you

STORIES • ADVICE • TRENDS Best channels

WITH NO SUBSCRIBERS

uber
5 awesome
SUPER-NICHE CHANNELS
Make Your Gaming Videos
STAND OUT FROM
THE CROWD
magazine How to
TURN REVIEWS INTO DOLLARS

Beauty Beyond Makeup:

Producing a Makeup Tutorial 62

OCTOBER 2016
PREMIERE EDITION

INTERVIEWS:
Patrick Tanner
Jeanine Amapola
Democratized Distribution
or Dystopian Nightmare? 11

80 DOs and DONT’S of

38
Prank Video Production

HANK
PAGE 19
74

GREEN
Looking out for Internet Creators Everywhere
 EDITOR’S NOTES OCTOBER 2016
Volume 001

THIS IS YOUTUBER
Every creator wants to im-
prove  —  from those with a million
subscribers to those with a hundred.
Within these articles, you’ll find
stories and insight relevant to let’s
players, vloggers, pranksters, beauty
experts, product reviewers and more.
You’ll find interviews with top You-
Tube personalities and industry lead-
ers. We’ll give you guides introducing
On the Cover: Hank Green, co-founder you to free production resources and
of VidCon, The Internet Creators Guild, content inspiration. You’ll read our
the Project for Awesome and more.
opinions about important topics
and topics that aren’t so important.
In short, we hope that in every issue than scrubbing through a video when
publisher/editor Matthew York of YouTuber you’ll find nuggets of you need to look up a tip on the fly.
associate publisher Patrice York
information that help you make your Having a YouTube channel is a craft
editor in chief Mike Wilhelm channel better. and a skill like any other. It takes time,
managing editor Nicole LaJeunesse
“But Mike! YouTube is about vid- dedication and continuous learning
on the cover
web developer
multimedia editor
Jill Lutge
Chris Monlux eos, not articles. Whatever you want to improve. Even today’s greatest You-
art director/photographer Susan Schmierer
to say, say it with video!” Tubers are still learning and evolving.
No one has made that argument With YouTuber, you can dig deep into
director of
business development Terra Yurkovic harder than me. Over at Videomaker, the concepts that will help you make
account executive Lindsay Cox we constantly ask, “Would this idea outstanding videos.
telephone (530) 891-8410
be better conveyed with video?” The This isn’t TIME Magazine or
answer is usually yes. National Geographic. We’re not
marketing manager Joseph Ayres
Video is my life, and I’ve been high-minded publishers on a soap-
director of finance Stephen Awe
lucky enough to have made video my box. We’re YouTubers ourselves. Our
accountant Ryan Awe full-time focus for the past 16 years. writers are YouTubers. We love this
customer service
/fulfillment coordinator Tiffany Harness But video isn’t the best solution for community, and we hope to give
everything. back to it by sharing the knowledge
YouTuber is published monthly by Videomaker, Inc., 645 Mangrove Avenue, Chico, CA 95926. ©2016 Videomaker, Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in whole or in part without written consent of the publisher is prohibited.
When you need a deep under- and insight we’ve picked up over the
The YouTuber name is a pending trademark, property of Videomaker, Inc. Editorial solicitations welcomed; publisher assumes
no responsibility for return of unsolicited material. Editorial-related photos and artwork received unsolicited become property standing of a topic, the more active years. In doing so, we hope you, our
of Videomaker Inc.

Videomaker Inc. makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, with respect to the completeness, accuracy or
process of engaging with an article readers, are inspired to give back as
allows you to absorb information at well and share your knowledge on
utility of these materials or any information or opinion contained herein. Any use or reliance on the information or opinion is
at the risk of the user, and Videomaker Inc. shall not be liable for any damage or injury incurred by any person arising out of
the completeness, accuracy or utility of any information or opinion contained in these materials. These materials are not to be
construed as an endorsement of any product or company, nor as the adoption or promulgation of any guidelines, standards
or recommendations. your own pace. You can spend extra your own YouTube channel or here by
time with ideas or pause to reflect submitting own articles for YouTuber.
on ways to use those ideas in unique That’s why we’ve created YouTuber;
ways — not to mention the fact that It’s is how we YouTube without You-
PRESENTED BY referencing an article is often easier Tube. We hope you’ll join us.

Mike Wilhelm - Editor in Chief

YO U T U B E R I1
CONTENTS OCTOBER 2016
Volume 001

HANK GREEN:
GUILDING THE INTERNET
As co-founder of VidCon, the Internet Creators Guild, the Project for Awesome
and more, Hank Green has proven to be one of the internet’s most influential JEANINE AMAPOLA:
personalities. PETER BIESTERFELD HOW THIS BEAUTY AND
LIFESTYLE VLOGGER GETS
THINGS DONE
One of the best ways for creators on
YouTube to improve their video pro-
duction process is to learn from other
successful creators. Jeanine Amapola
explains the exact steps and tools she
uses to create videos, which have so far
garnered her over a million subscribers
to date. BREE BROUWER

on the cover 19-26

COLUMNS
COMEDY: Dos and Don’ts of Prank VIdeo Production ANTONIO PAVLOV 38

GAMING: Make Your Gaming Videos Stand Out BREE BROUWER 43

BUSINESS: Fire Your MCN Like a Boss JOHN MCCABE 48

PRODUCTS: How to Make Money Reviewing Products SEAN CANNELL 52

VLOGS: Next-gen Vloging: Spherical Video JASON MILLER 57

BEAUTY: Beauty Beyond Makeup RHIANNON MCGAVIN 62

SUPER-NICHE: 5 Awesome Super-niche Channels SCOTT NISWANDER 68 74-79

YO U T U B E R I2
CONTENTS

TANNER PATRICK:
A DAY IN THE LIFE
We spoke with singer-songwriter Tanner Patrick, and he gave us a glimpse into a
day in the life of a single-person online video channel. RICKY ANDERSON II

CONSPIRACY THEORY
Democratized Distribution
or Dystopian Nightmare? The
Machiavellian Manipulation of
Online Culture by our Corporate
Overlords. ERIK FRITTS

80-85
SHORTS
Youtube Challengers: Industry Developments RICKY ANDERSON II 5
Multi-Platform Strategies: Socializing Your Social Media Edits PETER ZUNITCH 8

OPINION
Relying on Advertising Revenue Alone? Proceed with Caution MIKE WILHELM 14
How Old Media Practices Might Work on YouTube ORLANDO RYAN 16

GUIDES
Free Online Resources to Elevate Your Video JORDAN MAISON 28
11 Channels More People Should Be Watching CHRISTOPHER SETTINERI 34 11-12

YO U T U B E R I3
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Western Digital Technologies, Inc. is the seller of record and licensee in the Americas of SanDisk® products.
 YOUTUBE CHALLENGERS

YouTube has been the video streaming platform of the internet since its inception in 2005. Now
10 years later, web video is more ubiquitous than ever thanks to platforms like Facebook, Snap-
chat and Amazon Video Direct. Here, we’re going to look at these video platforms and see how
they fit into the online video space.

YOUTUBE CHALLENGERS BY RICKY ANDERSON II

STEWDIPPIN

Industry Developments

Y ouTube’s dominance in the

online video space has a lot to
do with it’s simplicity, longevity
uploading and monetizing vid-
eos that can easily be found and
searched both through its native
there that may better serve your
specific purpose.

and it’s largest asset; Google.
YouTube has long been the
choice platform for web series,
short films and vlogs since anyone
can create an account and begin
platform and Google. It’s usually
the first platform people think of
when it comes to sharing video to
the web, but as popular as You-
Tube is, there are other options out
FACEBOOK VIDEO
Facebook Video allows any Face-
book user to upload and share
their videos with their network
of friends and family natively on

YO U T U B E R I5
 YOUTUBE CHALLENGERS
INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

the platform. Facebook is favoring

videos that are uploaded natively
because the more people engage
with your video in the News Feed,
the more people stay on Facebook.
The sharing and tagging fea-
tures of Facebook have increased
“
MANY HAVE
TURNED TO
SNAPCHAT AS
THE PLACE TO
GO FOR
the shareability of content, caus- VLOGGING.
ing more and more videos to go
viral through Facebook Video and
further ingraining video into the
social experience. At this moment
there is no monetization feature,
and videos generally have shorter
lifespans than they would on the
more searchable YouTube.

SNAPCHAT
Even more ephemeral are Snap-
chat videos. The most unique
feature of Snapchat is that the
content created will expire within
24 hours of uploading, so followers
are incentivized to actively watch The Facebook News Feed algorithm currently favors video, meaning
the Stories so as not to miss out on your content will experience more visibility than other posts.
the latest updates. The real draw
to Snapchat is its collection of
interactive and geo-location based
filters, which is added to daily.
Many have turned to Snapchat
as the place to go for vlogging,
especially with the simple Snap-
chat Story feature, which allows
users to add 10 second video Snaps
to a published story in a snap
(pun intended). Snapchat users
can produce more content more
quickly, without the expectation
of a polished production. It’s the
epitome of social video — created
quickly, shared instantly, gone the For those into fleeting video, Snapchat has become a decent vlogging
next day. platform in its own right.

YO U T U B E R I6
 YOUTUBE CHALLENGERS
INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

AMAZON VIDEO DIRECT

Amazon Video Direct, is the
newest player to enter the online
video scene. Launching May
of 2016, Amazon Video Direct
is seeking to “[Help] content
creators and visual storytell-
ers reach millions of Amazon
customers across hundreds of
devices with the same distribu-
tion options and delivery quality
available to major motion picture
and television studios.”
While Facebook and Snapchat
are making low quality, unmon- Amazon is aggressively targeting more professional creators with Ama-
etized video more prevalent, Ama- zon Video Direct.
zon Video Direct is moving in the
opposite direction with a platform
that favors premium content and
consistent output.
Once you fill out all the required ing seems to be an ideal place for
information and distribution highly produced web series and
agreements, you can add your films seeking distribution compa-
content to Amazon’s catalogue of rable to Netflix.
video to be purchased or rented
through Amazon. Though the SUMMARY
platform is still new, this offer- The landscape of online video has
changed significantly over the past
10 years. Though YouTube still

“
reigns supreme with online video
when it comes to searchability and
it’s Google backing, other plat-
forms like Facebook and Snapchat
on one side and Amazon Video
AMAZON Direct on the other are offering
VIDEO DIRECT users unique features and benefits
that may be a better fit for certain
IS THE NEWEST types of content.
PLAYER TO
ENTER THE Ricky Anderson II is a Texas-based video pro-
ducer and entertainer. He has over 10 years
ONLINE VIDEO of experience in online video production,
with an expertise in creating engaging and
SCENE. entertaining videos.

YO U T U B E R I7
 MULTI-PLATFORM STRATEGIES

Why it’s essential to make platform-specific edits and how to optimize them.

MULTI-PLATFORM STRATEGIES BY PETER ZUNITCH

Socializing Your Social Media Edits

S ocial media is a great way to
spread the word for that all-
essential message you need to get
out to the public. However, not
all services are created equal, nor
should they be treated as such. If
you’re distributing the same video
across all systems, you’re not only
going to miss your audience, you
might even drive them away.
There are two hurdles to mass
social media distribution. The
first is wildly different technical
requirements for video on each

YO U T U B E R I8
 MULTI-PLATFORM STRATEGIES
SOCIALIZING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA EDITS
platform. The second is the style
and trends expected by the audi-
ence of each service. Between the
two, it’s all but impossible make
just one video that optimally
achieves all your goals. Yet, no
one wants to waste time editing
10 different productions on the
same campaign.
Fortunately there’s a logical
workflow you can follow that will
not only make your life easier,
but will actually make your brand
stronger and more cohesive. A
logical creative progression is the
key to balancing efficiency with
maximizing your video’s social
media penetration.
YOUTUBE
Faithful Youtube is the starting
point where you can post your
long-form message. Even unveri-
fied accounts can post videos up
to 15 minutes, and that’s just the
start, so go all out. YouTube view-
ers tend to search out content
that they’re interested in, so it’s
a great base of operations for all
the other sites to lead back to. Be
sure to present the core purpose
of your video within the first 30
seconds to hook your audience.
Use the rest of the video to go into
the finer details.
Because there’s a common,
quality encoding standard be-
tween them (1080p, h.264), you
can and probably should post
this video as-is to Dailymotion as
well, however you won’t be able
to rely on all the extra features. LONG-FORM MESSAGE
Vimeo is another consideration
as long as you’re under the file
size limit for posting.
FACEBOOK
Facebook is up next with small
tweaks. Research shows that up SHORTER, LESS DIALOG
to 85% of social media video is
played silently, and Facebook
mutes video by default. Consider
revising the beginning of your
original video to rely less on dia-
log and use text splash screens for
the most important points.
ONE MINUTE,
Don’t overdo it though. Long
ESSENTIAL CONTENT
bouts of text should be saved for
the description.
Facebook’s advice is that videos
that are brief and aligned with
current trends do best in the
News Feed. Your first five sec-
onds should be entrancing both LESS THAN ONE MINUTE,
with and without audio. If people QUALITY IMAGERY
are interested, they will most
certainly turn the sound on and
start over.
Consider shortening your
video as well. Users have a lot of essential content into such a
ground to cover in Facebook and small package, it should be you’re
will lose attention quickly. It’s most enticing introduction to
not where they want to research your topic. This is perfect for
in depth, so shorter videos often Twitter. Why? Again, it’s all down
get more views. to how people use the platform.
Twitter has stated that the ma-
TWITTER jority of users discover the con-
From here, you should isolate the tent they watch in their feed. It’s
best, most compelling moments rare that people seek out specific
of your video to make a version content. Your video here should
approximately one minute long. be a gateway for a user to find and
Because you’ve paired down your engage with your content. If they
YO U T U B E R I9
 “
MULTI-PLATFORM STRATEGIES
SOCIALIZING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA EDITS

INSTAGRAM
VIEWERS TEND
TO AVOID TEXT,
like what you’re pushing, they’ll always better. For Instagram your
seek out more information. Odds video should be all about visual
SO TAKE AS
are, though, it won’t be via Twitter. quality over quantity. MUCH OUT
AS YOU CAN.
INSTAGRAM TECH SPECS SELL YOURSELF
Now take your one minute mas- Along the way you’re going to THOUGH
terpiece and shave off another have technical considerations to
VISUAL
thirty seconds. With a thirty deal with. Careful research will
second spot, you can create your yield some specs you can consider STIMULI.
Instagram experience. universal — h.264, audio sample
There are two considerations rate, progressive scan — but at
here. Instagram viewers tend to some point you may want to crop Social media platforms afford an
avoid text, so take as much out your video from 16:9 to 1:1, so keep unprecedented modern means of
as you can. Concentrate instead text within the center square of promoting your message or brand,
on striking, quality imagery. Sell your screen. You’ll also have to but if you’re concentrating on only
yourself though visual stimuli. scale down your resolution and a few of them, or failing to cater
You have up to a minute with bitrate as you go. Set up batch to the abilities of each platform,
this service, but keep in mind that encoding presets that will adhere you’re severely missing the mark.
the get in late, get out early rules to each format and these hurdles Take advantage of the unique
still apply, and longer video is not are easily crossed. features — like playlists, overlays,
video loops and thumbnails of
each site — to get creative with
STANDARD EXPORT SETTINGS your brand. Just because they’re all
different doesn’t mean you can’t
Social Media Common Format Progression Tree: Using these 3 for- work smart and progress all your
mats as starting points should satisfy all requirements for virtually edits towards a common goal.
every social media site. As you post your videos to vari-
ous platforms, provide your view-
MP4, H.264, 1920x1080, 16x9, Progressive, High Profile, VBR ers the opportunity to share every-
2-pass @ ~4mbps, source framerate ~<60fps (constant), AAC-LC thing whenever possible and use
stereo @ 48khz stereo, 320kbps, < 15 min, < 2GB [500mb for basic hashtags where appropriate. Think
Vimeo] of all the platforms as one big
distribution system through which
MP4, H.264, 1920x1080, 16x9, Progressive, High Profile, VBR your audience will discover, share
2-pass @ ~4mbps, Source framerate ~<40fps, (constant), AAC-LC and navigate from all directions. If
@44.1khz mono, 128kbps, <140 sec., <512Mb your brand is sound and your mes-
sage cohesive, you will get noticed
Mp4, h.264, 1080x1080, 1:1, Progressive, VBR 2-pass @ and shared. After all, that’s what
~3.5mbps, 30fps (constant), AAC-LC Stereo @ 44.1khz mono, social media is about.
128kbps, < 60 sec., < 1Gb
Peter Zunitch is an award-winning editor in
New York.

