel and
websites. Elements can expand to show more information on hover on
desktop and on tap on mobile devices.
Annotations - These are the hovering content that you see in certain
videos that you can use to correct mistakes in your video, point to other
relevant content at certain points or however you see fit. They help you
enrich the video experience by adding information, interactivity and
engagement. The types available are Speech Bubble, Note, Title, Spotlight, Label which are mostly visually different, out of which Title and
Note cannot be links.
Cards
A newly added section, Cards can point viewers to a specific URL (from a
list of eligible sites) and show customised images, titles and calls to action,
depending on the card type - which are • Video or Playlist - Promote a video or playlist
• Channel - Promote another channel
• Poll - Encourage viewers to participate in a poll
• Link - Link to an approved website
Viewers will see a teaser on the top right at a designated time set by
you for the card, or click the ‘i’ button on the top right to view the cards for
the video. This feature is set to replace annotations so you better learn this
soon. Experiment with different types of cards to figure out which ones
work for your channel.
Subtitles & CC
This section lets you add subtitles and closed captions to your video, or
purchase them from YouTube (which shows you quotes from professional
translation and subtitles services). You can also share a link from this section
to invite community contributions to your video in the form of subtitles of
closed captions.
CHAPTER #06 Gathering resources
57
GATHERING
RESOURCES
There are some smart digital resources
that would enhance the quality of your
videos/channel, some of them even free.
The idea then, is not to miss out!
N
ow that you know that you are going to create a YouTube
channel(that’s going to knock the socks off everyone!), you
ought to know how to go about making the videos. Thankfully,
there are quite a few things in the digital landscape that can be
put to good use in the making the videos.
58 Gathering resources
Creator Academy- Where you learn YouTube best
practices
YouTube’s Creator Academy ought to be your first stop on your way to
making videos.
Even though it’s a common perception that you can do something goofy
on camera which if you put up on YouTube, you would end up becoming
a major celebrity, the reality is quite different. Of course, the one-funnyvideo-and-I-am-a-star idea may work for some once in a while. However,
the chances are that you will have to work quite hard to make a video successful on YouTube.
One place to learn a lot of things
This is exactly why YouTube’s Creator Academy is such a valuable
resource- especially for those with little experience in making videos. You
can access a whole host of guides which would teach you about significant
tips that most celeb YouTubers fail to cover in their ‘How to be a star’ videos.
To give you a better idea of what are in store at the Academy, here are
a few things you get:
How to get viewers
The things that you learn on this include everything from uploading
branding pictures into your channel page (and the importance in doing
so) to creating channel trailers, exclusive video thumbnails and more.
How to grow the audience
While garnering a sizeable audience is a huge task, an even bigger challenge
is growing that number-because it entails not just expanding the types of
videos you put up, it also requires some technical skills in the realm of the
channel itself. You get related lessons from the Academy like cross linking
using annotations, organizing the videos better with sections and playlists,
distribution of the videos to the subscribers and more.
How to earn money
Being able to earn money from having advertisements on a channel may be
Gathering resources 59
a dream for many. But as shown by the fact that not everyone who dreams
it makes it happen, it’s not as simple as it may sound like. There are good
lessons to be picked on this regard. This section essentially explains how
YouTube’s ad tools work which will enable you to use them optimally.
There’s a reason why we have included YouTube’s Creator Academy
before anything else – by paying a visit to the Academy and perusing the
guides, you can get a decent overview of the kind of work that would go
into the making a successful channel. This way, you would get a realistic
picture of the amount of time and involvement you would have to invest
for a channel with the success level that you desire.
Video edits using the YouTube video editor
Unless you are uploading raw footage directly from the cell phone, you
are going to require a good video editor to convert (possibly random) shots
into coherent videos. There are some great video editors out there like
Sony Vegas Pro and Final Cut Pro, and we’ve discussed these in previous
chapters. But you can easily do basic edits for free using the built-in editor
that comes with YouTube.
You won’t have to download any additional software either. In fact, you
won’t even have to manage the video library. You can just upload the videos
as private so that you can splice them together.
Giving you a complete run through of how to edit using the tool is
beyond the scope of this article. But the basic guide is easily available
if you Google it and mastering it is no rocket science. Using the editor,
Edit you way to celebrity!
60 Gathering resources
you can merge multiple videos, trim different clips, add captions and
music to the video. You can even add certain effects (there’s a small
section available).
If you lack any other video editor, you can start practicing on this. The
learning is easy with the built-in editor and could act as a template for how
to edit using an advanced editor. Also, to make small, quick edits on existing
videos, you would rarely need anything else.
Getting free sound effects and music from the audio library
Being a video creator in YouTube means that sooner or later, you would
encounter the problem of licensing. If you use copyrighted soundtracks in
your videos without permission, there’s a good chance that YouTube would
take the video off the air. To help you not get into such troubles, YouTube
The right notes at the right times
itself provides a music collection which is either free or comes with licenses
that permit you to use it in your videos.
Completely free libraries may give you more number of low-quality
music than anything. But YouTube being also a music service has privileged
relationship with certain artists. That’s why the ad-supported section in
the library has popular songs which can be used under certain conditions.
If songs are not chosen wisely, a video using a particular song may get
blocked in certain countries(due to the differences in the licensing agreement for the song in different countries). Or maybe you wouldn’t be able
to monetise the video.
Gathering resources 61
Aside from songs, in the audio library you can also find a catalogue of
sound effects which you can use in your videos. This collection is pretty vast
and is organized according to categories- like gunshots, animals, sirens and
so on. You have the option to mark a particular sound effect as favourite so
that you can easily find it later.
