- In this video, we're talking about how you can vlog
using a GoPro or a DJI Osmo Action
and some of the gear
that you need to make the whole thing happen.
And we're also gonna be going through some things
that you need to think about when you're out vlogging.
(intense music)
(car engine revving)
All right, before we get started, I just want to mention
that today's video is sponsored by Squarespace.
So, what are we talking about in today's video?
- We're talking about the unnecessary things that you
don't need for a GoPro.
- I mean, it's necessary for vlogging.
You need this, so you can actually mount stuff.
Whereas that, you can't mount anything.
- Oh, cool. - Oh.
- I always wanted that.
Okay, so for this video, we're gonna be talking a little
bit about vlogging in general and then gear.
'Cause gear is one of the things that's gonna hinder you
or make it easier for you to go out there and vlog.
Now as you can see, if you guys have been here for a while,
I'm kind of in a new set here.
I built a separate set in my home office studio.
Kinda trying this out a little bit,
a place for me to have a table to work on
rather than just sitting over there by my computer.
And just making it work in the space that I have.
I think that's important for any creator out there
is just having a space that you can go back to
to produce your content.
So if you do reviews, if you do tutorials,
or things like that, you need kind of a home base
because it makes it a lot easier to just flip on cameras
and then go and shoot the content,
rather than having to set all this up
and then tear it all back down.
So, it's a work in progress.
I'm gonna be rebuilding this a little bit,
but just wanted to give you guys a little heads up
of what's going on.
Guys, if you're new here to this channel,
my name is Jeven Dovey.
I do filmmaking tutorials.
I do product reviews.
Also, I like to do a lot of YouTube training
and vlogging training, so make sure you hit that
Subscribe button and turn on those bell notifications
so you don't miss one of these videos.
So, when it comes to vlogging with an action camera,
you can either just use the action camera as your vlog
camera and use the internal audio.
Or, you can get like an external mic,
like this is the Rode Vid Micro.
Now, I highly suggest getting an external mic.
And the reason is that if you're vlogging,
and if your audio is not the best, then what happens is
people will get lost in your video because they're not
able to hear you correctly.
And this is just a big note in general
when it comes to your videos,
you wanna have clean audio.
Because you could have bad visuals,
but as soon as you have bad audio,
it really pulls your audience
out of what it is that you're shooting.
So you wanna make sure that you record the cleanest audio
that you can, and then also edit your audio so it's not
doing like this crazy wave up and down where it's super loud
and then super quiet.
The worst thing that you can do is have audio that's kind of
all over the place.
And then when someone's watching, it's going up, down,
all over, they can't really hear you,
they can really hear you.
Because then people are gonna click off,
they're not gonna watch your videos.
So I highly suggest getting an external mic for your videos,
especially if you're vlogging.
So when it comes to an action camera,
the issue is where do you mount an external mic
on to a GoPro or an Osmo Action?
'Cause the case that it comes with is not set up
for vlogging, it's just a basic case that attaches
your action camera to whatever it is that you want to do,
but you can't add much onto it.
So I did a video a little while back about this case
from ULANZI, and it's a GoPro vlogging case.
It has a place for the audio box,
which is essential for GoPros.
GoPro doesn't allow you to just plug in a mic,
you have to have this special audio box.
This special audio box allows you to put in an external mic.
So, this ULANZI case basically allows you to put this box
on the bottom of it.
And then it kinda ties all up nice and neat,
and then you got a place for your microphone right on top
so that everything is nice and clean.
Now the issue comes up, well what if you want to add
like a light to this or something else to that degree,
like you want to add more on?
Well, ULANZI made another case, and this case is essentially
the same thing as this old case.
However, they've added this extension bracket
and a 1/4-20 mount on the bottom,
instead of this like typical GoPro mount
that was on there before.
So this 1/4-20 basically allows you to mount this
to basically anything and not having to have
like a go-between.
And also, with this extension bracket, you can now mount
a light on the side here.
Hold on.
