In this third chapter of Become a successful YouTuber , we will give you some valuable tips and tricks that will make your videos have a completely professional finish and make you a top YouTuber. Blurring and lighting will be the basic concepts, as well as using your camera's exposure meter or knowing what frame rate to record at... and the reasons for all of this.
Let's get started!
Effects to record like a creative youtuber
Generates blur
The blurred background effect always gives a very professional and cinematic look to videos. It also focuses the viewer's attention on the area that is completely in focus, which can be either yourself or the object you want to be the center of attention at that moment.
To create blur, you need to play with the aperture. The larger the aperture, the greater the blurring of the background and the more you will get the so-called Bokeh effect .
Although you should keep in mind that the wider the aperture, the smaller the width of the focused area. That is, you will have very little room to move to stay focused.
You have to take this into account and test to see how far you can move without appearing out of focus in the video.
Youtuber ready for video editing
More frames per second
There are 2 video recording systems: PAL (European) and NTSC (American). The PAL system works at 25fps and 50fps while NTSC works at 30fps and 60fps.
My recommendation is to work at 30fps for a typical YouTube video in which you talk to the camera. Those extra 5fps that you gain from the 25fps of PAL can sometimes be very useful when editing.
And if you plan on shooting a scene in slow motion, whether indoors or outdoors, record at 60fps. This will always give you smoother motion and a more professional finish to your YouTube channel videos.
Improve the sound
Sound represents 50% of the final quality of our video and one way to achieve very good sound quality is to use a lavalier microphone, also known as a lapel microphone.
lavalier microphone
This is the best option for several reasons:
Affordable. A good lapel microphone, such as the Rode Smartlav+, can be found for between 40 and 50 euros.
It is placed very close to the sound source and goes completely unnoticed.
You can connect it directly to the camera or, if you want to record shots that are far from the camera, you can connect it to an external recorder and carry it in your pocket, maintaining the highest sound quality at all times.
Reduce echo
Echo is something that can be very annoying and that reduces the quality of YouTube videos, so it is something that, although we cannot eliminate it completely, we should try to minimize it as much as possible.
To reduce echo, fill the room or space around the camera with soft items: cushions, pillows, blankets, etc. This way they will absorb the sound and eliminate the reverberation produced by the walls, ceiling and floor of your recording set.
Master the exhibition
Many cameras, all DSLRs and those on mid-high range mobile phones, have an exposure meter or photometer that measures the light entering the camera and helps us adjust the aperture and shutter speed. In the same way, it helps you get a properly lit scene with the external means you have available (lamps, windows, etc.)
If the scene is poorly lit, the exposure will be below 0.
If it is too bright, the exposure will be above 0.
To get the value 0 you must take into account that, for example, with a larger aperture (f/1.4, f/1.8...) the camera will receive more light that can be compensated with a faster shutter speed (1/50, 1/60...)
Extra lights
In the event that you only have one light, remember, as we discussed in list of fax numbers Chapter II of how to become a YouTuber: " How to design your own recording set with minimal investment ", always look for windows that help you with lighting, but you can also use these other elements that I'm sure will surprise you with their results:
Cardboard or white clothing. These will help you bounce the light and improve the scene.
Aluminum foil. It is an excellent reflector and if, for example, we stick it to a medium-large cardboard, it will provide us with all the light we need in the scene.
Car sunshade. Almost all of us have a sunshade in our car with one of its silver sides and if we don't have one, there are some really cheap ones. They are a considerable size and can be very useful in the scene.
Flexo. Placed just behind you and not visible on camera, it will create relief between you and the background. It is better to use a different color than the main lights, so you will see a radial gradient effect that looks great in videos.
Take care of the edition
You will see this section in detail in the next article in the series, but I must still mention it here. You cannot simply upload the video with a few cuts to eliminate what is not worth it.