Tracking user responses with analytics
Building a strong following for a YouTube channel is something that requires
constant improvisation-based on the feedback which you receive. And the
precision of your improvisation depends on the quality of the feedback.
Thankfully, Yotube’s analytics give you some insightful information about
the people who watch your videos.
Using the analytics toy can track the traffic of the entire channel or
specific videos to see how it varies with time. But that’s just the tip of the
iceberg. There are plenty of other useful information that you can get from
analytics, like these:
Learn, Improve.
Location breakdowns
You get to know where the viewers are from, based on the region-giving
you the country or even, the state. The information is pretty in-depth in
that you could also learn how many minutes people from each state watch
your videos.
62 Gathering resources
Estimated minutes watched
It’s not only the information about the number of times the viewers watched
a video that you get, you also get to learn how long viewers watch a video.
Subscriber, Likes and Comment activity
These parameters help you gain a clear picture of how much the viewers
are interacting once they have watched a video and how many viewers are
actively doing that.
Playback sources
The embedded player from YouTube helps viewers watch your videos
without having to visit your site. Using analytics, you can get data regarding
the number or people who watch your videos on your YouTube page as
opposed to those who watch them on an embedded player.
Some (more) free YouTube programs and tools you can use
These free tools could also come in handy in your journey of being a YouTube video creator:
Even more great things to have!
YouTube Capture
Using this app, you can upload a video much faster on to YouTube. It also
offers such features as automatic colour correction, trimming, stabilization
and music tracks. Using this, you can also upload to different social media
networks at the same time.
Gathering resources 63
YouTube Enhance
Using Enhance, you can tweak/ add effects to the videos directly on YouTube.
Even a one-click feature which enhances colour and lighting is available. Some
other features include trim, stabilize, filters, slow motion and facial blurring.
Captions
As you must have guessed from the title, using this, you can add captions
to the videos. On a related front, it must be said that addition of captions to
the videos is a quick method to expand the audience, and also to possibly
improve the search rankings.
Partner program
This provides multiple programs that would help you enhance the YouTube
experience. With YouTube Partner Promotion, partner videos would appear
along with a featured video, also offsite on the Google Display network and
all across the Internet.
Annotations to Merch Store
Merch annotations give creators a way by which you can promote your
licensed merchandise in your videos. If external annotations links are
enabled, you have the option to create links from videos that would lead
to approved retail sites on which the related merchandise would be sold.
Next Creator
YouTube NextUp is a development program aimed at helping new channels
refine skills and also learn the requisite to take it to the fabled ‘next level.’
You get training, mentoring and promotion using the program.
On The Rise
This monthly promotional program is aimed at new YouTube partners.
Partners are determined on the basis of their demonstration of strong
original content, community support and optimization strategies.
YouTube Space
This was created so that YouTube creators could create original videos, jam
with other channels, network, attend screenings and events and also avail
great hands-on experience using cutting-edge production resources. To
access this, you would have to create a large volume of content.
64 Gathering resources
Social Tools
You can make use of the social features from Google to broadcast to an even
larger number of fans. For instance, you can create a Google+ Page for the
channel, or you can even broadcast live to fans via Hangouts on Air.
Making use of animated templates
Sometimes, a tastefully chosen animated template would make all the difference in your
video. There are many video software programs
that would enable you to do this, one of them
being VideoMakerFX. You can create professional-gradient animated videos on your own.
And the best part, it takes only a few minutes!
Add more life with animation
Recording screencasts
One way to show your expertise on a subject-especially if it’s a teaching
video that you are making is by making video screencasts or screen record-
Make it easier for the audience with screencasts
Gathering resources 65
ings. For instance, a screencast can be a great way to walk your audience
through a PowerPoint presentation. You can add a voiceover that explains
the features that they are viewing.
There are pretty good screen capture tools out there – Camtasia and
EasyVideoSuite being two of them.
Using stock/royalty-free images and clips
A great way to make a video less monotonous is by adding interesting stock
videos. For instance, if it’s a teaching video that shows people how to make
use of Twitter better, incorporating a stock video of Twitter icons moving
across the screen could male it look more lively.
Find great shots, free of charge
Sites such a Shutterstock and Video Blocks are good resources for getting royalty-free stock videos using which you can communicate to your
audience. But those are by no means the only ones! Just Google and you are
bound to come across a few good ones.
If someone were to ask what does it take to create a successful YouTube
channel, there probably is no single answer. The best you can say is that it
takes a lot- including putting the right digital resources to use.
Hopefully, you have got a good idea of how to do that by now!
66
CHAPTER #07
FAIR USAGE
POLICY
Producing videos might often require
using snippets of someone else’s work
but be careful. You might get into trouble
if you don’t follow the guidelines.
Y
ou must have seen videos taken down from YouTube because of
copyright infringement issues and at the same time seen people
use other artists content in their videos without any problem.
So what do you do when you want to use the latest Drake song
in your next video? Do you contact him personally asking for permission
Fair Usage Policy 67
to let you use his song? Or do you just upload it and hope that it doesn’t get
taken down. The world of permissions, copyright infringement and fair
use is a murky one. More so online. Read on to find out what is allowed
and what isn’t.
What is copyright?
Copyright is a type of intellectual property right that lets you own rights over
an expression of an idea, but not the idea
itself. Simply put you can copyright a
song written about sadness’’ but can’t
copyright ‘sadness’ itself.
So, the law gives the holder of copyright “a set of right that only they can
Copyright laws differ from country to
exercise and exploit’ which include
country but efforts have been made to
but are not limited to distributing and standardize them through international
copyright agreements
earning money through the work, creating a derivative of the work and reproducing or reusing it. Anyone else doing the same with your work will be
infringing the copyright and breaking a law.