YO U T U B E R I 10
 CONSPIRACY THORY

The Machiavellian Manipulation of Online Culture by our Corporate Overlords

Photo Credit Ruth Belcher

CONSPIRACY THEORY BY ERIK FRITTS

Democratized Distribution or Dystopian Nightmare?

D o you ever feel like you’re not
getting the recognition you de-
serve for your videos? Does it seem
as though, no matter how hard you
try, you’re just not gaining any trac-
tion online? Perhaps you have been
recognizing the signs that dark
and sinister forces are conspiring
to prevent you — clearly the next
Orson Wells — from being dis-
covered. If the struggle for online
engagement often seems like you’re
playing against a stacked deck,
maybe, just maybe… you are.

YO U T U B E R I 11
 CONSPIRACY THORY
Democratized Distribution or Dystopian Nightmare?

Who are these faceless men in YOUTUBE TRENDING

expensive suits who meet in dark,
smoke filled rooms to decide your
fate? Some would speculate it’s
none other than those behind the
scenes at YouTube.
When YouTube went live in
2005, it seemed like a utopian plat-
form of democratized distribution
for a new generation of content
creators. And, for some, it was. But
quickly, big corporate business in-
terests found ways to market their
products through this pinnacle of
new media, and a dark age began.
On the exterior, we saw adver-
tisements embedded anywhere
they could fit. To some extent,
this is expected; television and
radio are both monetized through
commercials that pay for the
programming we enjoy. But once
we scratch beneath the surface, we
find much more ominous going- Why must our new, supposedly ing out the little guy in favor of
ons behind the digital curtain. democratized distribution also be international corporate interests
Time and time again, when we overrun by them? with deep pockets? What could
examine what’s trending on You- I don’t go to YouTube to see big, multi-billion dollar busi-
Tube, it’s clear there’s some back content that was live on TV last nesses have to give a profit driven
room deals going on to promote night. I don’t have enough of a life company that you or I can’t offer?
certain, content that favors, shall to need that! I watch it live, like What would be the draw of a titan
we say… The Man? an adult with responsibilities and of media production with a steady
On any given day, you’re likely just a few hours of quiet time in stream of new content and a
to find the trending content on the evening to blissfully zone out. large, paying, audience, over me,
YouTube to be almost exclusively I go to YouTube to see the weird a relative nobody?
created by big studios. On the stuff being made by independent I’m not entirely sure, but I’m
day this was written, we find creators. I go to see the work of the guessing the heads of the big stu-
Pokemon, The Late Show, The visionaries who don’t have access dios learned a special handshake
Tonight Show, NFL and Last Week to the tools or distribution deals while in Skull and Bones with Mr.
Tonight. These shows and the that would allow me to find them YouTube.
networks and studios that produce anywhere else. Erik Fritts has experience in television, film
them have controlled the airwaves So, why would the people at and corporate video production. He holds a
degree in film production and is a longtime
and cable for years, if not decades! YouTube be hell-bent on sell- opponent of “The Man.”

YO U T U B E R I 12
 Tascam MiNiSTUDIO Creator US-42
A Better Way For Broadcasting YouTube Videos:
Tascam’s MiNiSTUDIO Creator US-42
YouTube has galvanized the production of videos to the point where it’s no longer acceptable to just
use the microphone attached to a camera. Having a quality production means having more than
one microphone.
In fact, it requires the ability to add additional mics
as needed and to control them so that the final results
meet a high standard. This becomes especially true
when the video is being streamed live, since any
modifications must be made on the fly.
That’s why the MiNiSTUDIO Creator US-42
places so much importance on ease of use and por-
tability — regardless of whether the video is being
made in a studio-like environment or on location,
streaming live or being recorded for a later use. The
US-42 supplies the missing link to a great YouTube
production through a combination of hardware
and software and only needs the addition of micro-
phones and a computer or notebook to provide the
means for capturing and acquiring great audio.
The US-42 is imposing, not in size but in fea-
tures, which are readily available, easily activated
and immediately understandable.
Say you’re doing an interview and need one
microphone for yourself and another for the guest;
just use both of the XLR/TRS analog combo jack
microphone inputs. Or if you want to record a guitar,
either input supports high impedance, so recording
SPONSORED
an electronic instrument directly is simple. And since
there’s an input jack for attaching to a mobile device,
adding in external audio is simplified.
Want to alter how someone’s voice sounds or
add reverb? The controls are right there waiting.
There’s even three self-lighting PON pads that,
when pressed, play an audio file of your choosing
that’s been prerecorded and stored on the comput-
er. That’s one way to spice up a Skype audio call
when the topics start to get a bit boring.
For hearing exactly what’s being recorded,
there’s a choice of a standard-sized stereo jack for
stereo headphones — playing the same signals
outputted from both Line Out Left/Right jacks —
or a stereo mini-headphone jack — supporting
input/output for 4-pole headphones with mic and
output for headset headphones.
YO U T U B E R
To stream live, set the US-42 to Broadcast
mode. Now you’re hearing everything that your
audience hears. And thanks to an internal audio
loopback function, any and all audio in the com-
puter can be fed back and added into the recording.
But should you prefer pre-recording for a later
broadcast, switch to the Creator mode. Now the
US-42 behaves like a standard USB audio inter-
face, with the loopback feature disabled and all
mic inputs routed separately to the computer. This
makes the US-42 useful with digital audio work-
stations (DAWs) and video editing software.
The MiNiSTUDIO Creator US-42 is more than
a microphone preamp and USB audio interface.
It ensures a crisp and clear sound quality through
professional-caliber HDDA microphone preamps
and provides high-resolution recording up to 24-bit/
96 kHz on both PCs and Macs. The US-42 places
every control right at your fingertips — it even has
an illuminated On Air panel to let everyone know it’s
show time. But its greatest strength comes in giving
you control over the audio being recorded so that it
sounds exactly the way you want it to.
Compatible with all major streaming software
and services, the MiNiSTUDIO Creator US-42 is
a one-stop shop when it comes to adding in audio
for live streaming or recorded video productions
and is available now from TASCAM dealers at a
street price of $179.99.
I 13
 OPINION
If Your Channel Relies on Advertising Revenue Alone,
Proceed With Caution
#youtubeisoverparty
T he advertising industry is a
fickle beast. While we as con-
tent creators like to think of our-
selves as servants to our audience,
they’re often not the ones paying
the bills. For many on YouTube,
ad revenue is their channel’s only
source of revenue. As we learned
with YouTube’s latest step toward
appeasing advertisers, relying on
this single source of revenue can
be a dangerous strategy.
As a refresher, YouTube rolled
out an update which notifies
content creators when their
videos are deemed unfriendly to
advertisers. Videos are policed
by an algorithm that attempts
to determine whether or not a
video is controversial or offen-
sive in nature. If it is, advertisers
can choose to not have their ads
placed in front of that video.
Most advertisers choose to
avoid placing their ads on videos
flagged as controversial or offen-
sive and thus, those videos will
make a very small fraction of the
YO U T U B E R I 14
BY MIKE WILHELM
revenue they would make if they
weren’t flagged.
Some YouTubers and fans are
pretty upset about this, citing
it as a form of censorship. For a
more detailed explanation of the
whole situation, I advise read-
ing this article from the Internet
Creators Guild.
It’s been argued to death, so
I won’t go into whether this
change is good or bad for cre-
ators, advertisers or YouTube as
a whole. Rather, I want to discuss
 OPINION
If Your Channel Relies on Advertising Revenue Alone, Proceed With Caution

over-reliance on advertising as a
revenue source.
Though it’s now over 10 years
old, relative to traditional me-
dia, YouTube and the industry of
online video is still rather new. It’s
going through growing pains, so
some volatility is to be expected.
But even as things continue to
settle, if your YouTube channel
is a business, or if you hope it
to eventually be a business, you
should expect even greater swings
in the whims of advertisers and
be prepared to rely on alternative
revenue sources.
A common solution for YouTu-
bers is to sell merchandise like Many creators have turned to Patreon as a way to encourage direct
T-shirts, posters, hats and stickers. support from their viewers.
Some channels have had luck get-
ting viewers to pay them directly
via Patreon. YouTube channels What if YouTube shuts down a personality. Ideally, you should
that heavily feature products in- tomorrow? I don’t believe that be prepared to uproot your entire
clude links using affiliate trackers would happen, but as of 2015, organization from YouTube and
to earn commissions from retail- YouTube is still unprofitable. It’s have people watch your videos
ers like Amazon. entirely possible that YouTube elsewhere. Facebook is the obvious
And then there are branded could take drastic measures to current target, but don’t rule out
deals. When your channel is big increase revenue or reduce ex- Vimeo or even your own website.
enough, advertisers may approach penses, leaving content creators If you have a healthy, diversi-
you or your MCN directly in order high and dry. fied revenue stream coming from
to incorporate their product Planning for this kind of disrup- pre-roll advertisers, third party
natively into your content. This is tion may sound extreme, but it’s sponsors —  i.e., brand deals you
a great way to earn meaningful ad- something big companies do all the sell yourself — merchandise sales,
vertising revenue without sharing time. Facebook for example, fears a affiliate links and crowdfunding, all
a penny with Google. day when they may be banned from spread across multiple platforms,
As professional creators, man- Google’s Play Store. In preparation, you’ll be well protected if one of
aging revenue is only part of our Facebook is said to be developing those revenue sources or platforms
job. Audience cultivation and their own app store. evaporates. Otherwise, while times
management is just as important As a content creator, you should may be good today, your future is
when having an engaged audi- work toward having your audience resting in someone else’s hands.
ence is the key prerequisite for follow you on multiple platforms,
earning ad revenue. and I’m not talking about you as Mike Wilhelm is YouTuber’s Editor in Chief.

YO U T U B E R I 15
 OPINION

How Old Media Practices Might Work on YouTube

Since the videos you post on YouTube could be viewed by anyone at anytime, why would a channel choose
to release videos on a schedule? It all goes back to ideas developed by television.

BY ORLANDO RYAN

C ontent on TV is released based

on peak viewing hours and
days in order to capture the most
eyeballs watching at one time. The
more eyeballs, the more they can
charge for advertising within a giv-
en show. The term “Prime Time”
refers to programs being shown
between 8pm and 11pm. The order
of what show comes at what time
is based on when it will perform
best and how well it leads into the
next show to hopefully keep the
viewer watching that channel.
So how does this apply to your
YouTube channel?
Although TV and internet video
are two different animals, they’re
of the same species.
If you want to get viewers to
choose your channel or videos as
a destination, you’ll need more
than having good SEO; you’ll
need to train your viewers to tune
into your newest content. That’s
where the schedule comes in.
Even though a viewer can and will
watch your videos at every and
any hour of the day, they’ll want
to know when and how to keep up
with your work.
Take KathleenLights as an ex-
ample. On her channel banner, she

YO U T U B E R I 16
 OPINION
How Old Media Practices Might Work on YouTube
Publishing a schedule on your channel banner, then sticking with it, creates habits in your viewers.
indicates that there are new videos
every Monday, Wednesday and Fri-
day. This gives her fans the knowl-
edge that she will have a new video
for them to enjoy on those days.
Nerdist is another great example
of this; they have specific types
of videos on different days. You
can get News from them Monday
through Friday, on Wednesday
you can catch The Dan Cave show
and on Thursday, it’s the Because
Science show. This schedule feeds
and trains their viewers to look for
this content on these days; they
know it’ll be there.
Consistency with video releases
will start to make your content an
appointment for the viewer. TV has
shown that an audience that makes
an appointment to view your con-
tent is a high value audience. They
are much more likely to stay longer,
watch any advertising and give you,
the content creator, more control
over their watching habits. These
viewers are mostly known as fans.
They’re the ones that comment on
every video, give you thumbs up
and down and are more likely to
share what they see with a friend.
The last takeaway is the idea
of a lead-in. A lead-in is a video
or show that leads the viewer to
another video or show. A lead-in
show will have mass appeal and
will allow you to pull in viewers
with the hope of keeping them. If
the viewer likes the show they’re
watching, it’s likely they’ll stay on
that channel for the next show.
This works with YouTube, as well.
If you make a video that a viewer
likes, it’s more likely they’ll stay on
your channel and watch the other
content you have created.
YO U T U B E R I 17
TV shows that are lead-ins, at
the end, tell the audience to stay
tuned for the next show. This is
like a little promo for sticking
around.
As an added bonus, the longer
someone stays on your chan-
nel watching your videos, the
higher your videos will rank when
searched for.
Although YouTube is very dif-
ferent from TV, the next time you
watch TV, observe how you can
apply the decades of experience
TV has to improve and grow your
YouTube channel. The similarities
are great; however, because inter-
net video is brand new relative to
TV, not all acquired information
will be applicable. What is will be
YouTube gold.
Orlando Ryan is a man of mystery.
 HANK
GREEN
GUILDING THE INTERNET
YO U T U B E R I 19
 HANKSCHANNEL VLOGBROTHERS
SUBSCRIBERS: 295,933 SUBSCRIBERS: 2,887,896
UPLOADS: 268 UPLOADS: 1,439
VIDEO VIEWS: 16,136,418 VIDEO VIEWS: 637,323,411
CHANNEL TYPE: PEOPLE CHANNEL TYPE: NEWS
JOINED: NOVEMBER 7, 2009 JOINED: JANUARY 2, 2007

As co-founder of VidCon, The Internet Creators Guild, the

Project for Awesome and more, Hank Green has proven to
be one of the internet’s most influential personalities.

