So, if you saw the title of this video, you might be curious how do you study
videography for free? I can think of a few ways but I'm not going to say anything
just yet. Stay tuned. (Clearing throat) Videography. It sounds like a made-up word because really... -Somebody had
to make it up. -Yeah, it makes sense, right? It's it's photography and it turned
into video, videography. And what does it mean? It's not cinematography. Although it
kind of is because it's shooting, it's recording, moving images. Motion... Motion. -So,
how do you how do you study it? I mean, there are film schools. You could
definitely go to film school. -And those aren't free. -Yeah. But how do you how do
you do it for free? This is actually a question. We have the name, Ashley Wait
on Quora. -Nice. She asked how can I study videography and video animation
independently and in a cost-effective manner? I would rather spend my money on
equipment and things to read than tuition?? I don't know what that last part
means. But instead of paying tuition, she'd rather... -Spend money on equipment
and things to read things to read than tuition. Yeah. What just... You know, nowadays
with the internet and all of this information at our fingertips, really
people can become educated without the degree or certificate but can learn as
much or more than people that are sitting in bricks and mortar schools.
Yeah, absolutely. So, this question was asked on Quora. Hopefully she gets a good
video response. Maybe we'll post a version of this video there. But you're
watching it on YouTube. YouTube, you probably know a quick answer. You can get
a lot of education on YouTube. -You really can yeah. -Right? -Yeah. I want to like give some
real examples because I've used YouTube to learn and become a
videographer. I did not go to film school. I use DSLR cameras. I had to learn how to
use those and guess where I went? I went to YouTube. -Of course. -So back
even before my DSLR is when I was filming on my iPhone. Not this one but my
previous one. I wanted to know like how to set up
lighting. The very first video that I remember that I started studying
in-depth was a video that Apple made. It's got to be like 5 years ago. They
made one that the new MacBook Pro came out. And Mr. Ives or whatever was on the
screen. He had a bright white background. And I was like, "Ooh, that's a real
professional look. I want to learn how to make that. Or I want to be able to make
my videos look like that." And so, with my phone, I set it up on a tripod, I got
different lights. I got a white cloth background and hung it and it was okay.
But then I tried I tried paper, a big roll of white paper. I'd actually got
white roll that you see up there. -Oh yeah. And then as... It looked better, but the
lighting still wasn't right. So, studying the video, I looked at the whites of his
eyes or the reflection on his eyes. And I could see the lights. And I could see how
he had a positioned. I was like, "Oh! Okay, so I've got to set..." And seriously,
I studied the video in depth like that. And I figured out how to set the light.
So I could get my image to look just like Apple did. -That's cool. I'd have to
pay anything for that but I really had to like rewind it and test and tweak and
it took me a few hours of setting it up. And I got it to work. -And now probably though,
you know, if you'd have been thinking clearly, instead of trying to read the
whites of his eyes, you could have just gone to a different YouTube video? -Well...
-How to set up the Apple guy's lights? -But I wouldn't have even known how to name
it, right? I mean, I guess yeah. Every video that I watched... This is how my mind works.
When I'm watching a video, my mind is thinking, "How did they film this?" So, most
people probably aren't that way. This is I guess it's my career maybe. But I'm...
Whenever I'm watching a video or I'm watching a vlog and they do some unique
transitions like, "Ooh, that was cool." -Right. -I thought of doing it that way. -Yeah.
-That's a great way of learning how to vlog or learning how to film or
learning you know, any type of video is just studying what's in front of us and
then trying to figure out reverse engineers. So, as another example, I had to...
With that film with the iPhone, I had to learn to lock in the the exposure
settings. Because it had just automatically. So, I would
turn down the lights, I'd hit the lock button. -Right. -And then I turned the
lights back up and it would really wash out the white background. It just looked
so sharp. So, it's just fun to be self-taught, but learn had to do to
that level. And it's kind of a conclusion to that story.
People saw those videos that I made and they asked if they could hire me to film
videos for them that looked that good. And I was like, "Well, I'm filming them with
my iPhone." They said, "Really? Well, that's okay. As long as they look that good." -Yeah,
what's the difference. -So, that's actually what got me started into doing video
production as a profession. -See, that's something he learned right off of
a YouTube video. And with a little bit of Investigation and a magnifying glass to
see what was in a guy's eye. -Yeah. You learned without paying tuition. -You know
what? I have another example but it was... I forgot that we're going to demo it on my my
laptop. So, okay. Veritasium is a pretty cool channel. In fact, that's the video I
wanted. Right there. Okay, we can click on it. The world's roundest object. -What are we
talking about again? Okay. So the world roundest object. It's this ball but look.