But there is one exception. The work can be used by someone else without
taking the permission of the copyright holder if it is “Fair Use”.
What is fair use?
“Fair use” is a set of exceptions that lets people use copyrighted material
for academic, entertainment and other non-commercial purposes if they
follow a certain set of guidelines. This exception was actually introduced
so that copyright laws do not close the door shut on the possibility of
progress of a person’s work
by someone else.
So while uploading and
downloading files from torrent
is copyright infringement, distributing a photo of the periFair use is an important and necessary
odic table in your class comes
safeguard
under fair use.
So how do you decide if something comes under fair use or is a copyright
infringement? You follow the fair use guidelines
68 Fair Usage Policy
Fair use guidelines
There are no specific actions that are allowed on a copyrighted content under
fair use. There are some basic guidelines which should be followed while
determining whether the content you are using comes under fair use or not.
The most common of them are the following four factors:
• First thing you need to look at is why you are using the copyrighted
content? Are you using it for educational and informative purposes?
Or are you just using the idea or posting new content inspired from it?
The most important factor is whether you are using it for a commercial
or non-commercial purpose. Not all non-commercial uses come under
‘fair use’ but in most of the cases, it is enough.
• The type and nature of content you are copying also matters. Nonfictional content carries less responsibility compared to fictional content
like TV shows and movies.
• The amount of the copyrighted work you are using is another important
factor. The lesser you use, lesser the chances of your work being disputed.
As a rule: use only as much as you need.
• The content you create using someone else’s copyrighted work should in
no way take away any value from the original work. It should not affect
the market and reach of the original content in any way, neither should
it ‘steal’ its views or sales.
If your work satisfies these conditions, then chances are you are good
to go. But still this is no substitute for legal advice and if you find yourself
confused then probably you shouldn’t be doing it.
When can you use other people’s content
Can you use a popular music track in your video? The answer isn’t simple.
If the song you want to use is copyrighted, which the chances are that it is,
you should not use it.
Once a copyright expires, the work lies in the ‘public domain’ meaning
it can be used by anyone without taking the permission from the artist.
There is another category of work called Royalty Free. Works protected
under it, are free to use but don’t lie in the public domain and you still
need to take some sort of permission to use. So instead of using a copyrighted song and risking violation, look into royalty free music, of which
there exists a large collection online. There are a number of ways to get
this permission. Checkout incompetech.com, one of the most used sites for
getting royalty free music online, and epidemicsound.com, where you need
Fair Usage Policy 69
to buy only one license to use anything from their vast collection of over
30,000 tracks.
And what are the legalities when you want to cover a song on your
channel?
Covering a channel can be considered a copyright violation but there are
ways to come around it. A cover of a song can come under Fair use as it is
your interpretation of someone else’s work and not actually just ripping them
off. So cover the song in a way that is ‘yours’, adding an original touch to it.
And what if I am caught using some copyrighted work in my video?
See, if your channel isn’t popular enough and you are not making tons of
money from your videos, you can fly under the radar and stay there too.
There are so many videos online that use copyrighted material in ways
which don’t come under fair view but are still up. Chances are that is because
there are so many of them and they have very little effect on the original
work, and hence, are ignored. But remember once you start making money
or getting popular using someone else’s work, they can come after you, and
probably will. Your videos can be pulled down, your YouTube account shut
down, and you can be sued.
Fair use myths debunked
There are a number of myths surrounding fair use, what comes under it
and what doesn’t. We are here to bust all of them.
#1 My video has been up for some time and I am using copyrighted
content but no has sued me. Yet. I am not doing anything wrong
probably.
Internet is huge. There are millions of videos and songs.. And probably this
is why you are safe till now. So don’t think that if you haven’t been caught
till now, you are not doing anything wrong
#2 I am not earning anything through my channel. Why will someone
sue me?
Whether or not you are earning money through the work is not the only
deciding factor behind you getting sued or not, though it is an important
one. You can still be sued if your work is taking away views from the original
video, and it doesn’t follow the fair use guidelines.
70 Fair Usage Policy
#3 I gave due to credit to the original artist in the description box and
my intentions are perfectly good so I am safe.
We don’t live in a perfect world and your intentions are not always good
enough. So even if you have given credit to the original artist in the description box and have a good heart, you can still be sued.
#4 I used very little of the copyrighted work so I am in the clear.
There is no specific amount of copying that is allowed. You can be sued for
using only a couple of seconds of the work, if the artist decides so. But as a
golden rule, use as little as you need and no more.
#5 I added the line “no copyright infringement intended” to the
beginning of my video so I am safe.
Sorry to tell you this, but no, just adding “no copyright infringement
intended” to your video doesn’t mean that you are not liable.
Okay I am confused now, so what exactly is allowed under
fair use then?
Don’t worry it’s normal to get confused. Let us break it down for you.
Video games with commentary
One of the most popular genre of videos, videos of people playing video
games with commentary in the background or tutorial videos, have led to
Video game commentary has spawned a whole generation of YouTubers even
though it still lies in the gray area of copyright laws
Fair Usage Policy 71
some of the biggest channels on YouTube and created a couple of YouTube
millionaires too. It still lies in the gray area, but most of the times you or
your work won’t be sued because you are indirectly contributing to the
popularity and sales of the game.
Parodies,critiques and reviews
Another popular genre of videos on YouTube is parodies, critiques and
reviews of popular TV shows, animes and movies and their legality is a
Review and critique videos are generally allowed under fair use
little easier to determine. They are specifically protected under the Fair Use
purview. You can use video and audio clippings, scenes and other original
work from the video to make your point. But don’t go overboard and use
only as much as you need.
