Being a YouTuber is Harder Than It Looks

CoolMoo5

CoolMoo5

I Love YTtalk
I did a lot of thinking and had a lot of things on my mind and now I'm typing it out.
I might be over-thinking things.

My Story:I'm going to be honest, I've been on YouTube since 2008 but I've never uploaded regular or quality content until now. In the summer of 2008 I uploaded every few days but all my videos were unedited vlogs that took less 5 minutes to make. But besides, that summer I never uploaded regularly. After the summer of 2008 I would upload every few months and they were mostly stupid home movies. I knew my videos weren't good when I uploaded and them and hoped people wouldn't see them. I've taken video classes in high school and community college, read articles on being a YouTube and watched videos. But none of that was the same as actually making videos by myself for an audience on the internet. Being YouTuber isn't the hardest the job in the world, but it isn't the easiest either. A lot of people see big YouTubers and there job is easy, but you don't know how hard something is until you've tried it. In October 2014 I started up my new channel and I made two videos of me talking to a camera. Although you wouldn't know by watching, they took hours to make. The reason for this is because first of all, talking to a camera is not easy. I was never taught talking to a camera in school and I don't have much experience. The second thing is I kept having to re do the video because the shot wasn't lined up the way I wanted because my camera doesn't have a flip out screen. I just bought a new camera with a flip out screen which will save me some time when I'm filming my own stuff of me talking.

But anyways, I started thinking about and I realized that when I started my channel I thought my videos would be as good as the ones I watch from people with millions of subs. But I'm starting to realize that being a YouTuber is harder than it looks.


My Plan: My life isn't in the best place right now and I have a lot going on. But if I wait until my life is perfectly in order to start YouTube, that will never happen. Also, I have a new camera and some equipment that I don't know how to use, plus I'm still figuring out lighting. So my plan going forward is to take around 3 weeks off from YouTube and get my life in order a little bit and figure out how to use my new camera. Then I will try really hard to make videos every week. Even if they aren't the greatest videos in the world, I will only get better. I think going into this I thought I could make the best content ever, but I realized it takes time. I don't want to spend my whole life getting my life in order and learning to use my equipment so limiting it to 3 weeks will be just enough time.

My Advice:
  • If you want to make YouTube videos just do it. I spent far too much time talking about how I was going to start a new channel and not doing anything besides posting on yttalk and posting on yttalk and making videos are not the same thing.
  • Wait until your life is in order to start a YouTube channel, for example, don't start your channel when you are doing exams at school or other stuff is going on. I made that mistake myself when I just started my channel a few months ago.
  • However, if you wait until your life is perfectly in order that never happen. Maybe do what I'm doing take a few weeks, to get everything organized and then start your channel.
  • A lot of bigger YouTubers say when starting off you should use any camera you have. I disagree. This is 2014 and people will not watch you if you use a webcam from 2009. If a crappy camera from 2009 is all you can afford then use it. But if you have a bit of money to spare invest in some decent equipment at least something that shoots in hd or is from the year 2012 or newer.
  • If you get new equipment or are new to filming maybe take a few weeks to learn how to use your equipment before starting off. I can't believe how many teenagers film with expensive cameras and their videos look horrible because they have no idea what they are doing.
  • Consider getting a point and shoot that shoots in hd if don't want to be confused dslrs are complicated to use.
  • If you have absolutely no equipment including a computer and editing software and you don't have a lot of money I recommend getting a ipad and a tripod for the ipad. You can film (it shoots in hd), edit, and update you related social media sites from it. And get an ipad 2 or mini used for $200 or less. So with you could have everything you need to get started for less then $250. It would cost at least $200 to get a computer and you would still need editing software and a camera and stuff. So that is why I recommend the ipad for people with no equipment on a budget. (watch linked video below)
  • Don't go into YouTube thinking it will be the easiest thing ever. From making videos, to getting subs and views it is not easy. Sure they are a lot more difficult things in the world, but this is not the simplest thing ever.

Amazing Links!:

Note: This post may or may not relate to gamers on YouTube. I have no idea if making gaming videos is easy or hard or what equipment you need anything about how to make a gaming video.


If you actually read this whole thing, you rock! I don't know it was useful or not, I just had a lot on my mind and I wanted to get it out there. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
 
Oh, you're definitely right. It was way easier before as YouTube was this new thing that everyone was checking out so 480 px wasn't a big deal. Now it causes a panic. In a way, it's sad because it does mean that you have to go out of your way to get good equipment that's certainly not cheap to produce something that may or may not be seen. Everyone is so used to quality that taking a slight step back might get you overlooked. But you are right on every aspect, one hundred percent.
 
