Hey! Today’s video is part of a YouTube
series where creators go behind the scenes
and explain how we actually make the things
that we make. It’s called YouTube Girls
and it’s part of an awesome movement called
FemTube. All links will be in the description
and I’ll also be linking to the playlist
of everyone’s videos so that you can check
those out as well!
So how do I make my videos? Well, the truth
is it takes a lot of time and a lot of different
skills. I’ve broken my production
process down into four stages and I’m going
to take you through each of those, and yes
we will be getting into the nitty gritty details.
So are you ready? Have you got your notepad
out?
1. PLANNING
It all starts with an idea, whether that comes
from an album I can’t stop listening to,
an event that I hear about, or a suggestion
that I get in my comments. I wish I could
tell you more about this process, however
it’s the one that I understand the least.
An idea is an idea and if you have one you’ll
know it.
But obviously just having an idea isn’t
enough. The next thing I do is research the
topic. So, for an album review I’ll listen
through multiple times and takes notes, I’ll
look for interviews with the artist about
the album and its context, I’ll look up
any intertextual references that the artist
makes in their work, I’ll read any articles,
books, literary theories I need to. Basically
I take in a lot of different ideas at this
stage, and as you can imagine this process
takes a while.
When I’ve finished my research I like to
let all of the information sit for a while,
kind of percolating there. I find that this
allows me to come up with connections and
ideas that might not have been analysed by
anyone else yet. It can be frustrating because
there’s no real way to explain to other
people what I’m doing at this stage, and
sometimes I don’t know how long it will
last, but I have to say it is SO satisfying
when I come up with a theory or connection
and feel like I’ve cracked the code of an
album.
Because my ideas at this stage are still in
discrete pieces, I like to draw spidergrams.
So I’ll draw a new leg for each idea and
then see what connects. I find writing all
my ideas out on a page helps me to organise
them, and as I do this I start to get a feel
for the structure of my video. This is actually
how I used to plan essays when I was at school
and university - the only difference is now
I get to write about whatever I want.
From that spidergram I’ll write a loose
bullet-point outline, double-checking at this
point that the structure actually works, so
I’m not talking about the same idea at 5
different points in the video. Then, I use
that outline to type up a script. My actual
writing process isn’t something that I feel
I can explain, just because it’s always
come naturally to me. That’s not to say
that I find it easy - sometimes it feels impossible
- however I don’t think that it’s something
that can be taught and I don’t think that
good writing can be ascribed
to any of these systems and tricks that people
have invented on “How To Write”. You just
do it because you need to.
2. SHOOTING
Once the script is finished I’m ready to
shoot. I should mention: I don’t always
script my videos, especially for hauls, so
sometimes this stage happens a lot earlier.
I like to create a certain aesthetic in my
videos, so I do spend quite a bit of time
in the “Art Department Area” - in my case,
set, wardrobe, and hair and makeup.
I usually film in my bedroom, but it is nowhere
near as neat and ordered as it appears in
my videos. I’ll maybe light a candle, arrange
a stack of relevant books, and - oh yeah - sweep
all of the rubbish that somehow ends up everywhere
just casually out of frame. No one needs to
see that. Trust me.
I also plan my outfits - I try to match outfits
to albums, I tend to go for a lot of darker
colours, but also just things that I think
look cool. Like, this T-shirt just sums me
up, so,
My makeup takes a while, maybe an hour. I
like to take my time, practice what I’m
going to say, and just generally try to get
in more of a performing mood. I find the process
of putting on makeup a transformative process
where it’s like I’m putting on a character.
In the everyday, I’ll wear quite natural
makeup but when I’m filming I need a look
that will translate onscreen, under my lights,
so I do cream contouring, dark winged eyeliner,
and a bold lip colour. This is so that my
features will project on-camera.
So, equipment. Disclaimer: I didn’t go to
film school so everything I know about equipment
is what I’ve gleaned from friends, online
tutorials, and YouTube workshops. I’ve always
used cameras and shot stuff but it’s been
more from a storytelling perspective as opposed
to a technical one. There are many amazing
videos and websites that are much better resources
for this than me.
I use a Canon 70D - it’s a DSLR with a flip-out
screen and you can plug in an external mic.
It records onto an SD card and you can also
change the lens.
I set that up on my old slightly broken, slightly
too short tripod.
I have two softbox lights - I got them far
too cheaply online. I’m not 100% happy with
them as I can never get them far enough away
from me to avoid them washing me out. I hear
a lot of people recommending sitting in front
of windows - I don’t know where you live
but I live in England, and we don’t have
that thing called “sunshine” here. Just
clouds and rain. I need my lights.
For sound, I use a lapel mic from Audio-Technica
- same guys who make my turntable. I think
it was £20 on Amazon. I clip the mic onto
my clothes, turn it on, plug it in, and it
records straight into the camera so I don’t
have to worry about syncing the sound later.
