How to record better YouTube videos
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How to record better YouTube videos

As a video editor, it’s my job to make you look good. That makes sense right? I mean, your success equals my success too. Because I get the raw footage of your videos, I see your best and your worst  (don’t worry, your secrets are safe with me). I know how nerve-wracking it can be to be in front of a camera, so I think being prepared and knowing what to do on camera will definitely help make your videos look better and the editing process easier. If you want to learn how to record better YouTube videos, here are the 5 mistakes you’re making when recording a video.

 

Secrets

How to record better YouTube videos

01 Slow it down

Talking too fast. This is a nervous habit. I’m guilty of this too! When you talk too fast, you tend to run your words together. It’s also not flattering to your audience. If you edit your own videos, you’ll also see that it’s hard to edit out mistakes because words will get cut off or force you to keep parts that should have been edited out.

If you’re nervous, stop and take a breath. Those pauses will be edited out anyway. If you’re still nervous, just stop recording and do a dry run. Usually, if I’m nervous, it’s because I’m not prepared so I like to practice and be aware of myself. When I say practice, don’t just read through what you want to say. You have to practice like it’s real. If you practice at 50%, then the real performance will be 50%. Always practice at 100% so you’ll do it naturally at 100%.

 

02 And cut

Just like talking too fast, you need to take a break between thoughts. I have a client who goes from one thought to another without pausing. When you keep plowing through your thoughts, you’re bound to make mistakes and get flustered. You might think that you’re doing a good job because you know your subject and you’re finishing your video quickly, but it doesn’t look good on camera.

It’s kind of like singing. Professional singers don’t just randomly take breaths during a song. If they did, they would destroy the rhythm of the song. Same thing for acting. You don’t see them taking random breaths during a scene. It would be distracting. Well, that’s exactly what happens when you plow through your words.

When you keep talking without pausing, you start randomly taking breaths, or worse, swallow because your mouth is dry, and keep going. When it comes to editing, it’s hard to edit out these random breaths and swallows if you keep talking without a break. Instead of being like the energizer bunny (do you remember him, he just keeps going and going), take a breath, regroup, and then finish your thoughts. It’s all about looking natural on camera.

 

Energizer bunny

 

03 Being too perfect

No one likes making mistakes. We all want to put our best face forward. No one wants to show their worst side, but in this case, do it. I’m here to edit them out. Even celebrities make mistakes. Do you think they can act out their character perfectly on screen? No, they get to have do-overs. That’s how we get to watch awesome bloopers.

bloopers

Your main focus should be knowing your subject and being natural. Even though your audience will likely fall in love with you because they want to emulate you or you’re helping them with your content, they still want you to be human just like them. Read More “How to record better YouTube videos”

Video editing process
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My video editing process

My biggest goal when editing and creating designs for videos is to help you attract your dream audience and become THE authority in your field. When I first envisioned my video editing process for this service, it was geared towards YouTube, but I have since expanded to other social media. The clients that I’m currently working with wanted videos created for Instagram, Instagram stories, and Facebook, so I added those options into this package.

My other goal is to focus on adding lifestyle elements to videos for entrepreneurs. Why? Because your audience wants to connect with you and once they do, they’ll want to follow/subscribe to your account and stay updated. I don’t want you to create a one and done video (those videos people look for to learn something, and when they do, they leave your channel and forget about you). I want you to create an audience that is excited to watch your videos consistently. Now that you know my main goals, here’s what you can expect from my video editing package.

My video editing process

Doing the homework

Once you book my service, you have a little homework to do. The first thing I do when you’re booked as a client is adding you to a project in Asana. Asana is a project management system and it’s where we’ll be doing all of our communication (you’ll still get email notifications, but through Asana).

Don’t worry, it’s FREE and easy to use. I’ll assign you to your task (your homework) and you’ll also see where I am and when things are due for your project. This makes it easier to communicate and manage all our files.

After you get access to your project in Asana, you’ll see that you have a questionnaire to fill out. This questionnaire helps me figure out what style to edit your videos in, your branding, who your audience is, and so on. I need this completed before I start editing your videos.

Also, on the questionnaire, there’s a section that lets me know how you’ll deliver your videos. You’ll let me know if you use Dropbox, Google Drive, Onedrive or any other cloud storage you have. If you want me to upload your videos to YouTube, you can provide access to your login or you can add my email address to your account.

Once you finish the questionnaire, you just mark the task as completed in Asana. The next homework assignment is to give me your brand style guide or elements of your brand (if applicable).

Click here to read more about the client process.

Click here to learn more about Asana. Read More “My video editing process”

Why a vlogger should have a website
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Why a vlogger should have a website

I’m a big fan of binge-watching videos on YouTube. When I fall in love with a vlogger, I tend to go to their YouTube channel and look through their social media and website. I always feel disappointed when I discover that they don’t have a website or that the website is made on another platform that they don’t own (blogger or wordpress.com) because the design is usually subpar. Here’s why a vlogger should have a website.