HANK GREEN
GUILDING THE INTERNET
BY PETER BIESTERFELD

Y ouTube was only two years
old when a biochemist from
Montana decided to share his
musical musings about Harry
Potter on the fledgling video-
sharing site. Hank Green penned
his ditty, “Accio Deathly Hallows,”
in anticipation of JK Rowling’s
seventh release in the Potter se-
ries, “Deathly Hallows.” The video
of Hank strumming and hum-
ming his complaint — I’m gettin’
kinda tired of this/ Pre-publication
media blitz — is still getting views
nearly 10 years later, now honing
in on two million. Word on the
street is that Accio’s feature on
YouTube’s front page catapulted
Hank and his brother John, better
known as the Vlogbrothers, to
YouTube stardom.

Accio Deathly Hallow

YO U T U B E R I 20
 We had a chat with Hank to
pick his brain about what he was
thinking when he launched the
Internet Creators Guild (ICG). But
first let’s unpack a wee stretch of
the YouTuber’s journey and how
he got here from there.
Leaning Forward
“I saw from the beginning that
online video was going to be a very
important part of culture, and
I just wanted to be a part of it,”
Hank tells YouTuber from his pro-
duction studio in Missoula, MT.
Before YouTube, Hank paid his
bills working as a camera operator
and doing graphics at local TV sta-
tions. His father was a documen-
tary filmmaker.
It was his brother John’s fixa-
tions on YouTube performance
artists that got Hank hooked on
internet video.
“John was particularly obsessed
with Zefrank, who in a lot of ways
defines the genre of the video
blog,” says Hank. “He was doing
really interesting stuff and we
saw that the people watching the
content were an important part
of the thing that he was doing.
That was really appealing and
interesting to us.”
Hosea Jan Frank was one of
several trailblazing video blog-
gers who owned the conversation
performance space on YouTube
that was just taking off in 2006.
Torn-from-the-headlines com-
mentary chopped up with visuals
and quirky clips supplied by fans
made the show with zefrank a
daily three-minute head spinner
John (left) and Hank (right) Green launched their channel, Vlogbrothers, in 2007 as
a daily vlog called Brotherhood 2.0.
of never-seen-before video content. With episode
views in the hundreds of thousands and a million
channel subscribers, the online video community sat
up and took notice.
Other early YouTube notables from the day who are
still around include Philip Defranco, Tyler Oakley,
Michelle Phan and Grace Helbig.
“People I had a lot in common with and people
who with their content were highlighting what was
boring about traditional media, fitted my aesthetic
really well,” says Hank. “It’s this lean back versus
lean forward thing.” Traditional media was about
something that happens to you as opposed to new
media where you participate and make your own
stuff, explains Hank.
Hank and John Green launched their first YouTube
channel, Vlogbrothers, in 2007 to host a daily video
blog they called Brotherhood 2.0. The premise was for
the brothers to stop communicating by textual means
for a year, instead communicating only through video
blogging. The daily dose of the Vlogbrothers was so
popular and the Greens loved doing it so much, they
couldn’t put it down and have since launched other
YouTube channels including their educational hits
Scishow — ‘you make curiosity contagious’ (3.7 mil-
YO U T U B E R I 21
lion subscribers) — and Crash Course — ‘creating
smarter people’ (4.7 million subscribers).
VidCon and the Guild
While they were picking up a huge following of mil-
lions of subscribers and garnering gazillions of views,
the Vlogbrothers and their fellow YouTube pioneers
were transforming the DIY video sharing community
into a digital content creation industry. Driven by
imagination, innovation and advertising dollars, the
swelling cultural force of online video needed an out-
let. Hank and John Green gave it a place to party, and
they called it VidCon, an annual gathering of interna-
tional creators, fans and industry gurus.
“The goal of VidCon is to reflect the state of online
video and let the industry define itself,” says Hank,
who has since delegated much of his day-to-day in-
volvement with the event to showcase “other people’s
ideas of what’s interesting.”
When VidCon was first launched in 2010, about
1,400 believers showed up. Since then, the event has
doubled in size every year. Thirty thousand online
video disciples mixed and mingled in the summer
of 2016 to take part in panels, seminars and mas-
ter classes where the established and the proven
schooled the next generation in strategies and
secrets. “To drive more viewers, engagement and
revenue across every significant social video chan-
YO U T U B E R
nel,” reads the blurb on VidCon’s
‘about’ page.
According to Hank, there are
37,000 YouTube channels that get
more than a million views a month.
And the most prolific online per-
sonalities creating content across
a range of categories — education,
gaming, how-to, politics, lifestyle
and music — are making a de-
cent living from it or significantly
supplementing their income.
“I started paying my bills with
YouTube money around the time
I hit a million views a month,”
writes Hank in a post that intro-
duces the Internet Creators Guild.
The ICG’s goal is simply to in-
crease the number of people in the
world who can be creators profes-
sionally, according to the banner
on ICG’s home page.
Part support group for content
creators, part industry watchdog,
the Guild came out of Hank’s
concern that unseasoned creators
might not be getting the best deals
from video streaming platforms
such as YouTube and Twitch.
“Maybe these people were
young and inexperienced, the
kind of thing you might see in
the music industry,” says Hank.
With ten years of content cre-
ation notched on his belt, he says
he’s had many conversations
with YouTube that other creators
should have been a part of.
He explains: “Because we were
old school and we’ve been making
content for a while, we’ve been
advising YouTube for a long time.
They’ll come to me with product
ideas and I’m like, I’m just one guy
I 22
and I don’t want to be the only voice. I don’t want you
to think that me and my five friends are the people
who are representing the creator community, which
is literally tens of thousands of people.”
He says he’s seen new YouTube product launches
fail because the lines of communication between
creator and platform can get crossed.
What’s needed says Hank is “some kind of interme-
diary that’s trying to give platforms a fairly unbiased
view of what the creator community’s interests are.
And also giving the creator community an unbiased
view and a well-communicated look at what plat-
forms are doing right now and what they could be
doing that might be better for creators.”
The most urgent impetus for starting ICG, says
Hank, is to bring solidarity to the creator com-
munity, which he sees as mostly a loose collection
YO U T U B E R
of groups of friends who come
together only occasionally to col-
laborate on projects.
Hank is using proceeds from
VidCon to launch the Guild, which
he’s stacked with a stellar board of
directors made up from influenc-
ers on both sides of the creator and
platform divide. When we caught
up with Hank, he was in the thick
of juggling several projects and
preparing a podcast. We asked
him how things were going mov-
ing forward items on the freshly
minted Guild’s to do list.
The Manifesto
To keep the conversation orga-
nized, we tackled each tenant of
the ICG manifesto individually.
Share stories and strategies from
professional creators that will be avail-
able only to members
If you’re making stuff on the in-
ternet, you can be an ICG member,
and for sixty dollars a year, Hank
says he’ll make it worth your while.
“We’ve got about 500 members
right now. Every week we release
a podcast, which is an interview
between me and a creator who
is making money at some level.
We’ve done everybody from Tyler
Oakley, who obviously has a gigan-
tic following, to an episode with
R. J. Aguiar, a daily blogger who’s
been cranking away at this a long
time.” Hank says the Creator Talks
podcasts fit snugly into the Guild’s
mission:
“Some creators are like, this will
supplement our income while I
try to build up my social media
presence which helps me get jobs,
I 23
and there’s Tyler Oakley who’s
like, yeah I make money through
all these eight different strategies,
and I have a really robust team of
people around me to help me.”
The podcasts are all archived,
and Hank is looking to put togeth-
er a compendium of text-based
resources as well.
Increase transparency about what
creators do and don’t receive from
MCNs (multichannel networks), ad-
vertisers, agencies, and managers
YouTube offers a definition of
MCNs for creators on its Partner
Program page: Multi-Channel Net-
works (“MCNs” or “networks”) are
third-party service providers that
affiliate with multiple YouTube
channels to offer services that may work with MCNs and agencies to create some stabil-
include audience development, ity in terms of how much people are making. But
content programming, creator col- also, what are the deal points that we definitely think
laborations, digital rights manage- shouldn’t be in a contract and what should be.”
ment, monetization, and/or sales. Platforms and advertisers want rules in deal mak-
Anyone who meets YouTube’s ing as much as creators, but the difficulty Hank says
criteria and passes a written test is “when you go to a creator and they’re like, this
can become a certified third party contract is crap, whereas another creator might im-
service provider for channel cre- mediately accept it. So I think that everyone wants a
ators. But, says Hank, there is no little bit of standardization. We’re in the early stages
consistency in the deal making: of reaching out to all the stakeholders.”
“We hear often from people, Share useful information on everything from dealing with
and I’ve had this experience, stalkers to understanding your audience.
where you’ll basically do a deal “A lot of people deal with things you wish they really
and then you’ll hear from a friend didn’t have to deal with,” says Hank, who has a friend
who has roughly the same sized trying to cope with a bad stalking situation. He says the
channel as you and they got paid friend has the support of UTA (United Talent Agency),
twice as much. And you’re like, the L.A. agency giant, to take things in hand, “But in
well how did that happen, what this brave new world, if you have an audience of 10,000
did I do wrong?” people and one of those people happens to be a stalker,
Hank says the online monetiza- then you’re in trouble because at 10,000 people, you
tion landscape for video creation don’t have enough of an audience to have an agent.
is so new that often ad sales people Guild membership gives creators an infrastructure that
don’t yet know what a contract can protect you when stuff goes wrong; you know what
should look like: “So we want to to do and how to do it and how to protect your identity.”

YO U T U B E R I 24
 The Guild’s online member-
ship center also offers guid-
ance for maximizing YouTube’s
community management tools.
“I’m working on a resource
right now that lets you promote
members of your audience to
moderate your comments,”
Hank says, “how to inform them
of your policies, how to decide
what your policies are going to
be and how do you create that
system? It’s a very granular
thing that’s only interesting to
people who make YouTube vid-
eos enough, that are controver-
sial enough that they need to do
that. If that information isn’t
being shared, everybody has to
be reinventing the wheel.”
The Guild’s members-only chat
room is a robust forum for kicking
around ideas and sharing con-
cerns. “We see things in there like,
‘what should my philosophy be
about making a video that I think
is just about getting views versus
a video that I’m actually proud of
in terms of its content?’ I watched
that conversation happen last
night. It’s the eternal question; do
you make content that you’re really
proud of or do you make content
that’s going to get watched. And
when and how can you do both
of these things at the same time?
But also things like how do you
effectively use Patreon (the crowd-
funding platform), what kind of
content works best with crowd-
funding, what kind of content
works best with brand deals, what
kind of content works best with
merchandising? So there’s mon-
etization stuff, but there’s also actual craft conversa-
tions that I think conferences should be having more
of, like how do you make your content look good?
What kind of lenses should you use, what kind of
lighting should you use?”
Foster diversity in online video content, including but
not limited to language, age, race, gender, and economic
opportunity.
“In some ways,” Hank says, “we’ll be reaching out to
our membership to be thinking about [fostering di-
versity] and to be thinking about how they make con-
tent that’s appealing outside of their base audience.
But I think it’s also making sure that information is
shared outside of friend groups. If it’s just me telling
all the people that I know about how to be an online
video person, then it’s like I’m talking to a bunch of
people who are just like me because I live in Montana
and my friends are like me. But if the information
is shared more broadly and if it’s available inexpen-
sively, then hopefully we’ll see a future where how to
bring down the barriers for distribution and produc-
tion is more broadly available. There will be less of a
lag than there has traditionally been in terms of skills
getting to every demographic in America.”
Unify the voice of online creators to create change.
What that means, explains Hank, is “to decrease the
amount of friction for someone to become a profes-
sional creator.”
YO U T U B E R I 25
 Ultimately, the benefit of ICG
membership is that creators as
well as industry types have access
to a community of people who are
going through similar things: “We
just had our first real life meet-up
in New York City where a bunch of
ICG members — between 20 and
30 people — got together and had
a chance to feel a little less isolated
as creators. I think that often,
it can be a fairly isolating thing.
You don’t really know that other
people are going through the same
things as you. You get to support
this industry and end up having a
voice that we don’t currently have.
And also, you have access to all of
our case studies, interviews and
the resources that we’re building
to make it easier when something
goes wrong. We just want to make
it easier for folks.”
Hank Green, seasoned digital
entrepreneur with a degree in
biochemistry, musician, educa-
tor, producer and vlogger, says he
doesn’t think a lot about the future
of the industry because he’s not
very good at predicting what’s next:
“I think we can draw parallels
between what’s happening in video
right now and what happened in
music in maybe the 50s and 60s.”
Hank continues, “There will be
some consolidation but there will
also be people who are always do-
ing the weird, interesting cultural
YO U T U B E R I 26
things. In the same way that hap-
pened in the 50s, you get content
that’s opened up to different
kinds of people instead of making
content just for the biggest group
possible. So you get content that’s
being made for people who weren’t
represented before. And that’s
really exciting. In my opinion,
as long as more people get to be
professional creators and get to be
making stuff for a living, because I
think that it’s just a really fascinat-
ing job that I’m really lucky to have,
then I’m happy.”
A seasoned script-to-screen television and
video producer and trainer, Peter Biesterfeld
is a non-fiction storyteller specializing in
documentary, current affairs, reality television
and educational production.
 VideoBlocks
5 Video Genres That You Can Make Without
Picking Up A Camera
For the videographer, a genre is a rich field of
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It’s not always possible — or economically feasible
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Here are five video genres where use of a video
content service like VideoBlocks can be successful.
1. TV Commercials
A TV commercial aims to create a mood and make the
focus of the commercial palatable and attractive to the
viewer. These could be pharmaceutical ads or politi-
cal ads, for example, which involve seeing crowds of
people in an outdoor setting, or a panorama of a major
city or small town.
A TV ad shouldn’t look contrived and so careful
selection of the content that is to be seen is para-
mount. Being able to pick and choose from existing
content allows for a more creative approach.
2. Music Videos
Where else can you find cars racing, people dancing,
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3. Corporate Videos
A corporate video must show a company or its
employees in a positive light. This requires that
everything the viewer sees is sharp, concise and
free from ambiguity. Video is a cost-effective busi-
ness tool for pointing out the value of a company
and can encompass promotions, demonstrations,
information and can even strive to educate.
There is an almost endless range of existing con-
tent that can be used, from panoramas from across
YO U T U B E R
the world, to scenes from outer space or the oceans,
all with the purpose of creating an attractive bubble
around the company’s core message.
4. Promotional Tourism Videos
The overriding purpose of a tourism video is to show
off the locale in as positive a light as possible —
while also conveying what is desirable about visiting
and seeing it for yourself. This can include aerial
shots — extremely expensive to shoot oneself —
which help to convey a sense of grandeur and scale
through a birds-eye view.
And whether it’s on safari or in an urban setting,
it’s also important to show people enjoying them-
selves; eating in restaurants and seeing the sights.
5. News Segments
News segments require images that stand out and
make their point succinctly and quickly. Holidays
or city skylines, airports or scenes from around the
world, the advantage of stock footage is that it can
provide accent and background imagery that is ge-
neric and so usable for any kind of commentary.
VideoBlocks provides its members with access to
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added all the time to the royalty-free library, includ-
ing After Effects Templates. Additionally, members
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blocks Marketplace.
VideoBlocks’ aim is to provide content to all
creatives without the historically large charges that
negate use by all but the large production houses and
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Videoblock today!
I 27
 GUIDES

One of the biggest deterrents for YouTubers out there is budget. The equipment needed to shoot
videos and take it through post-production can be costly. If you want to step up the quality of
your work and present stunning, professional looking videos online, it’s possible to do so without
breaking the bank. In fact, you can do it for free.