Background music
Well, simply put the only case where a copyrighted track can be used as
background music is allowed if it was incidental. That is, if you are shooting
a video somewhere and a band is playing some music or a track is playing
somewhere in the background, it is okay.
Mashups
Mashups of songs or videos can come under fair use if they showcase your
creativity. You can make mashups, just keep in mind that you are not just
slicing and putting together a couple of copyrighted work but actually
transforming it into something new and original.
72 Fair Usage Policy
What to do when facing a Content ID claim
YouTube has a Content ID system which has all the copyrighted work by
original creators. Whenever you upload a video, it’s content is matched
with that in the database and if there is a match, a copyright notice is sent
to you. After this, your video can be taken down, the audio can be muted
or in some cases even your channel be shut down.
But it is not necessary that you are in the wrong.
First review the content ID claim and decide what you want to do. You
have a couple of options to choose from. You can either,
• Accept the claim and do nothing about it if you think it is justified.
• Re-upload the video after removing the dispute content from it
• If you were earning some revenue from the disputed content you can
offer to share it with the original copyright owner.
• If you think your use lies under fair use, you can dispute the claim.
If you decide to dispute the Content ID claim, you can need to be sure
that your created content lies under the purview of fair use. You can file the
dispute using the YouTube video manager. Once you submit your dispute,
the owner of the claim has 30 days to respond to it and till then the claim
will be temporarily withdrawn. After you dispute the claimant can do one
of the following 4 things
• Release the claim and everything will be back to normal.
• Uphold the claim. If the claim is upheld you can still choose to appeal
the decision
• Takedown your video. The owner can submit a Copyright takedown
request’ and your video will be removed from YouTube while your
account will get a copyright strike. Though you need to be more careful
after a copyright strike, since your account can be terminated and all your
video might be removed if you get too many strikes in a short period of
time. Currently, the limit is three strikes. You can also work towards
getting strikes removed by undertaking workshops on Copyright but
those are on a case to case basis.
CHAPTER #08
Beyond the Video 73
BEYOND
THE VIDEO
Building a YouTube channel isn’t as easy
as it’s chalked up to be. There’s a lot more
that needs to be done.
A
YouTube channel isn’t just about throwing a bunch of clips
together and hoping for the money shower to start. You need to
analyse how your videos are being received by the community
and you need to work on that feedback to grow your channel.
There are a few free tools and websites to help you with this feedback and
build better insights with your data. We’re focusing on some time-tested
methods in this chapter.
74 Beyond the Video
Consistency
Consistency matters with a lot of parameters around the YouTube world.
When your audience has already been trained to expect videos to come in
around a consistent schedule with TV shows, you need to maintain that
consistency with YouTube as well. After all, you are, in a manner of speaking,
replacing their TV shows with your YouTube videos and tapping into this
rhythm that has come to be over the years.
Be consistent with your YouTube channel
YouTube’s algorithms change on a regular basis and being part of the
community helps you understand these changes better. Recently, YouTube
started (supposedly) promoting channels that publish at least two videos a
week compared to those channels which weren’t so frequent. As a result, a
lot of YouTubers changed their schedules to accommodate for the higher
video production schedule.
Aside from time, you need to maintain consistency with your show’s
format as well. Now, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t evolve with the
times. When we say consistency, we mean that you should fixate on a format.
Very few people have a myriad number of interests so making your channel
about a few topics would be ideal. Of course, there do exist channels in which
absolutely anything random happens but very few find success in terms of
a lasting following. Let’s say you do listers on your YouTube channel. Your
Beyond the Video 75
audience might not like the entire video but might just tune in for the top
3 picks towards the end of a lister. Consistency also comes into play with
the different video assets, let’s say you plug your YouTube card links in the
video, having these links pop-up discretely in a fixed spot across all your
videos will help the viewer not lose focus since they can anticipate the same.
The most important factor that you need to maintain is the consistency
of your theme. Your channel will be classified as per this theme. You could
be a gaming channel for PC games or console games or mobile games. You
are essentially a gaming channel. Perhaps you can tackle real world issues
and highlight those local stories which aren’t getting the right amount of
attention, thus, making you the voice of a community. Or maybe you can
just upload cat videos. You can’t be a jack of all trades as those channels
never survive for long.
Likes, Dislikes and Comments
These matter, a lot! Just like every major search engine on the planet will not
reveal how their algorithm ranks products against each other, even YouTube
doesn’t say much about how Likes, Dislikes and Comments factor into how
well videos do aside from the simple explanation that Likes are better. And
getting more comments on your videos obviously adds to the engagement
and anything with higher engagement is likely to be recommended.
YouTube’s algorithm gets refined on a regular basis and the magnitude
to which these factors affect your video’s visibility in YouTube will change
from time to time. Recently, with the introduction of the trending page on
They matter more than you think
76 Beyond the Video
YouTube, a greater focus was placed on ‘likes gained per unit time’. This led
to YouTubers acting like over-enthusiastic car salesmen practically begging
for likes on each video. However, the algorithm was soon modified and ‘likes
gained per unit time’ don’t affect videos by the same margin.
There are different metrics for likes and dislikes but the most common
statistic is to maintain something between a 20:1 to 10:1 ratio of likes-todislikes on your videos. Also, this ratio is an indicator of how good your
videos are. If you make a video that your audience doesn’t like then you
should expect a drastic change in your likes-to-dislikes ratio. Sometimes,
when you change the direction of your channel, you might see a similar
drop in this ratio but that’s natural. All you need to worry is about losing
out too many of your fans.
Analytics
Likes and dislikes are the easiest metrics to help you understand how well a
video is doing. If you want better insights for each video and even historical
data to chart your channel’s growth. The best thing is, you get detailed
analytics for free. You can simply login to YouTube and then navigate to
YouTube.com/analytics or click on your account icon and then go to the Creator
Studio. In Creator Studio, click in Analytics.