I'm gonna use this light as a sample.
This is a great light.
It's actually called the Vlogger Light,
so makes sense, right?
Okay, so this is the full setup.
And basically, this case now allows you to add a microphone
on the top, a light off to the side,
if that's what you are looking for,
and then it also has a 1/4-20 mount on the bottom,
so you can put it on a mini tripod.
Now this is kind of like an all-in-one,
so it fits everything.
Even with this big of a light,
you can fit it on here no problem,
and it just gives you that extra light,
especially if you're shooting in darker scenes.
And the key is, with vlogging, you want to be able to
have a system that you can pop out
and film yourself and not be fidgeting with gear
and just throw this in your bag.
(wind whooshing)
Well that's a cute little squirrel.
So, this video is sponsored by Squarespace.
From websites, to online stores, to marketing tools,
and analytics, Squarespace is an all-in-one platform
that has everything you need to build your online presence.
And yes, I do use Squarespace.
That is what I use to build my website,
jevendovey.com, because I think it's essential
for every creator to have their own website
to give people more information about who you are.
Or, it's a place for you to sell your products
and everything else.
The reason that I chose Squarespace is that
it's super easy to use.
They have templates that you just drag and drop your photos,
videos, everything into the template.
Makes it super easy to build and customize your own site
that matches your brand.
You don't need to be an expert coder to make it happen.
Squarespace has 24/7 support,
so they'll help you through every step of the way.
So head to squarespace.com and use my code, JEVENDOVEY,
for 10% off your first purchase.
All right, let's get back into some tips on how to vlog.
Okay, okay, hold on one second here, just one second.
Check, check.
Okay, so I was finished recording this video,
and then a box showed up.
Rach, can you bring that box in here?
- [Rach] This one?
- When I made this video originally,
I did not have the case for the DJI Osmo Action,
and then as soon as I-- - Oh,
Can you imagine?
- Could you imagine.
As soon as a finished up this video--
- Something's gonna break, if I just dump this out?
- No, dump it.
(boxes thumping)
They sent me a whole box of parts.
So we got ND filters, we got more cases,
more ND filters. - You shouldn't throw 'em.
- This is a wide lens.
This is a macro lens.
But what I'm most excited about,
and this ties into the video
exactly what I was talking about,
is this DJI Osmo Action case.
And it has a place for a light,
as well your microphone on top.
Also, it is metal,
so it's much more durable than this plastic one.
But check this out, they also sent me a version three
of the GoPro one, it's also metal.
- No way.
- And you don't have the extension bracket,
so you can mount it right on the side.
(parts clicking)
- So, is that considered a kitten?
The windscreen helps it, it doesn't sound like wind.
And normally it's called dead cat,
but when it's on a GoPro,
it is called a dead kitten because it's a little smaller.
- (laughs)
- As much as I enjoy helping you with these reviews,
I'm not interested so...
- Okay, so these new cases are both metal
and they're both set up like this,
microphone on top, light on the side, you have a ring
on the front that allows you to add 55 millimeter filters,
use a step-up ring if you need something bigger,
and a 1/4-20 on the bottom so you can mount your tripod.
So this is like the ultimate vlog case for either the GoPro
or the DJI Osmo Action.
The only difference with the DJI Osmo Action
is you don't have a place for screw-on filter rings.
However, the DJI Osmo Action filter setup is much easier,
you just screw them on.
So this is the full setup.
Now let's go show you how this whole setup works.
(wind whooshing)
All right, so tip number one is that vlogging is a style,
and it's not a topic.
And I think a lot of people get this confused
when they start going down this rabbit hole of vlogging.
They think that just shooting content, just shooting videos
in this style, where you're walking around
and showing your day, that's what vlogging is.
But, in reality, vlogging's more of a style.
It's more of a way that you produce content.
You still have to have a niche.
You still have to have something that it is that you're
creating or a specific target audience
that you're creating for.
So, for me, I started out this channel as a travel vlog.