DSLR in-camera mics are notoriously annoying
so I’ve always used a separate mic. I’m
planning on getting a Zoom soon as well.
With my set ready it’s time to shoot. I
generally rehearse my videos quite a bit prior
to shooting, and make sure I know exactly
what I want to say. I do this partly so that
it’s easier to edit, but also because I’m
quite self-conscious about my voice and my
cadence - I always want what I say to make
sense and sound good. I do as many retakes
as I need to, and generally shoot sentence
by sentence. I make sure I get some thumbnail
poses in at the end as well.
Once I finish the script the shoot’s still
not over. I reset the camera and get any close-ups
or extra shots that I need, for example vinyl
close-ups for a haul. This is always a nice
way for me to chill out and relax after being
on camera, but still be doing something.
Finally, I take the SD card and transfer my
footage to a hard drive. I name all of them
after Game of Thrones Houses so at the moment
I’m editing on Lannister.
3. EDITING
Now it’s time for the edit. I use Adobe
Premiere Pro - I have a monthly Creative Cloud
subscription as I also use Photoshop and After
Effects. I also have Final Cut X but I much
prefer the freedom of Adobe.
First of all I create a new project in Premiere
Pro. Then I import all of the files I need,
including any b-roll or extra footage.
Next, I log my footage, going through each
clip and finding the take that I want to use.
I also name my files, especially the b-roll,
so that when I’m covering sections later
on I can easily find exactly what I want.
Then I start building my timeline. Sometimes
this is very straightforward. Sometimes it
is horrific. Again, hauls are so easy for
me - just bing bang bosh - but a review can
require rescripting in the edit, sudden random
revelations and ideas, and just general fuckery.
Once I have my basic structure I’ll go through
and neaten up. I get rid of ums, ahs, long
pauses, boring sections, sections that don’t
actually make sense. Even with portions of
the script that originally sounded great:
sometimes when I’m editing I’ll realise
that I don’t actually need them, or like
them, or I’ll realise that I can get that
point across in a different more interesting
way.
When I’m finally happy with that I’ll
add b-roll and any extra footage or reference
clips. Then I’ll do a visual pass of the
video, where I’m watching for anything that
looks weird. If I have time I might attempt
some colour correction, although I’m such
a novice at that.
Then comes the audio. I fix weird jumps, clicks,
hums, add music. Sometimes even just ambient
sounds. Again, I’ll do a few audio passes
to check that everything sounds good.
Next I’ll add titles and credits - pretty
straightforward but a bit fiddly.
I’ll do a final watch through to catch anything
I’ve missed. I try to be as critical and
picky as I can at this stage. Then I’ll
usually make an endcard in photoshop and import
that.
So, in case it wasn’t obvious, editing can
take a really long time for me too. I’m
very picky and there usually is at least one
crisis moment for me during this stage when
I want to throw the whole thing out. I’ve
just had to train myself to finish the damn
thing.
Then I export the file as an .MP4.
4. SOCIAL MEDIA
Now for the easy bit - I hit upload on YouTube.
I’ve started scheduling my videos so that
I know exactly when they’ll be live.
While I wait for the video to upload I’ll
make my Thumbnail on Photoshop - so I’ll
scrub through that thumbnail video I shot
and find something that works. I also write
the description, add tags, and draft any social
media posts.
When the video goes live I’ll Tweet and
sometimes I cut a teaser video to upload to
the Record Review’s Facebook page. I try
to make it as visual as possible because I
know a lot of people don’t turn the sound
on when videos autoplay on Facebook. Since
I’ve started using Snapchat I also try to
keep everyone updated about what I’m working
on through that, so I’ll usually add something
to my story when a video is going live.
And then we play the waiting game…
So that’s how I make my videos. It seems
like a lot to do and I don’t mean for this
to seem daunting. I think it would be dishonest
if I were to sit here and say “Oh, I just
think of a random idea, chat to a camera,
and quickly edit it.” No, it’s a difficult
process, and not always fun, but then again
nothing worth doing is ever easy. I think
it’s important to be mentally prepared for
what goes into making a video. There’s a
rule about comedy films which I think applies
here, that the more fun the cast and crew
had making it, the less funny it will actually
be.
I hope I went into enough detail as well.
If you have any questions, either about making
videos or generally about my channel please
leave a comment or you can also tweet me.
I’m going to make a follow-up Q&A video
because I think that that’s the best way
to ensure that this is a true dialogue.
If you’d like to see other people’s production
processes then be sure to check out the #YouTubeGirls
tag, and if you’d like to show yours then
I’d love to see your videos!
And if you’ve found this video via the tag:
hi! I’d love it if you subscribed - I make
videos about vinyl records, pop culture, and
sometimes some weird short film things.
Thank you so much for watching and hopefully
I’ll see you in my next video! Bye!
