How hard is it to make and edit a youtube video?

... for free...

...without a phone?

I have a camera and a tripod.

I have an idea.

It would take multiple shots at multiple angles.  

There wouldn't be any talking.  I was considering making it ASMR but maybe I need a microphone for that.  Otherwise, I would need to find some free music somehow.  

How hard can it be?

It took me 2 hours to edit out a half second "ummm" from a video i shot. My ambitions for a YouTube channel fizzled after that.

It did seem doable with free software and a pc. Its like any software, just knowing what buttons to push. They have their own little shortcut commands. I could see where it would get easier and easier over time.

I'm thinking the videos will be 11 min each and have four different angles max.  I might set up two cameras so I only have to do the thing twice.  

There won't be talking.  But there might be roosters and geese chattering in the background.  I'm okay with that.

It looks like it will be too difficult to remove the ambient noise from my home for filming.  So I'm going to need some music.  

I wonder if anyone on permies designs and sells (replace that with musical words) soothing but uplifting instrumental music for use on
YouTube videos?

I planned it out, and it looks like seven videos, 11 min long each.  Material costs, $110 plus music.  There seems to be an editor  for free with windows 10 that  might work.

Not sure if it is worth pursuing, but I kind of like the idea.  Maybe worth putting on YouTube, or selling as a course in how to make such and such.  I plan to write a pattern for sale, and the videos could be extra.

R,

Actually, I have found video editing to be fairly straightforward.  I did get a $30 editing software, a minimal investment in my opinion.  It is a fully loaded program and will likely do just about whatever you wish to do for a short video.  One nice aspect is that you can export the video to disc, or you can export the video straight to YouTube, treating YouTube like another disc.

Regarding the music, there is a bunch of free background music that YouTube offers for free.

Eric

You can get free music here. Last time I looked, he only asked for a credit with his url in it.

What do you do when making a video?  Do you just take the footage and somehow toss it together at the editing like a salad?  Or do you plan the order and how long on each shot?

How about fast-forwarding the boring bits?  Is that easy to do when editing or do I need to do something fancy when recording?

What settings do I put on my camera?  When I go to look at what type of video I can take, there are a lot of numbers and choices.  

R,

So I once made a series of videos about some tractor attachments.  I had a general idea of what I wanted to accomplish and what angles I wanted to demonstrate.  I had my cameraman standing in the approximately correct position.  One thing I was extremely careful about was to never show my house as I wanted at least some degree of anonymity.  At any rate, I got several shots for each position or operation I was trying to demonstrate.  In other words, I shot way more footage than I planned to use.

Once I got the footage shot, I imported the videos onto my computer.  I used the video editor called wondershare, which is a relatively cheap editor, but it does all of the basics.  When you have the video editor open, I used a setting that showed the entire video as set up on a timeline.  You can watch the video in real time and find where it is on the time line.  Once there, find the exact portions you want to retrieve.  This is as easy as watching until you get to the beginning of the clip you want, making a mark using the appropriate tool, and watching until you get to the end of the useful footage where you make a second mark.  Now that the second mark is made, you can copy and export that portion to a new timeline.  It really is just like copy and past.  Then you go back to the original timeline and find the next portion you want and do another copy and past operation.  Do this until you have the video you want.  You can make nice, smooth transitions using a variety in the program, and you can add text.  Doing this eliminates the unnecessary and boring bits of footage.  You can even add in footage from more that one camera, or add in pictures.  It is really pretty simple.

I had no experience editing videos, but it is really a quite simple procedure.  When you are done, you have a collection of video clips that run smoothly into the desired video.  You can add an audio track easily enough.  The software is really pretty user friendly.  You shouldn't have to adjust settings on your camera with the possible exception of the appropriate zoom.  If you can have a cameraman helping you, I have found this to be better and easier, but is not strictly necessary.

If there is anything else I can help you with, I will see what I can do.

Eric

Question:  What settings do I want to put on my camera?  

There are a lot of options with lots of numbers.  

I want it to look nice - much better than a video posted from a phone.  But I don't need it to look epic.  Somewhere in the middle that looks really good for most people's computer.

I also worry about the size of the video on my computer.  For each of the six to seven videos, I suspect I'll be taking 2 to 3 hours of footage.  

For now just make a video of you singing or doing something random. Get a free software and try to cut out the starting and ending bits, that is just extra/un-necessary. The try and remove some part in the middle that you purposely messed up with. Once you do that with some non-critical recording you will feel more confident.  

can I speed up the film after when I'm editing, or do I have to do something fancy like a timelapse?

You can speed up the video while editing.

how long should it take for a 30-second video to upload to youtube?

Depending on your internet connection, a 30 second video should only take a couple seconds.

Eric

Do I click "Is this video made for kids? (required)" yes or no?
(there is no naked stuff in the video)

In order to get past my nerves, I made the most boring video I can think of.  A timelapse of paint drying.

wanna see?



