# [[Learn to make better videos (faster)]] Course:: [[Master YouTube]] ## Summary > [!abstract] Summary > This module is all about the practical side of YouTube: how to tell a story, how to come up with a good idea and thumbnail, and the intricacies of filming a video, including gear, some basic camera equipment, and also some video editing. ## 6 rules for effective storytelling ### Rule 1. Don't bury the lede. - Don't ignore the viewer's experience. Instead, get their attention right away and show that you're going to deliver on the promise of the title/thumbnail. - Pay attention to your opening 20 seconds. - The more new viewers you have, the more important it is to have a great opener: - *Originality*: Humor, personality, unique perspective, or high production value - *Brevity*: No rambling. Keep it tight. - *Hook*: Set the stakes for the video and let them know what's coming. ### Rule 2. Peel back the onion. - Dig deeper into the topic the longer the video goes on. - Each section should uncover something new and round up the picture. - End by answering a question from the beginning. - Don't repeat yourself (unless you're really trying to stress a point). ### Rule 3. Show instead of tell. - Show them and don't just tell people what happened after the fact. - Example: 30 day challenges. - Don't be lazy. Take people along the journey. ### Rule 4. Own your weird. - Inject as much humor and personality as you can without it being distracting. - People always comment on funny parts. So add them in! ### Rule 5. Control the pace. - Use A-roll, B-roll, interviews, animations, music, etc., to keep things moving. - Every video has its own pace that's appropriate for it. ![[master-youtube-control-pace.png]] *Pacing in one of [[Matt D'Avella]]'s videos* ### Rule 6. Kill your darlings. - Cut things out ruthlessly if they didn't turn out as well as you thought. ## Turning good ideas into great videos - Biggest mistake that YouTubers make: rushing into filming and not starting with planning. - At least have a clear storyline or outline of what you want to say. - Even if you can "fix it in post", improvising everything will take longer! - Use a production checklist - [ ] Brainstorm video idea. - [ ] Select video idea. - [ ] Write your outline or script. - [ ] Turn your script into an A-roll/B-roll format. - [ ] Create your B-roll shot list. - [ ] Create your thumbnail shot list. - Matt doesn't do a video in the same bucket twice in a row (like minimalism or health). - Matt adds writing titles in the outlining part. - 4 types of openers - *Cold open:* Viewers jump right into the action without much context. - *A-roll:* Talking directly to the camera to introduce the topic. - *B-roll:* Voiceover + videos of something other than you talking. - *Teaser:* Could be an excerpt of a part of the interview. > Books aren't written. They're rewritten. - [[Michael Chrichton]] - Write how you speak so that it feels natural. - Write with the visuals in mind. - A 2-3 minute video is about 300 words. 10 minute video: Aim for 1000-1500 words. > [!note]- Observation: Matt doesn't use PIP for tutorials > In this course, Matt doesn't use the typical PIP style for tutorials. He flips back and forth between full A-roll and the screen recording, sometimes every few seconds. - After you write your script/outline, go over it another time to tighten it up, add visuals, and add jokes. - You can script time in for unscripted moments if you're worried about something feeling too scripted. > [!tip] Video Building Blocks > Matt points out that a video has three main building blocks: > 1. A-roll > 2. B-roll > 3. Graphics > > A good script should identify which of these three blocks a specific section relates to. Here's an example of a part of a script that Matt wrote: > [B Roll - Matt flips out of bed] > > [B Roll - Matt brushing his teeth, taking vitamins, peeing, etc.] > > [A Roll - Kitchen] > > But first coffee. As you know I started getting interested in making really boogie coffee a couple of years ago and I've been hooked ever since... - Create a shot list for B-roll, like this: ``` - Bedroom - [ ] A Roll over head with Matt in bed - [ ] Matt rolling out of bed - Bathroom - Close Up: ... - Wide: ... ``` - Matt organizes these shots by *location*, not by chronological order. That's because if you went by order, you might have to return to the same spot later and set everything up again. - Brainstorm thumbnail shots as well. Choose a few ideas, bake them into your shot list, and then take those shots as well. You can decide later which idea turned out the best. - Matt writes out his script word for word, but he doesn't read it from a teleprompter or anything-- it's more about the planning. > Lead with your strengths. Matt suggests that you go with what you're good at. If you're good at writing, use that to your advantage. If you're naturally good on camera, put yourself in situations where you can highlight that. ## Everything you need to know about filming yourself - Location - Think about what's