All right.
It is time to get crafty boss.
I've had a lot of people reach out to me asking how to start a YouTube channel, which kind
of equipment do you need to buy?
All these things.
And if you know me at all, you know that I'm a big believer in starting with what you have.
So yes, I am filming this video.
I'm recording this video with my iPhone, and I used this setup to grow my YouTube channel
to 50,000 subscribers, so I wanted to show you that it's possible to have great videos
with great content on a budget.
I'm a big believer in not spending a ton of money on your equipment when you're first
starting your YouTube channel because you need to ensure that you're going to be consistent
with it, and I see buying really fancy equipment as sort of a reward, but it took me until
I was here, hundreds of thousands of subscribers who actually invest in good equipment for
my channel.
And even now, it's not entirely necessary.
So we wanted to bring it back to the grassroots.
And shout out to parkerkateblog, who sent me a direct message on Instagram and is a
subscriber here on this channel, and asked me, what kind of DSLR should I get to up my
game on YouTube?
And I wanted to share, that in the beginning, just use what you have, especially right now.
Some of the biggest celebrities in the world are turning to their phones and to Zoom to
create content to put onto YouTube, so if they can do it, you can do it too.
And if you want to get featured with a shout out in one of my videos, and be sure to show
parkerkateblog a bunch of love on her YouTube channel, as well as on Instagram, and share
that Sunny squad support.
But if you want a shout out, be sure to subscribe to my channel and leave a thoughtful comment,
and be sure to follow me on Instagram as well.
All right, so in this video we're going to get into a bunch of details about how to create
great videos with your phone.
It's to be quick, easy, and fun.
In addition, a little bonus, how to do a blurry background, just like this on your iPhone.
All of that is coming up in this video.
So the first thing is having a setup for your tripod, which I have right here, as you can
see.
I have a stack of books as my tripod.
And the reason this is important is because you do want to make sure that it's level so
your video doesn't look wonky.
So that's why I have a stack of books, and I use a laptop as my little backdrop, so it
holds the camera steady.
And I can also manipulate the angle of it by pushing the laptop forward or backwards.
But use whatever you have.
If you have to prop it up against a window, that works as well.
So I'm going to issue a challenge to you.
I want you to film a video just like this, and show me your setup.
Show me what your little setup looks like, share it out on Instagram.
Tag me @sunnylenarduzzi with the hashtag, #sunnynoexcuseschallenge, because there are
no excuses to not be creating right now.
So if you've wanted to start that YouTube channel for a while, this is what you got
to do.
Just get started with what you have.
So share that out, and I'll share it on my stories, and I can't wait to see your setups
and I can't wait to see your videos.
The next tip is to make sure that you're using the rear lens.
So there's a couple of reasons that I prefer to use the rear lens on the camera.
One, is that it keeps me focused on the lens, because I find if I'm shooting with the video
actually facing me, that I tend to look at the video and my eye-line goes completely
off.
As you can tell right now, I'm not looking at the lens, so it looks really weird and
it doesn't make for the best videos.
In addition, when you shoot with the rear lens, depending on what kind of camera you
have, it allows you to shoot in 4K quality, as opposed to a more degraded quality which
you get with your front camera lens.
The next thing to test is your storage space.
You do want to make sure before you start filming that you actually have space to store
your video on your phone, because that is the biggest bummer when you go to film and
you don't have enough space and then you just have to redo it.
The fourth tip is to make sure you do a test.
So before I started this video, I was testing to make sure that the angle looked right and
that everything was working, and that I had enough space in the frame, et cetera.
So one big thing when you're figuring out your framing for your video, is you want to
make sure that you have a hand space above your head, and that gives enough space to
do some cropping, et cetera, or some editing in post if you need to.
Obviously, lighting is super important.
I always say if people can hear you and see you, you're good to go.
So lighting wise, I'm just using a window.
As you can see, I'm a big fan of natural light.
I think it's one of the best lighting sources for video.
It just makes you look glowy and your skin tone looks really great, so make sure that
if you have a natural light source, that's what you're using, because in my opinion it's
the best.
But of course, if you only have a lamp available to you in your room as your light source,
that also works.
So any kind of light, you just want to make sure that the light source is in front of
you while you're filming, because if it's behind you, then you completely look like
a shadow and nobody can actually see your face.
So make sure that the light source is in front of you.
Obviously, one big thing as well, is to make sure that you clean your lens, because if
your lens is dirty, the video quality is going to look pretty crappy.
So just make sure that your lens is clean and that there aren't smudges on it.
So do that before you do start recording, because this is not a good book for anybody.
Clean your lens.
And the next thing is to be in a quiet space, because you don't want to have any background
noise or your kids running around, et cetera.
So if you can find a quiet moment and quiet space.
I've just closed the door, I'm in my bedroom right now, and this perfectly works for a
little filming setup because as I always harp and say, the production value does not matter
nearly as much on YouTube as the value of what you're saying and your content.
And that is proven more now than ever.
Just create.
Use what you have.
I oftentimes see so many people use the equipment as a way to stall and get hung up, and waste
months if not years, getting their content out into the world when we need it most.
So don't let that hang you up, and I can't wait to see your videos.
But let's get to that bonus tip of how you create, how to do a blurry background just
like this on your iPhone.
So the first thing you're going to do is you're going to go into your settings on your phone
and you're going to go into your control center.
From control center, you're going to go into customized controls and make sure that you've
added the screen recording.
So if it's not added like mine is here, you're going to just go through and add it to your
home screen.
And then from there, when you pull down, you'll actually be able to see it is screen recording
right now.
Make sure that you hold down on it and your microphone is on so you can record audio,
and that's how you're going to start this process.
From there, you're going to go into the Focus app.
So Focus is an app you can find in the App Store, and basically what it does is it allows
you to create this blurry background.
But generally, it's just for photos, so the little hack is if you screen record at the
same time that you're talking to camera like this, it's going to create this blurry background
like this.
And then, you just save the screen recording, and in your editing you can just crop out
this little left-hand side, maybe it's right for you, I don't know.
Crop out the controls from it so you just have the video like this.
I hope this was helpful for you.
Let me know what your favorite trick or tip was from this video in the comments below.
Be sure to subscribe for new videos every single week, and I cannot wait to see your
videos with this challenge hashtag.
So, make sure to tag me @sunnylenarduzzi and I'll share them out on my story and give you
a little encouragement to start with what you have.
Your message matters, don't let the equipment get in the way of that.
Thank you so much for watching.
Make sure you check out this video and next on how to edit with your iPhone or with your
phone, and all of these different apps available to you.
And I can't wait to see you in the next episode.
Bye.