Analytics gives you detailed information about earnings, audience
engagement and the different traffic sources giving you traffic. It also
Get deeper insights with analytics
Beyond the Video 77
includes various filters like Content, Device type, Geography or location,
Date or time frame, Subscriber status, Playback type (live or on demand),
Traffic by YouTube product, etc.
Take for example the earnings report. If will provide you with how much
your videos have earned, over what period and even which advertisement
formats have worked the best for you. This highly personalised information
is very useful towards optimising your earning potential.
Audience retention report gives you graphical data with information
about when your audience left the video or which segments were most
popular. You could use this data to figure out what kind of videos your
audience likes and you can even build newer video series based on such
data. The first 15 seconds form the most important time for your videos.
This period is what your audience uses to determine whether to watch
more of the video.
Traffic sources reports will show you how viewers are ending up on
your YouTube video or channel. These could be internal sources like You-
Retention report tells you which segment was the most popular
Tube search, or related videos or even the trending page if your video goes
viral. Sometimes, your video will get shared on an aggregator platform or
on social media and you might see a tremendous rise in views. You can
utilise this information to decide how to better publicise your videos. You
should optimise your video tags and metadata based on such information.
Go Social
We aren’t going to harp much about the importance of social media here.
We’re pretty certain you know it all. However, you should check out tools
like HootSuite and Buffer to easily manage all your social media profiles.
78 Beyond the Video
Leverage social media to build your community and get a better connect.
This will help you increase engagement with your viewers not only on your
social media platforms but also on your YouTube channel. These numbers
are how other YouTubers and advertisers decide to collaborate with you.
The higher your social media presence, the more advertising deals you can
strike. YouTube’s own monetisation system pays little so moving to discrete
advertisers is absolutely necessary as you grow your channel.
CHAPTER #09 Show me the money
79
SHOW ME
THE MONEY
YouTubing is a great way to make a
living. You can literally make millions,
here’s how!
Introduction
YouTube has some of the most mind boggling stats you will ever come
across. A survey states that around 300 hours of videos are uploaded to
YouTube every minute. This means that b the time you are done reading
this sentence, more than 50 hours of new video content will have been
uploaded online. It has a staggering user base of 1.3 billion users and is the
second most used search engine on the internet after Google.
80 Show me the money
YouTube has given birth to a new breed of celebrities, called YouTubers
who are earning millions every year through their YouTube account and
have made a career out of this.
This is probably the most important chapter in this issue of FastTrack.
Read on to find out how you can join the ranks of those people and start
earning money through your YouTube account.
How do people make money from Youtube?
• Revenue from advertisements
YouTube lets you add advertisements through Google AdSense to your
YouTube videos and earn revenue of them. This is the simplest way most
of the YouTubers use to monetize their content.
• Affiliate link
Just like other affiliate marketing techniques, you add the affiliate link to a
product in your video description and ask your viewers to buy it through it.
• Sponsorships and product placements
You can get sponsorship deals with various brands where you will be paid
to market their product through your YouTube channel. This doesn’t mean
you have to straight up ask people to buy the product. You can review the
products or services a company is providing, recommend it or use and
promote their product indirectly.
• MCN
Like talent agencies in the real world, MCNs or Multi Channel Networks
offers a hosts of services to YouTubers which include promotion, getting
brand deals and sponsorship contracts in exchange of a cut from your revenue.
So how do i start earning money from Youtube?
Start earning right now with the YouTube Partner program
What is the YouTube Partner Program?
YouTube started the partner program a couple of years back. It lets you
‘partner’ with YouTube and use Google’s AdSense to display a variety of
advertisement, mostly related to the content you upload on your channel
and in your videos. Every time, someone clicks one of those banner ads or
watches one of the ’TV-commercial’ type ad played before or during your
Show me the money 81
video, you get some money. More the number of clicks, and more the number
of people watching these advertisements means more money for you.
It is one of the simplest and quickest way to earn money through YouTube, but remember the amount won’t be significant, at least in the beginning. You need many subscribers and views to earn a substantial amount
and hence most successful YouTubers have multiple sources of income
with the money from advertisements being just one of them.
How do I become a partner?
It is very easy to join the YouTube Partner Program but before that you
need a Google AdSense account to earn money from the videos and get
paid, and your videos should meet the following minimum requirements:
1. The videos you upload should be advertiser-friendly. The ads YouTube
puts on your videos are related to your content so that the people who
come to watch your videos have a higher chance of clicking on the ads.
2. The content you are posting should be original. You can only monetize
videos that has either completely original content or work by other artists which you have permission to use.
3. The videos you upload should comply with the Terms and Conditions
of YouTube video uploads and follow the Community guidelines. So
basically your videos shouldn’t contain nudity, abuse someone, spread
hate towards a person or community etc.
If your videos meet these requirements and you have an AdSense account
you are all set to go. Follow these steps to join the YouTube Partner Program:
1. Sign in to your account
2. Click the account icon in top right corner and select ‘Creator Studio’
3. Click on ‘Çhannel’ from the left menu, and select ‘Status and Features’
4. Select enable under monetization
5. Follow the steps shown on the screen and accept the ‘YouTube Partner
Program’ terms and conditions.
And Voila! You are all set now. You can now either choose to monetize all
your videos or select individuals. All you have to do is go the Video Manager,
select the Monetization tab and select the videos you want to monetize.
There are different types of ads that can be displayed and you get to
choose which ones you want to enable on your video. Here is a brief about
the different formats of advertisemets offered by Youtube:
• Display ads - These are the advertisements that appear on the right of
the video player and above the suggestions list in the browser window.