And I, maybe I didn't pause in the... I noticed what camera he was using. I was
really curious. So, this is just an example. But when I'm watching vloggers
and they're they're walking down the street with glass, you know, the glass
building. I'll always pause the video and rewind it, go
on slow motion. So, I can see, "Ooh, they're using the same camera I'm using. Oh,
they're using a point-and-shoot today." Or... I'm always paying attention to that. So,
the lighting in their eyes, the... I'm looking at the cameras. Anything that I
can study. I'll notice a shadow I'm like, "Okay, yeah I can see the other person
walking along filming." Sometimes they'll accidentally get their shadow in there
and whatnot. So... -Now, do you prefer that kind of learning over just deliverrately typing
in "What is the best camera to use?" -I've certainly done both. And I... So, when you go
to YouTube and you type in, "What camera should I use for this? Or to vlog?"
-Or typical light setup for... There'll be a person that will tell you their opinion.
"Well, I chose this camera because of this or I'll chose this." But
to me, I'll do that and I'll watch those videos but then to actually see somebody
using it, it's like... One of the vloggers that I follow. The family that lives in
the RV. Mm-hmm. They recommend a couple cameras, they
recommend a couple lenses. But when I've seen the reflection of their camera and I'm
like, "Okay, in this instance I can see them actually using this camera." -Right,
okay. And it just... In my mind it just pieces it together. So, you know, the next
example that I had is more realistic to that you... You can't do it from watching a
how-to. So, let's jump more journey. That's the RV's. I want to show you an example of...
Let me go to their channel. So, this is a really cool family. I'll
just pick any video because I know that any one of them is good. We're just going
to watch a little bit of their episode here. It's 15 minutes long. We're
only going to go a little bit into it. -Sure, okay.
-There's a lot that we can learn right from the beginning.
Okay. So we had an intro there. They kind of gave a little teaser of what they're
going to do. They're going to go on a boat. Then now they're doing a time-lapse. We got
some music. And notice how the time-lapse is zooming out. So, I was like, "Ooh, I
wonder how they did that." Now, we got some other shots.
-Oh, there you saw. -Yeah. -You catch her reflection. -There's the... -You can see what
they're using. They're the SLR body. -So, see how many different shots they had to
take? We're only 28 seconds in. -Yeah. But there's a lot that they put in here.
-Right. So, I mean they really thought this through, they're getting a lot of shots
until this story. So, it's kind of telling a story. They're going to go on this tour.
It's like, okay, we were in the car, we were driving, without... So, that's what
I love to be able to do is if I want to become a better vlogger. I can type in
"How to become a better vlogger or how to vlog?" And I'll get some good tutorials.
But find a vlog that you really like their style. And watch it and study. And
like, "How did they do this? What camera are they using here?' You know, they're...
there's... Then how did they get this shot where you could see the reflection in the
rearview mirror. They're holding the camera. -Yes. -Now looking out the window.
-Yeah, yeah. -And so, that's a really great way to learn. Vlogging is
especially great because you get stuff like that with the reflections and stuff
that you don't normally get in like a studio type settings. -Well, and really, you
know, even if you were to go to college and study videography, the fact is
that your field work. When you're interning with some production company
or you're just out doing your own projects. That's really where the rubber
hits the road and you're learning anyway. The textbook becomes reality. And in this way,
you know, you kind of get... You know, you can blend the best of both
worlds. Like you say, you see what other people are doing that's good that you
want to emulate. And then you can switch over to another, you know, one of the
actual tutorial videos of how to pull focus. And how to do backlight and... -Well,
here's a great example of that. So, I did not go to film school. If I would
have, there would have been a curriculum. Some things would have been applicable
and some things would not have. There's going to be for some general education.
