How to Make a YouTube Video

Making a YouTube video is a way to share your thoughts and creative endeavors with a worldwide audience. By following the steps in this guide, you can learn all you need to know about how to make, upload, and share a YouTube video of your own.

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Part1

Choosing Your Equipment

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   Use a smartphone for mobility. Practically every smartphone on the market comes with two things that make video recording easy and fun: a decent amount of free space to store video files, and a camcorder function for making them. Keep in mind that although smartphones are very portable, the audio/visual quality may not be as great as a dedicated video device, such as a full sized camera/camcorder. Make sure to check if there are any attachments such as a microphone that can improve the quality of your video.

   • Depending on the phone you're using, the camcorder may have its own app button, or it may be contained elsewhere, typically in a sub-menu of the camera app. If you're having trouble finding your phone's camcorder function, review its instruction manual or check online.
     
   • Smartphones generally have a good amount of storage space, but video files eat that storage space like kids eat candy on Halloween. Be aware that a smartphone camera may not be the most practical choice if you're planning to cut a very long video.
     
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   Use a webcam for convenience. As with smartphones, nearly every computer made in the last 15 years either comes with an integrated webcam (usually just above the monitor), or can be equipped with one.

   • Webcam technology is so cheap these days that used cams can often be found for $5 or less. Be aware that price and video quality are likely to scale upward together.
     
     
   • Most computers can handle webcam input with pre-installed software, but if you need a program for yours, consider Video Booth, a free and intuitive piece of software that has received positive reviews from regular users and professional reviewers alike.
     
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   Use a camcorder for quality. More specifically, use a hand-held digital or optic-media video recording device. Most camcorders manufactured in the last decade qualify. Use editing software such as Windows Live Movie Maker, and once you become more experienced, you can migrate into more professional software.

   • The most important thing with your camcorder is that it has some way to easily transfer videos onto your computer. Look for USB outputs, or opt for a device that records to discs your computer can read.
     
   • Avoid older technologies, such as VHS camcorders and home Super 8 cameras. There's nothing wrong with these formats per se, but transferring video from them onto your computer is much, much more difficult and expensive than with a digital camcorder.
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   Record content that is on your computer monitor. This can be accomplished by downloading 3rd party software that will allow you to record your screen.

   • Some notable options for recording your monitor are Open Broadcast Software, XSplit, and CamStudio. Open Broadcast Software is very user friendly, and the quality of its recordings are top notch. If you feel that you cannot find a good enough program for free, then you always have the option to purchase software to record your screen. Many programs also give you the option to live stream your content, so keep that in mind when searching for software.
   • Many programs enable you have several windows being recorded at once. If you wish, then you can easily set up a face-cam using the previously discussed webcam. By doing so, you can record the main content while having your face-cam as an overlay on the surface of the main content. This is mainly done by streamers, but many people also use this technique for YouTube Videos.
   • When recording, be sure that both the audio and video are properly being recorded by first making a test clip and viewing it.

Part2

Coming Up With an Idea

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   Go with the flow. Consider one of the popular YouTube formats. YouTube hosts videos from millions of users, but some types of video are more popular than others:

   • Video blogs, or “vlogs,” are regularly-updated video series featuring the creator talking about whatever is on his or her mind, usually for 10 minutes or less. These generally use a webcam for convenience.
   • Montages are videos filled with images or video clips, set to music. They usually don't have any spoken dialog. They can be thought of as the web equivalent of a projected slide show.
   • Pet videos are always popular. These are typically recorded with a hand-held device, such as a smartphone or camcorder. They often feature the creator's pet doing something funny or endearing.
   • Reviews are video blogs that review a product or service. Being sardonic and funny when reviewing something will get more people to watch.
   • Comedy videos encompass a wide range of styles and approaches. They're best done with friends, and can feature anything from practical jokes, to silly dancing, to scripted sketches and beyond.
     • Many people browse YouTube specifically to find funny videos, so you're sure to find an audience if you can make one.
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   Make a video for a personal purpose. If you'd like to share an experience with friends or relatives who can't be there to live it with you, YouTube is a great way to bridge the gap.