Guides: Free Online Resources to Elevate Your Video

BY JORDAN MAISON

T oo often, video creators trying to get their

projects off the ground shortchange them-
selves in an effort to save money. Procuring
equipment, crew and even basic editing essentials
can push any budget to the very edge. On a small
budget this leaves little room for sound design,
motion graphics and image correction or en-
hancements needed to make a project stand out.
Cutting corners in those areas will have a severe
impact on your project and how it’s received by
your viewers. Thankfully, the number of free
resources online has expanded exponentially over
the years, making it easier than ever to give your
videos a polished look. Finding those resources
can be a chore with sites claiming to be free that
aren’t and others that update infrequently, if
at all. Our goal here is to help you sift through
the mess to find the best free stuff to make your
videos shine.

CONTENT FILLER
While much of your video content is produced by
you, there are times when you’ll need extra foot-
age or images to help flesh out your video. This
is especially true of documentary or nonfiction
projects where still images or footage from other
sources helps break up the talking heads and
bursts of text. You could gather your own footage

YO U T U B E R I 28
 GUIDES
Free Online Resources to Elevate Your Video
or images for these purposes, but it’s an ideal time to
utilize stock photos and video.

FREE PHOTOS
Free stock images have been given a bad reputation
over the years for being stiff, unrealistic or the same
things over and over. However, the variety of options
available now makes stock media an excellent resource.
If you’re looking for still images to incorporate into
your videos, these sites have some of your best options
for high resolution and variety for no cost.

StockSnap
This site has a large selection of stock photos in high-
resolutions and features one of the best search func-
tions of the bunch, allowing you to find exactly what
you need as quickly as possible.

Pexels
While relatively new, Pexels has quickly become one of
the best stock sites out there. With thousands of high-
res images, frequent updates and a wealth of search
options, Pexels makes finding the perfect images for
your project a breeze.

New Old Stock

NOS features a large collection of vintage photos
from bygone eras curated from public archives. These
are ideal for documentaries or period pieces.

Unsplash
Unsplash has a gorgeous assortment of high-res stock
photos organized into collections. Ten new images
are added every ten days, but their backlog should be
enough to suit your project needs for a while.

YO U T U B E R I 29
 GUIDES
Free Online Resources to Elevate Your Video

FREE VIDEO
If you’re looking for more than just still images to
help fill the gaps in your video project, there are a
number of resources available for stock and public
domain footage.

Videezy
This is a community driven resource wherein users
submit the content for everyone else to use.

Pexels
On top of having a great selection of stock photos,
Pixels also has a robust assortment of footage as well.

SplashBase
If you don’t have time to search through a bunch of
sites for the stock footage you want, Splashbase does
the work for you. They search a bunch of other stock
sites to find what you’re looking for.

Distill
Though still in Beta, Distill offers a nice selection of
stock footage from an assortment of categories in-
cluding nature, urban, food, technology and more.

National Archives
The government archives are a wonderful source of
full movies, images and music that have landed within
the public domain.

YO U T U B E R I 30
 GUIDES
Free Online Resources
wto Elevate Your Video
FREE MOTION GRAPHICS
Crisp motion graphics go a long way towards mak-
ing your video stand out amongst the crowded online
market and are a big part of what makes a project
appear more professional. Moreover, they help set a
tone and standard for future videos to come, giving a
consistency that makes your projects recognizable for
your viewers.
Not every creator is well versed in the creation
of motion graphics, even if they have the necessary
tools to do so. This is where sites like Envato Market’s
Videohive come in handy. Envato is primarily a paid
resource, but they do have a Free Files of the Month
section, in which a handful of assets you’d normally
have to purchase, including intros, lower-thirds, title
sequences, transitions, overlays and more, are offered
up entirely free. Those may not suit your immedi-
ate needs, but it’s a great way to build an archive of
resources for future videos.
Videvo is another site offering free pre-made mo-
tion graphics along with a large collection of free
stock footage.
Text plays an important part in motion graphics
and it’s crucial to make sure your fonts aren’t only
visually pleasing, but match the rest of your video
— a goofy, lighthearted font doesn’t match a horror
theme. The basic offering of fonts in the software
you’re using may not have what you need, so DaFont
is your best friend.
DaFont is a massive online resource specializing
in typesets and only typesets. The site is user friendly
and incredibly organized, making it easy to pick the
best font by genre, aesthetic style or even holiday.
FREE SOUNDS
Even with polished visuals and snappy graphics,
the best looking video can be ruined by poor sound
design, or lack thereof. Sound effects play a critical
role in giving a video depth and immersing audiences
within the world of your project. The more audio
available at your fingertips, the more dynamic and
realistic you can make your productions. Fortunately,
there are a free options available for you to build up
your sound library.
YO U T U B E R
FreeSound
This is a large database of sound effects featuring
everything you could hope to need — it seriously has
over 4,000 different sounds just for walking. Its size
and basic search functions means you can spend
hours finding exactly what you want, but the sheer
amount of free sounds offered is impressive.
IT’S ALL STOCK!
Why shoot anything at all when you can simply
use stock or public domain footage? A quick
browse of YouTube or Vimeo will unearth a
plethora of videos doing this exact thing. Taking
existing footage and stock pictures to edit into
something new is a great way to produce content.
The trick is to make sure you’re turning the
footage into something uniquely yours. Simply
rehashing or laying down a new soundtrack on
a long clip isn’t going to be enough to impress
viewers, nor improve your skills. Instead, find a
way to make stock footage into an all new story,
told your way.
On top of taking the burden and hassle of shooting
new footage off of your hands, crafting projects
entirely out of stock and public domain material is a
great exercise to develop your editing skills. If you’re
not as adept at video editing, it’s an opportunity
to get some practice in and play around with new
ideas. It’s also an excellent way to test out new ideas
and abilities while producing new content for view-
ers to enjoy — all without having to shoot a single
frame with your own camera.
I 31
 GUIDES
Free Online Resources to Elevate Your Video
SoundBible
Though primarily a paid resource, SoundBible has a
rather large and continually expanding section of free
sound clips to download and use.
Sound design encompasses more than effects, and
there will be moments when music pieces are needed.
Sure, you may not need a full length soundtrack, but
music can certainly perk up a vlog or beauty tutorial.
Getting someone to compose new original music for
your videos can be costly, but there are free options
out there to take advantage of.
CCTrax
This site offers up full albums or individual tracks in a
variety of genres with search options by license type.
YO U T U B E R
Free Music Archive
This is perhaps the largest selection of free down-
loadable music available online, and you’re not even
required to register on the site to download songs.
YouTube Production Music
YouTube’s audio library — part of a channel’s cre-
ation tools — has a selection of downloadable tracks.
While not as robust as other options, it’s convenient
for quick implementation.
A VALID LICENSE
All of these provide you with great free resources to
utilize on projects, but you should always check the
licenses on the individual assets you’re downloading.
While most of them will fall under public domain
or the Creative Commons Zero license, requiring
nothing on your part to use them commercially, some
come with stipulations.
Asking for attribution is the most common,
where the asset is free to use as long as you give
credit to the creator and instructions for where it
can be found. This is something you could easily
do in the final credits, in annotations or in your
video’s description. Regardless, make sure you
always check the license and any possible stipula-
tions before downloading.
Jordan Maison is an editor and VFX artist who’s applied his talents in
web content for Disney Studios and many movie/videogame enter-
tainment websites.
I 32
Rick Allen
Sound Designer. Innovator.
TASCAM user.

DON’T
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 GUIDES

Creators in every discipline develop videos for YouTube and put them out for the community to
watch and learn. Becoming a part of and supporting this community is one of the best ways to
gain exposure for your own videos.

Guides: 11 Channels More People Should Be Watching

BY CHRISTOPHER SETTINERI

Dream Candy Club

A t the beginning of your You-

Tube career, it can be hard
to get your channel out in front
of the viewers you know will love
it. Racking up subscribers takes
time, but with quality content,
consistency and proper market-
ing, it’s possible to grow a huge
following for your channel. Let’s
take a look at some up-and-com-
ing creators who we feel deserve
a leg up in the YouTube game.
These channels are still growing,
but we see lots of potential in the
videos they share.
Check them out, watch a few
videos, and if you like what you
see, don’t forget to subscribe!

YO U T U B E R I 34
 GUIDES
11 Channels More People Should Be Watching
ItsVanesliee (800 subs)
ItsVanesliee offers a mix of style, makeup and DIY vid-
eos with a few vlogs thrown into the mix as well. Though
still small, the ItsVanesliee channel features high quality,
informative videos that showcase the charming per-
sonalities and personal style of co-hosts Vanessa and
Leslie. This pair is not afraid of colorful hair or the spirit
of adventure. Whether you need this season’s fashion
advice or you’re just looking for a bit of entertainment,
ItsVanesliee is definitely one channel to watch.
KennyLeeNYC (1,000 subs)
Not only is YouTube a great resource for collaboration
with other content creators, it is also a great creative
space for videographers to release their content and
build an audience. KennyLeeNYC is a drone pilot and
videographer who posts weekly updates of his flights
and features on different locations. This allows him to
build an audience and build up an online library of his
work. Consider following his model if you’re looking
for video work yourself; it can be incredibly beneficial
to any individual or business since you can create a de-
finitive and adjustable online collection of your work.
YO U T U B E R
Typh00n (2,000 subs)
Let’s player Typh00n screen captures game play and
live streams it out on YouTube, bringing his own take
to the popular YouTube genre of the gaming video.
This channel has about 2,000 subscribers right now
but is still growing. What Typh00n does right is give
people detailed game play content. For gamers, this
information is vital in playing and deciding what
games to play. We predict this channel will continue
to expand its content offerings over time.
Kiye Berries (5,300 subs)
Kiye Berries brings us mostly gaming content with a
mix of vlogs and a few unboxings sprinkled in as well.
In addition to regularly posting videos to YouTube,
Kiye Berries also streams daily to Twitch, where you
can watch her play mostly online multiplayer games
like League of Legends, World of Warcraft and
Heroes of the Storm. Kiye also leads the Fight with
the Femmes gaming community along with fellow
streamer Gillyweed.
For gaming, girl power and the occasional cute
dog, check out Kiye Berries.
I 35
 GUIDES
11 Channels More People Should Be Watching
FooD reVieW sHawTy (3,100 subs)
FooD reVieW sHawty, also known as BeerDrankShaw-
ty, brings the comedy to food and drink reviews. Focus-
ing mostly on burgers and other fast food, BeerDrank-
Shawty is guaranteed to entertain — and you might
just find your new favorite McDonald’s meal combo.
Even if you generally avoid the lower end of the restau-
rant spectrum, this channel is worth a watch if only to
enjoy the host’s over-the-top delivery of his opinions.
stylebysrxgs (3,500 subs)
There are plenty of beauty and style channels out
there offering tips for feminine looks, but if you’re
looking for a more masculine approach to mini-
malist style, stylebysrxgs has you covered. Featur-
ing tips and advice on everything from skin and
hair care to building a wardrobe and decorating
your space, srxgs is a great resource for anyone
who wants to take better care of themselves and
look great at the same time.
YO U T U B E R
John Hancock (12,000 subs)
The Immortal John Hancock takes a different ap-
proach to gaming content. Rather than gameplay and
reviews, John Hancock uses his channel to showcase
his vast collection of over 10,000 video games — in-
cluding 25 complete US collections. For anyone inter-
ested in collecting, or if you just want a peek at some
rare old games, the Immortal John Hancock has what
you’re looking for.
Carrie Crista (13,000 subs)
Along with health and beauty tips, Carrie Crista also
offers great planning advice and ideas for keeping
your life organized.
Polished videos and a down to earth attitude make
Carrie fun to watch, and her plan with me and bullet
journal flip-through videos are deeply satisfying for
anyone who loves beautiful handwriting and practi-
cal design.If you you feel the need to get your life in
order, check out Carrie Crista.
I 36
 GUIDES
11 Channels More People Should Be Watching
NerdzRL (19,000)
NerdzRL is an entertaining vlog channel that features
mostly videos focused on cosplay and acting, but
there are plenty about anything and everything. Her
subscriber base sits at around 19,000. Part of what
she does right is focus on a specific niche area that
she is interested in and that she knows other people
are interested in as well. From what we can tell, this is
a winning strategy.
Lord Rage (25,000 subs)
Lord Rage’s subscriber base sits at about 24,000, and
his content includes live streams and DLC downloads
and reviews as well as some walkthroughs of differ-
ent levels of different games. What Lord Rage does
right is not only have gameplay footage, but also some
commentary and download reviews, making impor-
tant information available for gamers.
YO U T U B E R
Dream Candy Club (55,000 subs)
If you spent your childhood fashioning outland-
ish stories for your doll collection to reenact, you’ll
surely appreciate the videos posted to the Dream
Candy Club channel, where dolls and toys star in
comical original narratives. With videos like “Aerial
Becomes a Vampire” and “My Little Pony Pinkie
Pie Goes Bald,” there’s never a dull moment in the
Dream Candy Club.
Supporting Small Channels
Growing a subscriber base takes time, but it is defi-
nitely worth it. We love to see channels like these
consistently uploading great content, and we hope
their views continue to climb.
Like with anything else, YouTube is all about
getting out what you put in. The more content you
upload, channels you subscribe to and videos you
interact with, the quicker you will build an audience
of your own. Now go support your peers!
Chris Settineri is the CEO of Studio 10 Films. He is a skilled video
shooter, director and editor.
I 37
COMEDY
Dos and Don’ts of Prank Video Production

YO U T U B E R I 38
 COMEDY
Since its inception in 2005, YouTube has steadily grown to become the biggest video sharing website on
the planet. Through the years there have been many genres of video that have shown to be the YouTube
keys to success, and one of those genres is the prank video.

I
GIRL CAUGHT ON FIRE PRANK!!! | Prank Academy
f you’ve been thinking of mak-
ing a prank video then you’re
in luck! By the end of this article
you should have all the necessary
information about creating a great
quality prank video that hopefully
grows your channel.

ESSENTIAL GEAR
When it comes to prank videos, You-
Tube has its fair share of creators
who focus on this specific genre of
video. But there are several elements
that many new creators fail to think
about when starting their own
channels, the biggest of which is the

COMEDY BY ANTONIO PAVLOV

SUCCESSIONFILMS

Dos and Don’ts of Prank Video Production

equipment necessary for making a
good quality prank video.
Cameras like the Sony CX625
Handycam are perfect for this
shooting style. A quick and easy
zoom function on a camera that
fits into the palm of your hand
makes it ideal for your cameraman
to hide while you prank the unsus-
pecting public.
Just having a good camera isn’t
enough to make it in the world of
prank videos. You’ll also need a
good microphone. The best type
to use is lavalier microphone that
clips to the talent’s clothing.
Microphones like the RØDELink
Filmmaker Kit, which comes with a POLICE ARREST PRANK ON MOM! VitalyzdTv.

