How I Make My YouTube Videos (Part 1)

Hi, everyone.  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today's video, I'll share how I make my YouTube videos, all the way from script writing to posting on YouTube.  In Part 1 of this 2 part series, I'll go through script writing and filming.

I starting making YouTube videos about 3 years ago.  Normally, I'm the kind of person who does a TON of research before dipping my toe in the water, but in this case inexplicably, I kind of dove in directly.  I wasn't a huge consumer of YouTube videos at the time and therefore didn't have a sense of the most current video styles and aesthetic.  It's probably a very good thing since watching a bunch of other videos would have been incredibly intimidating and might have served to scare me off before I even got started.  Instead, I had a very specific idea of what kind of videos I wanted to make and I just took it from there.  

If you are watching this, I'm guessing that you have watched at least one of my regular YouTube videos.  My videos are scripted and I have kind of a news anchor style with me slightly offset and with visual aids that pop up in the upper left-hand part of the screen -- like this.  I don't do fancy cuts and transitions, I don't have a lot of highly produced graphics.  Just news anchor style visuals with screen shot demos when appropriate.  That said, learning how to produce videos like this is pretty useful since it's a good way to present information in a clear way.  In addition to my YouTube videos, I've also made for videos for grad school and to explain concepts for some of my volunteer work and part-time jobs.  

One other thing, before I get started.  I never really intended for my YouTube channel to make money, so as a result I chose inexpensive tools whenever possible.  Since this is just a hobby, I treat it as such.  Maybe at some point it will make sense to upgrade to higher quality software and equipment, but I'm really in no hurry to do that.  Okay -- let's walk through the four step process: script writing, filming, editing, and posting.

Script writing

I write scripts for all of my videos.  I know, it's not very spontaneous, but to be frank, I'm not a particularly spontaneous person.  You all are busy and are looking for clear information.  Since I don't like watching videos that haven't been thought through well or that go through topics in a haphazard fashion, I prefer to deliver videos that also meet my own viewing standards.  Now that's not to say that there isn't any fluff or background info in my videos, but with a script, you don't have to listen to all of the umms and ahhs and awkward pausing at least.  I write my scripts in Evernote in a specific Notebook called YouTube.  This notebook contains scripts, notes, and other information, so as I start to write a script, I tag the note with yScript and yUnposted.  The "y" before the tag is so that all of my YouTube tags are sorted together.  If you want more information about how I organize notes in Evernote, I have a video on that.  Okay -- so I write up my script, making sure that I have a quick introduction and a branding element at the beginning.  I also try to organize my scripts with headings to make it easier for viewers to follow along.  So, here is the completed script for this video.   Just a quick note on timing -- I try to post one video a week, so I work in 2 week sprints starting on Saturday.  So, I research, write, and edit two scripts from Saturday to Wednesday.  I film on Thursday or Friday.  I edit the following Saturday to Wednesday and post on Thursday or Friday.  Working on two videos at a time helps to make things more efficient, but not overwhelming.  Next, 

Filming

So, now I have my two scripts ready to go.  I'll read through them a couple of times to make sure nothing seems off or too difficult to say.  Here's where we get into some of the tools that I use.  First of all, I film using my

• iPad - I have a first generation iPad Pro.  It has a pretty good front facing camera, which is perfectly fine for my needs.  I have a tripod that holds an iPad with collapsible legs.  The reason that I use my iPad is that I use an app called
• Video Teleprompter Premium - I just looked this up in the app store and there are now a ton of apps that perform this function, so you may find one better suited to your needs, but this app is super basic and works great for me.  It costed $15.  So, I launch the app, hit create a new script and copy my entire script from Evernote into the Teleprompter app.  Once I name it and save it, you can see I have the script on the right hand side and the image from the front-facing camera that will be filmed on the left hand side.  Using these controls down here, I can start filming, choose to record or not record the video, and change the speed of the text scrolling.  Usually around 17 is the right speed for me, but I always start at zero to give myself some time at the beginning of the video.  In addition, I usually go into Settings and change the font size to 44 points.  Okay, so I can just start this rolling, but what if I need to change the speed or stop the video?  Thankfully, this app allows for a bluetooth remote to control these things.  When I originally got this app 3 years ago, the remotes were super expensive -- like $150, so instead I connected a
• Bluetooth Keyboard - that I bought for $15 and put some raised stickers on the keys that control the teleprompter.  I keep it on my lap out of the line of sight of the camera, so that you never see it.  It now looks as though there are some more affordable options for smaller remotes, so maybe I'll upgrade at some point!  I'm putting links to all of these products in the video description below.  Okay -- so now I have a camera, a teleprompter, and a remote.  Next, audio.  For this, I use a corded
• Lavaliere Microphone -  Mine was $23 when I bought it and is made by Purple Panda.  I connect it to the audio jack on my iPad and thread it under my clothes to clip onto my shirt as close to my face as possible.  Since then, I've tried some bluetooth options, but I preferred the sound from my corded version, so I'm still using it.  Now to   
• Lighting - When I first started making videos, I experimented with some backgrounds in my house, but the lighting was all so dark.  I found lighting equipment to be both expensive and difficult to store.  Plus, my house is pretty dark, so even with a bunch of lighting turned on, I was having a hard time getting a shot that was well lit enough.  So, my solution to this was to film in the lightest room in my house -- our sunroom.  The problem?  Our sunroom is kind of a disaster.  The carpet is gross, the furniture is on it's last legs, and we have an actual basketball hoop attached to the wall with a bunch of 2 by 4s.  Basically, this is the area where my 18-year-old son and his friends hang out, and we try to stay out of it.  So, needless to say, it was not the stuff of ideal YouTube video backgrounds.  So, my solution was to
• Green Screen - my background.  I sort of liked this effect anyway.  I didn't have to worry about a busy background taking away from text or visuals on the screen.  AND I could switch out the background to whatever I liked or was appropriate to the topic of the video.  So, it turns out that an actual green screen doesn't play well with the blond streaks in my hair, so I actually use a royal blue sheet that I hang in the entrance to the sunroom -- this is why you never see me wearing anything blue.  With my editing software, sometimes this setup works great -- sometimes not so much, but I've mostly learned the tricks to get it produce the right effect.  Obviously I have videos that are a bit of a disaster as well.  Good thing I'm not a perfectionist!  The thing is -- in order to take advantage of the lighting in this room, I basically have to film at around 1pm in the afternoon.  I've been able to do this, but it is a bit limiting!  In addition, it's easily 15 degrees hotter in our sunroom than any where else in our house, so if I look hot in a video -- it's because I am!  Apparently, the teleprompter app that I use has a new green screen feature, so I'm going to play with this to see if I can make my filming days a bit more flexible.  

Okay -- so now I've written two scripts and filmed them.  Join me in my next video when I talk about editing and posting.  Comments are always appreciated and thanks for watching!