   • Plan ahead of time to film events like family picnics, weddings, and birthdays so that you'll have the raw video to edit and upload to YouTube later.
   • You can choose to lock a video so that only people with the specific URL (web address) of the video can view it, but that's no guarantee it won't eventually be seen by third parties. Keep the content of your video above-board and in accordance with YouTube's guidelines.
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   Make a video out of other videos. This practice is especially popular with clips that don't belong to any specific YouTube user, such as clips of old cartoons and TV shows.

   • If you're taking this route, you won't need video recording equipment, but you will need source files in the form of downloadable video clips. (YouTube clips aren't normally downloadable.)
   • These "remix" videos often exist in legal limbo. You're unlikely to get in any trouble for making one, but if one of the copyright holders for the original clips in your video requests that YouTube remove it from their site, they will do so immediately.
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   Consider writing up a script. While you don't have to do this, if you're not good at thinking things off the top of your head, it can be helpful. Simply type out a script. You don't have to memorize it––you can just look at it or be prompted by it.

Part3

Making the Video

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   Record your footage. Once you've settled on an idea for your video, perform whatever tasks you must to set up and prepare, then record the video.

   • Record multiple takes. For most types of video, there's nothing wrong with doing multiple “takes” until you get everything right. You can also record a video in parts and then stitch them together on your computer to make a cohesive whole.
   • Record more than you plan to use. You can edit out the extra bits later on. There's no reason to worry too much about getting the timing perfect right from the get-go.
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   Film in good light. If possible, film during the day, using natural daylight. This will produce a better quality video and people can see what you're doing clearly. If you're planning to do a nighttime scene, provide a little bit of light so people can see what you're doing. If you have no choice but to film it at night in your house, then turn on a lot of lights.

   • Know which angle is best for you in front of the camera. Play around a little with this, to get the idea.
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   Speak loudly and clearly. People can't understand you if the music is louder than your voice or if you're whispering or mumbling. Make sure that your voice is louder than the music and that everything you say is pronounced clearly.

Part4

Editing the Video

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   Transfer the video from your smartphone. Either connect the phone to your computer, or send the video there wirelessly.

   • To copy files from your phone to your computer, connect the devices with a cable and use your phone's proprietary interface software (for example, iTunes for an iPhone) to transfer the files.
     
   • It should be very easy to send video files from your phone to your computer. Just look at the menu options in the video app of the phone and choose to send your video as an e-mail attachment to your e-mail address, then download the attachment onto your computer.
     
     • Though convenient, this method is likely to be very slow for larger videos.
   • Many smartphones can share your video to YouTube directly. If you don't want to make any edits to your video, this is an acceptable option. Be sure you've registered an account with YouTube and are logged into it on your phone.
     
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   Transfer video from your camcorder. Connect the camcorder to your computer, or insert the video disc into your computer.

   • Your computer and the camcorder should both come with features to make the transfer easy. Generally speaking, all you have to do is highlight the video file(s) you want inside the window that displays the contents of your camcorder or disc, and drag the file(s) onto your desktop (Windows) or hard drive (Mac).
     
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   Find video from your webcam. Find the file where the video clips are stored and select the one(s) you want. Since they're already on your computer, there isn't much else you have to do.
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   Find the footage from your monitor recording software.

   • This can usually be located in the same folder that the software itself is in. Some of the programs transfer it directly to a daughter folder in your Videos folder on your computer, thus allowing you to spend much less time navigating to your recorded footage.
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   Edit your video with Windows Movie Maker. Most Windows users have access to a basic program called Windows Movie Maker that can stitch video clips together, erase unwanted parts, and add title screens, transition effects, and a secondary soundtrack layer if desired.

   • Learn more about using Windows Movie Maker by reading this wikiHow article.
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   Edit your video with iMovie. Mac users should have a program called iMovie (a part of the iLife suite of programs) which does essentially the same things as Windows Movie Maker, but offers some different effects and transitions.

   • iMovie also comes as an iPhone app, which can be purchased for $4.99 and allows you to edit directly on your iPhone.
     
