Equipment and Software Doesn't Make You Better!

Better equipment and software certainly helps make things look and sound nicer. But learning the basics with cheap/free stuff is a good way to get started.
 
IsntChrisL said:
Better equipment and software certainly helps make things look and sound nicer. But learning the basics with cheap/free stuff is a good way to get started.
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I agree 100% Learning with sub-par equipment will make your skills have to develop instead of the camera.
 
It's certainly best to not spend a bunch of money if you're not serious about doing something. A lot of the "YouTube is a hobby" crowd chant that as a mantra frequently.

At a certain point however your gear will begin to hold you back. Your skill and aptitude will determine how soon this occurs. As soon as your gear or software is a limiting factor, you need to decide if this is the kind of hobby you want to spend money on.

There also needs to be a certain baseline of quality. You need a camera or screen capture quality that doesn't look like it's from the 80's (barring creative intent) for example.

Will it make you better? Not by itself, no. That doesn't mean it's wrong to upgrade.
 
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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Oh, I SO beg to differ. If I had a 4k camera, I'd be doing zooms and pans and all that fun stuff. And that alone would make me famous. Super famous!

I think you make some valid points. Especially when you're first getting started, it's key to be able to create things and not rely on trying to add in all the awesomeness in post-production. That said, there are definitely times where you may have an idea that you just can't get to work without a garbage mask or a green screen. I will say, though, you can get tripod adapters for an iPad, so if you've got that in your arsenal, it can be a great way to get HD footage without investing in a higher-end camera.

I have to disagree with you when it comes to video quality though. If you have a crisp 480, then great. But in my experience, even most 720 cameras don't look great at that resolution without a lot of correction. A ton of viral videos get by with very poor production quality, but I don't think it's a sustainable way to build up a subscriber base, so it depends on your goals, really. I would heavily invest in audio as soon as you can spare the change though. Nothing sends viewers away faster than not being able to understand you, or having to tweak the volume up and down and up and down as they're watching.

So ultimately, you don't need great equipment/software, but sometimes just seeing what you're able to do can help inspire some ideas. And most importantly, invest enough that your viewers don't have to work to appreciate you. If they're squinting, straining to hear you, replaying bits to try and understand what's going on - they'll subconsciously resent you for it. Make it easy for people to like you!
 
gisikw said:
Oh, I SO beg to differ. If I had a 4k camera, I'd be doing zooms and pans and all that fun stuff. And that alone would make me famous. Super famous!

I think you make some valid points. Especially when you're first getting started, it's key to be able to create things and not rely on trying to add in all the awesomeness in post-production. That said, there are definitely times where you may have an idea that you just can't get to work without a garbage mask or a green screen. I will say, though, you can get tripod adapters for an iPad, so if you've got that in your arsenal, it can be a great way to get HD footage without investing in a higher-end camera.

I have to disagree with you when it comes to video quality though. If you have a crisp 480, then great. But in my experience, even most 720 cameras don't look great at that resolution without a lot of correction. A ton of viral videos get by with very poor production quality, but I don't think it's a sustainable way to build up a subscriber base, so it depends on your goals, really. I would heavily invest in audio as soon as you can spare the change though. Nothing sends viewers away faster than not being able to understand you, or having to tweak the volume up and down and up and down as they're watching.

So ultimately, you don't need great equipment/software, but sometimes just seeing what you're able to do can help inspire some ideas. And most importantly, invest enough that your viewers don't have to work to appreciate you. If they're squinting, straining to hear you, replaying bits to try and understand what's going on - they'll subconsciously resent you for it. Make it easy for people to like you!
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good point, but i'd just like to add, if you had a professional hollywood camera, doesn't mean you are going to create something amazing, excluding quallity, the camera isn't what makes it good, it's the person :)
 
Nice topic! I highly recommend the low budget, gitter-done methods and focus on the content first! People tune in for the content and all of the bells and whistles just makes it flashier. When one starts building an audience, then they can start looking to improve the visuals.
 
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