Equipment and Software Doesn't Make You Better!

When i decided to start Youtube about a little over a month ago, i knew i was going to be good, and i was very confident in myself, so i bought a Canon T4i, and Light boxes. it was over $1000.

I got FCPX and other editing softwares for free. ( Don't ask ,i have my ways lol)

I think the investment depends on the individual, and how far he/she thinks they will go, notice i say they WILL, not want.
 
Totally agree with this thread! My motto is, start basic and start at the bottom. You can always work your way up. I for one would be extremely overwhelmed if I started out with all those fancy toys. My webcam and iMovie are satisfactory for now. In fact, most of my favorite youtubers that are now a huge success started off with crappy webcams and free editing software. Its always nice to go and watch their first videos and see the similarities between your own, and see that they started somewhere too. They start off at the bottom, and they gradually upped the quality as their audience grew and they obtained the means to afford better equipment. Sure now-a-days there are some people that start off with fancy DSLR cameras and lighting equipment, but whatever man. If they have the money and the desire to do it that way, good for them. As long as they are making content they are proud of sharing.
 
I need to get some better lighting setups for my videos. I only have 1 video light - need to get another!

Nevertheless to add to the original post - the free software isn't always best. Yes it's a good way to get started but there are several factors to check.

1. Will the software do what you want? If you want PIP effects, for example, will the software do it? I used to use IMovie and you can only do 1 PIP effect at any one time in the timeline. I found this very limiting.
2. Ease of use. Make sure the editor is easy to use. Learn the shortcut keys. Learn where to find all the features you need. It will drastically speed up your project creation and make this so much easier overall.
3.Quality. Choose software where you can be sure it is compatible with your video format. Most will do it to their own codec but some are more complex and time consuming then others. iMovie encodes to AIC for example. I found this pretty poor, which leads me on to.....
4. Output quality. Do a short clip and check this first! Don't choose an editor and create a huge project before you test the export quality. I used to use imovie, for example, and it used to edit to a basic level fine. In fact most of my videos have been editing in iMovie. But the export quality is awful. If its a light video it's fine. It you have shadows or dark areas imovie used to create banding and train and it looks terrible. There's no way to fix the issue and its well complained about on the apple forums.

I finally moved to Final Cut Pro X and it had only a slight learning curve thanks for the most recent version that looks more like imovie. I now have no limitations on my editing and my output quality is brilliant - my last few videos are all done with final cut and I can use more effects while maintaining a high quality when exporting and uploading. I'm still learning, but feel much more comfortable and less limited.

Experiment with free trials and choose the editor that suits you, your style of video, and your working pattern.
Think of your video capture device, your editor, and yourself all working as a partnership.
 
brodielawrence said:
Hi there, so...many of the big time youtubers like smosh, freddiew, corridor digital etc, have expensive equipment and software for their videos, and people who want to make good videos are often discouraged by this of the fact they don't have the same programs as these youtubers, therefor, an idea is developed that without fancy software and equipment making a good video is not possible. Well that's WRONG!

These people who do fancy special effects may use after effects or cinema 4d, which are hard to get a hold of considering the price tag, but really these programs won't make the video any better. It's all down to you to make a decent video, the editors don't edit by themselves! Someone has had the skill to know what to do and see what makes a good video, you could have after effects but not be able to make a realistic effect, it is the person who makes it good, not the software. Free programs like imovie (if you are on mac) and windows movie makes (on pc) are able to cut, caption and transition, that's all it takes to make a good film. If you have the right knowledge then you can make an awesome video with jump cuts and music with a simple program. If you can cut clips and put them together, your ready to go! Short films with no editing done at all have won awards, so a program isn't going to change the video quality, same goes for equipment, if you know how to be creative you can make your own fancy camera techniques.

The ups and downs are, starting with ups. You can make some really good stuff with the ability to cut and add music, and you can do this for free with the free editing software's with mac and pc's. Even with other free downloadable software you can do some really cool professional looking stuff for the price of $0. The downs are that without the fancy software some special effects like 3D bullet, green screening or other sort of thing like that, but hey, most of these things are up for a free 30 day trial! So there's no reason not to be able to try some fancy software. And as for cameras, all I can say, is that the resolution means nothing, if you make something good the entertainment side of it will overcome the quality. As you go on it will be good to get better software and cameras but usually it is best to start off basic learn more about harder stuff, and work you way up :)
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This is very true. The trick is not to be able to do all your fanciful ideas perfectly how you see them in your head. It's being able to be creative enough to use the resources you have to be entertaining. Many many of my sketch videos wound up funnier because of my limitations. Like naughty bits. If I had the money I'd have flown down to Kansas and done that sketch with Matt Guldner in the flesh, and would have had us sipping tea on a old english looking lawn. But because we couldn't do this I had to think of something we could both do in different states that would look like we were in the same place. I came up with us lying in sleeping bags in the grass because hey, grass is green everywhere. This wound up being one of the funniest aspects of the sketch, and I think to myself "man I'm glad I didn't have the resources to do that sketch how I envisioned it" Like, your limitations can be a hindrance, or they can be the catylist for ideas.
 
Tyler Rand said:
I record my videos with my iPhone lol and only my iPhone. I use an app called FiLMiC Pro and it's incredible. It's amazing what a small device like an iPhon can do. Without it I'd be screwed lol
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Your vids do NOT look like they were recorded on an iphone... WOW
 
I had to change the color/saturation settings on my camera, on normal settings it makes my skin look really yellow for some reason.
 
Moe Othman said:
I had to change the color/saturation settings on my camera, on normal settings it makes my skin look really yellow for some reason.
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LMAO I read that, then looked at your avatar and was like "whoa, it DOES" hahaha
 
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