82 Show me the money
•
•
•
•
•
Overlay ads - These are the semi transparent pop up ads that appear
on top of your video.
Skippable video ads - These ads pop up either before or during your
video and can be skipped after 5 seconds.
Non-skippable video ads - With no option to skip, the viewer has to
watch whole of it before he can start watching your videos.
Bumper ads - Bumper ads are added to the start of our video (hence the
name bumper) and are less than 6 seconds. These ads cannot be skipped
Sponsored cards - Small cards of different sizes are put on top of
your video.
There are different types of advertisements that are embedded into your YouTube
video and channel. The above screenshot shows a display ad on the left and a skippable video ad being played in the player window
Display and overlay advertisements are only displayed on desktop while
all the other types are common across all the platforms including mobile
devices. Go through all the types of ads, and select the ones that you think
your audience wouldn’t mind and would actually help them.
Also, becoming a YouTube partner doesn’t mean that you cannot upload
your videos anywhere. You would still own the content you created and can
upload to as many different places as you want.
How to earn money through sponsorship, endorsement and
product placement?
Sponsorship is how most big YouTubers earn their big bucks. So if you
want to step up your game and earn more money, getting a sponsor is the
Show me the money 83
way to go. So how do you go about getting sponsors? We’ll get to that in a
bit, but before that there is a set of prerequisites that you need to look at
before you can start approaching sponsors
• Quality content - On YouTube, both the quality and quantity of the
content you post matters. Obviously, your initial videos would have
been amateurish but before approaching someone for sponsorship you
need to be putting out quality content regularly.
• Quantity of content - Don’t approach sponsors on day 1 of your YouTube
channel. Start easy and build up a backlog of good content before you
decide on approaching them. The first thing they ( or even the viewers
for that matter) check out when they open your channel is your previous
videos. So make sure you have a good number of uploaded videos before
approaching anyone
• A viewer/ subscriber base - Sponsorship is a 2 way street- you are
looking to earn money, sponsors are looking to expand their reach and
brand. And the only way this can happen is when your channel, the one
being sponsored, has a good subscriber base and your uploaded videos
come up with a good number of views regularly.
Once you are sure that you are putting out good, quality content regularly and your work is getting a regular amount of views, you can start
approaching various companies and people for sponsorships.
• Start off by identifying your audience. Your sponsor will be sponsoring
you because he wants your viewers to buy its products. So identify
the products that your subscribers and viewers might be interested in
buying.Engage with them and figure out what they want.
• Next, decide upon what you can give to the brands that are sponsoring
you. Their product needs to fit in somewhere and you can not just randomly pick it up in one of your videos and ask your viewers to go buy
it. List down what you are willing to do and in exchange for what. Will
you be reviewing their product in exchange for keeping it? Will you
exclusively use their product in exchange of a sum of money? Think
and come up with different plans with different pricing.
• Now that you know what your viewers might be interested in buying
and what you can offer, make a comprehensive list of brands and companies that sell those products and services. Research all such brands
from big companies to smaller startups and ways in which you can help
them promote themselves
84 Show me the money
•
•
Now you need to contact all the brands and companies you have listed
and send them a sponsorship proposal. But you need to keep in mind
that you cannot just edit the company name and send the same proposal to each one of them. Come up with a basic template for your
proposal but customise it to each brand you are contacting, add specific
points detailing how your channel will help their brand and what you
are willing to do for them. This may include featuring or reviewing
their products, shout outs, or an exclusive deal with their brand.
You need to come up with reasons for the brand to sponsor you,
Lastly, the sponsorship plan you send them should be detailed enough,
explaining to them what you they can expect from you and what you
Sponsorship deals are where the heavy money lies
expect from them in return. And make sure all these points are clear. A
good sponsorship plan not only shows you the effort you have put in,
but will also form the basis of the sponsorship deals you bag
Sponsorships are, without doubt, one of the best ways to generate high
revenue from your YouTube channel. But you need a good subscriber
base, and make videos with relevant content before approaching brands
for sponsorship deals. So first focus on increasing your reach and then
start contacting these companies. Also, always disclose what content is
sponsored and what is not to your audience. Not only is this the right thing
to do, but also will make your viewers appreciate and trust you more. And
contrary to popular perception, doing a few sponsored videos won’t make
your viewers run away from your channel screaming ‘Sellout’.
Show me the money 85
What are MCNs? Are they worth joining?
MCNs or Multi Channel Networks can be called the talent management
companies of YouTube. They are third party service providers, which you
can join and they will take care of a number of things for you including getting brand deals, helping you with content productions, getting you in touch
with celebrities and other YouTube stars for collaboration, in exchange for a
cut of the profit you are making or rights over the content you are creating.
Joining a MCN can be beneficial but there are a number of things you
need to keep in mind including reading the fine prints on the contract.
There are a number of Multi Channel Networks on YouTube though
remember they are neither endorsed by Google or YouTube. There are
Maker studio is one of the most famous MCN on YouTube. They are behind the ‘Rap battles of history’ saga videos and have partnered with a number of other famous channels
some key points that you need to understand before you decide on joining
an MCN which include
• Your revenue will flow through your MCN’s AdSense account instead
of yours. They will take the pre decided share from the revenue and
pay you the rest.
• Make sure whatever you are promised, be it brand sponsorships, or a
dedicated sales and marketing team for your channel, it is written down
clearly in the contract.
Lately MCNs have earned a bad reputation for themselves because of
stingy and shady contract deals and empty promises.So is joining a MCN
worth the effort and trust?
86 Show me the money
Atleast according to The richest Youtuber, PewDiePie, ‘No, they aren’t’.