behind you (your background) and what's in front of you (like lighting) - Framing - Usually, you want to be right in the middle of the frame. - You typically want your eye to be in the top row, center column of the frame. ![[master-youtube-framing.png]] - For interviews or for more creative videos, you can think about being on the left or right third instead. - Lighting - Natural light is great, but you have to film faster because otherwise it may change. - Production lights are expensive but more reliable. - Position light as close as possible to your face without it being in the frame. > [!tip] Matt's cheap video light > Matt uses a very bright LED lightbulb with a cheap Ikea lampshade to act as a diffuser. Lights don't have to be expensive! - Camera - Always go for a camera that has autofocus. Set it to auto. - Set white balance to auto. - Set Exposure to AV mode: you set the f-stop and then just set the exposure stop, but the camera is going to adjust to keep this stable even if the environment changes. - Audio - Get the microphone as close to your mouth as possible without being in the shot. - Even if he's just using a Røde Video Pro on-camera mic, he extends it so that it's boomed a little closer. - Set audio recording settings to manual. You don't want to your voice to be in the yellow or red zones. - How to not look like an idiot - Some people have a special voice they only use in YouTube videos. Matt calls it a "Hey everybody" voice. Don't do this. - When shooting B-roll: - hold the shot for 10 seconds. - Shoot way more than you need. - Find interesting angles. - Work your way up to shooting in manual when you need to (like when you need to set the focus just right and autofocus won't cut it.) > [!note]- Observation: Matt doesn't always use the best gear even if he can > Matt has a lot of really expensive, top-of-the-line gear, but he frequently uses cheap lights like the Ikea lampshade or the Røde Wireless Go lav mic. He doesn't worry too much about getting things exactly right. ## Create compelling thumbnails - Before: He relied heavily on text in thumbnails. - Now: He prefers to rely on photography. - His approach is to use high-quality photographs as thumbnails-- but then this is his strength. - One video where he really nailed the thumbnail was his *Day in the life of a minimalist* video. That thumbnail got him 100,000 subscribers in one month. - *Consolidation technique* - Bring in all the things you're going to talk about in one video, and think about how you can put them all together in one shot, even if they normally wouldn't all be there. - Example: his thumbnail with him lying in bed with oranges and an egg on his sheets. - Consult other creators and ask them for their advice on your thumbnails. - Don't be afraid to edit your thumbnails heavily to make them work better. ## How I edit my thumbnails He uses [[Adobe Photoshop]] and [[Adobe Lightroom]]. - Organize your files per project, like: *Exports (Social, Thumbnail, YouTube), Media (Assets, Music, Photos, Videos [A-roll, B-roll, VO]), PSDs*. - Create a project template that has all of the folder structure above as well as a [[Final Cut Pro X|FCPX]] template. Then you can start by duplicating the Project Template. - What he changes - Check histogram and tweak it to make it look better. - Play with white balance. - Add vibrance (color) and saturation to taste. (Don't go too far, though.) - Sharpen. - He edits all the photos in Lightroom, and then exports them and edits them in Photoshop. - He uses LUTs to make sure all his thumbnails have the same look. - He uses [thumbsup.tv](https://thumbsup.tv) to see what works the best. Matt often combines multiple thumbnails to get the best from each. ## How to edit your videos twice as fast - Editing takes a long time. Better accept that. :) - Two ways to edit faster: planning and process. - Have a post-production checklist. - [ ] Import all production files onto hard drive. - [ ] Organize all production files in editing application. - [ ] Find 5 to 10 music tracks to help you start your edit. - [ ] Edit your VO and A-roll into the primary timeline. - [ ] Begin to add music. - [ ] Add B-roll and GFX onto your main storyline. - [ ] Record additional footage and VOs if necessary. - [ ] Complete your main edit. - [ ] Color grade your video. - [ ] Add SFX and mix your audio levels. - [ ] Export and compress video for online streaming. - [ ] Edit thumbnail. - In his FCPX project template - He has multiple projects, each one with the appropriate resolution (for example, vertical for Instagram Reels). He also has the folders to be able to go through each type of footage as needed. - Matt doesn't show anyone his video while he's working on it. He trusts his intuition, and he'd rather upload it and move on to the next video. - Always upload as unlisted, and *watch it back on YouTube one last time*. At this point, forget about any small things-- once it's uploaded, it's done. Only change it if there's something horrible that's in there that you didn't notice.