   • Learn more about using iMovie by reading this wikiHow article.
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   Consider other free options. Other popular free video editing programs include:

   • Light works (powerful enough for the pros, but harder to use)
     
   • Avidemux (open source and well-supported with a wiki)
     
   • MPEG Streamclip (takes up almost no space and offers all basic editing options).
     
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   Go pro. If you want the most powerful editing tools available, you'll have to pay for them. Commercial software options include Apple's Final Cut Pro, Adobe's Premier Elements, and CyberLink's Power Director. These range in price from $50 to several hundred dollars.
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   Save and export your finished video. Be sure to export the file to somewhere you can find it easily.

Part5

Uploading and Promoting Your Video

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   Log into YouTube. If you don't have a YouTube account, create one – it's free. All you need is a Gmail account. Once that's done, click "Upload" at the top right corner to begin uploading your video.

   • YouTube will ask you for various pieces of information about your video. Give the site all the information it asks for.
   • Don't upload anything questionably legal, or anything that otherwise violates YouTube's terms of use. You won't get in trouble (at least, not for doing it just once), but the video will be removed as soon as YouTube figures out that something's wrong with it.
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   Upload your video. Once you've told YouTube a bit about your video, click "Upload a Video..." at the bottom of the page. Navigate to your video in the explorer window that appears, and click “Upload.”

   • Uploading a video to YouTube takes some time. Be patient and find something else to do for a little while while your movie uploads.
     
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   Title and describe your video. This is your chance to pique the interest of other viewers, so think of something good.

   • When describing your video, be sure not to just drop in random keywords and phrases to drive traffic to it. People will resent you for it and do their best to ensure that nobody else bothers to watch it.
   • Use a short and to-the-point title, and short, punchy, descriptive sentences in your video description. These steps help the video appear more readily in related search results.
   • Add humor or cleverness. If appropriate, say something sarcastic or funny in your description. As noted earlier, people on YouTube love humor.
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   Promote your video with tags. The most basic way to get your video out there for viewers is to add tags, which are descriptive keywords that affect search results. Tags, like descriptions, should be related to your video.
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   Post your video anywhere. Start by clicking the “Share” tab, located a few lines of space below the video on the right side.

   • To post to a popular social site, find the icons for Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus under the tab heading.
     • Click the triangle next to these icons to reveal more icons.
     • Click the icon of your choice to connect to the site and post the video.
   • To post anywhere else, click the text box above the icon buttons to highlight the shortened URL for the video.
     • Copy the URL and paste it anywhere you like. People who click on the link will be taken to your video.
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   Spread your video around on YouTube. Find popular videos and connect your video to them using comments and video responses.

   • For closely related videos, it's appropriate to leave a comment telling people to view your video as well, although it's considered slightly poor etiquette.
   • A video response is also best left on a video that's related to yours in some way. To leave a video response, click in the comments field and then click “Create a video response” just below the text field. Choose your video and post the response.
   • On unrelated videos, try to be less blatant. Make a clever comment, or one that you think will be popular. People like to inspect the accounts of other users who make popular comments; with luck, some of them will click through and watch your video.

Part6

Not Losing Subscribers

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   Continue to push out quality content. It does not matter how many viewers your videos usually have. If you want people who discover your channel to stay interested in it, then do not ever lower your quality.

   • If you need a starting point for viewers, then just show the videos you make to your friends. If they find it interesting, then they may subscribe to you and even share the video with others.
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   Always thank your viewers. This may seem cheesy, but doing this at the end of every video will help to create your brand, as well as showing your viewers that you are genuine.

   • The only possible exceptions to this rule are videos that are extremely short and/or supposed to end abruptly.
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   Keep a regular posting schedule. Set goals for yourself, such as promising yourself that you will post one video every other week.

   • Do not set unrealistic goals. Estimate how many videos you could manage to make in a certain period of time, and push your expectations back. Two videos every week may be possible for you, but one video per week would probably be a better option. Giving yourself more time to complete videos will increase the value of your videos and of your channel as a whole.