We list down the pros and cons of joining a Multi Channel Network here.
Pros
•
•
•
MCNs can help you get brand deals. They will approach the brands on
your behalf, negotiate the financial aspect of the deals, and take care
that you are paid what you are worth, because, well, that is how they
will get paid.
Many MCNs offer copyright protection. This doesn’t mean that you
can use copyrighted content but, that their network will receive a strike
instead of your channel, and in case of a false contentid claim, they will
dispute it and handle all the issues
Most of the MCNs work with a large number of channels. This will give
you a chance to collaborate with other YouTube artists easily. Also, they
will help you get celebrities for your videos.
Cons
•
•
•
You will be splitting the revenue with them. Already the money you are
making from your advertisements are split between you and YouTube.
The MCN you signup with will take a share from your cut of the revenue.
Many MCNs make promises they can’t keep. These hollow promises
may include anything from getting you celebrities that never show up,
to brand deals and sponsorships they told you about in the beginning,
but you never get.
The most important part of joining an MCN is the contract you sign.
Many big MCNs have recently come under lashback fromt the YouTube
community because of the shady fine print they put up in their contracts.
There have been instances where YouTubers have lost copyright to their
own content because they missed out on some detail in the contract. If
you decide on signing up with an MCN, make sure you negotiate well,
and get what you want written down in the contracts. Also go through
the contract in details not once, or twice but thrice, and make sure you
didn’t miss out on anything.
So the final question- Are MCNs worth joining?
See, an MCN won’t increase your revenue directly. You’ll still be making
money through YouTube’s advertisements, and even from that you will be
paying a cut to the MCN. A good MCN can surely help you increase your
Show me the money 87
viewer base, get you good branding deals and help collaborate with other
YouTubers, but the thing is you can do all of these on your own too, albeit,
you’ll have to put in more effort. But all your money will be yours. We will
suggest avoiding going down this road. There are a number of other ways
to promote yourself, and with dedicated time and effort you can make it
big on your own.
How to earn money through affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is one of the most common way to earn money online
and you must have come across the term for sure if you have ever Googled
‘how to earn money online’.
PewDiePie, the richest YouTube celeb is strictly against MCNs and believes they are not
doing anything but ‘leeching off smaller YouTube creators’
In simplest terms, in affiliate marketing you recommend some online
product and get a commision every time someone earns money because of
your recommendation.
Generally people put affiliate links (specifically generated URLs that
track who sent the user to the seller’s website) on their blogs, websites and
social media. They recommend the product and ask people to buy it from
their affiliate link. Every time someone does this, they get paid.
YouTube Affiliate marketing works in the same way. You recommend
some product, put it’s affiliate link in your description box and every time
someone clicks it and buys the product, you get a commission. Affiliate
88 Show me the money
marketing can help you earn good money, but it is not for everyone. You
cannot put affiliate links to some online product if all you make are reaction
videos. Your channel needs to have a niche that has a number of product
being sold online. You also need to have a good fanbase of people who trust
your recommendations.
If you want to succeed in YouTube affiliate marketing, follow these tips.
• Try to get into a niche that has lots of products being sold online, some
of which are gaming, survival tips, fashion etc.
• Garner a strong fanbase that are loyal and trust our recommendations.
The best way to ensure this is constantly coming up with good content
and recommendations.
• Link your channel to your social media and blogs and increase the reach
of your affiliate links.
•
•
•
Other indirect ways to earn money through your YouTube channel
Crowdfunding/ Donations - You can ask your subscribers to donate
money to help you keep your channel alive, or crowdfund a pet project
of yours.
Merchandises - Instead of
getting paid you may get to
keep the merchandises you
get to review or test at times.
This is a good deal, especially
when you are starting off
your YouTube career.
Upload your content on
Upload the content you are creating onto
other platforms - The content
other websites like Vimeo and Dailymotion
and increase your audience
you are creating is your own
and you are not restricted only to
YouTube. Upload the videos to other websites like Vimeo and Dailymotion and open up another stream of revenue from there.
CHAPTER #10Channels for Inspiration
89
CHANNELS
FOR
INSPIRATION
Got all the gear you needed and don’t
know where to start?
W
e’ve put together a bunch of YouTube channels, which are
good at what they do and can give you some inspiration.
Most of the channels featured here are not ones backed
by large production firms that push top class content,
but regular people who figured out YouTube as their career. The channels
span across categories such as Tech, Lifestyle, Vlog, Science, Comedy, News,
Music and more.
90 Channels for Inspiration
If you look at the top channels on YouTube, a good metric to judge that is
the number of subscribers. Subscribers on YouTube are a tricky thing. They
are generally your more involved audience, who engage with your content
by subscribing to your channel. This lets you know the approximate reach
of your content and base other metrics on this. While it is hard to say for
sure that YouTube has a gaming and tech bias, you can observe it in terms
of the content produced and user profiles.
Tech:
MKBHD
Marquees K Brownlee or MKBHD as he is known, is a tech YouTuber who
started out by producing tutorials/reviews of hardware products and some
freeware. He used to screencast in his earliest videos, with a voice over.
He then began expanding into shooting video after requests from viewers
wanting to see the hardware on video. MKBHD’s content focuses on mobile
devices, but he has moved to reviewing auto tech as well. He was formerly
a professional ultimate frisbee player and started off reviewing the gadgets
he owned or got his hands on.
