(Part 2) Top products from r/youtubers

Hey Daniel!

Your video has some really great moments, and you seem like a really genuine and nice guy. Here are a few things I think you should think about:

• Cheesy tone - There are a few things that give this video a cheesy/childish vibe. First, you seem kind of fake and exaggerated, from the first "What's going on guys?" You also use quirky music in the background, which reinforces the cheese.
  
  There's nothing inherently wrong with cheese, and a lot of big YouTubers use it heavily, but I think you might want to try and experiment with the voice and tone you establish, and swap the cheese for something more genuine. There's no formal rule of YouTube that says you have to aggressively go "HEY GUYS!" at the top of every video. I think this would help your jokes land better too. The juxtaposition of someone seeming to be genuine/helpful, and then breaking out giant impractical props would land better. It's a better misdirection.
  
  I really like the premise of the video, but I think if you used the thumbnail, title, and first 15-30 seconds of the video to establish a more serious/genuine tone, the reveal 30 seconds in that this whole thing is a comedic skit would have a lot better payoff. Here's a video from Gus Johnson where he does a decent job of establishing a 'base reality' of a helpful how-to, and then it devolves into ridiculousness.
  
  You don't have to play as much of a character as you do. That's probably why the bloopers feel so genuinely funny, because you're not putting on a show, that's just you.
  
  
• Comedic heightening - You heighten decently in the video, with the giant jug of water, and with eating the chips, and with the tissues, but I think you would see more success if you heightened more. I think if you did some more riffing with each of the props, and really gave yourself some time to get weird with each one, you would have more options to cut to. This is what iDubbz does in his series 'bad unboxing' where he opens fan mail.
  
  There are tons of ways you could heighten more in this video, but I think an interesting way for this particular video would be to actually get some footage of you using these ridiculous props in class. If you cut from 'make sure you bring water' and you whipping out that giant ass jug, to then a shot of you doing the same thing in an actual classroom, and attempting to drink from it as people stare at you, I would lose my mind. Same thing with the chips, and the tissues, and the horse, and everything else.
  
  After looking at your channel, it seems like you're interested in doing comedy YouTube as a career, so I would strongly recommend taking improv classes to learn the fundamentals of improvised and sketch comedy. At the very least, order the UCB Improv Manual from Amazon, and read the first few chapters on base reality, game, and heightening.
  
  Basically they argue that scenic comedy has three parts:
  
  Establishing a normal base reality > Introducing a weird thing that sticks out from that reality > Heightening that weird thing to the point of absurdity.
  
  
• Background - The sheet is nice, but why are we looking at it? It feels a lot more normal if you just let the audience see your apartment/space. This would also help you establish that base reality of 'nice guy giving back to school tips.'
  
  Overall I think your video is leagues better than a lot of the other ones I see on this subreddit. Your channel looks like you've been working really hard to improve, and that's key. I think if you keep at it and experiment with tone a bit, you'll see some really great results. I subbed, and I'm really interested in what you make in the future!

Less than $500 for even a decent camera will be difficult. I'd suggest looking into a used Canon T3i or a new/used T2i. They may be slightly more expensive but they're the best thing you'll find around that price range (in my experience). Also because they both have interchangeable lenses you can upgrade/adapt them as you get more cash to invest.

I know less about mics although I think it may be difficult to find what your describing, especially at that price. Something like this may be what your after but I really can't say that the quality will be great and the cable will probably get in the way if you're moving around.

What I'd really suggest is to abandon the idea of on-body unless it's absolutely necessary for some reason. If you're up for doing that I'd suggest a shotgun mic (something like this would probably do just fine). The absolute best option in terms of quality and lasting value would be to buy an H4n. The disadvantage is that you'll end up having to sync your audio to the video but the advantages are that the audio quality is great, you can add better (XLR) mics in the future and you can move it around depending on where your audio source is.

I know that this isn't exactly what you're looking for but I hope it's some help anyway. If you have questions please feel free to ask :)

Hi.