YO U T U B E R I 39
 COMEDY
Dos and Don’ts of Prank Video Production
broadcast lavalier microphone and
works at a range of about 100 me-
tres, are perfect because they allow
your camera operator to hide away
somewhere and still get clean sound.
PLANNING IS KEY
Now comes the actual planning
and production of the prank video.
The planning part is fairly simple;
once you’ve thought of what kind
of prank video you want to shoot,
you need to find a location that
works and carry out the prank. Just
make sure that the location you’re
shooting will allow you to do so,
and that you get consent from all
the participants — after they’ve
fallen for your tricks, of course.
You can do this by having them fill
out simple location release forms
or talent release forms. Tem-
plates for both can be found easily
through a Google search.
EXECUTION
The execution of a prank video
is very different to other content
on YouTube. Remember, your
camera operator will probably be
hidden somewhere, so you’ll need
to be in constant communication
with them either to let them know
when to start shooting or to find
out if they managed to get the
shot you wanted.
Another important factor at play
when executing a prank video is
the prank itself. In order to get the
best possible versions of your prank,
you’ll need to rehearse your part at
least a few times. Once you have
practiced it enough, you can try it
out with the public.
Inconspicuous equipment like this Sony Handycam and a RØDELink
wireless lavalier microphone are perfect for prank videos.
PRACTICE DISCRETION you to remove that unnecessary
It’s difficult to capture a prank on shake while keeping the camera
video without hiding the camera. physically close to you, giving you
The minute your target sees the the ability to keep the camera dis-
lens they’ll know what’s going on. creet while you shoot.
Many channels have their
camera person shooting from WHAT ABOUT LIGHTING?
the inside of a car or from a large We all know the importance
distance away. Having the camera of having good lighting when
further away makes it easier to filming something. Prank videos
record a prank as there’s a lesser however, are a bit of a complex
likelihood of the target seeing the issue when it comes to light-
camera. This is why most prank ing. You can’t exactly set up film
channels use digital camcorders lights around the area you plan
rather than DSLRs; they typically on shooting because it will basi-
have a powerful built-in zoom cally tell people that something
that covers larger distances. is going on. You’ll have to rely on
THINGS TO CONSIDER
Creators making prank videos will
encounter very specific problems
and issues when it comes to the
actual recording of the video. One
issue leads to another. Keeping the
camera discreet at a distance makes
it difficult to keep the shot stable.
Most prank videos will be shot
handheld, so keeping a stable shot
becomes trickier.
Using camera handle rigs like Opteka DSLR Handle
the Opteka DSLR Handle allows
YO U T U B E R I 40
 COMEDY
Dos and Don’ts of Prank Video Production

whatever natural light is avail-

able to you. If you’re shooting
during the day, you shouldn’t
have any issues, but if you’re
filming at night, try to find a
location that is well-lit by either a
street light or something similar,
and use a camera that can handle
low-light situations.

DON’T BREAK THROUGH

BY BREAKING THE LAW
Even though prank videos are
quite popular on the internet,
there is a stigma attached to
them. There’s a belief they’re all
faked — either set up with paid
actors or edited in a way that will
get the best reactions from audi-
ences. Channels like fouseyTUBE fouseyTUBE has been accused on several occasions of staging pranks.
have often been accused of fak-
ing pranks for the sake of getting
views. Faking a prank video is not
respected among the creative com-
munity since it’s seen as lying to
the audience.
Many prank channels promote
inappropriate and offensive
behavior with the excuse “It’s just
a prank.” Channels such as Vital-
yzdTv have uploaded videos that
can be considered harassment and
a clear violation of the law, which
gives a bad example for new prank
channels starting out and might
influence a new creator to make
some bad choices.

POPULAR PRANKS
Some of the more popular prank
videos are those that involve a play
on words; you say one thing that
sounds a certain way but means VitalyzdTv is well-known as a YouTube prankster, but for many of the
something else, getting an odd wrong reasons.

YO U T U B E R I 41
 COMEDY
Dos and Don’ts of Prank Video Production

reaction. This makes for a great silly act gets anyone involved in a
prank video with relatively benign brighter spirit.
results. Another popular type Remember, making someone
of prank video is the “everyone laugh and brightening their day is
laughs” type, where a simple yet a much better way to end a prank
video than insulting them.
In summary, make sure you
DOs get all the necessary equipment
• Have a small camera with a good zoom. for your type of prank videos and
• Use a lavalier microphone to get good audio plan your pranks in advance so
from a distance. you can get the most satisfying
• Use a stabilizer to keep your shots steady. reactions. Sticking within the
• Get location and participant consent. boundaries of the law seems to
• Use available light to get the best shots be challenging for some prank
possible. channels, but if you success-
• Prepare for your prank. fully do it and also make your
audience laugh without causing
DON’TS offense or harm to the people
• Stage events or pay actors. being pranked, you should have
• Offend people with your pranks. no problem gaining views and
• Break the law subscribers for your channel.
• Use images of people without their consent
• Film in locations without permission. With a passion for filmmaking and explora-
tion, Antonio is always trying to push the
• Promote inappropriate or offensive behavior. limits of the industry, often working as a one
man film crew using DIY techniques where
budget was not available.

Roman Atwood’s
N-word prank is
an example of
saying something
that sounds one
way but means
something else.
Participants were
offended but
when the prank
was revealed,
everyone
laughed.

YO U T U B E R I 42
GAMING
How to Use Personality to Make Your Gaming
Videos Stand Out From the Crowd

YO U T U B E R I 43
 GAMING
Rooster Teeth Funhaus Achievement Hunter
Subscribers: 8,739,971 Subscribers: 1,008,159 Subscribers: 1,084,071
Uploads: 7,044 Uploads: 731 Uploads: 713
Video Views: 4,540,093,982 Video Views: 332,083,190 Video Views: 194,361,057

Drawing attention to your YouTube gaming channel can be difficult, but if you learn how to infuse the right
amount of personality into it, you’ll have a much easier time standing apart from other gaming channels.
Here’s how you can use personality to grow your views, subscribers and audience loyalty.

I t’s no secret running your

YouTube gaming channel can
be both thrilling and daunting at
the same time. While it’s reward-
ing to record and edit gameplay
that entertains your viewers, you
must also deal with the constant
challenge of getting noticed
and setting yourself apart in the
ever-expanding sea of YouTube
gaming videos. How can you grow
your channel and attract more
viewers when you’re competing
with thousands of other gamers
putting up content on Google’s
online video platform?
The answer is simple in theory,
but harder in practice; Add some
personality to your channel. By
developing a dynamic on-screen
persona or by amplifying unique
characteristics about yourself,
you have a far greater chance of
Geoff Ramsey, co-founder of Achievement Hunter

GAMING BY BREE BROUWER

How to Use Personality to Make Your Gaming

Videos Stand Out From the Crowd

YO U T U B E R I 44
 GAMING
How to Use Personality to Make Your Gaming Videos Stand Out From the Crowd

reaching more viewers who are

attracted to the specific way you
talk, act and react while playing
video games.
After all, PewDiePie didn’t get
to over 46 million subscribers
and more than 12 billion views by
being tame and reserved.

HOW TO ESTABLISH YOUR

CHANNEL’S PERSONALITY
Personality is a driving factor
for building a loyal audience for
Rooster Teeth’s Achievement
Hunter and Funhaus brands.
James Willems, a Funhaus mem-
ber, noted how their brand has
managed to attract and keep
an audience of dedicated fans
based on being true-to-life but
amplified versions of themselves,
a tactic he recommends other
YouTubers emulate if they want
to separate themselves from other
gaming creators.
“Being genuine on the internet
is something people like,” James
explained in an interview. “Being
[disingenuous] about something “If you’re lucky enough to build an audience, and you’re lucky enough to
on the internet is sniffed out meet some of your community or some of your fans in real life, you don’t
almost immediately. The more you want it to be jarring. You don’t want them to walk away feeling like they
can do to make it seem like, ‘Hey, were disappointed meeting you because they like the person they see on
this may not be who I am all the the screen more.” - James Willems
time, but you’re genuinely seeing
me...,’ I think people appreciate
that, because then they kind of person. “If you’re lucky enough
learn to know you.” to build an audience, and you’re
At the same time, James cau- lucky enough to meet some of
tioned creators from being too your community or some of your
extreme with their personalities, fans in real life, you don’t want it
which can seem fine on cam- to be jarring,” James explained.
era but may seem dishonest in “You don’t want them to walk

YO U T U B E R I 45
 GAMING
How to Use Personality to Make Your Gaming Videos Stand Out From the Crowd

away feeling like they were disap-

pointed meeting you because they
like the person they see on the
screen more.”
Geoff Ramsey, co-founder of
Achievement Hunter, also added
how YouTube gaming creators
can choose to create an online
personality that’s different from
their personality offline. “Some
people feel comfortable amplify-
ing their personalities on camera
or creating a character that gives
them the freedom to explore re-
lationships in ways they wouldn’t
necessarily be comfortable with
in their personal lives,” he said.
“Others want to keep their offline
life and persona as separate and
personal as possible.”

HOW TO PICK RELEVANT,

COMPLEMENTARY GAMES
Being selective with the games you
play can be important to enriching
your personality. Geoff explained
how Achievement Hunter’s mem-
bers view games as vehicles to help
create personality-driven content,
especially open-world or sandbox
games like Minecraft or GTA V,
which “enable us to leverage cre-
ativity as a tool.”
He believes other YouTube gam-
ing creators should consider play-
ing these types of games, adding,
“The more opportunities you have
to engage in the game’s world, the
better the content.”
Funhaus, on the other hand,
doesn’t rely on games to drive their
channel’s content. While the chan-
“Some people feel comfortable amplifying their personalities on camera, or
creating a character that gives them the freedom to explore relationships in
ways they wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable with in their personal lives.
Others want to keep their offline life and persona as separate and personal
as possible.” - Geoff Ramsey
nel has, as Bruce Greene explains,
become something of a Mystery
Science Theater 3000 of YouTube
gaming channels since they tend
to play poorly-rated games, the
Funhaus team can work with a
variety of titles because they focus
on personality-driven comedy.
“There are videos that I’ve edited
where they’ve started with the
game as a jumping-off point and
expanded on a narrative that is in

YO U T U B E R I 46
 GAMING
How to Use Personality to Make Your Gaming Videos Stand Out From the Crowd

no way related to that game,” ex-

plained Funhaus’s Elyse Willems.
She mentioned how these types
of videos are perfect for editing as
she has an opportunity to create
silly visuals related to the jokes
the Funhaus team members make
on-camera, as opposed to dealing
with just game footage.

HOW TO STAY CONSISTENT

AND DEAL WITH HATERS
One of the biggest problems
with developing your on-screen
personality, however, is staying
consistent. Greene expressed a
need for creators to evolve their
content over time while staying
within the bounds of the person-
ality you’ve set up.
“I feel like that’s the challenge
there, actually expanding on what
you can make on your channel and
getting people to watch it,” Greene
explained. The solution? Geoff sug-
gests a “slow, measured evolution,”
because most audiences are “un-
derstandably resistant to change.” “There are videos that I’ve edited where they’ve started with the game as a
And as for those attacks on your jumping-off point and expanded on a narrative that is in no way related to
online personality which you’ll un- that game. “ - Elyse Willems
doubtedly have to deal with? Geoff’s
invaluable advice is to simply
ignore it and move on: “Life’s too
short to be offended by strangers sider. The more intentional you are
you’ll never meet, who feel comfort- about how you present your content,
able judging from the anonymity the more thoughtful and original
and safety of a computer screen.” your videos will be. Keep this in
mind, and you’ll be making standout
PARTING WORDS gaming videos in no time.
Leveraging you personality for more Bree Brouwer is a professional writer, jour-
views may seem as simple as being nalist, and content marketer specializing in
online video and digital media. She possibly
yourself, but there’s more to con- watches lots of YouTube.

YO U T U B E R I 47
BUSINESS
Fire Your MCN Like a Boss
YO U T U B E R I 48
 Business
Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) work hard to keep you viewing their creators’ channels — and to keep
money flowing to their advertisers, their creators and, of course, themselves. But they’re not all benevolent
giants looking out for their creators’ best interests.

I
s your YouTube channel ready
to join a Multi-channel Network
(MCN)? If you get involved with a
good MCN, you’ll be free to create
your content worrying about all the
left-brain stuff that the network’s
people are paid to do. But as great
as that may sound, there are risks
to joining an MCN. Make sure to
do your research before you sign up
and know your rights if you end up
unsatisfied.

BEFORE YOU SIGN

“I‘ve been offered a great contract by
a top MCN! This could be my ticket
to fame and fortune!” True – but it
could also be your ticket to a lifetime
of indentured servitude. Before you
even consider signing that bottom
line, read over the contract as thor-

BUSINESS
BY JOHN MCCABE

Fire Your MCN Like a Boss

oughly as you can. Look for words
and phrases such as “in perpetuity”
and “indefinitely.” Be certain that
the effective dates of the contract
are clearly spelled out and that there
are bilateral provisions for renewals.
Also make sure that you have easy
access to the people who can help
you if you have questions.
Even if everything looks on the
up-and-up to you, remember: you
don’t speak legalese. Before you
sign any contract, hire a contract
lawyer to read it. This advice can’t
be stressed enough. Always keep
in mind, the person who wrote
that contract was looking out for
their own best interests, whereas
the lawyer you hire will be the one
looking out for yours. Binding
contracts are something that you
should never take lightly.

YO U T U B E R I 49
 Business
Fire Your MCN Like a Boss

Take the advice that your attorney
offers; don’t think “oh, they wouldn’t
do that.” If they wouldn’t, they also
wouldn’t be making you sign a bad
contract. Your attorney can also
advise you on what is expected of
you under the terms of your contract
and what you can expect to get paid.
Perhaps most important, talk to
your attorney about an “out” clause.
Multiple MCNs have been known to
include language in their contracts
that make it extremely difficult
and/or expensive for a content pro-
vider to leave. Even if the contract
works perfectly for you now, that
may not be the case in the future,
and if it’s a long-term contract —
as many are — that should be a
major concern. There are numerous
reasons you may want to get out of
your contract. For instance:
• If your MCN gets so many clients
that you get lost in the mix
• If they get bought out by a cor-
poration that doesn’t give you the
placement you deserve
• A lack of transparency in your
business dealings with your MCN
• If an offer comes down the pike
that suits you better
• If you feel it’s time to get out of
the YouTube biz or change the type
of content that you want to create
However, if you didn’t get that contract — the judge will take your
written into your contract, you may honesty and good faith into consid-
have a problem and will more than eration when making decisions.
likely need to consult an attorney. The bottom line is that it’s very
difficult to back out of a contract
DISPUTES AND you’ve already agreed to, so make
EXISTING CONTRACTS sure you know exactly what to
Be proactive in your dealings with expect from your MCN, and what
MCNs so that you don’t sign a they expect from you. The results
bad contract. However, if you’ve of a contract dispute will be case
already signed a contract with a specific and depend on your par-
multi-channel network, it may be a ticular contract.
good idea to take it to your attor-
ney and see what your rights are if LEARNING FROM OTHERS
you do have issues in the future. Even the largest MCNs have cur-
If you’re in dispute with your net- rent and former content creators
work, the most important thing you claiming that they were coerced into
can do other than hire a depend- signing bad contracts, and there
able lawyer is to continue to uphold have been multiple lawsuits over
your end of the contract, even if these contracts. The biggest and
the MCN isn’t doing the same. If most well-known dispute is that
you end up in court — and that’s a between YouTube creator Ray Wil-
real possibility if you signed a bad liam Johnson and Maker Studios.
Ray William Johnson
Subscribers: 10,558,813
Uploads: 802
Video Views: 3,012,022,850

Businesses change strategies all

the time, and you don’t want to get
stuck in a contract that no longer
works for you. If your contract in-
cludes a way out for you — usually
involving a 30- or 60-day notice to
your MCN — then there shouldn’t
be any problem getting out of it.

