Creating professional-quality YouTube videos can take a lot of time and can require some bulky gear, such as a desktop computer. But if you’re traveling and need to create a video quickly, what do you do? The good news is, you can do everything — from coming up with the concept to uploading your video to YouTube — using only your iPhone. And yes, that means you can shoot and edit without needing to have your heavy equipment or desktop with you.
In this article, you’ll read about how to make a YouTube video from scratch. And you’ll learn some additional tips to help take your videos up a notch and ensure that you won’t lose any quality just because you’re using your phone.
Although it’s possible to simply record a video using the Camera app and upload it directly using the YouTube app, you probably shouldn’t do this. Your video won’t look its best, which means you might not get the performance or results out of it that you’d like. So follow these steps to help keep your content looking professional, even if you’re only using your iPhone:
While it’s tempting to run out and start filming videos with your iPhone right away, the better you plan for a video, the better the outcome will be. The first thing you should ask yourself is who your video is for. Because once you have that figured out, you’ll be able to research ideas, search for inspiration, and write an outline for your video.
After you know who your audience is, you can do a quick search on YouTube to see what people are searching for and what videos are already out there. When you know what sort of videos other people have already made, you can figure out what will make your video special or unique.
Sometimes when you’re recording videos, you get lucky and film something genuinely amazing. But the problem with luck is that it’s tough to recreate. Writing a complete script might sound a little intimidating, but having at least an outline will help you figure out a structure and overall flow for your videos. And it can save you time because you already know exactly what you need to record, and you’re not guessing what else you should film.
Equipment can be a bit of a slippery slope. If you’re anything like us, you’ll be tempted to buy every gadget available. The best thing to do is to make a couple of videos and see where they could use some improvement.
The following are some basic pieces of equipment you may want to consider picking up:
Once you’ve figured out what your video will be about, it’s time to shoot it. To make sure your videos look the best they possibly can, you want to keep your iPhone as stable as you can and check that everything’s in focus. When it comes to lighting, you don’t always have control over your filming environment. So, even though you can’t change the actual light, there are some things you can do with your iPhone to help you make your videos look more professional.
You can adjust your video’s exposure by tapping on a darker or lighter area of your screen. But in certain situations, it can be hard to find the right balance.
For instance, if you’re shooting outdoors, try to film in shaded areas. That way, the lighting is more evenly balanced. Or if you’re filming inside, try to avoid shooting windows, as the light from outside may be too bright, making it difficult — if not impossible — for your iPhone to adjust the exposure.
The default Camera app is great in iOS, but the more you shoot, the more you may find that you want an increased level of control over your visuals. For this, you can try an app like Filmic Pro, which will give you easy access to options like adjusting your aperture and white balance. And for more advanced users, it will provide you with exposure warnings and focus peaking.
After you’ve filmed your video, it’s time to edit it before you upload it to YouTube. If you only want to trim or crop your videos, you can do so in the Photos app that’s native to iOS. But if you want to do a little more with your videos, you can download Apple’s video-editing app, iMovie, for your iPhone.
Cutting down the beginning or end of a video is really simple with the Photos app. Just follow these steps:
If you want to crop a video’s image size or reframe your video, use these steps in the Photos app:
Maybe you want to add music or record a voiceover for your video. You can do all of that on your iPhone, thanks to iMovie.
Here’s how to add music to your video:
Maybe you need to add some narration or a voiceover to your video. To do so, just follow these steps:
You’ve planned out your video. You’ve shot it. You’ve edited it. Now it’s finally time for the world to see it. This step may seem intimidating, but trust us — uploading your video to YouTube is probably the easiest part of the whole process.
Before you publish your video on YouTube, you need to make sure you have the app downloaded from the App Store. Then you can follow these steps:
When it comes to actually publishing your video on YouTube, there are a couple of tips you should try that can significantly impact the performance of your video:
Creating great content for YouTube can be a lot of work, but it can also be very rewarding. While there’s a lot to keep in mind when making videos, from start to finish, the most important things are to have fun and not be afraid to experiment. Because just like anything else, the more you do it, the better you’ll get at creating videos.