Your channel does need improving, as you say the microphone quality needs improving, as well as the banner. I could highly recommend the Blue Snowball Ice, or the Turtlebeach PX21 headset for microphone quality (I use both)

The actual video quality is great, very clear to see, and the added bonus of 60fps. The only issue I have is the length of the videos. I know that a lot of people prefer watching a video that is less than 10 minutes long, sometimes up to 15 minutes. 45 minutes for a single video, personally, is way too long for a small channel. You could combat this by including key parts of the games only, and cutting any slow, or unentertaining sections out. This will also help create a more interesting video, and should help you get some more subscribers.

I would also recommend having an intro, around 5-10 seconds long at max, as this will show viewers that you are putting effort and time into your video, and show a little more professionalism in the beginning of your videos.

When speaking, make sure you are not saying "ur, erm" so on. This will show that you haven't really thought through what you want to say in the video. I personally have some notes on paper next to myself when recording a video which is not live, as this allows you to keep to the point, while also not forgetting what you are wanting to say. If you do this once in a while, you could look at cutting the section out. Also, try to edit the audio so that there is not a lot of silent parts. I usually record a point at a time, then edit the audio to allow it all to feed together, allowing it to sound like a single sentence. If you know what I mean.

You do have some work to do on the channel, but the majority of this will be easier over time to do as habit, and will improve the quality greatly. You have a good clear voice, you just need a good microphone to be able to show this fully.

Good luck with your channel.

Having good audio is crucial (Especially for a mostly voiceover channel). Now normally I would say, "stay away from mics less than 200" just because it is really an investment and you get what you pay for, but the snowball is a fantastic mic, especially for its price.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-Microphone-Aluminum/dp/B002OO333Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1466624278&sr=8-3&keywords=blue+microphones+snowball

If thats still a bit pricey, I would say save up until you can afford it because anything less than that will either break the day you open it or sound similar to what you are using right now. (Keep in mind, i dont mean to sound like a jerk, i'm a nice guy i swear) And the great thing about this one, over the snowball ice is that it has a switch that will cancel out any background noise automatically.

If you want the cheaper variant, i thought i would link it, its fine but it doesnt cancel out background noise for you so it will sound pretty cruddy. But if 70 bucks is too much, this is the absolute cheapest i would suggest.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B006DIA77E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466624278&sr=8-2&keywords=blue+microphones+snowball

Happy hunting!

Well hang on though. Because depending on what and how you're filming, a lav mic may be better for you. Best thing you can do for audio quality is get the mic as close as possible. Since you've indicated you're willing to combine in post (which honestly is way less work than some people make it out to be) something like this and this might work better for you. To be clear, I'm not saying the linked Shure is bad. It's not. If you're planning on putting the phone on a tripod and videoing yourself from like 5-10 feet away, go with the lav. If you're videoing at arms length holding the iPhone, go with something like the Shure. Getting the mic close is the single best thing you can do.

http://www.amazon.com/BeachTek-DXA-2T-Universal-Adapter-Camcorders/dp/B0039QWR5I I got one of these camera audio apadters, I don't know if you've tried this already?

I quit my job as a salesman and got a job teaching music lessons, so I am still working, but much less, for much less money, but much more enjoyable. I have an audition for a job as a cruise ship musician on the horizon, so again, I'm lucky that I do know what I want to do as work and I'm taking some steps towards it.

Like with you, making videos became much more of a priority in my life-- I'm working hard at that plus trying to record music and other assorted etcs. I know what you mean, how it's real easy to lose days if you're not careful... I've been reading self help books, setting tons of goals and timers, anything I can do to keep myself honest about what I'm doing and why. I dunno man. It's tough. Do you know what you're working towards doing, or are you kind of trying to figure that out this year? Hope the questions don't seem too intrusive, just curious!

Spot on. Two powerful books I've read remind me that being consistent, and faithfully providing good content that brings value - that's the best way. No shortcuts. That's why I refuse to do those spammy posts or signup for those "get more subscriber" ads. (BTW, the two books are "The Compound Effect" and "Crushing It" - both are great reads if you're serious about establishing your brand.