Would anyone be willing to go to the youtube place and leave a comment so I can see what that is like?  https://youtu.be/Eb1QlbuVOyQ

also, did I do the description right?  

R,

You have successfully made paint drying look & feel entertaining!  Good job.

Eric

Viewed, thumbs upped, and commented.

T.J. Stewart wrote:Viewed, thumbs upped, and commented.

It worked.
Thank you.

I feel encouraged to try again.

My critique
- it wasn't as boring as I had hoped.  
- the image quality looked poor with lots of artefacts.  But I did try the lowest quality.
- maybe try HD in the future.

Next time, try spicing things together.

Looks like you are doing it and have the basics figured out!

Good work R!

Eric

You did good R.
It looks like you were able to cut off the beginning and end parts of the original vid and also the end. And also speed up the video. Where you able to remove something from the middle? I like your idea of cut and pasting something from the end to the middle. and maybe even a transition. Next could be cut and paste and mixing videos  from two different video feeds/camera. Then you can work on overlaying so e text/log/image. I like it when an image/infographic/diagram is dropped in a video so that I can see the info in a condense format. I might even pause the video as a viewer to really let the info sink in.

Here's my attempt at splicing different footage together and playing with speed changes.



Thoughts
- image quality was VGA29.97P which didn't give a crisp image but I like the small file size for learning
- the difference in image quality between the two cameras is really obvious.
- the PowerShot had poorer quality but was better at tracking movement and I didn't have to toss as much footage from that as I did my M5 for miss-focusing
- the M5 isn't known for being good at video, but I have plans for working with its limitations
- doing mundane and boring videos helps my confidence.
- you cannot tell (hopefully) but I'm in tears with stage fright but I managed to keep on going and even published some of my body visible in the video
- music didn't match the visuals as well this time.  Maybe choose the music first, then edit to match that.
- it's impossible to keep the sound clean in my home, so I don't think I'll try.  It's not fair to everyone else to ask them to be quiet.  (and it didn't work)
- the scene change wasn't as choppy as I expected, but needs more work.
- I wish I had got more footage of the funny bit about two-thirds of the way along.
- that ending doesn't work for me.  I think that could be fixed with the speed-up button.  
- not having to talk cuts down the stage fright by about 80%.  I'm still a quivering mess, but at least I can keep going and pretend I'm not.
- the little 'card thingy' that suggests the next video only seems to show up when we view it in youtube https://youtu.be/sSxZ4SIXowk
- even with studio lighting, I still had a lot of change in the colour cast for the different angles.  I didn't like this.

It took me three hours to edit this video.

That seems long.  One hour per min of video.  

Part of that was learning the tools, part of that was having too much footage and no real plan.  

Hi R. I did make some youtube videos. But I did not edit. My videos are made all in one shot (with a samsung tablet)

r ranson wrote:Do I click "Is this video made for kids? (required)" yes or no?
(there is no naked stuff in the video)

DON'T click this. It doesn't have anything to do with nudity or swearing. It has to do with tracking children's activity online. Bascially, youtube got in trouble with the US government (FTC branch) for tracking kids activities and what they were watching and giving them targeted ads. The government made a new law called COPPA. They made youtube fork out a lot of money. Youube decided to pass the buck onto the video creators. Instead of, you know, not tracking people, it just decided to make it so that videos for kids aren't generating any data.

Basically, if you make a video that the government thinks is targeted at kids or that they think kids under the age of 12 would like, then you have to mark it as for kids. By marking it for kids, it does a bunch of negative things to your video--and your channel. People cannot comment or like it. This makes your video get a lot less love. It also--if I recall correctly-- makes it so people don't get notifications when you make a new video, and your video doesn't show up in the suggested videos.

For starters, that means YouTube videos designated for kids will not be able to include targeted advertising. In addition, a whole slew of other features that depend on user data will be disabled, including: comments, channel branding watermarks; the “donate” button; cards and end screens; live chat and live chat donations; notifications; and “save to playlist” or “watch later” features.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/13/20963459/youtube-google-coppa-ftc-fine-settlement-youtubers-new-rules


Even if kids--like mine--would enjoy learning from you channel, government people probably aren't thinking it's for kids. Things the government thinks makes it targeted for kids:

The Rule sets out additional factors the FTC will consider in determining whether your content is child-directed:

the subject matter,
visual content,
the use of animated characters or child-oriented activities and incentives,
the kind of music or other audio content,
the age of models,
the presence of child celebrities or celebrities who appeal to children,
language or other characteristics of the site,
whether advertising that promotes or appears on the site is directed to children, and
competent and reliable empirical evidence about the age of the audience.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2019/11/youtube-channel-owners-your-content-directed-children

I'm pretty sure you're not going to be using bright colors in graphics or aiming your videos as teaching kids how to weave or knit. The US government will not think you're making these FOR kids. So, you're safe. You can happy say that your videos are NOT made for kids.

Summary: You get more views if you say it's for adults, so say it's for adults.