You know, even when it's a focused course like that. Well, for me, when I upgraded to
a DSLR camera, I then went to YouTube. How to use DSLR. And I learned... Oh, "How to film
in manual mode." So, I could learn how to control the aperture and how to control
the the ISO, the sensitivity. But the great thing about that is, as I could
really just focus on what I needed. I didn't have to like take a course, "Okay,
here's lesson 1, here's lesson 2, here's lesson 3. -Right. And like get this
little picture before I started. -Yeah. I jumped in. I was already a professional
making a living, making videos with my iPhone and I'm like, "I need to learn how
to use DSLR now." So, I went to YouTube, watched what I needed to learn at the
moment. So, this camera that's over here, this is my new point-and-shoot
camera. I had to actually watch a couple tutorials to learn how to use that
camera the same way I use my DSLR. -Yeah. -Because it's different. So,
that's that's another big advantage or recommendation that I have is this you
know, how how do I study videography for free. Well, only study the things that you
actually need. Don't worry about general stuff. It... Yeah,
I'm really going to say that just don't don't worry about that. -Now, I know we're
going to hear from people who actually went to film school. And that are doing video
animation as she talks about or that are a professional for videographers and the
more of a narrative sense, you know? They're doing Hollywood production
things or stuff for clients or whatever. And you know, they're I wouldn't say
they're apples and oranges but they're not exactly the same thing. But
the general principle is, if you're wondering if you should spend your money
on equipment or the study of the art, in this particular circumstance, from this
particular gentleman, he would say, "If you have, not limited resources, but if you
have resources that have a cap, maybe you can learn for free online and just buy
the stuff yourself and learn by doing." -Hmm. You may not end up at Telluride or
Sundance or some magical festival to show off your stuff. But on the other
hand, you know, just even this RV thing looks pretty dang good. Like... That's
broadcast quality stuff. The cameras they're using, it's all you'd
see that on National Geographic Channel or Discovery or The Travel Channel. I
mean... So, there's my summation your honor for what it's worth. -One final point. And
this actually comes from a question. -I believe I just used the word summation.
Okay, go ahead. A question somebody else asked on the similar topic is, "I want to
be a videographer. Where should I start?" And I've mentioned this in a previous
video. It sounds kind of funny but I'm going to recommend to start create crappy
videos. Meaning... -On purpose? -No but... -But they're going to be crappy anyway? -Yeah. It's better
to start now and make mistakes and watch them and laugh and make improvements
than to try and become good at it before you actually hit the record button. You
look at... You look at my channel. In fact, just this morning, I'm actually... One of
the videos were filming today is a remake of a video I did 4 or 5
years ago. And I went back just to see what did I talk about. And I was looking
at myself like, I was reading from a teleprompter. And you could totally tell.
It was like, this is ridiculous. -Because you have these massive eyes. They're like searchlights
you know? You could see every movement. -Well, it actually wasn't the eye movement
but it was just the way that I was talking. You could tell I sounded like I
was reading. -Yeah. -And I'm just like, "This sounds terrible." -Yeah. And see this right now...
I almost thought that should I... -Just come see... We're reading all of this. -Yeah, we're...
So, you couldn't you couldn't tell. -You've gotten that much better.
-So, the moral of the story was, "Yes, right now, I thought about going back
and just deleting that video because it's kind of embarrassing to me."
I decided not to. But... Should we tell them which one it is so that they can look for it?
-No. -Okay. But it's an old one on the channel? -Yeah. All YouTubers. You go to any
YouTuber's channel. I'll take this off of me. You go to any YouTuber's channel and
you go back through the archives and you'll see some embarrassing stuff. -Well,
it's an evolution. -Yeah. -You really do. You get better over time. You improve, you
change your focus, you make adjustments you know. -So, my recommendation is to
embrace it. Just create videos now the best you know how. And don't expect too
much. And then you'll learn to improve it and
make tweaks and changes. -Well and if I may, and as a final word. -All that you have to
final word. -I know. But I would say, just kind of based on my knowledge in history of
talking to you, that any content is content. I mean in terms of just getting
going. But getting content out there, the more content you have, somehow is good. I
mean, really. Your body of work regardless of what's in it is a good thing for
the YouTube whatever you call that. Analog and algorithm. -My early videos
got me clients. (-Algorithm.) Oh they did. And they were crappy. -They were
crappy. -Self termed crappiness. Just saying. -So, this video is obviously
awesome. So, you'll want to subscribe so you can see more awesome videos like
this. -We're just rewind and watch it again. -How are they're gonna do that too?
-Yeah, subscribe. -Invite some friends, come watch it
again with you. -Big party. -Bye.