If you’re new to video making or video editing, I thought I’d share with you a few of my tips on how to make great youtube videos (or any vid that you can share online via SNS or other video sharing sites).

For me, one of the most annoying things is to look at a boring family picnic that’s either a) 10 minutes long or b) takes a million years to load.

Before we go into the actual tips, here are a couple of rules that you have to bear in mind – Keep It Short and Keep It Interesting.

Details follow…

HOW TO MAKE GREAT YOUTUBE VIDEOS – by http://gmtristan.com

1. KEEP IT SHORT – Like I said, no one wants to see your boring family picnic for 20 minutes. Besides, long videos take time to load. Bear in mind that NOT EVERYONE has a fast broadband connection. To be fairly safe, I’d recommend you keep your videos around 30 seconds to 2 minutes long. Anything longer than that may lead viewers to simply opt out and cancel.
2. HIGHLIGHTS – If you look at TV reports, they SHOW THE DAMN HIGHLIGHTS and omit the boring parts. That’s where editing comes in. You can live with the basic Windows Movie Maker that comes with the OS  (better if you have a Mac since the Mac software is so much better). Once you’ve graduated from Windows Movie Maker, check out the other editing apps available for free or trial.
3. KEEP IT SIMPLE – Just because a cool effect or transition is with your editing application doesn’t mean that you have to use it. Sometimes SIMPLE CUT-TO-CUT is best. The simpler, the better. In online videos, LESS IS MORE.
4. OPTIMIZE – Sometimes, even if you have a short video, it will take time to load. This means that you haven’t optimized it for online viewing. The best resolution for youtube would be the default sizes they have - 320 x 265, 480 x 295, 560 x 385, and 640 x 385. My favorite size is 480 x 295 since it’s wide-screen. It depends upon your camera and your video editing software when your creating the “output”. If it has options for iPod or PSP (your editing tool) , then you could go with the standard 640 x 480 resolution, but that’s not widescreen. For even better optimization, don’t just upload the file from your video editor, compress it even more with a free video converter app. I use AnyVideo. Meanwhile, if you have the gear, the tools and the bandwidth, check out this article on how to create HD videos for youtube
5. WATCH OUT FOR COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL – music isn’t free (yup, even if you have Internetz). It’s owned by someone or some group. Best that you use the copyright free music from youtube. Just select music and you’re done.

Lastly, keep on practicing making and editing videos. It’s fun and it’s a cool hobby. And yep, check out my youtube channel while you’re at it

Before you go, you might want to check out my past post on VIDEO EDITING.

Hope this helps!

Strength and Honor,

GM T

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