YO U T U B E R I 50
 Business
Fire Your MCN Like a Boss

Johnson was Maker Studios’ biggest

draw and was the first YouTuber
to hit five million subs. Seeing the
success of its number one star and
wanting to capitalize on him even
further, Maker Studios, according to
Johnson, attempted to pressure him
to sign a new contract that limited
his access to his AdSense account
and would reportedly take 40%
of his earnings. The contract also
would have required Johnson to give
up 50% of his intellectual property
rights to the show and his other
animated web project, Your Favorite Braindeadly
Martian. You can read Johnson’s Subscribers: 18,892
side of the story, along with PDFs of Uploads: 52
Video Views: 2,066,731
contract offers and emails here.
More than a year later, months
after his contract had expired,
Johnson claimed that Maker still
had not returned the AdSense
money that belonged to him.
Another big legal dispute involves
the gaming MCN Machinima,
which deals with a lot of very young
YouTubers. Machinima, which has
come under FTC scrutiny over its am with them for the rest of my life
supposed deceptive practices and — that I am with them forever.
has been accused of taking advan- “If I’m locked down to Machin-
tage of the youth and naiveté of its ima for the rest of my life and I’ve
partners by having them sign con- got no freedom, then I don’t want
tracts with indefinite terms. This to make videos anymore.” The
was first brought to light in 2013 by screen fades to black.
former YouTuber Ben Vacas, aka The video closes with a written
Braindeadly, who quit YouTube message: “I’m really sorry guys,
over his contract with Machinima. but I am completely powerless. If
In his final video, Vacas stated, “I this is the last thing I say, please
woke up today hoping to make a don’t make the same mistake as
video, but I went into a call with I did and always read before you
Machinima this evening and they sign something.”
said that my contract is completely
enforceable. I can’t get out of it,” John McCabe is a screenwriter and director
who moved to L.A. to make movies, but has
Vacas tells the camera. “They said I mostly been doing corporate videos lately.

YO U T U B E R I 51
PRODUCTS
How to Make Money
Reviewing Products on YouTube
YO U T U B E R I 52
 PRODUCTS

Want to make money online? Consider reviewing products on YouTube. YouTube gets more than one billion
unique users a month and is the second largest search engine in the world. Many of those searches are
people looking for reviews, unboxings and comparison videos of products they are considering buying.
And video creators have figured out how to turn their passion into profit and build a side-income or even a
full-time career reviewing products.

PRODUCTS BY SEAN CANNELL

THINK MEDIA TV
How to Make Money
Reviewing Products on YouTube

W ant to build your own

product review empire?
Here’s how.

THE RICHES ARE IN THE

NICHES.
If you want to turn reviews into dol-
lars, you’ll want to start a YouTube
channel based around your passion
in a specific niche. One of the big-
gest mistakes I see video creators
make is being too general with the
focus on their YouTube channel.
Pick a niche like toys, beauty,
tech, pets, home decorating, col-
lectables, then build your channel
around that specific theme.
Sarah from Toy Reviews For
You makes videos about vintage
and modern toys and has built an
audience of over 240 thousand
subscribers with over 140 million
video views! The smaller the au-
dience, the smaller the revenue,
so pick a niche you think will
have big appeal.

YO U T U B E R I 53
 PRODUCTS
How to Make Money Reviewing Products on YouTube

START CREATING PROD-

UCT REVIEW VIDEOS AND
POSTING THEM ON YOU-
TUBE.
If you pick a topic that you’re pas-
sionate about, chances are you’ll al-
ready have many products around
your house that you can review.
Successful YouTuber Jared Me-
cham says that success on YouTube
requires, “Consistent, creative,
quality content.” Build a small
library of videos and your views and
subscribers will start to grow.

BUILD A COMMUNITY.
In addition to creating and post-
ing videos on YouTube, you’ll need
to engage with your viewers. Invite
people to comment on your videos
and subscribe to your channel. Ask
what videos and product reviews
they would like to see next. You- Finding a niche and sticking with it will help you cultivate an audience
Tube is a social network, and the more likely to purchase the products you review.
best video creators do not just post
content, they create community.

MAKE IT EASY FOR

BRANDS TO CONTACT
YOU.
Ideally you won’t have to buy all the
products you review. Brands want
you to make reviews and are will-
ing to send you free review units if
you give them coverage. You don’t
need a large audience to get free
products to review, especially if
your channel is focused. Fill out the
about page on your YouTube chan-
nel and make sure to include an
email for business inquires.
On my tech channel, THiNK YouTube gives creators a place specifically to put an email for business
Media TV, companies and brands inquiries. Brands know all about it and so should you.

YO U T U B E R I 54
 PRODUCTS
How to Make Money Reviewing Products on YouTube
email me every day inquiring
about having their tech products
reviewed on my channel. Remem-
ber, the more focused your chan-
nel is the better.
For example, Jabin from the
cooking channel Postal Barbecue
was able to get over $750 of free
BBQ related products to review,
yet his channel had under 500
subscribers at the time. What is
his secret? Focus.
He posts consistent, quality,
content, and his channel is very
focused on everything BBQ. Then
he emailed companies he was in-
terested in working with and after
reviewing his YouTube channel,
they agreed to send him compli-
mentary products to review.
THE TOP THREE WAYS TO
MONETIZE YOUR YOUTUBE
CHANNEL AND VIDEOS.
After you’ve created several
videos, it’s time to join the You-
“
ENABLING YOU-
TUBE ADS ON
YOUR VIDEOS IS
JUST ONE WAY
TO MONETIZE
YOUR CONTENT,
AND IN MY
OPINION, IT’S
NOT THE BEST
WAY.
Tube Partner Program. All you
need to do to get started is enable
your channel for monetization,
and you’ll receive your share of
the income from advertising on
YouTube.
Enabling YouTube ads on your
videos is just one way to mon-
etize your content, and in my Affiliate Marketing
opinion, it’s not the best way. The & Online Video
amount of money video creators
make per view varies greatly, but
you can expect to make around
$2 for every 1000 views on your sign up
videos. At that rate you would
need a million new video views
per month to make $2,000, and
getting and sustaining that num-
sign up
With an affiliate Program
http://www.
like Amazon Associates,
ber of views is a huge challenge.
However, there are other ways to
make money that will build your
income much faster than You- sign up
http://www.
link
Tube ads alone.
The next way to monetize your
sign up
content is with affiliate marketing. you get a custom link
that youlink
Simply apply for an affiliate pro-
http://www.
can put in the
gram like Amazon Associates and YouTube description.
you can earn up to a 10% commis- http://www.
sion on any sales that occur after a
$
visitor clicks on your link.
Affiliate marketing is one of link
the primary ways product re- link
view channels build their income
quickly. Marques Brownlee from When visitors
$
Adapted from seancannell.com
the YouTube channel MKBHD is buy from the link,
a great example of how to include
affiliate links on your YouTube vid-
eos. Whenever you make a product $
review, include your affiliate links $
in the description.
The third way to turn product
reviews into dollars is with brand
deals and sponsorships. In this you make money!
YO U T U B E R I 55
 PRODUCTS
How to Make Money Reviewing Products on YouTube

case, a brand will pay a video cre-

ator to create a video highlighting
their product. This relationship
can be directly between the video
creator and the brand or set up
through a third party marketplace
like FameBit.
If you have over 5,000 subscrib-
ers on YouTube, you can create
a FameBit account. Inside the mar-
ketplace, you can search through
sponsorship opportunities in cat-
egories like tech, health & fitness,
beauty & fashion and pets.
Video creators can then send
proposals to the brand about
their creative idea for highlight-
ing the product. If approved,
the creator gets paid a predeter-
mined fee for creating the video
and usually receives the product FameBit is just one way channels with more than 5,000 subscribers can
for free as well. connect with brands.
For brands, working with video
creators is one of the best forms
of modern marketing. Social
media expert Gary Vaynerchuck on their own, but combining all
says, “Influencers are a tremen- three can quickly add up to a
dous way to build brand equity substantial income. The inter-
and get the word out there about net and platforms like YouTube
your product, especially if you have made it possible to turn
are trying to spread the word to a your passion into profit and your
specific audience.” creativity into a career — but
Be careful when accepting brand you have to do the work. Build-
deals. Be transparent with your ing your influence on YouTube
viewers and don’t betray their takes time, hustle and heart. Be
trust. If viewers think your opin- consistent, focus on adding value
ion is for sale, they’ll stop trusting to your audience and always keep
you and your hard earned viewer learning. Now press record and
loyalty will vanish. start creating!

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN.
Each of these separate revenue
sources may not bring in a lot
Sean Cannell helps people build their influ-
ence and income with online video through
Video Influencers and also runs a tech review
channel called THiNK Media TV. Reach him
on twitter @SeanCannell.

YO U T U B E R I 56
VLOGS
Next-Gen Vlogging
An Introduction to Spherical Video
YO U T U B E R I 57
 VLOGS

Spherical video and VR are suddenly popping up on everyone’s Facebook timeline and all over YouTube,
but what are they and how can you use this new format to tell a story?

VLOGS
BY JASON MILLER

Next-Gen Vlogging:
An Introduction to Spherical Video

W e’re entering the age of

spherical video. Everyone
from National Geographic to Netf-
lix, real estate agents and vloggers
are using spherical video as a way
to deliver their content — and why
not? It’s a fantastic way to im-
merse your viewers in the scene.
WHY SPHERICAL?
While spherical video and VR
technology are relatively new,
they’re already popping up every-
where. While Google Street View
has been around for a while, the
rise of spherical content seems to
have happened over night. This

YO U T U B E R I 58
 VLOGS
Next-Gen Vlogging: An Introduction to Spherical Video

sudden abundance of content is

the result of a perfect storm of
technology.
First, the technology needed to
produce spherical video has rapidly
become affordable and accessible.
The Ricoh Theta S, for instance,
starts at just $350, less than a Go-
Pro HERO5 Black.
Second, there are already exist-
ing networks that can distribute
spherical content on the web.
YouTube and Facebook have
become not just platforms for the
technology but also its advocates.
Both YouTube and Facebook see
spherical video and VR as impor-
tant parts of their future business
model, so much so that Facebook
even dropped two billion dollars
acquiring the VR company Ocu-
lus, makers of the Oculus Rift.
Lastly, over 90% of the US popu-
lation has a device in their pocket Spherical video cameras and viewers are already numerous and come
that will allow them to view at a variety of price points. The Nokia Ozo (top left) is a broadcast-ready
spherical video. Virtually anybody camera you can buy for a cool $45,000, while a Ricoh Theta S (right) is
who wants to view spherical con- a mere $350.

tent now can.
SPHERICAL VIDEO,
EASIER THAN EVER
The user experience with spherical
video and smartphones feels very
natural and intuitive, and upload-
ing the content is just as easy.
Both YouTube and Facebook do
all the heavy lifting for you. With
many consumer-grade spherical
video cameras, all you do is trans-
fer the video wirelessly to your
smartphone and upload. It’s crazy
simple. In the past, if you wanted
to edit your spherical video, you
“
needed special software, but
recently Adobe released updates to
Premiere Pro that allow you to edit
your spherical footage without ad-
ditional plug-ins or programs.
THE USER
GEARING UP EXPERIENCE
FOR SPHERICAL WITH SPHERICAL
We aren’t going to go deep into the VIDEO AND
cameras available because it seems SMARTPHONES
like every week there’s a new one
FEELS VERY
coming out. However, over the
past year there have been a couple NATURAL AND
standards. For the enthusiast who INTUITIVE.
only wants to spend a few hundred

YO U T U B E R I 59
 VLOGS
Next-Gen Vlogging: An Introduction to Spherical Video

bucks, the Ricoh Theta at $350 is a Mark W. Gray

great choice. Now the video isn’t Subscribers: 3,616
going to impress you with the Uploads: 319
quality — in fact, it’s kind of poor. Video Views: 1,961,672

If you want clear, professional-

quality video, the cheapest solution
is a multi-GoPro rig like the Omni,
which will set you back around
$5,000 when equipped with the
required six HERO4s. The image
quality for this rig is sure to im-
press. There are also several com-
panies that produce GoPro rigs for
purchase and rental. If you have
deep pockets and want something
that records crazy high quality
spherical video, take a look at the
Nokia Ozo — though for $45K most
people will probably pass.

CREATING SPHERICAL
CONTENT
Shooting spherical video is very
different from any other type of
videography. With traditional
cameras, the perspective is fixed,
and cinematographers use this to
draw focus or emotion to specif-
ics in the scene. With spherical
video, that is not the case. The
viewer sees the entire set as if
they are standing there. It is
important to keep this in mind
when shooting.
The placement of the camera
should be motivated by where an
actual person in that scene might Vlogger Mark W. Gray has experiemented extensively with the spherical
be experiencing the action. It is video format, even claiming to have posted the first spherical video to
not the right tool to get really cre- Youtube (top) back in March 2015. Since then, he’s uploaded a variety of
ative with camera placement — spherical content to his channel, including an immersive tour of Wonder-
keep the camera at the eye level. con 2015 (bottom).
Also, because spherical video
cameras shoot with very wide

YO U T U B E R I 60
 VLOGS
Next-Gen Vlogging: An Introduction to Spherical Video

angle lenses, there is serious

distortion close to the camera.
Unless you want that effect, it’s
important to keep a distance be-
tween the subjects of your shot
and the camera.

WHAT TO SHOOT
It’s not hard to imagine who
would get excited about spheri-
cal video cameras. The format
is perfect for horror enthusiasts
who want to put their viewers in
the middle of the terror, travel
vloggers who want to take the
viewer to the location and real
estate agents who want to offer
immersive property tours.
Several publications have em-
braced spherical video, including
National Geographic, who uses
spherical video to take viewers
to remote and beautiful loca-
tions. Hit Netflix show “Stranger
Things” also used spherical video
in an online promotion to give a
creepy tour of a house that may or
may not have a monster dwelling
inside. (By the way, if you haven’t
watched that show, you may want
to reevaluate your life choices.)
Spherical video technology
is really great for anyone who
wants to give their viewers an
immersive experience — even
if it’s just a tour of your set that
you post on social media to pro-
mote an upcoming video. There
are plenty of ways to have fun
with this new format.
Jason Miller is a Senior Marketing Producer,
Spherical video gives travel vloggers (top) entirely new perspectives to
editor and visual effects artist whose work share. Meanwhile, National Geographic (center) and Stranger Things
has been seen in feature films and national
marketing campaigns. (bottom) have also begun experimenting with this new storytelling tool.