Ug!  recording video is getting easier, but the editing is hell!  

Sigh, that's better.  I just culled 2 hours of crap and am left with 8 min of useful video!

Note to self, get better at setting up the shot so I don't have to spend as long culling crap as I do recording!

Also, self, think about continuity when filming.  Seriously girl.  This is terrible.

I found the perfect soundtrack that is 5:31 long, so all that remains is to edit it in order and get it to match that time.  

Today I decided to try HD recording.  NOT doing that again.  It takes WAY too long to do anything with the files and there's no noticeable difference in quality.  

Don't over-think it! ;)

But, if you're looking for great, royalty free, ambient music, check this out: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/search

I use this site all the time for my Instagram IGTV videos. You just need to credit the artist carefully. Instructions are given as you download the music. Otherwise, it's free and professional quality.

Welcome to the world of video! If you want to check out my one-minute gardening clips, most of them are on Instagram: @foodforestcardgame

Just ask me if you want to know how I edit and stuff. I pretty much do it all on Photoshop. Feel free to DM me on Instagram.



Cheers,
Karl

Software-wise: Install free- open source OpenShot, Blender and InkScape

You can create nice titles within OpenShot (it uses Blender and InkScape)

Keep videos to 10-15 minutes for increased watchability

Put explanatory text around the video like the tools you used, the grade of sandpaper etc. with links to your amazon affiliated  shop

There are tons of royalty-free music on YT to use in your videos.

Here's my third attempt at making a video

But before I post it, if you think I should make more videos, please hop over to youtube and give my video a thumbs up.  




I learned a lot!

- HD takes way too much time to move the files and upload to youtube.  My computer is decently fast and my internet is set to warp factor 12, so I think it's simply the massive file size that makes it slow. I don't know if there's enough improvement in picture quality to justify the boredom.
- There were clouds and the sun has this funny habit of moving across the sky over time - so the lighting changed as I was filming.  
- speaking about lighting, I need to find out how to set the two cameras to have the same exposure and white balance - there was quite a bit of difference.
- the camera I borrowed was vastly superior at video than mine, but I bought mine for stills with the understanding that I would never ever want to make a video.

I learned to take stills (albeit blurry) from the video and add text.  

But on the whole, the thing looks rough to me.  Not sure I have the talent for this kind of thing.  

I think you're being too hard on yourself; this video is lightyears ahead of the casual amateur (and many "professional" YouTubers), and the lighting is good.

I recommend carrying through on your original vision for the first set of videos, post them as planned, and see what difference they make for your business. if unsuccessful, then stop; but if they help, you just redeemed your time investment.

Don't let "the perfect become the enemy of the good."

Interesting thread! I have a cheap Samsung phone and a better albeit 10y old photo camera. Is any of these useful? Which editing software do you recommend (name!)?
As for the music I would take care. Some videos have music which is so loud that you can't hear what the person says and some music is very annoying.
I personally really despise electronic yoga sounds.

I've been using Movie Maker which comes free with Windows.  It has a lot of features I haven't tried yet.

I concur; Windows Movie Maker or iMovie for Mac both have plenty of horsepower and all essential features to get you where you need to go - don't buy any software until you have mastered editing on either of these free options.  

That sounds good. I should try it!

Do you have a series that shows how you got the locks to this point (sheared, washed and dyed)? Thanks!

Pinecroft Farm wrote:Do you have a series that shows how you got the locks to this point (sheared, washed and dyed)? Thanks!

That's a great idea.

I don't have anything like that yet, but if it's something people want to see, I can give it a try.


At this stage, I'm still not sure video making is for me.  It's very hard to tell if what I'm doing is useful or just adding to the clutter of the internet.  I've set a benchmark in my mind that if I get 50 likes on that video, then I know it's worth investing more time into this venture.  If not, then I'll just make the occasional one when I feel like it.  

The editing program I use is Hitfilm  pretty sturdy little free thing and they have a paid version for a reasonable price and lots of tutorials on how to use it online.  I've only been at this really seriously since November, but I think I improve with every video!  I'm really really proud of the zoom transition in my most recent one.

Why is it when I upload a video to youtube it makes me wait while it makes an "SD" of the video?

Second serious video edited and uploaded.
I think I figured out how to schedule it for Thursday morning.  Could anyone who is subscribed let me know if they get a notification?

But now I'm watching it, I hear that the background sound stayed.  UG.

Feeling too lazy to fix it.  You guys will just have to deal with the chickens crowing and clucking.
Or I'll get some energy together tomorrow to fix it.

Things I learned
- It rained off and on while filming so I wasn't able to keep the camera angle consistent.  This really messed up the transitions so I compensated by adding some filler (mmm,,, tea!) and learning how to fade.
- chickens are really noisy!
- The Canon M5, while awesome for still shots is not great at video.
- The more I edit video, the more I hate it.
- and I'm still ultra-nervous in front of the camera
- and I forgot to do my hair properly so you get to see messy hair.