Starting to vlog

[blinx615]

So I've been watching youtube daily for almost 6months now and I've gotten more and more interested in vlogging as the days go by. My webcam is a pretty shitty medium for it; so bad that I'm unwilling to even post it. I'm gonna get an HD Cam soon (they're so cheap now anyway; everyone should have one!) and I wanted to start youtubing.

I have plenty to say and tons of opinions to voice, but HOW to do it isn't so obvious. It seems obvious, though, that many people who do well on youtube are very active with the camera. Maybe that takes practice or something, but I need to become more talkative and full of motion and willing to talk as if I'm debating with another person. It just feels strange talking to a camera, haha.

So anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for me as to how to present your opinion to the camera and how to get into that kind of mood that makes you want to be so personable to a camera.

[StarF]

Keep in mind I'm not expert on this at all, I've tried vlogging before but I guess people just don't take to my videos.

Anyway, some trends I have noticed from watching well known vloggers:

1) Most of them contain similar components, that is, they all have special things that people can identify with them. Such as an intro video or intro tag line (Sometimes both. "I'm Dan Brown, Welcome to my universe," "What's up forum?," "Hello kittens," "Hello beardlovers," if you can identify these, my point is proven), some of them have phrases that they consistently use from video to video, and they usually have a special outro as well.

2) Pretty much every one of them also interact with YouTube in some way, generally in the form of asking one question at the end of the video for people to comment on.

3) Consistent style. Most well known Youtubers are known for what they do, because they do it good, whether it's reviewing viral videos, talking about philosophical ideas, or just making random jokes about current events, most Youtubers find something they're good at, and stick with it.

I guess that's about all I've got, and also if you're just gonna start out, unless you're confident that you're entertaining, keep your videos relatively short. If someone doesn't know you, and they see it's a long video, they may be prone not to watch.

Hope this helps!

[blinx615]

Yea, I've seen a lot of those things.
(1) I suppose the intro/outro deal is more or less to make your youtube seem more like a "show" than just some random guy who's vlogging at his computer. But in that way, where do people come up with the crazy animations and whatnot? Are they just graphic geniuses or do they pay people or what? And where can you find free music and such to help with the intro/outro deal? Maybe I should break out my keyboard and make some of my own musics, haha :-p

(2) The interacting deal is something I heard comes from youtube. When you become a partner of youtube, they send you a list of things you should do to increase popularity. High numbers of comments, ratings, and such help to bring your video to the top of the listings.

(3) Suppose this follows with the "show" idea rather than the random vlogger. People want to believe they're watching someone special so you have to make it seem as much like a show as possible. Once you have your poularity is high,m you can do daily vlogs or whatever; the boring stuff that noone would care about before you had popularity.

Thanks. These are definitely things I need to keep tabs on. Youtube has gotten so popular now and I'm eager to jump on the wagon before it collapses. I think that as time goes on, the most popular youtubers will get even MORE popular, and the new people will be even further squashed into the bottom of the youtube listings.

So FYI to anyone who wants to get into youtube, do it ASAP! Things will only be harder later!

[Keitaurin]

I think it's also important to be interactive with your viewers. Like Dan says, the great thing about the internet as a medium is that, unlike previous forms of media, this one allows for an objective conversation rather than someone shoving information down your throat.

Some youtubers find it annoying now because it's becoming more and more popular to do, but I think it's a good idea to pose a question of some sort that is relevant to whatever subject matter you were discussing in your video. It helps to establish that you care about what others feel about ideas that you talked about, and it gives people a sense that they're engaging in a conversation with you rather than just watching you talking for a few minutes and accepting it blindly.

[SmitherMcOwn]

You just need to practice. Do you know the term "learning by doing"? That's what you're gonna have to do. Just think of any topic you want to talk about and record a video. If you're not ready to upload it already, rewatch it a couple of times and maybe show it to a friend or somebody you know on the internet. He or she can tell you, what you're doing wrong or what he likes about your video. And if you don't like the video, don't upload it and try to make a new one.
Or maybe you can practice without a camera. Try to talk to yourself, repeat the sentences and move them around, try to find the best way to say the things you want to say.
You've got to make little steps. You can't just film a vlog and be 100 % perfect immediately. You will improve little by little. Every vlog will be a little bit better than your last one.
Just try it. The most important thing is that you have fun while filming whatever you want to film. =)

[Ferrrrrre]

Just like SmitherMcOwn said.. you just need to make 1 video and then all the thing will fluently fall together like the pieces of a puzzle (unless it's a very hard puzzle xD)

So just make a video, don't think TOO much about the above suggestion of having an intro and outro that'll come that'll come.. Just make 1 video of how you think it should be and wait for feedback and just keep repeating that progress over and over again.. make video, have feedback, use the feedback to become better..

That how I see it

BTW don't be sad if you're getting negative comments (like you suck and other trolling, just ignore them and just use the useful comments that actually suggest something...)

(plus if you want any feedback i'm sure a lot of PT people [like myself] are willingly to give advise )

Good luck

[blinx615]

Hehe, trolls are great. Just means another person watched my video. :-p

And do most people script their video first? Like obviously I don't want a lot of "uh" and "um" in it, but should I edit around the awkward portions or script it and say it til it comes out smoothly?

And thank you for all the tips

[Ferrrrrre]

Wel.. I used to make scripts but then once i just complety made things up.. and i like it.. so now i just make a list of subjects I'm gonna talk about and just start talking and cut out the awkward parts (and sometimes I record something and when i mad a mistake I take a breathe and try again..)

I guess it just depends on the person and you'll need to try it out ;D
So why don't you give it a go

[blinx615]

Yah, I made my first vlog this morning while sittin in my car waiting for class. I got sick of talking about it and just made the first one and got it over with. It's not pretty and totally unedited and unscripted; I didn't even know what I was gonna talk about til the camera was on. :-p

www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2_gRx5w4zA

Does anyone know why the audio/video isn't synced? It looked fine before I uploaded it... o.0

And clearly I need to invest in a real video recorder... Gonna get on that soon, hehe.

[Ferrrrrre]

Well.. I do know that the quality of videosmight suck a little if you have recently uploaded it (youtube progressing etc.) but why the audio wouldn't be synched , i don't know :S

[~Aly~]

This thread is very relevant to my interests because i wanted to start vlogging, i dont have time tho. I may do it on the march break

[revolution689]

I'm gonna start vlogging soon aswell, and was looking for some help.