YO U T U B E R I 61
BEAUTY
Beauty Beyond Makeup:
Producing a Makeup Tutorial
YO U T U B E R I 62
 BEAUTY

For an effective makeup tutorial, solid techniques for scripting, setting, lighting and shooting are just as im-
portant as clean eyeshadow brushes. Here’s a few tips on making the production value of cosmetics videos
as shiny as a Becca highlighter.

BEAUTY
BY RHIANNON MCGAVIN
THEGEEKYBLONDE

Beauty Beyond Makeup:

Producing a Makeup Tutorial

A nyone who’s dabbled in makeup knows

the frustration of creating a cute look
that seems nice under bathroom lights,
but melts under natural light, fluorescent
lights or just a camera flash. Recording and
uploading that look for a digital audience
requires even more effort, but by focusing
on good scripting, tasteful settings, skilled
lighting and artistic shooting, the produc-
tion value of your videos will be as flawless
as three concealers and a setting spray.

SCRIPTING
While many tutorials may seem spur-of-the-
moment, scripting is actually an important
part of cosmetics videos. Each video begins
with some sort of concept, and it never hurts
to practice the makeup look before setting up
the camera — preferably in whatever lighting
you plan to use for the video. There are even
apps like YouCam or Sephora Virtual Artist,
where people can test out hypothetical looks
on themselves without busting out a single
sponge.
This ties in with researching what you say
in your videos! Way too many bloggers claim
that their new fave product is “chemical-free”
and thus in line with their organic vibes —
except everything is a chemical. Water is a
chemical. Whatever tropical-fruit-flavored

YO U T U B E R I 63
 BEAUTY
Beauty Beyond Makeup: Producing a Makeup Tutorial

detox tea the vlogger is currently

suckling from a DIY mason jar
mug has chemicals in it. And the
toner/primer/holy grail dual-
phase floral essence that they’re
hawking is probably packed with
alcohol anyway!
Scripting cuts down on shoot
time because you spend less time
wondering what you’ll do and say
next. A script also makes it easier
to add closed captioning to your
videos once they’re uploaded so
they can be more accessible and
reach a larger audience. For a Jackie Aina films in front of her vanity, complete with lipsticks and
product-centered video, like a flowers.
haul or first-impressions chat,
try making a list of each thing
with a short description next
to it to start off. Tutorials are
also much easier when the steps
are written out beforehand. For
more spontaneous videos, even
just a quick outline will help
organize your thoughts.

SETTING
Most people typically shoot their
videos in the same spot, building
continuity. The most common
backgrounds are either a large
sheet of fabric or green screen, or
a vanity with assorted pretty ac- Lisa Eldrige films in front of a plain white background.
coutrements. It’s really up to you
how clean or cluttered you want
the background to be. with a desk full of perfume — for smaller compact to apply makeup
Clean backgrounds bring the a more professional atmosphere. while filming.
viewer’s focus to whatever you’re Make sure you have enough space Since the blogger is in the fore-
talking about, while cluttered around you for the demonstration ground, clothing is also integral to
backgrounds can show a bit of without tripping over anything, visual quality. There’s the matter
your personality or add to the like a camera charger or empty of personal taste and making sure
content. Still, it’s best to have Ulta box. To keep the camera from the outfit and makeup comple-
some sort of organization — even being reflected, most people use a ment each other without either

YO U T U B E R I 64
 BEAUTY
Beauty Beyond Makeup: Producing a Makeup Tutorial

blending into the background, but

it’s also best to avoid flashy pat-
terns like plaid or chevron, because
the horizontal scan lines of pixels
on computer monitors have trou-
ble displaying the vertical lines of
the fabric. This can create a moiré
effect, causing the blogger to prac-
tically vibrate across the screen,
which is not the best aesthetic
choice for a summer glam look.

LIGHTING Junie uses a compact to apply makeup.

Lighting is perhaps the most sig-
nificant component of cosmetics
videos for an accurate portrayal
of the product colors. And, you
know, for making ourselves look
good. Diffused light is key, and
it’s best to have equipment that
bounces the light particles around
rather than a glaring focused
beam. I explain how to light
videos with a traditional lighting
kit in an old, poorly-lit video here,
but the most common tools for
cosmetics videos are soft boxes Junie uses soft boxes, which you can see reflected in her eyes.
and ring lights.
A soft box is basically a nor-
mal lighting fixture with a box
around it, consisting of reflective
inner sides and diffusing mate-
rial at the front. The reflective
sides bounce the light around
within the box, and the front
filters the particles for that nice
glow. This effect can also be
achieved by using a normal light
kit and a bounce board — or just
a big piece of white cardboard —
and angling the kit and board so
your face gets the full luminance.
The ring light is the most popu- Brooke Miccio uses a ring light.
lar setup for cosmetics videos; as

YO U T U B E R I 65
 BEAUTY
Beauty Beyond Makeup: Producing a Makeup Tutorial

Stephanie Musick from the DVe

store explained it, the ring of
light “washes out any blemishes”
because of its simple, effective
structure. It’s basically an illumi-
nated doughnut with a stand in
the center for a camera or phone
to capture the “soft glow” that the
tool provides.
Natural light is any light from
the sun! Golden hour occurs
around sunrise and sunset, caus-
ing filmmakers to keep even odd-
er hours than the average cre- Natural lighting from a side-facing window in my tutorial.
ative type, but diffused sunlight
from 10 am to 4 pm is also pretty.
Position the camera in front of a
large window, then work quickly
to capture the best light before
it fades. This is where a stream-
lined script is handy.
If you look closely into the eyes
of your favorite beauty vloggers,
you can probably pick out what
kind of lighting they use. This
is the key light, and its purpose
is to highlight the subject of the
video. Soft boxes appear as many
small squares, natural light is
usually one blurry rectangle, and Natural lighting from a front-facing window in my haircare video.
ring lights are a perfect halo in
the pupil.
Color temperature is also a SHOOTING alized by imagining straight lines
principal component of lighting After the well-primed base of going vertically and horizontally
for accurate swatches. To achieve a scripting, setting and lighting, you across the screen to divide it into
neutral atmosphere, make sure to can now start shooting. Make sure three even sections. The eye natu-
white-balance your camera before the camera, if not on a tripod, is on rally goes towards the intersection
filming. This means holding a a steady surface at an even angle, of those lines, so you’ll want to
white paper — or maybe a super so the focus is on you rather than center yourself on those points to
matte white eyeshadow — in front a wobbly frame. Vloggers typically capitalize on that effect.
of the lens so the camera resets shoot from the top of chest to the Make sure you’re staying in
and displays the rest of the spec- top of head while utilizing the rule frame through the camera’s flip-
trum correctly. of thirds. This concept can be visu- around viewfinder, an external

YOU T U B E R I 66
 BEAUTY
Beauty Beyond Makeup: Producing a Makeup Tutorial

camera monitor or place-marking.

As opposed to tech tools, place-
marking is where you just mark
out the physical frame of the shot,
like knowing that if you move past
your desk too far to the right, you’ll
be out of frame.
Most video cameras used by
vloggers have automatic exposure
and focus settings, but it’s still
good to know what these controls
Junie centers a product on the side third lines….
are and how to use them. Exposure
is the amount of light that comes
to the sensor, determined by aper-
ture, ISO and shutter speed.
If the setting is too bright or
dark, it could change the expo-
sure level and produce inaccu-
rate colors.
Focus refers to how clearly
defined the subject is. Bringing
things to and from the camera
could blur the focus, so watch out
for that during close-ups of prod-
ucts. Remember to readjust the
lens if the camera is using manual
focus, or allow buffer time if the ….and centers herself on the middle third!
camera is set to automatic focus.
Everything mentioned here,
from the first words of a concept
to the final cut, can be personal-
ized to give your videos indi-
viduality. Anyone can become
a skilled vlogger with practice,
even without high video quality,
but the most important thing is
that you have fun producing your
content. With those tips in mind,
blend away!
Rhiannon McGavin began making YouTube
videos when she was 12, and continues to
use the platform to discuss art, literature and
lipstick. She interned for 2 years at RED Stu- Kaya demonstrates a no-zoom swatch, allowing her camera to focus on
dios in Los Angeles, and is also the current
Youth Poet Laureate of the city. the pigment.

YO U T U B E R I 67
SUPER-NICHE
5 Awesome Super-Niche Channels
We Can’t Stop Watching

YO U T U B E R I 68
 SUPER-NICHE
While many YouTubers try their hardest to appeal to the widest audience possible, the
real trick is to narrow the focus.

SUPER-NICHE BY SCOTT NISWANDER

NERDSYNC

5 Awesome Super-Niche Channels

We Can’t Stop Watching

BossLevel8
Subscribers: 2,668
Uploads: 225
Video Views: 245,354

Y ou can’t be all things to all

people, but you can be one
ultra-specific thing that makes
people wonder how they lived their
lives before seeing an alien review
movies or a chef make miniature
versions of food.

BOSSLEVEL8
Movie reviews are popular on You-
Tube. And quite frankly, they are all
pretty much the same with nothing
really new to offer. What makes
BossLevel8 unique is that they don’t
review movies. They review movie
reviews. On their series Critique the
Critics, host Teq reads terrible and
often bizarre movie reviews from
critics who say the dumbest things.
It ranges from reviewers who hy-
perbolize the good and the bad of a
film to those who go too far to make
lame puns out of movie titles to one
critic who went on a long-winded
rant comparing Hellboy’s head to
rice cakes. I imagine he thought he
was being super clever.

YO U T U B E R I 69
 SUPER-NICHE
5 Awesome Super-Niche Channels We Can’t Stop Watching

The idea behind the show is to Wisecrack

point out how people shouldn’t take Subscribers: 1,303,909
movie reviews so seriously. Critics Uploads: 234
can be idiots, too. The commentary Video Views: 92,121,864
is interesting, sometimes thought-
provoking and always hilarious!
Currently, the format of the
show is completely improvised.
Teq doesn’t even see the movie
reviews he discusses until the
camera turns on. All the prep work
is done by his partner in crime, Co-
jac. Originally, however, Critique
the Critics was structured much
differently. It was scripted, there
were sketches, and they even gave
out awards to good movie reviews.

Earthman Cinema
This complete change in format is
why we love BossLevel8’s videos.
They don’t get locked down into
one style and stick with it forever.
They are willing to change and
innovate on a dime, so their videos
always feel fresh.

WISECRACK
If movie reviews don’t do it for
you, maybe you’d be interested in
learning about the deeper mean-
ing of popular films — as told by an
alien. Wisecrack’s show, Earthling
Cinema, is something quite unique.
Thub Notes

It starts with an extraterrestrial

named Garyx Wormuloid hilarious-
ly and often incorrectly recapping a
movie like “Frozen” or “The Matrix”
before going deeper down the rab-
bit hole of the hidden themes and
motifs that each film presents.
Earthling Cinema is not the
only series on Wisecrack’s chan-

YO U T U B E R I 70
 SUPER-NICHE
5 Awesome Super-Niche Channels We Can’t Stop Watching

nel. They also have amazing shows Strip Panel Naked

like Thug Notes, where you can Subscribers: 5,138
learn about classic literature from Uploads: 21
the host, gangster Sparky Sweets, Video Views: 65,587
Ph.D.; 8-Bit Philosophy, which
teaches philosophical concepts
through the medium of video
games; and their newest show,
Wisecrack Edition, which tackles
more philosophy hidden through-
out TV, movies and pop culture.
Wisecrack does an outstanding
job presenting otherwise complex
concepts in a way that’s funny,
entertaining and accessible. This
is what makes Wisecrack stand
out. It’s a concept called tangential
learning. If you present a normally
unapproachable topic like philoso-
phy in a context that people enjoy
— like movies, games or comedy
— you can get your audience to
learn while they have fun.

STRIP PANEL NAKED

With comic book movies pop-
ping up left and right, YouTube
has seen a growth in channels
willing to explain superheroes
and villains to a casual audience.
However, there’s one amazing
channel that isn’t focussing on
the movies, but rather the comics
themselves. Strip Panel Naked
is a series that takes a look at
the tiny details that artists and
writers put into the comic book
medium. It explores what makes
comics great at storytelling and
showcases best practices from
great comics creators.

YO U T U B E R I 71
 SUPER-NICHE
5 Awesome Super-Niche Channels We Can’t Stop Watching

Strip Panel Naked does a lot of Bistro Miniature

things right. The host is engag- Subscribers: 56,583
ing, informed and really makes Uploads: 164
Video Views: 5,546,348
the viewer not only notice little
details, but also care about them.
The videos help demonstrate that
comic books are a unique art form.
They’re complex and intricate.
Every panel of a story is a deliber-
ate choice in how it’s laid out, the
colors that are used, the dialogue
— or lack thereof — and more.
We guarantee you’ll walk away
from his videos looking at com-
ics differently. That’s why SPN is
great. It’s so simple, but focussing
on the smallest details of one piece
of art can change how you see the
entire art form.

BISTRO MINIATURE
No doubt there are plenty of cook-
ing channels on YouTube. Anyone
can teach you how to bake a cake,
but Bistro Miniature is a channel
that makes food as small as their
niche. They have a little kitchen
where they make even smaller
dishes. You can watch them art-
fully make miniature versions of
roast beef, donuts, pizza and all
manner of other tiny delicacies!
It’s weirdly beautiful and relax-
ing to see tiny scraps of food
turned into delectable meals fit for
a mouse.
What makes Bistro Miniature
stand out is how they took a super
saturated field like “cooking chan-
nel” and just added one little twist
to change it into something new
and interesting.

YO U T U B E R I 72
 SUPER-NICHE
5 Awesome Super-Niche Channels We Can’t Stop Watching

HYDRAULIC PRESS CHANNEL Hydraulic Press Channel

Take a random assortment of Subscribers: 1,463,293
Uploads: 110
items, a couple of funny weirdos
Video Views: 152,800,585
and one powerful hydraulic press.
What results is nothing short of
wonderful! The Hydraulic Press
Channel is exactly this, and it’s
glorious! In every video, this Fin-
ish couple takes their hydraulic
press and destroys anything and
everything you can think of. Bowl-
ing balls? Smashed. Lightbulbs?
Shattered. Diamonds? Crushed. Is
there nothing this press can’t do?
What makes this channel awe-
some isn’t strictly how cool it is
watching things being destroyed.
The couple behind the camera is
super entertaining. You can tell
how much fun they are having in
each video with their constant gig-
gling and joking around. And the
whole thing is shot simply, almost
like a vlog that just so happens to
involve a massive piece of ma-
chinery. At the end of each video,
the two smash a silly clay animal
which they claim is “extremely
dangerous.” Their videos are in-
credibly fun.
These amazing channels have
found their audiences not by mak-
ing content in the popular genres,
but by creating videos that are so
specific — and often strange —
that you can’t stop watching.
Scott Niswander is a YouTuber with his
own niche channel called NerdSync where
he rants about superheroes. He also has a
beard that people have said isn’t that bad.