Why a vlogger should have a website

Stake a claim

Having a website means that you own it. Social media is owned by big businesses that only care about how the platform will make money for them, so they don’t have your best interest at heart. A website is owned by you, which means you can do whatever you want with it at any time.

 

It's mine

 

So once you have one, what’s the point? Well, it’s time to build your community. You want to build a community on your own site, just in case the algorithm changes again on the social media platforms and it becomes harder to reach people. Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest are always changing how your audience views your content. The easiest way to drive traffic to your site is actually pointing your social media followers to your website. Just add your website link to all your social media accounts.

Another way to build a community is to start a newsletter. Just add an opt-in to your website so that people can sign up. You can get started with Mailerlite or Mailchimp for FREE. Later, when you expand, you can start selling products and services to your list, but in the beginning, you want to nurture your list and build your following by providing great content. The point is, having a website gives you control over your content and opens up new avenues for growth.

Venture out

I hinted at new avenues for growth. What does that mean? It means there are so many possibilities for the future. Maybe you started creating videos for fun on YouTube, but then realize you want to do it as a full-time job. Maybe you started it to market one aspect of your business but decided to switch up your business plan and expand.

Dreams and plans always change, so it’s better to be prepared. It’s never too early to start. The first thing you should do is have a website so you can start collecting subscribers so that you’ll have potential customers who will know you and trust you. Next, you want to think about how you want to be perceived and who you want to attract. Once you answer that question, you can start thinking about branding your business (branding usually comes before the website, but you want to get started quickly).

 

endless possibilites

 

If you’re not sure what you want to do, just start thinking about where you want to be in one year. Then, think about 5 years from now. Are you going to still create videos then? Do you want to have your own business? It’s worth thinking about or preparing for just in case. Read More “Why a vlogger should have a website”

5 ways to brand your YouTube channel
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5 ways to brand your YouTube channel

YouTube has evolved tremendously. I remember when anyone would just whip out their phone and start recording without thinking about anything. Now, it’s become a big production. No one wants to watch a video that is bad in quality. Even if you’re message is awesome, if it doesn’t look high quality or professional, then no one’s going to watch it. Besides editing, branding will take your videos up to the next level. Here are the 5 ways to brand your YouTube Channel.

5 ways to brand your YouTube channel

Some people start filming a video and upload it without even thinking about branding their channel. If your viewers want to know more about you, then they’re going to click over to your main channel page. I know that’s the first thing I do before I subscribe to any video.

When they get to your channel, they want to get a feel for you and check out your other videos. Just like a website, if the channel looks horrible, then I pass. Here are some simple things to do to make your YouTube channel stand out.

01. Get on the cover

The first thing you need to do is set your channel art. This is one of the first things your viewer sees on your page. You can have a picture of you if it’s all about you or you can just use your logo or YouTube channel name.

 

5 ways to brand your YouTube channel work it

 

Just so you know, you only have a limited space for your channel art. Make sure you only put relevant things on there or it will look cluttered and messy. I would just have my channel name and if you publish on certain days, the days that you post on YouTube.

If you want to create your own channel art (*shameless plug* I include this in my Multimedia Headquarters package), you can use Canva. Make sure you keep the dimensions in mind. The channel art is responsive to desktops and laptops, mobile, and TV. Just keep in mind when you’re designing. You’ll want to keep a lot of negative space (whitespace or make sure you see a lot of the background)because the desktop dimensions are very limited.

02. Make Headlines

Read More “5 ways to brand your YouTube channel”

Brand x Web Design for Tutor in Tinseltown
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Brand x Web Design for Tutor in Tinseltown

Overview

Tutor in Tinseltown offers tutoring services and behavioral and academic consulting. In the future, Tutor in Tinseltown plans to expand into creating products and workshops that educate and assist parents within those categories.

Target Audience

Parents with children 4-20 who have academic, social, and/or behavioral concerns for their children.

Inspiration Board

Brand x Web Design for Tutor in Tinseltown mood board Read More “Brand x Web Design for Tutor in Tinseltown”

Branding and expanding your multimedia empire
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Branding and expanding your multimedia empire

In part 1 of How to build your multimedia empire, I talked about fear, how to get over fear, content ideas, and outlining ideas. If you missed it, check it out here. In this post, I’ll be going over branding and expanding your multimedia empire.

Branding and expanding your multimedia empire

Once you make the leap into creating video content, you want to focus on your brand. Your brand consists of everything from your image, scenery, voice, and so on. You want to make sure that you’re projecting the image you want to create. Read More “Branding and expanding your multimedia empire”

build your multimedia empire
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How to build your multimedia empire : Part 1: Getting over obstacles and making your mark

Congrats! You already took the first step into creating your multimedia empire and that is seriously considering it. I don’t want to waste your time, so this post is geared to those who already have evergreen content (newsletters, blogs, etc.) or videos (YouTube, webinars, workshops, and live video tutorials) that they want to use to start building/expanding their audience. Here’s how to build your multimedia empire. Read More “How to build your multimedia empire : Part 1: Getting over obstacles and making your mark”