Linus Tech Tips
Among humble beginnings, Linus Tech Tips can be counted as one. Linus
Sebastian was working as a sales representative with NCIX, a Canadian
Online Computer Store. He was asked to make a few videos demonstrating
Channels for Inspiration 91
the products. The company later cut funding and forced Linus to set up
his own venture. This venture then led to the creation of the Linus Media
Group and established Linus Tech Tips. The content is mainly focused on
computer components and building PCs. He has several hundred reviews
and demonstrations of various computer components. He is best known for
his tutorials on building a PC and his videos are some of the most viewed
for new PC builders.
Science
Minute Physics
Minute Physics aims to solve the problem of diminishing attention spans of
the audience today. They have a unique model of explaining simple concepts
in physics such as “Why the solar system is flat?” by using drawings and
illustrations in just a few minutes. This allows for the creation of byte-sized
content, which can be easily consumed by audiences and doesn’t need the
audience to remain glued to the video for a long time. So if you want to learn
a quick physics concept, this is the channel for you.
92 Channels for Inspiration
Veritasium
Veritasium takes a slightly different course from Minute Physics. Derek
Muller started this channel in 2010 to debunk common misconceptions
in science and to explain most physical phenomenon. He does a mixture
of content, everything from documentaries, to short films, interviews, polls
and illustrations to explain the various concepts in simple terms. While it
may not be strictly educational, it lets you learn a few facts here and there.
In his early videos, he is seen going around and asking people why certain
scientific phenomenon occurs such as the moon appearing closer than it
actually is, how a slinky does not actually defy gravity. He has now branched
into showing the public the recent scientific inventions or discoveries, which
are presented in an easy way for the public to grasp.
ASAP Science
ASAP science is a more
recent channel started
by Mitchell Moffit and
Gregory Brown to explain
the various phenomenon
occurring in your body and
around you. They explain
these in a easy manner by
using illustrations and
multi colored graphical ele-
Channels for Inspiration 93
ments that makes it less professional and easier to understand
for the public. Their biggest hit
was when they latched on to the
viral post about a certain dress
color and explained why there
was a confusion around it.
Comedy
Lilly Singh
(||Superwoman||)
Lilly Singh is a Canadian YouTuber who started producing
videos as a way to cope with her
depression. She is a well known
vlogger and appeals to the female
demographic of YouTube. She posts content related to her everyday life
around being a woman and being of Indian heritage. Her channel also
features Q&A sessions in which she showcases behind-the-scenes content
as well. She has recently collaborated with a bunch of celebrities and even
produced a couple of music videos where she sings, raps and more.
PewDiePie
For a long while now, a certain YouTuber who goes by the name PewDiePie,
has been holding the position of the channel with most subscribers on You-
94 Channels for Inspiration
Tube. PewDiePie or Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg was born in Sweden, but currently resides in the UK. He started off by recognizing that there was a void
in the field of gaming on YouTube. He started making gameplay videos and
uploading them. When he told his parents that he wanted to give up other
pursuits to make videos full-time, his parents completely rejected the idea
and even stopped supporting him. During this time, he funded his earlier
videos by working at a hot-dog stand. While he mostly focused on gaming,
he also branched out to comedy and doing video logs. Many YouTubers have
tried to replicate PewDiePie’s success and have failed. When he started off,
he started treating his subscribers and followers with respect and engaged
with them regularly. His engagement with his audience can be seen as one
of the biggest factors of his success. At the time of writing of this article, he
had uploaded around 3400 videos. He has racked up 52 million subscribers,
making his channel the largest in terms of subscribers. Interesting note he had initially named his channel PewDie, because that combines ‘Pew’,
the sound of a laser gun and Die, which is what usually happens in a game
when you’re shot at by a laser gun. Then how come his channel is called
PewDiePie? Well, he simply forgot the password to the first one.
Music
Justin Bieber
One of YouTube’s many celebrated successes, Justin Bieber’s talent was
showcased on YouTube mainly by his mother and later on his own channel.
Channels for Inspiration 95
He used to perform covers of famous pop songs and post videos on YouTube.
His singing talent was recognized by a record label producer and signed
a contract with him to release his first album. Though his music largely
caters to the teenage female audience, he is one of the top rated YouTubers
of all time. While there are largely different opinions regarding how good
he is as an artist, there is no denying the role that YouTube has played in
his success story.
Penn Masala
Although Penn Masala did not begin their journey on YouTube, a large part
of the success in their discovery can be attributed to it. Penn Masala is an
a-capella band focusing on Hindi. It was started by a group of Indians in
1996 at the University of Pennsylvania and was unique to its time as the only
Hindi a-cappella group. They soon moved into Hindi and English fusion
music and started posting content on YouTube. They became really popular
after producing a mashup of old Hindi songs titled “The Evolution of Bollywood Music” 2 years ago. The video has about 2 million views till date.
What all these channels have in common is that, they’ve picked their own
content style and are able to connect with their audiences. Most YouTube
channels are popular not because they have viral content every time, but
because YouTube’s discovery algorithm promotes consistency. So a person
who’s uploading videos on a regular basis, is likely to see a larger audience
96 Channels for Inspiration
growth than someone who uploads sporadic content. It is also important
to follow up with the content you’ve posted. YouTube comments can be
nasty, but can also provide good insights into audience behaviour and the
kind of content people prefer. On the other hand, YouTube is used by a lot
of brands to promote their products and content and these channels have
exorbitantly high budgets and backing from professional production studios.
If you’re someone who’s just starting off, you’ll need to study the mechanics
of how YouTube deals with its content and how to make your audiences
grow organically.
You’ll also find that a lot of YouTubers put all their effort and time
into their channel, and eventually make this their day job. While this is
not impossible, it is very hard. Initially, you’ll need to ensure that your
channel is being properly monetized and the payout you’re getting covers
at least the basic cost of content production. Most YouTubers also tailor
the content according to their audiences. This will help you engage with
your audience better.