Phantoler said:
Oh, you're definitely right. It was way easier before as YouTube was this new thing that everyone was checking out so 480 px wasn't a big deal. Now it causes a panic. In a way, it's sad because it does mean that you have to go out of your way to get good equipment that's certainly not cheap to produce something that may or may not be seen. Everyone is so used to quality that taking a slight step back might get you overlooked. But you are right on every aspect, one hundred percent.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your feedback. And see to me I want to do some sort career that allows me to be creative and I feel YouTube will be a good way to express my creativity and build skills. Even if I don't get a lot of views, my YouTube channel is something I could show an employor some day as a portfolio of my work. And when I talked about equipment I didn't mean to buy the best equipment out there but if you have money it might be good buy some equipment. I would say $500 is max to spend on your first camera but that is just my opinion. And there tons of great cameras around the $200-$300 which I think is the best price range for beginners who want quality but aren't loaclarinet money.
And here's an anology. When I was in 6th grade I joined band and played clarinet so my parents bought me a cheap clarinet for $70 which is really cheap for a clarinet. It worked great for three months then it started to break and it would cost jsu as much to fix it as the instrument was worth. And when my parents tried selling it no one wanted to buy and they would only get like $20 for it. So then my parents and I looked at other clarinets now they could have got me $1000 clarinet but they got like $300 one. Now that clarinet worked fine and I didnt need a $1000 clarinet because I was still starting out.But my parents learned that they should have just bought the $300 clarinet in the first place and if I quit after a month and didn't like it at least they could sell it for a decent percent of the price. The same goes with video equipment just replace the clarinet with a camera and it makes sense.[DOUBLEPOST=1417669920,1417669824][/DOUBLEPOST]And apologize for the he grammar this was typed in my phone.
 
Great post, CoolMoo! You are wise beyond your years.
If you're interested in reading about the relationship between art and fear, try the book "Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking" by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Read it with an open mind, it changed my life and I haven't stopped creating since!
 
@babteeth4 @markkaz Thanks. I was kind of just rambling but I firgued I would include some advice and links to make it realevent. I'm glad I made sense and what I siad was helpful. The reason I post here so much is because my friends and family dont understand YouTube and dont want to talk about it. Even people who are majoring in video barley have any knowledge of YouTube online video and what is possible, which is sad because I believe the future of video will be online mostly. I am going to try hard to spend less time on yttalk over the next few weeks with the holidays and stuff plus I have other priorities.
I think I'm really good at understanding systems (for lack of a better word) and how they work as I feel like I know the YouTube "system" really well. I meet with a career consultant next week and I might to look into something like that. I want a career in a creative field as some sort of artist or artsy type but that can be hard to break into. Maybe I could even YouTube a career but I wouldn't want the fame or that much of it. But then again you two seem to have YouTube as a job and don't have a ton of fame. I don't want to sound arrogant but I feel like if I were to make good videos every week if the right people found them there is good chance I could become "big" on YouTube. I don't want to sound over confidenet but if you know the "system" it isnt that hard to get what you want. For example I know the public school system so well I was able to get extra food in my lunch and the most healthly lumch in school at bargin price among other things.

Wow that was lot of words! It is just no one in my life understands YouTube or wants to talk has anything to say about or wants to hear me talk about YouTube. So this site seems to be the best place to go.
 
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This is all true. I think a another thing people need to know about YT is that A. you should do it because you love the certain content that they chose to upload on their channel and B. it takes time to get noticed and it takes dedication to that channel for a long time. But this was a very good read :)
 
I thought it wouod be easy.... Then I gained thousands of people's attention. Now they keep asking for new videos and then critising every mistake I made. Yes, it not easy. It never was.
 
It is a common misconception that being a youtuber is easy. But you are essentially your own production company/ TV channel. People who run youtube channels need to take everything into account that a TV station does, the only difference is that TV have a team of people to make stuff, you have you and your recourses with each genre of videos presenting their own challenges.

But it isn't something to take likely. Making and committing to a youtube channel really comes down to this:

What is youtube to you? And what are you willing to give up to keep or get that?

If you want to keep a youtube channel up, you are going to make sacrifices. I mean, I myself have never really had direction on my channel until recently. There is some remnants of a genre of stuff, but that's the problem I have always had.

I never really knew where I was going. I only created stuff I wanted to make, when I wanted to. I found committing to much hassle and it became a chore when I was the sole producer. This became especially prevalent when I wasn't getting the responses I was expecting.

I personally was never ready to make the true sacrifices that were presented when I started pursuing youtube. And I never figured out a way to make quality videos on a regular basis when making skits was what I wanted to do. Especially when skits are quite a collaborative medium on youtube and no one else really wanted to commit.

So instead I'm following my own path into the media industry. Youtube is more of an enjoyable side project. I just know that I have a big refurbishment coming to my channel and a lot of videos in the backburner that just need edited.

But in either case, I think that I'm never going to "make it" on youtube. And I think that anyone who truly comits to their medium and bring something new to the table just need the luck that will get them out there. So take a break. I wish you the best of luck with your new start :)

-ProfKranc
 
Amazing post! You are totally right.

ps. about this 14 years old, she's fine, good vids, but (and it's only my opinion) she's actually doing nothing. I mean, who is she without tags video? huh... don't know what to think.
 
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