YO U T U B E R I 73
 JEANINE
AMAPOLA
How a Beauty and Lifestyle
Vlogger Gets Things Done
YO U T U B E R I 74
 JEANINE AMAPOLA
SUBSCRIBERS: 1,230,174
UPLOADS: 226
VIDEO VIEWS: 41,229,641
CHANNEL TYPE: HOWTO
JOINED: FEBRUARY 7, 2010

One of the best ways for creators on YouTube to improve their video production process is to learn from other
successful creators. In this article, beauty and lifestyle vlogger Jeanine Amapola explains the exact steps and
tools she uses to create videos, which have so far garnered her over a million subscribers to date.

JEANINE AMAPOLA
How Beauty and Lifestyle Vlogger
Jeanine Amapola Gets Things Done
BY BREE BROUWER

E very single day across the world, over a billion

people tune in to YouTube to watch millions of
hours of videos. And yet the majority of these people
may never make a video themselves to upload to
Google’s online video platform. Consequently, most
YouTube viewers don’t consider how much work is
involved in producing and creating the videos they so
much enjoy.
But all you YouTube creators contributing to the site’s
400+ hours of uploaded content per minute know better.

YO U T U B E R I 75
How Beauty and Lifestyle Vlogger Jeanine Amapola Gets Things Done

For you, developing a video idea, week, and begin filming. I sometimes hire someone to
filming and editing it, and getting help me film if I can’t do it all on my own. Once I film,
the final version uploaded with an which usually takes about 2-3 hours or so, I import it
appropriate description and thumb- to Final Cut Pro X and edit for about 3 hours. Once
nail can be your biggest challenge. it’s done, I upload it to YouTube. While it’s uploading
Of course, a plethora of technology I start editing my thumbnail and trying to make that
and tools has certainly made creat-
ing these videos easier. However, JEANINE’S INSTAGRAM FEED
it takes a skilled creator to not only
pick and choose preferred produc-
tion tools, but also set up an efficient
video production process.
Beauty and lifestyle vlogger
Jeanine Amapola seems to have
figured out what works — for
her at least. In an interview with
YouTuber, Amapola revealed her
exact process for producing, film-
ing and editing her videos before
she uploads them to her channel of
over 1.2 million subscribers. Here’s
what she had to say about her
production process and how other
YouTube creators can follow her
same techniques to improve their
video content.

Why do you think produc-

tion and post-production
are so important to video
creation?
Visuals are key! It’s what keeps the
viewers engaged and wanting more.
If your content is higher quality,
people will notice and will appreci-
ate it. It is also basically required on
YouTube now to have good produc-
tion and post-production work.

What does your current

production workflow look
like, step-by-step?
I start brainstorming video ideas,
see which one works well for that

YO U T U B E R I 76
How Beauty and Lifestyle Vlogger Jeanine Amapola Gets Things Done

very captivating. Then I fill in the When you hire someone tines or developed new
description box of my video. Once to help you film, where do ones?
everything looks good, I schedule you hire them from? Definitely! I used to film with no
my video to go live for whatever I actually hire film students from plan at all. I would just randomly
day I usually upload, which is Sat- my college. It gives them experi- decide what I was going to film
urdays and Wednesdays. ence and they aren’t crazy expen- that day and just sit down and
sive for me either. film. I now always have a list on
You mention you “see my phone of what I’m going to
which videos work well How has your workflow film and what steps I’m going to
for that week” before you changed over time? Have do so I make sure I cover every-
record. How do you deter- you abandoned any rou- thing.
mine this?
I don’t copy other people’s
videos, but as I scroll down my
subscriptions, I see what other
people are doing and if it works
well for them, then decide if I
want to make my own version of
it. I also always upload my vid-
eos based on each season. That
always gives me ideas of what
works well for each week. Cur-
rently [August 2016], it’s back to
school season, so my videos will
be based off of that.

“
I SOMETIMES JUST
PLAN THINGS SO
LAST MINUTE THAT
THEY DON’T WORK
OUT AS I PLANNED.
PRE-PRODUCTION
IS VERY IMPORTANT
IN YOUTUBE!
Jeanine plans her content based on what people are looking for at the time. For
example, in August, Jeanine loaded her channel up with back to school videos.

YO U T U B E R I 77
How Beauty and Lifestyle Vlogger Jeanine Amapola Gets Things Done

Do you plan to implement Editing takes about 3 hours or thumbnail on PicMonkey.com. I

any new workflow prac- more, since I have to make sure make sure it’s a colorful and catchy
tices in the future? If so, the video is a good time limit, find thumbnail. Then I edit the descrip-
what are they? [creative-commons] music, and tion box on my video and make sure
If I do implement anything, it cut out any mistakes. it’s filled with all the correct tags and
would be to work on my pre-pro- Once my video is done, I export information, then schedule when it’s
duction planning a little bit more it and upload it to YouTube; while going to go live, and that’s it! It’s a
than I already do. Maybe do a shot it’s uploading, I begin editing my long process, but it’s worth it.
list, storyboard and more research
on what video I’m going to put
up to see if it’s been done before,
and if so, how has it performed. I
sometimes just plan things so last
minute that they don’t work out as
I planned. Pre-production is very
important in YouTube!

What’s held you back

from improving your pre-
production already? What
would you recommend to
other YouTube creators in
the same situation?
I think it’s just not how my brain
Jeanine stresses the importance of pre-production. “I now always have a list on my
works! I am more of a post- phone of what I’m going to film and what steps I’m going to do so I make sure I cover
production person, so planning everything.”
and scheduling stuff is a bit of a
struggle for me. I think I would
recommend someone to just map
out their video as best as they can
beforehand so shooting goes as
smoothly as possible and you don’t
end up forgetting certain shots.

What specifically does

your post-production
schedule look like?
As soon as I’m done filming, I im-
port my footage into Final Cut Pro
X and begin looking at the foot-
age to make sure everything looks
Jeanine isn’t shy about naming shooting and equipment as her least favorite aspects
good. If it doesn’t, I plan whether of making YouTube videos. “Least favorite: filming, working with lighting, buying new
I will re-film or just make it work. equipment and making thumbnails.”

YO U T U B E R I 78
How Beauty and Lifestyle Vlogger Jeanine Amapola Gets Things Done
What would you change
about your post-production
workflow if you could?
I honestly am fine with my post-
production workflow. I think it
usually goes smoothly for me, and
it’s my favorite part of the whole
process. I love editing, so I enjoy
post-production.
What are your favorite
and least favorite parts of
production?
I love YouTube, but there are defi-
nitely pros and cons to it! Favorite:
editing, seeing the comments from
my subscribers once I upload a
video, acting in the videos and col-
laborating with my friends. Least
favorite: filming, working with
lighting, buying new equipment
and making thumbnails.
How do you continually
educate yourself?
I use YouTube always. It’s the
best place for me to get educated
and find more tools. I learn from
YouTube new ways to edit, which
camera I should get next, which
lenses are good for certain shots
and tons more info. YouTube is
perfect for it all!
If someone wanted to fol-
low in your footsteps, what
tips would you recommend
to them?
Definitely focus on an upload
schedule and try to stick to it,
make sure your thumbnails are
bright, colorful, and captivating,
try to think of original content
that you truly love, and most of
all, be yourself! There’re so many
other channels on YouTube, so if
you copy someone or aren’t fully
genuine, people will see right
through you. Do your channel be-
cause you love it and it’s fun, not
for money and perks. Lastly, just
have fun with it!
YO U T U B E R I 79
Making YouTube videos every
week — or even every day — can
be a challenging task for con-
tent creators. In order to upload
content regularly and continue
growing your audiences, you
should focus on optimizing
your production process as
best as possible. When some-
thing doesn’t seem to be work-
ing, YouTubers look to other
creators who, like Jeanine, are
successfully maintaining popu-
lar channels for video creative
advice.
Of course, you should also
remember to do what works
best for you as an individual
creator when it comes to your
production workflow. Do some
research, try new techniques or
tools and stick with what works.
Your channel will thank you.
Bree Brouwer is a professional writer, jour-
nalist specializing in online video and digital
media. She possibly watches lots of YouTube.
TANNER
PATRICK
A DAY IN THE LIFE
YO U T U B E R I 80
 TANNER PATRICK
SUBSCRIBERS: 1,010,489
UPLOADS: 153
VIDEO VIEWS: 116,009,809
CHANNEL TYPE: MUSIC
JOINED: FEBRUARY 11, 2011

We spoke with singer-songwriter Tanner Patrick,

and he gave us a glimpse into a day in the life of
a single-person online video channel.

TANNER PATRICK
A DAY IN THE LIFE BY RICKY ANDERSON II
STEWDIPPIN

T anner Patrick is a musician

who has delighted audiences
across the globe. Starting his
YouTube channel in 2011, he has
garnered the attention of over 1
million subscribers and earned
over 100 million video views.

Start of the Day

Maintaining a successful YouTube
channel begins with research.
Tanner shares that his morning
begins with keeping up to date
with current trends. He states, “I
wake up, and I usually check the
charts on iTunes. I always like to
know what’s going on, especially
with music and the music world,
to see if there are any new releases
or songs that I would cover. So I’m
always looking at the outside first
to see what’s going on with the
rest of the world. Then I usually
just start producing.”
He continues, “If there’s’ not a
cover song that needs to be done
immediately, I usually just start

YO U T U B E R I 81
writing and producing original stuff. But it doesn’t
ever stop (chuckles), which is kind of a blessing, but it’s
a ton of work. I do just nonstop work from the moment
I get up; I’m either working on a song of my own, a
cover song, producing a video or editing a video.”

Performance Days
On his performance days — days when he is sing-
ing — Tanner says, “...It’s a lot of what you would
expect when you go into a studio to record a song.
It’s a lot of warming up, and it’s a lot of me bang-
ing my head against the wall trying to get the right
takes. Because I’m kind of a perfectionist, some-
times I’ll record the whole song
and then start over because I
didn’t like the way it sounded. So
those days are really hard, and
sometimes I’ll sing for five or six
hours until I like it.”
After that, Tanner jumps right
into mixing the song the same day
that he records. He expresses that,
“I record it, and I just work as fast
as I can on it. Until I crash and fall
asleep, then wake up the next day,
keep producing.” Once the song is
mixed and mastered, Tanner gets
some rest then goes into video pro-
duction phase. “I kind of restart
the whole process by performing
the video.”

Production Days
Tanner has a very run-and-gun
approach to producing his vid-
eos. His crew is made up of him
and one other person, which is a
formula he found, “...just works.”
He continues in saying, “We just
work together to come up with
the right shots and usually go
very on-the-fly. Like, sometimes
Tanner Patrick in his home studio
it’s like driving around, ‘oh that
looks like a cool spot’, then we just

YO U T U B E R I 82
pull over and start recording... There’s very little
pre pro into this.”
Adding on to his run-and-gun process, Tanner
shares “...we do have a shot list, but it’s never written
down; we just do a mental check as we’re going. It’s
YO U T U B E R I 83
like, ‘did we do the wide one? Did
we do the face one?’ We just call it
what it is, you know? I would say
it’s usually about 20 different shots
of the whole song. I perform the
song 20 times and about roughly
40GB on the card every time.”
In addition to the video shoot,
Tanner will have a photo shoot:
“We always make the iTunes
& Spotify cover art, so we’ll do
a photoshoot at the end of the
video, and we usually take about
30 photos — sometimes up to 100
photos — and then pick one of
those to be the album artwork.
And sometimes it also ends up
being the same for [the YouTube
thumbnail].”
Post-production Days
At the conclusion of a video shoot,
Tanner goes right into post-pro-
duction. Because his background
is in music and not video, editing
didn’t come as easy to him at first.
“It used to take a really long time
to edit a video, mostly because I
was trying to use iMovie and it
was very difficult. So the first year
on my channel, it took me like a
week to edit a video.” He continues
enthusiastically, “I’m a huge fan
of post now. That’s like my favor-
ite thing. And I think it’s because
I can, like, get behind computer
again, which is where I did a lot of
the music production.”
While describing his workflow,
Tanner explains, “I’m very anal
about, like, my organization, so all
my clips have to be, like, perfectly
colored, numbered, and labeled.
Then I just get to work.” While
editing Tanner seeks to, “...find all of the moments in
the video that match, not just match the music from a
technical standpoint, but emotionally.”
Tanner summarizes that it usually takes two days
to edit a video before he posts it to his YouTube
Channel, which he says makes the whole process
worth it.
“Part of the reward is creating something.” Tanner
says excitedly, “You just created and go ‘yeah like I
did that, and I’m proud of that!’ Then sharing with
other people, [it’s] like the icing on the cake. I just
give it to people, so it feels nice.”

Memorable Videos
One of the most recent projects
Tanner was a part of as of this writ-
ing was a project called “Everybody
Loves Disney” produced through
his MCN Maker Studio. Tanner col-
laborated with another producer on
a song from “Alice in Wonderland”
called “A World of My Own.”
“It was just so fun to create some-
thing that was totally different!” He
describes how he wanted to cre-
ate something that felt like he was
in a world of his own. “We went
deep into these woods where there
was nothing and no one, nothing
around. We just filmed me playing
in the woods, and I felt like I was

“
like six years old again.”

SOCIAL LIFE KIND

OF GOES OUT THE
WINDOW AND YOU
BECOME A SLAVE TO
THE WORK, BUT YOU
LOVE THE WORK, SO DIY solutions aren’t the most glamorous, but for a content creator on a budget, they’ll
IT’S TOUGH. more than suffice.

YO U T U B E R I 84

As satisfying as creating a video
from conception to completion
is, there are challenges that come
along with the process.
Biggest Challenges
Working as a mostly one person
team comes with a lot of self-criti-
cism. “The worst part of what I do
is self-doubt,” Tanner states. “The
worst part is creating something
and wondering ‘are people going to
like this, or am I wasting my time
just creating something that only I
like?’” Additionally, Tanner shares
that, because he does so much by
himself, his social life has been
strained. “Social life kind of goes out
the window and you become a slave
to the work, but you love the work,
so it’s tough.” However, the doubt
and sacrifices are worth it for him.
Biggest Rewards
“Being able to create as an artist
and being able to have it appreci-
ated by people and those people
being affected by it in a positive
way is the best part,” Tanner
explains. “It is just so great when
I can create something that other
people enjoy as much as I enjoyed
creating it. It feels like they [cre-
ated] it with me or something.”
He goes on to say, “People have
encouraged me to keep going on.
I don’t think they knew how much
they were encouraging me. [I’m
sure they thought] that they were
YO U T U B E R I 85
just telling me how they felt about
something, but it was so important
for me to see that positive review.”
Conclusion
Operating an online video channel
takes more work than just turn-
ing on a camera. It takes planning,
support and a lot of time and sac-
rifice. From Tanner’s experience,
persistence is the key. He shares,
“I’ve found certain videos will really
catch fire, but not all of them do.
So if you don’t continue you might
not see. If your first five-six videos
don’t catch fire, they’re not like get-
ting a lot of love, that doesn’t mean
that the eighth won’t. It’s a journey,
you just gotta keep telling yourself
that you can do it, and someone is
going to like it.”
Ricky Anderson II is a Texas-based video pro-
ducer and entertainer. He has over 10 years
of experience in online video production,
with an expertise in creating engaging and
entertaining videos.