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How I Make My YouTube Videos

2019-06-29 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali · recording, 9:06 · watch on YouTube

Topic: YouTube, writing online and creators · mode: Demonstration and walkthrough · tags: His own numbers, Sponsor segment present

Ali tours the gear behind his sit-down videos in mid-2019: the Sony A7 III with a Sony 24mm F1.4 G Master lens and an external monitor, a Rode VideoMic Pro Plus into a Zoom H5 held just out of frame, PluralEyes for syncing, and an Aputure 120D Mark II light in a Light Dome II softbox; he tells beginners not to be intimidated, since he started on an iPhone.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — What the video covers; do not be intimidated by the setup; why he invested in production value

  • ★★★ Ali tells people starting or thinking of starting on YouTube not to be intimidated by a filming setup like his. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Ali filmed his first couple of YouTube videos with just his iPhone, then used a cheap-ish Sony A6000 setup that cost about $700 in total. — 00:00:00 · iPhone, Sony A6000
  • ★★ Ali says many YouTubers far bigger and more successful than him use setups costing a fraction of his current gear. — 00:00:29

  • ★★★ When he started taking YouTube seriously, Ali chose to invest in production value and quality because, he says, he felt he lacked the personality to carry content without it. — 00:00:29

    “i felt like i didn't quite have the personality to just carry content without also having good production value”

00:00:58 — Camera setup: Sony A7 III, 24mm lens, tripod and monitor

  • ★★ Ali bought the Sony A7 III, his main camera, a few months ago; he calls it quite expensive but an absolutely incredible full-frame camera. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Ali's main lens is the Sony 24mm F1.4 G Master; he likes its focal length because the camera can sit just an arm's length away from him. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ On top of the camera Ali has an external monitor he thinks is a SmallHD Focus, because Sony cameras other than the a6400 have no flip-out screen, so you need a monitor to see yourself. (hedged) — 00:01:27

00:01:56 — Sponsor read

  • ★★ Ali says people call decent audio arguably the most important thing for decent-quality videos. — 00:02:55

00:03:10 — Audio setup: Rode VideoMic Pro Plus, Zoom H5, mic placement and syncing with PluralEyes

  • ★★ Ali records audio with a Rode VideoMic Pro Plus connected by a 3.5mm-to-XLR cable to a Zoom H5, an external recorder that writes to an SD card and can run on batteries. — 00:03:24
  • ★★ Ali and his brother Taimur also record their podcast on the Zoom H5, plugging Rode Procaster microphones into its XLR inputs. — 00:03:24 · Taimur Abdaal, Not Overthinking
  • ★★★ Ali keeps his microphone on a stand just above his head, just out of frame, because the way to get decent audio is to have your mouth as close to the mic as possible. — 00:04:17
  • ★★ Ali syncs video, audio and iPad screen recordings automatically with the app PluralEyes; it costs a lot, but he says it has saved him many days over two years and is fully worth it. — 00:04:17

00:04:55 — Lighting setup: Aputure 120D Mark II and Light Dome II softbox

  • ★★ Ali lights his videos with an Aputure 120D Mark II in an Aputure Light Dome II softbox; his old lighting setup cost about £30–40 on Amazon and was not dimmable. — 00:04:57 · Amazon
  • ★★ Ali gives the theory of lighting as: the bigger the surface area of the light, the softer it appears. (hedged) — 00:05:27
  • ★★ Ali usually keeps his light at about 50% brightness, adjusted to the daylight, so the video does not look too studio-produced. — 00:06:04

00:06:20 — Overhead rig and how long he has filmed this way

  • ★ Ali's improvised overhead camera rig is not very stable, and he is looking for a more stable overhead setup. — 00:06:33
  • ★★ Ali says he has recorded his YouTube videos this way for the last two years, though with far less fancy cameras. — 00:06:33
  • ★ Ali's desk holds two 4TB hard drives, one main and one backup, and a 15-inch MacBook Pro connected to an LG 34-inch ultrawide monitor. — 00:06:33 · MacBook

00:06:45 — Desk and background: drives, monitor, drawers, plants, guitars and framing

  • ★★ Ali passes on framing advice from YouTube tutorials: no lines coming off your head, and lines in the background pointing at your face. (hedged) — 00:07:32
  • ★★★ Ali is working on a series of behind-the-scenes videos on how he makes his videos: camera settings, lens choices, his editing workflow and how he uses Final Cut Pro. — 00:08:05 · Final Cut Pro

00:08:12 — The coming behind-the-scenes series, questions welcome, sign-off

In the description and comments

  • ★ Ali Abdaal (channel): Asked whether Ali films his videos in one take, the channel answers that he is nowhere near doing so. — creator comment

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Aputure 120D Mark II · Sony A7 III

Also: People: Taimur Abdaal

Projects: Not Overthinking

Organizations: Amazon

Products: Aputure Light Dome II · Final Cut Pro · IKEA Alex · iPhone · LG 34UM68 · MacBook · PluralEyes · Rode Procaster · Rode VideoMic Pro Plus · SmallHD Focus · Sony 24mm F1.4 G Master · Sony A6000 · Sony A6500 · Zoom H5

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