So my focus, my niche was travel,
but they style in which I produced my content was
in this vlog style where I'm running around with a camera,
showing my adventures,
and showing the places that I was exploring.
Now, it's obviously changes since then.
I do a lot more YouTube training, filming tutorials,
all that kind of stuff.
So now my vlogs are not so much travel,
but my vlogs are kinda behind the scenes of the different
things that I do when it comes to this channel in general.
So, if you're a family channel,
then your topic is your family.
If you are a fitness channel, then your topic is fitness
or whatever specific form of fitness that you're doing.
Your topic isn't vlogging.
So you need to figure out what your topic is,
what your niche is, and then make vlogging your style.
Because vlogging is a way that you film a topic,
it's not the topic itself.
Okay, so tip number two is create a story for your vlogs.
So, when you're going to create your vlog,
create an outline, like have a direction
in which that you're going to create your vlog around.
Like, it's not gonna be just turn on the camera
and start shooting.
Yes, sometimes you will need to do that,
and you'll just need to shoot whatever's happening.
But, in general, you need to come up with like a plan.
So if you have a channel that's centered around
say cruise ships, you like to go on a lot of cruise ships.
Then, your vlog episode might be day one,
getting onto the cruise and what it's like experiencing that
for the first time, when you go to this specific cruise.
And you create story, you have a beginning, middle,
and an end.
So the beginning might be the anticipation,
what you're expecting.
The middle is the journey as you get on the ship
and you start experiencing it.
At the end, is kind of the wrap up in your experience
with day one, leading into say day two
or whatever the next thing is.
But just coming up with your basic outline,
and having an idea of some sort of story structure,
is really going to help your vlogs.
And yes, you're gonna shift off this outline.
Nothing's ever gonna go the way you planned,
but it's better to have a plan on the front end
because then you'll be able to create better vlogs
and have some sort of direction and an idea of
where you're starting and where are you're gonna end.
Okay, and tip number three is don't get wrapped up
in the singular style of vlogging.
Don't always just shoot your content like this.
Like, start thinking of different ways to tell your story.
So some things you could do is like
add a cinematic sequence, some B-roll footage,
or you could add stop-motion sequence,
you could do some voiceover with some visuals.
There's different styles of filmmaking that you can
incorporate into your vlogs, and make it your own,
and make it something unique.
Don't always just run around with a camera pointed up
from you and just talking to the camera.
Try to find different ways to tell your story
and different kind of styles that you can incorporate
to make your vlogs something unique
and something that is yours.
All right, I'm just gonna interject here real quick
and just mention that the reason you want an external
microphone when you're out shooting, especially vlogging,
is all the wind sounds.
This scene specifically,
when I'm standing on the edge of the cliff,
there's a lot of wind hitting the microphone,
and you can't hear any of it.
The reason is I have an external mic with a windscreen,
the dead cat on top, and that basically cuts out all
wind sounds so you have clean audio.
Like I was saying earlier in this video,
clean audio is so important.
I also want to mention it's nice having just your set built
so you could just turn and add something into your video,
like it's helpful this kind of setup.
You know, I have a couple going and I'm reconfiguring stuff,
so it's kind of a mess.
But, in general, it's nice to be able to just turn over,
click the button, and add something into your videos.
It makes it very easy to make the whole process of creating
content much more fluid.
All right, let's get back.
So all of this has been shot using the GoPro Hero 7
with this ULANZI case,
running around with it.
You could still get great vlogs with the GoPro Hero 7,
even without a flip screen, just because it's so wide.
But obviously, with the DJI Osmo Action,
you have that flip screen,
and that's a huge advantage of that camera.
However, both cameras work great,
and they're both awesome options to vlog with.
Super wide lens that makes this very easy to vlog.
You just throw the little microphone on top,
you get better audio.
Have a good case to wrap it all together,
and you're good to go.
And guys, let me know down in the comments
what your topic is for your vlog on your channel.
All right guys, that's it.
I'll see ya on the next one.