Blue Snowball $48

ATR2500 USB $57

CAD U37 $47

Personally I use the Blue snowball (DON'T get the ICE version). It's a favorite among newer YouTubers. Same with the ATR2500. Haven't used the CAD U37, but heard good things. If you have more money look into the Blue Yeti or the AT2020 mic. Also the Rode Podcaster.

Don't forget to get a Pop filter which will help a lot. Also I suggest using Audacity to record, (and it is free). If you need help with Audacity, here's a good video to get you started

Wait, are you all recording in a single room? If so I would suggest something like a conference microphone if that's how you want to continue recording.

Something like this could be useful, but it is quite expensive: http://www.amazon.ca/MXL-AC-404-Conference-Boundary-Microphone/dp/B001TGTDFM

Personally I use OBS, but FRAPS is perfectly fine!

I think a shotgun microphone should help here along with some blankets or acoustic treatment. You can pick up this shotgun microphone and some isolation to try and get that noise dampened. This will work if you are recording to a camera with a mic input, but if you don’t have a microphone input you can pick up this recorder which will also double as a recording interface. If you need to place your mic further away from your camera or recorder, this cord will give you some length to position it where you need. This is really nice if your camera is a few feet or more away from where you’ll be while shooting, as an added bonus the closer you place your microphone to your subject, the better it will pick sound and reject sounds you don’t want.

The shotgun mic should reject sound coming from the sides and pickup clear audio from the front. Place this close to your mouth and you’re good to go. I use a shotgun microphone to record voiceovers and videos at my desk because just like your place, it seems like my neighbors are always doing something loud. It’s useful to check your audio with some headphones to hear what background noise you might be picking up, then adjust.

If you’re still getting noise you’ll need to pick a time where you can record that you know to be more quiet. It’s a bit of a pain but unfortunately most home productions have to work around some sort of obstacle, just don’t let it keep you from making some videos!

What's your budget like? Here's a $70-80 budget setup that actually sounds quite good for voice overs:

• Behringer XM8500 Microphone ($20)
  
• Pyle mixer ($35) - You plug the behringer microphone into the mixer, and then there is cord from the mixer to your computer. This helps control the gain of the mic and provide more power than an XLR to USB cable.
  
• Stand with pop filter ($20)

There should be a way of mounting a camera to a mic stand so that you can place it over a table looking down. This would work best if your camera is small and light (like an action cam).

These are the things you'd need (just an example - it doesn't have to be these exactly). Make sure the mic stand can extend to the height your desire.


https://www.amazon.com/Samson-MK-10-Microphone-Boom-Stand/dp/B003CLIPHO/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1503979876&sr=1-3&keywords=mic+stand

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Support-21600N-Threaded-Adapter/dp/B0006PXXR6

You can find a good very cheap mic here. If you look at my channel I made the channel icon myself and the banner was made by David Ar when he made a free offer on this very subreddit. If you really needed to you could wait around here and take up some of the free offers that come around.

I use a Nikon D3300 for all of my videos. It's not really known as being a video making camera, but I have it set up on a tripod and I get great 1080p quality.

If you go this route, I recommend snagging an external mic to mount on top for better audio quality.

So far, I have had absolutely no problems with it, and don't see myself needing to upgrade anytime soon.

Thank you so much for your suggestions- I'll have to try to find a way to get that shot right and make the footage a bit bigger!

The mics we use are:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003GEBGA0/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use this Logitech mic: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00009EHJV/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/176-6773615-7600225

But one that is more in your price range is the Blue Snowball, which I also recommend.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002OO18NS/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1412536431&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40

I use something like this to film

Gooseneck Bed Phone Holder Mount - Lamicall Flexible Long Arm Clip Clamp for Desk, Bendy Lazy Bracket Bedside Stand for Phone 11 Pro Xs Max XR X 8 7 6 Plus Samsung Galaxy S10 S9 S8 Nintendo Switch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S9JXQP2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_vOqFDbG11YC7A

I have a Canon Vixia which has a mic input

This Preamp

This microphone

If I were doing this over, I'd pair the Focusrite Scarlett Solo with the Audio Technica BPHS1 broadcasting headset. And that would actually have gotten me better sound for less money.

Hell, I'm tempted to bite the bullet on that headset. I've seen it recommended many times before.